University of Nanking - Linguist Yearbook (Nanking, China)

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THE TEN PERCENT 37 must :also be taught to plant trees and to care for them. Floods and famines will not cease coming until the mountains and the hill-sides are reforested. For this work, and that of the teaching of' agriculture, extension workers will be needed. and these must be trained. There is need-. also, for teachers of physical education, for the Chinese have never known the relation of exercise and athletics to health and morals. All the mission schoolsfaim to imbuet the Chinese with the'ideai of Western sportsmanshipg for a Chinese foot ball team will think nothing of walking oi? the gridiron in the midst of battle. The,colleges and universities are rapidly increasing in size-- Larger faculties and more buildings are being added as soon as money Can be had for the purpose. It must be remembered that these are Only about ten years old and that they have a membership on the- avcrage of about 350, the size of the average small college in America. 'l'he rate of progress of such schoo'ls as the University of Nanking, the XVest China Union University, the Canton Christian College, the Hongkong University, indicates that in not a very long time the mission and government universities will each number their students by the thousands. It seems to me that foreign teachers will always be- needed for university subjects and tor English in other grades, for the Chinese do not like to learn English from a Chinese teacher. Catalogs of many of the Chinese universities can be consulted in the libraries of all the large universities in America. They give an adequate idea of the scope of their teaching and their facilities, which are quite' similar to those of American colleges, except that Chinese language and literature are listed. They cannot give the hope and the joy and the spiritual satisfaction that comes from trying to teach a newly awakened people. But this must not be understood to mean that the Chinese are not like American school boys and do not want to work their teachers in the same way. They are as glad of a holiday and short assignments as any students. And sometimes the whole class will petition the instructor to relieve it of a tinal examination, one class at the University of Nanking even going so far as to invade the- teacher's home and after half an hour-'s characteristic preliminary polite small talk, present their petition. Strictness is always necessary 5. but it the students can not get what they want, they bear no resent- ment toward the teacher. They have a sense of humor, even. though they are sensitive and do not like to fail in class. The other day, the word blockhead appearing in the lesson, I asked the student who had been reading what the word meant. He evidently had not studied his lesson and could not answer. Ilet him stand for a few :minutes to give his brain a chanceg meanwhile the other students began to smile, being the more amused the more he exempli- hed the word. Because of the great difference between the English and the Chinese languages. teachers of the former are often exasper- ated at the seeming stupidity or uncomprehendingness of the Chinese. Sometimes their pronunciation is extremely difficult to understand and. I have to call upon the class to interpret. But their pronunciation of English is probably no worse than our pronunciation of Chinese.

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36 THE LINGUIST status of education in China, which status cries unto the Occident for remedy. China is intensely eager for Vtiestern culture and civilization, and she will get it in one way or another. lf we are anxious that she adopt the good and avoid the evil of our civilization we must give her our best ideals along with our culture. And our best ideals are embodied in 'Christianity-but Christianity considered as an active force in daily conduct rather than as doctrine or dogtna, for China has had the latter for more than twenty centuries with what results we all know. We must teach the Chinese our ideals through example rather than by precept, and this can be admirably done by young men and women teachers who live Christianity. It matters not what onewishes-to or can teach. Thersubjects- are the same as in America. There is great demand for English a11d Science and History and Political Science. English increases the earning power of the student and is a required subject in the mission schools. Science--biology, chemistry, physics, are desired be- cause they are at the basis of our material, our medical and our agri- cultural progress. Teachers of medicine and of its preparatory sub- jects will find their efforts compensated in untold ways, for China has never had a medical science based on sound analysis. Though the Chinese are a virile race, they do get sick - horribly sick-and if they get well from the severe treatment of the native doctors it is just by chance. lf a baby happens to become sick, for instance, it is exposed to wind and weatherg if it lives, well and goodg if it dies it was probably demon infested, anyway, and so might as well be dead. Scabby bodies, scrofulous heads, infected teeth, trachomatous eyes. and other gruesome ills need attentiong and the Chinese must be 'taught our medicine before the race as a whole will be healed. Sani- tary engineers are also needed, for the Chinese must betaught sanitary hygiene. A step in this direction has already been made in the Pro- vince of Kiangsu, under the auspices of the provincial civil police. Professor C. W. Woodworth, provincial entomologist, has organized a Sanitary police, whose duty it is to exterminate the breeding places of Hies and mosquitoes and other disease-spreading insects. I The Chinese Q .cs il Some of the cells still stand. ' l. The work of these police has been cinematographed and eventually will he shown in other provinces of China and in the United States.

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38 Tl-IE LINGUIST Though he be discouraged at times, a teacher of English' has his compensations in the unintentional humor of the compositions he receives. English written according to Chinese sentence structure is extremely ludicrous. A short time ago I asked the class to watch some animal or insect for a few minutes and then write in detail what they saw the animal or insect do in that time. I received the following paper from an earnest youth who writes in another theme that after graduating from middle school without stopping I went the college with my own feet walked about eight hundred miles, even there is a railway, but that is my luck and fortune 1 An Interesting Horse. When I walking on the street, there was a tall horse who stands beside of the road with his carriage. Who seems to me very interesting animal, because I stop my walking and watch him for a few minutes. He is about eight feet tall one. He has a numerousiyellow brown furton the whole his body. His whole body is very fat and. it seems to me vividful and strongest one among his group. I am the tirst time to see such a fatest horse. The head is very large, where are the eyes which appeared round and round and so big 501116 times close or open with the eye's shelter. which is so bright and vividly well done with his body. The cars are very big, moves with himself turn right or left sometimes up and down, and try to hear some noise with them. The teeth are in the Mouth. And the mouth is very big and wide, Sometimes t'ry to get something with his tongue. He has two legs on the front side and two legs on the behind sides altogether four legs, which :1 very long and where have the knee. So he can easily bend with his legs. The hoofs are aparted two ways. It can walking very convenience to him. And the hoofs are very strong and hard too, whatever it will he never mine to him anyplaces. I-Iis tail is very long, some times play with its long tail, Thelmost long hair is on the tail. It is very useful to use the tail hair. We can use different ways with it. Instances such as this can be multipliedg I speak but from my own limited experience. To meet students socially, in one's own home, is always a delight. Some are timid and accustomed to the polish and grace of the old generation, others are forward and quite modern in their courtesy. If they are amused at our attempts with chopsticks, they do not mind our amusement at their attempts with knife and fork. And they are appreciative asagroup, much more so than American students. This brief survey ,of education in China and its needs and the opportunities and possibilities for teaching is not complete without indicating the teaching that can besdone in Nankmg in the year that is spent in residence at the Language School. Almost every student teaches English, one, two, or more hours at week. Many assist the teachers in the schools of their own missions. . The Y. M. C. A. and the Y. NV. C. A. have both day and evening classes which are partly taught by language school students. The government has an orphanage in Nanking to which two of the students golfor two hours each week. The Theological Seminary sometimes needs help in English for one or two hours. And it has been the custom for five young women to devote an hour a week each at four o'clock to teach- ing the wife of the military governor, Chi Tai Tai, who is very anxious to learn English. These brief contacts with the Chinese are .very helpful andinspiring and are welcomed by all who have the opportunity to takeadvantage of them. Sometimes some teaching, especially of music, can be done at Hillcrest, the school for the children of the foreign community. A. BREDE