NEW SPIRIT IN CHINA.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 800, 25 April 1910, Page 9

NEW SPIRIT IN CHINA.

SPREAD OF WESTERN SCIENCE. '.THE WATERXAL aspect of.life. The remarkable hgtv spirit which is animating the educated, in China is well described by the Rev. B. H. Streeter, of Queen's College/, Oxford, in the "Student Movement." "The .Renaissance.in. China,is, for good or evil, a very, present fact," he says. "Like tho European Renaissance, in the 'Sfteenth - . century, its A6ian counterpart uf the twentieth century has been mainly dije . tp the ' influx of a iiew stream 01! foreign learning into what has lain for centuries' practically a Dead Sea, stagpant in its depths, although not without ripples on the surface;

"There, is this important difference. Ill' China to-day the new learning has gained vastly in force from the very practical ■ lessons which jt tcaclies. and applies. The intellectual and spiritual oft'eet has been quickened and, empha-. sised by the material and practical—the internal by the external. In Europe the |nen of the Renaissance lefirnt by 'grammar'and scholarship to construe teste; in China 'to-day" they, are learning by' fipjijied science actually to remove nioun-r tains. . ' ..

How* Science Dominates. ; "The result is inevitable. In : China to-day the value of this important science [ is. measured snd enhanced by its practical results. Scjbijce appears to be , the complete explanation of the world as' a whole, .ajid tends to depreciate tjie value of anything else,., as: not' having the double . witness of appeal to reality both of thought ai)d sense, - "The result, for those to whom Western science has corns without any softeijjng of ifs outlines such aij'has beep produced in England by its gradual growth, and without- compensating- emphasis on other, pjdes of..Jifp,. i.sap. gnhriijeslistie state of thought and practice—!i onesided emphasis on the material aspect of life—9l} .which , sees .pprsops as parts of things, and not vice-versa. , "Tho ■' missionary schools and colleges are to-day the only plfices where Western teaching is given without such evil effects. But,, gltbopgh these do still lead the way in the ' Chipese educational world, they labour under disadvantages which, unless speedily remedied, must : ultimately: make their continued success impossible. In the first place, the attempt of a missionary •■college of very limited size to supply teaching in tjl the subjects of a Western 'eourse is not only incompatible with,: a high intellectual standard, : but also handicaps the moraland spiritual work owing to the absorption of men, money, energy, and interest in purely secular teacMng.' Tat they are at present forced to do this in self-defence, as, if they do not" cover the . whole field, their pupils will go .elsewhere. "It is, however, certain that under the present circumstances the Government educational institutions will; as they .becomo more .efficient owing to their power to divide labour and so specialise, draw tho better learning of the country more and. more away from the ' missionary colleges. The great problem of to-day chn '.'this disaster be averted?

Missionary Strategy. "It is certain that the missionary body dare not cease to lot young men in China gain, under 1 their charge; the. highest lorm of modern, education.'- If there is one point m6re 'certain than another in missionary strategy, it is that the evangelisation of China will only ,he accomplished by natives of that countrj, and those men mast have the very -.beet education "of their day. This willbe necSssary not only to enable them to meet the current difficulties and; objections to Christianity, but also to secure them hearing. at all in a country which believes as whole-heartedly in education as .does China.'.; It is-, ipipossiblo, for the fully-trained Christian men required to be.prbduced, or even trainee^,,in a purely Secular! university';... ,thfe£, ! neeil' i >J pers6hal'' contact and;teachjpg siriong. Christians' in daily life. '. \\. ' '..*j ' 'two years ago, a joint commit-;! fee - of graduates of. ,9?ford"an'd I Cambridge was.fprmed .to 'investigate the I question, and soon secured the Oielp !of thi. Rev. Lord William Cecil.. "

"The- result of inquiries was the clear' conviction that , the great need of China at the present crisis of moral and intellectual upheaval is a university, in some central and widely-accessible sitp, which should—

"(1) Combine the highest intellectual efficiency with a system of sound moral training and discipline. . "(2) While commanding, the confidence uf the missionary colleges and schools of all denominations, and building mainly on the foundations laid- by them, unite, consolidate, and advance ;to its filial stage the' solid .work _ they hare done,' jn a :m6re liberal spirit, and . with greater academic- freedom, than-would..be possible in anjr purely'missionary /undertaking. ' ■ '(3) Aim at naturalising in China the highest , elements' in .Western thought, .while'conserving all. that is best in the old Chinese culture;.

A Draft Scheme. - "Such 'a university would -not only itself train up, a.-nuinber of the -future leaders of Chinese : thought; but would inevitably exercise a profound ' influence no; Chinese, education in general during this, its experirraptal. ■ and • formative period. Accordingly a draft scheme was drawn, up,. carrying, which Lord William Ceoil,. accompanied by Lady Florence Cecil, made, n second- tour, in China, spending five months, and visiting the following -oentres:—Mukden, Tientsin, •Peking,- Hankow, Wuchang,'-"Nanking, Shanghai, Changsa, and Ichang. 1 ■ "The schools and colleges—European, American,' "(ind.. Chinese—in-'; all these' centres were visited, all those interested in educationon the spot were .. consulted, and much valuable information was collected, "a "summary of which is being published in book form. The draft scheme met with a most favourable reception..

"11l Peking and Hankow committees of residents' wore formed to consider the draft. The reports of- these committees, as well as writteji statements of their views -by many individual authorities, and Lord William's owndetailed report, have .been, carefully' considered by our committee, who, accordingly, are in a position to bring, the scheme formally before too notice of the public.

A Strategic Site, .roqst central and commanding site m China is that of 1 tho threo contiguous cities, numbering.over a million I- Hankow, Hanyang, and VVucMng—known , collectively as the fVuhan towns—situated on tho KangtseJuang, tho .fourth largest river, in tho world, ; which at this point, . 600! miles , its mouth, je a milo wido, and i-i' !>}'. ocean-going steamers, while up its various branches an immense water traffic penetrates a thonv- *■. interior.. Tho. great and SoUth Railway of China, from I eking to Canton,. already, completed as far as Hankow,, cuts tho river here. ;. Tims .situated, at; tho point,of inter-' section of tho great waterway : and rail-way-systems of China, those cities must become moro and more tho grflat distributing centres of her growing commerce, and therefore also of the intellectual awakening which will followwn the train of commercial progress, Hero, therefore, is tho ideal i;ito for ah institution which IS. to exerciso tho widest possible influence on tho now (,'hina of the future." Mr. J. Leslio Johnston is acting as secretary to tho coromittco organising this movement—22 Albemarle Street, \Y..