Chinese Scholars—Old and Young I T is strange to realize that
the reputed and powerful class of Literati that has ruled China for centuries has disappeared and that this disappearance has been accomplished within the short space of twenty-seven years.
Many of us old residents in China remember almost with a catch of the breath the hush of awe that fell on us when confronted with a number of these dignitaries in their official dress. Their robes lavishly embroidered with gold, their gleaming necklaces of precious stones balanced properly on chest and back, their flowing peacock feathers ; all held a weird fascination for us. Their attire harmonized well with the solemn expression on their faces and the slow dignity of their movements ; they seemed to be indeed an embodiment of the doctrines to the study of which they were giving their lifetime— the Doctrine of the Golden Mean, the Doctrine of Rites or Order and the numerous maxims of the Sages.
We have happy memories of their courteousness and kindness, sometimes also of their devoted service and helpfulness. It was pleasant to watch their surprised eagerness when -they found in us a response to the wisdom of the Ancients, and to realize that their task of teaching us had become to them a labour of love.
The lady who was in charge of "The Door of Hope" for the Chinese in Shanghai was taught by an old noted scholar. Accustomed to his interest in teaching her she became surprised when later, forenoon after forenoon, she saw him a victim of desperate drowsiness ; even the coffee she had brought him proved ineffective in helping him to overcome it. Shortly after he died from the effects of a severe cold. Later the lady found out the cause of his drowsiness and also of the exposure to the 'cold .that had ended his life. He had received definite knowledge of a plan concocted by the enemies of the °institution to set fire to the buildings of the "Door of Hope," and not wanting to. give anxiety to the .young women within, he had kept them in ignorance and had himself patrolled the street of nights to prevent the incendiaries from accomplishing their purpose.
These devotees of the learning of the ancients are certainly missed by all classes of society, but perhaps they are, after all, most missed in their own family circle. -The whole family had sacrificed more or less to give this educa- tion to one or two of their number : even if these- did not attain any official position they were still of official rank continued to be their glory and pride. The Literati had an endless repertoire of interesting stories of valour and adventure wherewith to cheer and 'edify the family and make them forget the burden of the day and the distressing heat and cold of the seasons. In times of trouble and anxiety they were to them their pillars of strength with their ready words of comfort and advice from the never-exhausted well of wisdom of the Sages and also with their own example -of fortitude of mind.
The families in China to-day are also sacrificing to give education to some of their members, but how different is the result they reap. These students of Western education do not keep on happily studying according to the manner of their forerunners ; it is as if they thought that they had in four years of leisurely college study exhausted all learning. Their slogan is : "We are now the Literati. ,We are the rulers of China." They are a source of endless anxiety, even of alarm, to their families. They will not take their places in the family niche, they want to upset the traditions and remove the old land- marks. They have no religion, they are even without veneration for Confucius. Their idleness- is ptrhaps after all their worst feature—they are not willing to accept moderate-salaried positions, and even of those there are few available. to meet the yearly demands of the many thousand graduates from the Colleges- and Universities that have grown up around us like mushrooms—Shanghai alone has over forty of these institutions of learning.
Many of the students are endowed with remarkable histrionic and oratorical talents, seemingly national characteristics, and they delight in displaying these ; they make excellent agitators and street-speakers, they use lavishly a number of forceful words, and they do not worry. much about the exact truth of their statements if they can achieve the desired result.
So now the old wiseacres shake their heads and say to the worried parents : "Didn't we tell you so ? Didn't we tell you that these big schools harbouring hundreds of students would not do for us, though they might be all right for the foreigners ? Our young people are hard to control, they will get out of hand. So now we are reaping the whirlwind ! Beware of aping the foreigners ! East is East and West is West. Who is there now who can read our old Scriptures ? " ELFRIDA HUDSON.
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