A General History for Colleges and High Schools | Page 9

in the old paths, and thus added the force of example to that of
precept. He gave the Chinese the Golden Rule, stated negatively:
"What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others."
During the reign of Che Hwang-te (see p. 13), Chinese literature
suffered a great disaster. That despot, for the reason that the teachers in
their opposition to him were constantly quoting the ancient writings
against his innovations, ordered the chief historical books to be
destroyed, and sentenced to death any one who should presume to talk
about the proscribed writings, or even allude to the virtues of the
ancients in such a way as to reflect upon his reforms. The contumacious
he sent to work upon the Great Wall. But the people concealed the
books in the walls of their houses, or better still hid them away in their
memories; and in this way the priceless inheritance of antiquity was
preserved until the storm had passed.
INFLUENCE OF THIS LITERATURE AND OF THE SAGE
CONFUCIUS.--It would be impossible to exaggerate the influence
which the Nine Classics have had upon the Chinese nation. For more
than 2000 years these writings have been the Chinese Bible. And as all
of the Four Books, though they were not written by Confucius, yet bear
the impress of his mind and thought, just as the Gospels teach the mind
of Christ, a large part of this influence must be attributed to the life and
teachings of that great Sage. His influence has been greater than that of
any other teacher, excepting Christ and perhaps Buddha. His precepts,
implicitly followed by his countrymen, have shaped their lives from his
day to the present.
The moral system of Confucius, making, as it does, filial obedience and
a conformity to ancient customs primary virtues, has exalted the family
life among the Chinese and given a wonderful stability to Chinese

society. Chinese children are the most obedient and reverential to
parents of any children in the world, and the Chinese Empire is the only
one in all history that has prolonged its existence from ancient times to
the present.
But along with much good, one great evil has resulted from this blind,
servile following of the past. The Chinese in strictly obeying the
injunction to walk in the old ways, to conform to the customs of the
ancients, have failed to mark out any new footpaths for themselves.
Hence their lack of originality, their habit of imitation: hence the
unchanging, unprogressive character of Chinese civilization.
EDUCATION AND CIVIL SERVICE COMPETITIVE
EXAMINATIONS.--China has a very ancient educational system. The
land was filled with schools, academies, and colleges more than a
thousand years before our era, and education is to-day more general
among the Chinese than among any other pagan people. A knowledge
of the sacred books is the sole passport to civil office and public
employment. All candidates for places in the government must pass a
competitive examination in the Nine Classics. This system is
practically the same in principle as that which we, with great difficulty,
are trying to establish in connection with our own civil service.
THE THREE RELIGIONS,--CONFUCIANISM, TAOISM, AND
BUDDHISM.--There are three leading religions in
China,--Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. The great Sage
Confucius is reverenced and worshipped throughout the Empire. He
holds somewhat the same relation to the system that bears his name that
Christ holds to that of Christianity. Taoism takes its name from Tao,
which is made, like Brahma in Brahmanism, the beginning of all things.
It is a very curious system of mystical ideas and superstitious practices.
Buddhism was introduced into China about the opening of the Christian
era, and soon became widely spread.
There is one element common to all these religions, and that is the
worship of ancestors. Every Chinese, whether he be a Confucianist, a
Taoist, or a Buddhist, reverences his ancestors, and prays and makes
offerings to their spirits.

POLICY OF NON-INTERCOURSE.--The Chinese have always been a
very self- satisfied and exclusive people. They have jealously excluded
foreigners and outside influence from their country. The Great Wall
with which they have hedged in their country on the north, is the
symbol of their policy of isolation. Doubtless this characteristic of the
Chinese has been fostered by their geographical isolation; for great
mountain barriers and wide deserts cut the country off from
communication with the rest of the Asiatic continent. And then their
reverence for antiquity has rendered them intolerant of innovation and
change. Hence, in part, the unwillingness of the Chinese to admit into
their country railroads, telegraphs, and other modern improvements.
For them to adopt these new- fangled inventions, would be like our
adopting a new religion. Such a departure from the ways and customs
of the past has in it, to their