Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1913.djvu/841

 INSTRUCTION 719

decree of December 30, 1906), and totally unconnected therewith, there is the distinct worship of Heaven (t'ien), in which the Emperor, as the ' sole high priest,' worshiped and sacrificed to * Heaven ' every year at the time of the winter solstice, at the Altar of Heaven, in Peking. With the exception of the practice of ancestral worship, which is everywhere observed throughout the Empire, and was fully commended by Confucius, Confucianism has little outward ceremonial. The study and contemplation and attempted performance of the moral precepts of the ancients constitute the duties of a Confucianist. Buddhism and Taoism present a very gorgeous and elaborate ritual in China, Taoism— originally a pure philosophy— having abjectly copied Buddhist ceremonial on the arrival of Buddhism 1,800 years ago. Probably all Chinese (not Mahometans or Christians) profess and practise all three religions. The bulk of the people, however, are Buddhist. There are probably about 30 million Mahometans, chiefly in the north-west. Roman Catholicism has long had a footing in China, and is estimated to have about 1,000,000 adherents, with 32 vicariates apostolic besides those of Manchuria, Tibet, and Mongolia. Other Christian societies have stations in many parts of the country, the number of Protestant adherents being estimated at about 150,000. Most of the aboriginal hill-tribes are still nature-worshippers, and ethnically are distinct from the prevailing Mongoloid population.

Instruction.

For many centuries education of a purely Chinese type Avas general, and led through an intricate system of public examinations to all classes of employment under the State. Being confined in its scope to the study of Chinese classical literature, this form of education was gradually undermined by the influence of increasing intercourse with other countries, until it was completely swept away by an Imperial Decree of September 3, 1905, abolishing the historic system of examinations.

Since that date an enormous impetus has been given to the new edu- cational movement, schools for the teaching of ' western learning ' springing up in every town throughout large portions of the Empire.

The Imperial University at Peking is a Government institution, where the English, French, German, Japanese, and Russian languages, and law, mathematics, chemistry, physiology, &c., are taught by European and Japanese professors (6 in 1910), the Chinese education of the pupils (200 in 1910) being entrusted to Chinese teachers (13 in 1910). By the energy of a British medical missionary, an important medical school was founded in Peking in 1906, for the training of Chinese medical students. The expenses of the foundation were met by public subscrip- tion among Chinese and foreigners. The Government has undertaken to recognise the diplomas to be issued by this school of medicine, which is known as the Union Medical College, and has given an annual grant towards its expenses. At Tientsin there are a Chinese University with 5 foreign and 7 Chinese professors, an Anglo- Chinese College, an industrial school under Japanese tuition, general medical colleges, and various private and mission schools. In 1911 a scheme was set on foot in Loudon to establish a modern university in Central China (at Hankau- Wuchaug). The scheme was promoted by committees representative of the Universities of Oxford, Cambridge, and jjondon in this country, and of the Universities of Harvard, Columbia, California, and Toronto in Canada and the United States of America. At Chefu is an imperial college, and in the province are 10 other higher schools with 1,900 students and 78 teachers (63 being