CHINESE CIVILISATION.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 588, 17 August 1909, Page 8

CHINESE CIVILISATION.

LECTURE BY MR. YUNC-LIANG ;.;:,-.:-,., HWANG. , ; POINTS.WORTH IMITATION. ; " China, is the mother of the' Orient, for from, her, tho other EjWt^n 1 countries havo derived in varying 'dogreo their forms of lifo and culture,", declared- tho Chinese Consul, Mr. Yung-Liang Hwang, M.A., : in comineiicing- his contributiou to the Public Library series ; of free lectures last evening. Tho lecture was given in the Municipal Concert Chamber, which was crowded with an appreciative audience. The subject was the" civilisation 'of China. The oldest civilisations of the world, Mr. Hwang explained, - were tho Egyptian, dating back approximately to 5000 8.0.'; the Chaldean, which began about 500 years later; that of the Hittites, derived rudely from the two former: and the Chinese, which commenced about 3000 b.o. In the twenty-eighth _ century before Christ tho science of agriculture, was understood in China,'aiid in the twenty-sixth and twentyseventh centuries the rearing of silk-worms and the. art,of spinning, were practised. In the eleventh.. century.', before Christ the feudal system was- established, which,- after about 900' years, was completely.abolished.: '-.'■ ■-Two Views of a Tyrant. Mr. Hwang gave a lively' account of the tyrant, ■ Che Hwang-te, the builder of the Great Wall, consoKdator' of government,. arid ehemy ,of. scholars, in whoso, character he found combined the despotic tendencies of Henry. VIII, the, determination of Peter the Great, and_ the cr'uelty of Nero.' Chinese, like English history, admits apparently of . different .-interpretations/. Mr. Hwang stated that for the purposs of his-own aggrandisement, Che- Hwang-te preferred, -his subjects to be ignorant, and therefore he burned books and buried scholars alive. In his reign (246 b.o, to' 210 8.C.): the Chinese nation, lost ife prestige in science, literature, and art. The writer on China in the "Encyclopedia Britannica" gives a more favourable reason for Che Hwang-te's strong 'measures. "He was a reformer,". says -this authority; " and reformers'jvore as distasteful; to tie Chinamen of that time as 'to" those, of to-day, and .schoolmen and pedants were for ever holding up to the admiration of the people the heroes of the feudal times and tho ad v ? n tases .of the system they administered. This doctrine was..full of danger to. the : State. and'Cho Hwang-te-therefore determined to break once and for'ever with the past. To this end he ordered the destniction, of all .books havinj; reference to the past history of the Empire." Portraits, not entirely urnimiablo. have also been drawn of Nero-and Henry VIII. .

. - A Moral 'Empiro..' ■' '; Mr.'-'Hwang spokb' : of the' scientific coveries of the Chinese,, and also of the moral. sido>of their civilisation, which was, he said, the essence of the strength of the Chinese, people.' For' over 2000-<years; the' Chinese;.; Government had been'based'on the idea of fraternity. Tho ruler, the "Sun pf Heaven," was,supposed, to : love his subject's, dn'd : :to exemplify : the , virtues of heaven, while .his subjects gave; him in return the affection and-obedience "of children. As showing the extent of filial , piety in China he stated that when a father died,, his son, if ho was' , ari'bflicial,"must resign his post, and remain at, hbiie for a- three-years'- period of 'mourningj during which he * would havo no official ■ The so:called ancestor worship.was not really worship, but an expression of. the- deep reverence which the Cliine'se;fe,lt:;for their fathers aiid forefathers. The..central; Government was , now taking, great pains ..to- ascertain what was best in Western systems and to adapt it to Chinese needs. • Eight years from now there would be a Chinese Parliament, and the sentiments and desires' 'of 400 millionVpeople , would bo represented'in "a House which would determine national: crises and establish national destinies." But whatever radical changes took place iin. China, there v, - ould be no war/or revolution,- "since tho ' Chinese would rather suffer an/injustice than allow' peace to be broken. . ■■; ■ The Old Examinations. . Mr.. Hwang gave' an ;entertaining. description of the old examination 'system," which has now been abolished. Every year an ex-amination-was held for the first degree, which was equivalent to the B.A. Several thousand scholars, bearing each a pen and ink and ink-stand,- would come to the examination hall,'and- be drafted-into single colls, each equipped with a chair and desk, whore they were required to write theses on.subjects of philosophy and literature.' The .theses',consisted -mainly., of extensive quotations of the, old. classic writers, and the older the authorities' quoted .the -more highly, was. the .scholar's erudition esteemed. These v examinations , were formerly the avenue to all honours- and State employment,,, but recently European subjects of study have been substituted. In conclusion, Mr"..'Hwang expanded' eloquently on tho peaceful'aspirations'of his countrymen, which' he:. contrasted; with, the ruinous European rivalry'in'Dreadnoughts. -•-. '• .:. . . 'The -lecture, ". which : was eseellehtly. ar-. ranged and delivered, jwas followed .with close.'attention,, and greeted with repeated applause, and at.; its conclusion Mr. -Hwang received an enthusiastic indication of his audience's . approval. Mr. A. B. Atkinson,, who presided, praised'the' matter and the manner of the lecture, which ,he said' contained- a good deal of a very-wholesome character for some peoplo in this country to take to heart. The-national"self-complacency'of .our- race was ..still ,',a'.little--top-.' iipt ; to 'throw' halfbricks ;_at strangers, in ,; the' moral, 'if-not, so much in the. physical; sense. , '