ENDICOTT UPON CHINA. 53 



principally in a proficiency in the knowledge of moral 

 philosophy. Children are placed at school at the early 

 age of six years. Great care is taken to select a teacher 

 of virtuous habits, which are considered as necessary as 

 that he should be learned. An account of the examina- 

 tion for degrees was given. 



The Industrial Arts, Fine Arts, Architecture, Army, 

 Agriculture, Gardening, were all touched upon, and some 

 of these treated at length. Opium smoking he thought 

 far less general in China than is usually supposed, — the 

 expensiveness of the drug restricting the prevalence of 

 the custom. And though the habit obtains to a consid- 

 erable extent, the results therefrom are not so pernicious 

 and wide spreading, as is the use of intoxicating liquors 

 in other countries. 



A sketch of the life and philosophy of Confucius was 

 given. He said the Chinese have been as faithful fol- 

 lowers of Confucius, as Christians have been of Christ, 

 but the absence of a vitalizing inspiration has so circum- 

 scribed the influence of the sage that the whole nation has 

 become fossilized. There can be no doubt, had Chris- 

 tianity in its infancy been properly introduced into China, 

 the natives of that country would have shown themselves 

 as faithful in the observance of the duties inculcated by 

 the new dispensation, as any in Christendom. 



In conclusion he said, that during his long sojourn 

 among the Chinese, he became convinced that they were 

 entirely misunderstood by the Western world. Their 

 respect for intelligence, as far as they are in a position to 

 appreciate it, is quite equal to our own. Their commer- 

 cial honesty is practically better than that which exists 

 generally in Europe or America. Their industry and 

 frugality are of the highest types. The only obstacle 

 which retards their progress is a deathlike conservatism 



