120 



CHINA. 



establishment of such an office emanated from 

 the -"Foreign Board" at Pekin, which ad- 

 dressed a memorial to the Imperial Govern- 

 ment, of which the two important passages are: 



It has occurred to your servants that the appli- 

 ances of foreigners, their machinery and fire-arms, 

 their vessels and carriages, are one and all derived 

 from a knowledge of astronomy and mathematics. 

 Attention is now being directed at Shanghai and in 

 Chekiang to the construction and management of 

 steamers of different classes ; but, without a bona 

 fide study of the principles on which they are built 

 and managed from the very foundation, what is 

 learned will be merely superficial, and as such of no 

 real utility. Your se'rvants, accordingly, having 

 deliberated together, propose to establish another 

 school in addition to that for languages, and to in- 

 vite all Mantchoos and Chinese who have taken their 

 degree of licentiate, together with those who have ob- 

 tained the same degree by act of grace, or as twelve- 

 year men, or as senior bachelors, or as licentiates of 

 the supplementary list, or as bachelors of merit, 

 being men possessing a thorough knowledge of 

 Chinese literature, and not under twenty years of age, 

 to present themselves for examination at the Yamen 

 with the guarantee (of settlement, pedigree, etc.) 

 duly sealed by an official, native of the same prov- 

 ince as the candidate, and employed in the capital, 

 or (if the candidate be a banner-man), with the usual 

 certificate of his banner corps; also to authorize all 

 officials, whether Mantchoo or Chinese, of the fifth 



frade or above it, in the capital or the provinces, 

 eing men of the literary degrees above particular- 

 ized, and young and able, if they wish to study in 

 the school, to hand in the necessary particulars and 

 to present their banner certificate or the sealed guar- 

 antee of an official from the same province as them- 

 selves, in which case they will be admitted with the 

 rest of the preliminary examination. When the 

 names of those accepted as students shall have been 

 entered by your servants, teachers from the West 

 will be engaged to instruct them in the school; 

 thus it is confidently expected they will become 

 thoroughly grounded in astronomy and mathe- 

 matics ; theory being made perfect in the beginning, 

 it follows that its appliance (lit. the art. handicraft 

 it will teach) will be equally perfect in the end, and 

 in the course of a few years a successful result will 

 be certain. The three schools already established 

 will be carried on as heretofore, and now, without 

 doubt, the entrance to a career being thus widened, 

 men ingenious and capable above the common can- 

 not fail to be produced. The Chinese are not in- 

 ferior in cleverness (or ingenuity) and intelligence 

 to the men of the West, and if in astronomy and 

 mathematics (lit. forecasting, as of eclipses, etc., and 

 calculation), in the examination of cause and effects 

 (g. c. in natural history, manufactures, etc.,) in 

 mechanical appliances (lit. the construction of 

 articles and successful imitation of models), and pre- 

 diction of the future, students will so earnestly apply 

 themselves as to possess themselves of all secrets, 

 China will then be strong of her own strength. 



The native party made to the project a 

 violent opposition, and even one of the " cen- 

 sors " raised his powerful voice against the in- 

 novation, but without avail. An imperial de- 

 cree established the college. Triennial ex- 

 aminations are to be held, and prizes and ap- 

 pointments conferred upon the best students. 

 The candidates for public offices will hence- 

 forth be required to show their proficiency not 

 only in the philosophy of Confucius, but in 

 modern physics and mathematics, the laws of 

 steam, and the construction of machinery. The 

 appointment of Pin-ta-jen to be president of the 



college was regarded by the foreigners in 

 Pekin as a very fortunate selection. One hun- 

 dred and ten scholars were reported to have 

 presented themselves for admission immedi- 

 ately upon the establishment of the college. 



With regard to another question, this same 

 Board showed, however, less liberal sentiments. 

 Annoyed at attacks upon their officials in a 

 Chinese paper published under foreign editor- 

 ship at Canton 1 , it procured an imperial decree 

 forbidding the printing of Chinese newspapers 

 by foreigners. This document is as follows: 



Dispatch of the Board for foreign affairs con- 

 cerning the foreign commerce in all the open ports. 

 Foreigners are printing newspapers in which they 

 are repeatedly reviling officials of the middle king- 

 dom whereas the English ambassador Peh (Sir H. 

 Parkes) in consultations with us agreed to forbid 

 such (as reviling of officials). Now all the treaties 

 concluded with foreign countries contain an article 

 on the reviling of officials, making it a heavy crime 

 for Chinese as well as for foreigners, wherefore it is at 

 once strictly to be forbidden. In accordance with 

 this, every court has to issue a prohibition, and there- 

 fore we declare to those whom it concerns and may 

 they know it : henceforth let every one attend to his 

 own business, and try to earn money in his proper 

 sphere, and dare not henceforth print any newspaper 

 in Chinese characters; moreover, every block which 

 has already been used for printing newspapers is to 

 be destroyed. Disobey not; respect this manifest. 

 TUNG-CH'I VI., 3, 21. 



The results of the census of Hong Kong 

 taken in 1866 show a population of 115,098, of 

 whom 2,113 are Europeans and Americans, 

 the rest Chinese. The number of Europeans 

 and Americans in Hong Kong is steadily in- 

 creasing, while that of the Chinese decreases, as 

 the following table shows : 



An imperial decree, dated November 21, 

 186V, announces that the government has se- 

 lected the United States minister to Pekin, Mr. 

 Anson Burlingame, as its special ambassador to 

 the treaty powers, and the acceptance by the 

 latter of the appointment. The purpose of 

 the embassy is to revise the treaties between 

 the great powers and the empire of China, and 

 to settle the many complicated and delicate 

 questions which have arisen under the treaties. 

 Mr. Burlingame left Pekin in December, intend- 

 ing to visit first the United States. 



Both the Roman Caftiolic and the Protes- 

 tant missionaries report considerable progress 

 of their missions and bright prospects for the 

 future. The Roman Catholic missionaries esti- 

 mate the Chinese population connected with 

 their church at about 700,000. According to 

 the " Directory of Protestant Missions in 

 China," issued in June, 1866, from the press of 

 the American Methodist Episcopal Mission at 

 Fuh-chau, the statistics of Protestantism in 

 China in 1866 were as follows: 



