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Letter:

Move forward in education

In response to Joan Stanley-Baker's perspective on education in modern Chinese society ("Eschew the May Fourth Move-ment," May 5, page 8), I find it hard to agree with her nostalgia for the past, yet do find her criticisms of the contemporary educational systems lucid.

In referring to the "nobler aspects of Chinese civilization," we must not forget the examination system which forced students to memorize the classics and regurgitate them word for word. Once the students passed a series of tests they were awarded an official government position based solely on their degree earned. This resulted in a collection of scholars good at spelling out Confucian morals but completely incompetent in government affairs. The task of running the country therefore fell on lower-level bureaucrats who did not need to be tested yet were skilled in executive affairs. They stood behind the scenes taking massive bribes and robbing the people. (Draw your own parallels to contemporary Taiwan.)

When a group of students protested the Ching Dynasty court in mid-17th century over the rigid testing system, corruption and the scholars' claustrophobic role in the government institutions, the emperor ordered the protesters into exile and executed their leaders by severing them at the waist. (Draw your own parallels to contemporary China.)

Today, as Stanley-Baker points out, this society places a bit too much emphasis on those who hold PhDs and positions at academic institutions. I know a very competent scholar who was recently rejected for a fellowship at Taiwan's Central Library's Center for Chinese Studies, not on account of his experience or proposed study, but because he did not "meet the requirements to apply for our program," which included a higher degree and affiliation with a foreign aca-demic institution.

This all seems to be a very poor way to judge a person's worth, whether it be for government or academia, and places emphasis on bureaucracy rather than scholarship. Longing for yesterday will certainly not solve our problems. We can only push forward and hope that our protests will not get us severed at the waist.

Macabe Keliher

Taipei
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