Zitat des Tages von Zhang Zhidong:
Without knowing about flexibility, one cannot work out strategies to deal with the enemy and prepare for changes, and without knowing about the foundation of one's own culture, one would be contemptuous of the Confucian ethical codes.
I understand that the tendency of foreign countries in recent years has been to establish particularly close relations with one or two others among all the countries which have general relations. In time of peace, they make secret treaties in advance, and in wartime, they aid one another with military provisions and armaments.
We would here state that there are now three things necessary to be done in order to save China from revolution. The first is to maintain the reigning Dynasty; the second is to conserve the Holy Religion; and the third is to protect the Chinese race.
If a Chinese student does not know Chinese learning, it's like a person without a surname, a horse without a bridle, a boat without a helm. The more Western learning he possesses, the more hateful of China he will become. Even if he becomes a capable man of vast learning, how can he be of any use to the state?
If, in the schools, the classical language would no longer be taught, whom could we entrust with the writing of memorials, documents, letters and notes in the public service? How could we possibly assign important offices and heavy responsibilities to someone who cannot even write fluently?
Foreigners can only fight with success in the summer. We can fight during any of the four seasons, so we have the weather on our side.
How can we make sure that Confucianism is to be practiced? One must enforce it with power, and to have power, one must have a strong army.
In the schools of the Western countries, there is always the subject 'Religion.' The Classics are China's religion.
People who have got to know Western educational methods always claim that the reading of the Classics was a useless waste of time and should be abolished. Such chatter is to be heard from hundreds of people and cannot be stopped. But it is a serious mistake.
Chinese learning is an internal learning, but Western learning is an external one; Chinese learning is for the cultivation of oneself, just as Western learning is for the handling of worldly affairs.
Without numerous schools offering hands-on opportunities, no commander will be cultivated.
Sincerity is the norm of Heaven and the law of our nature. China and the West agree on this point, for without sincerity, no human prince could ever found a state, and no earthly teacher could ever establish a religion.
Examine the history of China for 2,000 years back, and then compare it with the Western history of fifty years! Does the government of these foreign countries present such a record of generosity, benevolence, loyalty, and honesty as ours?
The navigation of our inland waters has for years been sought in vain by foreign countries, and if we grant the privilege to Russia, other States will be guided in their demands by her example.
