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John Fryer : The Introduction of Western Science and Technology into Nineteenth-Century China

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,1�,rt�t�lJOHN FRYER

The Introduction of Western Science and Technology into Nineteenth-Century China

Adrian Arthur Bennett

Harvard East Asian Monographs

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HARV ARD EAST ASIAN MONOGRAPHS No. 24

JOHN FRYER THE INTRODUCTION OF WESTERN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INTO NINETEENTH-CENTURY CHINA

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JOHN FRYER: THE INTRODUCTION OF WESTERN SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY INTO NINETEENTH­ CENTURY CHINA

by Adrian Arthur Bennett

Published by the East Asian Research Ce nter Harvard Univer sity

Distributed by Harvard University Pres s Cambridge, Mass. 1967

Copyright, 1967, by the President and Fellows of Harvard College The East Asian Research Center at Harvard University administers research projects designed to further scholarly understanding of China, Japan, Korea, and adjacent areas. These studies have been assisted by grants from the Ford Foundation.



In Memory of

Bernice Works Bruce

PREFACE Among the manuscripts deposited at the General Library·

of the University of California, Berkeley, are the papers of

John Fryer, Louis Agassiz Professor of Oriental Languages and Literature at that university from 1896 to 1913. Fryer was not only a pioneer in American s tudy of China.

Before he went to

Berkeley, he was for twenty-eight years a translator for a Chinese government arsenal in Shang�ai, contributing in his

lifetime a total of one hundred and forty-three publications

in Chinese, mainly translations of English language works on

technology and science. Among Fryer's papers, the most valuable are his journals and letters which are fully preserved up to 1871. But his papers also include numerous unpublished essays,

published articles, catalogues , and newspaper clippings of various dates which make it possible to reconstruct his activities during the entire period that he was in China, from

the time that he left his home in England in 1861 ·to his de­ parture for the United States in 1896. The East Asiatic Library at Berkeley houses the

John Fryer collection of books in Chinese, originally Fryer's own library. Included in the collection are one hundred

and twenty-five books in Chinese produced by Fryer himself, which are, except for twelve missing items, a complete set of

the books ·translated or written by Fryer. Also in the East Asiatic Library is the complete file of Ko-chih hui-pien, a Chinese scientific magazine edited by Fryer, from 1876 to 1896. These materials in Chinese· are of great interest to any student of the advance of modern science, technology, and scientific �hought in China and may even be of interest to philologists

and linguists concerned with the comparative study of Chinese

and Western languages.

vii

My contribution in this volume, however, is limited

to a reconstruction of John Fryer's life and thought while

he was in China and an analysis of the scope of his translated

works. I hope also to point out the influence of Fryer's publications on the literati.of late nineteenth-century

China. The appendices contain various lists useful to a study of the sources and the nature of translations done by Fryer and his colleagues.

The most valuable list, Appendix

II, is based, however, not on my own res earch, but on that

of Dr. Richard G. Irwin of the East Asiatic Library, Berkeley. I am deeply thankful to Dr. Irwin for permission to use his

lis t, to consult his own manuscripts, "John Fryer's Legacy

of Chinese Writings" and "John Fryer and the Modernization of China" from which I learned a great deal, and for his help in preparing the manuscript for publication. I acknowledge most gratefully my indebtednes s to

Dr. K. C. Liu, who not only suggested the original idea for this study and read over the manuscript in its various stages of completion, but also provided continuous aid and inspiration throughout its .development. I wish to thank Dr. J. P. Lo for valuable bibliographic suggestions and Dr. Donald C. Swain

whose comments and criticism were extremely helpful in re­ writing. I also wish to thank Mr. J. R. K. Kantor of the General Library of the University of California, Berkeley, and the staff of the Bancroft Library for their help and cooperation. Two of Dr. Knight Biggerstaff's publications have

been most helpful in my research. His The Earliest Modern

Government Schools in China provides valuable background for this study, while his article on the Shanghai Polytechnic Institute furnishes the essential material on John Fryer's role in that organization. I am grateful to Dr. Biggerstaff

viii

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for lending me his copy of a 1910 catalogue of the Kiangnan

Arsenal publications. I wish especially to thank my wife, Cynthia, for her help and encouragement throughout the research and writing of this study.

A. A. B. University of California, Davis

April 1966

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CONTENTS Introduction I.

The Early Years:

1

1839-1868

Hong Kong and Peking

The Anglo-Chinese School, Shanghai

II.

5 7

Editing the Chiao-hui hsin-pao (1866-1868)

14

Translator for the Chinese Government The Kiangnan Arsenal

18 18

Motives for Entering Chinese Government Service

Increasing Commitment to Work Chinese Colleagues

Method of Translating

21 23 28 29

Scope.of Translations

Influence of Translations

III.

4

Promotion of Western Knowledge Through Private Effort The Shanghai Polytechnic Institute (Ko-chih shu-yuan) Editing the Ko-chih hui-pien Essay Contests Lecture Series

33 40

46 47

so 56 59

The School and Textbook Committee

The Chinese Scientific Book Depot

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60 63

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Conclusion

Appendices: I.

II. III. IV. V.

Material Ordered by John Fryer for the Officials at the Kiangnan Arsenal March 1868-December 1870

A Complete List of John Fryer's Translations Other Western Translators' Publications at the Kiangnan Arsenal, 1871-1902

An Analysis of the Works Translated by John Fryer, as Listed in Liang Ch'i-ch'ao's Bibliography

Chinese-- Language Books, Charts, and Maps for Sale at the Chines e Scientific Book Depot in 1896

73

82

103 110 112

Notes Bibliography

136

Index

156

150

154

Glossary

xii

INTRODUCTION In 1896, a fifty-seven-year-old Englishman crossed

the Pacific Ocean from Shanghai to California to become the

University of California's first Professor of Oriental

13

0 2

Language and Literature. John Fryer (1839-1928) was well versed

in Chinese, for he had lived thirty-five years in China, spend­ ing twenty-eight years as an English-Chinese translator at a Chinese government arsenal.

At Berkeley, he was to have a

distinguished teaching career until his retirement in 1913, pioneering in Chinese studies in the United States.

Before

0

he came to this country, however, he had concentrated on the difficult task of translating Western scientific and techno­

6

many other efforts to promote Western learning, Fryer had a

6 4

logical works into Chinese.

Through his translation and his

profound influence upon China.

In the West, science and technology were in a state of

rapid development.

Darwin's theory of evolution created the

necessity for a new approach to biology.

Lyell's concepts of

the earth's age and its continuing transformation created new

dimensions of time and space.

There were new developments

als o in chemistry and in the study of electricity.

The nineteenth century also saw the spread of the

Industrial Revolution. In Britain, between 1850 and 1900, the revolution entered a new phase. There was a growing specializa­

tion of production, a beginning of direct application of science to industry, further development of mass production techniques, improvement of agricultural technology, and a new emphasis on university instruction in science and technology. In other

countries, the Industrial Revolution also gained momentum.

Conclusion

67

Appendices: I.

II.

III.

IV. V.

Material Ordered by John Fryer for the Officials at the Kiangnan Arsenal March 1868-December 1870

A Complete List of John Fryer's Translations Other Western Translators' Publications at the Kiangnan Arsenal, 1871-1902

An Analysis of the Works Translated by John Fryer, as Lis ted in Liang Ch'i-ch'ao's Bibliography

Chinese-Language Books, Charts, and Maps for Sale at the Chines e Scientific Book Depot in 1896

73

82

103 110 112

Notes Bibliography

136

Index

156

150

154

Glossary

xii

INTRODUCTION In 1896, a fifty-seven-year-old Englishman crossed

the Pacific Ocean from Shanghai to California to become the

University of California's first Professor of Oriental )3

.0

.2

Language and Literature. John Fryer (1839-1928) was well versed

in Chinese, for he had lived thirty-five years in China, spend­ ing twenty-eight years as an English-Chinese translator at a Chinese government arsenal.

At Berkeley, he was to have a

distinguished teaching career until his retirement in 1913,

pioneering in Chinese studies in the United States.

Before

,6

he came to this country, however, he had concentrated on the

,4

logical works into Chinese.

;o

,6

difficult task of translating Western scientific and techno­

Through his translation and his

many other efforts to promote Western learning, Fryer had a profound influence upon China.

In the West, science and technology were in a state of

rapid development.

Darwin's theory of evolution created the

necessity for a new approach to biology.

Lyell's concepts of

the earth's age and its continuing transformation created new dimensions of time and space.

There were new developments

also in chemistry and in the study of electricity.

The nineteenth century also saw the spread of the

Industrial Revolution. In Britain, between 1850 and 1900, the

revolution entered a new phase. There was a growing specializa­

tion of production, a beginning of direct application of science to industry, further development of mass production techniques, improvement of agricultural technology, and a new emphasis

on university instruction in science and technology.

In other

countries, the Industrial Revolution also gained momentum.

2

As ear-ly as .1830 Belgium's textile mills were competing with Britain's. By 1848 the industrial capacity of France was diversified and growing. rapidly.

Germany, once unified, industrialized

The United States, borrowing heavily from Europe,

made giant strides after the Civil War, narrowing the in­

dustrial gap between herself and Britain.

Thus concepts

of science and technology were multiplying and becoming enormously more sophisticated.

It was against this back­

ground that John Fryer began introducing Western scientific ideas into China.

John Fryer's career is a striking example of the interchange of knowledge between the Western world and China.

What led Fryer to go from England to China and what prompted him to join the service of the Chines e government?

For

twenty-eight years he occupied himself with the exacting task of translating Western technical literature into a difficult and exotic language, day in and day out.

What

made him go on? Was it merely a matter of earning a liveli­ hood?

What did he really hope to accomplish?

What were

Fryer's views on the strengths and weaknesses of Chines e civilization and what was his concept of the value of modern

, science?

These are fascinating biographical questions

which may be answered on the basis of Fryer's record. One may also inquire into the contributions Fryer made to China.

What were the extent and nature of his trans­

lations and what was their impact on the Chines e of that time?

Since Fryer worked for a Chinese government establish�

ment, was his choice of subjects dictated by government officials?

Was Fryer mindful of the needs of the Chines e people, as well as of the .government? It should be noted that Fryer's contribution to

' 3 1

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China was not confined to the work of translation itself.

He had many personal contacts with an incipient Chinese scientific community. Prior to 1868, Fryer was primarily

involved with teaching jobs in Hong Kong, Peking and Shanghai. Soon after he came to Shanghai he was, for two years, the

editor of a Chinese-language newspaper.

Although an employee

of the Ch'ing government from 1868 on, Fryer was active in

an individual capacity and in association with others, both

foreign and Chinese, in promoting science and technology in China. He was friend and advisor to a group of talented

Chinese mathematicians and scientists who helped him in the

l.

translation work. He was editor of a major Chinese-language journal, called Ko-chih hui-pien (The Chinese scientific

magazine). from 1875 to 1891. He was secretary to a library called the Shanghai Polytechnic Institute and Reading Rooms

from 1875 to 1896, and general editor of the School and

Textbook Series Committee attached first to the General'

Missionary Conference and later to the Educational Association of China, another missionary organization.

Fryer was also

founder of the Chinese Scientific Book Depot, a personal,

non-profit enterprise inaugurated in 1884. He was involved,

therefore, in s everal aspects of the introduction of Western science into modern China.

;-

The first part of this study deals briefly with Fryer's background in Britain and his early experience in

China. The last two parts concentrate on the period 1868-

1896, when he was increasingly involved in his diverse private endeavors. My treatment is chiefly biographical,

but it is hoped that this account will serve to illuminate

certain general issues in the cultural relations of the West and China.

4

Chapter I THE EARLY YEARS:

1839-1868

FROM ENGLISH SCHOOLBOY TO TRANSLATOR IN SHANGHA I John Fryer was born on August 6, 1839,in Hythe,

England. He acquired his early education at Prospect House

Academy in Hythe and at St. James School in Bristol.

As

the oldest child in a poor clergyman's family, Fryer worked part-time to help meet his school expenses.

Fryer described

his early education as being "of a most imperfect de­ 1 scription.... 11 He continued: " I was an apprentice to a National School in Bristol which was attended only by the

lowest of the low, and the master himself was not an educated

man."

On the basis of this education, however, Fryer

received a First Class government scholarship to enter

Highbury Training College in London, a school which specialized in training teachers.

Upon graduation in 1860 Fryer was offered the head-

master's position at St. Paul's College in Hong Kong. He

accepted the offer, apparently because of a long-standing

family interest in China. Fryer claimed that in his youth

some returned missionaries and merchants from China impressed his parents.

As a result his father subscribed as much as

he could while his mother "for a time adopted rice as a con­ siderable part of her diet.11

3

Whatever the merits of his

parents' response, their interest in China apparently in­ fluenced thejr son, John.

In his boyhood he read as much

as he could on China and in school he always composed themes

on China. In fact, his school-fellows nicknamed him "Chin-

• 5 chong Fy-ung."

4

Because of his long-standing interest in

Chinese history and folklore, Fryer accepted the Hong Kong

position. This position, according to one source, was Fryer's

second chdice and one that he accepted only after his first

choice, a position in England, was filled by a fellow-student. Fryer departed for Hong Kong early in 1861.

on board the ship taking him to China:

5

He wrote

" I am often thinking

of what lies before me in China, and expect I shall find

it rather strange at first, but I mean to make the best of i

6

After a long ayid exhausting journey John Fryer arrived in Hong Kong in August 1861 to begin his

it come what may.11 career in China.

�d

Hong Kong and Peking Although Fryer remained at St. Paul's for two years

very little is known about those years or of the school. _zed

The school apparently trained native Chinese who were interested

in becoming Episcopal ministers.

According to one of Fryer's

letters, it suffered from mismanagement and was therefore 7 not very productive. Besides his duties as headmaster of the school, Fryer also taught English.

In 1863 Fryer accepted a position as a teacher of

English at the Peking T'ung-wen kuan.

He stated that he

went to Peking "in order to learn the official Chinese language [Mandarin] . ..."

.8

Fryer probably had become familiar

with the Cantonese dialect in Hong Kong, but realized that

this was only one dialect of China. In Peking, Fryer laid 9 At the the foundation for his knowledge of Mandarin. Tung-wen kuan Fryer replaced J.S. Burdon, an English

missionary, and in 1864 William A. P. Martin succeeded 10 Fryer. Fryer worked two hours a day for which he received

6

a salary of one thousand taels per annum.11 While in Peking he met many of the people who played a significant part

in Chinese history of the late nineteenth century. He worked with Wen-hsiang who helped to establish both the Tsungli Yamen and the T'�ng-wen kuan.

Mingling with the diplomatic

corps, Fryer met Sir .Frederick Bruce, Sir Thomas Wade, Anson Burlingame and Samuel Wells Williams. He also met the

customs officials H. N. Lay and Robert Hart and the mis sionary 12 S. I. J. Schereschewsky.

In his spare time, Fryer recorded his early views about China. His first impression of the Chinese people

included such obs ervations as their indifference, their willingness to do anything for money, their feigning of

ignorance when circumstances necessitated it, their teetotaling

and their dishonesty.

On this last item he wrote that "one

need be very sharp to deal with them. 11 13

Fryer also recorded

his early impressions of Chines e religions .

At one point,

after lis tening to some elderly Chines e complain about a corner of a new mission house being taller than a tomb,

which apparently was causing sickness in the dead man's family, Fryer wrote:

"this is about all their religion is

worth. . . . Religion is with them merely a custom, and a dead letter. 11

14

After talking to a Buddhis t monk Fryer was

surpis ed at the man's willingness to learn Chris tianity if 15 Fryer would but feed and clothe him. Fryer criticized the Chines e educational system as being:

. •. the greatest folly imaginable.

No Chinaman in less

than ten years is supposed to be able to know the meaning

of the characters. 16 the sounds.

Many learn five years and only know

r1g

ked

ic

1e

1ary

�aling

1e

rded

7

Fryer himself, however, was learning to read Chinese and

could use it with advantage in daily life. A little over a year after he had arrived in Hong Kong he recorded: I had some fun among the ·Chinam.en on the wharf

by buying about twenty oranges.

A whole crowd

gathered around, and as I spoke Chinese to them, it was fine fun. The fellow tried to cheat me right and left; so I said to him and those around: He sees I am a foreigner and so he wants to get the advantage over me. Then I took his ticket from the basket and read "All thes e oranges six cash each (without the

peel) . " So I said: "Now you all see his ticketed price, and yet he wants me to pay more than double, because he thinks I cannot read Chinese. Now what shall I do to him? 11

17

Evidently Fryer observed Chinese life with a critical eye,

but the tone of his remarks on China and her people was to change in later years.

The Anglo-Chinese School, Shanghai

In 1865 Fryer agreed to take charge of a new Anglo­ Chinese School in Shanghai, a position he held until May 20, 1868.

He never fully explained why he left Peking.

On one occasion he wrote that he "found it advis eable

for various reasons to res ign his post at the Tung"wen

college and to remove to Shanghai where he was promised 18

,s

the headmasters hip of a large public school. "

)W

"the education of the Chines e was the subject in which he

1ing

Another

source claims, however, that he went to Shanghai because

was most interested. 11

19

Whatever his reasons, Fryer took

8

up his duties probably in October of 1865 and wrote his first 20 report on the school in December of that year. Fryer was proud of the fact that by December the

school had already attracted ten students. He noted that if one cons idered how careful the Chinese were in giv ing

their conf idence to foreigners, how shrewd in not paying for anything until they saw the end result, and how educational arrangements commenced and terminated at their New Year,

it was surprising to have so many pupils under instruction.

21

The Anglo-Chinese School concerned itself primarily w ith

teach ing English to the Chinese.

For this reason, it

attracted members of the merchant class, a wealthy but theoretically low social class, whose businesses would

benef it by their ability to speak English. While Fryer knew

that his students were the sons of bankers, compradors and

merchants he fa iled to recognize the social level of his

students, whom he found to be "decidedly of a far better social class of society than any scholars I have had at 22 e ither Hong Kong or Pekj_ng. . . . 11 Ano.ther goal of the school was to introduce

Christianity to the students.

Fryer planned to accomplish

this gradually by introducing read ings from the Bible into

the daily lessons only after the students possessed a sol id

foundation in English.

Fryer, fearful of fr ightening students

away from the school by emphasizing Christianity, continued

th is gradual approach throughout his tenure. He believed

that Christianity had to be introduced slowly for it to be

tolerated and appreciated. He thought that if Christianity

were prominently displayed "the Chinese would be likely to misunderstand entirely the des igns which the Committee 23 It may have have in v iew in establishing the school. 11

f

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been this very plan which made Fryer's tenure so insecure. Both the committee and the Church Missionary Society, which

took over the school probably early in 1868, thought that

Fryer was too s ecular.

:or

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For this reason, neither group

offered Fryer a long-term contract and he felt dissatisfied

with the power vested in him. By May of 1866 Fryer had twenty-two day students and

twenty evening students, ranging from ten to eighteen years of age.

Again, they were apparently from the wealthy mer­

chant families. The school now offered three English classes

which began at nine in the morning.

The classes were divided

according to the dialects of the students, who came from Shanghai, Canton, Amoy, Soochow, and Ningpo. of this situation:

Fryer wrote

It is a perfect Babel. To give you some idea you would have to get some English, Irish, Scotch,

French, Spanish, Italian, German boys and put a

Russian among them, and then try and teach them to

. . 24 spea k an d write Ch1nese.

By this date, the curriculum included instruction

.d

.ents :d

in Chinese, which was given in the afternoon from two to five. Fryer probably offered this course to attract more

students. He took part in these courses, learning Chinese

along with his students which helps to explain his ability

with the language when he began translating two years later. By March of 1867, Fryer had become depressed over his work, especially the problem of his tenure. He wrote:

"It is a wretched kind of life to lead in the midst of such uncertainty, my father's consolation to me is 'It is good

for a man to bear the yoke in his youth' but I really think

25

10

I have had a little too much of it, one way and another. "

26

During the same month he admitted that he was "perfectly sick of teaching English. 11

27

He also predicted that he

would not be at the school beyond May of 1868.

28

Fryer decided by March of 1867 that he would re­

main in China.

" I think that my lot is fixed in China. . .

having studied six years at Chinese, and having acquired some facility in their dialects and the general written

language, it would be like throwing away so much time if I gave it all up. 11

29

In the same letter he held out hope

that he would be able to obtain a good position in China.

He claimed that China was just opening up to Western

civilization, with rapid advances being made every year

and believed that in "a year or two more ••• my knowledge will be invaluable and people say I will be worth my

weight in gold. 11

30

In July of 1867 Fryer wrote his second report on

the school, which was much broader in scope than the first. Less than four months after he had written his complaints

about the uncertainty of his job and his growing dislike

of teaching English, he wrote of a desire to remain at the school because he had started it and worked so closely 31 He felt that the Anglo.-Chinese wit . h it . for two years. School should be continued since the Chinese obviously

needed Western education. He noted that "the Imperial

Government is gradually becoming conscious of the de32 ficiencies of its educational system. " At the same time, Fryer told the committee that the insecurity of his own

position jeopardized the effectiveness of his teaching:

It is almost too much to expect that a sense of

duty alone will enable a teacher month after month

• 11

6

to pursue his monotonous task under such circwnstances

and surrounded only by Chinamen. In the long hours of

tedious and wearisome lessons it would be a consolation

to know and feel that one had the approbation, the

sympathy, the countenance and the support of those Foreign

residents who are known to take an interest in the various 33 means employed for the advancement of the Chinese.

After writing of himself, Fryer considered the origins,

diligence, and progress of his students. He reaffirmed his

earlier findings on the students' origins; they were still

from the wealthy, merchant class. In addition, he found that most of the students were not natives of Shanghai.

Their

families had moved there "for purposes of trade or were

driven here as refugees during the Tai-Ping Rebellion and

have preferred to remain.11

34

Fryer accounted for the lack

of native Shanghai students at the school by claiming that "the natives of this place [Shanghai] , whether considered

physically or intellectually contrast very unfavourably

with the men who have settled here from Canton, Ningpo and 35 other places." Fryer complained in his second report about the

narrow appeal of the school, which he did not like. He felt that the committee should initiate a middle course of ad­ mitting qualified members of the middle and lower classes of China so that "the few who receive the benefit of the

institution may be the most eligible and deserving that can 36 be found." On the subject of the progress of the students Fryer commented that "it is generally supposed that the

Chinese are naturally a painstaking and industrious people,

but their diligence is mostly to be attributed to absolute

12

necessity on their part. •. the Chinese acknowledge the truth of this themselves . . •. 11 37 The progress of the school dis ­ couraged Fryer because he believed that it would take two

or three years of constant study of English before results could be "expected to afford any great satisfaction or pleasure to those who feel an interest in the intellectual and moral improvement of the Chinese. 11

38

Even though Fryer

had been teaching for nearly two years he apparently could

not see any marked progress.

His most persistent problem

was that as soon as a Chinese student acquired elementary

English, he would quit school for gainful employment. This 39 was a problem that also afflicted other missionary schools. Another problem was that the students would spend their time almost entirely on English, even though they were supposed

to divide their attention between English and Chinese. They found the courses preparing them for the traditional examina.

0

4 . tions unimportant. Fryer realized the purpose behind the students' de­

sire to learn English, but he hoped that this situation would soon change:

The day is not far distant when the various European

languages will be learnt [sic] upon a large scale and not merely for purposes of trade, but also because the

Chinese will begin to appreciate the value of the treasures in literature, science and art which they enfold. But still even now, it is surely a matter of importance how �and] under what auspices the knowledge of Western 1 . . acquire d. 4 languages and i"d eas is The problem of teaching Christianity continued to

occupy Fryer, but by now he had optimistic views on the

subject. He observed that "a new era s eems to have begun

• 13

:h

in the course of Chinese History and new avenues are opened by which the light of Christendom is penetrating the darkness of this heathen land. 11

42

Fryer, of course, spoke primarily

from his own experience at the school. He did notice that "a

feeling of curiosity" prevailed regarding the "foreign

religions" which expressed itself in the form of many ques ... tions on Christianity. Fryer wrote: "Such questions have

�r

.

:;

been carefully dealt with and in s everal instances have apparently been afterward discussed at the Scholar's house and other questions have arisen out of them. 1143 Fryer con­

39

i.me

i

1ey

i.na-

�-

ean

not

asures

t

ow

tinued to maintain his gradual approach to the teaching of _Christianity, but he claimed that there would be no objection

to introducing the Bible in the school if this were judiciously

managed. He mentioned as proof of this claim that from twelve to fifteen of his pupils who could read English sufficiently would come every Sunday to read with him and hear explanations 4 of the Scriptures. 4 Although this indirect method of intro­ ducing Christianity to China may have been unacceptable to

the sponsors of the school, it was probably much more acceptable to the Chinese than the more direct methods utilized by most missionaries.

By November of 1867 Fryer realized that his position at the school was even less secure than before. He believed

he had three possibilities for other employment. One was with the Government School in Shanghai, a second was as an inter­ preter at the Municipal Council at $200 a year, and the third was as a secretary and interpreter at the Kiangnan Arsenal at around $800 a year. He noted that he didn't "care which of . to. 1145 In addition to these possibilities, them I get 1n Fryer thought he also had a chance to become a mis sionary.

He argued that since he came to China originally in a

14 missionary capacity, he would not feel satisfied to enter purely secular work if a permanent position could be found where his "time could entirely be devoted to the work of 46 The bishop, however, regarded Fryer's methods Christ.11

of spreading Christianity as too secular and refused to 47 have anything to do with him. Fryer began looking for new employment when it

became obvious that the Church Mis sionary Society did not

want him to remain at the school. He informed the society

that he would be leaving on May 20, 186 8, and the school 48 closed on that date, since no replacement was available. In July of 186 8 Fryer wrote of his happiness at being relieved of teaching duties: It is really a great relief to be free from the full monotonous task of pedagogue and especially to Chinese boys who want so much more time and patience, I have had seven years of it in China and s even in

England.... It has been difficult to get free from the toil of cramming knowledge into narrow skulls where there was no room

f

.

or it.

49

Thus, John Fryer ended his teaching career in China on a discouraged and bitter note. But if he really had disliked

teaching English to Chinese students to this degree, why did he remain at this job for seven years?

One possible

explanation of his willingness to remain was the pleasure

and intellectual excitement he derived from editing a local newspaper.

Editing the Chiao-hui hsin-pao (1866 -186 8)

John Fryer took over what apparently was the

' 15

�r

md f

is

50 Chiao-hui hsin-pao (Mission news) in November of 1866. Previous to Fryer's editorship. little is known about this 51 paper, which Marquis Lafayette Wood started in 1862. Fryer regarded the opportunity as a "Godsend" not because

of the money involved (50 taels a month) , but for the "pleasure and relaxation" it gave him.

He wrote:

"After

four hours in the school it is with no little feeling of �ty 48

relief that I go to my office and translate my articles and 52 news every day. 11

Fryer hoped to be able to expand the circulation 53 The paper seems to have within China and even to Japan.

relied a great deal upon missionaries both as contributors

and as a means of widening its circulation. In March of

1867 Fryer wrote that "it is hoped that the paper will not

be found unsuitable for circulation among the converts at

,

'

the different mission stations; and missionaries are invited

to contribute articles calculated to interest and at the 54 same time benefit all classes of Chinese. 11

Fryer also offered editorial opinions on some imperial government actions. In March of 1867 he received

a copy of a memorial to be inserted in the paper in respect

.ked

to a new school in Peking; he suggested that in addition to establishing a school, the imperial government should

give the most promising of its graduates under twenty years

of age "a good drilling in English or other European

,cal

languages for say three years and then send them to Europe for a thorough University Education, as the Japanese are 55 doing to a considerable extent. 11 In another commentary

Fryer continued with his suggestion, but on a more general

level:

/

16

. .. within the last century kingdom after kingdom starts off at full speed in a race to see which shall be the

greatest in the end. Japan has lately heard the noise

of the struggle and has begun to follow in the wake of other nations.

China has this year just awoke from

a long long dream and seeing the champions far in the

front she has just made a desperate struggle and finally got into motion and has joined the race, but she must 56 exert herself or she will be left very far behind.

These statements, although contained in letters, according

to Fryer originally appeared as editorials in his Chiao-hui hsin-pao.

This type of commentary did not seem to damage

the circulation. In fact, Fryer thought he noticed a growing

desire among intelligent Chinese to study foreign politics,

science, and general ideas. He found, in addition, that these subjects presented difficulties to anyone who attempted to

explain them in Chinese, "because of the time required to get their ideas into a teacher's head, and then in the difficulty which a teacher finds expressing such ideas in

such a stiff barren language as Chinese.11

57

He estimated

that the.paper reached perhaps as many as five thousand

readers since his articles were reproduced in three other

Chinese newspapers in Canton and Hong Kong. He also believed

that the paper was enjoyed not only by the heads of families

but by the women and children, whose curiosity was roused by 58 the illustrations. Although it is doubtful that his

articles were read by as many as Fryer estimated, the news­

paper obviously influenced a number of Chinese. Thus, "Western ideas and also Christian ideas [found] •.•their way where no

missionary [could] . .. go. 11

59

Once Fryer began work as a translator at the

f

17 rts

Kiangnan Arsenal, he had to leave his editorship in the

hands of Young J. Allen, because, as Fryer stated:

"The

officials are afraid of the consequences if they were to

let me become a recognized servant of the Government while .

" 60

om

acting as e d.1tor ••••

ally

Anglo-Chinese School and as editor of the Chiao-hui hsin-pao, John Fryer became fully aware of China's relative backward­

e

t

ng

hui e

.wing _cs,

:hese to

:o

i_n

�d er

ieved

ilies

ed by

.ews­

·western :e no

As a result of his experiences as a teacher at the

ness and convinced himself of the necessity of the Chinese

being able to read about Western ideas in their own language. But even more important, his years as a teacher and editor

allowed him to develop a proficiency in the Chinese language,

which in turn enabled him to provide the Chinese with Western

scientific and technological literaturi, translated into

their own language. It was this task which occupied Fryer for the next twenty-eight years.

18

Chapter I I TRANS LATOR FOR THE CH INESE GOVERNMENT As a translator for the Kiangnan Arsenal beginning

in May 1868, John Fryer eventually became deeply committed to the goal of introducing Western knowledge and ideas,

especially those in the field of science and technology, to

the Chinese in the medium of their own language. This chapter will describe F�yer' s ideas and attitudes toward his work, his methods of translation, and the actual products of his labor.

The Kiangnan Arsenal The Kiangnan Arsenal (Chiang-nan chi-ch' i chih-tsao

chU) was much more than an armament factory, since it actually comprised four institutions, three of which were educational.

There was a translating department (Fan-i kuan), a school

for training translators and linguists (Kuang fang-yen kuan)

and a school for training skilled workmen for the arsenal, in addition to the machine shop where arms and ammunition

were manufactured. The school for training translators and

linguists originally was the Shanghai T' ung-wen kuan, which, when attached to the arsenal, became known as the Kuang fang-yen kuan.

Although this actually was the last institution

to become part of the arsenal, it was the first to be founded. In 1861 Prince Kung, Kuei-liang, and Wen-hsiang advocated the

establishment of a school in Peking for training translators and interpreters.

In the following year the throne authorized

such a school, known as the Peking T' ung-wen kuan.

Meanwhile,

' 19 Feng Kuei-fen, a prominent scholar in Kiangsu, proposed a

similar school for Shanghai in an essay dated 1861 entitled

"On the Adoption of Western Knowledge. "

Feng deplored the

dependence of the Chinese government upon "general frivolous

ning tted 'f ,

to

:hapter )rk, his

rascals and loafers called linguists. 1 1

1

He went beyond

the Tsungli Yamen, however, in suggest ing that the students should also b e tau ght mathematics, "so that China might be 2 better prepared to deal with Western powers. " Li Hung-chang, the governor of Kiangsu, became

acquainted. with both the plan for the T ' ung-wen kuan and with Feng ' s proposal, and early in 1863 he submitted a memorial based chiefly on Feng's ideas. Li proposed to recruit youths

under fourteen years of age who would be taught a foreign

language by foreigners and given a classical Chinese educa­

-tsao

actually t ional.

ool

kuan)

nal, ion

and

which, g stitution

founded.

ed the

lators

thor ized

anwh ile,

tion by selected Chinese degree holders of character and 3 learning. Li expressed hope that instruction in foreign

languages would ultimately lead to China's revital ization

by mak ing Western knowledge (mathematics, physics and ­ 4 technology) available to promising Chinese students. On

April 1 1 , 1863 the throne authorized the establishment of

the Shanghai T'ung-wen kuan.

From that time the school con­

tinued an independent existence until the fall of 1869. The machine shop of the Kiangnan Arsenal was

established in 1 865 when Li Hung-chang and Ting Jih-ch'ang

rented a small fore ign-owned plant in Shanghai and ordered 5 additional machinery. Yung Wing, the first Chinese who had a college education in the United States, purchased part of the machinery in America. In 1867 Tseng Kuo-fan visited the

shop and it was during this visit that Yung Wing claims to have succeeded in persuading Tseng to annex a mechanical school to the arsenal, in order to teach Chinese youths

20

the theory and practice of mechanical engineering and allow

Chinese to be eventually independent of Western mechanical 6 engineers and machinis ts. It seems more likely that Hsti Shou and Hua Heng-fang deserve most of the credit . for the

expansion of the machine shop.

These two men, closely

associated with Tseng Kuo-fan since the · early 1 860 1 s when they helped to build a steamship for him, were responsible for introducing Yung Wing to Tseng. 7 In any case, the machine shop incorporated a mechanical school in 1 867.

The idea of adding a translation department to the

Kiangnan Arsenal also originated with Hsti Shou and Hua Heng­

fang, together with Hsti Chien-yin (the third son of Hsti Shou) .

Prior to 1 867 these thre·e men had read and discussed

various earlier translations of Western writings on mathe­ matics and science ; they were probably "the leading Chinese students of Western science and technology of their time. 11

8

In 1 867 the three men settled in Shanghai in order to carry

on their studies in proximity to foreigners who could help them. By the close of 1 867 they had successfully helped to 9 . initiate the translation department o f the K 1angnan Arsenal. Their plan called for ·the translation and publication of a

series of treatises in the various branches of Western learn­ ing.

By this method they hoped "not only to instruct them­

selves, but to diffuse the knowledge they had acquired with so much pain, among their fellow countrymen. "

10

In the

autumn of 1 868 Tseng Kuo-fan proposed in a memorial to the throne that the arsenal be officially enlarged to include the translation department and a school to train Chinese 11 youths as translators.

21 low

:al :U

Now translation is the foundation of modern manu­

facture. Mathematics is used by foreigners as the mother of manufacturing science. Its wonder is explained by works and drawing. Being handicapped by the difficulty

of language, although we know how to manufacture things,

en

>le

:he

-Ieng-

ussed he-

nese "8

e. arry elp

to 9 enal.

learn­ :hem­ with the

1de

we are unable to unders tand the principles of manufactur­

ing. . • . When the translation bureau is set up, capable

and. intelligent students will be selected to be trained as translators . . . . 12

Although the throne did not authorize this project until

Nov �mb � 2__ � '- 1868, John Fryer already had been put to work as a translator in May of that year. Shortly after the

project received imperial approval, three other Westerners,

Alexander Wylie, Dr. John MacGowan and the Reverend Carl K reyer were added to t he S taff. 1 3 F ryer and h 1s . Wes t ern colleagues were given to unders tand that they were free to choose books for t ranslation without direction from the imperial government. 14 The significance of this fact will

be seen later.

Motives for Entering Chinese Government Service Although the translation department was es tablished

os tensibly for the purpose of spreading Wes tern knowledge

in China, it is doubtful whether John Fryer had this ob­ jective in mind when he began work at the arsenal. In the firs t place, Fryer needed a new posit ion since the Anglo­

Chines e School did not renew his contract. This, of course, sugges ts that he took the t ranslating job primarily for practical reasons. In a let ter dated January 10, 1868,

four months before he began at the arsenal, Fryer wrote

22

that his new j ob wou ld provide him with "a fine chance

to distinguish myself among those who are strugg ling for 1 1 1 5 In another letter of the same . . . Ch ina. ' in a pos ition

date, Fryer wrote of his qua lifications for the j ob: "My knowledge of Chinese and the fabu lous rumours as to my 16 proficiency wi l l enab le me to command a good position. 1 1 As late as May,

1 8 6 8,

Fryer stil l thought in terms of his

own advancement rather than of serving China's needs

through his work. He wrote to his brother George that " I hope to make it [his new j ob as trans lator] a stepping stone to a high position in China. . •my ambition knows 17 scarce1y any bounds. •. . 11

There is litt le reason to be lieve that Fryer had an absorbing interest in science when he first arrived. It was on ly in March,

1 8 6 8,

after six years in China and two months

before he started work for the arsenal that Fryer recorded

his first interest in science by ordering scientific materia ls from Eng land for "the sake of showing experiments to the Chinese . 1 1

18

After working at the arsena l for two months,

however, he mentioned that he always loved science but never had the means of pursuing it. Now he found he cou ld "go at it in rea l earnest, " even though he wou ld never make a .

.

scientist.

19

Whi le Fryer j oined the arsena l ' s service initia l ly

for persona l reasons, it may be stated, neverthe less, that he was aware of the inf luence his new work might have on

China. We have seen that after

1 8 66

Fryer, as editor of

the Chiao-hui hsin - pao, often expressed the view that Western

ideas cou ld penetrate China more rapid ly through pub lications than through schoo ls .

Whi le it may have been an accident

that he came to be a trans lator of scientific literature,

the idea of spreading Western know ledge through trans lations

' 23 was certainly not new to him. Among his papers are two clip­

p ings of different dates from an Engl ish newspaper publ ished

in Shanghai. One, dated May 1867, states:

The translation of scientific works into Chinese has

undoubtedly been one of the most efficient among the

philanthropic schemes by which Foreigners have sought to benefit the Middle Kingdom. The translations already published have gradually increased in popularity among

the literary classes for the simple reason that they . supp 1 y one o f the greatest wants o f t he nation.

an

vas

1ths ed

erials

ever at

_ly

mt 1

estern

atio ns nt e,

.tions

20

Another, which appeared in the January 16, 1868

issue of the Shanghai Court and Consular Gazette declares: There is an evident desire among the thinking part

of the nation to shake off the trammels of centuries

of mental serfdom.... We have heard that one department is devoted to the translation of Foreign scientific

books, and shall be glad to see the announcement of 21 the completion of such works.

Fryer, at least, regarded the contents of these clippings

as significant enough to justify keeping them in his files. Increasing Commitment to Work In July 1868, after having spent two months at his

new duties, Fryer expressed complete contentment with his

employment as a translator. He wrote that " I never was more

happy in my life than I am in my new situation of Translator

of Scientific Books for the Chinese Government. "

22

In the

same letter, Fryer wrote how deeply his work involved him:

"I have begun by studying and translating three subjects at

24

once. In the morning I take coal and coal mining in all its

details, in the afternoon I dig into chemistry and in the

. evenings

Acoust 1cs. . "

23

l•Th . his n 1le

translation efforts were

productive, he questioned his own competence and skill as a translator:

"There are many difficulties which besett [sic]

me at the outset, but a year or two of practice will I trust 24

enable me to be of some service in this department. "

It was not unt il May,1869, a _ year after he started

translating for the Kiangnan Arsenal, that Fryer actually

commit ted to paper his ideas on the significance of his work at the arsenal. By this time his position meant more to him than just a "stepping stone" to further his career. He now

saw his work as being almost the only means of effectively

awakening China. In addition, he believed .t ha t the Kiangnan

Arsenal was a significant element in helping China to moderni ze: Looking at it [ the Translation Department] in a

philanthropical point of view it seems to me to be

second to none of the various means that are now employed by Missionary societies - -especially as it gives [access to Western ideas] to the class of

Chinese who form the most important part of the 25 nation and who can be reached in no other way.

A month later Fryer wrote again of the department: The Translation Department of the Kiangnan Arsenal.. .

bids fair to become a powerful means for helping forward this venerable old nation, and bringing it somewhat

into the track of the "March of civili zation" which 26 the Foreigners like generally to boast about � With this philosophy Fryer moved ahead into his work.

By July 1869 he made chlorate of potash for gun caps and

25

s

a

�]

LS t

tubes for firing cannon at the request of the officials at the arsenai. 27 By September, 1869, he concluded a three-year contract with the Chines e government which would terminate 28 His self-confidence as a translator had so in June, 1871.

increased that we find him writing on September 28, 1869, in a frivolous vein: I have no competitors for a very simple reason that

non� can be found up to the mark. I wish I had two or

)rk im tJ

y

an

ernize:

three that I might be stirred up a little and curred [sic] of my laziness. Sometimes I only do an hour's 29 work in a day.

Although he sometimes claimed to be bored with translating, actually he worked very hard. He felt more than ever that he had a good chance to succeed in China. He wrote: "as I am the first on the list there is the possibility of

my eventually obt aining a tolerably high position in China. 11 3 0 The translation department of the Kiangnan Arsenal- ­ especially after absorbing the Shanghai T'ung-wen kuan in 1869--also aimed at providing students in the arsenal with a practical guide to methods of manufacturing. Fryer's

work now included translating books for the new school.

These books covered the fields of engineering, navigation , military and naval affairs, chemistry and mineralogy. Fryer

3.1 . . .

1vard

work.

wrote of his new task : "as I am only a half-educated man I have to study pretty hard to keep pace with my duties. 1 1 3 1

His work ·1oad must have increased considerably after September in order for him to write that he was now (November 1) almost overburdened . In March, 187 0, he again complained of the pace he had to maintain in order to produce the neces sary trans ­ 32 lations. This is the only sugges tion in all of Fryer's papers that he had to produce a certain quota. His work load ,

26 however, did not discourage Fryer from signing another

three-year contract with the Chines e government to last until June, 1874. Indeed, Fryer also accepted additional responsi­ bilities in the form of heading up the new college of the arsenal. He expected, however, to shift this new responsi­ 33 bility off "on some one whom I must get out from home. 1 1 In this same letter Fryer wrote of his desire to

depart from China, but he wanted to leave a good name behind him. In addition, he hoped "to be named among thos e who are

foremost in enlightening and Christianizing the Great

This letter, along with several others, is Empire. 11 obviously self-centered and leaves little doubt that Fryer 34

was in China primarily for his personal advancement. Yet,

on other occasions, he could produce thoughtful lines on

his purpose in China as he did in the letters of 1869 quoted above. Later, in an article published in 1880 Fryer recalled

what faith had urged him on all thes e years:

Nothing but a strong sense of duty, and a firm belief that this kind of labour is one of the most

effective means under Divine guidance for bringing about the intellectual and moral regeneration of this

great country has suffered to render endurable to the translator the long and weary years of close and 35 continuous application which it has involved.

He pointed out the educational value of the department's work as demonstrating "the fact that knowledge is confined 36 In the same article Fryer to no nation or country. 1 1 emphasized that it was China's willingness to learn that was important:

27

unti l nsi­ e

si3

hind are

She is therefore wi l l ing to be taught even by the

"Foreign barbarian" such usefu l things as she feels she is ignorant of. But she must do this of her own accord, and in her own way, or not at al l. This wi l l ing­ ness to be taught and to pay for being taught is one of

the most hopefu l features that has appeared in her inter­ course with foreign countries and is deserving of the d . 37 h 1. ghest commen ation. But Fryer was a lso conscious of the ro le he himse lf p layed

as a cu ltura l transmitter; he was not entirely free of a

er

fee l ing of nob lesse ob l ige common among the Europeans of

the t ime. In 1886, in an article for the Journal of the North China Branch of the Roya l As iatic Society, he wrote:

toted

:al led

Against her [ China ' s] w i l l she has been brought into

contact with Western nat ions, whose know ledge and

civ i l ization it is very much to her advantage to adopt

as it wou ld be fata l to her interests to ignore. •. • It is impossib le to shut one ' s eyes to the fact that the

Teutonic e lements seem to be acting under a D ivine

i.s 1e

s

ned t

commission to spread Western c iv i l ization and the Engl ish 38 language al l over the wor ld. . . . As Knight B iggerstaff emphasizes, Fryer wanted the

Chinese to learn of the West in their own language because

this was "the on ly medium by which Western thought cou ld

penetrate China . "

39

Undoubted ly Fryer had great faith in

what the West cou ld offer to China, but he was increasing ly

convinced that We5tern know ledge and ideas had to be transmitted

through the Chinese language. He based his argument for the

use of Chinese as the medium of communication on three points. The f irst stated that the Chinese language cou ld grow, the

28

second concerned the demand among the Chinese for Western

knowledge. The third point emphasized that Chinese was the

only way to reach the l iterati, who wou ld "never consent

to learn of the Barbarian whom they despise. . . in his own 40 language. " Chinese Co l leagues A br ief sketch of Fryer's re lationship w ith his

Chinese col leagues w i l l he lp provide an introduction to his work at the arsena l.

Part of Fryer's success and long

stay at the arsena l can be attributed to his c lose rela­

tionsh ip with his col leagues. In Ju l ½ 1868, he mentioned that

he and h is Chinese ass istants got "on capita l ly we l l together so far. "

41

In November, 1 86� he noted how we l l he was treated

by the mandarins who showed "far more kindness and fa irness

than the Europeans I have been connected with in China • • • • 1 1 His contacts w ith the Ch inese were not only business, but

42

soc ia l as wel l. He struck up a c lose friendsh ip wi th HsU 43 Chung-ku whom Fryer invited to d inner quite often. Indeed, Fryer wrote of this particu lar indiv idua l that he was the

"C leverest Ch inamen I ever met, and I am but a chi ld com44 pared to him in many respects. " Fryer's letters prov ide data which ind icate that

the Chinese trans lators and teachers were very interested in Western knowledge.

As ear ly as March, 1869, he ordered

books and materia ls from Eng land specif ica l ly for his co l leagues. 4

5

An ana lys is of the orders shows that the books

covered very d iverse top ics -and fie lds. Of over

1 48

books

ordered, twenty-nine were in the m i l itary area, twenty­ eight were in the fie ld of shipbui ld ing and navigation,

29

rn the t

1

twenty-eight in the field of manufacturing, thirteen in geology, ten in chemistry, six in mathematics, three in medicine and thirty-one on general scientific t opics. At

least fifteen of the books ordered were later translated into Chinese at the arsenal. In August, 18 6 � Fryer wrote to a publishing house in England that "the officials of the

Arsenal are very anxious to obtain particulars and statistics

respecting the management [and] working of the Arsenals in England . . . . "46

ong that gether

reated

nes s 42 "

...

ut

In April, 18 69, Fryer wrote to another publish­

ing firm requesting catalogues with as many illustrated lists of merchandise as possible. _ For it was "by looking

over such lists that they [the Chinese] come to know about . Foreign 1nvent1on and eventually pure hasers."4 7 . .

Method of Translating

The method of translation employed by John Fryer and other foreigners at the Kiangnan Arsenal was the s ame

u ndeed,

as that used by t he Jesuits in their translation work of

,m -

book in rough Chinese translation to his Chinese co-worker.

. he Lt

:ed

�d

:ol ­

)oks )ks

the seventeenth century. It required two men, one Chinese and one Westerner. The Westerner would read the Western

· The latter would take down the rough translation in Chinese, until there was something he failed to understand . Then the two men would discus s the point until it was clear and then proceed.

Upon completion, the Chinese would take his

rough translation and smooth it out and then, in some cases, the Westerner would read the translated work. In thi s manner,

translations materialized through joint effort, and it might

take almost a year to complete one work. However, since t ranslators worked on several translations at the same time a number of works could be produced in a single year.

30

Obviously, this technique required both the Westerner and the Chinese to be acquainted with the subject matter. As

a consequence, some of the Chinese became the leading

authorities in the country on the subjects they helped 48 to translate.

John Fryer believed that the Chinese language present­

r

ed no serious problems for purposes of translation. "It must be borne in mind, " he wrote, "that the Chinese language 49 He used like other .languages is capable of growth. 11 several methods to assist this growth. When he needed a

new Chinese phrase for a Western chemical term, for example, Fryer would either look for existing nomenclature, coin a

new term, invent a descriptive term or phoneticize the 50 foreign term. These methods produced a vocabulary, how­

ever, which did not meet with universal approval from other

individuals, especially missionaries, who were also trans ­ lating.

Fryer, himself, expressed dissatisfaction with the

existing scientific vocabularies in 1 869 . In fact he suggested that the willing sinologues in China should write up a

scientific vocabulary in order to "supply the need which all translators experience. 115 1 Faced with this necessity for

a list of scientific terms, Fryer himself compiled one. In the June, 187 1 , issue of The Chinese Recorder mention is made of such a list. In reviewing a book on chemistry by Dr.

John Kerr, head of the largest mis sionary hospital in China, the reviewer spoke of Kerr's Chines e vocabulary and said

"the names of some of the Elements have been taken from a 52 list supplied by Mr. J. Frier [sic] . 11

Later, at the Missionary Conference held in Shanghai in 1 8 9 0, John Fryer read a portion of an essay he had written entitled "Scientific Terminology: Present Dis ­ crepancies and Means of Securing Uniformity o " 5 3 This essay

31

es s ential ly restated his ideas of 1869 and asked the con­ ference to put them into effect . He pointed out the existing

and As

confusion even among the books published by the Kiangnan

Arsenal and stated that "the value of a series of scientific

pres ent­

'It must i

a

x:ample,

in a e

how­

other

rans-

th the

suggested

a

ich all for

.e .

In

s made Dr. L China,

;aid

�om a ;hanghai

i. s ­

essay

or other books for the Chines e depends greatl y on the extent to which definite rules for terminology are ma·iritained throug�­ 54 In fact, Fryer condemned Westerners for their tota l out . 11

,

disregard of the Chinese language:

We must carefully avoid standing in our own light if we want the Chinese to res pect our Weste�n learning . Our sys tems have no more right to universa l use than

the Chinese. Their ancient and wonderful language

which for some reasons is more suited to become the

universal language of the world than any other, must not be tampered or trifled with by those who wish to introduce our Western sciences. .

55

r-

In concluding his essay, Fryer lis ted nine steps

for developing standardized vocabularies in the variou� sciences.

He wanted a committee to be established which

would gather all existing terms used by translators including the Jesuits and Protestants of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries and then draw up a list of generally acceptable terms. He specifically requested that "all wr iters of te chnical books already publ ished be communicated with and asked to alter their terminology in all future editions to conform to the fixed standard . "5 6 Fryer also felt that : Every term can onl y stand or fall on its own merits or demerits, in popular estimation or use. If a term

is radically wrong, misleading, inconvenient or in­ appropriate, it is certain eventually to be supplt!pted

32

57 by a better one, never mind who invented it.

Apparently with Fryer's essay as a foundation, the

Missionary Conference established such a committee sometime after 1890 which sent out requests for ideas on how to standardize the scientific vocabulary.58 In this request,

the committee showed the confusion in chemical nomenclature.

They gave as an example of the existing confusion John

Fryer's use of six elements all called shi and three called ti. Calvin Mateer and W.M. Hayes wrote specifically of Fryer's vocabulary : If Dr. Fryer's chemical names and terms had been all that the occasion demanded they would no doubt

have vindicated their place in the public es timation.

They have had ample time and opportunity, and the fact

that they have not done so is the patent proof that 59 changes are needed.

Fryer's reply was arrogant and uncooperative :

Your committee ought not to change my terms unless they are radically wrong and impossible to be used. Should any terms of mine be shown to be erroneous,

absurd, or otherwise unserviceable and another be... without defects I will gladly yield to it and not

. oth erwise.

60

Mateer and Hayes' argument against Fryer's terms was almost identical to Fryer's original proposal on developing a standardized vocabulary. It is revealing to see Fryer's

response when his own advice was applied to his work. Also, the fact that miss ionaries, who were themselves engaged in translating, were on the terminology committee s hould not

• 33

b e forgotten. Thes e missionaries, quite naturally, desired to see their publications spread throughout China, and not

those works translated by a layman. Fryer did not agree with the missionaries' approach, because he felt that with so many faiths repres ented the Chinese could not help but

e. d

be confused . Thus, there may have been more at stake than j us t the issue of confusing s cientific vocabu laries . Never­ theless, the commit tee's response to Fryer's s tatement pin­ pointed the entire problem of finding a universally accept­

able scientific vocabulary for China :

Conformity to such a diction as this [Fryer's reply]

would make it impossible for us to do anything but adopt

Dr. Fryer's system in toto. The same principle carried out in Mathematics, Physics, Astronomy, Medic i ne. . . would make short work of the whole business and leave our commit tee without any reason for their exis tence.

spirit of Dr. Fryer's remarks is in fact, j ust what

s

The

has s topped all progress in the matter of terminology 61 for the past twenty years .

Other interes ted individuals intervened and resolved the

dispute . John Ferguson, a colleague of Fryer, wrote in a 19 28 obituary of Fryer that once the issue was settled

Fryer "was a loyal worker on t he Executive Committee and 62 as · Editor of Textbooks. 1 1

)St

Scope of Translations

lso, in t

John Fryer's translations for the Kiangnan Arsenal

cover many fields, although his choice of subj ects for translation was at firs t rather haphazard. In his article, "An Account of the Department for the Translation of Foreign

34

Books at the Kiangnan Arsenal, Shanghai, " dated 1880, Fryer

himself criticized the range of the topics selected for

translation at the arsenal. He wrote that "in most cases a translator and a Chinese writer seem merely to have selected such subjects �s suited him [sic] best without

regard to the symmetry and harmony of the entire collection. 1 1 He als o believed that s ome of the topics covered were of such

63

a specialized nature that those translations appealed to 64 relatively few people.

Nevertheless, Fryer's translation efforts did cover

the main branches of Western technology and science of the time. His published works up to 1880 totaled thirty-four

volumes. The translations can be grouped by category, as in the following table: Topics

Manufacturing* Mathematics Military* * Engineering surveying Navigation Chemistry Physics Medicine Total

Published 1871-1880 8 7 6 4

4 2 2

1

34

*Manufacturing includes such topics as coal and coal mining, gunpowder, the his tory of iron, boring and blasting, lithography, metall�rgy, and one work on the steam engine.

* *Military includes gunnery instructions, fleet maneuvering, fortifications, coast g fense, and gatling gun drill ins tructions. 5

Although the above totals show a heavy emphas is on manufactur­ ing and mathematics, no particular pattern of concentration seems to emerge in an analys is of the yearly production.

In 1871, for instance, Fryer translated two works on manu­ facturing, one on mathematics, and two on chemistry. In

' 35

1 873 he did two works on military techniques (military sur­ ve yi ng, and fleet maneuvering) , two on engineering, and one on manufacturing. In 1879 he finished two works on mathe­

:.:h

r

mat ics and one each on physics, engineering, and navigation. After 1880 it seems that Fryer followed a more care­ fully conceived plan in his translations. The table on p. 36 gi ves the breakdown of Fryer's translations published between 1 8 80 and 1896. The new pattern after 1880 was a greater con­ cent ration on natural sciences as opposed to te chnology (in­ cluding applied science and "military and naval science") .

F ryer expanded into new fields of the natural s c i en ces and

he even translated a few works on Western history and the social sciences. Between 1880 and 1885 Fryer published nineteen

translations of which twelve (or sixty-three per cent) were in the natural sciences and five (or twenty-six per cent)

were in the applied sciences. Of the nineteen works, five

were in geology, geography, and mineralogy, three in chemistry, three in manufacturing, two in phys ics, two were vocabularies

and one each on drawing, government, medicine, and etiquette. Between 1886 and 1889 eighteen of Fryer' s trans­

lat ions were published, of which fifteen (or eighty-three

per cent ) were in the natural sciences, and three (or

seventeen per cent) were vocabularies and none in the social

or applied sciences. Of the eighteen works, the largest number was in physics, with six books translated, while

five were in mathematics, three were vocabularies, and one each in astronomy, chemistry, drawing , and etiquette. : ion

During Fryer' s last years in China the gap between

natural science and applied science closed somewhat. Of

the forty-one translations that appeared between 1890 and

LU -

1 8 9 6, sixteen (or thirty-nine per cent) were in the natural

sc iences, fifteen (or thirty-seven per cent) were in the

36

Topic

Physics Chemis try Geology, geography, meterology Manufacturing* Mathematics Vocabularies * * Medicine, health Military+ Engineering, surveying Botany, zoology Law Drawing Political Economy History Physiology, anatomy Government Navigation Miscellaneous + + Total

Total Number 14 7 7 7 6 5 5 4 3 3 3 2 1 1 1 1 1 7

78

*Manufacturing includes works on metallurgy, the working o:f_ silver ores, marine steam engines, nickel plating and a work on "docks. "

* *Vocabularies are works which Fryer produced establishing the terminology for chemistry, mineralogy, steam engine and materia medica. +The heading includes works on "military railways, " tactics, fortifications and one on the "Armies of the Great Powers. "

+ +This heading includes works on the Columbian Exposition, "coinage, " mental photography, "money, " an item on the state and its relation to trade, "Western Etiquette" and "Scientific Handicraft."



WE

37

app l i ed sci enc e s, six (or fift e e n p e r cent ) in his tory and s oci a l sci e nc e and fou r (or nin e p e r c e nt ) in military and naval sci enc e. Among t he sixt e e n in th e natura l -s cienc e s,

six w e r e on physics, t h re e on ch emis try, t hr e e on b ot any

and z oology, and one e ach on physiology and anatomy, mine ral­ ogy, po l itica l e conomy, and mat h ematics. Of t h e fift e en works in the appli ed scienc e ar e a, four w ere in manufact ur­ i ng,

t hr e e in

e ngin e e ring

and surv e ying, fou r in med icin e

and one e ach in navigation, t he Co lumb ia Expo s ition, coin­ age and "ment al photography." In the his tory and socia l s ci enc e cat egory six works w e re pub lis h ed , t h r e e on inter­ national law, and on e

stat e and tra d e .

e ach

in "mon e y, "

h is tory,

and t h e

The fou r works pub l is h e d in t h e milit ary

and nava l sci e nc e ar e a covered

e xp l osives ,

ing, and t he "Armie s of t h e Gr e at Powers. "

rai l ways, engin e e r­

The t otal numb er of pub l ications for the per i od 1880-

1896 was s ev e nty-eigh t, wit h forty-t h r e e works (or fifty­

five p e r c e nt in t he nat ural scie nc es, , ninet een works (or twenty-six pe r c e nt ) in th e app l ie d sci enc es, s even works

(or e igh t p e r c ent ) in h is tory and t h e socia l sc i e nces, five vocabu l arie s (or six pe r c ent ) and four works (or fiv e per cent ) in t h e milit ary and nava l sciences. Fryer's tot a l contribu tion of 129 trans l ations may be divid e d into th e pr e vious l y sugg ested fiv e cat e gorie s:

n atural science, app l ied sci ence, mi l it ary and naval s cienc e, and his tory and socia l sci enc e . ( Of t his tot a l , seventy­ s even were pub lis h e d b y th e Kiangnan Arsenal inc lu ding four te e n re l e ased b e tw e e n 1896 and 1 909, when Fry e r was in C alifornia.

Th e r e maining thirty- e igh t

b ooks

we re pub l i s h e d

by t h e Sch oo l and T e xt b ook Committee and the Chinese Scientific Book D e pot . ) Of t h e 129 b ooks fifty-sev e n wer e

38

in natural science, which break down a s follows: Topic Physics Mathematics Chemistry Geology, geography, meteorology, and astronomy Botany and zoology Drawing Physiology and anatomy Miscellaneous

Total 17 15 9

7 3 2 1 3

57

Fryer's translations in physics were concentrated in the

decade 1885-1894, when he did fourteen.

He had published

only two before, and was to publish only one after this

period. Between 1887 and 1888 Fryer produced five works in mathematics, and during the period 1871 to 1879 he completed seven.

Fryer translated works on chemis try throughout his

stay in China.

Translations on geology, geography, and

mineralogy, and astronomy were all produced after 1880, the last one in 1893. The three works in. botany and zoology were all published in 1894 and 1895, the two on drawing

were done in 1885 and 1888 and the one on physiology and

anatomy in 1894.

. Etiquette:

The miscellaneous works include: "Western

What To Do" (1885) , "Western Etiquette:

to Avoid" (1886) , and "Scientific Handicraft" (1894) .

What

The forty-eight works in the applied science category

break down into five areas: Topic

Manufacturing Surveying, engineering Medicine, health Navigation Agriculture Miscellaneous

Total 18 10* 8 5

2

5

48 *One work on naval architecture was completed but never published

39 In the manufacturing category Fryer produced eight trans ­

lations between 1871 and 1877 .

Between 1880 and 1899 ten

works were completed, and in 1902 one more was added to the

list . In the category of surveying and engineering five

items were translated between 1872 and 1880 (one was never published) , three were added in 1894, and two more in 1899 .

Six of the seven works on medicine and health were pioduced

between 1892 and 1899, with one early production done in 1872 . Four of the five works on navigation were published relatively

early in Fryer's career, one in 1870, two in 1876, one in 1879 ; the final work appeared in 1895 . The two works on

agriculture were published quite late, one in 190 1 and the other in 1903 .

n

:ed

he

The miscellaneous items include:

a work on

the Columbian Exposition (1896) , rearing silk worms (1898) , and a prospector's handbook (1899) .

Fourteen works were in the military and naval science category, with s ix completed b�tween 1872 and 1876, and four

between 1893 and 1895 . (Three translations have no date of

publication and one was translated by 1880 but never published) . Of the fourteen three were on gunnery ins tructions, three on

defense, one each on maneuvering, tactics, military surveying,

rn �gory

military railways, and the naval examinations of Russ ia, Britain, and the United States , plus one general account of the "Armies of the Great Powers . " It was not until 1885 that Fryer began translating

works on h istory and social science, producing a total of ten works .

Four of thes e translations were on international

law, one on political economy, one each on history, trade and money . One work was a description of the University of

publ ish e d

40

Cal ifornia, Berkeley, and another was a n item deal ing with "teaching the bl ind. "

Perhaps the most s ignificant work

produced in this category was one ca l led Tso-chi h chu-yen

(Homel y words to aid governance) , publ ished in 1885 which,

as wi l l be seen, was to exert an inf luence certainl y be­ yond Fryer's expectations. From the above ana l ys is, it is evident that the

emphas is in Fryer's trans lations shifted to natura l or pure

science after 1880, and especia l l y after 1885.

Moreover,

of a l l the books he trans lated between 1871 and 1909, more were on science than on technol ogy. This trend may refl ect

the growing need for books in pure science in the Chines e government schools and in the miss ionary schoo ls.

Since,

as we have shown above, Fryer was given comp lete freedom by the Kiangnan Arsenal to choose the works to be trans­

lated, the trend . a lso shows Fryer's own progress in his scientific studies and his awarenes s of China's needs for

the more bas ic scientific knowl edge.

The fact that Fryer

branched out to trans late works on his tory and socia l

science suggests that he rea l ized what were the weaknesses

of China's "self- strengthening movement. 11

66

Influence of Trans l ations

It must be remembered that John Fryer's princ ipa l occupation was to trans late books for the Kiangnan Arsena l,

as an emp loyee of the Chinese government .

At least up

to the 1880's, however, the Kiangnan Arsenal did not always make use of the books, despite the fact that courses in naval architecture, marine engineering, and m i l itary science were taught at the arsenal. Fryer expressed dis­ appointment in this fai lure to use his trans lations and

41 ith

k ·e n

ch,

:-

pure

�r '

flore

fleet :!S e

ce, om

ss

for

stated that " like many other things in China it is difficu lt

to account for. "

67

Perhaps the failure of the arsenal to

use his trans lations prompted Fryer to seek other ways to spread Western knowledge and ideas.

As we shal l see, Fryer

was to make use of his trans lations in many of his other

endeavors in China. Even though his books were not utilized by the arsenal to the degree Fryer had hoped, they were neverthe less avail ­

ab le in print to Chinese ous ide the arsena l. In fact, it may

be argued that the chief beneficiaries of Fryer's trans ­ l ations were the Chinese literati who were, beginning in the 1870's and 1880's, showing a real interest in Western

l earning. Between 18 7 0, when the first trans lations by Fryer

were published, and 1880, the date of Fryer's report, more 68 (These sales than 30, 000 copies of books were sold. figures do not include those sold at other trans lation

yer

bureaus located in Peking and at missionary pres ses. It

:sses

pirated editions, which according to Fryer were "copied

i s also impossible to find the distribution figures of the

by photol ithography in smal l characters and sold at ab­ surd ly smal l prices. ")

Ja l :;enal , ?

ourses y

dis ­ nd

69

Between 1880 and 1896, when Fryer

left China, he completed thirty-one works for the Kiangnan Arsenal and forty-six works in connection with his other pro j ects. The sale of these, both in authorized and pirated ed itions, must have raised the total to a rather high number, though I have been unable to determine what it was.

From

Fryer's own testimony in his letters of 1897 , in connection wi th the Chinese Scientific Book Depot (which he established in 1884) , it is certain that there was a great spurt in the s ale of books in the 1890 1 s.70

42 Some figures on the circulation of individual publ ica­

tions are available.

A work on Krupp·'s guns trans lated by Carl Kreyer in 1 8 7 2 sold nine hundred and four copies in

eight years. In nine years, a work on coast defense, first

publ ished in 1 8 7 1 , sold

1 , 1 14

copies, which is not surprising,

since many Chinese were interested in the problem of military "se lf-s'trengthening. " 7 1

But works on mathematics and minera l ­

ogy also had a comparativel y large sale.

A Treatise on

Practical Geometry (18 7 1 ) sold a thousand copies in eight

years. In seven years A Treatis e on A lgebra ( 1 873) sold seven hundred and eighty-one copies.

Fryer's work on

coal mining publ ished in 1 8 7 1 sold eight hundred and forty . nine . . " copies in years. 7 2 These figures , of course, are very sma l l when compared to book sales in Wes tern nations.

Fryer

wrote of the difficu l ties of making China aware of thes e publ ications:

The sales that have taken p lace up to the pres ent

time, though considerable, are nothing when compared with what might have been expected among such an extensive popu lation. But with no regu lar means

of communication, no postal or railway arrangement,

no agencies and no advertisements or other means of bringing them i nto general notice, or distributing

them it is easy to understand why more of the books 73 have not a lready been dispos ed of.

While it is difficu lt to say precis ely where the volumes were going and to whom they were appealing, there

are several specific examples of the influence of Fryer's works that can be documented. When the young K'ang Yu-wei

went through Shanghai in 1882, he purchased a l l the works

43

blica­

by

st

ising,

itary . neral -

published by the Kiangnan Arsenal, including the translations o f Fryer, as well as the Chinese publications of the mis sion­ 74 Richard C. Howard, in his study of K'ang's early aries. thought, has concluded that "from information supplied by his biographies and by K'ang himself, it appears that a large part of the translations studied by K'ang in the early 1880's were concerned with such subjects as science, technology,

and mathematics. 1 1 7 5

Although K'ang himself many years later

wrote in his autobiography that "the Western works translated by Fryer all deal with such unimportant studies as military

rty

very Fryer

e

nt

:d

science and medicine, " K'ang's readings on scientific sub­ jects undoubtedly had an effect on his thinking at the time, as seen in the scientific terminology he frequently used. 7 6

Moreover, there is evidence that K'ang was very much influenced by one of Fryer's non- scientific books. In 188 5 Fryer pub­ lished Tso-chih chu-yen (Homely words to aid governance) , which according to S. L. Tikvinsky contributed to K'ang's

thought in the latter's Ta-t'ung shu (The book of great 77 unity) . In fact, Tikvinsky believes that K'ang made use of certain portions of "Homely Words" when he wrote the 78 Ta-t'ung shu.

5

he ere r's

.-wei ,rks

Between 1890 and 1892 K'ang's disciple, Liang Ch'i-ch'ao, and his brother purchased many of the Kiangnan 79 Then Ar senal publications and the Ko-ch 1. h hu1. p 1en . ._

in 1896 Liang compiled a recommended reading list which

he hoped would provide interested Chinese with an intro­

duction to Western topics. Of this list of approximately three hundred and twenty-nine published works, as many as one hundred nineteen (or thirty � six per cent) were trans lat ions by Fryer. 80 This fact its elf shows the importance o f Fryer's translations in the transmis sion of Western

44 knowledge and ideas to the Chines e of the time. Liang's

bibliography praised Fryer's Tso-chih · chu-yen a_s "the best book on politics, " and listed four works by Fryer on law , two on commerce and two on his tory. 8 1 Like K'ang, Liang

pointed out that too few works on non-scientific subj ects

had been trans lated into Chinese. But Liang emphas ized

that knowledge of science and· technolog'y was the source not only of national strength but also of civilization

(�-ming) its elf. He wrote that phys ics ; chem istry, metallurgy , and other studies were far more complex than

the textual and literary studies of the Chinese and there­

fore more advanced. He appealed to his contemporaries to read all the books he listed. Works which Liang particularly · recommended were marked by an asterisk-like s ign.

Except

for eighteen items, all of Fryer's one hundred and nineteen works, were marked in this way. ( For a breakdown of the works listed by Liang, including those translated by Fryer,

see Appendix IV. ) Another reformer, T ' an Ssu-t ' ung, wrote in 1894 on

such topics as astron�my, chem istry, geography, zoology,

and globes, which means he must have had some previous acquaintance with these subjects. While it is difficult

to attribute all his ideas to Fryer's translations, T'an

d id specifically mention an 1877 edition of the Ko-chih hui-pien. In 1 8 9 3 , T'an had vis ited Fryer's home in Shanghai and he wrote to a friend that Fryer showed him

many new things including foss ils and photographic equipment. 8 2 While in Shanghai, he also bought many scientific works published by the Kiangnan Arsenal. Another source mentions that T'an "read omniverously in

translation all 83 of the Western books wh ich he could lay his hands on. 11

45

: st

T'

:s

T'an himself wrote in the introduction to his Jen-hsueh (On love) : "One should know the New Testament , as well as 84 wo rks on ma.thematics, s cience and the social sciences.n

K'ang , Liang and T'an are only three examples of the

literati of the time who read Fryer ' s work. K'ang had

attracted disciples even before 189 5 and after that date

all three reformers had large followings. It may be assumed

1

re-

:)

ularly

pt

:teen yer , on

m

n

ip ­ i fic

e

all 83

that through the influence of K'ang , Liang , T'an and other reformers , many more Chinese became acquainted with Fryer's trans l ations toward the end of the nineteenth century.

46

Chapter III

PROMOTION OF WESTERN KNOWLEDGE THROUGH PRIVATE EFFORT John Fryer's contribution to China lies chiefly in the more than seventy-five works rendered by him into

Chines e and published by the Kiangnan Arsenal. But in the years that he was employed by the arsenal he developed

several activities on the side, all of which were related to the introduction of Western knowledge to the Chines e. We have seen that when he first entered the arsenal's service,

he did so perhaps primarily for the sake of a secure and promising employment. But only a few years after he started,

he became so convinced of the value of his work that he made

efforts on his own to help the diffus ion of Western knowledge

in China. In 1875 Fryer participated in establishing China's first public library of scientific books, the Shanghai Polytechnic Institute. Ko-chih hui- pien.

In the same year, he founded the

Beginning in 187 7 he cooperated with the

missionaries in the work of the School and Textb ook Committee, endeavoring to improve scientific books used in

Christian and other schools, and in 1884 he established

the Chines e Scientific Book Depot, a firm dealing chiefly in Chinese-language books introducing Western knowledge.

These endeavors of Fryer's are reviewed in this chapter. While the Polytechnic Institute's library and

its Saturday night lectures chiefly benefited the Chinese in Shanghai, the essay contests it sponsored aroused

interest elsewhere in China. The Ko-chih hui-pien, especially, created considerable interest among the Chinese literati in

47 several parts of the empire. Through the Book Depot, trans­ lations done by Fryer and others became available at least in seven cities on the China coast . . The Shanghai Polytechnic Ins titute ( Ko-chih shu-yUan)

The idea for a Shanghai Polytechnic Ins titute and

Reading Room grew out of the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge (Kuang-hsUeh hui) in China founded in

Peking in 1872. The goals of this society were to introduce modern science and liberal thought into China. It was hoped

lice,

ed, ade

edge a's :he _n

that new ways of thought would help to overthrow ancient superstitions which constituted the main barriers to material 1 and social improvement within China. Upon the establishment

of the society, the North China Herald published an editoria l �which urged the founding of a similar organiza�ion . in 2 Shanghai. Two years later Walter H. Medhurst, the British consul in Shanghai, reiterated the Herald's proposal. 3

With this encouragement from the British consul a 4 The group of interested people met on March 24, 1874. group approved the establishment of an organization with goals similar to those of the society in Peking. The plan was to organize a readin·g room which would be open to the Chinese.

The reading room would also have items of Western manu­ facture on dis play.

r

At the original meeting on March 24 a discussion

took place about the inclusion of religious material within the reading room. The nonmissionary members of the group

fel t it should be exclud�d since it might keep interes ted

e

ially, in

Chinese away. John Fryer was probably among those who oppos ed having religious materials included. He lacked s ympathy with missionary endeavors, except in truly

48

educational projects, because "he was convinced that they

estranged two people [ Westerners and Chinese] who could otherwise find common ground through shared interest in

s the less personal and emotional realm of science • . ••,, After debating this question, resolved in favor of

the nonmissionary members, the group appointed a committee

to solicit funds from both Chinese and foreign sources.

The committee consisted of Medhurst, F. B. Forbes (an American merchant and part-time botanist) , Alexander Wylie,

John Fryer and Tong King-sing (Director of the officially­ 6 sponsored China Merchants' Steam Navigation Company) . Later, three more Chinese joined the committee :

HsU Shou,

HsU Chien-yin, both of the Kiangnan Arsenal, and Wang Kin-tang (an interpreter to the Intendant of Shanghai) .

This

committee, with some changes in membership , controlled the

ins titute until it ceased operations in 1917. The dominant figures of the committee, according to Biggerstaff, were 7 John Fryer and HsU Shou, until the latter's death in 1884.

Medhurst spoke of Fryer at the opening ceremonies in the following manner:

Mr. Fryer to whose exertions ( I am happy to have the opportunity of saying thus publicly) is due all the success that has been already attained, thereupon suggested that the proposed institution should be

something more than a mere reading room, and that an

endeavor should be made to form it into a Polytechnic 8 institution and school of art as well.

From the moment of the opening of the reading room Fryer became the s ecretary of the organization and remained at this post until he left China in 1896. As secretary, Fryer issued at least four reports on the

49 ins t itute, of which only the fourth report can be found.

However, the China Rev iew commented upon the second report

in which Fryer apparently complained of the lack of enthus i ­ 9 The asm with which the Chines e received the ins t itute.

Chi na Rev iew attributed their indifference to dissat isfact ion 10 The same over the small number of books in the library. art i cle, however, did conclude by saying that "we thi nk the Ins t it ute has done very well so far and deserves the warmes t 11 Biggerstaff explains the apathy support of the public. "

of the Chinese as due both to the disappoint ingly small number of objects displayed and the poor management of the reading rooms. 12 rhis nt 7

In addi t ion to his job as secretary, John Fryer was respons ible for the exhibit ion of Wes tern art icles.

Displays of needle and fish hook manufactures, a collect i on

of telegraphy apparatus, a pyrometer, voltameters, celest ial

and terres t ial globes, astronomical equ ipment, . Photographs

of locomot ives, firearms, iron-framed houses, and art illery . t he read 1ng . m1g . h t appear . were to b e seen 1n room. 1 3 Th 1s as an impress ive display, but apparently the Chines e were · not interes ted. John Fryer's Fourth Report of 1885 discussed at

l

C

some length the problem of lack of at tendance.

Fryer con­

cluded that the difficulty lay primarily with the management of the ins t itute and not with the contents of the reading room. 14 As a result of this report the inst itute was reorg ani z ed and joint Sino-Western control of its affairs

rep laced what had become almost exclus ively Chinese. The institute then sponsored two projects calculated to attract atten tion: a series of essay contes ts and public lectures. 15 J ohn Fryer played a major role in promot ing and es tablishing

so both these schemes for helping to introduce Western topics to the Chinese.

Edit ing the Ko-chih hui-p ien

In addit ion to his act ive part icipat ion in the

affairs of the ins t itute, Fryer helped s t imulate Chinese interest in it through journalism.

Although this venture

was not directly connected with the Polytechnic Inst itute, it

grew out of Fryer's associat ion with the organization.

Previously he had edited the Chiao-hui hs in-pao in Shanghai

from 1 865 to 1 868. From that experience, he real ized that newspapers and periodicals could reach those who otherwise

might not lis ten to Westerners. It was this realizat ion that prompted him to publish the Ko-chih hui�pien . In November , 1 875, he issued a handbill announcing that he intended to

found a scient ific journal.

The general object ive of the

periodical, which would be published monthly, was "to meet the growing des ire that now exists among Chinese for Western 16 Scient ific Knowledge. " The handbill stated Fryer's hope that the magazine would:

. •. do much to fos ter the spirit of enquiry and to

disseminate useful and popular scient ific informat ion throughout the Empire. It will serve as an introduct ion

to the translat ions of Scient ific Books already ex i s t ing

in Chinese ; it will contain notes of courses, of lessons,

or lectures on Scient ific subject s; and it will be a

medium by which the educated classes of nat ives can ask for and obtain specific informat ion on such subjects

connected with the Sciences as they may be interes ted

in. . . . The Magazine will contain as many illus trat ions and engravings as can be procured. . . . 1 7

51 : s to

Fryer had one other purpose for the magazine which he did not mention in his handbil l--to compensate for the limited scope 18 In other words, of the trans lations of the Kiangnan Arsenal. The Chinese Scientific Magazine was to provide material which woul d be of more general interest than the Kiangnan Arsena l tran s l ations. Before Fryer had time to publish the first edition

·e

e, it

:hai

1at

that )

he

eet stern ope

.on :tion

_sting

�s s ons, a 1

ask

ts ted

ons

of his magazine, he received help from the Society for the Diffusion of Usefu l Knowledge. Just as he began operations,

the society decided to close down its organization in Peking.

The committee for the institute decided that Fryer should amalgamate the society's magazine, Chung-hsi wen-chiert lu (The Peking magazine) with his venture. 19 According ly the Ko-chih hui-pien gained both readers and contributors from Peking.

The first number of the Ko-chih hui-pien appeared in February, 1 8 76, identified as "A Mo·nthly Journal of Popular Scientific Information with which is Incorporated The Peking

Magazine. 1 1

20

During the second year of publication Fryer

changed the English title to The Chinese Scientific and Industrial Magazine and the sub-titl e to "A Monthly Journa l

of Popular Information Relating to the Sciences, Arts and Manu factures of the West. 1 1 2 1

Es says on various significant scientific and tehnologi­

cal subjects appeared in the journal. Among the contributors were Dr. J. Edkins, Dr. John MacGowan, Dr. Alexander Wil liamson 22 and Rev . Wil liam Muirhead. Dr. Wil liam A. P. Martin devoted an article to the typewriter; an analysis of certain Chinese iron-ores came from Profes sor Anatole Bil lequin, a chemistry

profes sor at the Peking T'ung-wen kuan; a series of articles

on feeling the pul se and examining the tongue from Shu Kao-ti (Dr. V.P. Suvoong) ; and on mathematica l problems by members

---•·-'-•

.

52 23 . Un1vers . o f P e k 1ng . 1ty.

Th e magazine was "freely i l lustrate d and devoted principa l ly to trans lations from British and American magazines of a s imilar . nature, though longer treatises were often pub lished in instal lments ...."2 4 The shorter articles covered a broad range of topics , including Japanese use of .Western technology , suggestions

regarding Chinese silk culture , the manufacture of lime , of

l eather and aluminum , treatments of linens in the West , European

cotton- processing machinery , ca lcu lating machinery , microbes ,

medical treatment and drugs � dentistry , mathematical measurement · · in map making , the Krupp Armament Works , the explosive "Romite" in railroads , and biographies of Columbus , James Watt , Benj amin Frankl in , Richard Cobden , Matteo Ricci , Adam Schal l , Li Hung.

chang and Hsil Shou.

25

The longer artic les , issued in insta l lments , a lso

covered a variety of fiel ds and subj ects. An introductory series on modern science provides a good exampl e . It included

information on astronomy , laws of matter and motion , geology, geography , heat , light , electricity , chemistry , botany , and

phys ical anthropology . Later series concentrated on scientific apparatus , Western horticu lture , chemistry and hea lth , s anita­

tion , lessons in elementary drawing , photography , nava l warfare , 26 Judging the manufacture of gunpowder, and Russian history . from these randoml y selected articles , the main emphasis was

on the scientific and technological aspects of Western learning. In addition to artic les , the magazine contained il lustrate 27 advertisements , placed primarily by British manufacturers.

Descriptions of Western goods undoubtedl y helped to create curiosity and awarenes s of Western products on the part of the Chinese .

Fryer a lso advertised the Pol ytechnic Institute

and the essay contests in the magazine .

53

As in the case of the books Fryer t rans lated , it is

;es

difficu l t to es timate the influence of the Ko-chih hui-pien , because s tatistica l evidence is lacking. In the first place , there was no way of keeping track of the customers . Fryer

mentioned that his "customers [were] scattered a l l over China ,

and genera l ly. unknown. "

pean

28

Various books tores probabl y dis-

tributed the magazine , which accounts for the anonymity of the purchasers. One scho lar has estimated that the circu lation

ment

of the magaz ine -was as high as four thousand a month during 29 the earl y 1890's.

min

to the popularity of the magazine.

te"

�d

r,

ific

ta­ fare ,

ng s ning . us tr ate :7

1t e

The editor ' s corres pondence section offers a clue

This section kept Fryer

so busy that he had to hire an assis tant. The Celes tia l

Empire found that the number of inquiries to the Ko-chih hui-pien was a hopefu l sign for the us efu lness of the

magazine . These inquiries covered many subjects, according

to the Empire , and the answers should have been particu lar l y

il luminating for the readers of the magazine. In addition ,

the Empire be l ieved that this access "to the knowl edge contained in Wes tern books is a privil ege which but few 30 · . That sue h a sect ion Ch inamen . " can unders tand or appreciate.

could receive so many requests from various parts of China

reveals that there was indeed a growing desire within China to learn more about the Wes t. Fryer's wi l l ingness to devote much of his free time to the task of answering these letters clearly indicated his eagerness to promote Western learning

in Chi na. The number and type of responses revea ls not onl y that the readers were attentive but also that some educated and inf luential Chines e read the Ko-chih hui-pien. Wes tern newspapers and journal s published in China

during this period a lso credit the magazine with possessing

54

a wide influence . In the 187 7-1878 issue of The China Review, the editor was very optimistic :

This Chinese Scientific Magazine has been the one great success achieved by the Po lytechnic I nstitution .

Two volumes are now l ying before us , formed of articles on all branches of science written in intelligib le eas y style , copies have found their way al l over China and, supplied as they are with il lustrations, are to pave

the way for the introduction of European science into China . 3 1

Perhaps the longest and most complete review of the magazine

appeared in The Celestial Empire :

The educators of the Chinese are their real conquerors ,

and it is in the works of foreign scholars trans lated

into the vernacular and the triumphs of Western civil ity brought to the notice of the self-satisified people of

China by means of scientific people and literary pub l ica­

tions , that we cannot but recognize the most powerfu l engine in the regeneration of the country . Of the latter class we have a rea l l y bright ex ample in the Chinese 32 . f 1c . . . and I ndustria . 1 Magaz1ne. Sc 1ent1

The editors continued with an appeal for foreign support

for the periodical because of its potentials . They claimed that :

If China is ever to be regenerated and her vast

natura l resources developed we be l ieve it wi l l be to a

great extent through the publication of periodicals of this kind whose "continual dropping" must eventually

"wear away the stone . " Where the foreign merc hant or

55

mis sionary cannot or perhaps dare not go, these mes ­ sengers of enlightenment find a welcome, and make their

silent though powerful appeal to many a feeble intellect obscurred [ sic] by the dust and cobwebs of hundreds and . even thousands of years . . . . 3 3

Thes e same editors, however, declared that the articles were somewhat too advanced for ordinary readers and that more popular subjects could be added . This criticism is revealing in view of Fryer's hope that the articles would have a general appeal .

The editors also found that the

translations were sometimes rather confusing, but they also pointed out that Fryer was doing the j ob o f editing in his rors ,

leisure hours, so that the obs curities and typographical

ty

errors should be overlooked . Although specific evidence is a little s carce, one may conclude that the Ko-chih hui�pien 34 was influential in introducing Western science into China .

ca-

and 1877, then suspended publication for two years, part

:er

i

a

f

The maga zine appeared at regular intervals in 1876

of which time Fryer was on leave in England . From 1879 to . 1881 the periodical was once again published regularly .

Three numbeTs came out during 1 890 and 189 1, then publication 35 ceased altogether . In a letter written by Fryer's son

in 1896 to an interested party in Chicago, mention was made of the magazine: "the publication of The Chinese Scientific and Industrial Magazine we regret to say, is dis continued at p res ent for various reasons among which may be mentioned that the chief editor is absent on furlough fo.r some months . We hope, however, to republish the paper before a great wh 1. l e. . . . 1 1 3 6 With John Fryer taking up permanent . residence in Ca l ifornia in 1 896 the Ko-chih hui-pien never resumed p ublication .

56

Essay Contests According to Biggerstaff the most successful under­

taking of the Polytechnic Institute was the essay contests, 37 The objective of the contests was which began in 1884 .

"to try and induce the Chinese literati to investigate the various departments of Western knowledge with the view to their application in the Middle Kingdom.1 1 3 8

The idea behind

the contests was to take advantage of the examination -taking habits of the literati and encourage them to write essays

on foreign subjects. In essence Fryer hoped to make the

literati "read, think and write on foreign subjects of

practical utility and thus carry out one of the main objects

for which the Polytechnic Institute was founded. "

39

In

188 7 he was able to report that the plan succeeded to a 40 degree far beyond the hopes of the originators .

Topics for the essay contests were usually selected

by a high official who would judge the completed essays

and award a sum of money and sometimes a position on his

staff to the best essayist. The contests were held every quarter and during the first four years there were from 41 twenty-six to eighty-one participants in each contest . For the 1886- 1887 period the essay topics were :

"Chen -tang

and Kan-yen-shou (two famous generals of the Han dynasty

whose doings and p lans are to be compared ) " ; ' 'A discourse

on the naval defense of China" ; "What ought China at the present time to regard as of foremost importanc 8 in her

endeavor to improve wealth and power ?" ; "What advantages

and disadvantages would China reali ze by e stablishing rail­

roads ?" ; "Compare the sciences of China and of the West,

showing their points of difference and similarity" ; "How ·

can the evils attending the introduction of t elegraphs and

57 s team boats in China be removed. and the benefits rendered

permanent ? "; "What is the cause of the present unprofitable 42 state in silk and tea and how is it to be remedied ?"

With such topics, the contestants had to acquire some technical knowledge in order to produce effective essays.

An outline of the winning essay on "What ought China

at the present time to regard as of foremost importance? " 1g

will provide an example of the type.

The contestant con­

sidered the following points as most important to improve

China's wealth and power:

respect the holy religion (of

Confucianism) , r enew the various branches of learning, promote

ts

the discussion of public affairs, give weight to the statutes and laws, facilitate promotion to official position, reform

military administration, extend mercantile pursuits, encourage

�d

agricultural industry, improve internal communication, and 43 . . . . revise treaties with other nations.

The originator of the question, the customs taotai

of Tientsin, criticized the answer because of its lack of

originality although he did say these points showed a thorough

understanding of the problem. Wang Tsz-ching [ s ic] , another critic, thought that while these points did bring in much of Western

mg e

methods, they were still within reason. He continued :

" If

they could all be carried out in China there is not one of 44 them that would not be advantageous. " Fryer's criticism of the essay was that it contained erroneous material ; the sentiments put forth were not complimentary to foreigners

and a conservative element often appeared. ti l -

and

Fryer stated that some of the writers attempted to show off their broad knowledge of statistics and facts on foreign countries, while others added maps and diagrams to their essays. All of the essayists, he found, possessed

------



,

58

an "astonishing amount of general knowledge, compared with what might have been expected, and show that they have read

more or less extensively of what has been published in the Chinese language, whether in newspaper serials or translated 45 . . f1c . or po 1 1t1ca · . 1 character. wor k s o f a sc1ent1

Fryer,

however, did not continue to see the essays in the same light. In 1896, the year he left China, he noted irt The

Chines e Recorder, of which he was education editor, that at least one-half of the competitors were connected with

mission schools and colleges. In addition, he found that

while the stories were up to an expected s tandard, there was "a great paucity of new ideas among the Chinese and hence many of these attempts are merely old literary rubbish and poetry worked up in a form under a new name • • • • "

46

Although Fryer had second thoughts about the quality of the essays after almost ten years' experience with them, he con­

cluded his report on an optimistic note. contests were:

He stated the

The insertion of the thin edge of a wedge that may

eventually aid in the great work that yet remains to

be accomplished of opening up the hitherto inaccessible mind and heart of the nation, and letting in the light of Western truth in all its various ramifications . 47 John Fryer played more than one important role in

connection with the contests. He not only urged that they

be organized but provided the incentive to keep them going. Biggerstaff states that in 1897, after Fryer left China and

Wang T'ao, who supported the institute, died, "the prize essay contests were no longer promoted with the same energy 48 as formerly. " Fryer apparently arranged for the winning

three essays of each quarter to be published in a book, with

ed

the cr iticisms of the j udges attached. 49 In view of his long j ournalistic associations , he may also have been the one who released the prize essays to the newspapers. It

59

seems clear from these facts that John Fryer's support was

a maj or factor in the success of the prize essay contests. Lecture Series

It was not until 1 894 that the committee of the

mce

Polytechnic I nstitute authorized the establishment of classes . SO · and a 1 ecture series to be conducted in . Chinese. . L 1ttle is known of the classes except that they and the lectures covered scientific and technological subj ects.

The curriculum

included s ix fields of science : mining , electricity , surveyi ng , 51 construction engineering , the steam engine , and manufacturing.

)n -

y

le t

None of the applicants for the classes possessed a satisfactory

background in mathematics to pass a qualifying examination. Therefore , the institute started a class in elementary arith52 metic which rapid l y grew . The lecture series was entitled Magic Lantern Lectures presumably because a slide proj ector was used.

Fryer delivered

most of the lectures on topics such as mines and coal mining operations , human phys iology and anatomy , zoology and one on 53 Fryer's familiarity with the sub­ the Chicago Expos ition. j ects and with the Chi nese language probably made him a

1g . md

rgy

ng

w ith

satisfactory lecturer. In February, 1 896 , Fryer wrote that it looked as though the Polytechnic Institute was at last "about

to realize through thes e science classes and lectures some

of the original intentions of its founders , and ' become one of the centres for imparting the light of Western knowledge about the Middle Kingdom . , , , 5 4 Although the reading rooms of the Polytechnic Institute

60

themselves did not attract many Chinese, the institute as a whole attracted enough attention to merit its continuation. The essay contests, the lecture series, the class es and the Ko-chih hui-p ien helped s timulate continued Chinese interest

in the institute. And all of these endeavors, except the classes, were under the guiding hand of John Fryer. The School and Textbook Committee

In 1877 a General Mis sionary Conference was held in

Shanghai. Besides the many missionaries, there were several nonmissionaries , John Fryer included, in attendance. 55 His presence at this conference is an example of Fryer's willing ­

ness to cooperate with the missionaries in purely educational undertakings. The conference established a committee called the School and Textbook Committee, with Fryer as secretary. Its purpose was to prepare a series of elementary school

books which would provide the Chinese with an opportunity

to learn both their own language and Western knowledge and ideas at the same time.

At a later meeting the committee decided to prepare

two series of textbooks, elementary and advanced, covering ten subjects: mathematics, surveying, astronomy, geology, chemistry, zoology, geography, history, language, and . 56 mus ic. At its meeting in October 1879 Fryer resigned as

secretary of the School and Textbook Committee, but accepted

the post of general editor of the entire series. He took

this new position with the stipulation that he would edit only secular works and, furthermore, he requested each . 57 writer to act, as far as possib le, as h i. s own ed 1tor. As for the secular books mentioned by Fryer, he proposed

61 that "as the books were easily d ivided into religious and

l•

secular ... they should remain so, so that Chinese who m ight

object to subscr ibe for rel igious works m ight be enabled 58 to do so for secular ones only."

this proposal inadv isable.

The commit tee deemed

At this same meet ing in 1879 the comm ittee announced tha t f ifty-one books were in preparat ion. It is not known

what stage any of the work was in or who was part ic ipat ing

in it. But by 1886 a total of one hundred and four books had

been publ ished, of which Fryer had contr ibuted nearly a quarter.

.g ­

ta l

Twelve of his books dealt w ith such subjects as

astronomy, geography, chem istry, electro-metallurgy, meteorology, history, photography, scient ific vocabulary, and iron manu­

facture.

F ive were wall charts accompanied by handbooks on

botany, mechanics, m ineralogy, drawing, and the propert ies

of matter.

E ight were in an outline series covering acoust ics,

ar ithmet ic, astronomy, chem istry, geography, geology, and

pneumat ics.

Fryer also had in preparat ion a book on "The

Industr ies of the West, " ten items in the outline ser ies on

e

such topics as heat, l ight , electr ic ity, hydraulics and 59 . . hydrostat ics, and e ig h t items in a wa11 c hart series .

outline series was "condensed from the bJst English and

The

Amer ican originals procurable and • • • [was] • • . carefully prepared

and arranged so as to serve the double purpose of the most

elementary .school books or Pr imers, and of Outlines of the

:ed

Sc iences for general read ing. 11

60

All of the books deal w ith the bas ic sc iences.

Since the books were a imed at school-age children, few of Fryer's translat ions done for the arsenal, because of the ir technical

nat ure, were appropr iate for the ser ies. Nevertheless, his pro fes siona � work undoubtedly provided him with an excellent

62

background for producing outlines and wall charts plus

actual textbooks in the fields of chemis try, geography,

and mathematics . I n 1870 the General Mis sionary Conference became

the Education Association of China and retained the School

and Textbook Committee as part of its program . In July 1893

the association appointed John Fryer, in addition to his other

duties, educational editor of the Chines e Recorder.

This post he held with the assistance of John C . Ferguson. 61 Fryer

wrote in the Chinese Recorder, as part of his first editorial, that the pages "will be filled monthly with the discussion

of such subjects as are of interest and value to the large

number of fellow laborers engaged in educational work in China. 1 1 6 2

He either had little to write or lacked time for

his column was irregular and rather brief when it did appear .

He discussed chemical terminology in one editorial.

He made

comments on John Kerr's dis cussion of terminology which had

taken place earlier, reviewed the Chris tian College of Canton's First Annual Report and wrote some book reviews in other

columns.

63

Upon Fryer's departure from China in 1896, the editors

of the Chinese Recorder stated that most of their school

books had been printed under Fryer's direction, and that these were only a portion of the work he had "done to provide a basis for the acquisition of new knowledge by the Chines e . " 64

Thus, John Fryer had achieved his goal of providing a trans ­ lated literature through which the Chinese could learn of

the West and of Western ideas . If the Chines e took advantage only of the textbook series they would have . acquired a broad background in Western science and certainly an introduction

to other areas of Western thought. If upon completion of this series interested Chinese desired to pursue a topic further,

' 63

Fryer's more advanced trans lations might wel l have provided

them with an opportunity to do so.

,.. I, The Chinese Scientific Book Depot

t• /

In 1885 John Fryer establ ished the Chinese Scientific

Book Depot for the purpose of facil itating "the spread of 65 . · The phrase "us eusefu1 1iterature among the chinese. . . . 11

ful l iterature" seems to have meant a l l books, either written

or trans lated by mis s ionaries, laymen, Westerners or Chinese. An 1886 catal ogue of the depot provides the onl y clue to the contents of the store. It l ists a tota l of three hundred

seventy- one books, maps, charts, or g lobes for sale which may be tabularized as fol lows :

Science Language (training materia l s ) China Medicine Mil itary (defense, armaments and war) Mathematics Charts /Handbooks Manufacturing His tory Navigation Diplomacy/ Law Education Maps Il lustrations Accounts of Travel Miscel laneous

Western Authors 44

19 5

17

14 16 19 9 5

4 5 3 1 14



Chinese Authors 15 6

44 7 8

19 14

7 3 18 28 6

21 196

Total 59

25 49 24 22 35 19 9

19 4 12 6

19 28 6

35

371

64

A complete listing of the titles under thes e categories appears in Appendix V. The category "Science"

includes all works dealing with the basic sciences, chemistry, botany, metallurgy and zoology .

"Manufacturing" contains

items on the steam engine, coal and coal mining, boring and

blasting, and mechanics.

"Illustrations " cover those items

which were listed as illustrations of birds, Chinese paint­ ing, pictures of noted subjects and various picture books.

The "Accounts of Travel" column contains those works which

were presumably travel reports from various countries. The miscellaneous category includes all works which were d if­ ficult to classify. Although Chinese authors produced only a few books

on mathematics and even fewer on science, their works on

China, including the classics and commentaries on them, were numerically second only to science.

Such heavy emphasis

indicates that a large demand for this type of material

existed within China. John Fryer's Scientific Book Depot

was well stocked in books dealing with traditional aspects

of Chinese culture, as well as with works on modern Western ideas. The catalogue included forty-four works which Fryer translated, twenty-eight of them done for the Kiangnan

Arsenal. The depot had for sale an additional sixteen translations published by the arsenal, thirteen by Carl Kreyer, two by Alexander Wylie, and one by Young J. Allen. By 1888 there were six hundred and fifty titles

on Western topics and two hundred and twenty-eight original Chinese works in the depot. Moreover, branches had been established in Tientsin, Hangchow, Swatow, Peking, Foochow

and Hong Kong, and more than $17, 0 0 0 (Chinese dollars)

worth of books and maps had been s old, representing a total

l

t

r

C

A

i

C

s a

a:

de W: ir wr

ar

mt

• 66 sale of about 150, 000 chUan of Chinese books. accounted for the number of sales by c laiming :

65 Fryer

What the Chines e really want they are prepared to pay

for at its full cost.

The better classes, at least,

are too proud to receive eleemosynary aid even in ob­ taining books that would impart useful knowledge. Self­

support was therefore the motto which was placed first 67 and foremost in the organization of this depot. . . .

The Chinese Recorder corroborated this statement by asserting "that books of useful Western knowledge can now be circulated in China with little but indirect aid from Western scholars 68 and philanthropists. 11 After the Sino-Japanese War of 1 8 94 -18 95 the boo k

business boomed. Fryer wrote in 1 8 96 that the demand for

books was so great all over China that the printers coul d 69 Books and articles on the war were not keep pace with it.

of special interes t . In April, 1 8 96, Fryer wrote to Young J.

Allen about an article the latter had written on the war,

inquiring into the possibilities of obtaining five hundred 70 These copies must have copies of the work for the depot. sold out quickly for by August, 1 8 96, the depot requested an

additional one hundred copies and in September ordered still 71 another hundred copies. Fryer never lost sight of his original hopes for the

depot. In 1 8 97 during a summer in Shanghai, he wrote to Dr.

William A. P. Martin in Peking that the depot "is all help­

ing forward the good cause of educational progress in China, 72 The significance which we both have so much at heart. , , and influence of the depot, like Fryer's other endeavors, must be pieced together.

The Shanghai Times

wrote in 1911,

66 the year Fryer withdrew from the depot, that it "was for years the Mecca of the young students of China. "

73

The large number

of books sold provides further evidence of its influence.

To

establish and maintain an organization such as the book depot,

dedicated to helping the Chinese become aware of Western ideas, must have taken a considerable amount of time and energy, yet Fryer seems to have enjoyed it.

Even in his role later as

Professor of Oriental Language and Literature, he strove to

widen avenues of international understanding and communication by teaching young Americans about the Far East.

I

C

h

C

• 67

Conclusion FRYER'S CONTR IBUTION IN PERSPECTIVE At Berkeley, John Fryer held the Louis Agassiz

Professorship of Oriental Languages and Literature for

seventeen years from 1896 until his retirement in 1913. The aim of the professorship had been stated as the:

. . • education of American young men looking forward to

business relations in China and Japan, . . . the benefit of

the young men of the Orient who may seek our higher

education courses, and. . . the scholarly understanding

of the history and thoughts of their interesting . 1 countries.

The University of California Register for 1898-1899 lists

the variety of courses Fryer offered:

the language, history,

literature, government, laws, and social conditions of China and Japan, the commerce of China and Japan with Europe and

America, the philosophies and religions of China and Japan,

Chinese classical literature, elementary and advanced study

of both kuan-hua (Mandarin) and wen-li ( literary style) .

By 1904 he added an Oriental Seminar, part of which dealt

with the philological problems relating to "Chinese and

Japanese studies. "

The other part included "international

problems relating to commerce, diplomacy, education and other branches of intercourse with the Far East . 1 1

2

Although his new career obviously absorbed him until

his retirement, Fryer managed to keep up close contacts with China.

While in California, he continued to translate

68 scient ific works into Chinese , producing fourteen books

· for the Kiangnan Arsenal between 1896 and 1909 and bringing his t otal contribut ion t o seventy-seven works in over three 3 In 1899 the Ch'ing hundred and three Chinese volumes . government conferred upon him the Order of the Double Dragon , Third Degree , First Honor (san-teng t i-_D . 4 He remained the propriet or of the Chinese Scient ific Book Depot unt il 1911. The fact that he established several schools in China for

the phys ically handicapped reveals Fryer's concern for the

Chinese people. In 1911 he s tarted a school for the blind in Hankow and he als o founded the Fryer School for· the Deaf

and Dumb in Shanghai . His will of 1928 established a school for blind Chinese girls and provided buildings , land , and an initial endowment for the General Ins t itute for Chines e Blind in Shanghai , which his son , George B. Fryer , managed

until 1950.

As we have seen , Fryer's early training was in teach­

ing , and he als o had a mis s ionary interes t , s ince he was

attached t o a Brit ish mis s ionary school in Hong Kong. During

his firs t few years in China , he taught English in miss ionary or Chinese government schools. However , while he t aught he

developed a new skill , proficiency in the Chinese l anguage , which eventually enabled him to make his part icular con­

tribut ion t o China. John Fryer was by no means the firs t Western trans­ lator in China. In the s ixteenth century the Jesu its had

begun translat ing Western work s int o Chinese and s ince the early nineteenth century Protes tant miss ionaries had been

engaged in the task. It has been est imated that the Jesuits

translated no less than four hundred works , half being related to Chr is t ianity , one-t hird being scient ific litera­ ture , and the remainder t ouching upon humanit ies and Wes tern

' S ins . t 1· tut1ons. .

69

The Protestant translations were even more

numerous, but no single miss ionary did as much as John Fryer

in introducing Western scientific literature to the Chinese. In the course of his work at the Kiangnan Arsenal

Fryer became convinced that China needed to acquire Western

knowledge, especially in science and technology, if she were to beco�e an equal member of the family of nations. He also

recognized the existence of an "atmosphere of Chinese intel­

lectual self-satisfaction, " resulting in few Chinese being

willing to learn the Western languages. It was the realization

that Western ideas had a much greater opportunity of penetra­ ting the Middle Kingdom in the native language that drove

Fryer on in his work and involved him in the various schemes

to help awaken China.

Fryer's pleasant relations with his Chinese colleagues,

the esteem he enjoyed at the Kiangnan Arsenal (he received the official status of the Third Brevet Rank as early as 187 2 ) , and his widening contacts among miss ionary educators must

all have given him satisfaction in his twenty-eight years as a translator. But it was undoubtedly a conviction that "translation is not only a science or an art, but also a

practical tool of international communication in the world wide exchange of ideas " that made him such a vigorous and 6

tireles s worker. Other Westerners who worked at the arsenal endured the drudgery of translation for shorter periods of

time. Alexander Wylie remained there for eight years, Carl

Kreyer for nine years. Young J. Allen worked as a translator 7 ahd a teacher for a total of ten years. After some years of work at the arsenal, Fryer realized that his translations would actually reach very

few Chinese. In fact, he discovered that his translations were largely ignored (at least until 1880) by the very

70 people who employed him.

The fact that his books were not

fully utilized by the Ch'ing government prompted Fryer to branch off into his other projects, which were designed to popularize Western knowledge in China. Even if his arsenal

1 C

translations were too technical for general Chinese consumption, the knowledge Fryer gained through his employment at the

arsenal provided him with a substantial foundation in the

various sciences. He utilized his scientific knowledge in writing introductory textbooks, outlines and articles and

in giving lectures. He worked for the. spread of scientific

literature in China through the Shanghai Polytechnic Institute,

the magazine Ko-chih hui-pien, and the Chinese Scientific Book Depot. He was a man of incredible energy who endured the extremely tedious job of translating while undertaking

many organizational tasks . Fryer was, of course, only one of the Europeans and

Americans who helped to introduce Western knowledge to China

during the nineteenth century. The teachers in mis sionary schools and colleges (which .increasingly emphasized s-ecular learning after the 1870's) had more contact with Chinese

youths. Another mis sionary teacher who joined the service of the Ch'ing government, W. A. P. Martin, performed more

direct service to Chinese education. Among mis s i onary publicists, Young J. Allen and Timothy Richard brought a

greater range of Western knowledge and ideas to the attention of the Chinese literati.

Fryer, however, made a solid con­

tribution by rendering a large number of difficult scientific works into Chinese. It may also be suggested that more than either Allen or Richard, Fryer was sympathetic toward

China's "self :- strengthening" and the regaining of her full sovereignty and independence. In an unpublished es say dated

L:

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wh

in

we

th

Th

kn

We

of

of

ch

tr;

Ar: ou·

wa:

fi: (a1

pm

' 71

1909 entitled "Our Relations with the Reform Movement [ in

China] , " Fryer recalls that:

The s o l e object of these measures [arsenals , schools

and colleges ] was not, it must be remembered, the en­

lightenment of China ; but to enable China to understand

all about Foreigners and to be able to fight them

successfully ; so as eventually to drive them away altogether. 8

Like Allen and Richard , Fryer worked for the "enlighte� e_�t o f China . " But he did s o in the belief that technology and science could advance China's s overeignty and independence. 9 He

differed from the missionaries in being unconcerned as to whether or not her people were converted to Christianity .

There is little doubt that John Fryer's translations

influenced many members of the Chinese literati. His books

were s old in the widely scattered book stores in China and

the scientific magazine he founded attained large circulation.

Thes e publications undoubtedly opened a new dimension of

knowledge to young Chinese literati s eeking the secrets of Western strength and increasingly curious about the workings of nature and the cosmos.

Two of China's leading reformers

of the late nineteenth century , K'ang Yu-wei and Liang Ch'i­ ch'ao , acknowledged their debt to Fryer's work. As the scientist, Tseng Chao-lun, testified in 1951 ,

translations made by Fryer and his colleagues at the Kiangnan Arsenal were of excellent quality. 10 It should be pointed out, however , that Fryer's choice of subjects for translation was at first haphazard and , especially during his first

fifteen years at the arsenal , he emphasized works on technology (applied science as well as military and naval subjects ) over pure science.

Later , however , the majority of his· translations

72

were in such basic fields as physics, chemistry, electricity ,

and geology ; In addition, he published a few works on Western government and institutions, which, as it happened, had a profound influence on K'ang Yu-wei and Liang Ch'i-ch'ao.

Like most Westerners who contributed to China's modernization, Fryer was not completely altruistic in his

motives . He went to China and later took employment with the Kiangnan Arsenal partly because these were the best oppor­ tunities open to him at that particular juncture. It remains true, however, that for nearly thirty years Fryer devoted

himself to the introduction of Western knowledge to China for

the good of China and the Chinese.

Serving a government

primarily interested in Western technology, Fryer brought to the Chines e in their own language works in basic science as

well as those of practical value. Chinese of the Republican era might not cons ider Fryer's translations adequate and

would understandably choose to learn modern science directly

from up-to-date works in Western languages or in Japanese.

But at least for the last three decades of the nineteenth century Fryer rendered signal service to the Chinese literati

by providing new vistas of learning and stimulating new ideas.

T

R N, N,

�1:

N,

Or

Mc

Ar Arn *T

F:

a1 Sn It

[� [w

SU

' 73

APPENDIX I Material ordered by John Fryer for the officials at the Kiangnan Arsenal between March, 1868, and a December, 1 8 7 0 . Order of March 18, 1868b

The Marine Steam Engine by Main

(Herbert Cheapside)

Navigation

(

Raper's Navigation Naval Architecture

Marine Engines and Screw

Nautical Astronomy and Navigation On Iron Ship Building by John Grantham

Modern Syste� of Naval Architecture by Scott Russell Naval Gunnery by Sir Howard Douglas Army Equipment Artillery Ammunition

*The Manufacture of Canon

(R. B. Bate) (Weale's Series) (

(

" " " "

(Lockwood)

" " "

) ) )

(Weldon) (Murray)

(H. M. Stationery) (Murray) (

"

)

a b

l have not attempted to edit John Fryer ' s lists except where errors were obvious or supplementary information was available.

John Fryer to Smith Elder and Company, in Letter Journal No . 1, Fryer Papers, Bancroft Library. All of the orders in this

appendix are from the same source and were all sent to Smith Elder and Company.

Items which Fryer specifically requested "to be procurred [sic] as new and complete as possible bearing in mind that they [were] to be used for the compilation of works on the same

subjects in the Chinese language, " ibid.

74

*The Manufacture of Muskets and Rifles (Murray) *The Manufacture of Gunpowder, Percussion " ) Caps, etc. (

Tredgold on the Steam Engine, 4 vols ., plates Bourne on the Steam Engine

Bourne's Catechism of the Steam Engine

Rankine on the Steam Engine

The High Pressure Steam Engine

Steam Boilers Schierer and Blandford on the Blowpipe Modern Chemistry by Hofman Handbook of Chemistry by Abel and Bloscam Practical Chemistry by Bowman Towne's Chemistry Griffin's Chemical Reactions

Chemical Analysis Commercial

(Weale)

F

(

E

"

)

(Longman) (R. Griffin and Co. ) (Lockwood)

(Weale's Series)

(William/Norgate) (Walton/Moberly)

" "

( (

)

Dana's Elements of Mineralogy

(Trubner)

Hodgkinson on Cast Iron

"

Cc

)

(Longman Green Co. )

(Murray) II

(Weale)

(Kirkaldby-Glascow)

Metallurgy of Silver and Lead

(

II

(

II

Metallurgy of Iron

Gold Mining and Assaying Zinc, Tin, Nickel, etc.

Pc Ga

Mi

)

Experiments on Wrought Iron and Steel

Metallurgy of Copper

G P·

Sr

(Lockwood)

(

B

)

(

Jule's Manual on Geology Percy's Metallurgy, 3 vols .

B

)

II

(

0

A

(Churchill)

Handbook of Normandy The Chemical Atlas and Dictionary Watt's Dictionary of Mineralogy

*(

Ge

(Weale Series)

( (

" "

" " " "

) ) ) )

Min

e

m Lar

' 75

(Weale Series)

Coal Mining

Electro Metallurgy * Coal and Coal Mining

(

Practical Es say on the Strength of Cast

(

" "

" "

Iron, etc.

( Lockwood)

by Rogers

(

Elementary Treatise on Iron Metallurgy Operative Mechanics Workshop Companion Burchett's Pers pective

Burchett's Practical Geometry Geometrical Drawing Biology [? ]

Pyne ' s Pers pective Analytical Compendium of the various

(

)

) )

(Chapman and Hall) ( (

" "

(Lockwood)

branches of Practical Medicine,

Surgery, etc. , by John Mill, M. D. Lawrence on the Eye by Hays Smith's Operative Surgery with plates

" "

)

( (

(

" "

"

" "

" "

) )

) )

)

Complete set of Chemical Apparatus with full supply of reagents , tests, etc. , with speciments of as many elementary bodies as pos sible.

Portable set of apparatus for blowpipe. Galvanic Battery with Electrotype apparatus.

Microscope--for examining metals, etc. , no extra apparatus required--good power.

Geological specimens . To contain specimens of the different

metallic ores, as complete as pos sible, especially iron, copper, and lead. Require chiefly though not entirely to illustrate mineralogy and metallurgy.

Explanatory Catalogue.

Mineralogical and metallurgical Specimens showing metals i n

every proces s of manufacture and comprising specimens of as many

metals as can be obtained. Largest size Burning glass.

Explanatory Catalogue.

76

Order of July 31, 1868 2

Naval Architecture by J. Scott Russell

1

Useful Knowledge Society's Atlas of Modern

1 3

Atlas of Blank Projections by Hughes [?] Outline Atlas by Hughes [?]

1

1 2 2

1

2

Series of Anatomical Plates in lithography by Quain and Wilson , 2 vols .

(Wheldon)

(Walton Maberly)

Geography (modern circular--July 10, 1865)

Atlas with names , completed and colored to correspond with the above two by Hughes [?] Burchett's Pers pective (linear) (Chapman and Hall) Burchett's Geometrical Drawing

Webster's English Dictionary with pictorial illustrations Finden's Gallery of the Graces (If this book, which has been recommended to the officials by an American,

contains anything immoral, please do not send it,

but substitute some standard work on drawing the

2

human figure, with plates. )

Charts of the World on Mercator's Projection by

Berhans and Stulpenagel Gortha (This is a large map

made to double up, and containing in minute detail the

physical and political features of land and the currents,

1

1

tides, tracks of ships, etc. , of the ocean . ) Truran's Iron Manufacture of Great Britain

Percy' s Metallurgy

Books for John Fryer:

Ures's Dictionary of Arts, Manufactures , etc. Thesaurus of the English Language

James' Family Medicine Family Cookery and receipt Book Towne's Manual of Chemistry

(

(

"[\,

E

H

G

T

T T

M;

M:

R:

RE Qt

Ac

Gt

Fl

St

Na

77

Aneroid Barometer

Common Thermometer

Astronomy Without Mathematics Cabinet and apparatus and reagents qualitative for chemical analysis Cabinets of 200 minerals, rocks and fossils Revised Army Regulations, Pt . 1

Regulations for Instruction Formation and Movements of Cavalry

Cavalry Brigade and Divisional Movement Cavalry Outpost Drill and Skirmishing Manaevores [sic] of Cavalry and Artillery

Equislation [sic] and Training of Cavalry Remount Horses

Handbook of Field Service Artillery by Zefray Guide to Examination for Promotion of Regimental Officers, Pts. 1 and 2 Tabular Arrangement of Battalion Drill

The Subaltern Officer and his duties Treatise on Fortifications, Military Bridges, mining, etc.

by Captain Lindy Improvements in Permanent Fortifications Marking Out, Manual of Surveying, etc. , by Flower

Military Surveying , by Lindy Rifled Ordinance by Lynall Thomas Report on Penetration of Iron Armour plates, etc . Queen' s Regulations and Admiralty Instructions

Addenda to Ditto and Instructions to Paymasters Gunnery Instructions Fleet Manoevering [sic] by Pellew Steam Tactics by Cameron Nare's Seamanship

78

Jibb's Manuals for Militia

Handbook of Chemical Analys is Tables for ·Chemical Analys is

Personal Narrative of Origin and Progress of (illegible) by Hancock

(Longman) ( (

" "

) )

(

II

)

II

Heat cons idered as a mode of motion by Tyndall

(

)

(

II

)

System of Instruction in Chemical Analys is by Fusemus, 2 vols. Chemical Tables in Five Sheets by Galloway

(

II

)

(

II

)

(

II

)

(

II

)

(

II

)

Sound by Tyndall

Notes for Students in Chemistry

Cyclo pedia of Practical Receipts,

Processes by Cooley Annual of Scientific Discovery 1850-1869, 10 vols. School Architet:ture by Barnard The Apprentice or Mechanics Handbook by Byrne Manual of S pherical and Practical Astronomy

System of Bridges in use by U. S. Army by Cullin System of Mineralogy by Dana Phys ical Technics by Easter

Description and Historical Account of Hydraulic machines for rais ing water Treatise on Land Surveying by Gillispe f ? l

(Churchill)

(Trllbner)

( ( (

) ) )

(

II

)

(

II

)

(

II

)

Engineers- and Mechanics Pocket Book by Haswell ( Art of Saw Filing b.y Holly ( American Miller and Millwright's Ass istant by Hughes ( The Practical Brass and Iron Founder's Guide, by Larkin

" " "

(

"

)

II

)

II

)

II

)

' 79

The Boston Merchant by Fitzgerald The Lathe and its uses

Iron Manufactures Guide to Furnaces, Forges, Rolling mills, etc. , of the United States by Lesley

Elementary Course of Military Engineering by Nystron

Manufacture of Steel by Overman

Moulders and Founders' Guide by Overman

(Trtlbner)

"

(

II

(

Modern Practices of American Machinists by Watson

The Negative and the Print by Tawler Amateur Manual of Photography

The ComElete Practical Distiller by Byrn Art of Manufacturin� Soaps and Candles by Ott Gum Elastic and its Varieties by Charles Goodyear, New Haven [Connecticut? ] , 2 vols. Dela Rive on Electricity, Pts. I, 2, and 3

Amateur Manual of Photography by Kingham

Seaman's Medical Guide Handbook of the Law of Storms [? ] by Bert Laws of. Shipping and Insurance by Lies

)

" "

) )

"

)

"

)

(

"

)

(

"

)

Method of Comparing lines and draughting Vessels by Pook ( Practical Guide to Manufacture of Paper, etc. , . Manual of Drafting Instruments and Operation by Warren

)

II

( ( (

New Guide to Sheet Iron and Boiler Plate Roller ( by Perkin and Stowe

by Proteaun [? ]

)

" -c · " " ( " ( " (

)

(

) ) ) )

"

(

)

(How and Sons ) (

"

"

"

)

(G. Philip and Son)

(

(

" "

" "

" "

)

80 Dana' s Seaman ' s Friend Hughes' Manual of Mathematical Geography Training School Atlas by W. Hughes Hughes' Outline Atlas

The Mechanician

( G . Philip and Son) (

( (

" " "

" " "

" " "

)

) )

The Encyclopedia Britannica, complete to pres ent date. Webster's Dictionary of English Language

Berhan's Chart of the World on Mercator's Projection outline map, --no names.

Nautical Almanac for 1870, 1871, and 1872. Order of January 18, 1870 Rules for Designing, Cons tructing and Erecting Land and Marine Engines and Boilers by N. P. Burgh Modern Screw Propulsion by N. P. Burgh

Pocket Book of Practical Rules for Proportion of Engines, by N. P. Burgh

Practical Illus trations of Land and Marine Engines by

by N. P. Burgh Modern Engineering by N. P. Burgh Essential Elements of Practical Mechanics by Oliver Byrne Direction for Laying of Ships on Mould Floor by Finchain Outline of Shipbuilding by Finchain Iron Clad Sea Going Shield Ships by Cole

Elementary Treatise on Orthographic Projection by Brinns (? )

Engineer and Mechanics' Drawing Book by LeBlanc and Armengaud Ques tions on Steam Engines by Main and Brown Engineer's Guide to Navai and Marine Boards by Thomson Encyclopedia of Practical Carpentry by Tarbuch

' 81

Carpenter and Joiner ' s Assistant by Newland Treatise _on Marine and Naval Architecture by Griffith Turret Ships by Halsted

Introduction to Nautical Architecture by Copllonad (?)

Manual of Naval Tactics by Ward Les Phares by Renard

Inventors and Inventions by Derek

History of Discoveries in Science Drawing Book of Natural Objects Draughting of Machinery Weale's Series : Brick Making

Dictionary of Terms Construction and I llumination of Lighthouses

Laying off Ship's on Mould Loft [? ] Atlas of Large Plates

Masting, Mast Making and Rigging Embanking Lands from the Sea Forms of Ships and Boats Ships ' Anchors

Mechanism and Practical Construction

Machinery Atlas of Plates to Machinery

River Engineering Weale's Engineer's Pocket Books

Moleworth's Pocket Book of Engineering Formulas Any new English work on founding and casting.

82

Mee)

APPENDIX II

COMPLETE LIST OF JOHN FRYER'S TRANSLATIONS

Pnet

This list compiled by Dr. G. Irwin, East Asiatic

Library, University of California, Berkeley, has been used

with his kind permission and rearranged by the author.

Items

+ACO'l

marked by an asterisk were completed for the Kiangnan Arsenal.

+Elec

the University of California, Berkeley, catalogued as listed

+Elec

Titles in the Handbook Series and Outline Series are

+Mee

Those marked by a dagger are in the East Asiatic Library at

under the Chinese titles.

unofficial and, in some cases , the authors are unkown.

+Dyn --:-"

Natural Science Physics

*+Sound

,1t" ,if

by John Tyndall, 2nd ed. (London:

Longmans , Green,

and Co. , 1 8 6 9 ) , Sheng hsUeh (with HsU Chien-yin ...i � ·1J� �' ) , 8 chUan ( 1 8 74) • ►.� .kl_ The Student's Textbook of Electricity by Henry M. Noad (London: Lockwood and Co. , 1 8 6 7 ) , Tien hsUeh '( , •

..f

+Hyd:

(with HsU Chien-yin) , 10 chUan p l us 1 preliminary chUan ( 1 8 79) .

a Properties of Matter (Handbook Series ) , Ko-wu t'u-shuo -t��'-7 � 1)L or T'i-sing t' u-shuo ,WJ: j� � "t}L (1885) • a"Nearly all were originally compiled as Hand-books to accompany the large . and beautifully coloured wall charts is �ued by Mes srs. W. and A � K. Johnston, of Edinburgh. . . . They have been prepared and adapted for use at the expense of the Educational Associa­ tion of China, " Catalogue of Educational Books . . . , p. 4, cited

in Richard G. Irwin , "John Fryer's Legacy of Chinese Writings, " Berkeley, 1950, p. 11.

s erj ori�

the

Prin

The

the Boo�

' 83

"j)

Mechanical Powers (Handbook Series ) , Chung-hsUeh t'u-shuo -l -$Jl (1885) . Pneumatics ( Outline Series , Pt. l) , b Hsi -hsUeh hsU -chih

w.L � .J ij *o

(1886) .

+Acoustics (Outline Series, Pt . 1) , Sheng-hsUeh hsU-chih �} Ji �o (1887) . +Electricity and Magnetism (Handbook Series) , Tien-hsUeh t • u-shuo "t)l (1887) ·.

;i

i:

1: •if �

+Elecfricity (Outline Series, Pt . 1) , Tiert- �sUeh h�U� chih � }� �a (1887) . +Mechanics (Outline Series , Pt. 2) , Chung-hsUeh hsU-chih ,'f J i �o (1889) .

i

+Dynamics (Qutline Series, Pt. 3) , Li- hsUeh hsU- chih n . J� � o (1889) . +Handbook to Diagrams in Light and Heat

,if

,'f

by Wm. Lees (Handbook

Series , London: W. and A. K. Johnston, 1881) , Kuang- hsUeh hsU -chih '1L ft � � o (1890) , Je- hsUeh t'u-shuo -j� �

@) tiL

(1890) .

,

+Hydrostatics and Hydrodynamics (Handbook Series ) , Shui-hsUeh t'u-shuo ,� iJL 2 chUan (1890) . b"

f�

Except as specifically indicated ., the manuals in this

series were "condens ed from the bes t English and American

originals procurable. . . prepared and arranged so as to serve the double purpose of the most elementary school books, or

Primers, and of Outlines of the Sciences for general reading o • • ·

The whole series is a private undertaking, though adopted by the Educational Association of China, " Catalogue of Educational Books . . . , p. 2. Irwin, "Legacy, " p. 10.

84 Hydraulics (Outline Series, Pt . 3) , Shui- hsUeh hsU_chih . 11'.. ,if }j Jo (1891) . Optics (Outline Series, Pt • .3) , Kuang- hsUeh hsU- chih ;l ,if .H l 1° (1894) ; East Asiatic Library copy (1895) . Heat (Outline Series, Pt. 3 ) , Je- hsUeh hsU- chih (by l894) .

J� � JM �"

* +Notes of a Course of Seven Lectures in Electricity by John Tyndall [n. p. , 1875], Tien- hsUeh kang-mu '$ J!J" .'-� ffil

e1 p ;

not later than 1894) . * + "Changes of Volume Produced by Heat : by George Foster, in (with Chou HsUn 11)

Henry Watts, A Dictionary of Chemistry and the Allied

Branches of Other Sciences (London: Longmans, Green, � � i't � and Co. , 1875) , Wu- t'i yU ji kai i chi (with HsU Shou 4 ¼'



#t ff

) , 4 chUan (1899) .

te_

Mathematics

j (

v

* + Practical Geometry by Wm. Burchett (1855) , YUn-kuei yUeh­ (with HsU Chien-yin) , 3 chUan ( 1 8 7 1 ) . chih � ;JL, .t ,ry J� * + "Algebra " by Wm. Wallace ., in Encyclopaedia Britannica, 8th ed. , Tai-shu-shu f\ ..f�#J (with Hua Heng-fang ::$-

Jr- it

preface, Dec. 9, 1873. +"Fluxions " by Wm. Wallace, in Encyclopaedia Britannica, 8th ed. , 5r,JJ 5� (with Hua Heng- fang) ., Wei-chi so-yUan -Ii(

) .,

::ti

8 chUan ; preface, Oct. 27 , 1 874.

*+Mensuration and Practical Geometry by Chas. H. Haswell ., [ ?2nd ed. ; New York : Harper and Bros. , 1863] 1 Suan-shih chi- yao (with Chiang Heng �:x:. .fi t ) , 4 chUan (1877) . "A. -1f. * +A Treatise on Plane and Spherical Trigonometry. . . by John

J

-l

Hymers, 4th ed. , rev. (London, 1858 ) , San-chiao shu-li (with Hua Heng-fang) , 12 chUan (1878) . :E... If) _fk_ 1f.

_J� J!f

* +Elements of Arithmetic by Augustus DeMorgan, [? 19th thous and ; London : J. Walton, 1869] ., Sh 'u-hsUeh-li 1.f ) , 9 chUan plus appendix (with Chao YUan-i M_ 7L.. 1 chUan (1879) .

A

*+

• 85 * +A Companion to Wood's Algebra by Thos. Lund, [? 4th ed. ; London and Cambridge ., 1878] ., Tai-shu nan-t'i chieh�fa

�'\ l-l :J1i � M1 5¾

(with Hua Heng-fang) , 16 chUan

(1879) .

+Algebra (Outline Series ., Pt. 2) , Tai-shu hsU-chih

Hi �"

(1887) .

Jli

(1887) .

+\· -ft

+Mensuration (Outline Series, Pt. 2) , Hua-fa hsU-chih �Q

+ Calculus (Outline Series, Pt. 2) , Wei-chi hsU-chih }� � o - (1888) .

f il

�i� ;f-­

+Conic Sections (Outline Series , Pt. 2) , Ch'U-hsien hsU-chih QB �-� ,f� � o (1888) . +Trigonometry (Outline Series, Pt. 2) , San-chiao hsU-chih

� ji f l

�a

c18s8) .

+ Ko-chih shu-yuan hsi-hsUeh k ' o-ch ' eng shu-hsUeh k ' o-t ' i

i�j� i f� db �

-t� 11 --� :if 1� _;Q

(Mathematical problems, textbook of the Chines e

Polytechnic Institutioni John Fryer, comp. (1895) . +"Probability " by Thomas Galloway ., in Encyclopaedia Britannica, 8th ed.. , supplemented from R. E. Anderson , "Probabilities, Chances ., or the Theory of Averages " in Chambers's Encyclopaedia, new ed. (London: W. and R. Chambers ., 1888-1892) , ChUeh-i shu-hsUeh ;-1' Q -i.(. ,if: (with Hua Heng-fang) , 10 chUan plus 1 preliminary chUan (Chinese Scientific Book Depot, 1897) .

* +Algebra Made Easy by Edwin J. Houston and Arthur E. Kennelly (New York: American Technical Book Co. , 1898) , Suan-shih chieh-fa j\ J8ll(with Hua Heng-fang) , 14 chUan (1899) .

1

;J

86 Chemis try

*+Wells's Princi ples and Applications of Chemistry • • • by David A. Wells (New York and Chicago : Ivison , Blakeman , Taylor and Co. , 1858) , Hua-hsUeh chien-yUan f{�

JJ/ it �

(with HsU Shou) , 6 chUan (1871) .

Cl

Cl

* +An Introduction to Practical Chemistry , Including Analys is

by John E. Bowman , ed. Chas. L. Blox3.1Jl , ? 4th American ed. , from the 5th rev. London ed. ( Philadelphia: Henry C. /..!! -ltjI. � .;}L (1885) . Hua-hsing t'u-shuo -k



-t �- /� 7,jfj



+Drawing Instruments (Outline Series, Pt. 2) , Hua.;.ch ' i hsU.;.chih '§...

" "°

-!,£_ o

(1888) .

Physiology and Anatomy

+Physiology and Anatomy (Outline Series, Pt. 3) , Ch'Uan-t'i hslichih

-i' ,f f j �

*a

(1894) .

*�

Miscellaneous

+Western Etiquette: What to do (Outline Series, Pt. 5) , c Hsi-li hsU-chih � tr. an unnamed Britis h fJi author (1885) .

+Western Etiquette:

:I!

�" ,

What to avoid (Outline Series, Pt. 5) ,

Chieh-li hsU-chih �

�f } � �o

, comp. John Fryer (1886) .

*+

Natural Sciences

Scientific Handicraft by John J. Griffin, Chung-hslieh shui­ hsUeh ch' i-hslieh ch' i shuo

1 Jf :1K Jf .t{_ )!/.- �

1 vol. (not later than 1894) .

t}L ,

cThe proposed Fourth Part of the s eries s eems not to have been published. The East Asiatic L ibrary has only three of the eight titles intended for the Fifth Part. appeared.

I rwin, "Legacy, " p. 11.

Perhaps the others never

*

• 89 Applied Science Manufacturing

* +"Gunpowder" by Thos. Richardson and Henry Watts in Chemical

;L )(_ _� ;-�

Technology, Vol. 1, Pt. 4, pp. 372-483 ( London :

H.

(with Bailliere, 1865), Chih huo-yao fa Ting Shu t ' ang -r ) , 3 chUan (1871) . * +Coal and Coal Mining by Sir Warington W. Smyth (London:

1ii

Strahan and Co. , 1869), (with Wang Te-chUn �

f

K'ai mei yao-fa

�i :H J

MJ il .J 5./;.

) , 12 chUan (1871) .

* +The Engineer and Machinist's Drawing Book. . . by V. Lebland and Jacques E. Armengaud (Glasgow: E�· nburg, London, 1 8 5 5 ) , Ch ' i - ch i a hs i en- chen (with Hstl

l � 'Jli Jl.

Chien-yin) , 4 chUan plus 1 chUan o Yillustrations (1872) . *+A Catechism of the Steam Engine, in Its Various Applications

by John A. Bourne, new ed. (London: Longman and Co. , 1865), Ch' i-chi pi i 5,\_ :f( ,;l.. v� (with HsU Chien-yin) , 12 chUan plus 1 preliminary chUan, appendix 1 chUan (1872) .

* +The Moulder's and Founder's Pocket Guide. . . by Frederick Overman (Philadelphh: A. Hart, 1851) , Yeh-chin lu ;�

i:' 1� (with Chao YUan-i) ,

3 chUan (1873) .

*+Notes of Tour Through Iron Manufacturing Dis tricts by John

M� t

Fryer, Fu-lan-yu Ii-Ian chi-IUeh 11}1ft "ll(with HsU Sh�u ; 1874) . A day-by-day account of a

&1i.

tour of British industrial establishments, shipyards, etc. , Sept. 15-Oct. 21, 1873.

*On Photo-zincograp hy and Other Photographic Proces s es Employed at the Ordnance Survey Office, Southampton

by Alexander de Courcy Scott under the direction of Sir Henry James (London: Longman •. • , and Green, 1962),

1l �� fP � (with Chiang Heng) , pub1. hui t'u ;�� :J:.l .*f � , 4 vols. (1876) .

To- pan yin t'u with Ts'e-ti

90 *+Modern Arts and Manufactures of the West, Hs i i chih hs ing �o ify , 2 2 chUan plus two additional items ( 1 877) . ab This is a compilation to which various translators contributed. Fryer, ass isted by HsU Shou , was respons ible for the

-i,i-

translations of A Treatis e on Lathes and Turning • • • , by w. Henry Northcott, 2nd ed. (London : Longman , Green, and Co. , 1876) ; A Practical Workshop Companion for Tin, Sheet Iron, and Copper Plate Workers by Leroy J. Blinn (Philadelphia : H. C. Baird, 1865) , etc.

*Iron:

Its His tory, Properties , and Proces ses of Manufacture

by Sir Wm. Fairbairn, 3rd ed. , _rev. and enl. (Edinburgh, Tsao t 'ieh-chin fa � Chien-yin) , 4 vols. (1880) . 1869),

4.fY 4' 5t

(with HsU

* +A Practical Treatis e on Metallurgy by Sir Wm. Crookes (London : Longmans , Green, and Co. , 1868-1870) , Pao-tsang hs ing yen

1 ;A � -� (with HsU Shou) ,

(after 1880) .

12 ts 'e

* +Electro-Metallurgy Practically Treated by Alexander Watt, (London : Lockwood and Co. , 1875) , Tien-ch'i tu-chin lUeh-fa J.Jl 81� (with Chou HsUn ; after 1880) .

'f �



A revis ion of the translation first published in

The Chinese Scientific and Industrial Magazine, 3: 1-9 (January-September 1 8 80) , and reprinted in The d . Series. Magaz1ne . d

R eprints of serial articles in The Chin es e Scienti fic and Industrial Magaz ine is sued as separates by the Chines e Scient ific Book Depot. The Catalogue of Educat ional Books • • • , pp. 6-7, lis ts twenty-s ix titles in the series . Irwin, · " Legacy, " p. 14 •

' 91 * +A Practical Treatise on Testing and Working Silver Ores by Chas. H. Aaron (San Francisco : Dewey and Co. , 1876) , Yin-k'uang chih-nan

Jft

j�� :i� � (with Ying Tsu-hsi

jJJ. _4$J ) , 1 chUan plus 1 chUan of illustrations,

preface, Sept. 17, 1891.

* +The Marine Steam Engine by Richard Sennett, 2nd ed.

* .tJ�

(London: Longman and Co. , 1885) , 5�

f�

(with Hua Pei-yU ..

#1) 4:J.,

Ping-ch'uan ch'i-chih

plus appendix 1 chUan (not later than 1894) .

it '�

) , 6 chUan

*+Treatis e on Docks comp. and tr. John Fryer, Ch'uan-wu lun­ lUeh fl� �ft., ), (with Chung T'ien-wei jf 1'.,· 1 chUan plus 1 chUan of illustrations (not later than 1894) .

1/J

t -iit � i�

1894) .

Adapt ed as Yu-t'ung wei-sh eng p i en (Chines e Scientific Book D epot,

* + Principl es of Medical Juris prud enc e by Wm. A. Guy and David F errie r, 5th ed. (Lon�on: H. R enshaw, 188 1) , (with HsU Shou: chUan 1-4 ; Fa-lU i-hsUeh }-! e

Chao Yilan-i:

-ff J.l ,if

pr e liminary chUan, chUan 5-24, app endix ,

24 chUan plus 1 pr e liminary chUan, app endix ; 1 chUan (1899) .

e catalogu e

of Educational Books • . . , p. 10, and the titl e on th e

s pin e of th e East As iatic Library copy, erron eously identify this work as Taylor [Alfr e d S . ] , [A Manual of] Medical Juris prud ence, Irwin , " Legacy, " p. I S.

• 95

*+X-ray, or Photography of the Invisible and Its Value in Surgery by Wm . J . Morton and Edw. W. Hammer, 5th ed. (New York : American Technical Book Co. , 1896) , T'ung-wu tien-kuang

4-

l!t ..l. (1899) .

tl t/lJJ f �

(with Wang Chi-lieh

) , 4 chtlan plus 1 chtlan of illustrations Navigation

*+ [?Great Britain, Board of Admiralty, The Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris for 1871 ; 1870] . Tr. and adapted as Ta-Ch'ing T'ung-chih shih nien sui tz'u hsin -mo hang-hai t' ung-shu -1', ;� (o} ; � --IJJL i!__ j (adapter: Chia Pu-wei f [1870 ] ) .

;� .f �

J Ji ,

>it

+ ..,. �

f

!il

*+ Great Britain, Board of Admiralty, Charts for Navigation �f (with Wang Te­ the Yangtsze. Ta-chiang t'u � ;,:t. chtln) , 5 vols. ; publ. with Charts for Navigation of the Chinese and Neighbouring Coasts, Hai-tao fen-t'u

Q "n-- � ,

(1874) .

tr. Messrs. Kreyer and Wang, 17 vols.



*+The China Sea Directory by J. W. Reed, Vols. 1, 2. Compiled partly by J. W. Reed, completed by. . . J . W. King (London : Hydrographic Office, 1867) , etc. Hai-tao t' u-s huo

� t@_ � 1}L

-l

(with Wang Te-chUn) , 15 chtlan plus appendix, ;.,:L. � t{ , 1 chtlan (1874) . Ch'ang-chiang- t' • u-shuo

Of this work, Fryer translated only chUan 1, 2, and 5. The balance, including the appendix, "Sailing Directions for the Yangtsze, " was done by Messrs. Kreyer and Wang. £Chia Pu-wei may deserve credit for this project. Irwin, "Legacy, " p. 18.

96

* + [? Great Britain, Board of Admiralty, The Nautical Almanac and Astronomical Ephemeris for 1 8 8 0 ; 1 8 7 9 ] . Tr. and adapted as Ta-Ch'ing kuang-hsU liu nien sui tz'u keng­ ch'en hang-hai t'ung-shu

Ji.. f� -flit 5-it i!_ j

1'._ 5-j :{_,

l;;t � � �

(adapter: Chia Pu-wei

;,1'_

[ 1 8 7 9 ]) . g

*+Unidentified collection of naval regulations. Hsing ch'uan

t

mien chuang chang-cheng f=j $1� � :ff 11. (with Chung T'ien-wei) , 1 chllan plus appendix 1 chUan ( 1 895) .

Pres umably done for the Kiangnan Arsenal. Agriculture

* +Unidentified bibliography of agricultural reference works. Nung-wu yao-shu chien-ming mu-lu

,J.. ,i}- .l, "t p:,

€l ,j� (with Wang Shu-shan; _ 1 9 0 1 ) . *+Unidentified work on agricultural chemistry by [?Grenier] , Nung-wu hua-hsUeh chien fa

,, fei

�,i.

@ J'(

9/j

J,:t)

! J#t 1,t

(with Wang Shu-shan) , 3 chUan ( 1 90 3 ) . Miscellaneous

+World's Columbian Exposition, Buildings and Catalogue, ed. John jryer. Mei-kuo po�wu ta-hui t'u-s huo .

*

@) t� il!J 7'.

i' �

-S)L (1 8 9 2 ) . *+ "Coinage, " a compilation from various sources , including Roberts-Austen, Wm. C. , and Hill, R. H. , "Mint" in

Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9th ed. , and Freemantle, C. W. , ..t "B �itish Mint, Annual Report. " Chu ch'ien kung-i .,.j,r � (with Chung T'ien-wei ) , 3 chUan

� � -f}

.j:f

��1

plus 1 chUan of generalia, 1 chUan of illustrations (not later than 1894) .

g

Chia Pu-wei may deserve credit for this project . Irwin, "Legacy, " p. 18 .

' 97

+Ideal Suggestion through Mental Photography by Henry Wood, 2nd ed. (Boston : Lee and Shepard, 1894) . Chih hsin mien ping fa ; � • � Jt, fJ, ;,./;. , 2 chUan ; Chinese Scientific

Book Depot (1896) . *+The Art of Rearing Silk-worms by Count Vincenzo Dandolo (London : J. Murray, 1825) . I-ta-li ts'an-shu .._. k .f.

�--t I'�

� -a_

(1898) .

· -t.� .

(with his son , John R. Fryer and Wang Chen-sheng)

*+The Propsector's Handbook by John W _. Anderson , 7th ed. , rev. and enl. ; (London : C. Lockwood and Son, 1897) . chih-nan ;Ji Jfr ii (with

Ch'eng Chan-lo ;fj � 5� ) , 5 chUan ;

Chinese Scientific Book Depot (1901) . Politica1 · E conomy

+Political Economy (Outline Series, Pt. 5) ., Fu-kuo hsU-chih (1892) •

His tory

.t.•

J1J

* +His tory of Russia by an unidentified British author, P� (with P'an Sung) , ,{ f\ , O-kuo hsin chih 11( @ fl.fr 8 chUan (after 1894) . Government

1· I

I

11

*+ "Homely Words to Aid Governance" in Chambers's Educational Course, ed . by Wm . and Robt. Chambers (Edinburgh: Chambers, 1836-1894), Ts o chih ch'u-yen 1£. ;1; � (with Ying Tsu-hsi) ; 3 t s'e (1885) .

1

101 · Mis cellaneous Pao-fu shu-yao �i ';j; -:i,. (with * +Money by r ? l Bright, HsU Chia-pao A¼ � after 1894) . *The State in Its Relation to Trade by Thomas H. Farrer

it

'f· ;

(London: The MacMillan Co. , 1883) ,

Kuo-cheng mau-i

1

hsiang-kuan shu � '1� �j � -;fE) fl� (with Hsu Chia-pao) , 2 chUan (after 1894) .

An Illustrated Des cript�-�-- o� the Uni�ersity of California by John Fryer, Mei-kuo Chia-pang ta-shu-yUan t'u-

lll

-1r

t

f?L ti) -t)L . , Chinese 1'. 1Jo � Scientific Book Depot (1900) . Methods of teaching the blind by John Fryer , Chiao-yU ku-jen li-fa lun If A. :If ;,! i� (Shanghai: shuo

1� 1J

Shih-chung shu-chU

a1 'f

f Ji)

, 1911) .

Vocabularies

The Translator's Vade-mecum by John Fryer, Vol. 1 (Shanghai: Pres byterian Mis sion Pres s, 1 88 8 ) .

This includes the

following items, of which the first three had been

previously published as separate volumes : 1. Vocabulary of Names of Chemical Substances,

fl Jt i,f ff 1' Jf> j,

J....

Hua-hsileh ts'ai-liao Chung-Hs i ming-mu piao

2.

8

; preface, January 1885.

Vocabulary of Names of Materia Medica, occurring

chiefly in "R9yle ' s Manual of Materia Medica and

Therapeutics!' Hsi-yao ta-ch'eng yao�p'in Chung­ Hsi ming-mu piao ai; � 7'_ � � 0°0 tf' d6 1, 3.

9

* ;

preface, May 1887.

Vocabulary of Mineralogical Terms occurring in the Manual by J. D. Dana, M. A. , Chin-shih Chung­

Hsi ming-mu piao

¾ � cf

preface, April 1883.

Jb .1, � �

;

I

I

102

4.

Vocabulary of Proper Names occurring in Royle

and Headland's "Materia Medica and Therapeutics, " and in Various Works on Medicine and Chemis try.

Vocabulary of Terms Relating to the Steam Engine by John Fryer, Ch' i-chi Chung-Hsi ming-mu piao 55c � pJ � ; preface October 1889.

9' � �

• 10 3

APPENDI X I I I

OTHER WESTERN TRANSLATORS' PUBLICATIONS AT

THE K IANGNAN A.RSENAL, SHANGHAI, 1871-1902

This lis t is based upon John Fryer's ''An Account of

the Kiangnan Arsenal, " published by the North China Herald

(Shanghai, January 1880) , and on the Chiang-nan chih-tsao­ chU chi �:r.. � � � $) 1G (Shanghai, 1905) . A later catalogue, idated around 1910, entitled Shanghai chih-tsao-

/4 �

il i f

chU i-yin t'u-shu mu-lu J:. � ,Ji qJ fl 4"contains twenty-six items not found in the 1905 catalogue, but these appear all to be published later than 1905.

Under original author, where the English equivalent

is unknown, the Chinese form is given.

Translations by Carl Kreyer



Short Epitome of Navigation by John William Norie [ ? ] , (with Wang Te-chUn Chou hai chien-fa -fl]- 5� f�

.!. 1i ;!:!J ) , 2 chUan (1871) .

Krupp's Guns, Drill by the Firm of Friedrich Krupp, K'o-lu­ pai p'ao ts'ao-fa A_ � 1_£1 h.� ;f� 5.:J:. (with L i . Feng­ pao � � ) , 2 chUan (1872 ) .

i

Krupp's Guns, Tables by the Firm of Friedrich Krupp, K'o-lu­ pai p'ao-piao � )� ,{EJ 1� � (with Li Feng-pao) , 2 chUan (1872 ) . Krupp's Guns, Shots and Shells by the Firm of Friedrich Krupp, K'o-lu-pao p'ao-tan 3 chUan (1872 ) .

A..- A

1€J ,,,;..� Sf

(with Li Feng-pao) ,

Summary of Foreign Events by Carl Kreyer, Hsi-kuo chin-shih (with Yao [?] and Chai [?] ; hui- pien a§ 1873-1877) .

OO �

f t -�

104

;'¾ .Q JJ' {I]

Charts for Navigation of Chinese and Neighbouring Coasts by the British Admiralty, Hai-tao fen-t'u

(with Wang [? ] ) , 17 chUan (1874) . Sailing Directions for China and Neighboring Coasts by the

British Admiralty, Hai-tao t'u-shuo ,.,,,. �� 1-.fl. ., -:t &!J LiJ ·�;/� ,: � (with Wang [? ] ) , 9 . chUan (1874) . General Chart for China and Neighboring Coasts by the British

Admiralty, Hai-tao tsung-t'u ;-[fJ' � �·· � � �· ,a (j)_ lf!1J C£'\ (with Wang [ ? ] ) , 1 chUan (1874) . Krupp's Guns, Description by the Firm of Friedrich Krupp, a K'o-lu- pai p'ao t'u-shuo [j) (with Li

;t � 1e . l�t

Feng-pao) , 4 chUan (1874) .

l.�( :Jf. c.::.,.'

-jJL

I

Calculation of the Trajectory of Projectiles by the Prussian Government, P'ao chun-hsin fa Feng-pao) , 2 chUan ( 1875) .

5 -i:_ ( with Li

Fortification of the Mouth of the Scheld by the Prussian Government, Kung-shou ma-fa 1.(_ J.; �.j;_ (with Li Feng­

'q

pao) , 6 chUan (1875 [ ? ] ) .

Mathematical Geography by the British Admiralty, Hui-ti fa­ � � ,-e � � (with Wang Te-chUn) , 1 chUan (1875 [? ] ) . Improvised Fortifications by Alexis Henri [? ] Brialmont, Ying-lei t'u-shuo

8 chUan (1876) .

f f Ii) 'tJL

Naval Gunnery by Simmons, (with Chu En-hsi �

b

.!,

Ping-ch'uan p'ao- fa -}; -hg_JJ�( ;.Ji. 4-¥J ) , 6 chUan (1876) .

J$- 1.�1 .;5-

1¾p

JiL -1 fff

J ,J..

Six Classics and Five Books (sic) , Chuan-wen Liu-ching Ssu-shu � -a- ->-- t � tJO -:i� -""'-

�,

· • • ;j..

E:1

12 7

f

f

The Four Books, ChUan-wen Ssu-shu .: Explanation of the Book of Odes, Mao-shih chi-ku pien

� i� ,f f

-1;

J"1

.

Traditional Sayings of Confucius, Shu pen K'ung-tzu chia-yU

� � .:t L

-t � �-¼

The Thousand Character Classic in Various Styles of Characters, Chuan-shu pai-t'i ch'ien-tzu-wen

,t_ .

i j 9 ff -f .:f-

Inscriptions from Old Bronzes and Bells, HsUeh s hih chung-

G�

/JL ·

ting t\ 4j Explanation of the Characters in the "Shuoh-wen, " Tuan s hih

*

it

Shuo-wen chieh-tzu chu i\, i}L � i#JJI. 5.i Characters on Bells and Tripods, Chung-ting tzu-yUan

5/f/..

i

Ji ,lk. ,1-

The Six Styles of Writing, Liu-shu t 'ung 1"; l..@. . Exposition of the Four Books, Ssu-shu ho-chiang -$J - � � ij. The Men and Things in the Four Books, Ssu-shu jen-wu ch'uanchu tlD

j � !;J"/J)

� J� .

Commentary on the Four Books, Ssu-shu wei-keng lu o:o

4� -

f o� j6'

Exposition of the Five Classics, Wu-ching t'i-chu Ji_ $�

1:i-

Commentaries on the Five Clas sics, Wu-ching pei-chih I;::

a

Book of Rhymes, Shih-yUn ho- pi

-tt � � /@'- �

ff

Ji.. ..1£� 1� .

Jt:1 -1" ,ii. Cyclopedia of Poetical Allusions, P'ei-wen yUn-fu 117\J ---"'. � g �" 171 Cyclopedia of Classical Allusions, Shih-lei _ t'ung-pien � ��

JfL -��

Noted Characters of the Present Dynasty, Kuo-ch'ao hsien-

f�

cheng shih-lUeh J!l j� � j£, The Laws of China, Ta-Ch'ing lU-li hui-chi

1C.

Sj

Jf fl•} i

'*.

128

t.

· Digest of the Laws o f China, LU-li pien-lan ff. 11•] 1( The Six Boards and Their Functions, Liu-pu ch'u-fen tse-li

� ;gr Jk 71 � •J -11,J The Water Ways of China, Ch'U-tao t' i-kang * i!_ .J;t_ .f!/i) . '-

Principles of Right Government, Kuang-ch'ih ping-lµeh

� Jtt -f- � .

Chinese Manners and Customs, T 'ung-su p ien ij__ 1� .¥,iJ . The Book of Marvels, Cheng hsU Sou-shen chi � ;J-t:_

�.,

,o \...,

.� f

.

;itf

Records of the Marvellous by Chang Hwa, Cheng hsU Po-wu

-� t

chih � tJ} !ff!} ,-t Chronicle of the Hills and Seas, Shan-hai ching J: The Water Classic, Shui-ching chu 7]l;, :r. tze-tsai � .t � -f:J A.:t. . Studies from Ancient Pictures, Fang ku hua- p'u 1ji 15

t

Collection of Photo-lithographs, Tien-shih-chai ts'ung-shu

,� 1o

$.r t. 1

-� f,L �

Pictures of Noted People, YU-hs iu-t'ang hua-chuan

t 1�

,t

1;J -ij-4 .

Illus trations o f Poetical Subjects, Shih hua- fang

f

Calligraphic Illust rations, Shu hua- fang 1:a � Pictures of Birds, Pai-niao hua-p ' u -r t:J •·'i".J -:t" j!_ �JI:. "' 8

.

Illus trations of Ancient Worthies, Wan-hsiao- t'ang hua-chuan I .� }CIC � -:t "1'. .1 se. aJ'L

1 �ifl •

Noted Scenes and Landscapes , Hung-hsUeh yin-yUan Travels in Celebrated Scenery, Fan ch'a t 'u

5�-�

i I!} .ti.

;i:_ ;t! lJ) .

'Jf.

Sketches of Birds and Plants, Ts'ao- mu hua-niao _;f.... Illus trations of Filial Piety, Erh- shih- s su hs iao .:::- -t

Eighteen St'yles of Pictorial Art, Shih- pa miao j en-wu

t� " ��-

Noted Beautiful Women in His tory, Li-tai ming yUan t 'u

�\ t �� � -

Jt -� Jf: + / '\. GP

/ft

Noted Scenes in China (Japanese) , T'ang- t'u ming-sheng t'u

foo

_±_ � �

lJl

Peking Illus trated, Ti-tu ya-ching-i-lan Dream Pictures, Meng-chi t 'u

,f i:iE_ {&]

.

f ;ip Jf1i. -t - l, .

F

1 33

The "Mustard Garden" Picture Book, Chieh-tzu-yUan hua- p'u

� -t lil i 11

A" .

Pictorial History of Senior Wranglers of the Ming Dynasty,

Ming chuang-yUan t'u-k'ao a}j W( ;iL � Pictorial History of the Imperial Court, Ti-chien t'u-shuo

,t 41 �

i}l .

Pictures and Poetry of Dream of the Red Chamber, Hung-lou-

.tl Jf �

meng t_'u- yung J:t. J1i-

rfJ � i!. �

Chi ao-hui hs in-pao *· ;f� ,t Jfr �&._ Ch ' i en Kuo-hs i ang 1� � Chih-hsUeh ch ai w!;l ,iJf: ;.f� Chou HsUn ll) JJ Chu En-hs i � .f.. 4$; Ch ' U Ang- l ai ,f ep � Chung-h s i wen - chien lu JL 4� ct' JEJ Chun_g T ' i en-wei 1f � -��

.ff

,. ;,

r

ril1

te_

Jii

J�. F an Hs i -yung F an i - kuan l,:1� if ii Fan Pen- l i J... it . �i �( Feng Kue i - fen .:. �

te..

Hs i - ch eng t s ' ung- s hu a:, �.K -[ Hs i -hsUeh shu-mu-pi ao

1 df> ,if -f s � Hsu Ch i -yU f¼ -�� -t-­

HsU HsU HsU HsU HsU Hua Hua

f _{f

Chi a-pao J1:- � Chi en-yin A� :Jt � Hua- feng )1: JI, Kuang-,ch ' J1?:- .?L ,,,C � Shou ,,('} -.?f -fit Heng- fang P e i -yU J$ 1i 4.1:

i

Jen-hsUeh

JJ

i

1 ::. 1f:

Ka Pu-wei [ s ee Chi a Pu-we i )

1 J -� i

K ' ang Yu-w e i

,$... ;ff �

t -'-"' t

Ko- chih hui -pi en i� il Ko- chih shu- shih 1-%-- tK Ko- chih shu-yUan 1� l� kuan-hua 'g "J! Kuang fang-yen kuan � ff -t 11 Kuang-hstieh hui � jf ,,t Kue i - l i ang Ji. 8'.

'f

t Ft

t4 ��-�t-f

[j;,l Li Feng-pao Li Hung- chang .i . .,\, Li Kue i f.ct?i Li Shan- I an L i ang Ch ' i - ch ' ao _f.f? ,t�

4

4 ¾

P ' an Sung ii -f-'2' Prince Kung ,;l- jJl .:£ s an - t eng t i - i ; � Shu Kao - t i -if � �



i

1"

Ta T ' ung- shu -K 1°6) T ' ai -p ' ing 7k. -f .T ' ai -shu-hstleh {\ .t_� T ' ai wei chi shih - chi

,t

1-\ ,f� -ti -t� .«,� T ' an Ssu- t ' ung t:; �� Jo) T ' an t ' ien -tl J?..... Ting Jih- ch ' ang -r 8 � Ting Shu- t ' ang -r jH i: Tong King - s ing (T ' ang Chinghs ing) /! � £ Ts ' ai Hs i - l ing Jf. 4� Ts eng Chao- lun � ag � Tseng Kuo- fan f @ fl; Ts eng -wen - cheng kung ch ' Uan- chi t s ou kao � "1' .iE ,� � :f� Tsung l i Yamen J.t 11 -Mt r j T ' ung wen kuan � j::__ ,ij

ti

4t. %

Wan-kuo kun -pao t Wang Chen-s eng

U, ®

/h �l �;£. AA ��l_

155

*4

Wang Chi - l i eh � }�I , .�-M­ Wang Ju- j an � Wang Shu-sh an .£ tM -! Wang T ' ao i .i� Wang Te - chUn :£ 1_t :!i1 We i Ytian ft l/!;. Wen -hs i ang �

;t-4

wen - l i � J:!. wen -ming � efl

Yao HsUeh-ch ' i en � � "t.if. Yen Li ang-hstin R. f-lJ Ying Tsu-hs i �- iii 4$i· · · YU Shih - chtieh f;Yung Wing (Jung Hung) � U]

Al 1f.r- �

156 Mui

INDEX Allen, Young John, 17 ., 64, 65, 69, 70, 71 Anglo-Chinese School, 7-14, 17 ., 21 Billequin, Anatole ., 51 Bruce ., Sir Frederick ., 6 Burdon ., J . s . ., 5 Burlingame ., Anson ., 6

Chiao-hui hsin-pao (Mission news) ., 3, 14-17, 22, 50 Chinese Scientific and In­ dustrial Magazine, � Ko-chih hui-pien Chinese Scientific Book Depot, 3, 37, 41 ., 46-4 7, 63-66, 68, 70 Chung-hsi wen-chien lu (The Peking magazine) , 51 Church Missionary Society, 9, 14 Edkins, John ., 51 Essay contests ., 49-50 ., 52, 56-59

62 ; for School and Text­ book Committee ., 3 ., 60 ideas : on China, 6 ., 8 ., 10, 11-12 , 2 6 ., 2 7 ; on Chris tianity ., 8, 12-14, 33 , 4 7-4 8 , 60 ,· on trans lation ., 22, 23-24, 26, 2 7-2 8, 30, 34, 69 Fryer ., John Rogers ., 55

Hart, Robert ., 6 Hayes ., W. M. ., 32 HsU Chien-yin, 20, 48 HsU Chung-ku ., 2 8, � n. 43 Hs U Shou, 20, 48, 52 Hua Heng-fang, 20

K'ang Yu-wei , 42-43, 44, 45, 71 , 72

Kerr, John ., 30, 62 Kiangnan Arsenal, 13, 17, 18-22, 24, 25, 26 , 28, 29, 31, 33-34, 37, 40-41, 43, 44, 46, 48, 51, 61, 64, 68, 69, 72, 73 Ko-chih hui-pien (The Chinese s cientific and industrial magazine) , 3, 43, 44, 46, 50-56, 60, 70 Kreyer, Carl, 21, 42, 64 , 69 Kuei-liang, 18

Feng Kuei-fen, 19 Fergus on, John C. , 33, 62 Forbes , F. B. , 4 8 Fryer, John, education ., 4-5 ., Lay, H. L. ., 6 17 ; teacher, 3, 7-14 ; sec­ Lecture series, 49-50, 59-60 retary to Shanghai Poly­ Li Hung-chang ., 19 ., 52 technic Institute ., 48-49 ; Liang Ch'i-ch'ao ., 43-44 ., 45 ., professor of Oriental 7 1 , 72 language, 1, 66, 67 ;· recognized by Ch'ing govern- Martin ., William A. P. , 5 ., 51 ., ment, 68 ., 69 ; 65 ., 70 editor ., 3 ., 14-17 ., 33 ., 50-56 � MacGowen, John, 21, 51 Chiao-hui hsin-pa0 , Mateer Calvin , 32 60 , 62 ,· of .;;;.;;.; ���---=---:-:-::--· , 14-17 ; of Ko-chih hui-pien, Medhurst ., Walter H. ., 4 7, 4 8 50-56 ; of Chinese Recorder, Mission News , see Chiao-hui hsin-pao

Pek w Pek 1 Pri

Ric

St. 4 Sch Sch C Sha a 4 Sha 1 Soc u Shu 5

157 Muirhead, William, 51

Peking �8:gazine, s ee Chung-hsi wen-chien lu Peking T'ung-wen kuan , 5, 6, 7, 18, 51 Prince Kung , 18

Richard, Timothy, 70 , 7 1

St. Paul's College, Hong Kong, 4, 5 Schereschewsky, S. I. J. , 6 School and Textbook Series · Committee, 3, ·3 7, 46 , 60 -63 Shanghai Polytechnic Institute and Reading Rooms , 3 ' 46 , 4 7- 5 0 , 5 2 , 5 4 , 5 6 , 5 9 , 7 0

Shanghai T'ung-wen kuan ' 18 , 19, 25 Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, 4 7, 51 Shu Kao-ti (Dr. V. P. Suvoong) , 51

Taiping Rebellion, 11 T'an Ssu-t'ung, 44- 45 Ting Jih- ch'ang, 19 Tong King-sing, 48 Translation Department of the Kiangnan Arsenal , 18, 2 4-25, 26 Translations, influence of, 1, 4 0 - 45 ; methods of, 29-33 ; s cope _ of , 33-40 Tseng Kuo-fan, 19, 20 Tsungli Yamen, 6, 19 Wade, Sir Thomas, 6 Wan Kin-tang, 4 8 Wang T 'ao, 5 8 Wen-hsiang, 6,. 18 Williams, Samuel Wells, 6 Williams on, Alexander, 5 1 Wood, Marquis Lafayette, 15 Wylie, Alexander, 21, 4 8 , 64, 69 Yung Wing, 19, 20

1.

2. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

8, 9.

10 , 11. 12 . 13. 14 , 15 .

16 . 17

HARVARD EAST ASIAN MONOGRAPHS, 24 1. 2.

Liang Fang-chung, The Single-Whip Me thod of Taxation in China

Harold C. Hinton, The Grain Tribute Sys tem of China ( l845- l9 l l)

3. 4.

Ellsworth C. Carlson, The Kaiping Mines ( l8 ? ?- l 9 l2)

S.

Edgar Snow, Random Notes on Red China ( l936- l945)

6. 7.

8. 9. 10. 11 . 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17.

Chao Kuo-chUn, Agrarian Po licies of Main land China : A Documentary Study ( l949- l956)

Edwin George Beal, Jr. , The Origin of Likin ( l853- l864) Chao Kuo-chUn, Economic Planning and Organization in Main land China: A Documentary Study ( l949- l95 ?)

John K. Fairbank, Ch ' ing Documents : An Introductory Sy l labus Helen Yin and Yi-chang Yin, Economic Statis tics of Mainland China ( l949- l95 ?)

Wolfgang Franke, The Reform and Abo lition of the Traditional Chinese Examination Sys tem Albert Feuerwerker and S. Cheng, Chinese Communis t Studies of Modern Chinese His tory C. John Stanley, Late Ch 'ing Finance : Hu Kuang-yung As an Innovator S. M. Meng, The Tsung li Yamen : and Functions

Its Organization

Ssu-yU Teng, His toriography of the Taiping Rebe l lion

Chun-Jo Liu, Controversies in Modern Chinese Inte l lectual His tory : An Analy tic Bib liography of Periodica l Articles, Main ly of the May Fourth and Pos t-May Fourth Era Edward J. M. Rhoads, The Chinese Red Army, l92 ?- l963 : An Annotated Bib liography Andrew J. Nathan, A His tory of the China Internationa l Famine Re lief Commission

18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 2 3.

Frank H. H. King (ed. ) and Prescott Clarke, A Research Guide to China-Coas t Newspapers, l82 2- l9 l l

Ellis Joffe, Party and Army : Professionalism and Po litical Contro l in the Chinese OJ"ficer Corps, l949- l964 Toshio G. Tsukahira, Feudal Contro l in Tokugawa J�pan : The Sankin Kotai Sys tem Kwang-Ching Liu, ed. , American Missionaries in China : Papers from Harvarad Seminars George Moseley, A Sino-Sovie t Cultural Frontier: The Ili Kazakh Autonomous Chou Carl F. Nathan, Plague Prevention and Po litics . in Manchuria, l9 Z0- l93 l

24. Adrian Arthur Bennett, John Fryer: The Introduction of Western Science and Techno logy into Nineteenth- Century China

t

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