Chapter 208 – Memorial

Author’s Note:

Note: Regarding the old scholars’ aversion and rejection of Western learning in new schools, I’ll share a small anecdote. Yan Fu, the renowned first Western learner, experienced a decline in his family’s fortune. Hearing that the Fujian Naval School provided free meals and additional silver subsidies for household expenses, and that graduates could secure positions in the government, he decided to take the entrance exam. However, to take the exam, he needed a recommendation from a gentleman or merchant. Yan Fu’s uncle, Yan Houfu, was a juren (a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the provincial level), and he and his mother requested his support. However, the juren disapproved of such new schools, considering Confucian education the orthodox path, and immediately refused. In a desperate situation, an elder from the clan secretly filled out the recommendation form with the uncle’s name, occupation, and achievements without his knowledge. Later, the juren discovered this and was enraged, threatening to expose and withdraw the recommendation. The mother and son tearfully begged on their knees, and the matter was eventually settled.