< Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 67.djvu
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

THE COLLEGE OF THE WHITE DEER.

523

Panorama of Kuling Valley.

blessing. At the close of the next dynasty it was cast out into the brush during a commotion, and not till the sixth emperor of the Ming dynasty (cir. 1470) was it found and replaced. It is not recorded how long Chü Fu Tsz labored here, hut legend claims that he spent the rest of his life as president of this institution and was buried in the shady grove near by.

The following is a rather free rendering of a part of this noted preceptor's collegiate code, written on the inner panels of the doors of the assembly hall:

The ancient worthies taught men to seek the principles of righteousness and to cultivate a moral conduct which would influence others. They did not wish men merely to exercise their memories in writing compositions to secure fame and profit. But the students of to-day (Chü Fu Tsz's time) do not follow the ancient worthies. Let all earnest students give heed, inquire and discriminate. If a man knows his duty and forces himself to do it, will he not finally know instinctively what is right without any rules of order?. . . The important subjects taught by the ancients I myself will investigate with all the students, and we will force ourselves to practise them. . . .

The unpretentious buildings, evidently designed for use and not for show, are comprised in eight paved but uncovered courts and afforded sufficient shelter for the four hundred students that are said to have gathered there in the palmy days when scholars prepared for the service of the state by writing verses to the stars. Three sides of each court are given up to living rooms for students, two in each,

    This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.