The Imperial Age with the Resurgence of Han Style

Chapter 34 Basic Education
"His Majesty the Emperor approved the promulgation of the "Factory Labor Law" decree. Starting from July 19, the 1723th year of Taiping ([-]), workers must not work more than ten hours a day, and must have three paid rest days a month... The passage and implementation of this bill will improve the labor conditions and living conditions of domestic workers to a certain extent. It can be regarded as the greatest good governance in the empire in decades and fully reflects His Majesty’s benevolent heart.…”

"On April [-], Gao Weiming, Deputy Prime Minister of the Cabinet and Minister of Industrial Development, attended the launching ceremony of the Daxing Shipyard's Shengshi. The ship uses a number of advanced technologies and is driven by a wind-steam hybrid system, with a full load displacement of [-] tons, once again setting a new record for the largest scale of imperial ship construction.…”

"On April [-], Princess Yongcheng, accompanied by officials from the Protocol Department of Honglu Temple, will set off for the Kingdom of Dashun to marry the country's crown prince Li Guangyuan. This marriage will further strengthen and consolidate the vassal relationship between Qishun and Qishun. relation.……"

"On October 18, the 1722th year of Taiping ([-]), as early winter approached, another war broke out between the Qin State and the Junggar Khanate on the banks of the Bogdo River in Mobei (near present-day Ulia Sutai, Outer Mongolia). After several In a fierce battle, the weak Qin army suffered a disastrous defeat. The more than [-] cavalry were almost wiped out, and they almost lost control of the Khalkha Mongolian area in Mobei. This made the Qin army achieve a great victory in Luntai (today's Urumqi area) a few years ago. The dynamic situation on the battlefield that we had grasped was suddenly reversed..."

"The year-long war in the northwest of the Mughal Empire has reached a stalemate. Our Qi Minister in Delhi expressed the hope that the Mughal Empire will exercise restraint and not further cause regional tensions. ... In addition, the cabinet government is considering whether to Send an envoy to India to mediate the war that breaks out in the northwest.…”

"In November of the 18th year of Taiping, an armed rebellion broke out in the Zezhou area of ​​Qingguo (now southern Chile). Ning'an (now Punta Arenas, Chile), Suiping (now Pove, the capital of Tierra del Fuego Province, Chile) Neil City) and the two places also responded and blocked the Ning'an Strait (today's Strait of Magellan). ...The Qingguo government then asked for help from the cabinet and the military in order to obtain the necessary military assistance to quell the rebellion in the Zezhou area. Maintain the unity of the kingdom.…”

"In December of the 18th year of Taiping, a huge gold deposit was discovered in the Xingshan area (now Johannesburg) of Qianzhou (now South Africa), which caused shock at home and abroad. ... In view of the increasingly important status of Qianzhou and the various precious metal minerals With the discovery of resources, the Cabinet Government and the Colonial Office intended to abolish the governance structure of the Viceroyalty and incorporate it into a Crown Territory. …"

"..."

Song Wenru flipped through several newspapers today, but failed to get any news about the Persian region. She sighed slightly and folded the newspapers again and placed them on the table.

"Wenru, why are you in a daze?" Yan Zhumei, who taught mathematics in the school, walked into the teacher's office holding the lesson plan. Looking at Song Wenru who was dazed, he smiled and patted her on the shoulder, "Isn't it some student who gave you trouble again? ?...If they don’t obey, just whip them with a pointer or ruler, and make sure everyone behaves!”

"...No." Song Wenru shook his head and said with a wry smile: "You said that the territory occupied by our Qi State is so vast. Why do the cabinet and the military continue to implement the overseas expansion policy and send so many young people to the country? Sent to dangerous and wild countries and regions?”

"Yes." Yan Zhumei nodded and sat opposite Song Wenru, "When a person is alive, he only lives in a shabby room, and when he sleeps on his back, he only has a bed. When he is dead, he is buried in the ground, which is only a few feet away. . Our Qi State’s territory expanded from Yinzhou (today’s California area) and Gyeongju (Patagonia region) in the east, to the vast Pacific and Indian Ocean islands, to the wild sandbanks and Qianzhou in the west, and even in The Mediterranean region adjacent to Europe also has the territory of our Qi State. ... Well, as the radical young people in the country have preached, our Qi State is another empire on which the sun never sets after Spain. But the price of acquiring these territories, then But the lives of tens of thousands of pioneers were sacrificed. As the ancients said, although the motherland is large, if it is warlike, it will perish."

"Oh, but there is another sentence behind this sentence. Although the world is safe, it will be in danger if we forget to fight." Song Wenru said with a smile: "It will not help us two women here to oppose the expansion policy of the cabinet and the military."

"If one day, we women take charge of the whole world, this kind of unnecessary expansion and war will no longer exist." Yan Zhumei sighed, "As men, it is in their bones to launch wars and conquer the world. Ambition is the cause. You say, if our old Zhou could have retired from the Navy more than ten years ago and engaged in an ordinary job, he would not have gone to the Palace of Hell to report early! I was left to pull three people by myself. The two children have grown up. Oh, and so has Lao Li from your family, making us all widows!"

"All life and death are determined by fate!" Song Wenru sighed softly after hearing this, and became a little worried about his son who was serving in Persia.

"By the way, in two months, the promotion exam will be held. How are the results of the three Chinese studies classes you teach?" Yan Zhumei corrected the homework for a while, then looked up at Song Wenru, who was still in a daze, knowing that she was worried about Shazhou. Her son, who was serving in the army, deliberately diverted her thoughts.

"What else can we do?" Song Wenru replied with a smile: "Children today are generally not interested in those obscure ancient texts. If they are not forced by the pointer, they may not even listen to the lessons well. The promotion exam will be held in two months. , most children will lose a lot of points in Chinese studies courses, and may have to repeat a grade." Currently, Qi has implemented eight years of compulsory education, and the law stipulates that all children aged 5 to 13 must receive education. .

However, many families with a large number of children often send their four-year-old children to school in order to reduce the burden of care or reduce the cost of child care institutions. At the same time, some children with poor "learning qualifications" will repeat a grade repeatedly. , which results in uneven age structure in a class.

For example, the three fifth-grade classes taught by Song Wenru include children of more age groups, ranging from 9 to 15 years old.

Of course, most of the students are 10-11 years old.

During the five years of primary school and the three years of junior high school, children will receive Chinese language, arithmetic, basic natural sciences (including basic physics and chemistry knowledge), junior geography, junior history, as well as handicrafts, painting, music, physical education and other courses. .

Upon enrollment, all children will be placed into different grades according to educational standards.There will be an exam at the end of each semester. If you pass the exam, you can move up to a standard. If you don't, you have to repeat it for a year.Smart children may quickly rise to higher standards and into higher years, and vice versa.

During this period, although the educational content of Qi State was different from Qin State on the mainland and European countries, they were basically the same in terms of correcting students' learning attitudes and behaviors, that is, corporal punishment was common.Whether it is an elite school for rich boys or girls, or a public school for ordinary people, most teachers believe in the belief that "talents emerge from under the stick."

Using a more humane way to attract children's interest and patiently persuading their bad behavior is an attitude only possessed by a few people.The large scale of teaching and the uneven "qualifications" of students have also encouraged the use of corporal punishment.

As well as being used to reinforce authority, corporal punishment was also used to ensure students were paying attention.Many teachers in Qi firmly believe that children make mistakes because they don't study hard or listen carefully to their advice.For this reason, children in the classroom were physically punished for incomplete recitations, writing errors, arithmetic errors, and sloppy handwriting.

Beatings and corporal punishment are an effective means of keeping teachers quiet, making sure children are looking in the right direction, and asking them to sit down or stand up, especially in public.Through this, children are asked to listen to every word the teacher says.

Both the government and ordinary families consider the correction method of schools to be a correct management method.Because, in the eyes of many people, obeying the rules and obeying discipline is a necessary and valued quality, partly because it enables children to follow instructions accurately and deal with boring and boring tasks through self-control. Repeated practice is believed to allow children to grow into orderly workers, docile farmers, and soldiers who obey orders.

Needless to say, many schools felt like factories, especially during Qi's industrial boom.School is destined to become a training ground for life and work, with a strict hierarchy and strict rules and regulations.

Everyone, from factory workers to business clerks, must obey authority absolutely.Corporal punishment on campus is considered to be a lesson for those who wantonly challenge the rules of life, and this kind of direct physical punishment is to prepare them for the real world they are about to face.

(End of this chapter)