219 works selected for the 40 candidate questions. Selections approved by Ben Breen, 29 September 2026. Arguments are unverified. Quotations were chosen by machine and are unchecked.
4 of 219 works
1663Huang ZongxiHuang Zongxi,Waiting for the DawnChineseTreatiseFull text
- Q12Can numerical measures adequately determine a person's fitness for a position of responsibility?
No. Criticizes the examination system for selecting officials by a narrow written test, and proposes several alternative routes of recruitment such as recommendation and appointment.
- Q12Can numerical measures adequately determine a person's fitness for a position of responsibility?
1861Feng GuifenFeng Guifen,Protests from the Jiaobin StudioChineseEssayNo text yet
- Q33Can a society adopt another society's machinery without adopting its ways of life?
Yes. China should adopt Western mathematics, mechanics and arms while keeping Chinese ethical teaching as the foundation; the principle later summarized as Chinese learning for substance, Western learning for application.
- Q33Can a society adopt another society's machinery without adopting its ways of life?
1898Zhang ZhidongZhang Zhidong,Exhortation to LearningChineseTreatiseFull text
- Q33Can a society adopt another society's machinery without adopting its ways of life?
Yes. China should keep the Confucian basis of society and take Western learning only to strengthen its material basis.
- Q33Can a society adopt another society's machinery without adopting its ways of life?
1902Yan FuYan Fu,Letter to the Editor of the Waijiao baoChineseLetterNo text yet
- Q33Can a society adopt another society's machinery without adopting its ways of life?
No. Chinese and Western learning each have their own substance and application; combining Chinese substance with Western application makes both lose their meaning.
- Q33Can a society adopt another society's machinery without adopting its ways of life?