2005/06/29
More about Empires of the Mind
Richards, though he was a kind teacher and lover of peace, was a man from the Great British Empire, teaching the language of the Empire. Probably he was a true friend of Chinese, but they were not equal.
The 2nd division of the book gives an account of the 1920's Cambridge teachers interested in China. Richards' theories of language and writing, in addition, had to be tested in the society, and he saw China as a good place for starting.
The 3rd division is about Richards's experience of teaching at Tsing-Hua College in Peking from 1929 till 30 and how he came to his decision to put more weights on teaching Basic English.
The 4th is about Richards's book on writings by Mencius, a noted man of thought from very old times of China, and about getting money necessary to make a new school given by an American organization.
The 5th is about Richards and his friends working for the Peking branch of Ogden's organization in 1936.
The 6th is about the war with Japan and the school's move to the south part of China. Even after Richards went back to England, his friends kept teaching Basic and regular English when the land was under Japanese attacks, among broken buildings, till the American organization made a stop to sending money in 1949.
The 7th is about Richards coming back to Communist China from 1950 till 51, and the war in Korea. International relations were changing and China went into 30 years of having little connection with countries using English language.
The last is about old Richards back in China, seeing old friends, giving talks, his loss of healthy condition there, his quick comeback to England, and his death.
Dr. Koeneke says that Richards had some shortcomings. Richards, for example, had little interest in history, and didn't give enough attention to opinions against his work and opinions against Basic. Dr. Koeneke, however, is certain that Richards did a great amount of work, facing hard questions of the time, to make the earth a better place. ¶ 22:04
| Dr. Koeneke's book is an attempt to have a detailed look back at what I. A. Richards did in China, in the light of current political theories.
Richards, though he was a kind teacher and lover of peace, was a man from the Great British Empire, teaching the language of the Empire. Probably he was a true friend of Chinese, but they were not equal.
The 2nd division of the book gives an account of the 1920's Cambridge teachers interested in China. Richards' theories of language and writing, in addition, had to be tested in the society, and he saw China as a good place for starting.
The 3rd division is about Richards's experience of teaching at Tsing-Hua College in Peking from 1929 till 30 and how he came to his decision to put more weights on teaching Basic English.
The 4th is about Richards's book on writings by Mencius, a noted man of thought from very old times of China, and about getting money necessary to make a new school given by an American organization.
The 5th is about Richards and his friends working for the Peking branch of Ogden's organization in 1936.
The 6th is about the war with Japan and the school's move to the south part of China. Even after Richards went back to England, his friends kept teaching Basic and regular English when the land was under Japanese attacks, among broken buildings, till the American organization made a stop to sending money in 1949.
The 7th is about Richards coming back to Communist China from 1950 till 51, and the war in Korea. International relations were changing and China went into 30 years of having little connection with countries using English language.
The last is about old Richards back in China, seeing old friends, giving talks, his loss of healthy condition there, his quick comeback to England, and his death.
Dr. Koeneke says that Richards had some shortcomings. Richards, for example, had little interest in history, and didn't give enough attention to opinions against his work and opinions against Basic. Dr. Koeneke, however, is certain that Richards did a great amount of work, facing hard questions of the time, to make the earth a better place. ¶ 22:04
