The first excerpt represents the element of Air. It speaks of mental influences and the process of thought, and is drawn from Court Life in China by Isaac Taylor Headland: universities, in accordance with those of foreign countries; we
must abolish the Wen-chang (literary essay) and obtain a
knowledge of ancient and modern world-history, a right conception
of the present-day state of affairs, with special reference to
the governments and institutions of the countries of the five
great continents; and we must understand their arts and
sciences."
The effect of this edict was to cause hundreds of thousands of
young aspirants for office to put aside the classics and unite in
establishing reform clubs in many of the provincial capitals,
open ports, and prefectural cities. Book depots were opened for
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The second excerpt represents the element of Fire. It speaks of emotional influences and base passions, and is drawn from The Professor by Charlotte Bronte: my eyes opened on the mistake I had made; I began to suspect that
it was only my tastes which were unique, not my power of
discovering and appreciating the superiority of moral worth over
physical charms. For me Frances had physical charms: in her
there was no deformity to get over; none of those prominent
defects of eyes, teeth, complexion, shape, which hold at bay the
admiration of the boldest male champions of intellect (for women
can love a downright ugly man if he be but talented); had she
been either "edentee, myope, rugueuse, ou bossue," my feelings
towards her might still have been kindly, but they could never
have been impassioned; I had affection for the poor little
 The Professor |