On education in the Yixue Charity School according to the manuscript “The stories of one hundred and twenty old men”

This article presents a translation of a story from the original Manchu manuscript titled Emu tangū orin sakda gisun-i sarkiyan, which contains extensive information on the various aspects of bannermen’s routine. It describes the education process in the so-called Charity Schools Yixue 義學, in which a perfect teacher makes the Confucian classics (in particular, the “Four Books” Sishu 四書) clear and instils the Manchu cultural code (Manchu language proficiency and archery) into the students. The story also tells us that discussing the Confucian ideology in Manchu was actively encouraged, which reflects the Qianlong policy on the cultivation of Manchu/bannermen identity.