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THE 

CHINESE  RECORDER 


MISSIONARY  JOURNAL 


VOLVMB    XXXL .^ 


>   m9m  < 


505849 

PRESBYTERIAN      MISSION      PRESS. 


AS\t 


6y 

3V/e 


INDEX  TO  VOL.  XXXI.-1900. 

Pkge, 

Are  Missionaries  in  any  Way  Responsible  for  the  Present  Disturbances  in 

China?           Hampden  C.  DdBose,  T).D.  606 

Attack  on  Our  Thibetan  Mission,  The            253 

Bible  Societies  and  Colportage Rev.  W-LRemfby  HpMT,  340 

Boers  and  Missions,  The 2.>3 

Chinese  Dives  and  Lazarus,  A.             ,         1^' 

Chinese  Nursery  Rhymes          Isaac  Taylor  Headland,  1 

Christian  Endeavour  Convention,  Foochow,  China,  April  6-9,  Fifth   National 

Rev.  Francis  E.  Clakk,  D.D.,  271 

Christian  Literature       ^        Rev.  Timothy  Richard,  597 

Christian  Missions  in  China  should  be  protected  by  Western  Nations 

Rev.  D.  Z.  SnEPHKLD,  544 

Christian  Unity   ., Rev.  Charles  Hartwell,  M. A.,  62 

Christianity  and  the  World-Power  in  China            ...            Rev.  Wm.  Upcrapt,  325 
Christianity  in  China,  Different  Ways  leading  to  the  Goal  of 

Rev.  Im.vnukl  Genahr,  69,  128 

Correspondence 41,94,147,201,282,364,423.520,578.  630 

Diary  of  Events  in  the  Far  East          «         ...       169,215,269,32.3,  37? 

Editorial  Comment      ...48,104,152,207,265,  318,  368,  426,  475,  524,   583,  631 

Educational  Department. —                                                                                  2fc  I 
Anti-foot-binding  Society,  Tour  in  Behalf  of  the,  Mrs.  Archibald  Little,  •386,3 13 
Chinese  Language  and  Literature  in  our  Christian  Schools  and  Colleges  ? 

How  shall  we  teach  the          Rev.  J.  C.  Fergu.son,  87 

Coming  Problem,  The         Rev.  T.  J.  Arnold,  571 

Educational  Association  of  China           ...        .39,  418 

Elementary  Zoology           ...         .^         ...         ...         ...         ...         361 

English,  Personal  Experience  in  the  Teaching  of       ...Wxlhdr  P-  Wilson,  573 

Examination  Scheme          .~         «.         420 

Notes  and  Items      „         519 

Our  Backward  Swing         Rev.  W.  Rpsifrt  Hunt,  471 

Present  Duty,  A       , m        -         517 

Public  Schools  for  Chinese 37,  200 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Transliteration,  The      198 

Science  for  the  Chinese       Prof,  E.  R.  Lvm.vn.  620 

Science  Study  and  National  Character    ..,         .^         R.  S,  W.,  359 

Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Christian  and  General  Knowledge,  The  34 

Story  by  Han  Yii,  a  Chinese  Philosopher.     Translated  by  J.  Edkins,  DD.,  .'H51 

Third  Triennial  Meeting  of  the  EduQational  Association,  Records  of  the...  256 

Word  to  Teachers,  A          ., 199 

Exhibit  of  the   Work   of  the    Various  Christian    Missions    in  Kwang-tung 

Province,  A.D.  1899            ..,         .„        .^         5.% 

"Exodus"  from  North  Honan,  The T.  Craigie  Hood,  5,36 

Fifth  Annual  Mid-Shansi  Native  Christian  Conference  at  T'ai-yuan-fu,  Februury 

8-12      ^        ...              Edith  A,  Coombs,  247 

Filial  Piety,  The  Twenty-four  Paragons  of Donald  Macohxivray,  393 

Foregleams  and  Danger  Signals           .^         Rev.  W.  Remfrt  Hdnt,  453 

Oilman,  Mrs.  Frank  P.— In  Memoriam          Mrs.  P.  W.  McClintociv,  33 

God  within  the  Shadow „         ...    Rev.  P.  F.  Prick,  438 

Government  Schools  in  Japan,  The  Prohibition  of  Religious  Instruction  in 

Rev.  H.  Loomis,  14.S 

Haygood,  Miss  :  A  Life  for  China       ..,         ,„         .,.         .«         494 

Hidden  Progress  (Poetry)         Charies  G.  Roberts,  357 

How  Jesus  preached  to  Unbelievers ,         ...Rev.  J.  C.  Oarritt,  181 

I  Cling  to  Thee  (Poetry)          T,  P,  Crawford,  P.p.,  359 


11  INDEX. 

Page. 

Imdemnities,  Should  Missionary  Societies  claim  ? Bishop  Moule,  537 

Indemnity      An  Argumeiit'against Mr.  A,  Goold,  617 

,,              An  Argument  for Rev.  P.  H.  Chalfant,  540 

,,  for  Losses  in  Connection  with  Mission  Work,   Remarks  on  the 

Subject  of  securing  ...        .«        Rev.  P.  D.  Bergen,  548 

,,              The  Demand  for Rev.  Geo.  A.  Stdart,  M.D.,  543 

Imperial  Decree,  The  (Psalm  ii.)           ...         .„         ...         435 

Insignificant  Missionary,  The ^         ...         ...         ...  619 

Kolar  Mission  Plough     .„         470 

Korean  Gentleman,  The ...         .^         ...         ...         ...         ...      Rev.  J.  S.  Gale,  75 

Letter  to  the  Ecumenical  Conference  on  Foreign  Missions,  A 

Prof.  GnsTAV  Warneck,  D.D.,  442 

London  Mission  Work  in  Hunan  and  Hupeh            ...           Rev.  Griffith  John,  135 

Mandarin  Bible,  Special  Terms  in  the            C.  W.  Mateer,  D.D.,  331,  379 

Marred  Visage,  The  (Poetry) Rev.  Wm.  Arthur  Cornaby,  243 

Martyrs  of  Sinim,  The  (Poetry)           Hampden  C.  DcBose,  570 

Masters,  Dr. — In  Memoriam      «         ...          Rev.  C  Bone,  146 

Mateer,  Mr.  John  L.— In  Memoriam  .^         .„         W.  S.  Ament,  357 

Measuring  of  a  Minister,  The Rev.  D.  W.  Nichols,  402 

"Methods  of  Mi.ssion  Work,"  A  Review  of     Rev.  C.  W.  Mateer,  D.D.,  109,  163,  217 

Mission  Problems  in  Manchuria           Rev.  John  Macintyre,  344 

Mission  Work  in  Japan,  Treaty  Revision,  etc.        ...         .«       Rev.  H,  LooMIs,  175 

Missionary  Dangers         Rev.  D.  J.  Mills,  408 

Missionary  Journal            54.  108,  161,  216,  270,  324,  378,  434,  488,  535,  588 

Missionary  News 50,  106,  154,  209,  267,  320,  373,  427,  477,  527,  585,  634 

Missionaries  and  Christian  Convert"!  in  China Rev.  D.  Z.  Sheffield,  589 

Money  in  Missionary  Work       ...         ...          ...         .»         ...         ...         ...         ...  16 

New  Missionary  Proposition,  A           Robert  E.  Lewis,  M. A.  603 

Our  Book  Table      44,  100,  147,  202,  262,  317,  366,  424,  474,  520,  579,  631 

Personal  Relations  between  the  Missionary  and  his  Parish 

Rev.  E.  E.  Aiken,  122,  232 
Possible  Changes  and  Developments  in  the  Native  Churches  arising  out  of  the 

Present  Crisis           Mr.  D.  E.  HosTB,  509 

Prayer,  A  (Poetry)          Charles  G.  Roberts,  417 

Priniciple  that  underlies  Victory,  The Eugene  Stock,  564 

Rationale  of  Revivals,  The        Rev.  Wm.  Arthur  Cornaby,  336 

Reform  Movement  in  China,  The Isaac  Taylor  Headland,  463 

Resolutions  on  the  Death  of  Dr.  Muirhead 625 

Romaniiiing           „         ...           Rev  J.  E.  Walker,  80 

Schaub,  Rev.  Martin— In  Memoriam Rev.  C.  R.  Hager,  M.D.,  515 

Seeking  to  Save  :  Have  we  a  Definite  Plan  ? Rev.  C.  B.  TixCS,  489 

Self-support,  An  01)ject  Lesson  in      Dr,  H.  G.  Underwood,  384,  446 

Self-support,  The  Native  Pastorate  at  Amoy  ;  or  Another  Object  Lesson  in 

Rev.  P.  W.  Pitcher.  503,  660 

Siege  of  Peking,  The       „         Rev.  D.  Z.  Sheffield,  D.D.,  512 

State  of  the  Missions  whose  Head-quarters  are  at  Hangchow  for  the  year(g,  ^) 

ending  January  30th,  1900 G.  E.  Moule,  155 

Status  of  Missionaries,  The        Dr.  John  Ross,  238 

Studies  in  Faith  Cure      Rev.  A.  Sydenstricker,  188 

Tao  Teh  King,  An  Analysis.  II.           C.  Spdrgeon  Medhurst,  20 

Topics  suggested  for  the  Week  of  Universal  Prayer 626 

Unity  of  the  Church,  The           Rev.  Wm.  Muirhbad,  D.D.,  450 

V^illage  Evangelization  and  a  National  Church          ...   Rev,  Arthur  Sowerby,  349 
Womanhood,  Christian  and  Chinese  Idea  of;  and   how   our   Mission  Schools 

may  help  to  develop  the  Former     Mrs,  Timothy  Richard,  10,  55 

Women  who  make  Trouble  :  Missionary  Methods  must  change  in  China 

Jclian  Ralph,  560 


7.    .^ 
THE 


CHINESE  RECORDER 


AND 


^Cli^j^ionar^   l^ournaf. 


Vol.  XXXI.  No.  1.  JANUARY,  1900.  ^^"^^  ^osTpaid! 


Chinese  Nursery  Rhymes.* 

BY  ISAAC  TAYLOR  HEADLAND,  PEKING  UNIVERSITY. 


REAT  changes  have  taken  place  in  recent  years  in  the 
character  of  the  literature  prepared  for  the  entertainment 
and  iustrnction  of  children.  Perhaps  in  no  branch  of  science, 
certainly  in  no  branch  of  pedagogical  science,  have  there  been  such 
large  and  rapid  strides  taken  as  in  this  particular  branch.  Even  as 
late  as  the  days  of  your  childhood  and  mine,  we  stood  by  our 
teacher's  knee,  and  with  bated  breath  and  puckered  brow,  learned 
our  A.  B.  Os.  as  though  there  was  no  other  method  of  learning 
them.  We  struggled  through  the  four  rules  of  arithmetic  as  though 
we  hoped  to  solve  the  problems  by  means  of  some  kind  of  muscular 
psychology,  remembering  as  our  fathers  had  taught  us  that : 

"  Multiplieation 

Is  my  vexation, 
Division    is    as    bad, 

The   Rule   of   three 

Dotli   puzzle   me 
And  Practice  makes  me  mad." 

But  thanks  to  the  investigations  of  Friedrich  Frobel  and  others, 
those  old  systems  in  England  and  America  are  rapidly  passing  away 
and  new  systems  are  taking  their  place.  Teachers  in  the  kindergar- 
tens are  following  the  rule  laid  down  by  the  poet, 

"Teaching  as  though  they  taught  them  not," 

nntil  coming  generations  will  never  know  when  it  was  they 
learned  the  rudiments  of  their  education.  A  teacher  in  one  of  our 
Boston  schools  was  trying  to  classify  one  of  these  kindergarten  pupils 
the  first  day  he  came  to  school.     She  had  the  arithmetic  class  up. 

*  A  paper  read  before  the  Peking  Oriental  Society,  and  later  before  the  Y.  M. 
C.  A.,  Tientsin,  still  later  before  the  commuuity  at  Pei-tai>ho,  with  stereopticon 
illustratious  of  forty  or  fifty  rbymea. 


2  THE  CHINESE  REcoRDEK.  [January, 

"Do  yoii   nnderstand  fractions?"  she   inquired  of  the  child. 

"No,  'm,"  he  answered. 

She  allowed  him  to  take  his  seat  while  she  went  on  with  the 
rest  of  the  class.  When  she  read  out  a  few  of  the  problems  to  the 
other  pnpils  the  child  said :  "  Oh,  I  can  do  that,  but  I  did  not 
know  it  was  called  fractious." 

During  our  childhood  the  best  that  we  could  expect  in  the  way 
of  a  picture  book  was  "  Mother  Goose."  And  Oh,  what  pictures  ! 
"  Tom,  the  Piper's  Son,"  and  "  Little  Boy  Blue,"  were  no  more 
like  real  boys  than  the  accepted  picture  of  Lin  Pang  is  like  the  orig- 
inal of  that  Emperor.  Now  electroplate,  photogravure,  lithogravure, 
half-tones,  quarter-tones, — indeed  it  would  be  difficult  to  enumerate 
all  the  kinds  of  tones  and  gravures  that  contribute  to  the  decoration 
and  illustration  of  children's  books.  Not  only  so,  but  some  of  onr 
most  gifted  poets  have  devoted  a  large  part  of  their  best  efforts 
to  poetry  for  children  ;  some  of  our  most  talented  authors  have 
spent  their  best  days  in  the  preparation  of  books  for  children  ;  and 
some  of  our  most  profound  philosophers  have  devoted  their  best 
energies  to  the  stndy  of  child-nature,  believing  that  as  horticulturists 
do  most  for  their  plants  by  paying  most  attention  to  the  roots,  so 
they  can  do  most  for  humanity  by  setting  forth  a  plan  for  the 
proper  development  of  child-nature. 

More  than  a  year  ago  the  Executive  Committee  of  this  Society 
requested  me  to  prepare  a  paper  on  Chinese  Nursery  Rhymes,  a  sub- 
ject to  which  I  have  given  some  of  my  spare  moments  for  more  than 
three  years.  I  was  quite  willing  to  do  so,  thongh  I  confess  it  seemed 
to  me  that  to  spend  its  time  in  the  study  of  nursery  rhymes  was 
beneath  the  dignity  of  this  Society.  The  more  I  think  of  it,  however, 
and  the  more  I  notice  the  efforts  that  have  been  put  forth  in  behalf 
of  children,  the  more  I  crave  for  a  better  muse  and  a  more  facile 
pen,  and  the  less  I  hesitate  on  account  of  the  humility  of  the  subject. 

The  origin  of  nursery  rhymes  in  all  countries  has  been  the 
same.  Mothers,  grandmothers,  or  nurses,  have  always  been  at  their 
wit's  end  for  something  which  would  entertain  a  cross  child  or  lull 
a  wakeful  baby  to  sleep.  They  have  snatched  up  such  incidents  as 
were  at  hand — incidents  in  which  the  child  was  interested  at  the 
time — and  if  they  were  so  fortunate  as  to  strike  something  that  was 
of  general  interest,  and  at  the  same  time  make  a  jingle  that  was 
taking,  the  thing  was  instilled  into  the  mind  of  the  child,  per- 
petuated in  the  grandchild,  aud  made  a  classic  as  soon  as  it  found 
its  way  into  print.  These  two  things,  therefore,  it  will  be  noticed, 
o.re  necessary  to  the  success  of  a  nursery  rhyme, — first,  that  the 
incident  be  of  general  or  peculiar  interest;  and  second,  that  it  be 
expressed  ia  simple  language  aud  a  taking  jingle. 


1900.]  CHINESE  NURSERY  RnVMES.  3 

In  the  oUl  days  when  our  mothers  and  <,'raudmothers  knew 
nothing  about  the  bringing  up  of  children  according  to  the  modern 
kindergarten  methods,  and  supposed  that  a  baby's  cradle  was  in- 
complete unless  it  had  rockers,  and  that  a  child  could  not  go  to 
sleep  unless  it  were  rocked  to  sleep,  what  was  more  natural  than 
that  they  should  keep  time  to  the  rocking  of  the  cradle  by 

"  Rock-a-hy  hahij  on  the  tree-top,'* 

and  thus  spoil  the  child,  as  all  wise  mothers  of  our  generation  know, 
by  making  it  a  tyrant  and  herself  its  slave.  I  trust  that  any  of  our 
mothers  or  grandmothers  who  may  be  here  this  evening  will 
pardon  this  reference  to  their  inexperience,  and  that  they  will  not 
retaliate  by  accusing  us,  their  heirs  and  offspring,  of  being  spoiled 
children. 

In  defence  of  these  mothers  and  grandmothers,  it  must  be 
confessed  that  it  was  not  always  unalloyed  stupidity  that  prompted 
them  thus  to  entertain  or  quiet  an  uncomfortable  child.  There  were 
other  feelings  which  prompted  these  mother  and  grandmother 
Gooses  or  Geese — for  I  am  quite  at  a  loss  as  to  how  to  pluralize  such 
ancestors — as  is  evident  from  the  feeling  which  prompted  that  most 
eminent  representative  of  this  much  loved  and  much  admired 
class.  Mother  Goose,  as  you  all  know,  lived  in  Boston.  Her  eldest 
daughter  Elizabeth  was  married  by  the  Rev.  Cotton  Mather  to  a 
certain  energetic  and  industrious  printer  by  the  name  of  Thomas 
Fleet.  Now  when  Mrs.  Fleet's  first  son  was  born,  Mother  Goose 
had  a  pardonable  admiration  for  her  grandson,  and  went  "about 
the  house  pouring  forth  in  not  the  most  melodious  strains  "  all  the 
songs  and  ditties  she  had  learned  in  her  youth,  or  which  were 
prompted  by  her  affection  or  the  fertility — or  poverty — of  her 
imagination,  very  much  to  the  annoyance  of  the  perhaps  less  fond 
father,  her  son-in-law — Mr.  Thomas  Fleet — as  well,  very  likely,  as 
to  the  whole  neighborhood — and  it  may  have  been  to  the  annoyance 
of  the  child  ;  for  who  can  imagine  a  Boston  baby  being  brought  up 
on  such  doggerel  as  the 

"  Old  woman  who  lived  in  her  shoe." 

Mr.  Thomas  Fleet  was  a  man,  fond,  no  doubt,  of  his  child,  but 
still  more  fond  of  a  quiet  home,  and  in  vain  he  exhausted  his  shafts 
of  wit  and  ridicule  to  still  his  mother-in-law.  The  old  woman  could 
not,  or  would  not  be  quieted.  Nursery  rhymes  were  surging  about 
in  her  soul  and  must  out.  As  a  last  resort  Mr.  Thomas  Fleet 
gathered  up  all  the  songs  and  ditties  the  old  woman  sang,  or  that  he 
was  able  to  secure  from  other  sources,  and  published  them  with  the 
following  title,  no  doubt  in  derision  of  his  mother-in-law  : — 


,J 


4  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [January, 

SONGS  FOR  THE  NURSERY 

or 

Mother  Goose's  Melodies  for  Children. 

Printed   by 

T.   Fleet 

At   his   printing   house,    Pudding   Lane. 

1719. 

Price   two   Coppers. 

So,  as  we  have  said,  we  are  inclined  to  feel  that  affection,  as 
often  as  stupidity  or  a  cross  child,  prompts  Mother  Goose  in  the 
Orient  as  in  the  Occident  to  say  or  to  sing  these  stupid  little  ditties 
to  the  child  she  happens  to  be  'tending. 

It  is  a  somewhat  singular  fact  that  up  to  the  year  1896  no 
effort,  so  far  as  we  know,  has  ever  been  made,  either  on  the  part  of 
the  Chinese  or  foreigners,  to  make  public  a  collection  of  Chinese 
nursery  rhymes,  though  many  say  they  have  contemplated  doing  so. 
During  the  mouths  of  June,  July,  and  August  of  1896  the  writer, 
while  living  with  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Fenn  at  the  Western  Hills  (near 
Peking),  had  his  attention  called  by  Mrs.  Fenn  to  their  nurse 
repeating  these  rhymes  to  their  little  boy,  and  he  conceived  the 
notion  of  making  as  large  a  collection  as  possible  with  a  metrical 
translation  of  the  same.  "We  first  took  down  all  the  old  nurse 
knew,  and  then  called  to  our  assistance  Miss  Mabel  Whiting,  who 
gathered  for  ns  the  stock-in-trade  of  several  other  nurses,  besides 
giving  us  all  that  had  been  taught  her  by  her  own  nurse  or  her 
mother.  Others  we  got  from  donkey-drivers  on  our  way  to  and  from 
the  city,  or  while  making  calls,  or  going  on  pic-nics,  giving  them 
five  hundred  cash  for  each  new  rhyme,  so  that  when  the  vacation 
was  over  we  had  some  forty  or  fifty  of  the  most  common  and  con- 
sequently the  best  of  those  current  in  and  about  Peking.  Not  long 
after  coming  into  the  city  a  circular  came  around  for  subscriptions 
to  Peking,  Folk-lore,  by  Baron  Vitali,  Chinese  interpreter  to  the 
Italian  Legation,  which,  when  we  examined,  we  found  to  contain 
many  of  our  rhymes,  and  also  others  which  we  had  not  secured. 
What  he  had  accomplished  was  what  we  had  started  out  to  do, 
except  that  his  was  a  literal  translation  with  copious  notes,  while 
we  proposed  to  give  nothing  but  a  metrical  translation.  His  is  a 
valuable  contribution  to  sinological  literature ;  ours  is  designed  to 
be  nothing  but  Mother  Goose  from  Peking  instead  of  from  Boston. 
We  found  by  comparison  that  some  of  his  best  rhymes  were  in- 
complete, and  a  like  defect  in  some  of  our  own.  We  felt  at  liberty 
to  use  snch  of  his  rhymes  as  suited  our  purpose,  and  take  this 
opportunity  of  thanking  him  and  others  who  have  made  our  labor 
of  collecting  less  arduous. 


1900.]  CHINESE   NURSERY  RHYMES.  6 

During  the  following  year  a  lady  (Miss  Mitchell)  in  Central 
China,  whom  we  have  never  met,  sent  ns  nineteen  rhymes,  some  of 
which  proved  to  be  very  good  ones  ;  another  lady  in  Honan  prov- 
ince gave  ns  one  of  the  best  we  have;  and  finally  Rev.  Arthur  H. 
Smith,  hearing  of  what  we  were  doing,  offered  to  turn  over  to  us  his 
whole  collection  of  over  350  rhymes,  the  first  and  largest  collection 
perhaps  ever  made. 

The  first  difficulty  to  which  we  wish  to  call  attention  in  the 
collection  of  these  nursery  rhymes,  is  that  of  securing  the  rhymes 
complete.    There  are  but  few  people  who  can  repeat  the  whole  of 

''The   Eouse   that   Jack  Built,'' 

OR   EVEN 

"  Old  Mother  Huhhard,'' 

though  these  rhymes  have  been  printed  again  and  again,  and 
they  probably  learned  the  entire  rhyme  in  their  youth.  This 
difficulty  is  multiplied  ten-fold  in  China,  where  the  rhymes  have 
never  been  printed  at  all  and  where  there  have  grown  up  various 
versions  of  them,  made  by  those  who  had  forgotten  the  original  and 
who  were  determined  to  entertain  the  child  with  a  rhyme  based  on 
the  one  tbey  had  forgotten.  This  fact  is  well  illustrated  in  the 
rhyme  entitled  "The  Mouse  and  the  Candlestick,"  the  first  rhyme 
I  secured,  and  one  of  the  best  I  have  ever  found,  though  I  confess 
that  my  translation  is  not  equal  to  the  original.  Baron  Vitali  and 
Rev.  Arthur  H.  Smith  had  secured  only  the  first  half  of  it,  and 
since  I  made  my  translation  I  have  been  told  of  still  another 
rendering  which,  because  it  seems  to  me  to  be  less  interesting,  I  will 
not  adopt.  The  rhyme  is  designed  to  teach  children  that  they  had 
better  not  go  to  the  cupboard  in  their  mother's  absence  and  ap- 
propriate her  sweetmeats,  or  they  may  find  themselves  in  the  same 
dilemma  as  the  little  mouse  and  be  compelled  to  get  out  of  it  as  he 
did.  The  rhyme,  with  the  translation,  repeated  in  a  tone  which 
indicated  that  "  The  goblins  '11  git  you  if  yon  don't  look  oat "  is 
as  follows  : — 

The  Mouse  and  the  Candlestick. 

?5fr  -fcT^  Ifil      (^  i!  -^^  climbed  up  the  candlestick, 

Wi  *V,  il      »L  £  The  little  mousey  brown, 

M  V  m.      ^  ^  To  steal  and  cat  tallow, 

^  X  ^-^      %  1  And  he  couldn't  get  down. 

H  ^  T  ± 

S  /^  m  He  called  for  his  grandma, 

r  ^  sE  But  his  grandma  was  in  town, 

3}*  •  So  he  doubled  up  into  a  wheel 

And  rolled  himself  down. 


6  THE  CHINESE  RECOKDER.  [January, 

Now  I  think  it  must  be  admitted  that  there  is  more  in  this 
rhyme  to  commend  it  to  the  public  than  there  is  to  "  Jack  and  Jill." 
If,  when  that  remarkable  couple  went  for  the  pail  of  water,  master 
Jack  had  carried  the  water  himself,  he  would  have  been  entitled  to 
some  credit  for  gallantry ;  or  if  in  falling  he  had  fallen  in  such  a 
way  as  to  prevent  Miss  Jill  from  "  tumbling  ; "  or  even  in  such  a 
way  as  to  break  her  fall  and  make  it  easier  for  her,  there  would 
have  been  some  reason  for  the  popularity  of  such  a  record.  As  it  is, 
there  is  no  reason  except  the  fact  that  it  is  simple  and  rythmic,  and 
children  like  it.  This  rhyme,  however,  in  the  original,  is  equal 
to  "Jack  and  Jill"  in  rythm,  contains  as  good  a  story,  exhibits  a 
more  scientific  tumble,  with  a  less  tragic  result,  and  contains  as 
good  a  moral  as  that  found  in  "Jack  Sprat" — that  prodigy  in 
the  selection  of  a  wife,  especially  in  the  matter  of  dividing  their 
meat. 

The  second  difficulty  to  which  I  would  call  attention  is  greater 
than  the  first,  and  has  probably  been  the  principal  reason  why  there 
has  not  already  appeared  a  Chinese  Mother  Goose — I  refer  to  the 
difficulty  of  a  metrical  rendition  of  the  rhymes.  I  have  no  doubt 
you  can  easily  find  flaws  in  the  translations  I  ofi'er.  I  myself  find  it 
much  easier  to  find  the  flaws  than  the  remedies.  Many  of  the  words 
used  in  the  rhymes  have  no  character  to  represent  them,  while 
many  others  are  so  common  {su)  as  not  to  be  found  in  the  dic- 
tionary. 

A  third  difficulty  is  that  of  securing  pure  rhymes.  The  Chinese 
are  a  filthy  people.  There  is  a  saying  that  "  the  Japanese  wash 
their  persons  and  their  clothes,  the  Coreans  wash  their  clothes, 
and  the  Chinese  do  not  wash  either."  Peking  is  said  to  be  the 
filthiest  city  in  the  world.  This  I  think,  however,  must  be 
taken  cum  grano  salts  when  compared  with  other  (Chinese 
cities.  Like  the  stuttering  man  who  accounted  for  his  stuttering 
worse  in  .New  York  than  in  Buff'alo  by  saying  that  it  is  a 
bigger  city,  so  we  must  remember  that  Peking  is  a  bigger  city  than 
most  of  the  other  Chinese  cities.  In  speaking  of  their  filthiness  we 
refer  not  to  their  person,  nor  to  their  surroundings,  but  to  their 
thought-lives.  Peking  is  not  more  dirty  than  the  thought-life  of  a 
large  proportion  of  the  people  who  live  in  Peking.  This  class  of 
people  smirch  everything  they  take  into  their  hands  and  every 
thought  they  take  into  their  mouths.  And  so,  many  of  their  rhymes 
have  suffered.  Some  of  them  have  an  undertone  of  reviling.  Some 
of  them  speak  familiarly  of  subjects  which  we  are  not  accustomed 
to  mention,  and  others  are  unrefined  filth. 

But  now  we  turn  to  a  more  pleasant  feature  of  these  nursery 
rhymes.    It  will  be  noticed  that  among  the  nursery  rhymes  of  all 


1900.]  CHINESE  NURSERY  RHYMES.  7 

conntries  a  large  proportion  refer  to  insects,  birds,  animals,  and 
persons,  especially  children.  Among  the  insects  referred  to  in 
Chinese  rhymes  we  have  the  cricket,  cicada,  spider,  snail,  firefly, 
ludy-bird,  and  bntterfly.  Among  the  fowls  we  have  the  bat,  crow, 
magpie,  chicken,  and  cock.  Among  the  animals  the  mouse,  frog, 
dog,  cow,  horse,  mule,  and  donkey,  and  there  are  rhymes  without 
number  on -places,  things,  and  persons — men,  women,  and  children. 
Those  who  hold  that  the  Chinese  do  not  love  their  children,  have 
never  consulted  their  nursery  rhymes.  There  is  no  language  in  the 
world,  I  venture  to  believe,  which  contains  children's  songs  expressive 
of  more  keen  and  tender  affection  than  some  of  those  found  among 
the  nursery  rhymes  of  China.  This  fact  more  than  any  other  has 
stimulated  us  in  the  preparation  of  these  rhymes.  They  have  been 
prepared  with  the  hope  that  they  will  present  to  the  English- 
speaking  people  a  phase  of  Chinese  home  life  which  they  have  never 
seen,  and  which  I  doubt  if  they  are  prepared  to  expect.  So  much 
has  been  written  about  the  murder  of  girl  children  that  a  large 
proportion  of  our  English  and  American  friends  look  upon  the 
Chinese  as  a  nation  of  baby  haters. 

Another  phase  of  these  rhymes  is  an  element  which  yon  will 
find  in  a  large  proportion  of  the  nursery  rhymes  of  all  nations, 
namely,  the  food  element.  "Jack  Sprat,"  "Little  Jacky  Horner," 
"  Four  and  Twenty  Blackbirds,"  "  When  Good  King  Arthur  ruled  the 
Land,"  "  Old  Mother  Hubbard,"  and  a  host  of  others  will  indicate 
what  I  mean.  A  little  child  is  a  highly  developed  stomach,  and 
anything  which  tells  about  something  which  ministers  to  the 
appetite  and  tends  to  satisfy  that  aching  void,  commends  itself  to  his 
literary  taste,  and  hence  the  popularity  of  many  of  our  nursery 
rhymes  which  tell  about  nothing  except  something  to  eat. 

Still  another  feature  of  nursery  rhymes  is  the  accretions  of  the 
various  persons  through  whose  hands  they  pass.  When  an  American 
or  English  child  hears  how  a  certain  benevolent  dame  found  no.  bone 
in  her  cupboard  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of  her  hungry  dog,  its  feelings 
of  compassion  are  stirred  up  to  ask,  "And  then  what  ? "  "  Didn't  she 
get  any  meat  ?  "  "  Did  the  dog  die  ?  "  and  the  nurse  is  compelled 
either  to  answer  that  the  rhyme  is  ended  or  to  make  another  verse 
to  satisfy  the  curiosity  of  the  child  and  bring  both  the  dame  and  the 
dog  out  of  the  dilemma  in  which  they  are  placed.  This  is  what 
happened  in  the  case  of  "  Old  Mother  Hubbard,"  as  you  will  readily 
see  by  examining  the  meter  of  the  various  verses.  The  original 
Mother  Hubbard  consisted  of  nothing  more  than  the  first  verse. 
This  as  you  know  consists  of  six  lines,  and  has  three  rhymes.  The 
following  verses  each  have  but  four  lines  and  only  one  rhyme  in 
each  verse. 


8  THE  CHINESE  RECOEDEE.  [January, 

We  fiad  the  same  thing  in  our  Chinese  Mother  Goose.  As  we 
said  above  those  who  have  gathered  Chinese  rhymes  have  discovered 
the  difficulty  of  securing  the  rhymes  complete,  as  was  the  case  with 
the  "Mouse  and  the  Candlestick."  Here,  however,  is  a  better 
example  of  such  accretions  : — 


"  The  Little  Glutton.'' 

tl     P^  P£;  ^h  He  ate  too  much, 

^     %  M  ^  That  second  brother, 

^     T  3i  W  And  when  he  had  eaten 

|g  ^  He  beat  his  mother. 

This  was  the  original  rhyme.     Two  verses  have  been  added  without 
rhyme,  reason,  rythm,  sense,  or  good  taste.     They  are  as  follows : — 

tf  ^il  T&ff  Mil  ^  t7     Hi^  mother  jumped  upon  the  window- 

«4  a  6^  a  e^  I  W  2  ^         But'tha  window  had  no  crack, 

^^^ix:^l5C^lsC^  She  then  looked  into  the  looking-glass 
MmMliM^MI^^  But  the  mirror  had  no  back. 

^M.^5?,''M§iMSiJl  Then  all  at  once  she  began  to  sing, 
^        iffe       fto        la        **         "^"^  ^^®  ^'^^S  i^  ^^^  ^^  ^^d> 

c  c  ^        rt         ^  ^"^^  ^^^^  she  played  the  monkey  trick, 

5i        5l(        K»        5u        ^         And  to  heaven  she  did  ascend. 

Those  who  wish  to  know  how  Buddhism  and  the  Buddhist 
priests  are  regarded  by  the  Chinese,  should  study  the  nursery 
rhymes.  They  are  spoken  of  and  laughed  at  very  much  as  they 
refer  to  water-carriers  and  blind  men,  about  all  of  whom  we  have 
found  rhymes  which  to  the  casual  observer  are  perfectly  harmless, 
but  to  one  who  notices  their  hidden  meaning  and  knows  the  Chinese 
character,  they  are  as  plainly  instances  of  reviling  as  is  much  of  what 
they  apply  to  foreigners.  1  have  found  no  such  ryhmes  directed 
against  Confucianism  or  Taoism. 

One  of  the  most  profitable  features  of  the  study  of  nursery 
rhymes  is  the  psychology  and  morals  which  we  find  therein.  When 
we  teach  them  to  children  we  are  planting  in  their  minds  seeds 
which  cannot  but  develop  in  later  life.  We  do  not  mean  to  say  that 
all  of  them  have  either  a  psychological  or  a  moral  phase,  but  many 
of  the  best  of  them  do.  The  "  Mouse  and  the  Candlestick  "  con- 
tains both  a  warning  and  a  penalty,  "  Old  Mother  Hubbard '' 
develops  both  curiosity  and  compassion.  Those  rhymes  which 
manifest  the  affection  of  parents  for  children,  cultivate  a  like  affection 
in  the  child.  We  have  in  our  collection  a  rhyme  called  the  "  Little 
Orphan,"  which  is  a  most  pathetic  tale.    A  little  boy  tells  us  that : 


1900.]  CHINESE   NURSERY   RHYMES. 

The  Little  Oiyhan. 

M   -(*    ^  35t    J7    *f   ^   jK     ^^^^  *  ^^^^^^  withered  flower 
^    m    ^    ^    ^    M    1^    »i>      2^1^.jt  ^g  j^-inj,  in  the  earth, 

5S   Pzi    T    T    '1^    ^f    -^    I&      ^  ^'^^  ^^^^  alone  at  seven 

^    —     ^      ^^    j*=.    _^      -By  lier  who  gave  me  birth. 

m  ^  m  m  w  ^  -^  -^  J.^^      "  .     , 

With  my  papa  I  was  happy 
Pt   fc    5£   ^    ^   KS    5i   M      But  I  feared  he'd  take  anotJier, 
*B    ufr    ^    -=:    m   ^-   m  :K      -^"^  "^^  '^^y  papa's  married 

*li»     »to     W      —      ^-     -^      WtE     ^  A„^    T  Viavf.  n.   lif.flf.  Ki-nK>iPr 


And  I  have  a  little  brother. 
And  he  eats  good  food 


M  m  it  '^  m  M  1 1 

J^   ?i    ^   ^    ^    1    ^  '^hile  I  eat  poor, 

And  cry  for  my  mother 
5r  j3  Whom  I'll  see  no  more. 

Snch  a  rhyme  cannot  but  develop  both  the  pathetic  and  sym- 
pathetic instincts  of  the  child  and  make  it  more  kind  and  gentle  to 
those  in  distress. 

A  child  in  one  of  the  rhymes,  urged  by  instinct  and  desire  to 
chase  a  butterfly,  gives  up  the  idea  of  catching  it,  presumably  out  of 
a  feeling  of  sympathy  for  the  insect.  In  others,  children  are  warned 
against  stealing,  but  the  penalty  threatened  is  rather  an  indication 
of  the  untruthfulness  of  the  parent  than  a  promise  of  reform  in  the 
child.  In  others,  children  are  told  that  a  boy  who  wears  his  hat  on 
the  side  of  his  head,  or  goes  about  with  a  ragged  coat,  or  slipshod 
feet,  will  be  sure  to  marry  a  lazy  wife  who  thinks  of  nothing  but 
providing  for  her  own  appetite.  In  all  of  which  the  psychological 
and  moral  elements  are  apparent. 

Mr.  Stent,  in  an  excellent  article  on  Chinese  Lyrics,  read  before 
the  N.  C.  B.  of  the  R.  A.  S.  in  1871,  says  :  "As  we  are  now  situated, 
the  knowledge  of  Chinese  domestic,  or  home  life,  is  only  to  be 
obtained  from  three  sources — novels,  theatricals,  and  songs — 
novels  in  particular."  I  am  convinced  that  we  have  here  a  source  of 
knowledge  of  home  life  equal  if  not  superior  to  any  of  the  three 
named  by  Mr.  Stent,  and  that  a  carefnl  study  of  these  nursery 
rliymes  will  reveal  to  us  a  relation  between  parents  and  children 
which  will  revolutionize  our  present  ideas  on  this  subject,  proving  to 
us  that  Chinese  love  their  children  for  other  reasons  than  simply 
that  of  having  a  posterity  to  worship  at  their  tombs,  as  has  often 
been  supposed. 

There  is  still  another  source  of  information  regarding  Chinese 
child  life  and  home  life  which  we  are  at  present  studying  and  which 
promises  as  rich  a  result  as  their  nursery  rhymes,  viz.,  the  sports 
and  games  of  Chinese  children.  At  present  we  have  secured  the 
names  of  over  ninety  diiferent  kinds  of  sports  and  games,  with 
photographs  of  twenty  or  more  of  them ;  together  with  games  for 


10  THE  CHINESE  BECORDER.  [January, 

the  kindergarten  eqaal  to  almost  any  of  the  kindergarten  games 
of  the  west,  but  we  reserve  these  for  another  time. 

[Note. — Will  those  who  read  the  above  paper  do  me  the  favor 
to  send  me  all  the  rhymes  they  can  collect  in  their  locality, 
especially  those  which  pertain  to  the  bauds,  face,  five  senses,  toes, 
or  any  other  part  of  the  body  ?  I  shall  be  grateful  for  all  1  can  get, 
as  1  hope  to  publish  an  illustrated  collection  the  coming  year,] 


The  Christian  and  the  Chinese  Idea  of  Womanhood  and 

Eow  our  Mission  Schools  may  help  to  develop 

the  Former  Idea* 

BY  MRS.   TIMOTHY  RICHARD. 

tHEREcanbenodoubttliat  this  is  a  subject  of  vital  importance. 
Aim6  Martin  in  his  "Education  of  Mothers,"  says :  -'If  you 
would  know  the  political  and  moral  status  of  a  people, 
demand  what  place  its  women  occupy."  Herder  in  his  "  Philosophy 
of  History,"  says;  "There  is  nothing,  I  thiuk,  which  marks  more 
decidedly  the  character  of  men  or  of  nations  than  the  manner  in 
which  they  treat  women." 

At  this  juncture  the  future  of  China  as  a  nation  seems  doubtful, 
bat  her  homes  will  continue  to  be  what  her  women  make  them. 
Before  considering  the  subject  let  us  define  the  terms  used. 

I.  By  the  Christian  idea  of  womanhood  is  meant,  I  take  it, 
the  idea  which  not  only  prevails  in  our  day  in  Christendom,  but 
which  will  in  the  future  still  further  be  evolved  from  the  principles 
drawn  from  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  more  especially  from 
the  latter. 

II.  By  the  Chinese  idea  of  womanhood  we  mean  the  present 
prevailing  idea  which  has  been  evolved  chiefly  from  the  teaching  in 
the  Chinese  classics  and  other  sages, 

III.  By  our  mission  schools  we  include  boys'  as  well  as  girls' 
schools,  and 

IV.  The  influence  emanating  from  the  example  as  well  as 
the  teaching  given  by  the  missionaries  in  any  way  connected  with 
these  schools. 

I.  The  Christian  Idea  of  Womanhood. 

Before   we   could  have  the  beautiful  description  of  a  model 

wife  and  mother  as  given  in  the  last  chapter  of  Proverbs,  some 

women  in  or  before  those  times  must  have  approximated  to  that 

ideal,  otherwise  we  could  not  have  had  the  description.    At   all 

*  Read  before  the  Shanghai  Missionary  Association,  November  7th,  1899. 


1900.]    THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  THE  CHINESE  IDEA  OF  WOMANHOOD,  ETC.  11 

events  that  hi,i?h  ideal  must  have  helped  to  lift  many  towards  it. 
Before  the  song  of  Solomon  could  be  written  there  must  have  been 
some  who  reached  a  higli  ideal  of  conjn<^al  affection.  lu  Old 
Testament  times  there  were  also  women  judges,  poets,  and  prophets. 
In  spite  of  all  this,  however,  the  chief  value  of  a  woman  in  Palestine 
in  Old  Testament  times,  as  in  China  now,  was  that  she  might  become 
the  mother  of  sous  ;  the  unfortunate  woman  with  no  family  having, 
as  in  China,  to  endure  rejjroach  and  persecution  ;  witness  Rachel, 
Hannah,  and  Elizabeth.  Moreover,  at  the  time  when  our  Lord  came 
wives  were  bought  as  pieces  of  property,  and  could  be  divorced  for 
very  slight  causes,  and  this  in  s{)ite  of  the  teaching  in  Genesis  that 
God  made  woman  to  be  man's  helpmeet,  and  that  (according  to 
our  Lord's  interjiretation  of  Genesis)  at  the  beginning  there  was 
no  such  thing  as  divorce,  but  Moses  for  the  hardness  of  their  heart 
suffered  it.  Prof.  C.  F.  Kent,  writing  on  the  "Social  Life  of  the 
Jews"  in  Biblical  World  for  June,  and  referring  to  the  time  of 
our  Lord,  says  of  women  :  "  Kept,  as  they  were,  in  comparative 
ignorance,  treated  as  children  and  regarded  as  personal  property, 
it  is  not  strange  that  some  of  them  were  malicious,  quarrelsome, 
given    to  gossip,   and   sometimes  given    to   drink  and  unchastity." 

When  we  search  the  Gospels  it  is  wonderful  how  little  direct 
teaching  is  iriven  that  tends  toward  the  uplifting  of  woman.  We 
feel,  however,  that  in  the  uplifting  of  all  humankind  given  by  our 
Lord  in  His  life  as  the  perfect  God-man,  from  the  fact  that  He 
spoke  of  all  equally  as  the  children  of  God,  puttini,^  into  the  mouths 
of  all  alike  the  "Our  Father  who  art  in  Heaven,"  we  feel,  I  say, 
that  oppression  of  all  kinds  was  doomed,  slavery  was  doomed,  the 
inferiority  of  woman  was  doomed. 

On  one  particular,  however,  Jesus  spoke  with  no  uncertain  voice, 
and  that  was  in  limiting  the  cause  of  divorce  to  one  thino- — the 
breach  of  the  seventh  commandment. 

Apart  from  Christ's  teaching,  however,  we  find  in  His  treatment 
of  women  much  that  has  helped  towards  the  elevation  of  woman 
to  her  true  status — a  helpmeet  of  man  as  intended  at  the  begin- 
ning. We  may  instance  His  submission  to  His  mother  till  His 
public  ministry  began  and  His  care  in  providing  for  her  at  its 
close.  His  conversing  with  and  teaching  deep  spiritual  truths  to  the 
woman  of  Samaria  who  would  have  been  considered  by  the  ordinary 
Jewish  teacher — even  apart  from  her  nationality — as  an  ontcast 
from  society ;  to  her  He  revealed  Himself  more  distinctly  as  the 
Messiah  than  He  did  for  a  long  time,  even  to  the  chosen  twelve, 
"  I  that  speak  unto  thee  am  He  I  "  Again,  consider  His  intimate 
friendship  with  the  sisters  of  Bethany;  His  stern  rebuke  to  the 
disciples  who  would  have  turned  away  the  mothers  of  Saleui  who 


12  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [January, 

were  bringing  their  children  that  He  might  pat  His  hand  on  them 
in  blessing  ;  His  appreciation  of  the  liberality  of  the  poor  widow 
who  gave  her  all — two  mites  ;  His  warm  praise  of  Mary  who  anoint- 
ed His  feet  with  the  precious  spikenard — "she  hath  done  what  she 
could,"  and  "  wheresoever  this  gospel  is  preached  throughout 
the  whole  world  this  also  that  she  hath  done  shall  be  spoken  of  for 
a  memorial  of  her ;  "  His  accepting  the  ministrations  of  the  women 
that  followed  Him  ;  His  verdict  on  the  woman  caught  in  sin,  which 
has  encouraged  many  fallen  sisters  all  down  the  ages  to  turn  to  the 
pitiful  Saviour — "Neither  do  I  condemn  thee;  go  and  sin  no  more." 
We  cannot  help  thinking  that  if  the  man  had  been  brought  (and 
why  wasn't  he  ?  were  they  not  both  equally  guilty  ?)  our  Saviour 
might  have  had  something  far  more  stern  to  say.  We  have,  too, 
His  sympathetic  words  to  the  daughters  of  Jerusalem  who  followed 
Him,  weeping,  to  the  place  of  execution,  and  His  revelation  of  Him- 
self first  after  His  resurrection  to  Mary  Magdalene. 

As  to  Paul's  teaching  regarding  woman  :  It  might  be  said  to 
be  more  exact  and  minute  than  that  of  our  Lord,  and  for  that  very 
reason,  not  being  principles  but  rules,  we  must  regard  it  as  not  so 
universally  applicable  but  adapted  to  the  times  and  circumstances 
in  which  he  wrote.  In  other  matters  Paul  lays  down  grand  prin- 
ciples as  well  as  rules,  e.ff.,  when  after  giving  instruction  regarding 
meat  offered  to  idols,  he  says  :  "  Whether  therefore  ye  eat  or  drink, 
or  whatsoever  ye  do,  do  all  to  the  glory  of  God."  The  principle  in 
Paul's  writings  that  helped  to  uplift  woman  was  the  "  all-one  in 
Christ  Jesus,  whether  male  or  female,  bond  or  free."  In  regard  to 
marriage  a  change  of  view  is  distinctly  noticeable  between  his 
early  and  his  later  epistles.  In  his  first  letter  to  Corinth,  which 
was  among  his  earliest,  he  speaks  most  disparagingly  of  marriage  ; 
more  like  a  Buddhist  than  a  Christian,  and  to  that  epistle  the  notion 
that  a  life  of  celibacy  is  higher  than  that  of  marriage  is  largely 
attributable.  Doubtless  the  idea  then  held  by  him  that  Jesus  was 
soon  to  return,  led  him  to  express  his  Buddhistic  ideas  of  marriage  in 
1  Corinthians.  How  differently  he  speaks  in  his  later  epistles — in 
Ephesians  for  example — comparing  the  marriage  relation  with  the 
purifying  relation  between  Christ  and  His  church :  "  Husbands,  love 
your  wives  as  Christ  also  loved  the  church  and  gave  Himself  for  it 
that  He  might  sanctify  and  cleanse  it." 

Again,  Paul's  injunction  that  women  should  not  speak  in 
church,  or  teach,  must  be  regarded  as  applicable  to  the  time  when 
women,  as  a  rule,  were  uneducated,  and  so  unfit  to  teach  ;  otherwise 
the  church  in  many  branches  is  disobedient  to  a  clear  command. 
The  church,  however,  is  obedient  to  the  spirit,  though  not  to  the  letter 
in  only  allowing  those  to  teach  who  are  capable,  whatever  the  sex 


1900.]  THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  TBE  CHINESE  IDEA  OF  WOMANHOOD,  ETC.  13 

may  be.  Even  in  Britain  now  many  are  horrified  at  the  idea  of  a 
woman  being  a  pastor,  or  even  occupying  a  pulpit  occasionally, 
while  in  America  it  is  now  not  an  unusual  thing  to  find  women 
qualified  for,  and  called  to,  that  profession — as  well  as  to  be  doctors, 
lawyers,  architects,  professors  in  colleges,  etc.,  all  which  till  lately 
were  reckoned  as  professions  open  only  to  men.  Still,  even  in 
conservative  Scotland,  it  is  now  many  years  (twenty-five  or  so)  since 
I  heard  a  leader  in  church  work  make  the  remark  that  as  there  were 
many  "  old  wives  "  occupying  pulpits  he  did  not  see  why  they  shouldn't 
be  occupied  with  younger  ones  !  The  British  Weekly  for  September 
7th,  lately  to  hand,  tells  that  a  village  in  Wales — Plas  Gwyuant— 
has  for  English  Pastor,  Miss  Campbell-Bannerman. 

But  to  return  to  the  great  apostle.  To  qualify  Paul's  theories 
about  women,  there  are  other  passages  in  his  writings  that  show  that 
in  practice  he  had  great  respect  and  affection  for  many  women  workers 
in  the  early  church.  He  attributes  Timothy's  good  training  to  the  faith 
anfl  teaching  of  his  mother  and  grandmother.  Witness,  too,  the  many 
greetings  to  women  workers  in  the  last  chapter  to  the  Romans  — 
such  delicate  touches  as  his  greeting  to  Rufus,  "  chosen  in  the  Lord, 
and  his  mother  and  mine;"  "greet  Mary  who  bestowed  much 
labour  on  ns;"  "  Priscilla  and  Aquila  my  helpers  in  Christ  Jesus, 
who  have  for  my  life  laid  down  their  own  necks;  unto  whom  not 
only  I  give  thanks  but  also  all  the  (ihurches  of  the  gentiles  ;"  notice 
"PmctZZfland  Aquila" — the  wife's  name  being  first,  either  indicating 
chivalrous  courtesy  on  Paul's  part,  or,  as  some  think,  that  he 
regarded  her  as  the  abler  worker  of  the  two;  according  to  Acts,  18th 
chapter,  she,  at  all  events,  as  well  as  her  husband,  taught  Apollos 
"the  way  of  Grod  more  perfectly  ;"  him  who  afterwards  in  consequence 
of  this  teaching  "  helped  them  much  who  had  believed  through 
grace."  Again  we  have  Paul's  request  that  Phebe,  "  our  sister,"  be 
received  and  assisted,  "  for  she  hath  been  a  succourer  of  many  and 
of  myself  also."  In  his  letter  to  the  Philippians  we  have  a  gentle 
reproof  given  to  two  Avoraen  workers  who  seem  to  have  been 
eminent  in  that  church  ;  "  I  beseech  Eurodius  and  beseech  Syntyche 
that  they  be  of  the  same  mind  in  the  Lord,"  where  he  also  entreats, 
"  help  those  women  which  laboured  with  me  in  the  gospel  .  . 
whose  names  are  in  the  Book  of  Life." 

Then  again,  Paul's  first  teaching  in  Europe  was  given  at  the 
riverside  at  Philippi  to  the  Jewish  women  who  resorted  thither  for 
prayer;  nor  did  he  disdain  with  his  fellow-labourers  to  become  a 
guest  of  Lydia,  his  first  European  convert.  On  his  last  recorded 
journey  to  Jerusalem  (Acts,  2l8t  chapter)  we  fiind  Paul,  when  in 
Caesarea,  a  guest  of  Philip  the  evangelist,  who  bad  four  daughters 
who  prophesied,  and  there  is  no  record  that  he  found  fault  with 


14  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [January, 

them  for  exercising  their  gift  of  prophecy,  which  in  the  early  chnrch 
was  next  in  dignity  to  the  apostolic. 

We  have  seen  fi-om  the  above,  I  think,  that  Paul,  even  in  his 
own  day,  found  worthy  exceptions  to  the  general  rule  that  women 
should  keep  silence  in  the  church,  whom  he,  far  from  forbidding, 
commended  for  their  teaching  as  well  as  for  their  other  labours.  As 
a  diligent  student  of  the  Old  Testament  Paul  could  not  forget  that 
verse  in  the  grand  68th  Psalm,  "The  Lord  gave  the  word;  the 
women  that  publish  the  tidings  are  a  great  host;"  or  the  pro[)hesy 
in  Joel  that,  when  the  spirit  should  be  poured  out  on  all  flesh,  the 
daughters,  as  well  as  the  sons,  should  prophesy.  So  much  for  Paul 
on  women. 

Peter,  while  admonishing  wives  to  be  in  subjection  to  their 
husbands,  and  that  they  should  consider  "a  meek  and  quiet  spirit " 
as  their  chief  ornament,  because  "in  the  sight  of  God  of  great 
price,"  also  adm()nishes  husbands  to  "give  honour  to  the  wife  as  to 
the  weaker  vessel  and  as  being  heirs  together  of  the  grace  of  life." 

If  not  in  the  time  of  these  apostles,  certainly  very  soon  after 
there  were  deaconesses  in  the  church. 

It  would  take  too  long  to  show  the  gradual  improvement  in  the 
condition  of  women  and  other  oppressed  ones  all  down  the  ages  as 
a  result  of  the  teaching  of  the  fatherhood  of  God  and  the  brother- 
hood of  the  race,  irrespective  of  their  being  male  or  female,  bond  or 
free.  (The  emancipation  of  slaves  and  serfs  in  Europe  and  America 
was  a  j^raud  result  of  the  extended  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ.)  Suffice 
it  to  say  that  we  see  women  appointed  as  abbesses  of  nunneries, 
which  were  the  only  schools  for  women  in  the  middle  ages  as  the 
monasteries  were  the  only  schools  for  men,  though  devotion  was 
often  more  euconraged  than  learning — in  the  nunneries  especially. 
We  see  these  abbesses  corresponding  with  high  authorities  in  the 
church  and  their  opinions  deferentially  received.  We  find  among 
the  Lollards  women  who  could  read,  some  of  whom  were  put  to 
death  for  reading  Wyclifs  New  Testament.  Coming  to  Reformation 
times  we  find  highly  educated  women,  like  Lady  Russell  and  Lady 
Jane  Grey,  and  Queens  Mary  and  Elizabeth,  some  showing  their 
ability  by  being  conversant  with  Latin  and  Greek  as  well  as  with 
European  languages. 

Last  century  we  find  a  lady  astronomer  who  had  to  fight  for 
years  against  the  prudish  restraints  common  to  women  of  her  time 
before  being  allowed  to  exercise  her  gifts,  and  before  the  end  of  the 
century  a  few  women  writers. 

In  this  nineteeth  century  (which  Victor  Hugo  calls  "the 
women'.s  century  "),  as  in  every  other  department,  there  have  been 
immense  strides  in  regard  to  the  status  of  women.    As  evidence  that 


1900.]   THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  THE  CHINESE  IDEA  OF  WOMANHOOD,  ETC.  15 

their  capabilities  on  many  lines  have  been  appreciated,  the  names  of 
successful  lady  authors,  artists,  teachers,  journalists,  etc.,  is  legion, 
wliile  the  number  of  those  in  the  higher  walks  of  life  engaged  in 
I)hil.authropic  work  is  ever  on  the  increase. 

At  the  same  time  the  feeling  lias  never  abated  that  as  wife  and 
mother  the  Cliristian  woman  occupies  a  position  second  to  none  in 
importance  and  far-reaching  influence.  How  very  many  of  our  great 
and  good  men  have  traced  their  love  of  goodness  and  determination 
to  live  for  the  good  of  their  fellow-men  to  Christian  mothers,  or,  as 
in  the  case  of  Lord  Shaftesbury,  to  a  Christian  nurse.  Since, 
however,  marriage  is  not  now  in  Christendom  regarded  as  the  chief 
aim  of  a  girl's  existence,  it  is  well  that  there  are  now  so  many 
avenues  of  usefulness  and  inde[)endence  open  to  women;  in  a 
])amphlet,  "Professions  for  Women,"  there  are  no  less  than  thirty 
odd  discanted  on,  not  including  millinery,  dress-making,  positions  in 
shops,  domestic  service,  etc.,  that  have  been  open  to  women  for  many 
generations. 

.  There  still,  however,  remain  many  things  to  be  remedied  in  the 
condition  of  women  which  the  spirit  of  Jesus  Christ,  when  more 
prevalent,  will  be  sure  in  good  time  to  rectify.  For  instance,  in 
spite  of  the  multitudinous  openings  for  women,  how  sad  it  is  that  so 
very  many,  year  after  year,  rendered  desperate  through  starvation, 
give  themselves  over  to  a  life  of  shame  jnst  to  secure  a  livelihood  I 
Another  thing  that  will  surely  be  remedied  ere  long  is  the  too  easy 
granting  of  divorces,  especially  in  the  Western  States  of  America. 
Again,  in  England  we  have  the  shameful  withholding  of  university 
degrees  from  women,  though  they  are  allowed  to  pay  the  fees  and 
pass  the  same  examinations  as  men.  America  is  far  before  England 
in  this  respect.  Again,  the  smaller  remuneration  given  to  women 
for  the  same  work,  even  when  it  is  known  to  be  as  well  and  often 
more  thoroughly  and  conscientiously  done  than  by  men,  is  another 
wrong  to  be  righted.  Some  may  urge  the  law  of  "  supply  and 
demand  "  as  regulating  these  things;  but  on  the  face  of  it,  it  seems 
unfair  that  smaller  pay  should  be  given,  not  because  the  work  done 
is  inferior  but  because  it  is  done  by  an  inferior  being — a  woman. 
Many  hope  that,  in  the  not  distant  future,  woman,  too,  will  have  a 
voice  in  politics  as  she  already  has  on  school  boards  and  sanitary 
boards.  Lastly,  we  may  surely  hope  that  Christian  principle  will 
soon  triumph  over  the  tyrant  fashion  with  its  everlasting  changes ; 
when  such  things  as  waist  binding,  for  example,  shall  be  unknown. 
It  is  already  beginning  to  be  abhorred  and  put  in  the  same  cate- 
gory— where  it  rightly  belongs — as  foot-binding.  We  don't  at  all 
wonder  that  here  in  Shanghai  the  native  Presbyterian  brethren 
refused  to  have  anything  to  do  with  auti-foot-bindiug  unless  waist- 


16  THE  CHINESE  KEOORDER.  [Jauuary, 

binding  should  be  mentioned  on  the  same  pledge.  The  Western 
tyruut  fashion  has,  we  think,  a  good  deal  to  learn  from  the  modest 
dress  of  the  Chinese  woman. 

The  time  is  most  surely  coming  when  the  grand  truth  so 
emphasized  by  our  Lord  that  a// are  the  children  of  God,  and  that 
emphasized  by  Paul,  which  is  the  same  in  other  words,  viz.,  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  consciously  or  unconsciously  dwells  in  every  man — and 
certainly  in  every  true  Christian — shall  make  women  as  well  as  men 
preserve  their  bodies  and  spirits  healthy  and  pure,  fit  to  be  con- 
stantly presented  as  living  sacrifices  in  the  exercise  of  all  the  varied 
activities  necessary  to  our  Christian  civilization  and  according  to  the 
special  gifts  with  which  each  man  and  woman  is  endowed. 

(To  he  concluded.) 


Money  in  Missionsiry  Work. 

[This  article  is  a  report  of  tlie  meeting  of  the  Peking  Mis-ionary  Association 
heidon  September  29th,  1899.  Tlie  tlieine  of  the  meeting  was,  "  Money  i<>  Missionary 
Work,"  aud  the  principal  address  was  delivered  by  Rev,  Calvin  W.  Mateer,  D.D., 
of  Teugchow.] 

EV.  C.  W.  MATEER,  D.D.  :— During  recent  years  there  has 
'iilrA  been  a  growing  sentiment  in  favour  of  giving  no  mone}^  to 
the  Chinaman,  either  to  teach  or  to  preach.  This  sentiment 
has  largely  been  propagated  from  home.  Dr.  Nevius'  book  on 
"  Missionary  Methods "  has  had  large  influence  in  creating  this 
sentiment.  Many  young  missionaries  have  come  out  with  pre- 
conceived ideas,  and  even  with  definite  instructions  from  the 
Boards,  as  to  a  financial  policy.  They  have  come  with  a  deter- 
mination to  teach  the  older  missionaries  a  better  way.  Such 
missionaries  have  either  seen  their  errors  after  a  few  months,  or 
have  been  the  cause  of  much  trouble  in  their  missionary  stations. 

The  question  before  us  is  a  great  one.  Money  is  a  tremendous 
power.  "  Money  answereth  all  things  "  is  a  sentence  truer  now  than 
when  it  was  first  spoken.  In  modern  civilization  it  is  omnipotent. 
It  is  needed  not  only  for  the  conduct  of  business,  but  also  for 
educational  and  benevolent  enterprizes  of  all  kinds.  It  is  an 
essential  factor  in  the  onward  progress  of  civilization. 

I  wish  to  divide  my  subject  into  three  parts  :  I.  Money  which 
the  missionaries  spend  on  themselves.  II.  The  use  of  money  in 
educational  work.     III.     The  use  of  money  in  evangelistic  work. 

I.  Money  which  the  missionaries  spend  on  themselves. — Mission- 
aries now  spend  a  great  deal  more  money  on  themselves  than  they 


1900.]  MONKY   IN  MISSIONARY   WORK.  17 

did  when  1  first  came  to  China  ;  they  have  better  honses,  take  more 
froqiient  vacations,  and  take  longer  journeys.  At  the  same  time 
missionaries  are  trying  to  enforce  on  the  Chinese  ideas  of  stricter 
economy.  Does  there  not  seem  to  be  an  inconsistency  here?  The 
supposed  extravagances  of  missionaries,  as  reported  at  home  by 
globe  trotters,  have  been  the  canse  of  a  widespread  dissatisfaction 
with  the  conduct  of  missionary  work.  This  has  led  to  the  organiza- 
tion of  societies  which  will  send  out  cheaper  missionaries.  But 
the  inconsistency  is  not  alone  to  be  found  in  the  missionary  body 
on  the  field.  The  home  church,  which  to-day  so  cries  for  economy 
in  the  conduct  of  missions,  is  wealthier,  and  spends  more  money  on 
itself  than  ever  before. 

II.  The  use  of  money  in  educational  work. — In  the  Shanghai 
Missionary  Conference  of  1877  there  was  a  very  strong  sentiment 
against  educational  work.  One  speaker  said  that  if  he  had  the 
control  of  sending  fifty  men  to  China,  forty-nine  should  be  preachers, 
one  a  doctor,  but  none  should  be  devoted  to  educational  work.  This 
man  has  lived  to  see  a  change  in  his  own  opininos.  Missionaries 
cannot  leave  education  behind  if  they  would;  and  they  ought  not 
if  they  could.  The  logic  of  facts  has  forced  men  who  at  first  did  not 
believe  in  educational  work  to  begin  teaching  sooner  or  later.  The 
Chinese  church  needs  education  to  make  it  able  to  defend  and  protect 
itself.  Not  only  is  the  college  needed,  but  the  high  school  and  day- 
school  too,  .  ..  all  lines  of  educational  work  are  needed.  The  idea 
in  edncation  should  not  be  simply  to  Christianize  the  students;  it 
should  also  aim  to  make  of  them  leaders  for  the  church  and 
influential  factors  in  Chinese  civilization.  As  to  a  financial  policy, 
we,  in  Tengchow,  determined  to  spend  enough  money  to  succeed. 
To  spend  half  enough  is  to  throw  away  all  that  is  spent;  this  is  a 
principle  recognized  in  business.  In  our  college  we  were  at  first 
obliged  to  find  everything  ;  as  years  went  by  we  gradually  furnished 
less  and  less.  If  a  Chinaman  will  not  pay  for  an  education,  should 
we  then  refuse  to  educate  ?     Such  a  policy  would  be  suicidal. 

As  to  the  bearing  of  the  teaching  of  English  on  the  financial 
question  our  experience  has  been  that  even  though  the  running  ex- 
penses of  the  school  might  be  paid  from  the  tuition  which 
could  be  demanded  if  English  were  taught,  yet  to  carry  on  the 
school  in  that  way  does  not  pay.  We  are  better  judges  than  the 
Chinese  of  what  they  need  ;  we  must  not  merely  teach  what  they 
want;  education  is  not  a  mere  business  enterprize  ;  it  stands  on  a 
far  higher  plane.  We  are  justified  in  spending  enough  money  to 
make  our  schools  both  thorough  and  Christian, 

III.  The  use  of  money  in  evangelistic  work. — Under  this  topic 
I  wish  to  speak  to  two  points  :     (1.)  The  use  of  money  in  employing 


18  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [January, 

men  to  preach  to  the  heathen.     (2.)  The  use  of  moneyjin  employing 
men  to  shepherd  the  small  churches. 

(1.)  The  employment  of  evangelists  and  preachers  of  every 
grade  to  preach  to  the  heathen.— Some  say  that  foreign  money 
■  ought  not  to  be  used  to  pay  the  Chinese  to  preach.  I  have  never 
been  able  to  see  the  slightest  shadow  of  logic  or  common  sense  in 
this  statement.  True,  the  mercenary  motive  may  enter  in,  leading 
some  to  seek  employment  as  preachers  in  order  to  gain  a  livelihood; 
but,  after  all,  preachers  can  form  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  total 
church  membership,  and  the  danger  grows  proportionately  less  every 
year.  He  is  not  a  wise  man  who  spends  his  whole  life  trying  to 
avoid  every  conceivable  abuse  or  misuse  of  money.  The  number  in 
proportion  who  preach  the  gospel  from  wrong  motives  in  China  is 
probably  no  greater  than  in  America,  Some  say  that  the  employ- 
ment of  Chinese  preachers  causes  them  to  lose  their  influence  over 
the  people.  This  is  even  still  more  true  of  the  foreign  missionaries, 
whose  motives  are  constantly  misjudged  by  the  Chinese.  J  believe 
that  there  is  no  more  economical  investment  of  money  for  the 
evangelization  of  China  than  in  the  employment  of  native  preachers. 
The  salary,  we  will  say,  of  one  foreign  missionary  will  support 
twelve  native  preachers  ;  set  off  two  of  the  twelve  as  being  unworthy  ; 
this  still  leaves  the  result  that  ten  fold  the  work  is  done  by  the  same 
amount  of  money  when  applied  to  the  employment  of  native  workers 
as  compared  with  the  employment  of  foreign  missionaries.  More- 
over, one  Chinese  preacher  will,  on  the  average,  bring  as  many  men 
to  Christ  as  one  foreign  missionary.  Train,  prepare,  and  use 
Chinese  to  preach  the  gospel. 

(2.)  The  employment  of  native  pastors. — I  believe  that  money 
should  be  spent  have  too.  Dr.  Nevius  and  Dr.  Ashmore  have 
advocated  self-nourishing  churches.  Of  Dr,  Ashmore's  field  I  do 
not  know,  but  I  do  know  that  there  are  no  self-nourishing  churches 
to-day  in  Dr,  Nevius'  former  field.  It  is  claimed  that  these  self- 
nourishing  churches  gradually  become  able  to  support  !)astors. 
Experience  proves  otherwise  ;  such  churches  are  not  trained  in 
giving  and  do  not  learn  to  become  self-supporting.  The  best  way  to 
make  churches  self-supporting  is  to  put  trained  men  over  them,  who 
shall  exhort,  reprove,  stimulate,  and  help.  It  will  not  do  to  say  to 
the  churches  :  "  If  you  do  not  pay  for  a  preacher,  you  cannot  have 
one  ; "  this  would  just  suit  the  Chinese,  for  they  would  at  once  reply, 
"  Very  well,  we  will  do  without." 

In  closing  I  would  say  that  I  am  not  a  radical  advocate  of  the 
use  of  money.  He  is  not  the  wise  man  who  uses  much  money 
or  no  money  ;  but  he  who  uses  it  wisely,  wields  a  great  power 
for  good. 


1900]  MONKY   IN   MISSIONARY    WORK.  19 

])r.  Dudgeon,  in  followiiijr,  said  that  he  quite  endorsed  all 
the  points  which  Dr.  Mateor  had  made.  The  middle  course  was 
certainly  the  best.  One  of  the  greatest  mistakes  which  had  been 
made  in  the  past  was  in  the  em{)loyment  of  Bible  colporteurs.  la 
the  matter  of  missionary  living  we  seem  to  be  learning  the  art  of 
getting  away  from,  rather  than  getting  near  to,  the  Chinese. 

Dr.  Wherry  appreciated  Dr.  Mateer's  remarks,  and  with  scarcely 
an  exception,  approved  the  spirit  of  all  that  he  said*  There  is  a 
reaction  from  the  extreme  views  of  self-support.  There  is  not  great 
temptation  for  missionaries  to  spend  too  much  money  on  themselves 
on  account  of  their  limited  salaries;  certain  things  which  are  wise 
provisions  for  health  are  to  be  considered  as  essential.  One  remedy 
for  the  present  financial  situation  would  be  for  the  Boards  to  send 
out  a  few  less  missionaries  and  allow  more  money  to  be  spent  in  the 
employ  of  native  workers. 

Dr.  Martin  mentioned  the  fact  that  it  is  a  universal  practice  at 
home  to  give  aid  to  feeble  churches,  and  that  these  churches  take  a 
pride  in  becoming  self-supporting  as  soon  as  possible.  The  native 
church  in  Cliina  would  show  the  same  disposition.  The  Boards  might 
make  a  pei-  centum  grant  of  help.  He  fully  agreed  with  Dr.  Mateer's 
position.  We  need  money  ;  it  is  the  oil  on  the  axles  of  the  locomotive. 

Dr.  Lowry  said  that  be  could  subscribe  to  almost  every  sentence 
that  was  uttered  by  the  speaker,  T'he  power  of  money  is  its  wise 
nse.  Ten-fold  more  money  used  wisely  would  mean  one  hundred- 
fold more  fruit.  The  home  secretaries  should  consider  themselves 
only  the  agents  for  the  money  contributed  by  the  churches;  the 
missionaries  on  the  field  should  be  the  administrators  of  the  funds. 

Mr.  Whiting  said  that  the  subject  of  the  evening  was  certainly 
one  of  the  most  important  and  at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most 
perplexing  with  which  we  have  to  deal.  The  principles  enunciated 
by  the  speaker  would  probably  meet  with  the  approval  of  all 
present  ;  a  difference  of  opinion  would  appear  in  the  application  of 
the  }>rinciples.  As  to  the  financial  condition  at  home,  the  churches 
are  well  able  to  give  vastly  more  than  they  are  willing  to  contribute 
to  the  work  of  foreign  missions. 

Mr.  Headland  said  that  he  had  recently  seen  some  statistics 
which  had  arrested  his  attention.  The  contrihntions  of  the  churches 
of  the  United  States  to  foreign  missions  are  $5,000,000  (gold)  per 
annum,  which  is  a  sum  just  equal  to  Carnegie's  income,  and  is  alsa 
equivalent  to  the  sum  spent  for  chewing  gum  in  the  United  States. 
For  her  own  maintenance  at  home  the  church  spends  $100,000,000. 
Bat  the  sum  of  $400,000,000  is  spent  on  tobacco  and  $1,200,000,000 


20  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [January, 

for  liquor.  Such  facts  as  these  need  to  be  presented  to  the  church 
at  home.  The  vohmteers  and  those  who  have  the  volunteer  spirit, 
but  cannot  come  to  the  field,  should  be  doing  this  work  of  arousing 
the  church.  As  to  financial  policy  on  the  field,  we  should  educate 
and  support  wisely. 

Dr.  Mateer,  in  closing,  urged  that  letters  be  written  to  the 
religious  papers  at  home  on  the  missionary  work  ;  it  will  do  no 
good  to  write  to  the  Board  secretaries,  for  the  information  will  be 
pigeon-holed  and  will  never  reach  the  public  eye.  It  is  a  mistake 
to  suppose  that  all  missionary  work  can  be  done  by  foreign  mission- 
aries. Many  more  natives  must  be  employed.  That  missionary  is 
best  reproducing  his  life  who  trains  and  prepares  men  to  carry  on 
the  work  when  he  is  gone. 

D.  WiLLARD  Lyon, 

Sec,  Peking  Missionary  Association, 


The  Tao  Teh  King.    An  Analysis.  II, 

BY  C.    SPURGEON   MEDHURST. 
The  Meaning  of  Tao. 

fHE  crux  of  Lao  Tze  is  this  term  Tao  (ji^)  ;  the  difficulty  iu 
dealing  with  which  is  that  the  old  mystic  sugij^ests  but  never 
explains.  Four  eminent  scholars — Juiien,  Chalmers,  Legge, 
and  Strauss — wisely  leave  the  word  untranslated,  and  Lao  Tze's 
latest  translator,  Dr.  Maclagan,  follows  their  lead.  Prof.  Legge, 
despite  his  very  great  knowledge  of  classical  Chinese,  gives  up  the 
attempt  to  fathom  its  mysteries  and  says :  "  Its  sudden  appearance 
in  the  field  of  non-existence,  producer,  transformer,  beautifier, 
surpasses  my  comprehension."  M.  Abel-Remusat  and  Prof.  Gabe- 
lentz  accept  "  Logos "  as  its  equivalent.  M.  Juiien  sufficiently 
indicated  his  conception  of  the  term  in  the  title  he  gave  his 
translation  of  the  Tao  Teh  King,  "  Le  Livre  de  la  Voie  et  de  la 
Vertu."  This  is  as  far  as  Juiien  goes,  and  Carus  is  misleading 
when  he  says  :  "  We  might  translate  it '  word,'  or  (as  does  Stanilas 
Juiien)  '  path.' "  In  the  text  of  his  version  Juiien  does  not 
translate  Tao.  Legge  agrees  with  Jnlien's  interpretation  so  far  as 
to  write,  "  '^  is  equivalent  to  the  Greek  17  680c,  the  way."  He 
further  describes  it  as  "  not  a  positive  being,  but  a  mode  of  being." 

Mr.  Balfour  writes,  "that  the  character  Tao  '^  may  be 
properly  translated  *  reason '  in  certain  instances,  I  do  not  deny. 
That  it  approaches  the  idea  of  X070C  in  the  Johannine  sense  of  the 


1900.]  THE   TAO   TEH   KINO.      AN  ANALYSIS.  21 

word,  appears  generally  allowed.  For  the  rendering  of  it  by  '  way  ' 
there  are  both  etymological  and  philosophical  reconfimendations 
which  may  not  be  overlooked.  But  that  none  of  these  is  the  trne 
meaning  of  the  word  in  its  esoteric  sense  I  hope  to  show  in  a  few 
words."  NATURE  is  Mr.  Balfonr's  choice  for  Lao  Tze's  Tao.  He 
contends  that  this  translation  causes  "  nine-tenths  of  the  difficulties 
attending  the  study  of  this  beautiful  philosophy"  to  disappear. 
Nevertheless  it  does  not  generally  commend  itself  Those  who 
would  investigate  this  question  farther  will  find  it  fully  discussed 
by  Dr.  Legge  in  his  introdnction  to  his  "  Texts  of  Taoism." 
(Sacred  Books  of  the  East.  Vol.  XXXIX.) 

Neither  is  Dr.  Paul  Cams'  rendei-ing  of  Tao  by  "reason'* 
(juite  satisfactory.  The  learned  Dr.  would,  in  my  opinion,  increase 
the  value  of  his  work  if  in  fatnre  editions  he  were  to  deal  in  a 
more  liberal  manner  with  Lao  Tze's  Tao,  and  instead  of  vainly 
trying  to  find  one  English  synonym  for  its  multiple  shades  of 
meaning,  were  to  render  it  by  different  words  according  to  its 
connections.  It  is  an  unknown  quantity,  an  algebraic  X,  which 
may  be  paraphrased,  but  which  cannot  be  translated.  Lao  Tze 
himself  recognized  it  as  unnamable,  and  therefore  he  called  it  Tao.* 
He  thus  gives  luiusual  latitude  to  his  translators.  I  would  suggest 
therefore  to  Dr.  Cams  that  he  reserve  "  reason "  for  the  passages 
where  Lao  Tze  represents  Tao  as  the  life-producing,  life-preserv- 
ing power,  or  as  the  methods  and  processes  of  nature,  and  that 
elsewhere,  where  Lao  Tze  uses  the  term  to  represent  the  doctrine 
or  standard  of  life,  he  substitute  "  realization "  for  "  reason." 
To  understand  Lao  Tze  some  attention  must  be  paid  to  Indian 
philosophy.  Mr.  Nareudranath  Dutt,  better  known  as  Swami 
Vivekananda,  until  recently  an  energetic  exponent  of  neo-Hinduism, 
says  in  his  "  Brahmavadin  :  "  "Realization  is  the  soul,  the  very 
essence  of  religion."  This,  in  a  sentence,  suras  op  the  Tao  Teh  King. 
While  realization  does  not  embrace  all  that  the  Tao  is,  and  na 
single  word  can,  it  does,  I  venture  to  think,  often  suggest  better.thau 
"  reason  "  what  Lao  Tze  aimed  at  expressing.  One  great  objection 
to  the  use  of  reason  as  an  analogue  for  Tao  is  that  in  a  translatioa 
it  hides  from  the  reader  Lao  Tze's  never-absent  thought,  that  the 
Tao  transcends  the  senses  and  man's  power  of  reasoning  about  it. 
Regarded  as  reason,  Tao  is  more  than  the  intelligence  which  rec- 
ognizes self-evident  truths ;  it  is  itself  the  truth. 

Dr.  Edkins  believes  Lao  Tze's  Tao  to  be  a  foreign  importation. 
It  is,  he  thinks,  the  "  Chaldean  memra,  the  Logos  of  Philo,  and  the 
Sophia  of  other  ancient  writers  in  the  Apocrypha.'*  He  probably 
supplies  the  clue  to  the  maze  when  he  writes  :     "The  word  Tao,  as 

•Chap  25.    ^%^-^^^ZB^W^:^Z^Bi^i^Bm'MB\^mB&' 


22  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Janoary, 

used  by  Lao  Tze,  means  the  principle  which  lies  at  the  fonadation 
of  the  nuiverse." 

What  then  does  Lao  Tze  really  mean  by  this  mysterious  Tao, 
which  he  loves  as  a  man  loves  his  mother,  and  upon  which  he  builds 
his  ethical  system,  trusting  that  through  the  Tao  the  crooked  shall 
be  straightened,  the  imperfect  shall  be  made  complete,  the  lowly 
shall  receive  abundance  as  sure  as  valleys  naturally  and  without  any 
effort  of  their  own  fill  themselves  with  water  ?  A  close  and  care- 
ful examination  of  the  matter  has  led  me  to  the  conclusion  that 
Tao  stands  for  abstract  goodness  as  a  law  of  being:  that  eternal 
principle  of  right  as  opposed  to  the  wrong  we  see  all  around  us, 
which  lies  at  the  foundation  of  the  universe.  It  is  at  ouce  a  revela- 
tion and  a  law.  It  is  the  unseen  reality  which  gives  shape  and 
colour  to  all  things.  It  is  that  which  the  inward  eye  must  see  if 
the  spirit  is  to  be  purified.  Grasp  this  idea  and  you  have  grasped 
the  true  inwardness  of  life,  or  as  the  French  say,  la  verite  vraie. 

Although  the  distinction  is  by  no  means  well  defined  in  the 
Tao  Teh  King,  it  is  plain  that  Lao  Tze  viewed  Tao  under  the  two 
aspects  of  the  conditioned  and  the  unconditioned.  Unconditioned, 
though  not  unrelated  to  man's  consciousness,  it  is  unintelligible  and 
incomprehensible.  In  this  state  he  describes  it  as  being  before 
heaven  and  earth  (^  #|  iS  ^  ^fc  ^  M  ^).  calm,  formless,  change- 
less (5^  ^  p  ^\  unnamable  (^  ^),  intangible,  obscure,  abstruse, 
etc.  (il  #;  \%  5r  5:)-  Yet  it  is  the  world's  mother  (5;  7^  -^)  and 
the  asylum  of  all  things  (?!  #  i^  i^  ^  %)-  When,  however,  it  enters 
the  consciousness  of  man  it  is  necessarily  conditioned,  and  there- 
fore limited  and  im[)erfect.  Accordingly  Lao  Tze  describes  it  as 
flavourless  when  it  issues  from  the  mouth,  as  almost  imperceptible' 
to  the  eye,  and  difficult  to  catch  with  the  ear,  yet  even  so  it  is 
inexhaustible.*  Even  when  conditioned  by  contact  with  creation  it 
is  al'-pervading,  while  all  nature  depends  upon  it.f  Its  natural 
tendency  is,  however,  to  return  to  its  former  unconditioned  state 
(S  ^  'M  i.  H))-  Nevertheless  it  is  always  easy  of  access  to  those 
who  wish  to  know  it  (;/^  j£  :g  H).  It  impartially  assists  the  good 
{%  M  ^  M  'B  ^  ^-  ^-  Gump.  Shu  King  in  loc.)  It  is  all- 
powerful,  and  gains  victories  without  strife.  It  responds  with- 
out speaking.  It  does  not  call,  but  all  things  voluntarily  come 
to  it,  and  though  slack  in  its  operations,  it  is  always  effective. | 

Confucius  recognized  other  claimants  for  man's  worship  than 
the  one  Supreme  Being,  but  Lao  Tze  left  no  room  in  his  system  for 
these.     Everything  is  inherent  in  the  Tao,  not  everything  is  the 

*  Chap. 35.  mz^un^:^M:^mzr^&  ^mz'X^&mMzz-'^Wi. 

t  Chap.  34.  :;^  ^  ^  ^  S  RT  &"  J&  ^  ^  t#  ^  ^  ^  W  T^  Sf  • 

t  Chap. 73.  ^zm:r>-^Mmmx-mmmB:r>^m}^^wmffiimU' 


1900.]  THE   TAO   XEH   KINO.       AN   ANALYSIS.  23 

Tao,  bnt  everything  has  its  being  in  the  Tao,  and  is  one  in  nature 
with  it.  To  retni-n  to  this  source  of  all  being,  to  break  thron<;h  all 
that  divides  creation  from  it— this,  in  a  word,  is  the  highest  object  of 
Lao's  phihjsophy,  and  so,  while  in  its  subtile  essence  the  Tao  is 
beyond  man's  comprehension,  in  practice  it  is  well  within  the  scope 
of  his  powers. 

Here  is  a  vital  difference  between  Lao  Tze's  doctrine  and 
Buddhism.  According  to  Lao  Tze,  nuderlyiug  the  phenomena  of 
nature,  whether  manifested,  or  numanifested,  there  is  the  Tao,  that 
eternal  law  of  goodness.  Buddhism,  on  the  other  hand,  maintains 
"  that  existence,  at  least  individual  existence,  in  itself  is  an  evil,  and 
the  source  of  all  the  misery  in  the  world." 

Although  Lao  Tze  attributes  omnipotence  to  the  Tao  the  term 
must  not  be  regarded  as  a  synonym  for  God,  Lao  Tze  never 
ascribes  creative  energy  to  the  Tao,  as  the  New  Testament,  for 
example,  refers  the  creation  of  all  things  to  the  Logos.  Neither 
Lao  Tze  nor  any  subsequent  Taoist  was  competent  to  conceive 
creation  in  the  Christian  sense.  With  them  the  genesis  of  the 
nniverse  is  not  a  creation  but  an  infinite  ideation.  The  Tao  is 
always  an  abstract  principle,  never  a  concrete  being  T'ien  {^)  in 
the  Tao  Teh  King  is  never  a  personality  such  as  Ti  or  Shaug  Ti, 
but  always  a  qualifying  term. 

I  had  written  thus  far  when  a  colleague  called  ray  attention  to 
Mr,  Chavannes'  monumental  work,  "  Les  Memoires  Historiques  de 
Se  Ma-tsien,"  which  I  had  not  previously  seen.  On  pages  xviii.-xxi. 
of  his  exhaustive  introduction  to  the  works  of  Sz  Ma-ch'ien,  M. 
Chavannes  reviews  Lao  Tsz  and  the  Taoist  philosophy.  Following 
M.  Julien  he  translates  Tao  as  "  the  way,"  and  describes  it  as  a 
continual  becoming  ("  il  est  la  vie  de  Vincessant  devenir"),  which 
is  an  unexpected  support  of  my  contention  that  Dr.  Cams  would 
better  represent  the  mind  of  the  old  philosopher  if,  in  future  editions 
of  his  Tao  Teh  King,  he  sometimes  substituted  "realization"  for 
"  reason  "  as  a  rendering  of  Tao. 

Non-action   or   Non-assertion. 

The  second  great  problem  of  the  Tao  Teh  King  is  the  phrase 
Wu  Wei  (^  ^).  These  two  monosyllables  colour  and  shape  the 
whole  of  Lao  Tze's  teaching,  and  like  Tao  the  phrase  is  exceedingly 
difficult  to  translate.  It  means  contemplative  action  or  contem- 
plation in  acting — an  idea  altogether  foreign  to  our  severely  logical 
Western  minds,  with  their  proneness  to  give  action  the  first  place. 
Wu  Wei  has  been  translated  non-action  or  doing  nothing,  but  as 
Legge  says :  "The  Taoistic  'doing  nothing'  was  not  an  absolute 
quiescence  and  inaction,  but  had  a  method  in  it."    Dr.  Cams  renders 


24  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [January, 

the  phrase  by  "  non-assertion."  This  is  the  best  translatiou  I  have 
seen,  but  it  does  not  always  convey  to  an  English  reader  Lao  Tze's 
meaninsr,  and  whenever  used  of  the  fj^overument  should,  I  would 
suggest,  be  rendered  "  non-interference."  In  every-day  life  Wu  Wei 
is  "  non-assertion,"  that  quiet  acquiescence  in  the  course  of  nature 
which  we  find  it  so  hard  to  learn  ;  but  when  applied  to  the  actions 
of  the  government  Wu  Wei  means,  "don't  interfere,  do  not  harrass 
the  people  by  making  many  laws."  Prof.  Legge  gives  another  turn 
to  the  phrase  when  he  describes  it  as  "  doing  nothing  for  the  sake 
of  doing  it;"  and  again,  "the  Tao  forbids  action  with  a  personal 
purpose,  and  all  such  action  is  sure  to  fail  in  the  greatest  as  well 
as  in  the  least."  In  a  word,  Lao  Tze's  doctrine  is  that  there  is  a 
non-action  or  inaction,  which  is  both  powerful  and  active,  nor  is  the 
notion  quite  so  contradictory  as  might  at  first-sight  appear.  It  is 
well  summed  up  by  Dr.  Cams  as  follows: — 

"  He  who  attempts  to  alter  the  nature  of  things,  will  implicate 
himself  in  a  struggle  in  which  even  the  most  powerful  creature  must 
finally  succumb.  But  he  who  uses  things  according  to  their  nature^ 
directing  tlieir  course,  not  forcing  them  or  trying  to  alter  their 
nature,  can  do  with  them  whatever  he  pleases."  (See  also  Sz  Ma- 
ch'ien.     ^m±^^  ^  m- 

This  quotation  sufficiently  sets  forth  one  aspect  of  the  subject 
but  does  not  cover  the  whole  ground.  Lao  Tze  felt  that  the  social 
ills  of  mankind  were  for  the  most  part  caused  by  a  too  paternal 
government  (what  would  he  have  said  about  such  a  government  as 
we  see  in  Russia  and  elsewhere  on  the  Euro[)ean  continent?),  and 
that  if  the  government  abstained  from  meddling  with  the  affairs  of 
its  subjects  and  allowed  things  to  follow  their  nature  course,  the 
people  would  develop  their  natural  dispositions,  and  all  would  be 
well.  This  feature  of  Lao's  philosophy  has  puzzled  rae  a  good  deal. 
It  looks  like  a  policy  of  drift,  and  nothing,  whether  animate  or  in- 
animate, can  drift  without  coming  to  ruin.  But  Lao  Tan  taught  no 
such  shallow  doctrine.  To  be  understood,  the  teachings  of  the  mystic 
must  be  considered  as  a  whole.  No  mere  examination  of  the  pas- 
sages where  he  happens  to  mention  "  non  action,"  will  reveal  his 
mind.  It  is  impossible  to  exhibit  the  gist  of  the  teaching  of  the 
Tao  Teh  King  on  this  matter  by  quotations.  When,  however,  the 
work  is  carefully  studied  as  a  unity,  it  appears  that  meditation  on 
the  Tao  is  always  held  to  be  equally  important  with  the  habit  of 
letting  things  take  their  course.  Indeed,  I  have  a  shrewd  suspicion 
that  if  we  could  cross-examine  Lao  Tze  on  this  point,  he  would 
say  that  it  is  useless  anyone  trying  to  accomplish  anything  by  the 
principle  of  laissez  faire  unless  the  Tao  is  pre-eminently  present. 
Wu  Wei  is  effective  only  as  it  is  permeated  by  the  powerful 
influences  of  the  almighty  Tao. 


1900.]  THE  TAO  TEH  KINO.   AN  ANALYSIS.  26 

The  Tao  Teh  King,  in  fact,  presents  us  with  a  defective  but 
diffusive  statement  of  a  very  important  Christian  conception. 
Translated  into  ordinary  every-day  English,  and  robbed  of  the 
mystical,  paradoxical  atmosphere  with  which  Lao  Tze  loved  to 
enfold  his  teaching,  it  is  this:  He  who  has  no  root  in  the  unseen,  no 
rest  in  the  Tao,  will  be  energetic,  but  not  efficient,  while  he  whose 
life  is  an  amplification  of  the  mysterious  Tao,  will  be  efficient,  but 
not  energetic.  In  the  same  way  it  may  be  said  of  the  Christian 
minister  or  missionary  that  all  his  activities  are  "  non-actions,"  idle 
acts,  when  compared  with  his  real  work,  which  is  quiet  intercession. 

If  any  object  that  1  have  gone  beyond  the  Taoistic  comment- 
aries in  reading  this  Christian  sense  into  my  author,  I  reply  that 
Lao  Tze's  commentators  were  often  inferior  men,  that  they  some- 
times used  his  text  as  a  platform  from  which  to  cry  their  own 
nostrums,  and  that  to  get  at  the  real  meaning  of  the  master,  they 
must  occasionally  be  put  aside.  Whether  or  not  my  reading  of 
Lao  Tze  is  forced,  each  student  must  decide  for  himself  by  a  minute 
and  careful  analysis  of  the  text. 

Government, 

As  I  have  already  had  occasion  to  refer  to  Lao  Tze's  ideas  of 
government,  it  will  be  well  at  this  point  to  examine  them  more  in 
detail.  He  is  the  truest  ruler,  thought  Lao  Tze,  who  acts  in  all  things 
as  if  he  were  doing  nothing.  The  government  ought  "  not  to  govern, 
but  simply  to  administer."  His  great  bug-bear  was  over-legisla- 
tion. "  If,"  he  says  in  chapter  58,  "  the  government  is  tolerant, 
the  people  will  be  without  guile.  If  the  government  is  meddling, 
there  will  be  constant  infraction  of  the  law."*  Again,  "  in  govern- 
ing men  and  in  serving  heaven,  there  is  nothing  like  moderation."! 
"  Govern  a  great  nation  as  you  would  fry  a  small  fish,"^  viz., 
neither  gut  nor  scale  them.  In  chapter  51  he  is  even  more 
extravagant  After  giving  a  fanciful  and  unique  account  of  how 
things  came  to  be,  he  suddenly  springs  on  the  reader  the  assertion 
that  the  Tao  is  universally  reverenced  and  is  powerful  because  it  is 
nowhere  embodied  in  a  commaud,[|  Confucius  stated  that  because 
Shun  made  himself  revered  he  governed  without  effort,  but  the 
uou-action  of  Shun  is  totally  different  from  the  Wu  Wei  of  Lao's 
ideal  sovereign, 

Lao  Tze's  principle  of  laissez  fairs  in  the  matter  of  government 
has  been  the  standard  by  which  each  successive  dynasty  has  ruled 

t  Chap.  59.  i^  K^^M^f  &. 
t  Chap.  60.  ^  :A;  [dii  ^  7?.  '>  n- 

I!  The  whole  passage,  read,  as  follows  :     ^^Z^- ^  Z  ^B  Z  f^  ^  Z  ^  £X 

^'&M.X^mM^M'^^^ZM'ii^'ZM^MZ^M'»Ui&. 


20  THE  CHINESE  EECORDER.  [Jacnary, 

in  China,  and  no  country  in  the  world,  with  any  pretensions  to 
civilization,  has  such  a  stationary  code.  Her  entire  domestic  policy 
is  based  on  the  supposed  inherent  goodness  of  human  nature,  and 
the  largest  possible  discretionary  power  is  given  to  her  adminis- 
tering officials.  It  is  doubtful  if  she  carries  these  optimistic  ideas 
into  her  foreign  relations.  (For  Confucius'  views  on  government, 
see  Legge's  Chinese  Classics.     Prolegomena,  pp.  102-109). 

Like  his  countrymen  Lao  Tze  was  no  political  economist,  and 
those  whose  creed  is  democratic  rather  than  bureaucratic,  who 
accept  Gen.  Grant's  maxim,  "  If  you  think  that  a  law  is  unjust, 
enforce  it  ;  the  people  will  do  the  rest,"  and  denounce  the  senti- 
ments of  Bishop  Horsley,  who  held  that  the  people  had  nothing  to 
do  with  the  laws  except  to  obey  them,  will  find  little  that  is  profit- 
able in  Lao  Tze's  opinions  on  government.  His  treatise  was  written 
to  teach  this  art,  but  its  value  lies  elsewhere.  Those  interested  in 
imbuing  the  Chinese  with  democratic  ideas,  will  find  interesting 
sentences  in  Giles'  dictionary  under  the  character  ^,  No.  7908, 

Before  leaving  this  subject  we  should  hear  Lao  Tze's  views  on 
capital  punishment.  They  are  very  advanced,  and  received  the 
approval  of  T'ai  Tsu,  the  founder  of  the  Ming  dynasty.  (See 
Cams,  pp.  320-321).  "There  is  alwaj-s  a  great  executioner.  Now 
for  any  to  act  the  part  of  the  great  executioner,  may  be  described  as 
taking  the  place  of  the  great  carpenter  who  hews.  It  is  seldom 
that  he  who  undertakes  to  hew  instead  of  the  great  carpenter,  fails 
to  cut  his  hands."* 

Lao  Tze's  Love  of  Silence. 

As  certain  sinologues  have  sharply  criticised  Lao  Tze's  doctrine 
of  silence,  it  demands  separate  attention.  The  following  are  the 
passages  in  question:  "Therefore  the  holy  man  accomplishes  with- 
out effort  and  instructs  without  speecb."t  "Instruction  by  silence 
and  the  benefits  of  acting  as  though  doing  nothing,  few  under 
heaven  attain  to  this."J:  "The  greatest  sound  is  never  uttered."  [| 
"  Those  who  know,  do  not  speak  ;  those   who  speak,  do  not  know."§ 

In  their  terse  blunt  brevity  Lao  Tze's  statements  are  not  at  first 
likely  to  commend  themselves  to  us,  but  they  grow  in  force  as  we 
become  accustomed  to  our  author's  style.  Dr.  Chalmers  adds  a 
note  to  the  first  passage  quoted,  in  which  he  says:  "Emerson  makes 
Socrates  say,  'All  my  good  is  magnetic,  and  I  educate,  not  by  lessons, 

t  Chap.  2.  ^SimK^MMZ^nX^mZWi. 

i  Chap.  43.  r^mzmm:^zu^i^^AZ' 

jl  Chap.  41.     ±^^-^. 


1900.]  THE    TAO  TEH  KING.      AN  ANALYSIS.  27 

but  by  going  about  my  business.'"  Lao  Tzo  after  all  is  right. 
The  highest  religion  is  always  unspoken.  We  all  know  what  it  is  to 
bave  ""  thoughts  too  deep  for  speech."  Instinctively  we  feel  that 
the  loudest  talker  is  often  he  who  has  the  shallowest  intellect.  The 
world  is  always  ready  to  acknowledge  the  man  who  acts  rather  thaa 
speaks,  who  can  "  instruct  without  speech."  Good  words  are  often 
misunderstood.  Good  deeds  never.  Scherer  tells  us  the  plain  truth 
when  he  says:  "  Xe  mot  c^est  V artisan  clcs  idoles."  It  was  a  healthy 
instinct  which  led  Lao  Tze  to  plead  for  silence.  It  is  a  plea  we  might 
all  heed  without  loss.  One  of  the  most  profound  of  present-day 
English  writers  well  says:  "Religion  begins  and  ends  in  the 
unutterable.  It  comes  from  a  source  that  we  cannot  express  ;  it 
wells  up  in  the  soul  in  emotions  that  no  form  can  properly  hold; 
and  in  its  best  result  it  embodies  itself  in  what  is  higher  and  more 
enduring  than  speech."  The  kingdom  of  God  consists  not  in  word 
but  in  power,  and  therefore  Lao  Tze  with  a  true  insight  would  have 
mankind  speak  less  but  think  more,  dwell  less  in  the  outer  portal 
of  speech  that  they  may  have  more  leisure  in  the  still  chambers  of 
their  souls.  "Let  your  abstraction,"  he  says,  "be  complete  and 
lot  quietness  be  carefully  preserved."*  But  to  what  end  ?  "  The 
good  man  is  the  bad  man's  instructor,  while  the  bad  man  is  the 
good  man's  capital. "f 

Silence   regarding   Music. 

While  defending  Lao  Tze's  advocacy  of  silence  I  cannot  avoid 
expressing  my  surprize  at  the  silence  of  the  mystic  concerning 
music.  So  far  as  I  know  no  one  has  called  attention  to  this  fact, 
but  to  me  it  is  a  most  significant  omission,  and  throws  considerable 
light  on  Lao  Tze's  character.  A  'priori  we  would  have  said  that  the 
old  mystic  would  have  found  nothing  better  than  the  weird  mystery 
of  music  to  illustrate  the  power  of  his  Tao.  Both  his  rival  Con- 
fucius and  his  disciple  Chuang  Tze  attribute  all  but  divine  power  to 
the  magic  creations  of  the  musician,  but  Lao  Tze  has  no  use  for  his 
harmonies.  He  only  once  refers  to  them  and  then  disparagingly. 
(See  Chap.  35  of  the  Tao  Teh  King.) 

Non-desire. 

Wii  Yii  (M  ^),  or  absence  of  desire,  is  a  continnation  of  Wa 
Wei  (M  ^),  or  absence  of  action,  which  we  have  already  considered. 
Wa  Yii  means,  says  Legge,  to  be  "  free  from  all  external  aim."  It 
is,  says  Cams,  a  request  to  man  to  have  no  will  of  his  own,  "  bat  to 
do  what  according  to  the  eternal  and  immutable  order  of  things  he 

*  Chap.  iQ.mi^ifi'^m  n. 

t  Chap.  '^7'  mm  K-^z^m  Kzm%^  j^fsm  Kzwi, 


28  THE  CHINESE  EECOEDEB.  [Jannary, 

ought  to  do.  It  is  the  surrender  of  attachment  to  self."  Bnt  Laa 
Tze  shall  speak  for  himself.  "  The  sage  puts  himself  last,  and  yet  is 
first  ;  abandons  himself,  and  yet  is  preserved."*  "  Therefore  the 
holy  man  (the  sage)  acts  without  expecting  returns ;  completes  his 
work,  but  does  not  dwell  on  it.  Does  he  ever  desire  that  his  worth 
may  be  known  ?"t  "  The  sage  (or  the  holy  man)  knows,  bnt  does 
not  show  himself;  loves,  but  does  not  honor  himself."  %  "  There  ia 
no  sin  greater  than  giving  the  rein  to  desire.  There  is  no  misery 
greater  than  discontent.  There  is  no  calamity  more  direful  than 
the  desire  of  possessing."  ||  Because  the  Tao  is  "  ever  desireless,  it 
may  be  classed  with  the  small."  §  "  Therefore  he  who  is  eternally 
desireless  will  be  able  to  penetrate  that  which  is  mysterious."  % 
"  It  is  only  those  who  do  not  exert  themselves  on  behalf  of  life  who 
are  worthy,  or  who  value  life."  ** 

When  a  man  has  rid  himself  of  all  desire — desire  always  means 
grasping  after  something  beyond  reach — he  will  be  possessed  of  the 
Tao.  Being  filled  with  the  Tao  he  will  desire  nothing  else.  The 
natural  result  will  be  that  nothing  will  any  more  resist  or  recede 
from  him.  Eternal  life  will  be  his  portion.  Such  in  brief  is  Lao 
Tze's  teaching.  It  is  not  new.  "  The  highest  teachings  as  to  the 
ultimate  ends  of  life  are  in  fact  fundamentally  the  same."  All 
philosophy  is  a  painful  struggle  towards  the  goal,  a  goal  which  the 
New  Testament  briefly  summarises,  **  Set  your  affections  on  things 
above." 

The  Ionic  school  of  Greece  had  its  counterpart  to  the  Tao  in  its 
TO  irpiirov,  or  that  which  befits  the  perfect  man.  Tlie  Stoics  of  Rome 
would  have  endorsed  Lao  Tze's  teaching  concerning  desire.  "  Ever 
remember,"  wrote  the  philosophic  Emperor,  Marcus  Aurelins,  "that 
happy  life  depends  not  on  many  things."  Spinoza  enforced  Lao 
Tze's  doctrine  when  he  declared  that  "strife,  envy,  hatred,  and 
fear  are  the  constant  penalty  of  loving  perishable  things,  but 
love  toward  a  thing  eternal  and  infinite,  feeds  the  mind  with  pure 
joy,  and  is  wholly  free  from  sorrow."  The  latest  exponent  of 
Lao  Tze's  philosophy — though  it  is  not  likely  she  has  read  our 
author — Mrs.  Anne  Besant,  outdoes  the  old  philosopher  himself. 
"Not  cease  from  action,  that  is  unnecessary,  but  act  without 
desire,  making  every  effort  which  is  necessary,  yet  indifierent  to 
the  result  ....  For  the  man  of  action  who  performs  every  action 
because  it  is  his  duty,  and  remains  indifferent  to  the  fruits  thereof, 

*  Chap.    7.  Jija^  A^K-#W:^*^I'K^W#^. 

t  Chap.  n.  -^i^im^n'^x^f^^ fR'^yc-}M%x^^m^M- 
t  Chap.  72.  j^  :gi  ig  A  e  $n  w  T^  a  a  e  ^  w  T>  @  ft. 

II  Chap.  i&.m^i^=i''^WimMii=fX^9&&^M-:k^WiU' 

§  Chap    34.  ^^Wi  W  iS  =p  '>• 

H  Cliap.  1.  tx'^^/^Kxm^H'- 


1900.]  THE   TAO  TEFI   KINO-      AN  ANALYSIS.  29 

that  man  in  the  world  is  the  servant  of  God Snch  a  man 

makes  no  karma,  for  such  a  man  has  no  desire  ;  such  a  man  creates 
no  links  which  ,biadhim^  to  earth  ;  snch  a  man  is  spiritually  free 
althonf,'h  around  him  actions  may  spring  up  on  every  side." 
Another  writer  of  the  same  school  says  :  "  Imagine  each  desire  as  a 
hook  fastened  on  to  the  things  you  long  for ;  each  hook  attached  to 
some  worldly  object.  On  every  hook  is  a  chain  which  winds  around 
you,  binding  you  to  earth.  With  every  desire  tliat  you  can  over- 
come that  hook  unfastens,  the  chain  loosens,  drops  from  yon,  and 
then  does  the  spiritual  force  surge  up."  (The  Countess  Wachmeister). 
There  must  be  truth  in  a  doctrine  which  comes  to  the  surface 
in  such  widely  differing  systems  and  connections,  and  we  are  bound 
to  enquire  whether  it  has  any  countenance  from  Christianity. 
The  religion  of  Jesus,  through  the  efforts  of  its  ubiquitous  and 
enthusiastic  missionaries,  is  permeating  and  dominating  every  other 
faith.  Di<i  he  also  teach  the  suppression  of  desire  ?  We  know  that 
he  said  :  "  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  within  you."  Be  not  anxious 
about  food  and  clothes,  "  but  seek  ye  His  kingdom  and  His  righteous- 
ness ;  and  all  these  things  shall  be  added  unto  you."  "  Lay  not  up 
for  yourselves  treasures  upon  the  earth."  "  Lay  up  for  yourselves 
treasures  in  heaven."  Christianity,  then,  does  advocate  the  duty  of 
holding  lightly  to  the  things  of  earth,  yet  not  because  material 
possessions  are  evil,  but  rather  that  their  possessor  may  have  the 
power  of,  at  any  time  and  in  any  place,  withdrawing  from  the  outer 
world  with  its  brilliant  illusions  into  the  profound  silence  of  his 
own  heart.  It  here  differs  from  Lao  Tze's  doctrine  of  non-desire, 
and  likewise  from  the  teaching  of  Confucius  on  the  same  topic. 
They  would  suppress  desire  because  of  itself,  because  it  is  an  evil 
and  leads  to  evil.  Jesus  Christ  would  suppress,  or  rather  absorb, 
men's  desires  by  giving  them  something  more  worthy.  He  would 
purify,  not  pull  up ;  elevate,  not  destroy.  Lao  Tze  sought  to  persuade 
men  to  rid  themselves  of  all  desire  that  their  attention — not  their 
affection — might  be  concentrated  on  the  great  Tao.  Christianity 
has  a  better  reason  for  enforcing  the  non-desire  of  lower  things. 
Hear  the  Christian  prophet,  "  The  desire  of  our  souls  is  to  thy 
name  and  to  the  remembrance  of  thee."  (Isaiah  xxvi.  8).  Hear  also 
the  Christian  mystic,  "  0  how  powerful  is  the  pure  love  of  Jesus, 
which  is  mixed  with  no  self-interest  nor  self-love."  (Thos.  a 
Kempis). 

Lao  Tze  and  Confucius. 

We  cannot  leave  Lao  Tze  until  we  have  considered  his  teaching 
in  the  light  of  his  rival — Confucius.  For  this  there  is  no  better 
starting  point  than  this  question  of  desire.  Both  believed  in  a  past 
golden  age,  a  felicitous  state  where  everyone  was  happy,  and  pain 


30  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [January, 

and  misery  were  nnknown.  Both  believed  that  heaven's  most 
precious  gift  to  man  is  his  faculty  of  appi'ehending  perfection,  but 
that  his  comprehension  of  it  is  obscured  and  the  clear  stream  of  his 
original  purity  mudded  by  the  daily  doings  of  every-day  life. 
Their  original  conceptions  were  alike.  Only  when  they  expound 
the  way  to  the  goal  do  they  begin  to  differ. 

Confucius  would  regulate  the  nature  of  man  by  study  and  a 
correct  deportment.  Yen  Yuen  asked  him  about  perfect  virtue  and 
the  steps  necessary  for  its  attainment.  Confucius  replied :  "  Look 
not  at  what  is  contrary  to  propriety ;  listen  not  to  what  is  contrary 
to  propriety ;  speak  not  what  is  contrary  to  propriety ;  make  no 
movement  which  is  contrary  to  propriety."  Lao  Tze,  on  the  other 
hand,  would  purify  the  heart  by  withdrawing  from  all  the  busy 
activities  of  life  and  by  constant  meditation  on  the  Tao,  an  attitude 
which  is  distinctly  Brahminical.  His  teaching  in  this  respect  is 
similar  to  that  of  the  Hindoo  poem — the  Bhagavad  Grita.  Arjoon's 
divine-human  teacher  tells  him  that  desire  is  the  root  of  all  man's 
offences,  and  that  desire  must  be  altogether  abandoned.  "  It  is  the 
enemy,"  he  says,  "  lust  or  passion,  insatiable  and  full  of  sin,  by  which 
this  world  is  covered  as  the  flame  by  the  smoke,  as  the  sword  by 
rust,  or  as  the  fcetus  by  its  membrane.  This  inveterate  foe,  in  shape 
of  desire,  raging  like  fire,  and  hard  to  be  appeased,  obscures  the 
understanding  of  the  wise  man.  The  destroyer  of  wisdom  and 
knowledge  must  be  destroyed." 

The  interest  of  the  Confucianist  in  the  possibility  of  being 
without  desire  is  speculative  and  retrospective  rather  than  a  ques- 
tion of  practical  politics.  With  Lao  Tze  and  his  school,  however, 
it  is  a  matter  of  life  and  death.  The  Confucianist  looking  back  to 
the  beginning  of  things  says:  "That  was  the  auspicious  age  when 
man's  passional  nature  not  yet  having  stirred,  he  was  free  because 
free  from  desire."  Lao  Tze,  without  pondering  on  the  past,  said: 
"Man  is  now  the  slave  of  his  desires.  Unless  he  escapes  this  net 
he  cannot  enjoy  the  freedom  of  the  Tao."  Hence  "  renounce  sage- 
ness,  discard  wisdom,  and  the  people  will  gain  a  hundred-fold. 
Eenounce  benevolence,  discard  righteousness,  and  the  people  will 
again  become  filial  and  kind.  Renounce  skill,  discard  gain,  and 
thieves  and  robbers  will  no  longer  exist."*  Heraclitus,  on 
another  continent,  had  said  similar  things  a  little  earlier.  "  Your 
knowledge  of  many  things,"  he  ironically  told  his  fellow  Greeks, 
"  does  not  give  you  reason  or  wisdom."  So  Lao  Tze,  for  truth  is 
always  the  same  whatever  its  outward  aspect,  felt  that  the  "sage- 
ness,"  the  "wisdom,"  the  "benevolence,"  and  "righteousness" 
which  his  fellows  boasted,  were  but  shadows,  injurious  to  those  who 

♦Chap.  w.MUM^^m's^MVMm^'&m^.m^mmistmm^ 


1900.]  THE  TAO  TEIl   KING.      AN  ANALYSIS.  31 

followed  them  because  they  made  trnth  impossible  of  discovery. 
What  Frederick  Deiiisoa  Maurice  says  of  Socrates,  may  with  eqnal 
trnth  be  said  of  Lao  Tze.  "To  destroy  the  worship  of  power,  and 
especially  of  iutellectnal  power,  may  be  said  to  have  beeu  the 
purpose  of  his  life,"  and,  like  Socrates,  Lao  Tze  wonld  have 
destroyed  the  outward  symbol  that  the  inner  eye  might  behold  the 
eternal,  unchangeable  principles  of  the  universe.  Had  he  been  as 
persistent  as  Socrates  he  might  have  met  a  fate  not  unlike  that  of 
the  great  Athenian. 

Confucius  on  the  contrary,  while  not  denying  the  element  of 
unreality  in  the  "wisdom"  and  "righteousness"  of  his  day  would, 
as  has  been  said,  correct  the  evil  by  more  profound  study  and  a 
stricter  observance  of  the  rules  of  propriety.  Meditation  on  the 
unseen  he  considered  dangerous,  and  constantly  strove  to  keep  his 
disciples  from  straying  hither.  He  did  not  talk  about  "extra- 
ordinary things,  feats  of  strength,  states  of  disorder,  and  spiritual 
beings,"  but  contented  himself  with  teaching  "  letters,  ethics,  devo- 
tion of  soul,  and  truthfulness."  He  gave  evasive  answers  to 
questions  about  death  and  immortality,  (v.  Analects  in  loc.) 

Lao  Tze  and  Confucius  are  here  very  far  apart.  Confucius 
insisted  on  the  strict  observance  of  all  the  social  duties.  Lao  Tze  on 
the  other  hand,  perceiving  the  danger  of  the  earthly  excluding  the 
heavenly,  called  for  a  renunciation  of  everything  and  a  return  to 
pristine  simplicity  (see  Chap.  80  of  the  Tao  Teh  King),  not  knowing, 
to  quote  Maeterlinck,  that  "  an  act  of  goodness  or  justice  brings 
with  it  a  kind  of  inarticulate  consciousness  that  often  becomes  more 
fruitful  .  .  .  than  the  consciousness  that  springs  from  the  deepest 
thought."  Nor  should  we  too  hastily  condemn  the  old  Chinese 
mystic  for  his  austerity.  One  of  the  noblest  spirits  of  the  church, 
Francis  of  Assisi,  exacted  a  vow  of  poverty  from  his  followers  and 
taught  that  secular  learning  was  dangerous  to  the  soul,  and  wisdom 
to  humility.  It  is  not  therefore  surprizing  that  Lao  Tze  should  have 
failed  to  realize  that  he  had  done  but  little  for  the  real  "self,"  even 
after  he  had  discarded  "  sageness,"  "wisdom,"  and  "skill"  and 
had  returned  to  a  primitive  state,  "  Man  may,"  says  a  thoughtful 
writer,  "  cut  himself  from  a  thousand  things  which  beautify  and 
enrich  life,  to  end  by  being  the  supremest  of  worshippers  ;  all  other 
glories  being  swallowed  up  in  this  supreme  glory  of  being  separate 
from  and  inwardly  superior  to  everybody  else."  The  Crusaders  are 
an  example.  They  believed  themselves  to  be  under  the  guidance  of 
God's  angels,  and  laying  aside  their  military  pomp  when  they 
reached  Jerusalem,  entered  the  holy  city  under  the  guise  of  pilgrims, 
but  no  sooner  were  they  within  the  walls  than  they  abandoned 
themselves  to  wild  orgies  of  riot  and  bloodshed.    An  old  Indian 


32  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [January, 

master,  who  thoronghly  nnderstood  hnraan  nature,  said  :  "  The  vanity 
of  others  may  gradually  die  out,  but  the  vanity  of  the  saint  is  hard 
indeed  to  wear  away."  "  The  Sou  of  Man  came  eating  and  drink- 
ing." I  must  not,  however,  be  understood  to  be  inferring  that  Lao 
Tze  himself  was  insincere.  On  the  contrary,  I  believe  him  to  have 
belonged  to  that  company  of  rare  souls  who  not  merely  talk  of,  but 
who  actually  attain  to  that  most  difficult  of  all  graces,  that  perfect 
humility  which  is  content  to  live  without  the  fulfilment  of  ambition, 
and  the  many  beautiful  passages  in  which  the  old  philosopher 
discourses  on  this  theme  are,  I  take  it,  transcripts  of  his  own 
heart's  experience. 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  grand,  old,  simple  Greeks,  that 
though  as  orderly  and  as  credulous  as  the  Chinese,  and  valuing  the 
wisdom  from  above  as  truly  as  Lao  Tze,  they  never  fell  into  the 
blunder  of  regarding  asceticism  as  necessary  to  its  acquisition. 
Pythagoras,  as  much  as  Lao  Tze,  believed  in  an  eternal  wisdom 
which  men  most  adore  in  silent  wonder,  but  while  the  philosophy 
which  Pythagoras  taught  "  could  not  be  carried  out  except  in  a 
unity  of  living  men,"  the  old  Chinese  hermit  believed  that  solitude 
and  silence  were  necessary  for  a  proper  contemplation  of  the  eternal 
law.  Accordingly  he  advocated  the  abandonment  of  life's  duties 
on  the  ground  that  they  made  men  unspiritual.  "Wherefore 
though  the  Emperor  be  enthroned  and  his  ministers  appointed, 
holding  their  badges  of  office  in  front  of  them  and  riding  a  chariot 
of  four,  they  are  not  like  the  man  who,  sitting  still,  enters  into  this 
Tao."* 

It  was  of  course  impossible  for  a  man  like  Confucius  to 
sympathize  with  such  a  position,  and  there  is  irony  mingled  with 
respect  in  his  summary  of  Lao  Tze's  character.  "  I  know  that  the 
birds  can  fly,  I  know  that  the  fishes  can  swim,  I  know  that  the 
wild  animals  can  run.  For  the  running,  one  could  make  nooses  ; 
for  the  swimming,  one  could  make  nets;  for  the  fljang,  one  could 
make  arrows.  As  to  the  dragon,  I  cannot  know  how  he  can  bestride 
wind  and  clouds  when  he  heavenward  rises.  To-day  I  saw  Lao  Tze. 
Is  he  perhaps  like  the  dragon  ?  "  His  interview  with  the  recluse 
confirmed  him  in  his  resolution  to  have  nothing  to  do  with  mys- 
ticism, and  like  Comte  and  Spencer  he  set  himself  to  frame  a 
philosophy  which  excluded  the  spiritual.  Therefore  when  "  Ke  Loo 
asked  about  serving  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  the  Master  said  :  '  While 
you  are  not  able  to  serve  men,  how  can  you  serve  their  spirits  ? ' 
Ke  Loo  added  :  *  I  venture  to  ask  about  death  ?  '  He  was  answered  : 
'  While  you  do  not  know  life,  how  can  you  know  about  death  ? " 
(Analects.  Legge.) 

*  Chap.  62.  iSlci5fc^m  =  ^Mi:f^|i^^ig®%in^5ijIb^. 


1900.]  IN  MEMORIAM.  33 

Both  mystic  and  moralist  were  wrong.  Each  hicked  a  full 
orbed  imagination.  Lao  Tze  erred  in  one  direction.  Coufncius  in 
another.  The  spiritual  and  the  physical  far  from  being  antagonistic 
may  he  harmonized  and  made  of  the  highest  value  one  to  the  other. 
Browning  with  his  usual  profound  insight  says — I  quote  from 
memory :  "Nor  soul  helps  flesh  more  than  doth  flesh  help  soul." 
Meditation  on  the  unseen  is  not  inconsistent  with  faitliful  devotion 
to  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life.  Galileo  dreamed  of  the  planetary 
revolutions  while  polishing  mathematical  instruments  for  a  living. 
Although  Spinoza  ground  lenses  he  worked  out  the  principles  of  a 
new  philosophy.  Burns  composed  his  immortal  poems  while  follow- 
ing the  plough.  Carey  conceived  modern  missions  while  mending 
boots  and  shoes.  Paul  made  tents,  and  Jesus,  the  world's  Saviour, 
wrought  at  a  carpenter's  bench. 


3n  riDcinonam* 

Mrs.  Fratik  P.  Oilman  died  at  the  home  of  her  mother  in  Sonyea, 
N.  Y.,  U.  S.  A.,  on  September  16th.  As  one  who  knew  and  loved  her  I 
■write  these  few  lines  for  the  Recorder.  Marion  McNair  Oilman  was  born 
in  Sonyea,  N.  Y.,  in  1855.  Early  in  her  life  she  made  a  speciality  of  art 
and  commenced  teaching  it  while  yet  in  her  teens.  In  1884  she  went  to 
India  as  a  teacher  in  the  school  at  Woodstock,  and  the  following  year  she 
was  married  to  Rev.  E.  P.  Oilman,  a  missionary  of  the  A.  P.  Mission, 
under  appointment  for  Hainan,  South  China.  They  came  directly  from 
India  to  Hainan.  Mrs.  Oilman  was  the  first  foreign  woman  to  meet  the 
natives  of  the  ishind,  and  for  some  time  she  was  alone  among  a  strange 
and  unfriendly  people.  Only  those  who  have  passed  through  a  like 
experience  can  know  or  appreciate  what  a  strain  this  was,  both  physically 
and  mentally.  For  eight  years  she  worked  among  the  women  of  Hainan, 
always  with  enthusiasm  and  love,  although  part  of  the  time  in  deep 
sorrow  after  her  two  oldest  children  were  taken  by  the  Master.  Then  she 
was  in  America  for  a  furlough,  and  returned  in  1896  in  seemingly  good 
health. 

Early  in  the  present  year  she  broke  down  nervously,  and  returned 
with  her  husband  and  children  to  the  U.  S.  She  so  far  recovered  that 
Mr.  Oilman  returned  to  Hainan  in  August,  expecting  her  to  follow  him 
next  year,  and  now  comes  the  news  of  her  death. 

This  in  a  few  words  is  a  bare  outline  of  her  life.  But  of  her  un- 
selfish sweetness  of  character  and  love  for  the  Chinese  too  much  cannot 
be  said.  In  Nodoa,  her  home  for  three  years,  the  Chinese  women,  both 
Christian  and  heathen,  continually  speak  of  how  Mrs.  Oilman  loved  them. 
No  one  has  found  a  way  to  their  hearts  as  she  did.  Her  life  was  not  lived 
out  to  the  full,  but  amid  sorrows  and  changes  it  was  lived  beautifully  and 
well. 

Mrs.  P.  W.  McClintock. 


34  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [January, 

dftrxrcatbnal    department. 

Rkv.  E.  T.  Williams,  M.A.,  Editor, 

Published  ia  the  interests  of  the  "  Educational  Association  of  China." 


The  Society  for  the  diffusion  of  Christian  and  General 

Knowledge. 

JHE  twelfth  annnal  meeting  of  the  Society  for  the  DifFnsion  of 
Christian  and  General  Knowledge  among  the  Chinese  was  held 
at  Shanghai,  in  the  hall  of  the  China  Branch  of  the  Roj^al 
Asiatic  Society,  on  Wednesday,  December  20th,  at  5  p.m.  Hon.  John 
Goodnow,  Consnl-General  of  the  United  States,  took  the  chair  and 
made  a  very  interesting  address.  We  call  attention  to  the  following 
important  statements  made  in  the  address,  as  showing  the  opinions 
of  one  who  is  qnalified  by  his  position  and  rare  gifts  to  note  the  drift 
of  affairs  in  China.    Among  other  things  Mr.  Goodnow  said : — 

I  am  not  one  of  those  believing  that  China  is  again  going  backward. 
On  the  contrary,  I  hold  that  improved  methods  of  coiumunication,  by 
bringing  the  people  in  touch  with  one  another,  are  making  a  public 
opinion,  arousing  a  feeling  of  patriotism,  are,  in  fact,  making  China  one 
nation,  not  only  in  form,  but  in  the  true  nationality  of  solidarity  of  the 
minds  and  hearts  of  the  people.  The  increasing  use  of  Western  methods 
and  inventions  is  the  fundamental  cause  of  this 

The  printing  press  has  created  the  nations  of  the  West.  It  has  not 
lost  its  power.  Its  sphere  of  influence  is  now  marked  out  in  the  East, 
and  neither  ignorance,  nor  militarism,  neither  Eastern  nor  Western 
greed,  can  re-datken  the  region  where  by  Caxton's  art  the  bright  light 
of  knowledge  has  begun  to  illumine  the  once  dark  places.  I  have  faith 
also  in  the  success  of  your  work  ;  you  are  making  your  fight  along  the 
lines  marked  out  by  the  Great  Captain,  for  the  conquest  of  nations. 
Nineteen  centuries  ago  he  was  confronted,  not  by  a  single  nation,  but 
by  a  world  of  ignorance,  superstition,  and  suffering.  He  did  not  plan 
that  His  work  should  be  done  by  armies  and  navies.  He  marked  out 
the  mind  and  conscience  for  His  sphere  of  influence.  Look  at  all 
history  since  then  !  The  permanent  conquests  have  not  been  by  blood 
and  iron,  but  by  ideas  and  knowledge 

Never  before  has  China  been  under  the  direct  ga^e  of  the  M-hole 
world  as  it  is  to-day.  Never  before  have  its  people  been  so  insistently 
taught  the  value  of  other  ideas  and  other  civilizations  as  they  are  now 
by  events  being  taught.  They  are  forced  to  study,  and  naturally  they 
turn  to  your  Society,  which  has  been  so  long  in  this  work  and  which  has 
now  their  respect.  More  effective  than  ever,  then,  must  be  the  work  of 
this  Society  :  teaching  theia  the  undisputed  facts  of  Christian  civilization. 
You  are  organized  to  do  the  work.  You  only  need  money  to  carry  on 
the  work.  I,  as  my  distinguished  colleague  who  presided  over  your 
eleventh  annual  meeting,  "am  convinced  that  the  donation  of  the  earnest 
philanthropist  cannot  be  better  applied  than  in  furthering  the  work  of 
this  Society," 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL    DEPARTMENT.  B5 

The  report  of  the  secretary,  Rev.  Timothy  Richard,  shows  that 
the  political  reaction  of  last  year  has  not  been  without  serious 
effect  npon  the  sales  of  the  Society's  publications,  these  having 
fallen  from  $18,457.36  in  1898,  to  $9,113.25  in  1899. 

Of  this  change  in  the  political  atmosphere  the  secretary  says  : 
Last  year  we  were  able  to  report  a  marvelous  awakeninj^,  such  as 
China  had  not  experienced  for  a  thousand  years  before,  when  tens 
of  millions  were  all  astir  with  the  wc^  ideas  which  interested  the 
most  intelligent  students  in  the  land  and  the  most  enlightened 
viceroys  and  governors  in  the  empire^  headed  by  the  Emperor 
himself.  Our  publications,  which  had  a  large  share  in  bringing 
about  this  awakening,  were  in  demand  everywhere,  and  the  printing 
presses  in  Shanghai  could  not  print  as  many  as  were  wanted,  and 
our  Society  could  not  publish  a  sufficient  variety ;  hence  the 
Emperor  decided  to  establish  a  Board  of  Translation,  furnished  with 
a  large  staff  of  literary  men  who  would  translate  the  best  books  of 
the  world  into  Chinese,  while  our  Society  was  asked  to  co-operate 
in  this  as  well  as  in  various  other  departments.  But  after  witnessing 
at  the  close  of  our  last  year  the  execution  of  six  zealous  reformers 
without  trial,  the  exile  and  the  imprisonment  of  all  the  chief  leaders 
of  the  reform  whom  the  government  could  get  hold  of,  the  hearts 
of  many  were  turned  to  stone.  As  the  government  punished  as 
traitors  all  who  seemed  to  depart  from  the  old  ways,  a  reign  of  terror 
was  established,  and  the  students  of  reform  were  afraid  to  be  seea 
with  books  of  Western  learning  in  their  hands. 

Notwithstanding  these  discouragements,  however,  the  Society 
did  some  splendid  work  during  the  year.  The  new  publications 
amounted  to  141,500  copies  with  a  total  of  8,199,400  pages,  and  the 
re-publications  to  43,960  copies  with  10,461,520  pages,  or  a  grand 
total  of  185,460  copies  and  18,660,920  pages. 

A  very  important  matter  undertaken  was  the  formation  of  a 
scheme  of  education  for  the  empire  which  has  been  elaborated  with 
the  co-operation  of  the  Educational  Association  of  China.  This 
scheme  will  be  more  fully  explained  in  the  near  future,  and  looks 
toward  outlining  courses  of  study  for  those  desiring  to  acquaint 
themselves  with  Western  learning.  It  will,  we  understand,  suggest 
text-books,  and  will  arrange  for  examination  by  competent  persons 
of  all  those  who  desire  to  put  their  study  to  this  test.  The 
accounts  as  submitted  by  the  Hon.  Treasurer,  James  Buchanan, 
Esq.,  show  a  good  balance  on  the  right  side. 

Dr.  Y.  J.  Allen,  in  seconding  the  motion  for  the  adoption  of  the 
accounts,  referred  to  the  effects  of  the  political  reaction  and  expressed 
the  opinion  that  there  was  no  such  reaction  so  far  as  the  feeling  of 
the  people  is  concerned,  that  it  was  confined  to  government  eircles 


36  THE  CHINESE  BECORDER.  [January, 

and  could  be  but  temporary  in  its  effects.  As  an  illustration  of  the 
attitude  of  the  people  he  mentioned  some  experiences  on  a  recent 
trip  to  Soochow  and  Nanzing,  at  both  of  which  places  large  nnmbers 
of  wealthy  merchants  and,  at  Soochow,  of  officials  as  well,  gathered 
together  to  consult  with  the  secretary  and  himself  as  to  the  best 
methods  of  enlarging  their  educational  facilities. 

There  can  be  no  doubt  indeed  that  the  present  lull  in  the 
demand  for  the  books  of  the  Society  is  due  more  to  fear  than  aught 
else,  and  as  we  have  before  said  in  these  columns  the  movement 
toward  educational  reform  can  no  more  be  stayed  than  the  advance 
of  the  rising  tide. 

The  Society  is  to  be  congratulated  on  the  great  part  which 
it  has  performed  in  stimulating  and  directing  this  movement,  and 
we  are  confident  it  has  a  most  important  work  to  accomplish  in  the 
near  future.  It  is  extremely  fortunate  in  having  for  its  secretary 
a  man  of  such  gifts  and  wide  experience  and  of  such  unflagging 
zeal  as  Rev,  Timothy  Richard. 

We  are  glad  to  see,  too,  that  during  the  coming  year  the  working 
staff  is  to  be  increased  by  the  addition  of  Rev.  Donald  McGillivray, 
who  is  set  apart  for  this  work  by  the  Canadian  Presbyterian  Mission, 
and  Rev.  Mr.  "Walshe,  whose  services  are  contributed  in  the  same 
way  by  the  Church  Missionary  Society.  It  should  also  be  mentioned 
that  the  Wesleyan  Mission  some  months  ago  consented  to  allow 
Rev.  W.  A.  Cornaby,  of  Hankow,  to  devote  his  rare  abilities  to  the 
work  of  this  Society,  upon  which  he  at  once  took  charge  of  the 
Missionary  Review. 

The  following  officers  were  elected  for  the  coming  year  : — 
President —  Sir  Robert  Hart. 

I  Right  Rev.  Bishop  Moulb. 
Rev.  W.  MuiRHEAD,  D.D. 
Cornelius  Thorne,  Esq. 
George  Jamieson,  Esq.,  C.M.G. 
J.  J.  Keswick,  Esq. 

Secretary —  Rev.  Timothy  Richard. 

Son.  Treasurer —  James  Buchanan,  Esq. 

Directors. 

Messrs.  Addis,  Harris,  Poate,  and  Revds.  Y.  J.  Allen,  LL.D,,  J. 
Edkins,  D.D.,  W.  A.  Cornaby,  J.  C.  Ferguson,  F.  L.  H.  Pott, 
D.  McGillivray,  G.  W.  Walshe,  P.  Keanz,  and  E.  T.  Williams. 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT.  87 


Public  Schools  for  Chinese. 

,T  a  recent  meeting  of  the  Shanghai  Literary  and  Debating 
Society  the  question  of  establisliiug  public  schools  for  the 
Chinese  children  in  the  settlements  was  very  ably  discussed. 

The  only  serious  objection  urged  against  the  proposal  was  the 
financial  one.  It  was  thought  by  som6  that  it  would  be  very  diffi- 
cult to  raise  the  necessary  funds. 

It  does  not  appear  to  us,  however,  that  there  ought  to  be  any 
difficulty  in  this  respect.  Other  communities  provide  educational 
facilities  for  their  children,  and  surely  the  "  model  settlement "  can- 
not do  less. 

It  has  been  pointed  out  that  the  settlements  were  set  apart  for 
the  residence  of  foreigners,  and  that  the  natives  are  there  on  suffer- 
ance, that  foreign  residents  are  therefore  not  bound  to  provide  for 
their  comfort.  It  is  also  said  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
expenditure  incurred  by  the  Municipal  Council  is  made  necessary 
by  the  presence  of  the  Chinese.  All  this  is  true,  but  on  the  other 
hand,  the  Chinese  are  in  the  settlements  because  the  foreign  residents 
want  them  there.  They  build  houses  for  them,  and  are  only  too 
willing  to  derive  a  profit  from  their  willingness  to  live  in  them,  and 
if  the  original  intentions  of  the  treaty  powers  were  carried  out  and 
the  settlements  reserved  for  foreigners  only,  it  is  easy  to  see  that 
land  would  be  of  comparatively  little  value,  rents  low  and  many 
fortunes  that  have  been  made  in  real-estate  would  be  non-existent. 
No  doubt  the  Chinese  come  into  the  settlements  because  they  are 
attracted  by  trade  facilities  and  by  the  protection  to  life  and 
property  afforded  by  the  excellent  Municipal  government,  bat  the 
favours  are  not  all  on  one  side.  And  if  Chinese  residents  make 
greater  expenditure  necessary  for  police,  they  bear  their  share  of 
the  burden  of  taxation.  They  are  seventy  to  one  of  the  population 
it  is  true,  and  do  not  of  course  pay  seventy  times  the  taxes  of 
foreigners,  but  they  pay  Municipal  rates  and  by  far  the  larger  part 
of  the  license  fees,  that  is,  they  pay  according  to  the  value  of  the 
property  and  privileges  which  they  possess,  and  it  is  an  open  secret 
that  no  small  part  of  the  land  tax,  credited  as  paid  by  foreigners, 
is  really  paid  by  Chinese,  whose  title  deeds  are  held  in  the  name  of 
foreigners.  Certainly  if  the  presence  of  Chinese  in  the  settlements  is 
more  of  a  burden  than  a  blessing,  the  remedy  is  easy;  carry  out  the 
original  intentions  of  the  treaty  powers,  exclude  the  Chinese  and 
confine  the  administration  of  the  Council  to  the  small  area  needed 
for  foreign  residents. 


38  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [January, 

As  we  nnderstand  it,  however,  there  is  no  intention  to  add 
greatly  to  the  burden  of  the  tax-paying  foreigner.  It  is  not  for  a 
system  oi  free  schools  that  the  Chinese  are  asking,  but  for  such 
facilities  and  supervision  as  will  enable  those  seeking  an  education 
in  English  and  in  the  sciences  to  obtain  it  by  payment  of  a  rea- 
sonable fee.  It  may  be  answered  that  such  facilities  now  exist  in 
the  numerous  mission  schools  and  various  private  institutions. 
But  mission  schools  are  overcrowded,  and  many  of  the  private 
schools  managed  by  natives  are  not  np  to  the  mark.  "With  such 
supervision  as  the  Council  could  easily  provide,  a  uniform  standard 
could  be  enforced  in  all  schools  receiving  any  grant-in-aid,  and 
such  a  grant-in-aid  would  enable  private  schools  to  secure  properly 
qualified  teachers  and  needed  apparatus.  We  are  informed  that 
numbers  of  Chinese  merchants  will  contribute  toward  the  estab- 
lishment of  schools,  provided  the  Council  will  assume  supervis- 
ion and  thus  guarantee  the  quality  of  the  instruction,  and-we 
do  not  doubt  the  Chinese  rate-payers  would  willingly  pay  the 
slight  additional  rate  that  it  might  be  necessary  to  Xqv^  to 
cover  the  expense,  thus  relieving  the  foreign  rate-payer,  if  that  is 
desired. 

It  need  hardly  be  pointed  out  that  the  establishment  of  such 
schools  will  be  of  immense  benefit  to  the  foreign  residents  in  raising 
the  general  average  of  intelligence  among  their  Chinese  neighbours, 
diminishing  their  superstition,  making  much  easier  the  enforcement 
of  Municipal  regulations,  providing  more  efiicient  assistants  in  all 
departments  of  trade  open  to  Chinese  and  in  breaking  down  the 
anti-foreign  prejudices  which  are  a  perpetual  menace  to  the  peace 
of  the  settlements.  It  is  coming  to  be  more  and  more  generally 
recognized  in  all  Western  countries  that  education  is  so  closely 
related  to  the  good  order  of  society  as  to  require  that  it  should  be 
put  under  the  control  of  the  government,  and  while  it  is  true  that 
China  has  never  ceded  her  sovereign  rights  in  the  settlements,  it  is 
nevertheless  the  part  of  wisdom  on  the  part  of  the  foreigner  to  set 
an  example  in  this  matter  which  cannot  but  exert  a  powerful 
influence  throughout  the  empire  and  contribute  very  materially  to 
the  reform  of  the  educational  system  generally  throughout  China, 
and  thus  assist  in  the  diffusion  of  that  enlightenment  which  is  the 
first  prerequisite  to  the  removal  of  those  barriers  which  have  so 
long  hindered  the  reformation  of  her  government  and  the  develop- 
ment of  her  commerce  and  industries. 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT.  89 

Educational  Association  of  China. 

Meeting  op  the  Executive  Committee. 

tHE  committee  met  at  McTyeire  Home  at  8  p.m.,  December 
12th,  1899,  and  was  opened  with  prayer.  Present:  Rev.  A.  P 
'^-'  Parker,  D.D.,  chairman.  Revs.  Timothy  Richard,  F.  L.  Hawks 
Pott,  W.  N.  Bitton,  Prof.  E.  R.  Lyman,  and  Rev.  J.  A  Silsby.  Miss 
Haygood  being  unable  to  attend  on  account  of  illness.  Miss  H.  L. 
Richardson  acted  as  her  proxy. 

The  minutes  of  last  meeting  were  read  and  approved. 

The  treasurer  reported  a  balance  from  last  meeting  of  |292.36. 
A  payment  of  |2,585.87  was  made  for  maps,  charts,  etc.,  ordered 
from  England,  and  to  the  Mission  Press  |1,355.88  in  settlement  of 
account  ending  June,  1899.  Book  sales  at  the  depot  of  the  Society 
for  the  Diffusion  of  Christian  and  General  Knowledge  realized  the 
sum  of  |2,000,  which  amount  was  paid  into  our  bank  account. 
Thus  the  bank  account  shows  an  adverse  balance  of  $1,649,39. 

The  general  editor  reported  as  follows  : — 

1.  Three  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty  maps  and  charts  have 
been  purchased  from  W.  and  A.  K.  Jolmston,  Edinburgh,  at  a  cost  of 
£257.13.6,  equal  to  nearly  $2,600  Mexican. 

2.  The  last  report  from  the  Presbyterian  Mission  Press  for  the  six 
months  ending  June  30th,  1899,  showed  that  the  Association  was  in 
debt  to  the  Press  for  printinc;,  etc.,  to  the  amount  of  $1,355.58. 

3.  We  received  $2,000  from  the  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Chris- 
tian and  General  Knowledge,  proceeds  of  sales  of  our  books  that  have 
been  placed  on  deposit  in  their  book  store. 

4.  After  paying  the  two  amounts  referred  to  in  items  1  and  2,  we 
find  that  we  have  overdrawn  our  account  in  the  bank  to  the  extent 
of  about  $1,600,  on  which  we  are  now  paying  7  %  interest. 

5.  1  find,  on  examination  of  the  records  of  sales  of  our  stock  at 
the  Mission  Press,  that  the  sales  of  the  same  for  the  four  months 
ending  October  31st,  amount  to  nearly  $1,400.  If  the  sales  continue 
at  this  rate  to  the  end  of  the  present  six  months  we  shall  be  able  to 
pay  off  our  indebtedness  and  have  some  margin  over. 

6.  The  Minutes,  only,  of  the  last  triennial  meeting,  have  been 
published  and  distributed  among  the  members  of  the  Association.  The 
papers  and  discussions  are  now  being  printed,  and  will  be  ready  for  sale 
in  a  short  while. 

7.  The  list  of  Biographical  and  Geographical  Names,  authorized 
by  the  last  triennial  meeting,  are  now  being  put  through  the  press, 
and  will  soon  be  ready  for  distribution. 


40  THE  CHINESE  RECORDEK.  [January, 

8.  One  thousand  copies  each  of  Hayes'  Astronomy  and  Acoustics 
have  been  printed  and  placed  on  sale. 

9.  One  thousand  copies  of  the  new  Science  Series,  nine  volumes,  have 
been  published  and  put  on  sale. 

10.  I  have  had  advertisements  inserted  in  the  Recorder  and  in  the 
Universal  Gazette  (Chinese  daily  paper)  calling  attention  to  the  new 
stock  of  maps  and  charts  and  to  the  new  Science  Series. 

11.  It  seems  desirable  that  I  should  add  a  word  in  regard  to  the 
present  unsatisfactory  state  of  our  finances.  This  is  undoubtedly  due  to 
the  reactionary  policy  of  the  Peking  government  during  the  past  year. 
If  the  reform  movement  had  continued,  our  sales  would  have  been  very 
much  larger  and  the  two  series  of  books — the  mathematics  and  the  new 
Science  Series — which  absorbed  so  much  of  our  capital,  would  have 
sold  off  rapidly,  and  we  should  have  recovered  our  capital  with  some 
profit.  But  the  sale  of  all  such  books  has  been  greatly  retarded,  and 
the  result  is  that  we  find  ourselves  with  a  considerable  amount  of  stock 
on   hand   that   is   selling  very  slowly  indeed. 

But  we  must,  in  common  with  many  others  similarly  situated,  hold 
steadily  on,  and  hope  for  a  speedy  turn  in  affairs  such  as  will  bring  about 
a  new  and  greater  demand  for  our  publications,  and  thus  open  up  to 
us  opportunities  for  efl&cient  work  greater  and  more  encouraging  than 
ever  before. 

A.  P.  Parker, 

General   Editor. 

A  commnnication  from  Rev.  W.  M.  Hayes,  was  placed  before 
the  committee,  offering  to  sell  his  iuterest  in  certain  publica- 
tions. It  was  moved  that  we  accept  Mr.  Hayes'  offer,  and  agree 
to  pay  him  7|  %  in  advance  on  the  cost  of  all  fature  editions  of  his 
works,  and  also  the  same  percentage  upon  those  now  in  stock  upon 
which  he  has  not  yet  received  his  royalty. 

The  translation  of  Loomis'  Differential  and  Integral  Calculus 
by  Mr.  Lio,  of  Tengchow,  was  before  the  committee,  and  was  ac- 
cepted, but  the  publication  was  deferred  until  the  funds  of  the 
Association  will  admit  of  doing  so. 

It  was  resolved,  That  the  committee  deem  it  desirable  that 
the  New  Orient  Readers  be  adapted  to  the  use  of  schools  in  China 
and  translated  into  the  Chinese  language.  We  authorize  the 
General  Editor  to  take  steps  to  secure  the  publication  of  the 
series  in  such  form  as  will  meet  our  wants,  communicating 
with  Macmillan  &  Co.  with  regard  to  the  same. 

J.  A.  SiLSBr, 

Secretary. 


1000.] 


CORRESrONDENOB. 


41 


€cixxt$fM^txxtt, 


QUBStI0K3   FOR  OPIUM  SMOKBRS. 
To  the  Editor  of 

"TiiR  Chinesb  Recorder." 

Drar  Sir  :  Kindlyallow  me  through 
the  medium  of  the  Recordkb  to 
acknowledge  and  warmly  thank 
the  good  friends  who  have  ob- 
tained and  returned  answers  to  the 
above  questions.  The  fiiends  are 
as  follows : — 


Miss  L. 

Martin, 

two  sheets. 

„   B. 

Webster, 

five      „ 

„   M. 

A.   Holmo, 

three  ,, 

Rev.  C. 

\V.  Print, 

five      „ 

„    F. 

B  Blown, 

five      ,, 

,,   J.  B.  Hartwell,  D  D  ,     three   ,, 
,,    C.  Spiirgeou  Medhiirst,  three    ,, 

Twenty-six  in  all. 

About  six  months  ago  10,000 
sheets  of  questions  were  printed 
and  distributed  among  the  Prot- 
estant missionaries  in  China,  in 
the  liope  that,  through  tiiem,  we 
might  obtain  the  answers  required. 
During  the  six  months  that  have 
past,  the  above  twenty-six  slieets 
have  been  returned,  leaving  a 
balance  of  9,974  (!)  still  in  the 
kind  keeping  of  those  whom  we 
contidently  expected  would  prove 
our  willing  helpers. 

Dear  Mr.  Editor,  I  have  been  in 
circumstances  when  the  repeating 
of  the  old  adage,  "slow  but  sure," 
has  brought  with  it  a  slight  meas- 
ure of  comfort ;  but  alas,  it  fails 
rae  now  !  In  regard  to  these  ques- 
tions and  answers  the  "slow"  is 
very  apparent,  but  the  "  sure  " — - 
well,  it  has  not  yet  come  into  view. 
This  sad  fact  is  slaying  hope,  and 
brings  us  nigh  despairing  of  ever 
succeeding  in  this  endeavour  to 
make  the  opium  smokers  of  China, 
for  once  in  their  miserable  and 
useless  existence,  of  service  to  their 
country.  May  some  others  be 
aroused  to  make  an  effort  to  bring 
the   opium   smokers'  testimony  to 


bear  against  the  upholders  of  the 
ouraed  opium  trafhc. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Geo.  Nicoll. 
P.  S.-— Another  five  sheets  have 
come    to    hand    from    Mr.    Alex. 
Miller,  for  which  we  return  liearty 
thanks.  G.  N. 


MISSIONARY   HIERARCHY. 

To  the  Editor  of 

"The  Chinese  Recorder." 

Dear  Sir:  In  your  Editorial 
Comment  in  the  November  issue 
of  the  Recorder,  re  the  securing 
of  political  status  by  the  Roman 
Catholic  missions  for  their  pre* 
latic  episcopacy,  you  have  certainly 
stated  in  a  word  what  should  be 
the  united  position  of  the  whole 
body  of  the  Prote.stant  missionaries. 

The  move  portends  significantly 
the  designs  of  the  Romanists.  It 
is  in  the  straight  line  of  the  self- 
assertion  and  dogmatic  character 
of  its  ecclesiastical  hierarchy.  The 
unwisdom  of  such  presumption  is 
apparent  to  all  true  Christian 
workers;  and  its  resultant  issue  is 
as  surely  predicted  as  is  the  failure 
and  end  of  all  carnal  imaginations 
and  world)}''  warfare. 

In  the  manner  and  form  of  pre- 
senting the  gospel  to  these  con- 
servative eastern  races  we  shall  do 
well,  and  win  honorably,  by  con- 
fining ourselves  simply  to  the  line 
of  action  assigned  us  by  the  Lord. 
We  shall  be  strong  and  do  the  best 
and  most  permanent  work  by  this 
precedent.  We  will  not  overstretch 
ourselves,  nor  "boast  of  things 
without  our  measure,  but  accord- 
ing to  the  measure  of  the  limit 
which  God  apportioned  unto  us." 

Let  the  Romanists  alone.  They 
will  of  course  go  on  to  use  this 
newly-appropriated  power  in  their 
usual    conventional   and    arrogant 


42 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[Jan nary, 


methods,  and  by  its  use  attract, 
hold,  and  subject  its  proselytes  to 
their  serai-paganistic  prerogatives. 

It  seems  that  the  real  attitude 
of  the  Chinese  government  towards 
this  ecclesiastical  innovation,  is  one 
of  weak  and  unfortunate  acquies- 
cence. In  this,  its  coup  d'essai,  it 
may  fascinate  both  the  deluded 
parties;  but  in  the  end  will  surely 
win  no  real  outward  respect,  while 
the  jealousy,  suspicion,  and  inward 
hatred  will  be  rtiagnified  many  fold. 

Whatever  may  be  the  attitude 
of  the  Chinese  government,  on  the 
other  hand,  with  regard  to  con- 
ferring equality  of  "  official  rank  " 
on  Protestant  missionaries,  there 
must  be  no  hesitancy  or  weakness 
shown  on  our  part.  Compromise 
at  this  crucial  moment  in  the 
history  and  experience  of  missions 
would  be  to  ensure  the  success  of 
certain  failure. 

Missions  and  missionaries  are 
being  tested.  Never  was  there 
need  for  stronger  men  and  sounder 
judgnaent.  The  crisis  is  a  trumpet 
call  to  prayer  and  to  the  careful 
perusal  of  the  "  constitution "  of 
our  divine  mission.  At  the  present 
moment  this  is  more  vital  than 
"  terms ",  or  literary  questions, 
doctrinal  eschatology,  industrial 
prohlems,  or  social  demands. 

Finally,  let  us  remember  we 
have  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in 
perpetuity  to  guide,  bless,  and 
inspire  the  work  of  preaching  the 
gospel  to  these  non-Christian  peo- 
ples. We  shall  reach  its  highest 
utility  in  design,  its  best  purpose  in 
service,  and  its  glorious  end  in  the 
economy  of  redemption,  by  being 
**  careful  to  maintain  good  works," 
remembering  ever  the  timely  apos- 
tolic injunction  to  be  "steadfast" 
and  "  unmoveable  "  and  to  "  hold 
fast  to  the  faithful  word  as  he  hath 
been  tau<,'ht,  that  he  may  be  able 
by  sound  doctrine  both  to  exhort 
and  to  convince  the  gainsayers." 
Wm.  Rrmfry  Hunt. 

C'hu-cheo,  An-huei. 


THE    CONFERENCE    VERSIONS    OF  THE 
SCRIPTURES. 

To  the  Editor  of 

"  The  Chinese  Recorder." 

Dear  Sir  :  My  attention  has  been 
drawn  to  Dr.  DuBose's  article, 
'*  The  Dual  Standard  Version  in 
Chinese "  \w  the  December  No.  of 
the  Recorder. 

1.  The  Conference  of  1890 
ordered  a  triple  version  of  the 
Scriptures  ;  Dr.  DuBose  prefers  a 
dual  version,  and  has  again  put  his 
preference  in  print.  It  seems  to 
me  that  these  remarks  are  out  of 
place.  They  should  have  been 
made  at  the  Conference  of  1890,  or 
be  reserved  for  that  of  1901,  if  the 
matter  is  reconsidered  then.  All 
that  the  revisers  can  do  now  is  to 
carry  out  the  instructions  of  the 
Conference,  whatever  our  individual 
preferences  may  be.  So  I  will  not 
notice  i)is  arguments  further  than 
to  say  that  I  see  some  weight  in 
them. 

2.  Again  he  finds  fault  with  the 
method  adopted  for  harmonizing 
the  triple  version.  He  thinks 
the  harmonizing  should  have  been 
conducted  pari  passu  with  the 
translating,  i.e.,  that  the  whole 
seventeen  revisers  should  have 
given  up  all  other  mission  work 
and  have  met  in  one  place ;  query, 
and  their  salaries  have  been  paid 
by  the  Bible  Societies  ? 

The  plan  adopted  by  the  revisers 
was:  "That  each  company  select 
one  of  its  number  to  form  a  Commit- 
tee on  Harmony  of  Versions,  whose 
duty  it  shall  be  to  take  note  of 
divergent  renderings  in  these  ver- 
sions, to  .suggest  such  changes  as 
shall  lead  to  harmony,  and  to  submit 
them  to  the  revisers  to  be  settled 
by  a  majority  vote,  subject  to  the 
final  decision  of  the  Board  of 
Revisers  at  their  united  meeting 
if  desired."  Accordingly,  a  com- 
mittee was  chosen  as  follows :  Dr. 
Sheffield,    Bp.    Burdon,    and    Dr. 


1900.] 


CORRESrONDENCE. 


43 


Goodrich.  As  Acts  is  tho  firsb 
book  publislied  with  wliich  the 
Eaay  Wen-li  is  to  be  compared,  it 
will  now  come  before  that  commit- 
tee. No  doubt  they  will  be  thank- 
ful to  Dr.  BuBose  for  his  pains- 
taking selection  of  the  passages 
that  he  tliinks  should  be  harmon- 
ized. Most  of  this  harmonizing 
can  probably  be  accomplished  by 
writing.  xVt  most  it  involves  the 
meeting  of  three  men,  e.  (/.,  a  visit 
of  Bp.  Burdon  to  Peking. 

3.  My  main  criticism  of  Dr. 
DuBose's  paper  is  that  he  evidently 
goes  out  of  his  way  to  make  the  dis- 
crepancy of  the  two  veisions  appear 
as  great  as  possible  by  his  En<;lish 
translations.  I  will  notice  only  a 
few. 

In  Acts  ii.  15,  he  says  :  "  W.  this 
man.  M.  these  men."  Is  he  ignor- 
ant of  the  fact  that  j|{j  may  be 
either  singular  or  plural?  Would 
he  have  a  sign  of  the  plural  in 
W^n-li  wherever  it  can  be  put 
in  the  colloquial  dialects?  So 
again  in  xvi.  35.  To  be  consistent 
he  should  insist  on  putting  some- 
thing in  W6n-li  to  correspond  with 
f[g  in  3§  f@  A.  Such  Wen-li 
would  cease  to  be  Wen-li  at  all. 
We  must  expect  the  colloquial 
dialects  to  be  fuller  than  any 
Wen-li. 

Again,  in  ii.  18,  he  translates  ^ 
by  Jix !  The  radical  shows  that 
it  means  flow.  Williams'  first  de- 
finition is  "water  flowing."  The 
previous  versions  have  used  it  for 
the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Because  ^  g  means  "fix  the 
eyes"  is  '^  to  be  translated  *'fix" 
every  time? 

V.  33.  I  will  leave  to  the  Man- 
darin translators  the  expression 
"  lungs  scalded."  If  this  be  a 
correct  translation  of  the  Chinese 
it  is  a  colloquialism  which  cannot 
be  transferred  to  the  Wen-li. 

VI.  1.  Why  translate  |Ig  =^ 
"  abuse  ? "  The  expression  certainly 
means  "grumbling,"  "murmuring." 

lu  viii.   12  the  nou-insertioa  of 


the  personal  pronoun  is  accounted 
a  discrepancy.  Is  the  pronoun 
always  to  be  inserted  in  Wen-li? 

In  xii.  13  he  translates  ]fr 
"  woman."  Any  Chinese  would 
understand  it  as  "  give."  If  they 
wanted  to  say  "  woman "  they 
would  write  ^^,  or  say  -f^  J^ 
possibly. 

In  xxiii.  33.  Why  translate  3^f[5 
"Financial  Commissioner?"  It  is 
a  word  of  very  wide  meaning,  and 
is  used  for  "  <,'overnor  "  in  several 
versions.   See  Williams  and  Kang-hi. 

So  I  might  go  on.  Harmony 
will  never  be  attained  by  any  such 
process  as  a  violent  translation 
into  English. 

There  is  room  for  harmonizing 
no  doubt.  But  all  harmonizing 
must  be  done  in  the  spirit  of 
harmony. 

Dr.  DuBose  quotes  Dr.  John's 
versions  as  examples  of  harmony.  Of 
course  it  is  easy  to  secure  this;  we 
may  say  almost  impossible  to  avoid 
it  in  a  "one  man  version;"  but 
the  Bible  Societies  prefer  the  unit- 
ed judgment  of  a  committee.  It 
was  in  this  way  that  the  Authorized 
Version  and  the  Canterbury  Re- 
vision were  made. 

Five  men,  or  two  companies  of 
men,  will  be  more  likely  to  show 
some  difference  of  interpretation  or 
taste  than  one  man,  especially  if  his 
version  is  periphrastic.  Trusting 
in  the  guidance  of  God's  Spirit,  we 
may  arrive  at  substantial  unity. 
For  this  let  us  work  and  pray. 

R.  H.  Graves. 


The  Rev.  A.  G.  Jones,  of  Ching- 
chou  Fu  (Tsing-tau,  Shantung)  in- 
forms us  that  there  is  now  on  the 
way  out  to  him  a  further  sample 
lot  of  twenty-nine  sacs  (each  sac 
containing  six  teaspooufuls)  of 
selected  silk- worm  eggs  for  fret 
distribution  in  China. 

Mr.  Jones  will  be  glad  to  receive 
direct  application  for  a  sample 
from  any  missionary  interested  in 
furthering  this  industry  by  distiib- 


44 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[January, 


uting  the  eggis  to  competent  and 
reliable  Christian  silk  growers  with 
a  view  to  introducing  healthy  and 
reliable  eg'j;s  and  so  helping  them 
to  help  themselves.  See  article 
in  Missionary  Recorder,  Septem- 
ber, 1899. 


All  applicants  should  give  full 
postal  address  and  apply  as  early 
as  possible.  It  is  of  course  expected 
that  after  the  worms  have  finished 
producing  next  year,  some  account 
of  the  result  should  be  sent  to  Mr, 
Jones. 


#ur  ifloh  %nhie. 


Christian  Missions  and  Social  Progress. 
A  Sociological  Study  of  Foreign  Mis- 
sions. By  the  Rev.  James  S.  Dennis, 
D.D.  In  three  volumes.  Vol,  II. 
Fleming  H.  Revell  Company,  New 
York,  Chicago,  Toronto.  Pp.  486. 
With  80  full  page  illustrations.  (To 
be  had  of  Presbyterian  Mission  Press 
and  Mr.  Edward  Evans,  1  Seward 
Road). 

It  is  now  about  five  years  since 
the  particularly  fruitful  thought 
struck  the  author  of  tliese  volumes 
that  the  history  of  mission  woik 
which  he  had  occasion  to  review 
in  extenso  in  his  "  Foreign  Missions 
After  a  Century,"  offered  a  fertile 
field  for  fresh  sociological  investiga- 
tions, especially  after  he  had  been 
invited  by  Princeton  students  to 
lecture  to  them  on  this  subject. 
Here  is  an  army  of  workers  engaged 
in  different  ways  and  on  different 
plans  at  the  same  general  task  of 
altering  the  fundamental  conditions 
of  society  throughout  the  non- 
Christian  countries.  The  most 
natural  of  all  inquiries  under  such 
circumstances  is  this  :  What  are 
these  people  trying  to  do  1  What 
is  it  which  they  think  ought  to  be 
done?  It  was  in  reply  to  these 
questions  that  the  whole  of  volume 
first  was  written.  In  that  elaborate 
review  of  the  actual  condition  of 
the  non-Christian  lands  according 
to  the  best  testimony  of  every 
kind,  ranging  from  casual  travellers 
to  permanent  residents,  a  view  lit- 
erally photographic  was  presented 
of  the  actual  sociological  condition 
of  a  large  part  of  the  races  and 
countries  of  the  earth.  With  an 
eye  to  comprehensiveuess  the  phe- 


nomena of  the  non-Christian  world 
were  distributed  under  the  seven 
departments  of  the  individual 
group,  the  family  group,  the  tribal 
group,  the  social  group,  the  national 
group,  the  commercial  group,  and 
the  religious  group — each  subdi- 
vided under  appropriate  lieads  to 
the  aggregate  number  of  nearly 
fifty.  In  every  case  the  conclusions 
arrived  at  were  supported  by  a  mass 
of  citations  absolutely  irrefutable, 
producing  the  impression  of  a 
kinetographic  survey  of  the  world 
apart  from  the  influence  of  Chris- 
tianity. This  lecture  was  followed 
by  an  elaborate  discussion  of  certain 
ineffectual  remedies  and  the  causes 
of  their  failure;  the  volume  closing 
with  a  presentation  of  Cliristianity 
as  the  Social  Hope  of  The  Nations. 
Each  chapter  is  followed  by  a 
copious  bibliography  of  its  special 
topics.  In  the  second  volume 
we  have  lectures  V  and  VI ;  the 
former  entitled  The  Dawn  of  a 
Sociological  Era  in  Missions,  show- 
ing how  Christianity  creates  a  new 
type  of  individual  cliaracter,  a  new- 
public  opinion,  promotes  education, 
contriljutes  to  the  intellectual  life 
of  non-Christian  races,  stirs  the 
philanthropic  spirit,  introduces  new 
national  aspirations  and  higher 
conceptions  of  govei'nment.  Crit- 
icisms on  missions  are  weighed, 
and  testimony  in  regard  to  their 
sociological  effects  cited  from  a 
great  variety  of  sources  ;  one  section 
being  devoted  to  the  evidence  of 
native  witnesses  and  another  to 
that   from  prominent  laymen  and 


1900] 


OUR   BOOK   TABLE. 


45 


government  officials.  This  lecture 
occupies  a  hundred  paj,'es,  but  in 
scope  it  is  totally  eclipsed  by  the 
sixth  lecture  on  tlie  actual  Con- 
tributions of  Christian  Missions  to 
Social  Progress,  which  extends  to 
386  pages,  making  a  large  volume 
in  itself.  The  oceanic  subject  men- 
tioned is  treated  under  the  three 
general  divisions  of  Results  Man- 
ifest in  the  Individual  Character, 
Results  affecting  Family  Life,  and 
Results  of  a  Humane  and  Phihiii- 
thropic  Tendency ;  the  first  and 
second  under  nine  sub-heads  each 
and  the  third  under  sixteen.  But 
even  so  the  theme  is  far  from  being 
exhausted;  the  remainder  being 
relegated  to  the  third  and  closing 
volume,  vi^hich  will  contain  four 
divisions  of  Lecture  VI,  besides 
copious  Statistics  of  missions  under 
eight  general  heads,  intended  to  be 
thorough  and  comprehensive  to  an 
unexampled  degree. 

This  great  work  is,  in  an  im- 
portant sense,  an  encyclopedia  of 
missions,  but  unlike  the  typical 
encyclopedia,  it  can  be  read  through 
with  unflagging  interest  from  be- 
ginning to  end  and  with  a  cumula- 
tive sense  of  the  vastness  of  the 
subject  presented.  Dr.  Dennis  has 
done  his  work  in  the  manner  of  the 
critical  scholar  and  not  in  that  of 
the  litetary  compiler.  He  has  treat- 
ed a  literal  wilderness  of  literature 
by  a  process  of  distillation,  but  he 
is  not  forever  reminding  the  reader 
(as  Thomas  Carlyle  so  frequently 
does  in  the  most  elaborate  of  his 
works)  of  the  great  mental  fatigue 
of  co-ordinating  unrelated  matter, 
but  merely  cites  results  in  the  appro- 
priate place  and  leaves  the  reader 
to  imagine  what  a  tumultuous  place 
the  study  must  have  been  where 
all  this  quartz  ore  was  reduced 
and  mountains  of  cinders  sifted. 
Amid  such  minute  subdivisions  of 
countless  topics  a  certain  amount 
of  repetition  is  inevitable,  but  this 
is  seldom  carried  beyond  due 
bounds.    [We  find  it  quite  impos- 


sible, however,  to  reconcile  tho 
statistics  of  the  attendance  at  the 
liome  of  tho  Pundita  llamabai  as 
given  on  page  240  with  th<^  figures 
for  the  s;ime  period  on  the  following 
page.]  Missionaries  in  China  will 
find  the  treatment  of  every 
peculiarity  of  this  empire,  so  far  as 
related  to  the  themes  discussed,  full 
and  fair,  and  the  citation  of  au- 
thorities thoroughly  representative. 
Those  missionaries  most  frequently 
quoted,  and  most  fully,  are 
presumptively  those  who  gave  the 
fullest  replies  to  the  circulars  of 
inquiries  widely  distributed  before 
the  work  was  undertaken.  In 
view  of  the  present  and  prospective 
importance  of  sociological  subjects, 
and  of  the  important  part  which 
missions  now  take  and  are  increas- 
ingly to  take  in  the  future  history 
of  non-Cliristian  lands,  it  is  perhaps 
not  too  much  to  claim  for  the  work 
of  Dr.  Dennis  that  it  is  the  most 
valuable  contribution  to  the  study 
of  missions  of  the  century  which  ifc 
covers,  and  with  the  close  of  which 
its  third  volume  will  be  nearly  con- 
temporary. 

There  are  many  missionaries  who 
can  ill  afford  a  work  so  expensive, 
but  we  believe  there  are  no  missions 
in  which  some  missionary,  or  some 
group  of  missionaries,  would  not 
gladly  procure  at  least  a  single  copy 
for  circulation  among  a  large  circle. 
It  would  be  a  wise  investment  in 
the  end,  and  could  not  fail  by  a 
quickened  faitl)  to  hasten  the  com- 
ing of  the  kingdom  of  God. 

A.  H.  S. 


Anglo-Chinese  Royal  First  Reader. 
Comniercial  Press  Book  Depot,  Shaug- 
hai. 

The  Commercial  Press  has  just 
added  another  to  the  volumes  which 
they  have  been  getting  out  in 
English  and  Chinese,  which  have 
proved  so  helpful  to  those  teaching 
English  to  the  Chinese.  Having 
finished  the  India  Vernacular 
Series  as  far  as  tlie  Fifth  Reader, 


46 


THE    CHINESE    RECORDER. 


[January, 


they  have  now  begun  on  the  Royal. 
So  far  as  we  have  examined  the 
translation  seems  good — some  of  it 
open  to  criticism  however — but  the 
paper  is  rather  too  thin,  which  is, 
howevei',  that  much  in  the  line  of 
cheapness,  whicli  is  quite  an  item  in 
books  of  this  class.  Price,  25  cents; 
at  the  Mission  Press  and  elsewhere. 


Kew  Map  of  China. 

"VVe  acknowledge  with  thanks 
the  receipt  fr<'m  the  China  Inland 
Mission,  London,  of  a  copy  of  their 
new  map  of  China.  We  under- 
stand it  is  on  the  basis  of  Bret- 
schneider's  excellent  map,  but  with 
an  additional  amount  of  labor  be- 
stowed upon  it  in  order  to  make  it 
an  efficient  missionary  map,  which  is 
inconceivable  to  one  who  has  never 
made  an  effort  in  this  direction. 
The  map  is  44  by  36  inches,  mounted 
on  linen  and  colored,  and  has  the  sta- 
tions of  the  China  Inland  Mission 
underlined  with  red  and  those  of 
all  other  Missions  underlined  with 
blue.  The  provincial  capitals, 
sub-prefectural,  departmental,  and 
district  cities  are  all  given,  and 
with  distinctive  symbols  to  indi- 
cate their  separate  order.  It  is  far 
and  away  the  most  satisfactory  map 
of  China  which  we  have  yet  seen, 
and  the  C.  I.  M.  are  deserving  the 
thanks  of  all  workers  in  and  for 
China  for  the  pains  they  have  taken 
in  preparing  such  a  valuable  work. 
Either  hung  on  I'ollers,  varnished, 
or  folded  in  book  form.  Pi  ice, 
$7.00.  Presbyterian  Mission  Press, 
or  C.  I.  M.,  Shanghai. 


Two  Papers  on  Christian  Union.  Pub- 
lished by  The  Voice,  Tokyo,  Japan, 
1S99. 

In  view  of  the  growing  interest 
everywhere  in  a  closer  union  of  the 
Christian  forces,  the  editor  of  llie 
Voice  solicited  the  opinion  of  lead- 
ing missionaries  on  the  matter  of 
holding  a  meeting  for  an  interchange 
of    thought   on   the   subject.     The 


majority  of  the  responses  being 
favorable  a  meeting  was  announced. 
It  met  in  the  Union  Church,  Tsukiji, 
Tokyo,  April  19. 

Rev.  A.  A.  Bennett  read  a  paper 
on  "The  Letter  and  Spirit  of  Chris- 
tian Oneness "  and  E.  Snodgrass 
read  a  paper  on  "  Christian  Union  : 
How  can  it  he  best  promoted  ?  " 

This  pamphlet  of  fifty  pages  era- 
bodies  these  papers.  They  both 
advocate  a  closer  union  of  Christian 
denominations. 


The  Fifty-Second  Annual  Report  of  the 
Foochow  Mission  of  the  American 
Board. 

This  is  a  very  encouraging  Report. 
Established  in  1847  the  American 
Board  Mission  has  made  gratifying 
progress.  A  deputation  from  the 
Parent  Board  visited  the  station 
and  out-stations  in  1898  for  the 
first  time,  and  this  event  was  cele- 
brated with  great  eclat.  We  append 
a  summary  of  their  native  force 
and  work  : — 


Evangelistic  Wor 

Ordained  preachers   - 
Unordained      ,, 
Other  native  helpers  (mal 
Bible  women     - 
Self-supporting  churches 
Other  chapels    - 
Admissions  in  1898    - 
Total  membership 
Adherents  (approximate) 
Total  contributions 


L 


-  53 
)  25 

.       8 

-  9 

-  155 

-  617 
2,446 

12,000 
$4,652.72* 


Educational  Wo7'k. 

Theological  school     -  -         -       1 

Students  for  the  ministry  24 
Colleges      -----       2 

Students  (male)  208 

„          (female)  86 

Day-schools        -         ■  •         -     93 

Pupils  (boys)  1,306 

„       (girls)  420 

Women's  schools        .  -         -       2 

Students  40 

Women's  classes        .  -         -      5 

Students  40 

Total  teachers  (male)  -        -     82 

„            „        (female)  -         -     27 

,,      No.  students    -  -         1,937 

Total  receipts    -        -  -  $4,001.90 

*  AH  financial  statements  are  in  silver  currency. 


1900.] 


OUR    BOOK  TAUI,E. 


47 


Medical  Work. 

Hospitals 2 

Dinpensariea  ....  4 
Medical  assistants  -  -  -  .'l 
.„  students  -  -  -  9 
Hospital  patients  -  -  -  580 
Dispensary  patients  -  -  275-96 
Total  No.  patients  -  -  27,876 
Total  receipts    -         -  $2,1].S.72 

The  cover  of  the  lleport  contains 
a  saying  of  F,  S.  Brockman,  the 
earnest  and  level-headed  secretary 
of -the  Y.  M.  C.  A. 

"  Foochow  is  the  centre  of  the 
largest  Christian  student  population 
in  the  empire  and  the  scene  of 
China's  most  marvelous  religious 
awakening." 

S.  I,  W. 


The  Story  of  Russia  and  the  Far  East. 
A.  series  of  papers  contributed  to  the 
Shdnghai  Mercury.  With  a  table  of 
chronology  and  a  map.  Printed  at 
the  Shanghai  Mercury  office.  1899. 

The  writer  of  this  book  is  emi- 
nently qualitied  to  speak  on  the 
subject.  He  has  condensed  the 
story  he  tells,  so  that  the  "  man 
in  the  street "  can  gather  the  lead- 
ing facts  of  Russia's  advance  with- 
out much  loss  of  time.  The  his- 
tory commences  with  Rurik  in  the 
ninth  century  and  rapidly  traces 
the  course  of  events  in  Russia 
proper  and  Siberia.  The  influence 
and  operations  of  the  Cossacks,  and 
how  Russia  got  the  Amur  and 
planted  herself  on  the  East  Coast 
and  "jockeyed"  Japan,  are  ably 
discussed.  The  author  also  tells 
in  a  most  interesting  way  the  his- 
tory of  the  Siberian  railway,  and 
shows  the  interrelation  of  the  Co- 
lossus of  the  north  and  the  powers 
with  China.  He  tries  to  show 
neither  the  optimism  of  the  Russo- 
phile,  nor  the  pessimism  of  his 
opposite.  He  believes  in  the 
pacific  intentions  of  Russia  so  long 
as  peace  suits  her  purpose,  "and 
that,"  says  he,  "  will  be  just  as  long 
as  her  rivals  are  strong  enough  to 
face  her,  and  a  little  more." 


Few  will  disagree  with  him  as  to 
the  "  pacific  "  intentions  of  Russia. 

The  reader  will  find  an  excellent 
restiTTK^  of  the  Russian  question  in 
this  work,  which  is  up  to  date  and 
of  special  value  at  this  interesting 
and  critical  juncture  of  the  world's 
history. 

Samuel  I.  Woodbridgk. 


Twelfth  Report  of  the  Society  for 
Diffusion  of  Christian  ancji  Gen  eral 
Knovvltfdgo  amon<;  the  Chinese  for  year 
ending  October  31st,  1899.  Published 
by  the  S.  D.  C.  K.,  380  Honan  Road, 
Slianghai, 

A  pi^oof  copy  of  this  interesting 
Report  has  just  reached  our  hands. 
In  spite  of  the  great  check  to  prog- 
ress given  by  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment at  the  coup  d'etat  of  Sep- 
tember, 1898,  this  Society  has  gone 
on  doing  steady  work.  Considering 
the  small  ness  of  the  staff  a  wonder- 
ful amount  of  work  has  been  done. 
Besides  the  regular  issue  of  the 
two  monthly  magazines — the  Kung 
Pao  and  the  Hui  Fao — there  have 
been  nineteen  new  works  published 
and  twenty  old  works  republished. 

Tliere  are  now  thirty-six  depdts 
throughout  the  empire,  including 
the  central  one  in  Shanghai.  Sales 
have  amounted  to  $9,115,  and  free 
grants  of  books  have  been  made  to 
the  value  of  $1,348.  Next  year, 
being  that  of  the  triennial  examina- 
tions, grants  to  a  much  larger  extent 
are  to  be  made  for  free  distribution 
among  the  students  gathered  in  the 
provincial  capitals.  Subscriptions 
from  Shanghai,  including  6a/a7ice  o/" 
Customs'  Empress- Dowager  Celebra- 
tion Fund  and  fine  for  piracy  of 
Society's  hooks,  amount  to  $2,082.23; 
those  from  Scotland,  England,  U. 
S,  A.,  and  other  sources,  including 
$2,000  from  Thomas  Hanbury, 
amount  to  $15,308.50;  in  all 
$17,390.73. 

One  interesting  paragraph  shews 
the  far  reaching  effects  of  the  work 
of   the   Society.     Grants   made   to 


48 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[January, 


public  libraries  in  Korea  are  large- 
ly helping  on  the  reform  there,  nnd 
communications  liave  been  received 
from  readers  of  the  literature,  such 
as  the  secretary  to  the  governor  of 
Siarn,  and  Cliinese  in  Johannesburg, 
South  Africa,  in  Canada,  and  in  the 
Malay  peninsula. 

While  there  is  loss  of  old  col- 
leagues recorded,  Dr.  Faber  by 
death  and  Pastor  Kranz  by  removal 
to  Kiao-chow,  there  are  new  col- 
leagues welcomed — Rev.  W.  A. 
Cornaby.  of  the  Wesleyan  Mission, 
and  the  Rev.  Donald  McGillivray, 
of  the  Canadian  Presbyterian  Mis- 
sion. [Since  the  Report  has  gone 
to  Press  the  Rev.  G.  W.  Walshe,  of 
the  Church  Mission,  has  also  l)een 
appointed  by  his  Society  to  this 
work.] 

A  ^ood  suggestion  comes  from  a 
friend  that  an  abridi,'ed  illustrated 
Bible  for  the  leadingChinese  officials 
and  literati  who  are  enquiring 
into  Christianity  be  published  by 
the  S.  D.  C.  K.,  as  the  constitutions 
of  the  various  Bible  societies  do  not 
permit  them  to  puldish  abridgments. 

Tiie  Society  plans  large  things 
for  the  immediate  future — the  trans- 


lation of  100  best  books  in  the 
world  on  subjects  bearing  on  all 
that  pertains  to  the  best  welfare  of 
individuals  and  of  nations  ;  a  scheme 
of  education  for  the  whole  empire, 
and  another  for  natives  of  Shanghai. 

The  appendix  gives  an  interest- 
ing Review  of  the  General  Condi- 
tion of  China,  which  goes  to  prove 
the  value  of  tlie  Society's  work  in 
the  past  and  the  urgent  need  for 
the  continuance  of  its  work. 

The  important  Memorial  and 
Imperial  Eescript  regarding  the 
official  status  of  missionaries,  is  also 
given  ill  the  appendix. 

For  those  who  do  not  know  what 
the  publications  of  the  Society  are 
we  would  emphasize  the  fact  tliat 
besides  books  of  general  knowledge, 
it  has  a  number  of  extremely  valu- 
able books  on  the  Christian  religion 
which  should  be  of  great  value  to 
al!  native  workers  and  Christiana 
generally.  We  are  glad  that  the 
Society  has  resolved  to  issue  more 
of  its  works  in  Mandarin  than 
hitherto.  Catalogues  can  be  had 
on  application  to  S.  D.  C.  K.,  380 
Honan  Road,  Shanghai,  or  to  the 
Mission  Press. 


^tritcrrial    Comment. 


When  this  issue  of  the  Re- 
coRDEii  reaches  our  readers  the 
year  nineteen  hundred  will  have 
dawned  upon  them — not  the  next 
century,  though  it  sounds  so  very 
like  it — and  we   wish  all 

a  Ibappp  IRew  l^ear. 

lu  taking  a  retrospect  of  China 
for  the  past  year,  there  is  little 
that  is  striking  iu  the  general 
history  of  the  couutry  to  call  for 
comment.  There  has  been  a 
gradual  recovery  from  the  first 
effects  of  the  usurpation  of  the 
Empress-Dowager,  and  while 
nothing  commensurate  with  the 


hopes  excited  by  the  wonderful 
beginnings  of  the  Emperor  has 
been  witnessed,  yet  there  is  not 
wanting  ground  for  encourage- 
ment. True,  Mr.  Richard,  after 
his  visit  to  Peking  during  the 
year,  writes  that  it  was  "  very 
disappointing  as  regards  any 
hope  of  improvement.  There 
does  not  appear  to  be  any  hope 
whatever  of  salvation  from  China 
herself."  Nevertheless  we  be- 
lieve that  the  mass  of  the 
people,  or  the  more  enlightened 
of  them,  are  being  more  and 
more  permeated  with  the  idea 
of  reform  and  advance.    They 


1900.] 


EDITOPIAL  COMMENT. 


49 


have  very  hazy  ideas  of  how 
it  is  to  be  brought  abont, 
bnt  with  snch  great  bodies  as 
China,  ideas  must  be  allowed  to 
simmer  for  a  long  time  before 
they  are  even  imperfectly  com- 
prehended, and  even  then  how  to 
adapt  them,  requires  the  great- 
est wisdom  and  the  greatest 
courage.  And  notwithstanding 
all  drawbacks  we  are  prepared 
to  say  that  it  has  been  a  year  of 
unprecedented  expansion  and 
development  in  mission  work. 
We  haven't  the  figures,  but  we 
have  an  impression  that  more 
missionaries  have  been  coming 
to  China  than  ever  before.  They 
have  been  welcomed  in  places 
where  formerly  they  were  re- 
pelled ;  and  what  may  be  called 
the  official  attitude  towards  the 
missionaries,  has  in  many  places 
wonderfully  changed.  Converts 
have  been  brought  in  by  thou- 
sands where  formerly  but  hun- 
dreds and  tens  were  counted. 
With  increased  educational  facil- 
ities, enlarged  experience,  and 
an  ever  increasing  supply  of  im- 
proved literature,  the  work  has 
gone  forward  in  a  manner  to 
leave  no  room  for  the  groans  of 

pessimism. 

«        *        * 

Two  of  our  older  missionaries 
have  passed  away  during  the 
year — Drs.  Faber  and  Chalmers — 
men  of  broad  views  and  extensive 
learning,  whose  works  do  follow 
them,  and  who  will  long  be  held 
in  high  esteem  for  the  good  they 
have  done  in  giving  China  a 
knowledge  of  the  truth.  It  will 
be  difficult  to  fill  their  places. 
*         *         » 

As  to  the  edict  giving  political 
status  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
missionaries, — we  have  already 
spoken  of  that  in  previous  num- 


bers. We  have  heard  but  few 
approvals  from  Protestant  mis- 
sionaries, or  expression  of  a  desire 
that  like  prerogatives  should  be 
granted  to  them.  Most  feel  that 
it  would  be  an  injury  r<ather 
than  a  help  and  a  source  of 
continual  danger  to  the  native 
Christians.  Nearly  every  one 
has  had  experience  of  Chinese 
lawsuits,  and  knows  something 
of  what  is  involved  in  trying  to 
interpose  in  matters  of  litigation 
as  between  Chinese  and  Chinese. 
These  difficulties  would  be  in- 
creased immeasurably  if  the  flood- 
gates are  opened  in  the  manner 
the  Roman  Catholics  have  enter- 
ed upon.  Better,  a  thousand- 
fold, that  the  Christians  should 
suffer,  even  though  wrongfully, 
than  that  the  church  should  be 

built  up  on  such  a  false  principle. 

«         «         « 

We  are  pleased  to  see  that  the 
process  of  dividing  up  China 
seems  to  have  received  at  least  a 
temporary  check,  and  trust  that 
the  combined  efforts  of  Great 
Britain  and  the  United  States, 
seconded,  perhaps,  by  those  of 
Germany,  may  serve  to  prevent 
any  further  dismemberment  of 
this  great  empire.  China,  too, 
seems  to  be  stiffening  her  spinal 
column  once  more,  and  we  trust 
will  not  in  the  future  be  so 
easily  persuaded  into  giving 
away  a  part  of  the  kingdom. 
"Sphere  of  Influence"  is  very 
vague  and  nsatis factory.  The 
"  open  door "  and  equal  priv- 
ileges to  all  is  what  is  needed. 

In  many  respects  the  most 
signal  event  of  the  year  has 
been  the  opening  up  of  Hunan. 
The  changes  that  have  taken 
place  in  that  hitherto  exclusive 
and  bitterly  anti-foreign  prov- 
ince  are   almost    past  credence 


50 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[Jannary, 


and  the  reception  given  to  Dr. 
John  and  others  are  simply  mar- 
velous. 

*        *        * 

Three  letters  appeared  in  the 
Shanghai  Mercury  during  the 
past  month,  which  in  some  re- 
spects are  a  new  departure.  They 
were  written  by  a  lady  who  has 
had  much  intercourse  with  mis- 
sionaries, who  has  come  into 
touch  with  their  work  to  an 
extent  that  no  other  person,  not 
even  a  missionary,  has  been  able 
to  do.  She  herself,  though  not 
a  missionary,  is  heart  and  soul 
engaged  in  a  great  philanthropic 
work  of  seeking  to  break  the 
fetters  that  bind  the  Chinese 
women  in  a  galling  bondage.  She 
gives  an  inside  view  of  mission- 
ary work  and  not  as  seen  from 
the  deck  of  a  steamer.  What 
she  writes  are  facts  and  not  sur- 
misings  or  worse  than  surmisings. 
The  missionaries  always  welcome 
such.  And  we  venture  the  asser- 
tion that  if  what  Mrs.  Little  has 
seen  and  known  could  be  seen 
and  known  by  the  foreign  resi- 
dents generally,  ninety-nine  one- 
hundreths  of  the  twaddle — 
we  know  not  what  else  to 
call  it — which  is  now  so  com- 
mon on  board  steamers  and  in 
houses  of  business  would  vanish 
forever. 


We  wonder  if  our  friends  have 
noticed  how  the  Recorder  has 
grown.  If  they  will  refer  to  the 
last  page  of  the  December  num- 
ber they  will  find  that  the  year's 
issue  amounted  to  622  pages, 
or  nearly  fifty-two  pages  each 
number  instead  of  the  forty-eight 
which  we  are  supposed  to  give 
(there  are  fifty-four  in  this  num- 
ber). We  are  glad  also  to  be  able 
to  state  that  the  subscription  list 
shows  a  commensurate  increase, 
otherwise  we  could  hardly  have 
aflforded  the  increased  amount  of 
printed  matter.  It  remains  for 
our  friends  to  make  it  as  much 
better  as  they  like.  The  maga- 
zine is  not  run  in  the  interests  of 
any  institution  or  any  society, 
but  is  intended  to  be  simply 
what  its  name  indicates.  No 
amount  of  fault-finding  will 
probably  make  it  any  better. 
Good  articles,  items  of  interest, 
discussions  of  missionary  prob- 
lems^ etc.,  will  help  much.  So 
if  any  one  is  not  satisfied  with 
the  contents  of  the  several  num- 
bers, let  him  set  about  remedy- 
ins;  the  defect  by  giving  some- 
thing better.  Snggestions  as  to 
improvements  will  always  be  in 
order  and  thankfully  received. 
Let  us  unite  to  make  the  Re 
corder  for  1900  far  better  than 
any  of  its  predecessors. 


tssi0itariT  llttaB* 


Shanghai   General 

Missionary  Conference, 

1901, 

At  the  close  of  the  General 
Missionary  Conference  held  in 
Shanghai  in  1890  a  committee  was 
appointed  to  arrange  for  the  next 
Conference,  which  it  was  proposed 
to  hold  in  1900. 


Hiis  committee  has  been  at  work 
for  some  time,  and  many  important 
matters  connected  with  the  ap- 
proaching Conference  have  been 
fully  discussed. 

To  avoid  clashing  with  the  General 
Missionary  Conference  to  be  held 
in  New  York  in  1900,  it  has  been 
decided  that  it  would  be  better  to 
postpone  the  Shanghai  Conference 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  NEWS. 


M 


for  a  year ;  it  will  therefore  be  held 
in  April,  1901,  instead  of  1900  as 
originally  proposed. 

One  difficulty  which  at  once  pre- 
sented itself  WAS  the  question  of 
entertainment.  It  was  felt  that  it 
would  be  impossible  to  give  a  gen- 
eral invitation  to  all  missionaries 
such  as  was  given  ten  years  ago. 
Then  there  were  about  1,200  mis- 
sionaries in  China,  now  there  are 
more  than  2,800. 

After  much  consideration  the 
committee  decided  to  invite  dele- 
gates only  to  the  Conference. 

The  following  Resolutions,  passed 
at  the  last  meeting  of  the  committee, 
will  explain  their  action  in  this 
matter — 

1.  That  whereas  the  number  of 
missionaries  has  so  largely  increased 
that  the  committee  feels  unable  to 
provide  entertainment  for  all  who 
might  wish  to  attend  the  General 
Missionary  Conference,  therefore 
they  propose  to  provide  only  for 
delegates  to  be  appointed  on  the 
following  basis,  though  all  others 
will  of  course  be  welcome  to  the 
Conference,  provided  they  make 
their  own  arrangements. 

2.  That  the  representation  be  as 
follows :  Societies  with  less  than 
fifteen  members  shall  elect  one 
representative,  and  societies  with 
more  than  fifteen  members  shall 
elect  one  representative  for  each 
fifteen  members  on  the  list. 

3.  That  the  method  of  election 
be  left  with  the  ruling  bodies  of  the 
various  societies. 

4.  That  the  names  of  those 
elected  be  sent  to  the  secretary  of 
the  committee,  the  Rev.  C.  J. 
Symons,  in  Shanghai. 

5.  That  the  secretary  be  in- 
structed to  communicate  this  decis- 
ion to  the  missionaries  through  the 
Recorder. 

Ten  years  ago  friends  made  a 
special  efibrt,  and  nearly  four  hun- 
dred missionaries  were  entertained 
in  Shanghai.     When  the  time  draws 


near,  Shanghai  friends  will  again  be 
asked  kindly  to  help,  and  it  is  hoped 
that  at  least  the  two  hundred 
delegates  will  find  lodging  and  en- 
tertainment in  hospitable  homes  in 
Shanghai. 

A.  K 


Rev.  W.  M.  Uporaft  writes  from 
Ya-chow,  West  China,  as  follows : 
The  Lamas  have  turned  the  Japan- 
ese bonzes  back  from  the  border, 
and  would  not  allow  them  to  get 
into  Tibet.  One  of  the  bonzes  is 
in  Ta-chien-lu,  the  other  has  gone 
to  Peking. 


Anti- Opium    League 
in  China. 

Contributions. 

Previously  reported      ...         ...  $214.02 

Foochow    Christians,  per   Rev. 

G.  S.  Miner     ...         .«         ...  36.00 

Rev.  J   W.  Hewett,  Ping-yao.«  15.00 

Rev.  Robert  Gillies,  Wuhu  ...  3.00 
Anti-Opium  League  in  Wuchang, 

per  Rev.  E.  J.  Blandford     ...  6.00 

55  *  ^,  Nan-zing          ...         .^  100.00 

SO  @  in,      Do.                «.         ..  50.00 

$424.02 

In  addition  to  the  above  contri- 
butions Miss  M.  Searle,  of  Foochow, 
has  sent  $1.00,  and  Rev.  E.  J. 
Blandford,  Wu-chang,  $4.00  for  the 
Anti-Opium  News ;  and  the  Society 
for  the  Suppression  of  the  Opium 
Trade  has  sent  £13.14.4  for  500 
copies  of  the  book  "Opinions  of 
Over  100  Physicians  on  the  Use  of 
Opium  in  China." 

The  way  my  Chinese  friends  in 
Soochow  and  neighboring  towns 
continue  to  contribute  certainly  is 
encouraging,  but  I  fear  I  have  about 
reached  the  limit  in  this  direction. 
Surely  other  missionaries  in  China 
have  Chinese  friends  who  would  be 
willing  to  give  if  asked. 

W.  H.  Park, 

Treasurer. 
Soochow,  China. 


62 


THE   CHINESE   BECORDEB. 


[January, 


National     Christian    JEn- 

deavor  Convention  for 

1900. 

On  the  invitation  of  the  Fukien 
Christian  Endeavor  Union,  the 
National  Committee  of  Christian 
Endeavor  for  China  decided  tliat 
the  National  Convention  for  1900 
should  be  held  in  Foochow  to  cele- 
brate the  fifteenth  anniversary  of 
the  organization  of  the  first  en- 
deavor society  in  the  empire,  and 
united  in  an  ur^jent  invitation  to 
President  F.  E.  Clark  to  attend  the 
Convention. 

Recent  word  from  Dr.  Clark  an- 
nounces his  desire  to  visit  China 
before  the  International  Convention 
in  London,  and  gives  the  last  of 
February  as  the  date  of  his  visit  to 
Foochow.  Preparations  therefore 
are  being  made  with  this  date  in 
view,  but  the  Committee  of  Arrange- 
ments awaits  a  cablegram  from  Dr. 
Clark  to  determine  the  exact  week 
of  the  Convention,  and  as  soon  as 
the  cablegram  arrives  the  exact 
date  will  be  published. 

It  is  earnestly  desired  that  not 
only  those  churches  which  already 
have  organized  endeavor  societies, 
but  all  other  churches  will,  either 
separately  or  by  uniting  together, 
send  delegates  to  the  coming  Con- 
vention and  share  with  us  the  rich 
feast  of  this  visit  of  Dr.  Clark  to  a 
national  convention  in  China. 

The  Foochow  Conference,  Epworth 
League,  has  cordially  accepted  the 
hearty  invitation  of  the  Fukien 
Endeavor  Union  to  unite  with  them 
in  the  coming  Convention,  and 
extend  a  warm  welcome  to  all 
Epworth  Leagues  to  attend  and 
send  delegates. 

The  key-note  of  the  coming  three 
days  convention  will  be  evangelistic 
work,  Bible  study,  and  personal 
service.  Besides  President  Clark 
from  the  United  States,  whom  we 
hope  will  be  accompanied  by  Mrs. 
Clark,  speakers  are  expected  from 


other    cities      and      provinces     of 
China. 

To  sum  the  reasons  why  this 
National  Convention  should  be  a 
grand  one : 

First.  It  is  President  F.  E.  Clark's 
first  visit  to  a  national  conveution 
in  China. 

Second.  It  is  the  fifteenth  an- 
niversary of  the  organization  of  the 
first  Christian  endeavor  society  in 
China,  organized  in  Foochow  in 
1885. 

Third.  It  is  the  convention  of 
1900,  the  closing  year  of  this  most 
glorious  century  of  the  past,  and 
a  preparation  for  a  still  more  glo- 
rious century  to  come. 

Again  we  extend  a  most  cordial 
invitation  to  all,  of  whatever  church 
name,  who  are  interested  in  the 
advance  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in 
China,  to  attend  this  National  Con- 
vention and  catch  something  of  the 
enthusiasm  of  the  Christian  en- 
deavor army,  several  million  strong, 
banded  together  in  the  pledge  of 
fidelity  to  Christ  and  the  church 
of  their  own  denomination,  while 
they  are  united  in  interdenomina- 
tional fellowship  as  members  of  the 
one  great  family  of  God,  pledged 
to  pray  and  read  the  Bible  every 
day  and  work  for  others. 

All  delegates  and  visitors  are 
requested  to  send  names  as  early  as 
possible  to  Rev.  L.  P.  Peet,  Chair- 
man Committee  of  Entertainment, 
Foochow. 

Signed  by  Committee  of  Arrange- 
ments, 
Rev.  G.  H.  Hubbard,  Chairman. 

„     F.  E.  Bland. 

„       J.  SiMESTEE. 
Miss  E.  P.  KiNGSMILL, 

Treas.  C.  E.  Union. 
„     E.  S.  Hartwell, 

Sec.  C.  E.  Union. 

„       S.     M.     BOSWOKTH, 

Sec.  Epworth  League. 
Mr.  Ho  HoK-siNG. 
„    Ding  Kai-ceng. 
,,    Ding  Maing-ing. 


1900.] 


MISSIONAEY   NEWS. 


63 


Dedication  of  Van  San- 

troord  Mefnorial 

Chapel. 

"Woman's  Union  Mission, 
Shanghai, 
In  the  home-land  the  dedication 
of  a  new  chapel  proclaims  the 
progress  of  Christiunity.  In  China, 
is  it  not  rather  a  light  to  draw  sin- 
burdened  humanity  out  of  heathen 
darkness  into  the  glorious  radiance 
of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  1  Then, 
when  a  "memorial,"  it  appeals 
very  tenderly  to  the  missionary, 
especially  when  lie  knows  that 
neither  the  donor  nor  tlie  dear 
departed  ever  visited  "  the  land 
of  Sinim "  except  in  visions  of 
what  their  gifts  and  prayers  might 
accomplish  for  her  peoples. 

Such  is  peculiarly  the  case  with 
the  "  Van  Santroord  Memorial 
Chapel,"  a  gift  from  the  lady  whose 
name  it  bears  to  the  Woman's 
Union  Mission  of  Shanj;;hai. 

The  dedicatory  services  occurred 
Sunday,  December  10th. 

Tliedecorations  were  palms,  potted 
plants,  and  flosvers  in  great  pro- 
fusion, with  the  American  and 
Chinese  flags  tastefully  arranged 
in  the  rear  of  the  reading  desk. 

In  the  morning  there  was  a 
children's  service,  which  vvas  largely 
attended  and  was  a  real  home 
affair,  for  the  missionaries,  Bible 
women,  teachers,  and  children  — 
both  large  and  small — all  liad  their 
part. 

At  an  early  hour  in  the  after- 
noon the  foieiun  and  Chinese 
friends  had  tilled  the  chapel  to  its 
utmost  capacity. 

After  the  usual  opening  exercises. 
Dr.   lleifsnyder,  senior  member  of 


the  Mission,  gave  a  brief  sketch 
of  the  growth  of  the  work  since  it 
was  started  in  1881. 

The  American  Consul-General, 
Mr.  Goodnow,  spoke  of  woman's  in- 
fluence in  the  home  in  all  lands 
and  emphasized  the  importance  of 
the  work  for  the  uplifting  of  Chi- 
nese women. 

Rev.  J.  C.  Ferguson,  of  Nanyang 
College,  followed  with  an  eloquent 
address  upon  the  privilege  of 
"giving,"  paying  a  graceful  tribute 
to  Miss  Van  Santroord  and  her 
active  interest  in  China's  welfare. 

Mrs.  Zau  drew  from  the  varied 
forms  in  the  realm  of  nature,  and 
the  adaptability  of  each  object  to  the 
purpose  for  which  it  was  created, 
an  admirable  illustration  for  "  the 
diversity  of  gifts  "  in  the  religious 
world. 

Mrs.  G.  F.  Fitch  tenderly  and 
earnestly  set  forth  the  importance 
of  the  Christian's  daily  life  being 
an  object  lesson  of  his  teaching, 
and  that  every  obstacle  to  spiritual 
growth  should  be  as  carefully  put 
aside  as  was  all  uncleanness  in  con- 
nection with  the  temple  service  by 
the  ancient  Israelites. 

Rev.  W.  B.  Burke  spoke  feel- 
ingly of  the  interest  with  which  he 
had  watched  the  expansion  of  the 
work  at  the  West  Gate  during  the 
twelve  years  he  had  been  in 
China. 

With  appropriate  hymns  in- 
terspersed— one  specially  prepared 
for  the  occasion  by  the  pupils  of 
the  boarding-school — the  singing  of 
the  Doxology,  and  the  benediction 
pronounced  by  Ven.  Archdeacen  E. 
H.  Thomson,  the  exercises  ended  to 
become  a  pleasant  memory  andan 
inspiration  for  future  years. 


54 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[Jan.,  1900.] 


issi0niiriT  ^axxxnul 


BIRTHS. 


At  Chang-te  Fu,  Honan,  November  25th, 
the  wife  of  Rev.  Jonathan  Gofortii, 
C.    P.  M.,  of  a  son  (William  Wallace). 

At  Han-yang,  December  Cth,  the  wife 
of  Rev.  Geo.  A.  Huntley,  M.D,, 
A.  B.  M.  U.,  of  a  son  (Ralph  Theodore). 

At  Ts'ing-kiang-p'u,  December  10th, 
the  wife  of  Mr.  H.  S.  Ferguson,  of 
the  China  Inland  Mission,  of  a  son. 

At  Shanghai,  December  18th,  the  wife 
of  John  N.  Hayward,  of  the  China 
Inland  Mission,  of  a  daughter. 

At  Wu-chang,  December  21st,  the  wife 
of  Rev.  Ernest  F.  Gedye,  Wesleyan 
Missionary  Society,  of  a  daughter. 

MARRIAQE8. 

At  Canton,  December  6th,  by  the  Rev. 
Alfred  Alf,  assisted  by  Rev.  E  B. 
Ward,  Miss  Flora  A.  Fuson  and 
Rev.  H.  O.  T.  BuRKWALL,  both  of 
the  A.  S.  F.  M. 

At  Shao-hing,  December  6th,  Rev. 
Alexander  Kennedy,  Malagawatch, 
Cape  Breton,  unconnected,  and  Miss 
Ada  Lena  Newell,  Pawtucket,  I.  T., 
U.  S.  A.,  of  the  W.  B.  F.  M,  S. 

At  Shanghai,  December  12th,  W.  W. 
RoBERTSo^f  and  Miss  J.  R.  Gold,  both 
of  the  China  Inland  Mission. 

DEATH. 

At  Sang-kia-chuang,  December  22nd, 
Miss  E.  Seoer,  China  Inland  Mission, 
of  typhoid  fever. 

ARRIVALS. 

At  Shanghai,  November  29th,  Mrs.  J. 
M.  Grkex,  Misses  I.  M.  A.  Ellmers, 
and  M.  Allen,  from  America,  for 
China  Inland  Mission. 

At  Shanghai,  December  4th,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  A.  Duffy  and  two  children,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  J.  T.  Rbid,  Misses  Bescunidt 
and  Ehrstuom,  from  England  for 
C.  I.  M. ;  Dr.  C,  H.  Finch,  wife  and 
one  child  (returned),  of  A.  B  M.  U., 
West  China. 

At  Shanghai,  December  6th,  Dr.  M.  D. 
Eubank,  wife  and  one  ciiild,  for  A.  B. 


M.  U.,  Hu-chau,  and  Rev.  Geo.  H. 
Waters,  for  A.  B.  M.  U.,  Swatow. 

At  Shanghai,  December  12th,  Rev.  E. 
B.  Caldwell,  wife,  and  two  children, 
of  M,  E.  M.,  for  Foochow. 

At  Shanghai,  December  16th,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  E.  J.  Cooper  and  three  children, 
and  Mr.  J.  C.  Hall,  from  England 
for  C.  I.  M.  ;  Rev.  G.  W.  Walshe, 
wife,  and  two  children,  C.  M.  S. 
(returned)  from  England. 

At  Shanghai,  December  22nd,  Mr.  R. 
Ernest  Jones  and  wife  (returned), 
unconnected,  for  Wu-cheu ;  Miss 
LuELLA  M.  Masters,  M.D.  (return- 
ed). Miss  Martha  Nicolaisen  and 
Miss  Jennie  Adams  (associated),  for 
M.  E.  M.,  Foochow;  Miss  Mary 
Ketring,  M.D.  (returned),  and  Miss 
Decker,  for  M.  E.  M.,  West  China  ; 
Misses  Carrie  J.  Driebelbies  and 
Mart  L.  Rowley,  for  M.  E.  M., 
Central  China. 

DEPARTURES. 

From  Shanghai,  December  9th,  Misses 
T.  Ahlstkom  and  Buren,  of  C.  I.  M., 
for  Sweden  ;  Dr.  Mary  E.  Carl?:ton, 
of  M.  E.  M.,  Foochow,  for  America 
via  England. 

From  Shanghai,  December  1.3th,  Martin 
Ekvall  and  W.  Christie,  of  C.  and 
M.  Alliance,^^Kan  sub ;  Mrs.  M.  L. 
Lane,  Chi-ning-chow,  for  U.  S. 

From  Shanghai,  December  23rd,  Miss 
Clough,  of  C.  I.  M.,  for  England ; 
Rev.  and  Mrs.  P.  Kranz  and  3  chil- 
dren, G.  E.  P.  M.,  for  Germany  ;  Mrs. 
G.  R.  LoEHR  and  four  children,  M.  E. 
S.  M.,  for  America  ;  Rev.  and  Mrs, 
T.  A.  Hkarn,  M.  E  S.  M.,  for 
America. 

From  Shanghai,  December  24th,  Rev. 
J.  H.  WoRLEY,  wife  and  six  children, 
of  M.  E.  M.,  Foochow,  for  CJ.  S,, 
Rev.  L,  J,  Davies  and  wife,  A.  P.  M., 
Chi-nan  Fu,  for  U.  S. 

From  Shanghai,  December  26th,  Rev. 
and  Mrs.  H.  Jenkins,  A.  B.  M.  U., 
Shaohing,  for  U.  S, 


THE 


CHINESE  RECORDER 


AND 


"^^x^^ionavp   ^ottrnaC. 


Vol.  XXXI.  No.  2  FEBRUARY,  1900.  {  ^'■plr;..".""'"'' 

The  ChristiM  and  the  Chinese  Idea  of  Womanhood  and 

How  our  Mission  Schools  may  help  to  develop 

the  Former  Idea. 

BY   MES.  TIMOTHY    RICHARD. 

(Concluded  from  page  16,  January  number.) 

II.  The  present  Ohiuese  idea  of  womanhood,  which  has 
gradually  evolved  from  the  teaching  of  Oonfuciiis  and  other  sages. 

The  purity  of  the  (Jiiinese  classics  and  their  all-embracing 
character,  dwelling  as  they  do  on  the  five  general  virtues  and  the  five 
relationships,  and  in  books  for  women  on  the  three  obediences  and 
the  four  domestic  virtues,  are  so  well-known  by  missionaries  that 
we  need  not  enlarge  on  them.  What  we  are  more  concerned  with 
here  is  the  retndt  of  the  teaching  in  the  general  estimate  of  woman 
and  the  lives  led  by  women  in  China  that  may  lead  us  to  see  the 
defects  in  the  teaching  of  their  own  classics  in  this  particular. 

1,  The  general  estimate  and  treatment  of  woman  in  China. 

It  is  well  known  tiiat  among  the  poorer  classes  girl-infanticide 
is  still  very  common.  This  is  more,  however,  the  result  of  desperate 
poverty  than  a  slight  on  woman  as  such.  The  boys  will  build  up 
the  family  tree  and  their  wives  will  do  the  household  work,  therefore 
the  boys  are  worth  keeping ;  the  girls  will  be  an  expense  for  many 
years  and  will  then  go  to  be  the  drudges  in  other  families  and 
probably  also  for  many  more  years  be  badly  treated,  hence — ignorant 
that  even  these  baby-girls  are  the  children  of  God  and,  as  such, 
possessed  of  immortal  souls — they  conclude  that  it  is  better  to  put 
them  to  death.  Besides,  in  this  they  are  but  following  Buddhist 
teaching — annihilation  better  than  existence,  which  is  the  root  of  all 
misery.  In  a  late  No.  of  China's  MlUions  a  China  Inland  iMission 
missionary  tells  of  a  woman  who,  in  obedience  to  the  iustraction  of  a 
Buddhist  priest,  destroyed  four  children. 


56  THE  CHINESE  BECORDER.  [February, 

When  allowed  to  live,  however,  the  girls  are  often  mnch  petted 
by  their  own  parents,  knowing  the  hard  lives  that  are  before  them 
as  danghters-in-law.  On  holiday  festivals  it  is  astonishing?  to  find, 
even  among  the  poorer  classes,  how  many  fathers  proudly  carry 
about  their  little  daughters  beautifully  dressed  when  out  visiting 
or  sight-seeing.  As  the  cruel  custom  of  foot-binding  has  been  much 
brought  before  us  lately  we  need  not  enlarge  on  it  here.  Much  of 
the  liberty  enjoyed  by  women  in  the  West  will  doubtless  come  to 
Chinese  women  when  their  feet  are  unbound. 

With  the  exception  of  young  daughters-in-law  who  have  cruel 
mothers-in-law  and  wives  who  have  cruel  husbands,  I  do  not  think 
that  women  are  so  badly  treated  in  China  as  report  often  leads 
people  in  the  West  to  suppose.  Many  monuments  have  been  erected 
to  daughters-in-law  who  have  shown  devoted  self-denying  affection 
towards  their  mothers-in-law.  In  Miss  Safford's  "  Typical  Women," 
which  is  a  translation  of  parts  of  a  Chinese  work  by  Liu  Hiang, 
of  the  Han  dynasty,  nearly  2,000  years  ago,  there  are  very  many 
examples  of  devoted  daughters-in-law,  as  well  as  of  wives  and 
mothers,  held  up  for  the  imitation  of  after  generations.  We  our- 
selves have  seen  the  counterpart  of  Ruth  and  Naomi  in  China — 
quite  a  strong  affection  between  mother-in-law  and  daughter-in-law, 
both  of  them  widows. 

Again,  men  frequently  confer  with  their  wives  on  expenditure 
in  business  as  well  as  in  family  affairs,  and  often  the  husband 
dare  do  nothing  against  the  wife's  advice.  We  have  met  women 
who  were  the  real  masters  of  the  house.  How  often  has  it  been 
found,  too,  that  persecution  from  the  wife  and  mother  has  made  a 
man-enquirer  turn  back  I  Women,  too,  are  often  trusted  entirely 
with  business  matters  in  the  husband's  absence.  The  wife  of  a 
governor  has  charge  of  the  seals  of  office. 

2.  As  to  the  manner  of  life  of  Chinese  women. 

Busy  with  the  preparation  of  clothes  and  the  cooking  for  the 
family,  the  Chinese  woman  in  the  ordinary  walks  of  life  has  little 
or  no  time  for  idle  gossip.  She  rises  to  St.  Paul's  idea  of  a  "  keeper 
at  home."  Only  in  the  families  of  the  wealthy,  where  servants  and 
slave-girls  do  everythmg  for  them,  do  we  find  the  time  not  spent  in 
dressing  is  spent  in  gambling  and  opium-smuking;  though  sometimes 
even  among  that  class  in  painting  and  embroidery. 

Modesty  and  chastity  as  a  rule  characterize  the  Chinese 
woman,  instances  of  falling  from  purity  being  extremely  rare  and 
visited  with  very  severe  penalty.  The  unfortunates  who  lead  a  life 
of  shame  have  been  bought  for  that  life  when  quite  tiny  children. 

In  ancient  times  China  has  had  women  of  literary  ability,  who 
have  written  history  and  poetry,  and  also  books  for  the  instruction 


1900.]    THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  THE  CHINESE  IDEA  OP  WOMANHOOD,  ETC.     '      57 

of  women  ;  we  doa't  hear  of  literary  women  in  these  modern  days 
however.  Those  of  ancient  times  are  often  proudly  referred  to  as 
exiun])les  of  what  Chinese  women  can  do.  Miss  Safford's  "  Typical 
Women  "  quotes  some  of  these.  Lady  Ts'ao  is  one  of  them,  and  I 
years  a<^o  read  an  excellent  book  for  women  by  a  widow  Wang.  I 
have  met  with  quite  a  number  of  women  who  could  read  and  write, 
having  been  taught  at  home  along  with  their  brothers.  Some  of 
these  were  very  fond  of  getting  books  on  foreign  countries  prepared 
by  foreigners  as,  they  said,  they  could  trust  to  the  correctness  of  the 
information  in  these  when  they  could  not  trust  those  by  natives. 
Otiiers,  again,  we  were  sorry  to  find,  used  their  knowledge  of  char- 
acters in  reading  trashy  novels  ;  but  that  is  not  peculiar  to  China. 

The  desire  known  to  prevail  in  many  quarters  to  have  schools 
where  girls  can  be  instructed  in  Western  learning,  so  lately 
frustrated,  we  trust  may  soon  revive,  and  many  schools,  such  as 
that  lately  closed  near  the  Arsenal,  be  opened  in  various  parts  of 
the  empire. 

A  word  more  as  to  family  life  in  China  :  It  is  astonishing 
from  our  Western  point  of  view  how  happy  many  of  the  marriages 
turn  out  when  scarcely  any  of  them  are  what  we  call  "  love-matches." 
The  beautiful  stories  of  conjugal  fidelity  in  their  books  for  women 
(stories  often  known  even  among  those  who  cannot  read)  have  helped 
towards  a  happier  state  of  things  than  might  otherwise  have  existed. 
The  stories  of  model  mothers  and  mothers  in-law,  have  had  their 
influence  for  good  also.  I  feel  convinced,  too,  that  the  self-denying 
love  exhibited  in  the  life  of  the  Goddess  of  Mercy  (so  universally 
worship[)ed  by  the  women  of  China),  has  done  much  to  keep  a  high 
ideal  in  all  relations  of  life  before  her  worshippers.  She  is  thought 
by  many  to  be  the  highest  ideal  of  noa-Christian  religions ;  and  is  it 
not  a  truth  that  we  unconsciously  become  like  what  we  worship  ? 
Hence  we  have  found  much  pity  for  the  poor,  feeding  of  widows  in 
famine  times,  and  makini^  and  bestowing  of  wadded  garments  in 
winter  time,  among  heathen  women  of  means. 

Many  truly  devout  women  may  be  found  among  the  Chinese, 
sincerely  desirous  of  finding  the  truth  and  obtaining  purity  of  heart. 
In  a  house-boat  trip  not  long  ago  it  was  touching  to  pass  boat-load 
after  boat-load  of  women  on  pilgrimage,  chanting  their  prayers  as 
they  went  along.  Worshipping  the  best  they  know  it  is  not  to  be 
wondered  at  that  these  listen  eagerly  to  the  "  heavenly  doctrine  " 
when  brought  before  them  and  make  some  of  the  saintliest  Chris- 
tians when  once  convinced  of  the  power  of  Christ  to  save  from  sin— 
just  the  blessing  they  have  been  so  long  in  search  of.  I  might 
give  instances,  but  we  are  more  concerned  with  Chinese  women  who 
do  not  know  Christianity. 


o8  THE  CHINESE  BECOKDEB.  [Febmary, 

In  spite  of  there  being  many  women  who  seem  to  enjoy  tolerably 
happy  lives,  and  many  devout  who  are  striving  after  a  high 
ideal,  still  thousands  and  thousands  of  Chinese  women  pass  through 
life  unloved  and  often  unlovable;  thousands  are  cruelly  treated  by 
husbands  as  well  as  by  mothers  in-law.  To  show  how  common  wife- 
beating  is  in  many  parts  of  China  1  must  refer  to  a  singular  ques- 
tion put  by  a  Christian  woman  to  the  wife  of  a  missionary  of  the 
American  Board  in  Shantung,  when  the  conversation  turned  on  the 
treatment  of  women.  "  But,  tell  me  truly,"  she  whispered,  "  has  the 
pastor  never  even  once  beaten  you  ? "  Again,  you  all  know  that 
beautiful  picture  of  the  apostle,  staff  in  hand,  entering  a  door 
opened  to  him  by  a  woman  with  a  child  clinging  to  her  skirts  and 
the  apostle  with  hand  uplifted  in  blessing  is  saying,  "Peace  be  to 
this  house."  Two  Chinese  women  on  one  occasion  were  standing 
before  it ;  the  one  asked  the  other  the  meaning  of  it,  when  the  reply 
was  given:  "Don't  you  see,  in  the  West  ifc  is  the  same  as  in  China  • 
the  master  has  been  from  home,  and  the  first  thing  he  does,  on  his 
return,  is  to  beat  his  poor  wife  1"  Polygamy  as  practised  through- 
out the  empire  proper  and  polyandry  (as  in  Thibet)  must  both  be 
regarded  as  degrading  to  womanhood. 

We  need  not  dwell  upon  the  lack  of  cleanliness  and  tidiness  too 
common  among  poor  women  in  China.  That  is  all  too  well-known,  as 
also  the  fact  that  the  men. folks  among  all  ranks  of  society,  must  be 
fed  first  and  the  women  be  content  with  what  they  leave.  Too 
frequent  suicides  among  women  also  tell  a  sad  tale  of  unhappiness 
and  hopelessness. 

Now  we  come  to  the  important  question — 
III.  How   can   our  mission    schools   help    to    propagate   the 
Christian  idea  of  womanhood  ? 

1.  How  can  our  boys'  schools  be  made  to  do  so?  Perhaps 
even  more  can  be  done  towards  this  end  in  boys'  than  in  girls* 
schools  ;  but,  if  this  end  is  to  be  reached  through  the  boys'  schools, 
the  teachers  must  keep  it  very  steadily  in  view  as  one  of  the  chief 
means  of  raising  the  civilization  of  the  nation  ;  for,  as  was  said  in 
the  beginning  of  this  paper,  the  treatment  of  its  women  is  the  gauge 
of  a  nation's  civilization.  Mohammedan  countries  can  never  therefore 
be  truly  civilized,  because  the  inferiority  of  woman  is  tanght  in  their 
Bible — the  Koran — polygamy,  divorce,  and  servile  concubinage,  being 
sanctioned.  As  Principal  Fairbairn  truly  says  :  "  A  religion  that 
does  not  purify  the  home,  cannot  regenerate  the  race;  one  that 
depraves  the  home,  is  certain  to  deprave  humaoitj'." 

(a).  The  boys  in  our  schools,  then,  must  be  distinctly  taught  that 
the  girls  are  as  much  children  of  God  as  they  themselves  are;  that 
they  therefore  must  be  treated  as  equals,  not  inferiors  ;  the  Grace 


1900.]   THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  THE  CHINESE  IDEA  OF  WOMANHOOD,  ETC.  59 

Before  Meat,  published  by  onr  S.  D.  C.  K.,  with  the  picture  of  an 
entire  Chinese  Cliristian  family — men,  women,  and  children — stand- 
iui?  reverently  givin;^  thanks  before  sitting  down  together  to  a  meal, 
might  serve  as  a  good  object  lesson  by  being  hnng  on  the  wall  of 
the  boys'  school ;  Jesas'  treatment  of  women  and  Paul's  courteons 
greetings  to  women  workers  must  be  brought  before  them;  in  fact 
the  distinctive  teachings  of  Christianity  that  show  Bible  teaching  to 
be  superior  to  their  own  classics  on  this  as  well  as  other  points, 
must  be  em{)hasized. 

(&).  It  might  be  well  that  the  same  books  be  used  and  the 
same  examination  papers  given  just  to  show  that  girls  are  the  equals 
of  boys  in  intelligence.  This  has,  in  a  measure,  been  already  proved. 
There  have  been  instances  where  in  higher  mathematics  girls  have 
excelled  boys.  When  passing  through  Shanghai  in  December,  1884, 
Archdeacon  Thomson  kindly  showed  us  over  the  Jessfield  school 
buildings  and  introduced  us  to  the  native  teacher  of  mathematics, 
who  had  been  trained  in  Dr.  Mateer's  school  at  Teng-cho\v-fu. 
Archdeacon  Thomson  asssnred  us,  however,  that  this  teacher's  wife, 
who  had  been  trained  by  Mrs.  Mateer,  was  the  better  mathematician 
of  the  two,  the  husband  often  having  to  apply  to  the  wife  to  help 
him  out  with  the  more  difficult  problems. 

(c).  Frequent  joint  meetings  of  the  boys'  and  girls'  Christian 
Endeavour  Societies,  a  monthly  or  quarterly  rally  in  the  same 
mission,  and  a  half-yearly  or  yearly  rally  of  societies  in  one  neigh- 
bourhood, might  serve  the  pur[)Ose  of  showing  that  Chinese  girls  and 
women  are  capable  of  expounding  and  ap[)lying  Scripture  truth  in  a 
helpful  way,  and  by  their  prayers  are  capable  of  drawing  all  hearts 
very  near  to  God.  That  they  can  do  so  without  losing  one  iota  of 
womanly  modesty  would  go  a  great  way  in  helping  our  school-boys 
towards  a  true  reverence  and  ap{)reciation  of  womanhood. 

{d).  Let  the  teachers  of  the  boys  as  often  as  possible  be  ladie?. 
The  almost  worshipful  respect  paid  by  Chinese  boys  to  their  lady 
teachers  must  go  far  tO' raise  all  womankind  in  their  estimation. 

2.  And  how  can  the  Christian  idea  of  womanhood  be  promoted 
in  onr  girW  schools  ? 

(rt).  Now  that  public  opinion  has  been,  to  a  great  extent,  formed 
against  foot-binding — the  Chinese  mandarins  themselves  writing 
against  the  cruel  custom — it  is  certainly  safe  to  make  natural  feet, 
or  unbinding  them  where  they  have  already  been  bound,  a  condition 
of  admittance  to  mission  schools. 

(6).  We  have  already  referred  to  having  the  same  books  and 
examinations  as  in  boys'  schools. 

(c).  But  more  important  than  that  they  must,  daring  their 
school  life,  be  trained  to  fill  the  positions  in  life  to  which  God  calls 


60  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [February* 

them  in  snch  a  way  as  to  please  Him ;  that  is,  they  mast  be  trained, 
with  the  special  view  of  becoming  good  dau.,'hters-iii4aw,  good  wives, 
and  good  mothers  ;  they  mast  be  prepared  to  bear  and  forbear 
with  the  fanlts  they  are  sure  to  find  (judging  by  their  own  imperfec- 
tions) in  the  varied  dispositions  of  the  miembers  of  the  households 
to  which  they  will  after  marriage  belong  ;  like  the  model  woman  in 
Proverbs,  the  law  of  kindness  should  be  on  their  tongue,  and  they 
must  resolve  never  to  eat  the  bread  of  idleness;  to  win  the  esteem 
of  the  mothers-ill-law,  they  should  be  good  at  cooking  and  at  cutting 
out  and  making  dresses  ;  to  win  and  keep  the  love  of  their  hus- 
bands, they  must  be  taught  to  be  cheerful  in  their  manners  and  tidy 
in  their  persons,  even  when  attending  to  household  work ;  that 
as  mothers,  they  must  rule  by  firmness  and  kindness,  never  using 
threats  that  they  don't  mean  to  carry  out,  and  taught  also  that 
judicious  praise  is  a  surer  way  to  secure  loving  obedience  than  any 
amount  of  scolding  or  punishing.  The  high  aim  must  be  ever  kept 
before  them  of  falfilling  of  God's  will  in  all  relations  of  life,  so  that 
they  may  claim  to  be  among  the  sisters  of  Jesus,  "  for,"  says  the 
Master,  "  whosoever  shall  do  the  will  of  my  Father  in  heaven  the 
same  is  my  brother,  and  sister,  and  mother.'' 

Above  all  they  must  be  taught  that  keeping  in  close  communion 
with  God,  getting  into  the  secret  of  "pray  without  ceasing" — the 
heart  ever  looking  up  for  guidance  and  direction — they  will  not  only 
please  God  and  those  among  whom  God  places  them,  but  that  by  so 
doing  they  will  also  find  opportunities  of  uplifting  those  about  them 
in  their  homes  and  neighbourhoods  and  in  church  meeting  to  the 
same  life  of  communion  with  the  unseen — the  Divine — enabling  those 
who  see  and  hear  them  also  to  attain  to  the  life  of  joy  and  peace 
and  love  which  they  themselves  possess.  Miss  Newton,  of  Peking, 
in  the  November  issue  of  Woman's  Work,  gives  a  most  beautiful 
instance  of  a  wonderfnlly  complete  Christian — as  a  daughter-in-law, 
wife,  mother,  and  member  of  the  church — who  had  no  advantages  of 
good  training  in  her  own  home;  her  mother,  though  a  professing 
Christian,  being  anything  but  a  good  example  to  her;  all  her 
qualities  being  traceable  to  the  training  she  had  had  in  a 
Christian  school.  The  description  is  unfortunately  too  long  to  be 
quoted  here. 

{d).  Further  on  this  point.  Several  years  ago  the  Rev.  Y.  K. 
Yen  allowed  his  daughter  to  walk  daily  from  Hongkew  to  her 
school,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  away,  and  gave  as  his  reasons  that, 
in  the  first  place,  it  was  good  for  her  health  and,  in  the  second,  that 
he  thought  the  time  had  come  when  the  Chinese  should  get  accus- 
tomed to  see  good,  modest  girls  walking  about  freely  just  as  foreign 
girls  do.    I  think  he  was  right. 


1900.]    THE  CHRISTIAN  AND  TnE  CHINESE  IDEA  OF  WOMANHOOD,  ETC.  61 

III  the  same  Hue  of  things  has  not  the  time  come  in  onr  girls' 
schools  when  men,  l)oth  native  and  foreign  (in  a  reasonable  way  of 
course),  should  be  allowed  to  visit  girls'  schools  and  get  an  idea  of 
the  work  done  ?  If  this  were  allowed  occasionally  the  girls  would 
soon,  get  rid  of  embarrassment  antl  mock  modesty  while  never  losing 
their  true  modesty.  I  have  often  thought  that  in  our  girls'  schools 
it  was  a  great  pity  that  the  fathers  were  not  present  as- well  as  the 
mothers  at  the  closing  exercises  which  are  always  so  interesting. 
Were  the  girls  used  to  having  male  visitors  occasionally  during  the 
months  of  study  I  think  they  would  not  be  unduly  nervi)ns  or 
embarrassed  when  that  interesting  day  came  round  were  the  fathers 
among  the  listeners.  I  think,  however,  that  we  must  wait  for  a  more 
entire  Christian  surrounding  before  we  allow  our  school  girls  to 
meet  native  or  foreign  gentlemen  socially  in  the  free  manner 
of  the  West. 

(e).  Finally :  Should  the  vexed  question  of  woman's  rights 
ever  come  up  in  our  girls'  schools  let  the  girls  be  taught,  as  I  was 
in  my  girlhood — now  a  long,  long  time  ago  and  therefore  rather  old 
fashioned  I  fear  :— 

The  riu'hts  of  women — what  are  theyl 
The  right  to  labour  and   to  pray, 
The  right  to  lead  the  soul  to  God, 
Along  the  path  the  Savior  trod  ; 
The  path  of  patience  under  wrong, 
The  path  in  which  the  weak  grow  strong, 
The  path  of  meekness  and  of  love, 
The  path  of  faith  which  leads  above. 
The  right  to  succour  in  distress; 
The  right  while  others  curse  to  bless; 
The  right  to  watch  wl)ile  others  sleep, 
The  right  o'er  others'  woes  to  weep. 
Such  woman's  rights,  and  God  will  bless 
And  crowu  the  chanipions  with  success. 

IV.  Lastly  a  few  words  on  how  we  missionaries,  whom  the  ser- 
vants and  school  children  so  closely  observe,  can  in  our  schools  and 
out  of  them  help  to  propagate  the  Christian  idea  of  womanhood  ? 

1.  Our  brethren  can  do  so  by  being  ever  courteous  in  their  bear- 
ing towards  the  other  lady  workers,  including  their  wives,  so  that 
the  highest  ideal  of  happiness  any  girl  in  our  schools  can  have 
is  by  and  by  to  be  treated  by  her  husband  just  as  the  missionary 
treats  his  wife.  The  school-boy,  too,  ever  on  the  watch,  will  be  found 
determining  that  when  he  gets  married  he  will  follow  the  beautiful 
example  of  his  masters,  not  only  treating  his  wife  with  all  courtesy 
but  consulting  her  on  all  important  matters  and  deferring,  as  far 
as  practicable,  to  her  judgment. 


62  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [January, 

2.  Let  ns  lady  missionaries  strive  to  be  concrete  examples  of 
what  the  girls  onght  to  be — fnll  of  charity  to  those  about  us,  ever  on 
the  lookout  for  saying  kind  words  and  doing  kind  deeds  while  ever 
showing  thorough  capability  for  our  chosen  life-work.  In  the  case 
of  those  of  us  who  are  wives  and  mothers  let  us  be  examples  in  those 
relations  and  also  strive  to  show  that,  when  there  is  love  and  entire 
confidence  in  our  family  relations,  it  will  invariably  be  accompanied 
by  a  wider  and  more  unselfish  love  towards  all  around.  As  Lowell 
so  well  puts  it : — 

"  Love  for  one,  from  which  there  doth  not  spring 
Wide  love  for  all,  is  but  a  worthless  thing  .  .  . 
But  our  pure  love  doth  ever  elevate 
Into  a  holy  bond  of  brotherhood 
All  earthly  things,  making  them  pure  and  good  !  " 


ChristiM   Unity. ^ 

BY   REV.    CHARLES   HARTWELL,  M.A. 

"  That  they  all  may  be  one." — John  xvii.  21. 

Xn^yTE  all  recognize  these  words  as  a  part  of  the  sublime  and 
>^\r      comprehensive  prayer   ofi'ered  by   our  Lord   on  the  night 
when  He  was  betrayed. 
In  this  prayer  we  also  find  such  petitions  as  these:  "And  now, 

0  Father,  glorify  thou  me  with  thine  own  self  with  the  glory  which 

1  had  with  thee  before  the  world  was.  I  pray  not  that  thou  should- 
€st  take  them  out  of  the  world,  but  that  thou  shouldest  keep  them 
from  the  evil.  Sanctify  them  through  thy  truth  ;  thy  word  is  truth. 
Father,  I  will  that  they  also,  whom  thou  hast  given  me,  be  with 
me  where  I  am;  that  they  may  behold  my  glory  which  thou  hast 
given  me." 

But  we  see  repeated  in  various  forms  the  Savior's  petition  that 
His  disciples  should  be  bound  together  in  a  sacred  unity :  "  Neither 
pray  I  for  these  alone,  but  for  them  also  which  shall  believe  on  me 
through  their  word  ;  that  they  all  may  be  one  as  thou,  Father,  art 
in  me  and  I  in  thee  ;  that  they  also  may  be  one  in  us  ;  that  the  world 
may  believe  that  thou  hast  sent  me.  And  the  glory  which  thou 
gavest  me  I  have  given  them;  that  they  may  be  one,  even  as  we  are 
one:  I  in  them  and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be  perfect  in  one; 
and  that  the  world  may  know  that  thou  hast  sent  me,  and  hast  loved 
them  as  thou  hast  loved  me." 

*  Sermon  preached  at  Sharp  Peak,  Foochow,  September  10th,  1899,  by  the 
Rev.  Charles  Hartwell,  M.A,,  of  the  American  Board  Mission,  and  published 
by  request. 


1900.]  CHRISTIAN   UNITY.  63 

Christian  unity  in  spirit  and  in  practice  is  also  implied  in  the 
Apostle  Paul's  exhortation  to  the  chnrch  at  Corinth  as  well  as  in 
many  otlier  passai^es :  "  Now  I  beseech  yon,  brethren,  by  the  name 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  ye  all  speak  the  same  thing,  and  that 
there  be  no  divisions  among  yon  ;  but  that  ye  be  perfectly  joined 
together  in  the  same  mind  and  in  the  same  judgment." 

It  is  not  necessary  to  assume  that  our  Lord  or  His  great 
apostle  had  in  view  a  mechanical  uniformity,  for  that  wonld  eliminate 
the  element  of  personal  freedom.  Nor  is  there  anything  wrong  or 
injurious  in  the  existence  of  the  numerous  denominations  of  the 
Christian  church.  These  are  simply  an  expression  of  the  multiplic- 
ity of  the  divine  unity.  Revealed  truth,  being  many-sided,  is  not 
80  completely  reflected  by  any  one  of  these  denominations  as  by  all 
of  them,  supplementing  each  other  as  they  do. 

Our  Savior  taught  by  means  of  far-reaching  general  principles 
rather  than  by  specific  rules,  and  to  such  a  heart  and  mind  as  His 
an  all- pervading  spirit  of  Christian  unity  must  be  far  more  precious 
than  mere  external  uniformity  resulting  from  a  coercioQ  of  heart 
and  conscience. 

Never  in  the  history  of  the  church  has  such  progress  been 
made  in  genuine,  intelligent.  Christian  unity  as  during  the  past 
fifty  years.  The  contrast  in  this  respect  between  to-day  and  half  a 
century  ago,  fills  my  heart  with  gratitude  and  joy.  More  and  more 
are  Christians  coming  to  feel  the  love  and  mutual  interest  which  we 
onght  to  cherish  for  one  another. 

In  respect  to  the  missionary  work  in  China,  the  general  con- 
ferences of  1877  and  1890  accomplished  much  good  in  making  the 
missionaries  of  different  fields  and  of  different  societies  mutually 
acquainted.  Not  only  did  we  learn  of  the  various  methods  of  work 
adopted  in  different  missions,  but  it  has  seemed  to  me  that  the 
mutual  sympathy  that  was  excited  among  the  fellow-laborers  in  the 
one  cause  and  the  interest  excited  in  each  other's  work,  were  of 
sufficient  value  to  justify  all  the  time  and  money  spent  to  hold  the 
conferences,  even  if  but  little  additional  knowledge  was  gained  by 
the  different  participants  as  regards  new  methods  of  carrying  on 
the  missionary  work.  The  Christian  fellowship  enjoyed  on  those 
occasions  inspired  mutual  confidence  in  the  consecration  and  wisdom 
of  the  various  workers  in  the  Lord's  vineyard  and  also  in  the 
results  of  their  labors.  Judging  from  my  own  experience  also,  the 
conferences  at  Shanghai  increased  our  mutual  charity  towards  those 
who  differed  somewhat  from  one  another  on  minor  points  of  Chris- 
tian polity  and  doctrine.  When  we  came  to  see  the  true  con- 
secration of  some,  of  whose  views  and  teachings  we  had  stood  a 
little  in  doubt,  we  could  bat  feel  that  they  were  led  by  the  Spirit  of 


64<  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Febmary, 

God  as  well  as  ourselves,  and  that  therefore  the  Lord  would  bless 
their  labors  as  well  as  our  own.  Those  general  conferences  helped 
in  a  marked  degree  to  answer  the  prayer  of  Christ  that  all  His 
missionary  followers  in  China  might  be  one. 

And  with  regard  to  Christian  doctrine  and  polity,  how  pre- 
sumptuous it  would  be  for  one  particular  church  or  denomination 
to  claim  a  monopoly  and  set  itself  up  as  the  model  which  all  must 
implicitly  follow !  No  finite  mind,  or  group  of  finite  minds,  can  grasp 
the  whole  truth  concerning  the  nature  of  God  and  of  our  relations 
to  Him.  Finity  cannot  fathom  infinity,  nor  can  one  community 
possess  all  the  wisdom  and  excellences  in  the  world.  All  branches 
of  the  Christian  church  have  their  good  points,  but  no  one  branch 
possesses  all  of  them.  By  mingling  with  each  other,  therefore, 
we  may  discover  our  own  deficiencies,  be  enabled  to  remedy  our 
defects,  and  thus  more  efficiently  promote  the  glory  of  God. 

When  Christ  prayed  that  His  followers  might  all  be  one,  I  do 
not  suppose  that  He  prayed  that  throughout  the  world  there  should 
be  but  one  form  of  church  organization.  I  do  not  think  He  wished 
or  planned  for  this,  nor  do  I  believe  that  such  a  thing  will  ever 
come  to  pass.  We  do  not  find  specific  rules  in  the  New  Testament 
concerning  all  the  minute  particulars  in  the  form  of  church  organiza- 
tion and  government.  We  find  general  principles  for  our  guidance, 
but  all  are  left  to  use  their  own  godly  judgment  as  to  what  partic- 
ular form  should  for  the  time  be  adopted.  "  Where  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  is,  there  is  liberty,"  in  this  matter,  as  well  as  in  other  things. 
Not  only  does  Christianity  foster  civil  liberty  in  the  State,  but  also  a 
reasonable  degree  of  liberty  also  in  the  management  of  ecclesiastical 
afi'airs.  And  we  are  at  liberty  to  adapt  our  methods  to  the  times 
and  circumstances  in  which  we  are  placed.  What  may  have  been 
wise  in  certain  past  times  and  conditions  may  not  be  wise  at  the 
present  time  and  in  our  changed  circumstances.  In  the  beginning 
of  missionary  work  among  the  heathen  certain  methods  may  have 
been  wise  which  may  properly  be  discarded  as  the  work  advances. 
This  is  true  in  the  affairs  of  the  church  as  well  as  in  other  matters. 
Changes  may  be  necessary  if  we  would  accomplish  the  most  for  the 
glory  of  Christ.  Not  to  make  proper  changes,  therefore,  when  the 
time  for  them  is  ripe,  would  be  not  only  unwise  but  reprehensible. 

Nor  does  it  seem  wise  to  strive  after  absolute  uniformity  in  the 
mode  of  church  organization,  or  in  the  methods  of  carrying  on 
church  work.  Not  only  do  Christians  difi'er  somewhat  in  the  forms 
of  statement  of  Christian  truth,  but  we  difier  in  temperament  and 
susceptibility  of  impression  by  different  phases  of  truth.  People 
will  probably  always  difier  in  their  estimate  of  the  importance  of 
certain  statements  of  doctrine  and  in  their  facility  to  use  these 


1900.]  CHRISTIAN   UNITY.  96 

forms  of  statement  so  as  to  iaflaeace  others.  Some  lay  more  stress 
on  the  purely  iutellectnal  aspects  of  Christian  truth,  and  naturally 
make  them  specially  prominent  in  their  appeals  to  others.  Others, 
more  emotional  in  their  nature,  usually  frequently  appeal  to  the 
feelings.  Some  by  education  enjoy  certain  forms  of  worship,  while 
others  are  more  edified  by  greater  liturgical  freedom.  These  differ- 
ences in  temperament  and  in  culture  will  of  course  continue  in  the 
church  to  the  end  of  time.  But  all  these  varieties  in  form,  these 
adaptations  to  the  characteristics  of  individuals,  are  perfectly 
permissible,  and  may  be  utilized  in  building  up  the  church  and  in 
edifying  the  body  of  Christ.  The  Spirit  who  constrains  us  in  all  our 
various  modes  of  worship  and  labour,  is  the  same.  The  Spirit  of 
God  inspires  all  true  worship,  and  the  worship  and  service  we 
render  are  accepted  rather  in  accordance  with  the  intention  and 
feelings  of  the  worshipper  than  according  to  the  particular  form  in 
which  they  are  offered.  While,  therefore,  there  is  substantial 
agreement  respecting  the  great  fundamental  truths  of  Christianity, 
the  minor  differences  of  belief  and  statement  need  not  interfere  with 
our  mutual  esteem  and  fellowship,  A  sense  of  our  individual  in- 
ability to  understand  fully  the  complete  system  of  Christian 
doctrine,  to  hold  it  in  correct  proportion,  and  to  present  it  in  a 
perfect  manner  under  all  circumstances,  should  lead  us  to  true 
humility  and  produce  in  us  a  readiness  to  fellowship  with  all  who 
accept  the  truth  as  it  is  in  our  divine  head,  Christ  Jesus. 

It  must  certainly  be  pleasant  to  us  all  to  contemplate  how 
certain  important  movements  within  the  last  fifty  years  or  so  have 
promoted  fellowship  among  the  various  branches  of  the  church. 
One  early  movement  towards  Christian  union  was  the  formation  of 
the  Evangelical  Alliance,  the  various  branches  of  which  are  inter- 
denominational, and  embrace  influential  laymen  as  well  as  ministers. 
Branches  have  been  formed  in  many  countries,  and  so  this  bond  of 
union  and  sympathy  is  very  extensive.  The  Evangelical  Alliance  has 
accomplished  much  good.  Its  standing  has  been  such  that  at  times 
it  has  several  times  successfully  appealed  to  rulers  in  the  name 
of  our  common  Christianity,  in  cases  of  religious  persecution,  and  in 
behalf  of  the  oppressed. 

Then  came  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  movement, 
which  was  started  in  London,  and  has  spread  to  all  parts  of  the 
Christian  world.  Not  only  has  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  been  the  means 
of  saving  many  j'oung  men,  but,  in  accordance  with  its  undenomi- 
national character,  its  workers  advise  their  converts  to  join  any 
branch  of  the  universal  church  according  to  their  personal  prefer- 
ences. These  have  conduced  greatly  to  the  cultivation  of  mutual 
sympathy  between  the   churches   which  they  have  elected  to  join. 


66  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Febmary, 

The  Yonng  Womaa's  Christian  Association  of  later  origin  is  produc- 
ing a  like  efiect. 

The  Christian  Endeavor  movement  has  also  had  a  powerful  influ- 
ence in  uniting  in  sympathy  the  various  branches  of  the  church  that 
have  joined  in  it.  These  and  other  undenominational  and  interna- 
tional denominational  movements  for  the  promotion  of  piety  among 
the  young,  are  all  helping  to  raise  up  a  generation  of  Christians 
who  will  be  more  liberal  in  fellowship  than  were  their  predecessors. 
They  are  helping  to  answer  the  prayer  of  Christ  that  His  followers 
may  all  be  one  in  aim,  one  in  readiness  for  united  service,  oue  in 
sympathy,  and  one  in  mutual  helpfulness.  We  rejoice,  therefore,  in 
all  the  international,  interdenominational,  and  denominational  move- 
ments which  promote  the  salvation  of  men  and  serve  to  unify 
Christians  of  every  name  and  enable  them  to  magnify  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  and  to  manifest  a  likeness  to  Hiua. 

In  one  particular,  especially,  there  is  at  the  present  day  a 
growing  uniformity  of  views  and  practice  in  the  different  branches 
of  the  Christian  church.  I  refer  to  the  positions  occupied  by  women 
in  the  work  of  the  church  and  in  the  missionary  field.  This  in- 
dicates increasing  intelligence  among  Christians,  as  well  as  the 
constraining  love  of  Christ  in  both  men  and  women.  Nearly  sixty 
years  ago  I  first  heard  a  woman  preach  from  the  pulpit  of  a  Con- 
gregational church.  In  my  early  days  I  knew  of  but  few  female 
public  speakers  in  New  England,  and  those  were  women  noted  for 
their  zeal  in  the  anti-slavery  cause.  Fifty  years  ago  there  were  but 
few  unmarried  ladies  in  the  foreign  mission  field.  But  now,  as  is  well 
known,  there  are  female  missionary  societies  and  many  single  women 
working  in  various  lands.  In  the  home  lands  also  these  women  are 
ordained  to  the  gospel  ministry,  while  many  are  members  of  the 
other  learned  professions.  There  are  public  speakers  and  lecturers, 
not  only  on  temperance,  but  on  other  moral  and  religious  subjects. 
Do  not  these  facts  show  that  Christ's  prayer  is  being  answered  that 
all  His  followers  of  both  sexes,  as  well  as  in  every  branch  of  His 
visible  church,  should  be  one  in  consecration  to  His  service  and  in 
efficiency  in  the  work  of  saving  mankind  ? 

For  one  I  believe  that  the  Bible  has  been  sadly  misunderstood 
as  regards  its  teachings  concerning  the  position  of  women.  Not  only 
has  the  curse  pronounced  on  the  serpent  who  deceived  our  first  parents 
been  sup{)osed  to  justify  a  hatred  of  all  the  snake  species  and  the 
wholesale  slaughter  of  them,  but  the  declaration  to  the  woman  that 
her  husband  should  rule  over  her,  has  been  regarded  as  a  proof  that 
woman  was  divinely  placed  in  a  position  inferior  to  man.  But  if  we 
put  the  word  "m^/"  in  the  place  of  "s/iaW  in  our  English  Bible 
and  read  "  and  he  will  rule  over  thee,"  instead  of  "  he  shall  rule  over 


1900.]  CHRISTIAN   UNITY.  67 

thee,"  thns  expressing  a  simple  prediction  as  to  the  result  that 
wonld  follow  her  siu.and  not  implying  any  approval  of  man's  fntnre 
oppression,  the  stronger  oppressing  the  weaker  one,  we  shall  see 
that  there  is  no  ground  for  the  idea  that  the  passage  necessarily 
implies  that  woman  is  by  divine  appointment  assigned  a  position 
inferior  to  man.  No  wonder  that  some  who  get  such  an  unsatis- 
factory impression  from  onr  common  English  rendering  of  this 
passage,  fail  to  see  the  justice  of  the  creator's  appointment  in 
the  supposed  unequal  positions  of  sisters  and  brothers.  Why 
should  sex  make  one  superior  in  our  estimation  to  the  other  ? 

Neither  do  I  think  that  the  Apostle  Paul's  statements  in  his 
epistles  to  the  Corinthian  church  and  to  Timothy,  forbidding 
believing  women  to  run  the  risk  at  that  time  of  bringing  reproach 
on  the  church  by  public  speaking  in  the  Christian  assemblies,  imply 
that  Christian  women  of  Great  Britain  and  America  should  not  be 
public  teachers  in  onr  day.  Paul  wrote  to  the  people  of  his  time, 
and  presented  arguments  adapted  to  convince  them  respecting  the 
points  he  wished  to  enforce,  though  his  inspired  letters,  written  over 
eighteen  hundred  years  ago,  to  Christians  in  quite  different  circum- 
stances, are  not  necessarily  applicable  in  every  particular  ito  us  who 
live  under  quite  different  conditions.  I  do  not  hesitate,  therefore,  from 
a  scriptural,  as  well  as  from  every  other  point  of  view,  to  regard  the 
fact  that  women  are  taking  so  prominent  a  part  in  the  missionary 
work  of  to-day  as  one  fulfilment  of  our  Savior's  prayer  that  all  His 
followers  should  be  of  one  mind  and  one  spirit  in  helping  to  bring 
this  lost  world  into  allegiance  to  our  divine  Lord. 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  the  unifying  influence  of  the  great 
missionary  conferences  in  the  home  lands  among  the  supporters 
of  the  foreign  missionary  work  ?  Already  the  Liverpool  and  the 
Mildmay  Conferences  have  been  held,  and  an  Ecumenical  Con- 
ference is  planned  to  meet  next  year  in  New  York.  Those  held  in  the 
past  have  beeu  both  interdenominational  and  international.  They 
have  been  very  influential  in  promoting  harmony  and  efficiency  in 
missionary  work.  The  discussions  concerning  mission  comity,  and 
the  best  method  of  conducting  the  work  have  resulted  in  much  good. 
Not  only  have  they  fostered  mutual  esteem  and  fellowship  among  the 
managers  of  the  various  societies,  but  the  expressions  of  fellowship 
have  naturally  influenced  the  feelings  and  action  of  the  workers  in 
the  different  fields. 

The  general  diffusion  of  missionary  intelligence  by  speakers 
and  by  the  printed  page,  has  also  produced  mutual  sympathy  be- 
tween the  various  branches  of  the  Christian  church.  People  are 
becoming  informed  in  respect  to  the  success  of  the  missions  of  the 
different  churches.     Ail  the  branches  of  the  church  have  had  amons 


68  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Febmary, 

their  missionaries  their  Pauls  to  plant  and  their  Apolloses  to  water, 
and  God  has  given  the  increase.  The  success  of  the  various  mis- 
sions has  shown  the  divine  approval  of  all  the  branches  of  the 
church,  and  the  influence  of  this  fact  is  to  excite  mutual  joy  in  the 
success  of  each  other's  work.  Thus  is  mutual  knowledge  hastening 
the  time  of  universal  oneness  and  fellowship. 

The  Students'  Volunteer  movement  is  also  promoting  unity  in 
sympathy  and  interest  among  missionaries  to  the  heathen.  This 
movement  is  international,  and  it  is  natural  that  all  concerned  should 
feel  a  special  interest  in  the  labors  of  those  who  are  known  to  have 
shared  in  the  same  enterprize. 

Another  particular  which  I  will  mention  as  having  greatly 
promoted  the  cordial  goodwill  and  fellowship  which  we  witness  to- 
day is  the  untold  good  that  has  resulted  in  late  years  from  the 
exchange  of  evangelists.  The  labors  of  such  men  as  Moody  in 
places  across  the  Atlantic  and  the  visits  of  the  many  British 
evangelists  who  have  visited  America  and  elsewhere,  have  greatly 
promoted  Christian  unity  among  the  English-speaking  branches  of 
the  Christian  church.  No  heart,  alive  with  love  to  Christ  and  His 
cause,  can  but  rejoice  at  the  displays  of  divine  grace  that  have  been 
seen  in  connection  with  the  labors  of  these  servants  of  God.  Be- 
longing to  various  branches  of  the  church,  they  worship  the  same 
God,  preach  the  same  gospel,  serve  the  same  Lord  and  Savior,  and 
exhibit  lives  of  similar  holy  consecration  and  devotion.  How  can 
their  labors  fail  to  show  that  all  the  followers  of  Christ  should  be 
one,  and  indeed  are  now  one  in  a  good  degree  ? 

That  last  thing  to  which  I  will  refer  as  having  done  much  to 
unite  tbe  sympathies  of  Christians  of  every  name  is  the  temperance 
movement.  This  has  influenced  the  views  and  excited  the  feelings 
of  moral  and  religious  people  throughout  the  world  in  a  striking 
manner.  There  are  various  local,  state,  and  national  temperance 
societies  which,  although  not  all  limited  to  members  of  Chris- 
tian churches,  are  yet  controlled  mainly  by  Christian  people. 
These  societies  have  exerted  much  influence  in  unifying  the  minds 
and  sympathies  of  the  people  in  all  Christian  lands.  Probably  the 
most  powerful  of  these  organizations  in  influencing  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  people  is  the  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union, 
which  of  late  years  has  become  world-wide  in  its  organization  and 
eff'orts.  This  movement  has  everywhere  exerted  a  most  beneficial 
influence  on  the  various  bodies  of  Christians,  and  it  is  to-day  mighty 
in  its  influence  for  good.  Christian  temperance  should,  of  course, 
be  modeled  after  the  example  of  Christ.  Without  this  there  can 
be  no  Christian  temperance  properly  so  called.  This  movement, 
therefore,   should  lead  to  the    same    oneness    of  character  and 


1900.]    DIFFERENT  WAYS  LEADING  TO  THE  GOAL  OF  CHRISTIANITY,  ETC.        69 

practice  that  all  other  correct  moral  and  Christian  movements  tend 
to  prod  nee. 

The  natnre  of  the  proper  oneness  of  all  of  Christ's  disciples  is 
shown  by  the  prayer  of  Christ.  He  prayed  for  the  eleven  apostles 
who  were  with  Him  and  for  all  who  should  believe  on  Him  through 
them,  or  through  any  of  His  future  disciples,  "  That  they  all  may 
be  one;  even  as  thou,  Father,  art  in  me  and  I  in  thee,  that  they 
also  may  be  one  in  us."  And  again,  "  That  they  may  be  one,  even 
as  we  are  one  ;  I  in  them  and  thou  in  me,  that  they  may  be  perfect- 
ed into  one."  That  Christians  should  all  be  one  in  mind,  in 
sympathy,  and  purpose,  is  very  evident.  The  essential  idea  of 
Christian  oneness  consists  in  likeness  to  Christ.  The  proper  mani- 
festation of  that  likeness  is  the  essence  of  Christian  unity.  Christ 
is  the  model  for  all  His  followers.  We  are  imitators  of  Him.  The 
nearer,  therefore,  Christians  in  every  land,  and  of  every  name,  are 
conformed  in  spirit  and  life  to  Christ's  likeness,  the  more  will  they 
be  like  one  another  and  the  more  perfect  will  be  the  resulting 
Christian  unity  among  them. 

When  the  Christ-likeness  becomes  perfect  in  all,  then  will  there 
be  perfect  fellowship  among  all  branches  of  the  Christian  church. 
Mutual  harmony  and  helpfulness  will  prevail,  and  the  glorious 
ideal  presented  by  the  Apostle  Paul  will  not  be  merely  theoi^etical, 
but  throughout  the  world  it  will  become  a  reality  among  all  Chris- 
tians :  "  There  is  one  body  and  one  spirit,  even  as  also  ye  were  called 
in  one  hope  of  your  calling;  one  Lord,  one  faith,  one  baptism,  one 
God  and  Father  of  all,  who  is  over  all,  and  through  all,  and  in  all." 


Different  Ways  leading  to  the  Goal  of  Christianity 
in   China* 

BY    EBV.    IMANUEL    GENAHR. 

tHAT  the  subject  discussed  in  this  paper  is  timely,  there  will  be, 
I  am  sure,  general  agreement.  But  exception  might  perhaps 
be  taken  to  the  mode  of  stating  the  theme.  One  might  ask  : 
are  there  different  ways  leading  to  the  goal  of  Christianity  ?  Is  not 
the  saying  often  heard — Many  ways  lead  to  the  same  goal — utterly 
false  ?  There  is,  strictly  speaking,  only  one  way  from  one  place  to 
another.  For  instance,  from  Canton  to  Peking  there  is,  strictly 
speaking,  only  one  way.  The  others  are  all  roundabout  roads,  side- 
paths,  which  may  lead  to  the  same  goal,  but  not  without  loss  of 
time.  In  the  same  sense  we  here  speak  of  different  ways  leading 
to  the  goal  of  Christianity. 

*  Read  before  the  Conference  of  the  Rhenish  missionaries  at  Hongkong. 


70  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [February, 

It  has  been  from  of  old  well  pleasing  to  the  condescension  and 
loving  kindness  of  our  Heavenly  Father  and  to  the  "  many  fold " 
wisdom  of  our  God,  of  which  the  apostle  to  the  heathen  speaks 
in  Ephesians  iii.  10,  to  lead  men  according  to  their  different 
dispositions  and  states  of  mind  in  the  most  divers  ways  to  one  and 
the  same  goal  of  redemption.  This  diversity  of  ways,  by  which  men 
according  to  the  diversity  of  their  own  peculiar  natures  and  aims  of 
life  have  been  drawn  to  the  gospel,  is  not  difficult  to  recognize  or 
to  trace,  as  well  in  the  case  of  the  first  appearance  and  spreading  of 
Christianity  as  in  the  times  of  its  later  propagation.  For  as  Christ 
while  incarnate  and  visibly  operating  drew  near  to  Him  the  most 
divers  kinds  of  men,  so  He  continues  in  a  similar  way  to  operate 
invisibly  through  the  gospel  in  the  history  of  the  church  through 
all  times. 

The  heathen,  who  now-a-days  in  want  of  help  turn  to  the 
messengers  of  Christ,  are  almost  all  very  similar  to  the  men  and 
women  whose  figures  are  so  familiar  to  us  through  the  sacred 
history.  In  most  cases  it  is  not  concern  for  the  salvation  of  their 
souls  which  compels  them  to  come,  but  some  desire  after  external 
help.  They  seek  a  physician  for  their  sick,  a  protector  against 
their  enemies,  a  peace-maker  in  their  quarrels,  a  teacher  for  their 
children,  a  mediator  in  their  intercourse  with  foreigners,  a  reformer 
of  their  conditions  of  life,  a  gain  bringer,  who  may  instruct  them 
how  to  introduce  the  foreign  civilization. 

Are  we  to  encourage  such  vague,  misty,  and  incomplete  notions  ? 
Is  the  missionary  to  stand  amongst  the  heathen  as  a  bearer  of 
civilization,  a  physician  of  the  sick,  a  peace-bringing  chief?  Is  this 
the  problem  of  missions  ?  In  the  first  instance  certainly  not.  Bat 
modern  missionaries  can  scarcely  avoid  paying  some  attention  to 
these  secondary  and  tertiary  problems  which  lie  on  the  periphery  of 
their  calling.  Heathendom,  even  the  relatively  most  civilized, 
stands  now-a-days  so  far  below  the  Christian  European  that  wher- 
ever he  appears,  as  a  matter  of  necessity,  the  eyes  of  all  are  direct- 
ed toward  him,  and  whenever  the  heathen  are  in  want  of  help,  and 
their  own  means  fail,  they  will  consult  him. 

Of  course  we  could  refuse  such  requests  and  say  to  the  heathen, 
even  with  an  appearance  of  piety  :  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  your 
bodily  concerns,  with  your  fields,  your  houses,  with  your  quarrels  ; 
it  is  only  your  souls  that  I  am  concerned  with ;  I  am  come  to 
win  them  for  the  life  eternal;  don't  bother  me  with  these  paltry 
things.  But  this  would  not  be  to  have  the  mind  in  us  which  was 
also  in  Chlrst  Jesus.  Though  He  saw  the  great  problem  of  His  life 
in  preaching  the  glad  tidings  of  the  kingdom  of  God  to  the  poor,  he 
nevertheless  had  time  to  spare  for  the  blind,  the  lame,  and  the  cripple. 


1900.]    DIFFERENT  WAYS  LBADINO  TO  THE  GOAL  OF  CHRISTIANITY,  ETC.         71 

H'3  (lid  not  regard  it  as  beaeath  His  digoity  to  feed  the  hnnj^ry,  to 
fill  the  nets  of  Galilean  fishermen,  to  gladden  the  hearts  of  a 
j)erplexed  weddiug  party  by  a  "  miracle  of  luxury,"  to  bless  little 
children,  and  to  settle  quarrels. 

"  To  heal,  to  calm  and  to  console, 
To  gladden  and  to  bless  is  His  joy." 

How  then  can  His  messengers  act  otherwise  ?  It  is  true,  only 
a  very  few  of  them  possess  the  gift  of  taking  up  serpents,  casting 
out  devils,  laying  hands  on  the  sick,  that  they  may  recover.  But 
instead  of  the  gift  of  miracles  the  messengers  of  Christ  are  to-day 
furnished  with  a  higher  culturiB,  with  arts  and  sciences.  Are  they 
to  keep  back  the  gifts  granted  to  them?*  The  blessings  of  Chris-* 
tianity  precede  them.  Therefore  it  must  also  be  their  joy  "  to  heal, 
to  calm,  and  to  console,  to  gladden  and  to  bless,"  the  more  because 
in  addition  to,  and  together  with,  the  blessings  of  Christianity  there 
is  also  the  curse  of  an  Un-Christiau  civilization  preceding  them. 

*  NoTK. — I  ftni  prepared  to  hear  the  objection  raised  here  that  my  argument  is 
merely  a  kind  of  fig  leaf  to  cover  our  nakedness  and  deficiency  of  spiritual  gifta  and' 
power,  nud  tliat  tiie  holy  Scriptures  are  not  at  all  in  accord  with  this  "  subterfuije 
of  perplexity"  as  it  has  been  called;  moreover,  that  it  leaves  a  very  strange  im- 
pression if  the  messengers  of  Clirist  are  see'n  using  iiomeopatliy,  allopathy,  and 
hydropathy  when  the  prayer  of  faith  and  the  laying  of  hiimls  on  the  sicU  in  the 
name  of  Him,  wlioTn  they  have  preached  so  often  lo  the  heathen  as  the  sole  physiciaa 
of  their  souls  and  bodies,  ought  to  lie  mighty  to  save  them  that  are  sick. 

This  is  not  tlie  place  lo  enter  into  a  full  discussion  cxf  this  subject.  I  am 
a'so  far  from  denying  a  present  want  on  our  part  ^ince  we  are  in  great  need,  so  far 
as  I  can  see,  of  a  much  more  powerful  endowment  of  the  Holy  Ghost  than  we  possess, 
and  so  probably  are  the  churches  who  support  us.  I  am  fully  persuaded  that  ouly 
by  this  meiins  we  can  overcome  sii(!ces?fully  the  innumerable  forces,  visible  and 
invisible,  which  the  powers  of  darkness  ai'raign  against  the  testimony  of  Jesus. 
But  we  cannot /orce  tlie  return  of  a  fuller  measure  of  the  Spirit ;  neither  can  we 
conceal  from  ourselves  that,  behind  a  certain  urgency  for  the  return  of  the  spiritual 
gifts,  self-conceit,  (and  in  its  train  grave  dangers)  very  often  lurks.  I  may  meutioa 
here  the  movement  originated  by  Lavaters'  three  questions  as  to  the  necessity  of 
the  continuation  of  the  spiritual  gifts  which  caused  8<>me,  who  once  ran  well,  at  last, 
to  fail  info  unbelief.  I  may  fartlier  mention  the  mnveraeut  orifiinated  by  Irving 
and  called  after  his  name,  which  has  brought  scarcely  any  profit  to  the  church  of  God 
lis  a  whole,  except  the  (jaestiona'ole  advantage  of  a  new  denomination.  Whether 
the  faith  healing  movement,  which  has  its  centre  at  Chicago,  and  which  lately  has 
caused  such  a  stir,  will  serve  in  any  way  to  further  the  kiugdoui  of  God  on  earth, 
remains  to  he  seen. 

This  movement  looks  down  with  sovereign  scorn  on  medical  missious  and' 
stigmatizes  those  who  do  not  reject  the  Use  of  medicine,  but  on  the  contraiy  seek 
iti  all  loyalty  to  serve  suffering  humanity,  with  the  reproachful  term  "apostates." 
Its  adherents  seem  to  me,  to  put  it  mildly,  to  err  in  a  two-fold  direction  :  firstly,  ja 
that  they  not  only  overestimate  the  spiritual  gifts,  specially  the  gifis  of  iieuling, 
but  also  mtike  them  an  essential  condition  of  a  living,  self-evidencing  faith  ;  secondli/, 
in  that  they  neglect  to  look  at  God's  plan  as  a  whole  and  do  not  trouble  themselveer 
with  the  question  whether  and  how  far  according  to  the  measure  of  the  divine 
dispensation  in  our  time  a  general  return  of  spiritual  giftfl  is  admissible  and  well- 
pleasing  to  God,  (Comp.  the  letter  of  the  Rev.  St.  P.  Smith  to  Dr.  Hudson  Taylor 
in  Ibe  "  Leaves  of  Healing."  Vol.  "V.,  No.  23).  The  Rev.  St.  P.  Smith  goes  even 
so  far  as  to  reckon  the  use  of  medicaments  amongst  the  *'  works  of  tlie  flesh," 
{papiiaKEta,  he  says,  has  been  unfortunately  translated  "sorcery"  in  Gal.  v,  20i 
as  it  otight  to  be  put,  "  the  use  of  any  kind  of  drugs,  potions,  or  spells"),  and  to 
warn  \.\w  venerable  Dr.  H.  Taylor,  who  does  not  occupy  the  same  standpoint,  that  ho 
will  have  cause  to  regret  his  pertinacity  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ!  Here 
we  have  that  kind  of  self-conceit  whicli  presuures  itself  to  be  a  performer  of  miracles 
without  asking  beforehand  whether  the  power  has  been  giveu  by  the  Lord  or  not. 


72  THE  CHINESE  BECORDER.  [February, 

Only  there  is  a  great  danger  connected  with  it.  We  are  ever 
apt  to  put  secondary  things  in  the  first  place.  In  consequence  of 
our  medical  work  and  other  external  activities  we  may  neglect 
what  ought  to  be  the  constant  business  of  our  life — the  preaching 
of  the  gospel.  He,  however,  to  whom  the  one  thing  needful  is 
always  the  greatest  and  single  concern,  who  never  ceases  to  work 
out  his  own  salvation  with  fear  and  trembling,  will  have  no  other 
aim  in  all  his  healing,  helping,  and  other  external  work  than  to  lead 
souls  to  Christ.  He  will  never  be  satisfied  till  he  sees  in  the 
heathen  who  applies  to  him  for  help,  the  awakening  of  that  faith 
which  saves. 

After  these  introductory  remarks  we  will  now  immediately  step 
in  medias  res  by  attempting  to  trace  the  ways  which  God's  provi- 
dence makes  use  of  in  leading  the  Chinese  to  salvation. 

I  begin  with  the  frank  concession  that  the  number  of  those 
who  on  account  of  our  preaching  declare  their  willingness  to  become 
disciples  of  Christ,  in  other  words,  who  by  means  cyf  the  word 
spoken  tO'  them-  are  converted,  is  not  large.  Not  very  many  of  our 
Christians  have  from  the  beginning  trodden  the  "  good "  (Jer. 
vi.  16)  and  straight  but  straitened  way  of  true  repentance  and  faith. 
Most,  and  not  the  worst  of  them,  have  reached  the  goal  by  round- 
about paths,  and  only  after  belonging  for  a  longer  or  shorter  time 
to  the  church  has  there  appeared  in=  them  that  inner  change  of  life 
which  we  call  conversion. 

Now  this  fact,  that  our  preaching  has  not  the  same  all- 
penetrating  eflfect  as  the  preaching  of  the  apostles,  is  often  very 
painful  and  discouraging  to  us — the  result  of  the  kbour  carried  on 
with  our  hearts'  blood  is  in  such  very  small  accord  with  the  plans 
and  wi&hes  we  formed  when  we  entered  upon  our  work.  No 
wander  that  we  all  more  or  less  have  to  go  through  some  kind  of 
disappointment,,  and  that  we  find  ourselves  aright  in  the  actual 
circumstances  only  after  a  large  amount  of  mental  work  and  often 
ouly  after  long  experience. 

The  reason  of  this  is  not  far  to  seek.  We  all,  no  doubt,,  bring 
out  with  us  full  devotion  to  the  work  entrusted  to  us,  but  there  is  in. 
most  cases  a  sad  deficiency  in  knowledge  of  the  actual  circumstaces  ;■• 
for  example,  in  comparing  our  activity  with  that  of  the  apostles,  we 
often  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  unlike  them  we  have  to  bring  the 
gospel  to  a  nation  which  in  peculiarity  of  race,  customs,,  and  man- 
ners, culture  and  religion,  is  entirely  different  from  us.  We  have 
to  learn  with  much  pains  a  language  so  very  unlike  ours  ;  we  are 
to  acquire  with  much  self-denial  the  habit  of  entering  a  world  of 
thought  entirely  foreign  to  us.  And  if  we  have  succeeded  in  all 
this,  so  that  we  deem  ourselves  to  have  found  the  means  of  coming 


1900.]    DIFFERENT  WAYS  LEADINa  TO  THE  GOAL  OF  CHRISTIANITY,  ETC.       73 

Dear  to  the  hearts  of  the  people  in  an  effective  way,  there  aris^ 
suddeuly  new  difficulties  in  the  shape  of  deep-rooted  prejudices, 
produced  by  the  lives  of  nugodly  Europeans.  In  short,  the  situation, 
though  sinciilar  in  many  aspects,  is  nevertheless  entirely  different 
from  that  which  the  apostles  had  to  face. 

Nor  is  this  all.  The  gigantic  power  of  darkness,  the  horrible 
corruption  and  depravity  which  in  the  times  of  the  apostles  held 
the  pagan  world  bound  with  bonds  of  brass,  has  in  the  course  of  the 
centuries  not  decreased,  but  increased.  We  are  to  conquer  a  heathen 
world  which  has  been  1,800  years  longer  alienated  from  the  life 
of  God  and  has  sunk  still  deeper  in  forgetfuluess  of  the  way  to 
seek  God  "if  haply  they  might  feel  after  Him  and  find  Him. 
(Acts   xvii.   27.) 

Again,  we  often  underestimate  the  prominent  significance 
which  the  institution  of  the  synagogue  had  for  the  teaching  and 
preaching  activity  of  the  apostles.  Not  only  within  Palestine,  but 
also  in  the  neighbouring  heathen  countries  the  apostles  found 
in  all  the  large  cities  synagogues  as  suitable  points  of  contact  for 
their  Christian  teaching.  In  Greece  and  Macedonia  also  it  is  almost 
always  the  synagogues  in  which  the  name  of  Christ  is  first  pro- 
claimed by  Paul,  aud  from  which  the  Christian  churches  develop 
themselves.  Though  the  origin  of  the  church  of  Rome  is  wrapped 
in  some  obscurity,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  believe  that  she  also 
went  forth  from  the  cradle  of  the  Jewish  synagogue.  Literally, 
at  least  as  regards  the  then  known  world,  the  word  of  James  (Acts 
XV.  21)  was  true,  that  "  Moses  from  generations  of  old  hath  in 
every  city  them  that  preach  Him,  being  read  in  the  synagogues 
every  Sabbath." 

Thus,  the  synagogue,  according  to  God's  plan  and  dispensation, 
was  to  prepare  the  way  for  the  gospel,  not  only  in  Palestine,  but 
also  on  the  soil  of  heathen  countries,  a  fact  which  has  no  parallel  in 
China.  It  is  impossible  to  overestimate  the  significance  of  this  fact, 
viz.,  that  when  the  apostles  went  through  the  countries  as  mission- 
aries, by  means  of  the  synagogue  the  Word  of  God  in  the  Old 
Testament  had  already  been  carried  into  the  whole  of  the  then 
historical  world.*     Because  in   those   proselytes,  who  in  the  place 

*  In  order  to  pet  some  idea  of  the  influence  which  the  Jewitih  churcheB  of  the 
diaspora  by  their  8ynas{oglc  institutions  exerted  upon  the  heathen  world,  let  uh  hear 
the  opinion  of  some  of  the  Jewish  and  pagan  conteniporaries.  "  Tlie  multitude  of 
mankind,"  so  says  Jcsephus,  the  Jewish  historian  with  perceptible  pride,  "  itself  has 
had  a  great  inclination  for  a  long  time  to  follow  our  religious  observaocea ;  for  there 
is  not  any  city  of  the  Grecians,  nor  any  of  the  barbarians,  nor  any  nation  whatso- 
ever, whither  our  custom  of  resting  on  the  seventh  day  hath  not  come,  and  by  which 
our  fasts  and  lighting  of  lamps  and  many  of  our  prohibitions  as  to  our  food,  are  not 
observed,  they  also  endeavour  to  imitate  our  mutual  concord  with  one  another  and 
our  charitalile  distribution  of  our  goods  and  our  fortitude  in  undergoing  the 
distresses  we  are  in  on  account  of  our  laws,  and,  what  is  here  matter  of  the  greatest 
admiration,  our  law  hath  no  seduction  of  pleasure  to  allure  men  to  it,  bat  it  prevails 


74  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [February, 

of  their  heathen  view  of  the  world,  had  got  the  knowledge  of  an 
almighty,  holy,  and  self-existiug  God,  and  at  the  same  tiuie,  as  mere 
proselytes  of  the  gate,  had  no  reason  for  showing  that  national  pride 
and  self-righteousness  which  locked  the  masses  of  the  Jewish 
people  agiiinst  the  gospel,  the  apostles  found  the  most  favourable 
ground  for  the  promulgation  of  the  gospel.  Such  an  institution, 
which  in  the  best  sense  of  the  word  had  acted  as  a  preparation  for 
the  gospel  (this  is  not  the  place  to  speak  of  the  unfavourable  aspect 
of  the  synagogue),  we  look  in  vain  for  in  China. 

Perhaps  some  one  will  think  all  this  a  great  digression  from 
my  theme.  But  it  is  not  so.  It  was  needed  to  show  that  China 
cannot  reasonably  be  compared  with  the  mission  field  of  the 
apostles  (Asia  Minor,  Greece,  and  Rome.)  Then,  the  success  on 
both  sides  ought  to  be  judged  accordingly.  Now  I  do  not  wish  by 
any  means  to  deny  that  the  spiritual  endowments  of  the  apostles,  in 
virtue  of  which  they  could  oppose  the  dark  powers  of  heathendom, 
were  much  more  intense  than  ours.  Not  in  order  to  excuse  this 
want,  which  always  makes  itself  felt,  still  less  to  silence  the  long- 
ing after  a  more  powerful  attestation  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  have  I 
drawn  this  parallel.  My  sole  purpose  has  been  to  bring  it  to  our 
consciousness  more  fully  that  with  reference  to  the  seeming/  failure 
of  our  preaching  we  must  take  into  consideration  the  colossal 
difference  between  the  circumstances  of  the  apostolic  age  when 
compared  with  to-day.  This  is  not  commonly  or  sufficiently  under- 
stood.* 

I  say  designedly,  seeming  For  in  reality  matters  are  hap^iily 
not  what  they  seem.  Though  the  number  of  those,  who  on  account 
of  our  preaching  express  their  willingness  to  renounce  theii-  idols 
and  to  turn  to  Christ,  is  small  if  compared  with  those  who 
continue  to  be  heathen,  there  remains  the  fact  that  ever  growing 

by  its  own  force ;  and  as  God  Himself  pevvtides  nil  thf  world,  so  hath  our  law  passed 
through  all  the  world  also,"     (Ag.  Ap.  Book  ii.  40  ) 

What  the  Jew  is  boasting  of  here  is  confirmed  by  Greek  and  Roman  writers. 
Seneca,  for  instance,  complains  that  t.he  customs  of  that  ntfiuions  people  (the  Jewi.'-h 
Diition)  have  gained  the  mastery  so  far  that  they  have  been  aece|ited  tluuugliuut 
all  countiie.s,  etc, 

*  At  the  conference  at  Shanghai  in  1877,  the  Rev.  Dr.  H.  Taylor  put  (he  ques- 
tion, whetlier  there  is  any  reason  to  assume  that  if  work,  similar  to  that  done  by  the 
apostles  be  now  done  in  China,  it  would  lie  attended  with  results  less  valualiie  and 
encouraging?  and  lie  expressed  his  own  Arm  belief,  "  that  as  j<ieat  effects  would  be 
pow  seen  in  Ghiua  f rom  similar  labours  as  were  seen  1,800  years  ago  in  Asia  Minor 
and  in  Europe  ;  and  that  our  difficulty  lies,  and  lies  only,  in  the  obstncles  which  exist 
to  our  not  doing  similar  work,"  Well  did  the  Rev.  Dr.  Douglas  in  the  following 
discussion,  object  to  the  compnrison  of  our  work  in  Cliuia  with  that  of  the  ap'  sties. 
"  China,"  he  said,  "  was  in  no  respect  like  Asia  Minor,  Gieece,  etc.,  in  the  time  of 
the  apostles.  Jewish  colonies  had  been  long  jilanted  in  all  these  countries,  and  (he 
Jinowledge  of  the  Old  Testament  revelation  and  of  Jehovah,  the  only  living  God,  had 
preceded  the  ai>ostle8  wherever  they  went.  The  ^round  was  thus  prepared  for  the 
preiiching  of  the  gospel  ;  and  the  New  Testament  proves  that  the  apostles  tilniosD 
entirely  confined  their  labours  to  the  parts  of  the  field  thus  prepared."  (Records  of 
the  Conferenoti,  p.  102, 118.) 


1900.]  THE  KOREAN  GENTLEMAN.  75 

masses  are  enlightened  by  the  preaehinjij  of  the  gospel,  so  that 
confidence  in  the  native  religion  vanishes.  Fie  who  has  eyes  to 
see,  can  already  perceive  that  there  is  the  beginning  of  an  inner 
transformation  of  paganism  taking  place  incessantly.  So  the  way 
will  be  paved  for  Christianity,  which  is  ever  spreading  more  widely. 

(To  he  concluded.) 


The  Korean  Gentleman.* 

BY  REV.  J.  S.  GALE,  WONSAN,  KOREA. 

^w'HE  calm  and  composure  that  environs  a  Korean  gentleman  is 
^Ph  one  of  the  mysteries  of  the  Orient.  Embarrassed  he  may  be  by 
a  thousand  debts,  and  threatened  by  a  hungry  wolf  through 
every  chink  in  his  mud  cabin,  yet  the  placidity  of  his  life  continues 
unruffled.  He  is  master  of  a  composure  that  forms  the  groundwork 
of  other  characteristics.  From  Confucius  he  has  learned  to  mortify 
every  natural  impulse,  and  to  move  as  though  he  acted  his  part  OQ 
a  stage  where  a  single  misdirected  smile  or  thoughtless  measure 
would  upset  the  greatest  piece  on  record.  His  choicest  word  is 
i/ei,  meaning  "  proper  form."  If  he  only  keeps  yei,  he  may  offend 
against  every  command  in  the  decalogue  and  still  be  a  superior 
man — in  fact,  may  be  perfectly  holy.  If  he  breaks  yei,  he  is  covered 
with  confusion,  and  counts  himself  the  vilest  of  the  vile.  Yei,  of 
course,  is  Confncianism.  If  you  speak  a  word  in  disparagement 
of  yei,  the  gentleman  is  frantic,  forgetting  t/ei  altogether  for  the 
moment  in  his  effort  at  violence. 

Anything  that  interferes  with  the  rigid  fulfillment  of  y^Ms  of 
course  to  be  avoided,  for  which  reason  no  gentleman  indulges  in 
manual  labor,  or,  in  fact,  in  labor  of  any  kind.  His  life  consists 
in  one  supreme  command  of  coolie  service,  while  the  coolie  responds 
to  every  order.  The  lighting  of  his  pipe  or  the  rubbing  of  ink  on 
the  inkstone  must  be  done  for  him.  Down  to  the  sira[)lest  require- 
ment of  life  he  does  nothing,  so  his  hands  become  soft  and  his  finger 
nails  grow  long.  From  constanc  sitting  his  bones  seem  to  disinte- 
grate, and  he  becomes  almost  a  mollusk  before  he  passes  mitldle  life. 

When  once  they  have  attained  to  this  physical  condition  of 
pulp,  they  are,  in  a  measure,  immune  from  the  thumps  and  shocks 
of  ordinary  life.  It  was  my  misfortune  once  to  ride  through  a  rough 
and  mountainous  country  in  company  with  a  Korean  gentleman. 
By  keeping  a  constant  hold  on  the  halter  rope,  I  managed  to  escape 
a  back  somersault  whenever  the  pony  jumped.     I  warned  Mr.  Cho 

*    From  "  Korean  Sketches."    Fleming  H.  Revell  Co.,  Chicago. 


76  THE  CHINESE  BECORDER.  [Febrnary, 

of  the  danger  he  ran  in  sitting  bolt  npright  on  the  pack  without 
girders  or  supports  of  any  kind  to  protect  hira.  He  remarked,  in 
reply,  that  it  was  not  good  Korean  custom  to  hold  on  to  the  halter 
as  I  advised,  and  so  we  proceeded.  When  the  sun  grew  hot  he  added 
to  his  already  top-heavy  condition  by  opening  an  umbrella.  The 
startled  pony,  with  one  bound,  shot  Mr.  Gho  backward  out  of  the 
saddle,  and  his  fall,  which  is  the  point  of  my  story,  was  marvelous 
to  behold.  On  the  uneven  surface  of  the  road  he  flattened  out  like 
a  ball  of  paris  plaster.  Jacket  and  pantaloons  were  lost  sight  of  ; 
even  the  hat,  like  a  spot  on  the  sun,  was  bat  an  irregularity  of  color 
on  an  otherwise  flattened  surface.  But  from  this  mass  came  forth 
the  man,  illustrating  how  we  have  all  proceeded  from  original 
protoplasm,  for  he  pulled  himself  together  and  said  he  was  none 
the  worse,  though  I  should  certainly  have  been  damaged  seriously 
by  such  a  fall. 

Not  all  the  gentry  by  any  means  are  scholars,  though  they 
ought  to  be,  if  they  came  up  to  the  standard  of  Confacian  require- 
ment. Those  who  have  attained  to  this  are  marked  and  honored 
men  ;  they  are  all  but  worshipped  by  the  mass  of  the  pepole,  and  are 
given  the  freedom  of  every  city  in  the  kingdom  ;  they  are  admitted 
as  distinguished  guests  into  the  presence  of  the  highest,  free  of 
pass.  Chinese  characters  seem  to  have  for  these  few  a  consuming 
fascination.  Not  so  much  the  thought  conveyed  as  the  character 
itself  seems  the  object  of  veneration.  From  them  he  "builds" 
(chita)  forms  of  expression  and  verses  as  a  child  builds  an  enchanted 
castle  from  blocks  of  diff'erent  sizes  ;  and  there  is  no  limit  to  the 
variations  and  combinations  possible,  so  there  is  no  limit  to  the 
charm  they  possess.  Two  scholars  can  find  sufficient  to  interest 
them  for  a  single  day  in  a  single  character,  and  as  there  are  in  use 
some  20,000  characters  they  have  a  fund  of  interest  to  draw  on  that 
will  last  for  half  a  century.  No  attempt  is  ever  made  to  write 
more  than  original  ditties  or  mottoes  ;  anything  approaching  to  an 
original  work  in  Chinese  would  be  like  an  attempt  to  ontdo  Homer 
in  Greek — presumption  unheard  of.  So  the  scholar  plays  his  life 
away  with  this  unending  rosary  of  ideographs  that  entwine  not  only 
his  neck,  but  his  mind  and  heart  and  soul. 

For  the  unlettered  gentry,  Chinese  has  no  charm.  They  keep 
a  few  learned  expressions  at  their  fingers'  ends  as  a  sort  of  bulwark 
of  defense  when  hard  pressed  ;  but,  as  far  as  possible,  they  avoid 
the  subject.  Their  life,  since  shut  off  from  intellectual  pleasure, 
consists  of  material  pleasure,  dress,  and  enjoyment.  This  class  of 
scholar  is  exceedingly  common  in  Korea.  In  immaculate  white  he 
emerges  from  the  holes  and  corners  of  every  mud  village.  If  he  is 
an  official  of  importance,  he  does  not  walk  alone,  but  is  assisted  by 


1900.]  TH&  KOREAN  GENTLEMAN.  77 

the  arms  on  each  side.  If  he  ventures  by  himself,  it  is  with  a 
magnificent  stride  that  clears  the  street  of  indifferent  passers  and 
commands  only  on-lookers.  In  one  hand  is  a  pipe  three  feet  long  ; 
in  the  other  a  fan  ;  over  his  eyes  two  immense  disks  of  dark 
crystal — not  to  assist  him  in  seeing,  but  to  insure  his  being  seen. 
How  precious  these  are  I  Many  a  man  will  forego  the  necessaries 
of  life  if  only  he  can  gain  a  pair  of  hjung-ja  (spectacles),  and  so 
cover  himself  with  glory  before  an  onlooking  assemblage.  I  once 
offended  greatly  against  yei  in  an  effbrt  to  befriend  an  impecunious 
gentleman,  who  had  told  me  of  his  financial  embarrassments.  He 
was  at  the  time  wearing  a  pair  of  dark  crystals,  and,  thinking  to 
make  him  a  present  under  cover  of  a  purchase,  I  off'ered  him  thirty 
yangor,  or  six  American  dollars,  for  his  glasses.  He  was  amazed 
to  think  that  I  should  virtually  ask  them  for  nothing,  for  he 
had  paid  equal  to  fifteen  dollars  for  them,  and  a  bargain  they 
had  been  at  that.  This  is  one  of  the  absurdities  of  the  Orient, 
where  a  man  pays  two  or  three  months'  income  for  something 
absolutely  worthless.  Oriental  methods  are  so  extremely  absurd 
that  there  is  no  hope  of  an  Occidental  demonstration  by  which  to 
rectify  them. 

The  impecuniosity  of  a  Korean  gentleman  is  also  a  profound 
mystery.  I  have  figured  for  years  on  the  question  as  to  how  an 
idle  man,  with  nothing;  left  to-day,  shall  outlive  to-morrow  ;  but  he 
lives,  dresses  just  as  well,  and  misses  none  of  his  meals.  He  will 
tell  you  frankly  that  the  last  of  his  ho{)es  for  a  livelihood  have 
perished^  he  is  financially  a  total  wreck,  and  his  present  condition  is 
one  of  clinging  to  the  rocks,  where  he  is  in  momentary  peril  of  the 
devouring  element.  You  are  exereised  deeply  on  his  behalf  ;  much 
more  deeply,^  you  learn  later,,  than  he  himself  is.  Mouths  pass-,  and 
be  is  still  in  the  same  condition — a  condition  in  extremk,  no  better, 
BO  worse.  By  way  of  encouragement  I  have  said  :  "  You  have 
managed  to  eat  and  live  for  a  month  or  more  on  nothing  ;  just 
continue  on  in  the  same  manner,  and  yon  will  do  very  well."  "  Eat 
and  live,"  says  he,  "of  course  ;  every  dog,  eats  and  lives-;  you  would 
not  expect  me  to  lie  down  and  die,  would  yon  ? "  And  he  leaves 
m  disgust,  feeling  that  the  delicate  points  of  an  Oriental  question 
can  never  penetrate  the  shell  that  encases  the  barbarian's  brain. 

The  fact  that  tradesmen  and  business  people  are  regarded  as 
low  encourages  the  Korean  gentleman  to  neglect  thought  and 
training  on  this  line.  He  is  a  veritable  child  in  business.  Many 
a  foreigner  trusts  his  affairs  to  his  native  teacher,  and  wonders  why 
they  should  turn  out  so  unsatisfactorily  in  the  hands  of  a  native. 
If  business  must  be  transacted,  an  honest  "  boy  "  will  quite  outdo 
in  executive  skill  the  best  and  most  honest  scholar. 


78  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Febmary, 

Not  onlj!'  in  business,  but  in  other  affairs  of  life,  the  Korean 
gentleman  is  a  master  of  iuaccnracy.  He  pretends  to  be  absolutely 
certain  of  everything  under  the  sun,  and  no  subject  ever  daunts  him 
or  is  beyond  his  ability  to  elucidate.  The  slightest  clue  gives  him 
a  key  to  the  whole  ;  merely  let  him  see  the  smoke  from  the  funnel, 
and  he  will  explain  to  you  the  why  and  wherefore  of  a  steam 
engine.  He  will  tell  you  what  a  comet's  tail  is  composed  of,  or  what 
color  the  dog  is  that  causes  the  eclipse  of  the  moon.  He  compares 
the  minor  details  of  his  life  about  him  with  what  went  on  in  the  days 
of  King  Sun — a  contemporary  of  Noah — with  as  much  assurance  as 
we  would  talk  of  the  events  of  yesterday.  The  new  arrival  in  the 
Land  of  Morning  Calm  begins  to  think  what  a  marvel  of  informa- 
tion this  man  is,  and  what  a  fund  of  accurate  knowledge  he  has 
acquired — ^aud  he  a  heathen,  too.  It  is  only  when  you  put  his 
statements  to  the  test  that  you  find  he  is  astray  in  everything.  By 
the  rarest  accident  he  may  be  right,  but  it  is  the  exception.  He 
has  no  intention  of  deceiving  you.  The  defect  lies  in  the  fact  that 
there  is  something  radically  wrong  with  his  manner  of  reasoning 
and  of  putting  two  and  two  together. 

He  has  a  profound  contempt  for  woman,  speaking  of  her 
generally  as  hechip,  or  female.  He  takes  for  his  wife  the  one  his 
father  bargains  for,  raising  no  question  as  to  her  looks,  health,  or 
avoirdupois.  She  is  a  subject  altogether  beneath  the  consideration 
of  a  member  of  the  male  sex,  with  its  massive  understanding.  She 
is  relegated  to  the  enclosure,  and  lives  a  secluded  life.  He  refers 
to  her  as  kosiki  (what-you-may-call-lier),  or  ken  (she),  and  never 
loses  an  opportunity  of  showing  how  little  is  the  place  she  occupies 
in  his  extensive  operations.  If  the  truth  were  told,  however,  we 
would  know  that  the  little  woman  within  that  enclosure  is  by  no 
means  the  cypher  he  pretends  her  to  be,  but  that  she  is  really  mate 
and  skipper  of  the  entire  institution,  and  that  no  man  was  ever 
more  thoroughly  under  petticoat  government  than  this  same  Korean 
gentleman. 

His  prime  object  in  life  is  to  have  a  son  who  will  sacrifice  to 
his  shades  when  he  is  dead  and  gone.  The  boy  is  expected  to  obey 
his  father  implicitly.  If  he  but  develops  that  trait,  he  may  grow 
up  to  be  quite  as  useless,  or  more  so,  than  his  sire,  and  yet  be  a 
model  man.  If  no  son  is  born  to  him,  he  adopts  a  nephew  or  near 
relative  as  the  best  substitute  under  the  circumstances.  Bnt  the 
stranger  never  wholly  takes  the  place  of  the  real  son,  who  is 
regarded  in  this  life  as  his  strong  right  arm,  and  in  the  life  to  come 
as  his"  eternal  satisfaction. 

In  order  to  make  sure  of  this  eternal  life  through  posterity, 
the  gentleman  marries  his  son  off  when  he  is  still  a  mere  boy, 


1900.]  THE  KOREAN  GENTI^EMAN.  79 

sometimes  bat  nine  or  ten  years  of  age.  Child  marriage  is  one  of 
the  old  respected  customs  in  Korea.  That  it  is  not  more  common 
is  because  it  requires  uu  outlay  of  money  wliich  paretits  are  not 
always  williu";  or  able  to  make,  and  so  the  lad  is  sometimes  left 
unmarried  until  he  can  provide  for  himself. 

The  serious  question  in  the  life  of  a  Korean  gentleman  is  the 
service  of  his  ancestor-shades.  His  life  is  marked  by  periods  of 
monrning — three  years  for  parents  and  lesser  periods  for  more  dis- 
tant rehidves.  A  succession  of  fasts  and  feasts,  requiuin>^  form  of 
dress  and  outlays  of  money,  consumes  more  of  his  time  and  means 
than  all  the  provisions  for  the  family  living.  To  neglect  these 
forms  would  degrade  him  to  the  level  of  a  Mohammedan  who  had 
renounced  his  faith. 

We  have  glimpses  occasionally  of  the  gentleman's  ability  as  he 
shares  in  the  games  of  the  outer  guest  chamber.  Chess  and /;aiofc 
(a  kind  of  draughts)  he  plays  frequently.  A  half-hour's  teaching 
will  show  him  the  moves  on  a  foreign  chess  board,  and  a  very 
respectable  player  he  becomes  from  the  outset.  His  best  work  is 
seen  in  the  leisurely  development  of  the  game.  Rapidity  or  excite- 
ment upsets  him.  I  have  seen  excellent  players,  master  amateurs 
of  the  board,  who  have  had  no  gift  whatever  for  the  solving  of 
problems.  When  one  attempt  failed  they  would  give  it  up  and 
say:  "It  can't  be  done."  This  again  proves  the  jelly  fish  in  his 
nature,  his  condition  being  passive,  and  not  active.  Anything  like 
a  determined  effort  he  is  entirely  incapable  of,  as  the  mollusk  is 
incapable  of  performing  the  feats  of  the  shark  or  swordfish.  Were 
I  to  choose  one  common  saying  from  the  language  that  enters  more 
largely  into  the  life  and  character  of  the  Korean  gentleman  than 
any  other,  it  would  be  Mot  hao  or  Hal  su  wpso — No  help  for  it,  or.  It 
can't  be  done. 

A  marked  characteristic  of  a  Korean  gentleman's  home  is  its 
entire  respectability.^  There  is  frankness  and  freedom  of  speech, 
but  no  looseness;  and  few  conditions  exist  that  would  offend  in  the 
best  ordered  Western  household.  Strange  to  say,  even  in  a  home 
where  there  are  a  number  of  concubines,  propriety  and  good  order 
obtain.  I  once  made  a  journey  to  Japan  with  a  strict  and  devout 
Korean  Confncianist,  Mr.  Cheung.  He  had  learned  much  of  Christ 
and  Christianity,  and  while  he  assented  to,  and  rejoiced  in,  whatever 
of  it  agreed  with  his  ancient  faith,  he  remained  a  Confncianist  firm 
as  ever.  We  took  ship  in  one  of  the  ports  of  Korea  and  started  for 
Japan.  He  had  heard  of  the  adoption  of  Western  life  and  customs 
in  the  Sunrise  Kingdom,  and  was  desirous  of  seeing  something  of 
the  benefits  it  would  confer  npon  a  race.  The  first  thing  he  saw 
was  the  depravity  of  the  women — "■selling  themselves,"  said  he. 


80  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Febmary, 

"before  the  eyes  of  onlookers  and  for  copper  money,  too."  A  year's 
residence  in  the  country  confirmed  him  in  the  belief  that  what  he 
had  seen  was  not  the  exception,  but  a  national  trait.  "  When 
women  are  so  depraved  the  men  must  be  equally  so.  They  know 
nothing  of  Confucius,  and  no  fear  of  God  is  before  their  eyes. 
Western  civilization  merely  tends  to  make  their  depravity  more 
exceedingly  depraved."  He  lived  as  in  a  kind  of  nightmare — horror- 
stricken  by  nudity  and  obscenity  such  as  he  had  never  dreamed  of 
in  his  isolated  kingdom.  He  saw  two  drunken  English  and  American 
sailors  and  the  so-called  respectables,  whose  life  was  but  a  whirl  of 
pleasure-seeking.  "Yo'ir  Christ,"  said  he,  "has  but  a  meager  hold 
upon  you  after  all."  He  had  put  off  his  dress  and  laid  aside  his 
topknot,  but  his  heart  remained  still  faithful  to  the  garments  of  his 
ancient  faith.  The  more  he  saw  of  life  abroad  the  more  he  sighed 
for  his  straw  roof  and  mud  hut,  where  modesty  and  virtue  had  honor 
still,  and  where  life  was  lived  with  some  degree  of  regard  for  the 
teachings  of  the  ancient  sages. 

So  he  passed  from  us,  one  of  the  last  and  most  unique  remains 
of  a  civilization  that  has  lived  its  day.  His  composure,  his  mastery 
of  self,  his  moderation,  his  kindliness,  his  scholarly  attainments,  his 
dii^nity,  his  absolute  good-for-uotlungness,  or  better,  unfitness  for 
the  world  he  lives  in, — all  combine  to  make  a  mystery  of  humanity 
that  you  cannot  but  feel  kindly  toward  and  deeply  interested  in. 


T^ 


Romanizing. 

BY  REV.   J.   E.    WALKER,   FOOCHOW. 

WISH   T   knew   as  nnicli  about  this  as  I  once  thought   I  did; 

for  Romanizing  Chinese  words  is  a  confused  and  vexing  problem. 

In  the  first  place  our  ears  are  iinperfecrj  guides.  During  the 
first  two  or  three  weeks  that  I  spent  in  Foochow  I  repeatedly 
heard  certain  sounds  shouted  out  whicli  a  Foochow  man  could  no 
more  utter  than  an  Ephi-aiinite  could  fianie  his  mouth  to  say 
Shibboleth.  My  ear  heard  English  sounds,  i.e.,  the  sounds  being  such 
as  I  had  never  heard  before,  my  ear  identified  them  witli  the  English 
sounds  which  they  most  nearly  resembled.  After  I  had  studied 
with  a  teacher  for  a  few  weeks  these  t^ounds  disappeared  from  the 
speech  of  the  people;  and  I  wondered  what  had  become  of  them. 
In  like  manner  I  have  heard  learners  repeating  after  a  teacher 
sounds  quite  unknown  to  his  dialect.  In  the  Shao-wu  dialect  there 
is  a  closer  and  a  broader  sound  of  e  before  n,  u,  and  i  ;  but  it  took 
me  three  or  four  years  to  find  this  out,  and  even  now  I  never  ftel 


190O.]  ROMANIZING.  81 

quite  sure  of  myself;  for  I  am  not  yet  certain  just  how  these  two 
sounds  differ  from  the  English  e  in  men.  That  man  is  an  uticom- 
monly  successful  learner  who  does  not  permanently  retain  some 
incorrect  sounds  and  use  them  year  after  year,  placidly  unconscious 
of  the  difference  between  his  pronunciation  and  that  of  the  Chinese. 
In  Romanizing  the  Shao-wn  we  put  a  mark  over  the  broader  e;  but 
the  closer  e  is  a  modified  i  of  the  kindred  dialects,  and  so  had  better 
have  taken  the  mark. 

In  the  second  place,  the  Roman  alphabet  is  very  inadequate  ; 
and  the  sounds  which  we  do  not  hear  corrrectly  are  just  the  ones 
which  our  alphabet  cannot  correctly  represent  to  our  eye.  Then,  too, 
English  orthography  abounds  in  irregularities  and  anomalies.  We 
have  various  letters  for  one  sound  and  various  sounds  for  one  letter. 
In  writing  Chinese  words  we  remedy  this  by  giving  the  vowels 
their  Italian  sounds;  and  we  settle  on  a  conventional  usage  for  the 
consonants.  But  the  inadequacy  and  ambiguity  of  the  symbols  has 
given  rise  to  various  rival  devices  and  conflicting  usages. 

Our  English  consonants  h,  d,  g  hard,  and  g  soft  are  distinguished 
from  p,  t,  k,  and  ch,  as  sonants  or  flats  ;  the  latter  being  called  surds 
or  sharps.  The  sonants  are  so  named  because  in  their  enunciation 
the  vocal  chords  begin  to  vibrate  and  the  vocalized  breath  to  enter 
the  mouth  before  the  mouth  opens  to  emit  the  sound.  They  thus 
have  a  sound  of  their  own,  and  are  intermediate  between  the  surds 
and  the  liquids.  In  the  case  of  the  liquid  m,  for  instance,  the  vocalized 
breath  passes  freely  out  through  the  nose  before  the  lips  pari  ;  while 
in  enunciating  the  sonant  b  the  soft  palate  closes  the  nasal  passages 
and  the  vocalized  breath  enters  the  mouth  before  the  lips  part.  But 
in  the  case  the  surd  p  the  vocal  chords  begin  to  vibrate  just  as  the 
lips  come  open  ;  while  with  the  aspirated  p  the  opening  of  the  lips 
precedes  vocalization,  and  is  followed  first  by  aspirated  breath  and 
then  by  vocalized  breath.  In  English  this  aspiration  after  the  surds 
is  a  neglected  sound.  Some  of  us  aspirate  enough  almost  for  a  good 
Chinese  aspirate,  and  some  so  little  as  to  almost  utter  a  Chinese 
unaspirated  surd.  But  many  of  us  are  half  way  between,  and  need 
to  drill  in  both  directions  if  we  would  acquire  a  good,  clean  Chinese 
pronunciation.  The  Germans  on  the  other  hand,  seem  to  overlook 
the  distinction  between  the  sonants  and  the  surd-^;  and  this,  as  we 
know,  is  a  hindrance  to  them  in  learning  to  speak  English  correctly. 
But  in  most  Chinese  dialects  the  sonants  h,  d,  g  hard,  and  g 
soft,  are  wanting,  and  nnaspirated  surds  take  their  place;  hence 
when  a  Chinese  hears  a  sonant  for  the  first  time,  he  is  apt  to 
mistake  it  for  a  liquid.  Thus  my  Foochow  teacher  asked  me  what 
was  the  English  for  ^,  and  when  I  said  bee  he  repeated  it  after  me, 
"  mee."    After  I  had  vainly  corrected  him  several  times  he  gave  up 


82  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [February, 

in  a  puzzled  frame  of  mind,  for  he  could  not  see  wherein  my  hee  differed 
from  his  mee.  His  ear  perceived  that  vocalization  preceded  the  oi)en- 
ing  of  the  lips ;  and  the  liquid  m  was  the  only  sound  known  to  him 
that  would  fit  the  case.  But  we  sometimes  find  Chinese  students  of 
English  who  carefully  imitate  the  brogue  of  their  English  teacher  aa 
if  it  were  an  accomplishment  to  be  able  to  say  ha  instead  of  pa. 

In  beginning  the  study  of  the  Poochow  dialect  I  found  the 
Ron>anizing  in  the  text  book  a  great  help  in  calling  my  attention  to 
peculiarities  which  my  untrained  ear  would  have  overlooked  ;  and  yet 
after  a  time  I  found  I  was  being  led  astray  by  it  (as  I  understood  it,) 
because  it  did  not  and  could  not  accurately  represent  to  my  eye  the 
true  Chinese  sounds,  Romanizing  is  a  great  help  in  learning  the 
language;  but  nothing  can  take  the  place  of  careful  listening. 

A  striking  instance  of  conflicting  usage  in  Romanizing  Chinese 
is  found  in  the  rival  methods  of  distinguishing  the  aspirated  and 
uuaspirated  surds.  The  aspirate  is  about  the  same  sound  as  initial 
h  in  English,  but  often  somewhat  stronger;  and  it  is  substantially 
the  same  thing  in  such  words  as  ^,  p,  fQ,  f^^,  and  ::^,  as  It  is  in  jif-. 
Since  therefore  we  write  this  word  hao,  analogy  would  require  us  to 
write  the  others  chhai,  khou,  pha,  tha,  and  tshai.  But  our  English 
use  of  h  in  ph  and  th  led  to  the  rejection  of  the  h  and  the  substitu- 
tion of  the  apostrophe  ',  after  the  analogy  of  the  rough  breathing  in 
Greek.  Furthermore,  in  the  absence  of  any  appropriate  sign  in 
the  Roman  alphabet,  the  h  was  borrowed  to  indicate  the  abrupt 
shutting  off  of  the  vocalized  breath  at  the  end  of  the  ruh-sheng 
words,  etc.  Thus  we  in  a  majority  of  cases  do  not  use  the  h  to 
represent  the  aspirate,  but  do  make  an  extensive  use  of  it  where 
there  is  no  aspirate. 

This  confusion  in  regard  to  the  aspirate,  matters  little  to  those 
who  have  grown  accustomed  to  it ;  but  it  does  add  to  the  labor 
of  acquiring  the  language.  'J'o  the  untrained  ear  of  the  new  comer 
there  is  so  little  difference  between  the  aspirated  and  nnaspirated 
surds  that  no  vivid  impression  is  produced  through  the  ear  on  the 
memory.  No  one  is  troubled  to  remember  whether  a  certain  word 
is  ao  or  hao,  for  our  ears  have  been  trained  from  infancy  to  note 
this  distinction  ;  but  many  a  learner  is  troubled  to  remember 
whether  a  certain  word  is  pao  or  p'ao  ;  and  it  would  be  quite  a  help 
if  the  Romanizing  em[)hasized  to  the  eye  that  which  fails  to  imjiress 
the  untrained  ear.  But  the  use  of  the  apostrophe  rather  does  the 
opposite  of  this.  It  is  smaller  than  the  smallest  letter,  and  has  no 
name  or  place  in  the  alphabet.  If  the  h  were  employed  the  learner 
might  spell  the  word  to  himself.  True  he  might  do  this  with  the 
apostrophe ;  but  I  never  knew  of  one  that  did  ;  and  for  years  this 
sign  for  the  aspirate  was  nameless  to  me  so  far  as  spelling  oat  a 


1900.]  ROMANTzma.  83 

word  was  concerned.  Tt  is  not  strange,  then,  that  loarners  shonld 
kick  at  this,  and  each  one  devise  a  system  of  his  or  her  own.  Dr. 
S.  Wells  Williams,  in  an  introductory  note  to  his  Middle  Kingdom, 
says  that  nearly  every  writer  on  Chinese  topics  has  a  system  of  his 
own  for  spelling  Chinese  names;  and  he  gives  fourteen  different 
ways  in  which  various  writers  have  Romanized  one  and  the  same 
Chinese  cliaracter. 

Of  late  years  a  favorite  snbstitnte  for  the  old  method  of  dis- 
tingushiug  aspirated  and  iiiia-ipirated  surds  is  to  nse  b,  d,  g,  etc., 
for  the  nnaspirated  surds  and  p,  t,  le,  etc.,  for  the  aspirated  ;  and 
this  wonld  be  an  improvement  if  only  the  learner  wonld  prononuce 
the  words  as  his  teacher  does  and  not  as  this  style  of  spelling 
makes  them  look  to  English  eyes.  But  some  even  deliberately  and 
systomarically  Anglicize  or  Tentonize  their  pronunciation;  and  they 
are  well  enouii;h  understood  by  those  who  are  familiar  wit.h  their 
brogue.  But,  in  talking  to  strangers  on  unfamiliar  topics  this  style 
of  pronunciation  is  a  hindrance  to  being  understood.  I  have 
known  American  lienrcrs,  listening  for  the  first  time  to  a  Scotch 
preacher,  to  lose  a  sentence  now  and  then  because  of  his  brogue ; 
and  if  these  things  are  done  in  the  green  tree  what  shall  be  done  in 
the  dry.  If  a  man  is  engaged  in  educational  work  a  little  brogue 
more  or  less  does  not  matter  much;  but  if  one  expects  to  address 
audiences  made  up  of  strangers  in  large  part  it  is  highly  desirable 
that  he  weed  ont  thorouj^hly  everything  forei<j:a  in  speech  or  idiom. 
Correct  tones,  rhythm,  and  idiom  can  do  much  toward  making 
up  for  a  sliij:ht  defect  in  the  initials,  but  when  these  are  also  poor, 
incorrect  initials  are  very  unfortunate. 

This  system  of  rais[)rouuuciation  works  better  with  those  who 
aspirate  strouijly  than  with  those  who  have  a  cleaner  enunciation. 
Learners  who  adopt  it  are  liable  to  mistake  nnaspirated  words  for 
aspirated.  They  hear  a  new  word  which  manifestly  does  not 
begin  with  a  sonant,  and  so  it  sounds  to  them  like  an  aspirated  word. 
But  I  have  heard  s[ieakers  of  some  years'  experience,  who  began  with 
this  system,  use  the  sonants  with  words  learned  in  the  study,  and 
the  correct,  nnaspirated  surds,  with  words  picked  up  in  conversation. 
We  also  see  persons  who  conscientiously  adopt  Chinese  dress  to  get 
nearer  to  the  people,  deliberately  introduce  this  foreign  brogue  into 
their  speech  ;  and  thus  constantly  interlard  their  talk  with  sounds 
which  their  hearers  could  not  utter  to  save  their  lives  ! 

In  the  country  around  8hao-vvu  many  words  that  should  begin 
with  an  aspirated  t,  drop  the  t  and  begin  with  the  aspirate.  For 
instance,  Tien  ^  becomes  Hien,  and  t'cii  -j^  becomes  hai.  In  some 
of  the  cities  west  of  us  this  is  the  correct  city  pronunciation.  Hence 
at  Shao-wu  the  use  of  the  h  universally  for  the  aspirate,  in  Roman- 


84  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [February, 

iziug,  would  help  ns  to  point  ont  to  scholars  from  the  conntry  or  from 
the  west  of  ns  the  exact  nature  of  their  brogue.  This  also  illustrates 
how  ilU:)gical  it  is  to  have  two  different  sigas  for  the  aspirate. 

Oue  of  the  defects  of  the  Romau  alphabet  is  that  in  many 
cases  letters  related  in  sound,  have  no  resemblance  in  shape  to 
indicate  this  relationship  ;  and  the  use  of  English  sonants  to 
represent  Chinese  unaspirated  surds,  forces  this  same  defect  into  our 
Romanized  Chinese. 

Another  bone  of  contention  is  the  marking  of  the  Chinese 
tones.  There  was  first  the  metho;!  of  marking  the  four  upper  tones 
by  little  half  circles  at  the  four  corners  of  the  word  in  imitation  of 
the  Chinese  method,  and  then  marking  the  four  lower  tones  by  the 
same  half  circles  underscored.  But  thus  we  sometimes  have  the 
tonal  mark  here  and  sometimes  there  ;  and  in  writing  the  Roman- 
ized it,  is  slow  and  awkward  to  have  to  lift  the  pen  at  the  end 
and  carry  it  back  to  the  beginning  of  so  many  words.  Then,  too,  it 
is  decidedly  more  convenient  to  speak  of  the  tones  by  number  than 
by  their  Chinese  names,  which  for  most  dialects  are  purely  arbitrary 
terms.  Why  not  therefore  indicate  them  by  numerals  attached  to 
the  upper  right  hand  corner  of  each  word  ?  But  here  comes  a 
split.  In  the  southern  dialects  it  is  far  more  natural  and  convenient 
to  number  the  f  jur  upi)er  tones  1,  2,  3,  4  aud  the  four  lower  tones 
5,  6,  7,  8.  But  the  Mandarin  dialects  have  only  one  lower  tone, 
the  "  lower  even";  and  our  Mandarin  dictionaries  all  {)ut  this  next 
to  the  "upper  even"  tone  and  number  it  2  instead  of  5.  To 
those  of  us  who  use  both  a  Mandarin  and  a  southern  dialect  this  is 
something  of  an  annoyance.  There  are,  however,  two  arguments  in 
favor  of  this  order,  (1).  In  Chinese  poetry  the  two  "even"  tones 
are  matched  against  the  other  tones  which  are  classed  as  "deflect- 
ed." (2).  There  are  a  number  of  cases  where  the  even  tones  words 
under  a  certain  head  are  either  all  "  upper  even  "  or  else  all  "  lower 
even."  Thus  there  seems  to  be  quite  a  marked  affinity  between  the 
palatals  k  and/;'  and  the  "  upper  even,"  aud  between  the  liquids 
and  the  "lower  even  "  tone.  , 

But  even  in  the  Mandarin  dialects  the  "  lower  even  "  tone  is 
sharply  distinguished  from  the  other  tones  by  its  uniform  aspiration 
of  the  surds.  The  very  numerous  exceptions  to  this  in  the 
Pekingese  dialect  are  all  borrowed  from  the  "entering"  tone  or 
"juh-sheng."  With  this  order  of  the  tones  in  Williams'  dictionary^ 
under  ch,  k,  p,  t,  ts,  there  is  uniformly  a  gap  between  the  first  and 
third  tone,  because  second  tone  words  are  uniformly  wanting  under 
these  letters  ;  and  even  in  Goodrich's  vocabulary,  where  many  of  the 
gaps  are  filled  up  by  words  borrowed  from  the  "juh-sheng,"  there  still 
remain  fifty  odd  instances  in   which  there  are  "  lower  even  "  tone 


1900.]  ROMANIZING.  85 

words  under  appirated  consonants,  bnt  not  nnder  the  corresponding 
tjuaspirated  letters.     This  is  in  the  proportion  of  about  one  in  seven. 

It  is  my  belief  that  we  onglit  to  encourage  the  spread  of  the 
Mandarin  (which,  under  present  circumstances,  would  of  necessity 
be  the  Pekingese)  with  tiie  hope  that  it  mi<^ht  ultimately  supplanfe 
the  various  dialects  and  give  the  wiiole  Chinese  race  one  language  ; 
and  to  this  end  I  thiidc  that  a  system  of  Romanizing  which  would 
be  uniform  for  all  dialects,  so  far  as  dialectic  peculiarities  can  permit, 
would  be  H  valuable  aid.  But  the  system  of  numbering  the  tones 
which  now  prevails  in  the  Mandarin  is  an  awkward  one  for  the 
southern  dialects.  Furthermore,  the  Pekin<?ese  is  a  mass  of  con- 
fusion to  those  who  speak  other  dialects.  Before  i  and  I'i,  h  and  s 
run  together  to  form  a  sound  written  as  hn,  and  k,  and  k"  are 
changed  to  c/<  and  cA,'  while  all  the  "juh-sheng"  words  are  scat- 
tered around  among  the  other  four  tones  in  such  a  way  that  even 
Pekingese  authorities  will  give  various  tones  to  the  same  word. 

At  Foochow,  tonal  marks  have  been  adopted  which  are  written 
over  the  vowels,  while  other  diacritical  marks  are  written  under  the 
vowels.  This  lias  the  advantage  of  putting  the  tonal  mark  over 
that  element  of  the  word  which  is  particularly  affected  by  the  tone. 
The  marks  used  also  have  some  connection  with  the  nature  of  the 
tone,  which  is  some  help  to  learners  in  fixing  the  tone  in  the  memory. 
But  these  marks  are  more  awkward  to  write  than  are  the  numerals. 
This  marking  of  the  tones  by  numerals  is  the  simplest  system  yet 
devised,  and  those  who  have  become  accustomed  to  it  will  not  care 
to  change  from  it  to  any  of  its  present  rivals. 

At  Foochow,  now,  the  English  sonants  are  used  for  the  unaspi- 
rated  surds,  except  that  instead  of  using  ^  for  unaspirated  ch,  c  alone 
is  used  for  this  and  ch  for  the  aspirated  surd.  There  are  seven 
tones,  the  lower  ascending  tone  having  coalesced  with  the  upper 
ascending.  The  Foochow  lower  tones  do  not  aspirate  more  than  do 
the  upper  except  in  the  case  of  colloquial  words  in  the  lower  eveu 
tone.     Thus  0  is  read  ^fien,  but  the  colloquial  is  ich'eng. 

At  Sliao-wu  we  have  six  tones,  the  lower  ascending  having 
been  absorbed  by  the  upper  ascending  tone,  and  the  lower  entering 
tone  having  coalesced  with  the  lower  departing.  We  number  the 
four  upper  tones  1,  2,  3,  4  and  the  two  lower  tones  5  and  6.  As  we 
use  Mandarin  text  books  and  dictionaries,  it  would  have  been 
better  for  us  to  have  adopted  the  Mandarin  numbering  of  the  tones. 
But  we  approached  the  study  of  the  Shao-wu  through  the  Foochow. 
In  the  Shao-wu  lower  tones  the  surds  are  always  aspirated,  except 
in  the  case  of  some  sixth  tone  colloquial  words. 

There  are  numerous  other  points  of  difference  in  regard  to 
Komuuiziug  Chinese  which  stand  iu  the  way  of  a  hurmouiuus  use  of 


86  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Febi'nar)'', 

it;  and  there  are  various  individual  systems  of  Romanizing.  "More 
to  the  acre  this  year  than  even  before."  Some  missiutiaries  have 
turned  away  from  all  attempts  at  Romanizing  in  disgust  at  the 
confusion  and  discord  ;  and  others  are  opposed  to  it  as  too  foreign  in 
its  tendencies.  Oninese  pride  of  course  looks  down  upon  it  ;  but 
any  one  who  has  seen  a  (yhinese  coolie  woman  of  more  tlian  average 
dullness  read  chapter  after  chapter  of  the  Bible  at  will  from  Old 
Testament  or  New  without  mistake  or  prompting,  cannot  but  hope 
that  some  time  in  the  future  Romanizing  will  become  a  great  boon 
to  the  common  people  of  this  unhappy  country. 

One  serious  objection  at  present  to  the  use  of  Romanized  books 
in  any  one  dialect  is  that  it  enables  the  pu[)il  only  to  rend  just  such 
books,  etc.,  as  are  specially  prepared  for  that  one  dialect  ;  whereas 
the  ability  to  read  Mandarin  in  the  cliaracter  or  to  read  easy  Wen-li 
gives  the  pupil  access  to  a  wide  and  increasing  range  of  literature. 
But  on  the  other  hand,  Romanizing  is  so  quickly  learned  that  the 
acquiring  of  it  need  not  stand  in  the  way  of  bright  pupils  learning 
the  character  also ;  in  fact  it  can  be  made  a  help  rather  than  a 
hindrance  toward  this  end. 

At  Shao-WQ  we  nse  Mandaria  Scriptures  when  reading  in 
public,  giving  the  characters  their  colloquial  sounds  and  substitut- 
ing now  and  then  a  colloquial  word  for  the  word  in  the  text,  and 
this  answers  quite  well.  But  our  teachers  do  not  like  to  teach 
pupils  to  miscall  the  Chinese  characters  in  this  fashion.  Some  of 
our  preachers  have  learned  to  write  the  Romanized  Shao-wu  and 
nse  it  in  correspondence  with  us.  It  can  be  writtten  much  more 
rapidly  than  any  style  of  "  grass  "  character ;  aud  if  some  confidential 
message  should  fall  into  the  hands  of  spying  enemies,  they  cannot 
read  it.  Also,  by  using  the  Romanized  we  can  cut  loose  from  the 
obscure  and  stilted  style  of  the  model  Chinese  letter. 

I  should  like  to  see  some  solid  advance  toward  a  scientific  and 
harmonious  system  of  Romanizing  Chinese ;  but  I  presume  that  of 
the  various  patrons  of  the  Chinese  Recorder  some  will  not  read 
this  at  all;  and  of  those  who  do  read  it  some  will  be  amused  and 
some  annoyed,  and  one  and  all  will  hold  steadfastly  on  in  the  way 
which  usage  has  made  most  familiar,  and  hence  most  agreeable,  to 
each  one.     It  is  not  a  matter  of  vital  importance. 

Once  in  my  boyhood  I  was  playing  marbles  with  three  other 
boys,  one  of  whom  was  profaue.  We  decided  not  to  play  partners, 
and  he  exclaimed,  "  Yes,  everybody  for  himself  and  the  devil  for 
ns  all."  Many  times  in  my  life  since  then  experience  has  forcibly 
recalled  this  remark  to  my  mind  :  it  expresses  so  aptly  the  man- 
ner in  which  Satan  hinders  every  good  andertaking. 


190O.]  EDUCATIONAL   DEPARTMENT.  87 

Rkv.  E.  T.  Williams,  M.A.,  Editor. 

Published  ia  the  interests  of  the  "  Educational  Association  of  China." 


How  shsiU  we  teach  the  Chinese  Language  and  Literature 
in  our  Christian  Sohools  and  Colleges  ? 

BY  BEV.  J.  C.  FERGUSON. 

Jr  T  is  well  to  notice  at  the  beginning  of  this  paper  that  the  theme 
L  proposes  to  discuss  a  purely  literary  subject  on  the  basis  of  a 
scientific  method.  I  do  not  intend  to  discuss  the  value  of 
Chinese  literature,  either  per  se  or  in  comparison  with  other  possible 
pursuits,  but  to  take  for  granted  that  the  acquisition  of  a  good 
Chiuese  style  and  the  mastery  of  Chinese  literature  is  a  desirable 
attainment.  Neither  is  it  advisable  to  allow  the  religions  side  of 
the  question  to  enter  into  this  discussion,  for  we  must  all  acknowl- 
edge as  an  axiom  the  truth  that  mere  knowledge  can  neither  pro- 
duce nor  restrain  religious  inclinations.  The  church  that  was  first 
opposed  and  bitterly  persecuted  by  the  devotees  of  Greek  and  Roman 
learning  but  so  overmastered  their  narrowness  that  it  became  the 
guardian  and  patron  of  this  learning  and  has  been  the  chief  factor  in 
perpetuating  to  later  generations  its  literary  treasures,  can  have  no 
occasion  to  fear  the  influence  of  Chinese  philosophical  thought  as 
set  forth  in  the  standard  books.  Literature  must  be  taught  as 
literature  if  we  are  to  produce  men  of  culture,  and  it  matters  little 
whether  this  literature  is  taken  from  the  poetry  of  the  Hebrew 
David  or  the  German  Goethe,  from  the  philosophy  of  Paul  or 
McCosh,  from  the  imagination  of  Milton  or  John.  Religion  must  be 
taught  as  religion  and  the  aspirations  of  the  heart  toward  God 
mast  be  fed  by  divine  grace  and  inspired  by  the  love  of  Jesus  in 
order  to  lead  a  human  soul  into  fellowship  with  the  infinite  one. 
The  problems  of  literature  and  religion  are  and  must  remain  dis- 
tinct. Hence  I  do  not  consider  the  question  of  the  truth  or  value 
of  Chinese  thought  as  expressed  in  the  classics  and  later  writings 
as  germane  to  my  subject. 

The  question  is,  how  Chinese  children  can  acquire  the  mastery 
over  their  own  language  and  literature  so  as  to  be  able  to  express 
their  thoughts  in  a  clear,  forceful  style.  Hence  I  infer  that  the 
question  as  to  **  how  we  shall  teach  the  Chinese  language  and 
literature  in  our  Christian  schools  and  colleges  "  is  exactly  the 
same  question  as  to  how  the  language  and  literature  shall  be  taught 


88  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [February, 

in  any  school  or  college,  just  as  the  question  of  how  mathematics 
shall  be  taught  is  the  same  in  all  classes  of  schools  in  all  parts  of 
the  earth.  A  first-class  Christian  school  should  give  a  first-class 
Chinese  education  with  the  direct  object  of  making  first-class 
Chinese  scholars. 

Among  the  difficulties  which  present  themselves  to  one  who 
attempts  to  off'er  such  an  education  the  first  is  that  of  securing 
good  teachers. 

There  has  never  yet  been  developed  in  China  a  teaching  pro- 
fession which  would  have  an  esprit  de  coj'ps  among  its  members. 
The  chief  characteristic  of  the  ordinary  Chinese  teaching  is 
the  small  amount  of  knowledge,  either  imparted  by  the  teacher  or 
obtained  by  the  pupil.  The  teacher  is  surrounded  by  an  awe  of 
respect,  and  is  his  own  master  as  to  hours  of  teaching,  books  used, 
punishment  inflicted,  and  progress  attained.  If  the  pupil  fails  to 
get  on,  the  teacher  reports  him  as  lacking  in  heaven-bestowed 
talents  and  accepts  po  share  of  the  blame  himself,  but  if  the 
pupil  succeeds  he  must  always  remember  his  teacher  by  sending 
him  gifts  on  his  birthday  and  at  the  festivals.  This  one-sided 
arrangement  produces  a  class  of  teachers  characterized  by  laziness, 
pride,  and  mental  stagnation.  "  How  shall  we  teach  ? "  "  What  are 
the  best  books  ?  "  "  How  shall  we  acquire  new  methods  ? " — these 
are  all  questions  which  do  not  occur  to  the  mind  of  the  ordinary 
teacher.  It  may  be  taken  for  granted  as  so  near  the  absolute  truth 
that  it  may  be  used  as  a  working  hypothesis,  that  there  are  at  pres- 
ent no  good  teachers  of  Chinese  language  and  literature  in  China. 
Teachers  must  be  trained,  and  the  best  method  in  any  school  is  to 
search  out  locally  two  or  three  young  literary  men  of  ambition,  teach 
them  English  for  two  or  three  years,  then  steadily  translate  with 
them  interesting  foreign  books  of  elementary  science  or  history  or 
political  economy  and  have  these  translated  lessons  given  to  the 
pupils.  In  addition  to  these,  have  the  teachers  prepare  on  the 
model  of  the  translated  lessons  extracts  from  standard  historical 
works ;  and  thus  after  a  process  of  a  few  years  you  may  expect  to 
produce  two  or  three  good  Chinese  teachers  who  will  be  able  to 
carry  on  their  work  independently.  This  is  a  long,  difiicult  course 
to  be  pursued,  but  it  is  necessary  if  success  is  to  be  aimed  at.  Con- 
trast this  suggested  method  with  the  present  practice  of  turning 
over  the  instruction  in  Chinese  to  a  man  whose  sole  recommendation 
is  that  he  holds  the  degree  of  Sui-tsai  and  is  thus  supposed 
to  be  able  to  teach  his  own  language.  This  is  an  easy  way  out 
of  the  difficulty,  but  it  can  produce  no  good  results.  All  that  the 
student  acquires  is  what  he  is  able  to  gain  by  using  his  own  in- 
telligence.   If  the  instruction  in  English,  science,  and  mathematics, 


1900.]  EDUCATIOKAL  DErARTMENT.  89 

as  given  by  teachers  who  have  all  been  iiucler  foreign  instrnctors^ 
must  be  supervised,  how  mnch  greater  need  is  there  of  snpervision 
of  men  who  have  no  prope  r  method  of  teaching  and  whose  con- 
science leads  them  to  do  no  ra  ore  than  enough  to  earn  their  monthly 
stipend.  Lac  k  of  intelligent  interest  in  and  supervision  of  the 
methods  of  instrnction  of  the  Chinese  teaching  staff,  mnst  acconnt 
for  the  general  low  average  of  attainments  in  Chinese  language  and 
literature  on  the  part  of  the  graduates  of  Christian  schools.  This 
problem  of  working  out  a  proper  system  of  Chinese  teaching,  cannot 
be  shuffled  aside  as  outside  of  the  legitimate  realm  of  those  in  charge 
of  Christian  schools,  but  it  must  be  met  intelligently  and  solved. 
I  have  suggested  that  the  would-be  teachers  should  be  taught 
English,  and  this  for  the  reason  that  with  a  non-grammatical 
language  such  as  the  Chinese,  it  is  easier  to  produce  an  intelligent 
conception  of  their  own  language  by  the  teaching  of  another 
language  than  by  years  of  patient  investigation.  The  teaching  of 
English  to  these  aspiring  teachers  will  also  give  the  foreigner  a 
grip  upon  them  and  will  lead  them  to  respect  him  as  the  possessor 
of  something  which  they  do  not  have,  instead  of  being  placed  in  the 
humiliating  position  of  being  able  to  superintend  every  other  depart- 
ment of  the  school  except  the  unapproachable  sanctum  of  Chinese 
learning.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  foreign  superintendent 
of  a  school  can  exercise  no  more  healthy  influence  on  the  school  than 
by  letting  himself  en  rapport  with  his  Chinese  teachers  and  be- 
coming their  instructor  and  leader.  A  few  score  of  such  teachers, 
produced  in  different  parts  of  China,  would  be  a  lively  leaven  in  the 
great  mass  of  conservative  litterateurs.  The  next  difficulty  is  that 
of  books.  With  the  uninitiated,  a  pupil  who  has  recited  the  Four 
Books  and  Five  Classics  is  supposed  to  have  mastered  the  essential 
books  for  a  knowledge  of  Chinese  language.  This  is  a  great  mistake, 
for  there  is  perhaps  as  great  a  difference  between  a  good  literary 
style  of  the  present  day  and  that  of  the  Classics  as  in  English 
between  Emerson  and  Chaucer.  Neither  does  the  ability  to  recite 
these  classical  books  help  a  pupil  to  the  acquisition  of  a  literary 
style  acceptable  to  the  present  day  any  more  than  would  in  English 
the  ability  to  recite  Chaucer  help  a  student  to  write  a  composition 
on  "  Evolution." 

The  ordinary  Chinese  student  after  having  finished  the 
enormous  task  of  reciting  these  Classics,  commences  de  novo  the 
work  of  learning  to  express  his  ideas  in  the  current  literary  style, 
and  the  only  value  his  former  laborious  recitations  are  to  him  is 
that  he  knows  the  characters  by  sight  and  is  supposed  to  know 
their  meaning.  Now  I  hold  that  it  is  a  shocking  waste  of  time 
to  spend  seven  or  eight  years  of  a  child's  life  in  the  monotonous 


90  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [February, 

humdrum  of  learning  to  recite  these  books  with  the  sole  resultant 
that  at  the  end  he  knows  the  sounds  and  meaning  of  the  characters 
contained  therein.  He  would  much  better  have  these  same  char- 
acters formed  into  sentences  after  the  model  of  current  literature  and 
containing  interesting  and  useful  knowledge,  so  that  at  the  end  of 
his  labour  he  does  not  need  to  commence  the  process  of  forgetting 
all  he  has  committed  to  memory,  but  rather  the  more  pleasant  task 
of  adding  to  his  store  of  knowledge.  Thus  I  am  of  the  opinion  that 
whether  considered  as  literary  models  or  as  the  basis  of  the  subsequent 
literature  of  China  the  study  of  the  Chinese  classics  as  a  method  of 
learning  the  language  is  a  pernicious  error,  and  that  their  use  will 
cease  in  any  proper  educational  system.  As  models  they  are  obsolete, 
and  as  foundations  the  student  need  not  concern  himself  about  them 
until  later.  What  is  needed  is  exactly  what  we  have  produced  in 
teaching  the  English  language,  and  that  is,  a  set  of  Readers.  These 
have  entirely  supplanted  with  us  the  early  use  of  the  Bible  as  text- 
book in  our  schools  for  teaching  pupils  to  read,  and  no  one  can  doubt 
that  the  change  has  been  for  the  better.  We  need  Readers  which  will 
commence  with  simple  characters,  explain  them  by  other  characters 
and  by  illustrations,  then  combine  them  into  simple  sentences.  This 
process  can  continue  on  up  through  higher  grades  until  the  pupil 
has  acquired  a  knowledge  of  the  sounds  and  meaning  of  the  ordina- 
rily used  characters  and  then  he  is  able  to  read,  as  we  understand, 
the  expression  in  Western  lands.  Then  he  can  commence  the  study 
of  literature,  and  in  this  pursuit  he  must  be  guided  by  the  aim  he 
has  in  mind,  for  the  branches  of  Chinese  learning  are  numerous. 
He  must  learn  to  summarize  and  abridge  the  contents  of  large 
books  on  history  and  political  topics,  and  in  the  process  acquire 
both  knowledge  and  literary  style.  The  above  is  the  merest  skeleton 
of  a  suggestion  as  to  the  method  of  mastering  Chinese  books,  but  in 
my  opinion  it  is  decidedly  in  advance  of  anything  which  has  yet 
been  put  into  practice  in  China. 

If  we  examine  the  object  of  teaching  the  Chinese  language 
and  literature  in  the  present  methods  of  the  schools  we  shall  find 
that  the  purpose  is  to  produce  students  who  can  pass  the  govern- 
ment civil  service  examination  and  obtain  their  degrees.  Nothing 
is  done  for  the  merchant  class  to  prepare  their  children  for  the 
business  life  which  they  are  to  lead,  nor  for  the  farmer's  son  who  is 
to  remain  at  home  in  charge  of  the  family  estates,  nor  for  the 
workman's  child  which  is  to  earn  its  living  by  labor.  It  is  a 
strange  fact  that  all  the  learning  which  a  child  of  any  of  these 
classes  acquires  in  school  is  the  ability  to  recognize  characters,  and 
that  in  order  to  know  how  to  use  these  characters  in  his  ordinary 
life  the  child  must  learn  from  the  master  to  whom  he  is  apprenticed 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL   DEPARTMENT.  91 

in  bnsiness  or  labor  how  to  use  the  few  characters  which  he  knows. 
This  conld  not  be  taught  him  by  the  ordinary  teacher  who  knows 
nothing  of  the  every-day  use  of  his  langnage,  but  only  of  the 
orthodox  style  of  the  Weu-chang.  The  case  is  even  still  worse. 
The  man  who  is  to  enter  official  life  after  having  passed  his  first, 
second,  and  third  degree  examinations  and  become  a  Tsing-sz  (or 
doctor),  must  begin  afresh  and  learn  the  official  or  documentary 
style.  In  this  style  even  very  few  of  the  highest  literary  men  of 
the  land  become  experts,  so  that  all  officials  keep  at  their  side  men 
who  are  called  "friends"  and  who  help  out  the  ignorance  of  the 
official  by  being  able  to  write  out  his  ideas  in  the  current  docu- 
mentary style.  Still  another  class  is  wholly  neglected  by  the  present 
schools,  and  that  is  the  men  who  desire  to  make  a  critical 
examination  of  literature  and  to  devote  their  lives  to  literary  pur- 
suits as  in  contrast  to  civil  service  promotion.  The  bright  teachers 
have  all  been  snatched  up  as  friends  for  officials  or  have  themselves 
entered  upon  the  official  life  The  only  road  open  to  students  is  to 
shut  themselves  off  from  the  world  and  by  sheer  industry  and 
patient  perseverance  master  the  theme  they  have  undertaken  without 
any  help  from  a  preceptor  In  short  the  only  object  of  present 
teaching  is  to  grind  out  scholars  who  can  write  an  essay  after  the 
same  model  as  the  teacher  himself  learned,  or,  in  other  words,  throw 
unmeaning  words  into  the  orthodox  mold.  Now  this  is  an  unworthy 
motive,  not  only  for  the  teaching  of  Christian  schools  and  colleges 
but  for  any  school  which  disires  to  give  a  modern  useful  education. 
Hence  I  hold  that  it  is  folly  to  teach  the  pupils  of  our  schools  to 
write  the  standard  Wen-chaug  or  to  have  any  desire  and  ambition 
to  send  pupils  to  the  examinations.  "We  cannot  trifle  with  our 
pupils.  We  should  teach  the  son  of  the  scholar  or  the  farmer  or 
the  merchant  or  the  laborer  something  which  will  be  of  use  to  him 
in  his  life  after  he  leaves  school  and  not  fill  his  mind  with  un- 
meaning nonsense.  Only  one  of  the  modern  government  colleges 
teaches  Wen-chang,  and  that  college  is  considered  belated  by  the 
new  progressive  party  of  China.  Let  the  object  of  teaching  be 
useful  rather  than  ornamental,  and  it  will  commend  itself  to  the 
best  judgment  of  all  classes. 

As  to  the  amount  of  time  spent  in  reciting  books,  it  would 
be  well  if  in  the  future  the  back  should  be  turned  not  only 
upon  teacher  but  upon  the  books  also  and  that  the  system 
should  be  revised.  As  a  means  of  learning  to  recognize  the 
sounds  of  characters  the  system  is  good,  and  it  is  practically  the 
same  as  we  use  in  our  Western  schools  in  teaching  children  to  read, 
with  the  exception  that  we  use  the  memory  upon  separate  words 
while  the  Chinese  throw  the  words  into  phrases.     Any  system  of 


92  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Febmary, 

teaching  children  to  recognize  words  must  be  based  npon  the  memory 
and  upon  the  constant  repetition  of  the  word  until  it  is  fixed  in  the 
mind.     The  reciting  of  phrases  has  also  an  advantage  over  that  of 
single   words,  in   that   it   is   more  interesting   to   the    child    and 
stimulates  his  faculties.     Oar  Western  children  learn  their  mother 
goose  rhymes  before  they  learn  to  read,  and  it  is  no  tax  upon  their 
memories.     The  newest  First  Headers  are  distinctly  higher  in  tone 
and  meaning  than  earlier  ones,  and  it  would   be  well  if  they  were 
made  of  such  good  phrases  that^hey  would  be  worth  retaining  in  the 
memory  of  the  child  throughout  life.     Thus  I  conclude  that  the  plan 
of  reciting  adopted  in  Cbinese   schools,   as  far  as  beginners   are 
concerned,  is  scientific  in  principle  and  is  commendable.      As  to 
what  is  recited  I  have  already  expressed  myself.    However,  recitation 
is  carried  to  a  great  extreme,  and  it  is  vitiated  in  its  good  effects 
by  the  lack   of  proper  accompanying   explanation.     Whatever   is 
recited  should  be  explained  before  it  is  recited,  and  questions  should 
be  asked  npon  it  after  it  is  recited,  so  as  to  be  sure  that  the  passage 
has  been  understood.     I  have  known  pupils  who  could  recite  all 
of  the  Four  Books  without  faltering  who  could  not  explain  a  single 
passage.     The  value  of  their  recitation  was  entirely  negatived  by 
this  fiict.     Recitation  should  be  daily  required  of  pupils  during  the 
first  three  or  four  years  of  school  life  until  they  have  acquired  the 
knowledge   and  use   of  some   few   hundred   characters.     Then   it 
should  be  reduced  steadily  for  a  year  or  more,  when  it  should  cease. 
It  may  be  objected  that  this  would  give  no  time  for  the  memorizing 
^f  the  classical  books,  and  this  is  exactly  what  I  intend.     There  is 
no  need  of,    and  no   value   in,   the   ability   to   recite   these   Four 
Books   and   Five  Classics,   for   as  soon   as  the  boy  has  mastered 
the   task   he   begins   to   unmaster   it,  and  at  the   end   of  a  year 
of  enforced  absence  from  school  he  could  not  recite  consecutively 
any   five    pages   of    what   he    had   been   once   able  to    rattle    off 
glibly.     No  teacher  is  able   to  recite  what  he  compels  his  pupils 
to  learn,  for  he  has  long  forgotten  it.     The  value  of  recitation 
is  in  the  power  to  use  what  has  been  learned  or  at  least  to  under- 
stand its  meaning.     Useful  books  should  be  introduced  as  soon  as 
the  child  knows   a   few   hundred  characters,  and  he  should  learn 
something  of  the  life  about  him,  of  the  facts  of  nature,  of  other 
nations,  and  of  his  own  personality.     Through  these  books  he  would 
acquire  both  knowledge  and  the  mastery  of  phrases.     He  should  be 
encouraged  to  read  much  and  to  bring  the  characters  which  he  does 
not  understand  to  his  teacher  to  be  explained.     Reading  at  sight 
should  be  required  and  the  ability  to  explain  new  passages  either 
from  books  or  cnrrent  literature.     This  is  emphasized  because  of 
the  conviction  that  good  reading  of  what  is  intelligently  understood 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL   DEPARTMENT.  93 

does  more  to  produce  a  good  style  of  composition  than  any  amount 
of  blind  recitation  of  imperfectly  comprehended  phrases.  A  good 
exercise  is  for  the  teacher  to  read  some  passage  to  the  pupils  and 
then  require  them  to  write  it  out  in  their  own  words  ;  or  a  fact 
may  be  told  in  the  vernacular  and  the  pupils  be  required  to  turn  it 
into  easy  wen-li.  This  work  can  be  greatly  facilitated  by  requiring 
careful  translation  of  lessons  from  his  foreign  books  when  the  pupil 
is  studying  another  language.  After  the  recitation  of  a  passage 
the  use  of  the  black-board  in  proposing  questions  for  which  written 
answers  are  required,  will  prove  of  great  value  in  fixing  the  meaning 
upon  the  memory.  From  what  I  have  said  you  will  see  that  while 
laying  great  stress  upon  recitation,  it  seems  to  me  that  it  has  been 
carried  to  excess  and  not  been  accompanied  by  a  legitimate  amount 
of  explanation. 

Finally  it  may  be  objected  that  instead  of  explaining  how  the 
Chinese  language  and  literature  should  be  taught,  this  paper  has 
only  pointed  out  mistakes  in  the  present  system.  My  reply  is  that 
no  scientific  system  has  yet  been  worked  out,  and  that  at  present 
I  can  only  call  attention  to  principles  and  not  to  results.  In  the 
college  with  which  I  am  connected  we  are  making  the  first  attempt 
on  a  large  scale  to  make  a  study  of  the  difficulties  and  to  do  some- 
thing toward  their  solution.  We  are  preparing  books  ior  primary, 
intermediate,  and  high  grades  of  schools. 

We  are  at  work  upon  a  set  of  Readers  and  are  experimenting 
on  a  class  of  young  boys.  It  is  too  early  to  report  progress,  but  we 
are  attacking  the  problem  by  training  men,  by  translating,  and  by 
stimulating  some  of  the  young  ambitious  scholars  to  help  us  in 
its  solution.  Our  work  is  all  in  the  laboratory  stage,  but  it  gives 
promise  of  success. 


fHE  following  letter  addressed  to  the  editor  of  this  Department 
will  be  found  of  especial  interest  to  all  those  engaged  in 
mission  school  work.     Such  an  edition  of  the  Four  Books  as 
is  proposed  cannot  but  be  most   useful,  and  there  is  much  reason 
to  believe  that  Chinese  educators,  as  well  as  European  teachers  in 
Chinese  schools,  will  highly  appreciate  it. — [Editor.] 

Dear  Mr.  Williams  :  When  I  was  down  at  the  coast  this  summer 
I  had  a  good  many  enquiries  as  to  whether  I  intended  applying  the 
system  of  teaching  Chinese  adopted  in  my  "  Mission  Reader  "  to  the 
Chinese  classics.  These  enquiries,  coming  at  the  time  when  the  first 
large  edition  of  the  ^  i^  j^f  ?i  has  been  disposed  of  and  its  success 
assured,  I,  of  course,  faced  very  differently  from  what  I  would  have  done 
two  years  ago,  before  the  first  experiment  had  been  made.  As  I  was 
altogether  unable  to  find  time  for  the  work,  I  had  to  cast  about  for  some 
one  in  sympathy  with  such  a  project  to  undertake  it,  but  I  think  I  may 


94 


THE   CHINESE   BECORDEB. 


[February, 


now  say  that  arrangements  have  been  made  that  will  probably  result  in 
this  method  being  applied  to  tlie  Four  Books  very  much  on  the  principle 
of  the  Reader,  which  by  the  way  is  now  called  the  ^  j^  ^  f^,  is  the 
property  of  the  Diffusion  Society,  and  to  be  had  of  them  and  of  the 
Mission  Press. 

Chinese  opinion  is  favorable  as  to  the  feasibility  and  success  of  the 
application  of  this  method  to  the  Four  Books.  A  good  deal  of  preliminary 
enquiry  is  necessary  before  determining  the  actual  line  to  be  taken,  but, 
in  any  case,  the  friends  of  educational  reform  will  know  that  a  move  is 
being  made  in  this  direction. 

I  had  to  cogitate  the  matter  when  I  was  away  in  Japan,  but  wag 
both  pleased  and  surprized  on  my  return  to  find  my  colleague,  Mr. 
Couling,  had  come  to  the  front  in  the  December  Recorder  with  an  article 
having  an  important  bearing  on  this  very  matter  and  its  difficulties — 
difiiculties  which  I  hope  the  new  effort  may  prove  to  be  one  step  to  the 
solution  of. 

I  am, 

Yours  truly, 

A.  G.  Jones. 


€BXxt$^mx^mtL 


QUERY. 

To  the  Editor  of 

"The  Chinese  Recorder." 

Dear  Sir  :  May  I  inquire  through 
your  columns  whether  any  one  has 
prepared  or  is  preparing  any  work 
on  the  miracles  of  our  Lord,  in 
Mandarin,  or  dialect?  I  have 
thought  of  translating  or  adapting 
Trench  on  the  Miracles  for  use  in 
training  classes ;  but  if  such  a  work 
is  available,  or  likely  to  be  avail- 
able soon,  I  should  be  glad  to  know 
of  it. 

I  am,  etc.. 


Hangchow. 


J.  C.  Garritt. 


DR.    CLARK     AND     THE     ENDEAVOR 
CONVENTION. 

To  the  Editor  of 

"  The  Chinese  Recorder." 

Dear  Sir  :  Please  give  notice  in 
your  paper  that  a  cablegram  has 
just  been  received  from  Rev.  F.  E. 


Clark,D.D.,of  Boston,Mass.,U.S.A., 
president  of  United  Society  of 
Christian  Endeavor,  to  the  effect 
that  he  plans  to  be  in  Foochow  for 
the  National  Convention  of  United 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  for 
China,  April  4th-7th,  1900.  He 
was  given  a  choice  of  several  dates, 
and  has  chosen  this  later  date.  All 
Christian  Endeavor  and  kindred 
societies  should  plan  to  send  a 
delegate  or  visitor.  Dr.  Clark  is 
the  original  founder  of  Christian 
Endeavor,  and  has  visited  all  parts 
of  the  world  in  the  interests  of 
Christian  Endeavor.  Wherever  he 
has  been  his  work  has  met  with 
signal  success.  The  motto  of  this 
society  is,  for  christ  and  the 
CHURCH,  which  is  broad  enough 
and  deep  enough  to  include  all 
denominations  of  Christians ;  but 
he  ever  teaches  the  sincerest  loyalty 
to  one's  own  brigade  in  the  mighty 
army  of  the  church  of  God. 

I  am. 

Yours  most  truly, 

Geo.  H.  Hubbard, 
Chairman  of  the  Oeneral  Committee. 


1900.] 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


95 


POLITICAL    STATUS,    ETC. 

To  the  Editor  of 

"The  Chinese  Recorder." 

Dear  Sir  ;  Protestant  missions  in 
China  have  recently  stood  at  a  part- 
ing of  the  ways,  and  the  episcopal 
branches  are  to  be  congratulated 
on  the  recent  decision  of  the  bish- 
ops  not  to  enter  upon  a  course 
of  competition  with  tlie  Roman 
Catholic  church  for  political  form 
and  external  authority.  Amongst 
the  foreign  missionaries  there  was 
already  a  practically  unanimous 
concensus  against  such  a  course, 
but  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the 
native  agents  are  many  of  them 
much  disappointed.  They  will 
now  find  it  liardcn-  than  ever  to  re- 
sist the  persecutions  and  encroach- 
ments of  the  Roman  Catholics, 
and  they  cannot  hope  to  compete 
in  numbers  with  a  church  wielding 
such  power,  both  moral  (or  im- 
moral ?)  and  political  as  that  church 
now  wields  in  China. 

I  fear,  too,  there  are  not  wanting 
those  who  are  very  much  dis- 
appointed at  having  lost  an  oppor- 
tunity of  attaining  to  a  position  of 
power  over  their  heathen  neigh- 
bours and  on  behalf  of  church  mem- 
bers and  enquirers,  which  would 
have  been  very  much  to  their  liking. 
They  would  have  attained  at  one 
bound  to  a  position  of  practical 
authority  and  power  such  as  they 
could  never  have  hoped  to  occupy 
by  virtue  of  their  own  talents  or 
attainments  (and  with  power,  the 
opportunity  to  add  to  their  personal 
possessions  !). 

Instead  of  their  occupying,  as 
now  and  heretofore,  a  position 
carrying  with  it  more  or  less  of 
odium  in  tiie  eyes  of  the  bulk  of 
their  heathen  neighbours,  there 
would  have  been  few  who  would 
not  covet  their  position,  which 
would  be  practically  that  of  a  small 
official — ^perhaps  not  such  a  very 
small  one  in  some  cases — but  with 


this  important  qualiGcation,  that 
they  would  have  none  of  the 
pecuniary  liabilities  which  the 
ollicial  has,  either  to  those  above,  or 
to  those  who  procured  him  the  post, 
or  generally  to  both  ;  and  non  ofe 
his  responsibilities. 

This  magnificent  prospect  has 
loomed  up  before  their  eyes  and 
faded  away  ;  and  it  is  not  surprizing 
if  some  of  them  still  continue  their 
attempts  to  obtain  such  a  state  of 
affairs  in  practice,  though  it  has 
been  declined  in  theory,  and  are 
found  interfering  in  matters  very 
remotely  connected  with  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel. 

In  our  parts  it  is  quite  a  wide- 
spread idea  amongst  the  heathen 
that  you  have  only  to  enroll  your- 
self as  a  church  member,  or  even 
enquirer,  in  order  to  secure  the 
protection  and  assistance  of  the 
church  in  any  diSicuUy  whatever ; 
and  from  what  I  have  lieard  in 
answer  to  my  enquiiies  amongst 
the  heathen  themselves,  the  reply 
to  such  applicants  is  not  always  so 
clear  and  unambiguous  as  might  be 
desired.  There  seems  sometimes  a 
tendency  to  temporize  and  a  dis- 
tinct inclination  to  assist,  if  possi- 
ble, by  bringing  the  powerful  weight 
of  the  church  to  bear  on  the 
settlement. 

It  is  probable  that  many  cases 
are  settled  for  other  people  by  our 
agents  right  under  our  noses, 
and  for  many  more  parties,  such  as 
enquirers — and  perhaps  by  parties 
who  are  not  even  enquirers,  such  as 
heathen  servants  and  employees- 
professing  to  have  the  authority  of 
the  church  without  our  knowing 
anything  about  it. 

So  bad  had  this  become  that  in 
the  beginning  of  this  year  the 
three  Protestant  missions  at  work 
in  this  town  issued  a  joint  notice, 
which  was  distributed  broadcast, 
as  well  as  carefully  placed  here  and 
there,  warning  the  public  against 
such  persons  and  requesting  any 
whom  such  persons  were  attempt- 


98 


THE   CHINESE   EECORDER. 


[Febrnary, 


ing  to  oppress,  or  from  whom  they 
were  attempting  to  extort  money, 
recover  bad  debts,  etc.,  etc,  to  come 
direct  to  us ;  and  I  have  had  many 
most  pleasing  testimonies  from  re- 
spectable persons  to  tlie  universal 
favour  with  which  this  notification 
was  received. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  overrate 
the  importance,  at  this  stage  of  the 
history  of  Protestant  missions  in 
China,  of  the  foreign  missionary 
being  readily  accessible  personally, 
at  all  times,  to  all  classes  of  the 
people.  Let  us  bo  careful  that  our 
servants,  teachers,  or  employees 
(Christian  or  heathen)  do  not  raise  a 
hedge  around  us  ;  and  lest  a  notion 
should  get  abroad  that  we  are  to  be 
approached  only  tlirough  them  as 
intermediaries. 

By  withdrawing  ourselves,  or 
allowing  the  erection  of  any  bar- 
riers rendering  the  access  of  com- 
plainants to  ourselves  difficult,  we 
are  ofiering  a  premium  to  oppression 
and  fraud  being  perpetrated  in  the 
name  and  with  the  alleged  sanction 
and  authority  of  the  church.  On 
the  other  hand,  in  so  far  as  we  are 
at  all  times  open  to  receive  "  the 
complaint  of  the  poor,"  we  shall 
render  their  oppression  in  the  name 
of  the  church  difficult  or  impossible. 

And  this,  I  would  humbly  sug- 
gest, is  doubly  important  in  the 
case  of  the  bishops.  If  they  are  to 
be  approached  with  complaints  as  to 
the  conduct  of  enquirers,  converts, 
or  mission  agents,  only  through  those 
very  mission  agents,  it  is  natural  to 
suppose  they  will  not  be  approached 
at  all  ;  and  all  sorts  of  oppression 
may,  and  will,  be  practiced  in  the 
name  of  the  church  without  their 
becoming  aware  of  it. 

Nay,  I  would  venture  to  go  fur- 
ther and  urge  that  our  bishops 
should  not  hedge  themselves  off 
from  the  Chinese,  even  by  the 
foreign  missionaries  under  their 
supervision.  For  in  many  cases  the 
foreign  missionary  is  led  on  quite  in- 
nocently to  some  act  or  line  of  con- 


duct which  identifies  him  with  an 
affair  to  such  an  extent  that  the 
aggrieved  would  imagine  it  useless 
to  complain  to  him,  considering  that 
he  was  already  too  far  implicated 
to  be  able  to  withdraw  or  reverse 
his  action  without  losing  his  face. 
Yours,  etc., 

Chas.  E.  Cornford. 
Shao-hying. 


DR.    MATEER'S    review    OP    DR. 

martin's   psychology. 
To  the  Editor  of 

"  The  Chinese  Recorder.  *' 

Dear  Sir  :  In  the  December  num- 
ber of  the  Recorder  is  a  review  by 
Dr.  Mateer  of  Dr.  Martin's  Ele- 
ments of  Psychology.  Every  reader 
must  agree  with  Dr.  Mateer  in 
his  high  estimate  of  the  freshness 
and  vigor  of  the  thought  and  the 
happy  expression  of  it  in  idiomatic 
Chinese,  and  many  will  no  doubt 
see  other  excellencies  besides  those 
pointed  out  by  Dr.  Mateer,  I 
have  for  a  long  time  been  interest- 
ed in  the  subject,  and  read  with 
great  interest  the  work  of  Dr. 
Martin  as  it  was  first  issued  in  the 
magazine.  But  while  admiring 
the  clearness  and  felicity  of  the 
diction  in  general,  I  was  surprized 
at  the  Chine.se  title  given  to  the 
subject,  »|^  ^,  as  I  am  also 
surprized  at  Dr.  Mateer's  approval 
of  it  when  he  says :  "  It  is  un- 
doubtedly more  appropriate  to  the 
subject  than  any  other,  especially 
as  treated  by  the  author." 

I  feel  much  diffidence  in  ventur- 
ing to  differ  from  men  of  such 
reputation  as  that  sustained  by 
both  Dr.  Martin  and  Dr.  Mateer, 
but  as  I  know  many  of  at  least  re- 
spectable Chinese  scholarship,  and 
Chinese  teachers  also,  who  have 
equally  with  myself  been  surprized 
at  the  title  chosen,  I  would  sug- 
gest that  some  reasons  should  be 
given  for  translating  psychology 
^y  1^  ^-     -A-t  the  introduction  of 


1900.1 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


97 


a  new  science  into  any  language 
there  will  inevitably  be  diiferencea 
of  opiniou  on  many  points,  espe- 
cially in  regard  to  the  best  to  bo 
used.  In  psychology  there  is  still 
in  the  West  a  great  diversity  of 
use,  and  no  doubt  much  of  the 
confusion  on  this  subject  is  due  to 
this  diversity  of  terms  ;  a  gain  in 
clearness  would  be  made  by  cleater 
definitions  and  a  more  uniform 
usage.  Is  it  not  most  important 
at  the  outset  to  adopt  a  term 
generally  acceptable  for  so  impor- 
tant a  place  as  the  title  of  the 
science,  and  thus  avoid  as  far  as 
may  be  the  confusion  that  would 
otherwise  arise  1  At  least  let  us 
have  the  claims  fairly  presented 
before  us.  For  this  reason  I  offer 
no  excuse  for  making  known  my 
objections  to  '|';4  ^  as  a  term  for 
psychology,  or  mental  science,  the 
science  of  the  human  soul. 

The  term  seems  to  me  faulty  in 
not  suggesting  the  proper  scope  of 
the  science.  There  is  no  subject 
which  has  occasioned  more  discus- 
sion among  Chinese  scholars  than 
J!^ ;  but  first  and  last,  from  Men- 
cius  down  througii  the  Sung 
dynasty  scholar,  the  great  question 
has  been,  is  it  good,  or  is  it  evil,  or 
is  it  morally  indifferent  ?  None  has 
treated  it  psychologically,  but  all 
of  them  as  a  moral  question.  For 
this  reason  '[^  ^  would  seem  a  more 
fit  term  for  moral  philosophy  than 
for  mental  science.  >^  is  much  nearer 
in  meaning  to  our  expression  moral 
nature  than  it  is  to  mind.  It  is 
disposition  or  quality,  spirit  but 
not  soul.  To  this  agree  the  lexicons. 
In  the  Sung  dynasty  the  discussion 
of  '[^  was  complicated  by  the  re- 
lation it  was  supposed  to  hold  to 
^,  but  the  domain  of  morals  was 
still  the  field  of  debate ;  the  chief 
change  being  tliat  those  who  were 
recognized  as  authorities  adtuitted 
that  men  miglit  be  evil  from  birth 
on  account  of  the  ^  which  en- 
slirined  the   ^;  the  latter    being 


so  far  dominated  by  the  former. 
Tliere  was  no  approach  to  making 
it  a  mental  science,  nor  am  I 
aware  that  there  has  been  since 
till  tlie  time  of  Dr.  Martin ;  so 
he  may  fairly  claim  the  virtue  of 
novelty,  if  novelty  be  a  virtue  in 
such  a  case.  Hsieh  indeed  says 
the  Buddhists  use  'f^  where  the 
Confucianists  use  jJJ*,  but  that  is 
certainly  not  a  good  reason  for 
our  following  them. 

Nor  do  I  see  that  the  method 
of  treating  the  subject  by  Dr. 
Martin  makes  the  title  any  more 
appropriate.  He  does  not  follow 
the  dictum  of  Chu-tsz,  t  ^  |i  ^ 
^  Jjfi.  Had  he  done  so  it  is 
difficult  to  see  how  he  could  have 
avoided  a  treatise  largely  on 
moral  philosophy.  I  have  no  doubt 
he  could  have  made  a  monograph 
on  that  line  that  would  have  been 
pleasing  and  profitable  to  the  read- 
ers, but  he  has  not  followed  that 
course.  His  work  is  distinctively 
psychology  and  on  the  lines  of 
Western  science,  having  the  divi- 
sions of  intellect,  emotions,  and  will. 

Secondly,  '[^  is  too  narrow  a 
term  to  use  for  psychology.  No  one 
can  deny  that  man's  disposition  or 
nature,  f^,  has  to  do  with  the  mind, 
but  it  does  not  include  the  mind. 

Chu.says:^l|^tttLfj^1t. 

Now  if  "j!^  in  action  is  j^^  emotion, 
it  is  not  broad  enough  to  include 
intellectual  activity  which  does-  not 
produce  emotion.  Certainly  there 
is  such.     Ghu  also  says   t^  ^  '{'^ 

i»  ^  i.  ^  ^^'^  quotes  with 
strong  approval   the    statement   of 

C'^'-^ng  tZ>  ^  '\i  if.  all  oi  which 
show  that  t^  is  broader  than  j^, 
and  that  the  latter  cannot  cover 
the  ground  of  psychology.  In  the 
common  expressions  >JJ»  ,§,,  >JJ»  3fiE« 
>&  ^»  '^^^  ^^  which  are  in  the  realm 
of  psychology  as  being  products  of 
the  mind,  it  would  be  out  of  the 
question   to  substitute    'j;^  fur  t^i* 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[Febrnary, 


and  say  ^  ,g„  etc.  With  us,  all 
moral  qualities  are  referied  to  the 
will.  With  the  Chinese,  however, 
^  does  not  seem  to  be  connected 
with  i^.  They  say  >£>  j^  ^  ;^  li 
^  ^-  ^^  14  cannot  cover  the 
domains  of  the  intellect  and  the 
will  it  is  certainly  too  narrow  a 
term  for  psychology.  Just  here 
it  is  in  point  to  notice  the  happy 
and  poetical  designation  of  the 
will  used  by  Dr.  Martin  and  spoken 
of  by  Dr.  Mateer,  >C>  :gf.  Why 
did  he  not  say  ^  ^  if  '{^  is  the 
proper  word  for  mind?  To  sum 
up  in  a  word,  psychology  is  the 
science  of  the  soul,  the  mind.  >\^ 
is  not  the  soul.  It  may  be  dis- 
position, quality,  or  nature,  but  is 
not  used  for  mind  or  soul  in 
Chinese  literature.  But  I  need  not 
continue.  I  have  said  enough  to 
indicate  the  ground  of  my  dissent 
from  the  use  of  '[s^  ^  for  psy- 
chology. If  what  I  have  written 
shall  contribute  at  all  toward  the 
settlement  of  the  proper  term  for 
this  science  I  shall  be  satisfied, 
whether  the  term  >^>  ^,  which 
now  seems  to  me  most  available,  be 
chosen,  or  whether  what  I  have 
said  shall  stir  up  some  one  to  show 
satisfactorily  that  '(^  ^  is  after 
all  the  better  term. 

Sincerely  yours, 

J.  L.  Whiting. 
Peking, 


ROMANIZATION. 

To  the  Editor  of 

"The  Chinese  Recorder." 

Dear  Sir  :  Some  days  ago  I 
received  the  September  number  of 
the  Recordek.  I  read  with  much 
interest  the  article  in  it  by  Rev. 
W.  N.  Brewster,  in  which  he  urges 
the  necessity  of  giving  to  our 
people  the  Scriptures  and  Christian 
literature  in  Romanized  vernacular. 
His  utatemeut  that  after  no  many 


years'  work  "  fully  eighty  per  cent 
of  the  five  thousand  Christians  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Mission 
are  not  able  to  I'ead  the  classical 
New  Testament, "  is  a  strong  cor- 
roboration of  the  view  lield  by  so 
many  that  the  church  in  China  will 
never  be  mighty  in  the  Scriptures 
so  long  as  it  depends  solely  on  the 
use  of  the  Character. 

About  the  same  time  I  received 
from  South  Formosa  a  number  of 
our  Church  Hews,  a  periodical  in 
the  Romanized  vernacular,  of  wiiicli 
we  sell  about  700  monthly.  It 
contained  the  tabulated  result  of  a 
census  that  we  took  lately  in  order 
to  ascertain  how  many  readers  of 
Romanized  there  are  in  connection 
with  our  church.  The  returns  are 
not  quite  complete ;  some  of  our 
churches  not  having  reported.  But 
the  figures  given  show  that  in  our 
church  of  sixteen  hundred  com- 
municants we  have  about  two  thou- 
sand readers.  By  a  "  reader  "  is 
meant  one  who  can  take  up  a  book 
he  has  never  seen  before  and  read 
it  aloud,  so  that  the  hearers  can  un- 
derstand what  is  read.  The  result 
of  the  census  is  more  favourable 
than  I  had  anticipated,  and  I  think 
will  be  recognized  as  fairly  encour- 
aging. 

I  am  not  writing  an  article  for 
your  magazine,  and  do  not  enlarge 
on  the  great)  benefit  we  have  gained 
from  the  use  of  this  method  in  our 
mission  work  in  South  Formosa. 
In  fact  I  scarcely  see  how  we 
could  carry  on  our  work  without 
it  in  any  satisfactory  way.  For 
instance,  we  have  at  present 
seventy-two  places  at  which  people 
are  meeting  for  worship,  whilst 
we  have  only  about  thirty  quali- 
fied preachers.  What  ground  have 
we  for  supposing  that  those  meet- 
ing for  worship  at  places  where 
there  is  no  preacher,  are  making 
any  progress  in  the  Christian  life  ? 
Chiefly  this,  that  it  is  easy  to  secure 
that  at  all  these  places  there  shall 
be  at  least  one  person  who  can  read 


1900.] 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


99 


the  Romanized  and  teach  others  to 
read.  And  when  this  is  attained 
they  have  at  their  disposal  the 
wliole  Bible,  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment, the  hymn-hook,  Pil>,'iim'3 
Progress,  Bible  stories  in  five  vol- 
umes, besides  small  hand-books  on 
outside  subjects  —  arithmetic,  as- 
tronomy, domestic  economy,  etc., 
etc.  They  can  also  buy  two  monthly 
papers,  published  at  Amoy  and 
Tai-nan-fu  respectively.  And  in 
these  circumstances,  even  with  no 
other  human  teacher  beside  them, 
we  can  hope  that  their  meeting 
together  is  not  in  vain. 

I    would  like  to  make  two  sug- 
gestions for  the  benefit  of  any  who 
wish  to  introduce  this  method  and 
make  it  a  success.     One  is  that  in 
writing  and  speaking  about  it,  it  is 
necessary  to  give  it  a  worthy  place. 
It  will  never  be  a  success   if  it   is 
introduced  as  a  second-rate   device 
for  the  benefit  of  women  and  chil- 
dren and  those  weaklings  who  are 
incapable  of  learning  characters.  It 
is    much    more    tlian     this.       The 
method  of  writing  down   in  alpha- 
betic characters  the  spoken  language 
of  the  people,  is  the  method   that 
has  been  adopted  by  every  civilized 
nation  ;  and  it  certainly  deserves  the 
careful  consideration  of  the  scholars 
of  China.    There  is  no  need    to  set 
it  up  in  opposition  to  the  Chinese 
character ;    the  two  are  not  neces- 
sarily antagonistic ;  they  have  each 
a    sphere    of   their    own.      In    the 
meantime,    at    any    rate,     Roman- 
ized    cannot     take    the    place     of 
Character,    and    Character    cannot 
take  the  place  of  Romanized.     The 
man  who  knows  the  one  sliould  go 
on  to  acquire   a   knowledge  of  the 
other.     So  far  from  being  antagon- 
istic we  find  in  practice  that   many 
of   our    best    Cliinese    scholars    are 
strongly  in  favour  of  the  Romanized ; 
those  of  our  Christians  who  are  just 
able  with  difficulty  to  work   their 
way  through  our  Character  hymn- 
book,  are  less  enthusiastic  !  On  the 
Other  hand,  we  find  the  use  of  Ro- 


manized a  great  help  to  the  acquisi- 
tion of  character.  Some  years  ago 
a  very  valuable  dictionary  was 
prepared  by  the  late  Dr.  Talmage, 
of  Amoy,  in  which  the  sounds  and 
meanings  of  several  thousands  of 
characters  are  given.  We  have 
also  the  Three  Character  Classic 
with  translation  and  notes  in  Ro- 
manized J  and  by  means  of  these 
and  similar  books  an  intelligent 
Chinaman  can  make  progress  in  the 
study  of  the  character  without  hav- 
ing a  teacher  continually  at  his  side. 
So  much  so  is  this  the  case  that  I 
have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  if 
two  young  men  began  together  the 
study  of  the  character,  one  giving 
his  wliole  time  to  it,  whilst  the  other 
took  time  to  learn  Romanized  also, 
at  the  end  of  two  or  tliree  years, 
other  things  being  equal,  the  one 
who  learned  Romanized  would  also 
have  made  more  progress  in  the 
study  of  the  character. 

The  second  suggestion  that  I 
have  to  make  is,  that  if  the  intro- 
duction of  Romanized  is  to  be  a 
success  the  missionaries  must  make 
a  point  of  using  it  themselves.  It 
is  not  enough  to  urge  it  upon  the 
people  by  word  of  mouth  ;  the  mis- 
sionary must  show  them  the  ex- 
ample. I  know  that  this  will  prove 
very  distasteful  to  many.  For  one 
thing  it  hinders  us  so  far  in  our 
studies,  in  that  it  takes  from  us 
that  help  to  familiarity  with  the 
language  which  we  find  in  the  daily 
use  of  the  character  Bible.  And 
it  exposes  us  to  slights  and  annoy- 
ances, intentional  or  otherwise, 
which  are  trying  to  flesh  and  blood. 
There  are,  no  doubt,  countervailing 
advantages;  the  continual  use  of 
the  Romanized  gives  us  greater  ac- 
curacy in  speaking  the  language,  in 
that  it  familiarizes  us  with  the 
correct  tone  of  every  word.  Bub 
the  chief  consolation  comes  to  us 
from  tlie  thought  of  the  great  benefit 
that  accrues  to  the  native  Chris- 
tians from  the  sacrifice  that  we 
make.     "  The  reproaches  of   them 


100 


THE  CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[February, 


that  reproached  thee,  fell  on  me." 
For  myself  I  may  say,  after  twenty- 
five  years'  work,  during  which 
time  I  have  preached  generally 
once,  often  twice,  each  Sunday, 
that  in  all  that  time  I  have,  so  far 
as  I  can  remember,  only  once  used 


the  character  Bible  in  the  pulpit, 
and  that  once  I  am  inclined  to 
regret. 

Yours  faithfully, 
Tbomas  Barclay, 

{Tai-nan-fuy  Formosa.) 
Glasgow,  Scotland. 


®m  %m\\  CaWc. 


Schereschewsky's  Genesis.     A  Criticism. 

A  careful  perusal  of  Bp.  Scheres- 
chewsky's translation  of  Genesis, 
comparing  it  with  the  original  and 
other  Chinese  versions,  leads  me  to 
offer  a  few  words  of  criticism. 

As  a  general  thing  the  style  is 
simple  and  easily  understood  and 
at  the  same  time  is  good  Chinese. 
As  a  translation,  however,  it  seems 
to  me  to  be  defective  in  some 
points. 

1.  The  terms  used  for  God  are 
very  confusing.  5C  i  ^^  ^'^  usual 
term  for  Elohim,  yet  this  word  is 
sometimes  simply  ;^,  and  some- 
times f^  {vide  xxxi,  53).  Again, 
Jehovah  is  sometimes  "^  (vide  chap- 
ters vii,  viii,  ix.)  Again,  Jehovah- 
Eli  is  translated  Jl  ^  in  chapter 
xxiv  :  40,  and  the  same  term  is  used 
for  Jehovah  alone  in  v.  48.  jpl^  is 
used  for  Spirit  in  vi,  2,  for  god  in 
xxxi,  53,  and  for  God  in  xxxii,  28, 
30.  It  is  of  course  impossible  to 
always  translate  a  word  in  the 
original  by  the  same  word  in  Chi- 
nese, but  there  should  be  as  much 
uniformity  as  possible. 

2.  Another  fault,  I  think,  is  the 
tendency  to  transfer  the  Hebrew 
instead  of  translating  it,  as  Shekel, 
Sheol,  etc.  These  convey  no  meaning 
to  the  minds  of  the  Chinese.  If  the 
sounds  must  be  transferred  they 
should  be  written  with  a  mouth  P 
at  the  left  hand  corner  to  let  men 
know  that  they  are  to  be  taken  as 
mere  sounds.  This  has  been  sanc- 
tioned by  long  use  {e.g.,   V^  5^J,  etc. 


Mat.  xxvii,  46)  and  has  been  found 
helpful.  See  ii,  12  ;  iii,  24 ;  xliv,  29  ; 
XXX,  14,  etc.  In  the  case  of  Sheol 
I  think  1^  1^  would  express  "  the 
nether  world "  very  well  and 
would  have  no  meaning  of  "hell." 

3.  Unnecessary  and  unreasonable 
changes  are  sometimes  made  in 
proper  names.  Why  should  ^  J^, 
Egypt,  be  changed  to  -^  ^  ?  There 
is  a  diphthong  in  Greek  and  Latin, 
etc.  Why  conform  it  to  the  Eng- 
lish shortened  form  of  ^gypt  ?  If 
any  colloquial  dialect  is  to  be  the 
standard  for  transferrins;  sounds,  the 
Mandarin  should  doubtless  have 
the  preference,  but  should  not  some 
attention  be  paid  to  the  native 
dictionaries  and  the  precedent  set 
by  transferring  Sanskrit  sounds  in 
Buddhist  nomenclature  1 

4.  Euphemisms  are  often  justifi- 
able, but  is  a  translator  at  liberty 
to  omit  a  whole  clause  as  in  chapter 
xxxviii,  9 1  The  Septuagint,  Vul- 
gate, and  some  Chinese  versions 
translate  here.  Akin  to  this  is  the 
use  of  j5^  |S  for  "  kiss."  Because 
the  Chinese  do  not  kiss  as  the  Jews 
did,  is  that  a  sufficient  reason  for 
translating  kiss  by  "  perform  the 
ceremonies,"  "  did  according  to  eti- 
quette 1 " 

5.  The  alternative  reading  in 
small  characters  is  often  to  be  pre- 
ferred to  the  text ,  e.  g.,  in  xxix 
the  same  Hebrew  word  is  different- 
ly translated  in  vs.  21  and  23. 
Why  not  IpI  ^  in  both  cases  ? 

6.  Various  emendations.  In  xix, 
14    why   insert   ;ff?    The   Revised 


1900.] 


OUR    BOOK   TABLE. 


101 


version  puts  it  in  the  margin.  The 
context  seems  to  indicate  that  the 
daughters  were  already  married. 

In  XXXV,  18,  Benjamin  is  trans- 
lated "  Son  of  the  South "  instead 
of  the  usual  "  8on  of  the  rvjht- 
hand."  See  Gesenius.  The  ordinary 
translation  seems  preferable. 

In  i,  11  ^\*  is  to  be  preferred  to 
y^.  "  Beyond  Jordan  "  depends  on 
the  position  of  the  writer;  to  east 
of  the  Jordan  makes  it  definite. 

On  the  wliole  I  think  this  usually 
good  version  is  open  to  some 
amendment. 

R.  H.  Graves. 


A  Pocket  Lantern.* 

It  is  a  truism  that  in  the 
land  of  Chinese  literature  nine 
hundred  and  ninety-nine  out  of 
every  thousand  of  us  are  just  be- 
ginning to  learn  to  walk.  You, 
venerable  reader,  are  the  thou- 
sandth, but  the  rest  are  mere 
toddlers  and  tumblers.  And  as  Dr. 
Martin  pointed  out  years  ago,  our 
path  is  not  a  continuous  pavement, 
but  a  series  of  stepping-stones. 
And  moreover  we  travel  that  path 
as  though  by  night.  And  though 
we  are  but  little  children  weak,  it 
must  be  allowed  that  our  habit  of 
tumbling  is  largely  due  to  lack  of 
light.  At  times  when  we  gain  a 
good  lantern-bearer  (whose  name 
is  Pundit)  and  a  big  full-moon 
lantern  (the  biggest  known  as  Giles' 
patent,  the  lesser  as  Williams'  ditto), 
and  especially  when  the  lantern- 
bearer  carries  us  half  the  way,  we 
get  on  famously — for  little  children 
weak.  Yet  are  we  ambitious  and 
would  learn  to  walk  alone..  We 
feel  like  a  missionary  lady  who  is 
so  situated  that  she  can  only  take 
her  walks  abroad  in  company  with 
her  house-boy,  and  in  that  case 
often  modifies  a  well  known  proverb 
to  "One   is   company   and   two  is 

•  The  Student's  Four  Thousand  ^.  bv 
W.  E.  SoothUl.  ^ 


none."     Would  that  we  might  walk 
alone  I 

Being  possessed  of  the  art  of 
thought-reading,  a  certain  beae- 
factor  of  his  species  (every  mission- 
ary is  that,  I  hope),  named  Sootliill, 
has  divined  our  desire,  and  has  been 
working  with  hand  and  brain  in  his 
workshop  to  devise  and  construct 
what  he  has  now  put  on  the  market 
— a  pocket  lantern.  True,  after  pur- 
chasing one  we  shall  not  be  able 
to  run  in  safety,  but  we  may  with 
its  kii.dly  light  learn  gradually  to 
walk  without  such  frequent  tumbles 
as  heretofore.  Nor  may  we  all  at 
once  dismiss  our  lantern-bearer  and 
his  huge  lantern  except  for  excur- 
sions along  the  common  high-road 
for  a  li  or  so.  Yet  if  even  archbish- 
ops have  their  chaplains,  and  Yang- 
tse  captains  their  Yangtse  pilots, 
we  need  not  be  ashamed  of  this. 

Till  we  learn  to  walk  alone,  how- 
ever, locomotion  must  lack  the 
element  of  exhilaration.  And  some 
plodding  students  have  been  known 
to  moan  that  no  such  an  element 
can  ever  be  found  in  the  region  of 
Chinese  studies.  But  is  not  the 
characteristic  pride  of  a  Chinese 
man  of  letters  largely  born  of  ex- 
hilaration ?  Is  not  much  of  his  some- 
what pronounced  superiority  over 
ordinary  mortals,  that  of  the  victor 
who  has  conquered  1  And  with  Ex- 
celsior for  our  motto,  and  the 
aforesaid  pocket  lantern  for  our 
companion,  we  may  find  that  the 
regions  beyond  are  not  all  snow 
and  ice,  but  rather  a  smiling  land 
of  victory. 

The  word  companion  slipped  out, 
and  that  is  what  this  little  volume 
soon  becomes.  In  gaining  it  we 
gain  a  friend  about  whom  we 
wonder  how  we  managed  to  exist 
before  our  friendship  was  cemented. 

Yet  such  friends  are  the  very 
ones  that  we  feel  it  hardest  to 
describe.  Biographies  written  by 
bosom  friends  often  make  dull 
reading.  Our  best  tribute  to  a 
frieud  is  often  just,    "He  is  my 


102 


THE    CHINESE   RECOKDER. 


[Febrnary, 


friend."     And  that  is  my  review  of 
the  work  before  us. 

It  may  be  added,  however,  that 
as  one  of  the  best  methods  by 
which  a  new  comer  may  learn  to 
appreciate  his  pundit's  caligraphy 
is  to  take  up  the  brush-pen  and 
essay  to  write  himself,  so  one  good 
qualification  in  the  art  of  intelligent 
appreciation  generally  is  to  have 
tried  to  do  something  on  the  same 
lines  as  those  of  anotlier  whose 
masterpiece  is  unveiled  before  us. 
And  to  descend  into  personal  par- 
ticulars, it  may  be  related  that  in 
my  fiist  year,  finding  Williains  too 
bulky  for  odd  moments,  I  procured 
an  ancient  Hankow  syllabary,  com- 
piled by  the  Rev.  Josiah  Cox,  and 
having  had  it  copied  by  a  Chinese 
teacher,  filled  in  the  spaces  opposite 
each  of  the  numerous  characters 
from  Williams,  with  the  result  of  a 
saving  of  weeks  of  work  in  hunting 
up  characters  per  annum.  Yet 
though  such  a  dictionary  was  fairly 
portable,  it  lacked  a  radical  index, 
and  any  strange  character  whose 
sound  was  unknown  had  to  remain 
so.  But  the  present  volume  is  not 
only  just  lialf  the  bulk  of  my  Ms. 
friend  of  yore,  but  contains  a  far 
wider  selection  of  characters,  every 
one  of  which  can  be  turned  up  at  a 
monaent's  notice  by  reference  to 
the  exceedingly  neat  index.  True, 
as  the  Scottish  laird  said  of  Bailey's 
Dictionary,  the  tales,  though  good, 
are  "  unco'  short,"  but  for  the 
maximum  of  portability  and  useful- 
ness (controlled  by  such  portability) 
this  little  book  could  hardly  be 
excelled. 

And  its  work  is  not  finished 
when  we  have  traced  out  a  given 
character,  for  by  availing  ourselves 
of  Mr.  Sootiiill's  method  of  arrange- 
ment we  gain  an  introduction  to 
the  whole  family.  With  human 
beings  to  deal  with  we  may  be 
introduced  to  Mr.  Wang  or  Mrs. 
Chang  and  be  duly  gratified  at  the 
honour,  but  to  gain  an  introduction 
to  sons  and  daughters,  brothers  and 


sisters,  uncles  and  cousins  all  at 
once,  is  a  boon  which  any  mission- 
ary might  well  long  for  in  the  case 
of  an  intended  employee  or  pros- 
pective church-member.  And  this 
is  precisely  what  Mr.  Soothill  does 
for  us  with  the  literary  characters, 
and  as  his  book  is  more  widely  adopt- 
ed, and  its  method  more  diligently 
followed,  is  it  too  much  to  say  that 
we  may  hope  for  the  advent  of  a 
new  race  of  students  of  Chinese, 
and  may  even  wake  up  some  morn- 
ing to  find  ourselves  numbered 
among  them? 

W.  A.  CORNABY. 


Laos  Folk-lore  of  Farther  India.  By 
Katlierine  Neville  Fleeson.  With 
illustrations  from  photographs  taken 
by  W.  A.  Briggs,  M.D.  Fleming  H. 
Revell  Co.  1899.  Pp.  153.  $1.25.  (For 
sale  by  Mr.  Edward.  Evans.) 

This  book  enters  a  fresh  field  of 
singular  interest  which  has  been 
well  worked  by  the  authoress,  who 
seems  to  have  taken  commendable 
pains  not  only  to  collect  her  ma- 
terials, but  also  to  assort  them, 
which  is  done  under  eleven  distinct 
heads.  These  are :  Tales  of  the 
Jungle,  Tables  from  the  Forest, 
Nature's  Riddles  and  their  An- 
swers, Romance  and  Tragedy,  Tem- 
ples and  Priests,  Moderation  and 
Greed,  Parables  tand  Proverbs,  the 
Gods  know  and  the  Gods  reward, 
Wonders  of  Wisdom,  Strange  For- 
tunes of  Strange  People,  and  Sto- 
ries gone  Astray.  From  this  hetei'O- 
geneous  collection  of  titles  it  will 
be  seen  that  any  classification  is  at 
best  imperfect.  But  the  treatment 
of  the  materials  by  the  unknown 
origiriators  of  these  tales,  has  a 
special  interest  as  throwing  light 
upon  native  beliefs  and  thinking  in 
many  lines.  It  may  be  remembered 
that  in  the  first  Life  of  Dr.  Judson, 
by  Pres.  Wayland,  it  was  mentioned 
that  he  had  a  vast  store  of  this 
kind  of  folk-lore  in  his  capacious 
memory,     but    he    would    neither 


1900.] 


OUR   BOOK   TABLB. 


103 


commit  it  to  writing  himself,  nor 
transmit  it  to  any  one  else  for  that 
end.  Missionaries  of  this  genera- 
tion have  learned  a  more  excellent 
way,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  col- 
lections of  this  sort  may  be  multi- 
plied in  every  land.  The  uses  would 
be  many,  and  there  can  be  no  valid 
objection  to  their  being  accumulated 
and  collated. 


China  and  its  Future  in  the  Light  of  the 
Antecedents  of  the  Empire,  its  People 
and  their  Institutions.  By  James 
Johnston,  author  of  "China  and  For- 
mosa." With  ilhistrations.  London  : 
Eliot  Stock.  1899.  Pp.  180.  Mex.  $2.25. 

The  author  of   this    little  work 
has  often  written  of  the    Chinese 
empire   in   previous   years,    having 
become   specially    interested    in   it 
during  a  short  residence  many  years 
ago.     He  has  distributed  what  he 
has   to  say  in    seven    cliapters,    of 
which  the  first  six  are  devoted  to 
the  people,  the  position  of  women 
and  children,  the  history,  govern- 
ment,    administration,    education, 
and  religion  of  the  Chinese.     The 
final  chapter  is  on  the  Future  of 
China,   which  contains  some  good 
advice  and  some  unsafe  predictions. 
We  think  it  is  correct  to  say  that 
the  more  clear  is  one's  insight  into 
the  real  mechanism  through  which 
alone  China  can  be  reformed  from 
within,  the  less  hopeful  is  he  of  the 
possibility  of  any  such  reformation. 
It  is  very  doubtful    whether   Mr. 
Johnston  is  justified  in  his  optim- 
istic view  of  the  benefits  of  coming 
Russian     aggression    in     northern 
China,   although  he  may   be  right 
as  to  the  probable  result  of  a  com- 
plete understanding  between  Great 
Britain  and  Russia,  not  to  speak  of 
the  other  powers,    as  to  what  can 
and  what  cannot  be  done  in    this 
empire.      The    circulation    of   this 
little  book  can  do  only  good,  as  it 
presents,  in  a  compact  and  modern 
way,  much  of  which  millions  in  the 
home  lands  are  perennially  ignorant, 


no  matter  how  often  tliey  have 
been  enlightened.  Mr.  Johnston 
is  one  of  those  who  have  a  huge 
veneration  for  the  Alpine  mass  of 
guesses  known  as  the  "  Chinese 
Census,"  and  never  omits  an  op- 
portunity to  say  so.  We  have  no 
quarrel  with  his  conclusion  that 
there  are  perhaps  four  hundred 
millions  of  human  beings  in  the 
empire,  but  we  insist — as  we  have 
often  insisted  before — that  neitlier 
Mr.  Johnston  nor  any  other  human 
being  can  prove  it  by  the  "  Chinese 
Census  ". 

A.  H.  S. 


In  Primo.  A  Story  of  Facts  and  Factors. 
Bv  Eniled.  Fleming  H.  Revell  Co. 
1899.  Pp.  368.  $1.25.  (For  sale  by  Mr. 
Evans). 

The  young  lady  who  presumptive- 
ly compiled  this  tale,  wished  to  ex- 
press a  variety  of  opinions  on  many 
different  themes.     The  story  is  not 
complex,  but  the  choice  of  a  journal 
form  for  the  conveyance  of  somewhat 
complicated  and  ramified  informa- 
tion, does  not  strike  one  as  a  liappy 
device.     Where  is  the  young  woman 
who    would    have    the    patience   to 
copy  into  her  diary  letters  of  great 
length  which  she  has  sent  to  her 
friends,  or  still  more  those  which 
she  has  received  from  them  ?  (She 
would  not  have  the  courage  to  do 
this,  even  if  she  had  a  new  S.  P. 
typewriter,    much     less     with     the 
pen,   in   the  intervals  of  the  most 
exacting  and  often  exciting  scenes.) 
The    heroine  is    at  first    poor    and 
rather  plain,  but  on  slight  provoca- 
tion she  becomes  rich,  and  in  a  way 
handsome,  sa  as  to  be  the  rival  of  a 
•^  society  '  leader,  a  position,  however, 
which  she  does  not  seek  and  will  not 
keep.    She  wishes  to  use  her  wealth 
in  the  highest  possible  way,  and  has 
much  trouble  in  deciding  what  to  do 
with  it.  We  have  been  as  unable  to 
ascertain    why    the    tale   is    styled 
"  In  Primo",  us  why  the  authoress 
prefers  to  be  known  as  "  Eniled." 


104 


THE    CHINESE    RECOEDEB. 


[February, 


dBiitnrid    Cnmimnt^ 


The  murder  of  the  Rev.  S.  M. 
Brooke,  of  tlie  S.  P.  G.,  Tai-an- 
fu,  near  the  end  of  December, 
was  one  of  the  saddest,  in  many- 
respects,  in  the  records  of  mis- 
sionary work  in  China.  A  death 
at  the  hands  of  a  mob  is  terrible 
to  contemphxte  under  any  cir- 
cumstances, but  in  this  instance 
there  was  unusual  cruelty  and 
prolonged  torture.  We  are  far 
from  calling  for  revenge ;  God 
knows  His  own  and  will  care  for 
them.  But  there  are  "  powers  " 
that  are  "  ordained  of  God,"  and 
the  British  government  has  cer- 
tainly a  weighty  reponsibility 
for  the  manner  in  which  it  treats 
the  very  criminal  governor  at 
whose  door  this  crime  is  so 
plainly  to  be  laid. 

♦        *         • 

As  will  be  seen  from  a  notice 
under  Missionary  News,  Dr. 
Clark,  President  of  the  United 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor, 
expects  to  visit  Cbina  again  in 
the  interests  of  Endeavor  work. 
Many  will  remember  with  in- 
terest his  former  visit,  and  it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  this  present 
will  be  even  more  memorable 
and  profitable.  There  has  been 
wonderful  growth  and  develop- 
ment since  he  was  here  before, 
and  while  not  all  places  are  yet 
ready  for  Endeavor  Societies,  it 
is  fair  to  presume  that  many 
places  might  have  profitable  so- 
cieties that  do  not  now  have 
them,  and  that  much  good  will 
result  from  Mr.  Clark's  visit. 

The  meeting  at  Foochow  prom- 
ises to  be  a  very  interesting 
and  well  attended  oue.  There 
is  a  great  deal  of  enthusiasm  in 
Foochow.  Judging  from  what 
we  have  heard  of  meetings  there 


heretofore,  and  with  the  prospect 
of  having  Dr.  Clark  among 
them,  and  the  fact  that  this  is  the 
first  time  the  National  Conven- 
tion has  been  held  there,  there 
will  be,  doubtless,  lively  times. 
*         m         * 

Mrs.  Little,  Ororanizing  Sec- 
retary of  the  Tien  Tsu  Hui,  hopes 
to  start  very  shortly  for  a  tour  of 
the  southern  treaty  ports,  similar 
to  that  recently  undertaken  by  her 
along  the  Yangtze.  She  expects 
to  leave  Shanghai  by  the  first 
China  Merchants'  steamer  after 
China  New  Year,  and  hopes  to 
spend  a  few  days  in  Hongkong, 
Canton,  Macao,  Amoy,  Swatow, 
and  Foochow,  Her  wish  is  to 
address  a  meeting  of  the  foreign 
community  in  each  place  ;  also, 
wherever  it  is  possible,  to  address 
a  public  Chinese  meeting  to 
which  Chinese  ofiicials  and  the 
leading  gentry  may  have  been 
invited  by  some  leading  Euro- 
pean official,  as  has  been  lately 
done  with  such  good  results  in 
Wnhu  and  Hankovv,and  yet  more 
brilliantly  in  Shanghai,  where 
the  Taotai  attended  with  his 
retinue.  But  she  is  also  most 
desirous  to  address  gatherings  of 
Chineses  ladies  and  show  them 
that  sympathy  that  seems  needed 
to  help  them  from  tottering 
painfully,  thrown  back  upon 
their  heels,  to  walking  gracefully 
about  their  women's  duties;  also 
to  address  college  students 
and  boys'  schools;  these  last, 
wherever  convenient,  apart  from 
women.  Mrs,  Little  is  a  host 
in  herself  at  these  meetings, 
full  of  life  and  energy,  and  we 
bespeak  for  her  a  most  cordial 
welcome  wherever  she  may 
chance   to    come.     She    will  be 


19000 


BDITOEIAL   COMMENT* 


105 


pleased  to  bear  from  any  one 
who  could  assist  her  in  any 
way,  at  her  home,  39  North 
Soochow  Road,  Shanghai. 

It  should  be  distinctly  under- 
stood that  the  Committee  in 
passing  the  resolntious  in  regard 
to  the  coming  General  Confer- 
ence in  1901,  printed  in  January 
Recorder,  had  no  idea  of  re- 
stricting the  members  hip  in  any 
way.  It  was  merely  the  matter 
of  entertainment.  As  Resolution 
I.  distinctly  says:  "All  others 
will  of  course  be  welcomed  to  the 
Conference,"  and  perhaps  it 
should  have  added  :  All  will  be 
entitled  to  equal  privileges  in 
voting,  discussing,  etc. 

The  Shanghai  papers  have 
recently  published  a  scheme  for 
the  education  of  the  Chinese 
youth  within  the  foreign  settle- 
ment of  Shanghai  with  the  aid 
of  Municipal  funds.  Some  of  the 
more  influential  Chinese  have 
promised  to  raise  the  sum  of 
thirty  thousand  taels  for  the 
purposes  of  buildings,  etc.,  and 
the  Municipal  Council  i)r()po3es 
to  ask  the  rate-payers  to  approve 
of  a  grant  of  three  thousand 
taels,  at  present,  and  five 
thousand  later  on,  to  secure 
foreign  instructors,  etc.  The 
root-idea  is  certainly  a  good  one, 
and  the  three  gentlemen  who 
have  devoted  so  much  time  and 
pains  to  preparing  the  scheme, 
are  certainly  worthy  of  all  praise. 
Probably  any  scheme  that  could 
be  devised  would  be  open  to 
serious  objections,  and  so  it  has 
occurred  to  us  that  this,  while 
furnishing  a  good  opportunity  to 
a  select  few — .500  is  the  present 
limit — the  great  mass  of  the 
children  of  the  settlement  would 


be  as  unprovided  for  as  before. 
"We  must  confess  that  it  is  no 
light  matter  to  contemplate,  the 
providing  adequate  school  ac- 
commodations for  sev(;ral  tens 
of  thousands  of  Chinese  children, 
and  even  if  the  present  scheme 
does  not  succeed,  it  is  to  be 
hoped  that  it  will  prepare  the 
way  for  what  must  commend 
itself  most  strongly  to  all  right 
minded  people. 

During  the  past  month  we 
have  received  two  specimen 
numbers — one  from  Foochow 
and  one  from  Shanghai — of  new 
pa])ers  or  magazines  for  the 
Chinese-,  both  to  be  ])ublished 
monthly.  The  one  from  Foo- 
chow is  called  the  JJica  Mei 
Taoy  or  Chinese  Christian  Ad- 
vocate, and  the  one  from  Shang- 
hai the  Kiao  Pno,  or  Christian 
Advocate.  Both  are  well  edited, 
the  former  by  ReV.  M.  C.  Wilcox, 
assisted  by  Rev.  Uong  De-gi, 
and  the  latter  by  Dr.  Y.  J. 
Allen.  Both  contain  a  variety 
of  useful  reading  and  informa- 
tion, and  as  such  are  to  be  wel- 
comed. We  confess  to  a  feeling 
of  regret,  however,  in  seeing 
that  both  are  in  the  interests 
of  a  denomination,  confessedly 
so.  We  have  all  along  cherished 
a  hope  that  denorainationalism 
would  be  made  as  little  of  as 
possible  in  China,  and  that  our 
literature  would  be  Christian 
and  not  denominational,  though 
some  may  say,  of  course,  that  it 
may  be  both.  Granted,  but  why 
not  put  off  the  evil  day  as  long 
as  possible  ?  We  welcome  good 
literature  of  every  kind — re- 
ligious, educational,  scientific, 
political,  philosophical,  etc. — 
and  in  every  kind  we  want  the 
best.    Is  denominational  ever  the 


106 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[February, 


best  ?  The  writer  has  stood  out 
against  efforts  '  looking  iu  this 
direction  in  his  own  chnrch,  and 
could  wish  that  we  might  wait 
long  before  the  denominational 
element  is  introduced,  or  at  least 
to  as  limited  an  extent  as  possible. 
*  *  * 
Just  as  we  go  to  press 
(January  26th)  news  comes  of 
the  "  resignation  "  of  the  Em- 
peror, Kuang  Hsu,  and  the 
appointment  of  a  successor,  P'u 
Chun,  the  son  of  Tsai  Yi,  a  lad 


of  but  nine  years  of  age.  What 
is  to  become  of  the  former  Em- 
peror can  only  be  surmised,  but 
it  would  be  strange  if  he  were  to 
be  permitted  to  live.  And  will 
the  great  powers  sit  quietly  by 
and  permit  such  bare-faced  usur- 
pation to  go  on?  And  what 
will  be  the  effect  on  the  people 
of  China  ?  These  and  many 
other  questions  arise  in  the  mind 
at  once.  But  who  shall  answer 
them  ?  Certainly  the  outlook  for 
China  never  seemed  so  gloomy. 


xssinitari)  lottos* 


Anti  foot-binding  Meeting. 

On  a  recent  Monday  close  on  a 
hundred  of  the  leading  Chinese  in 
Shanghai,  about  thirty  of  them 
officials,  assembled  in  the  Drill  Hall 
by  the  invitation  of  Mr.  F.  A. 
Anderson,  chairman  of  the  Munic- 
ipal Council,  who  presided.  Sir 
Nicholas  Hannen  was  also  present. 
A  Taotai  of  the  Arsenal,  late  coad- 
jutor of  the  Viceroy  of  Shantung, 
asked  leave  to  speak,  and  fairly  con- 
vulsed the  audience  by  his  brilliant 
and  humorous  suggestions  as  to 
how  to  do  away  with  foot-binding. 
On  Thursday  about  forty  Chinese 
ladies  assembled  at  the  house  of 
Mrs.  Rocher,  the  Commissioner'^s 
wife.  Besides  several  speeches 
there  were  several  foreign  ladies  to 
talk  to  tlie  Chinese  ladies,  whose 
carriages  and  many  befurred  foot- 
men coming  beforehand  to  an- 
nounce their  arrival,  sufficiently 
indicated  their  social  standing. 
There  were  among  them  some 
of  the  givers  of  the  famous 
Chinese  ladies'  public  dinner  to 
found  the  girls'  school,  besides 
other  new  friends.  One  lady 
joined  the  Society  at  once,  and 
promised  not  to  bind  her  young 
djuighter's  feet ;  some  other  young 
girls  were  going  home  to  unloose 
their  bandages,  and  several  others 


appeared    moved  and   grateful  for 
the  kind  sympathy  shown  them. 

The  Chinese  Tract  Society, 

During  the  month  this  Society 
has  held  its  anniversary  meetings  in 
Shanghai. 

On  the  18th,  the  Board  of  Trus- 
tees met,  and  besides  listening 
to  various  reports  and  attending 
to  routine  business,  filled  vacancies 
by  electing  the  following  on  the 
Board  of  Trustees  :  The  Rev.  C.  E. 
Darwent,  M.A.,  pastor  of  Union 
Church;  J.  C.  Ferguson,  M.A., 
president  Nanyang  College;  Rev.  G. 
F.  Fitch,  superintendent  Mission 
Press ;  Rev.  W.  Nelson  Bitton,  of 
the  London  Mission ;  Rev.  C.  J. 
F.  Symons,  of  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society ;  Dr.  S.  P.  Barchet, 
interpreter  at  the  United  States 
Consulate-General;  Professor  G.  H. 
Bell,  of  the  Anglo-Chinese  College  ; 
Mr.  Kau  Voong-z,  corapradore  and 
former  proof-reader  at  the  Mission 
Press;  Mr.  Zee  Ve-wae,  assistant 
in  the  editorial  and  other  work  of 
the  Tract  Society ;  and  the  Rev. 
Tsu  NioU-doiig,  a  clergyman  of  the 
American  Episcopal  Church. 

Professor  Bell  was  elected  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Board  of  Directors.  The 
Rev.  William  Muirhead,  D.D.,  was 
elected  Corresponding  Secretary  in 


1900.] 

place  of  tlie  Rev.  Ernest  Box,  re- 
signed, and  Mr.  Dzung  Ts-kok  was 
elected  to  serve  on  the  Examining 
Co»n«iiittee,  and  Mr.  James  H. 
Osborne  received  a  hearty  vote  of 
thanks  for  his  generous  services,  and 
was  re-elected  Honorary  Auditor, 

On  Sunday,  the  21st,  there  was 
a  large  gathering  of  mitive  Chris- 
tians and  sever/il  missionaries. 

A  native  pastor  delivered  an 
able  sermon,  followed  with  a  stirring 
address  by  another,  setting  forth 
in  strong  language  the  value  of  the 
Society's  publications.  A  collection 
was  taken,  amounting  to  $14.65. 

The  reports  of  the  Society  show 
a  prosperous  year's  work  and  its 
funds  to  be  in  a  good  condition. 

A  great  work  noticed  as  in  press 
last  year,  lias  been  issued — The 
Conference  Ccnnnentary  on  the  New 
Testament.  It  is  bound  inthreehand- 
some  volumes,  a  beautiful  specimen 
of  the  typographical  art  and  by  some 
considered  the  greatest  work  ever 
undertaken  by  the  China  mission- 
aries. Short  Sermons,  also  in  three 
volumes,  is  another  iinportant  work. 

Through  great  economy  there  is 
a  handsome  sum  in  hand  at  the 
close  of  the  year,  yet  the  expenses 
in  the  immediate  future  are  likely 
to  be  very  threat. 

Stereotype  plates  and  a  second 
edition  of  The  Conference  Commen- 
tary is  already  talked  of.  The 
committee  is  busy  with  the  Com- 
mentary on  the  Old  Testament,  and 
already  a  part  of  it  is  ready  for  the 
press,  and  a  very  large  sum  will 
be  required  to  bring  out  the  whole. 
The  Bil)ie  Dictionary  is  likely  to  be 
pul)lished  this  year,  and  an  unusual- 
ly large  number  of  the  Society's 
standard  works  are  out  of  stock,  so 
a  much  larger  sum  than  that  now  on 
hand  will  be  needed  to  carry  on  the 
work  of  the  Society  successfully. 

The  Society  has  published  tiiirty- 
two  different  works,  besides  period- 
cals  and  Sunday  school  lessons, 
making  in  all  435,170  copies,  equal 
to  13,641,260  pages.     The  sales  and 


MISSIONARY    NEWS. 


107 


grants  amount  to  453,860  copies 
and  to  5,042,858  pages,  at  least 
a  million  more  than  last  year.  The 
printing  has  cost  $8,042.52  and 
the  income  from  the  sale  of  books 
has  been  $4,333.58,  against 
$2,855.85  last  year. 


Wei-hsien    Presbytery 
Meeting. 

The  Presbytery  of  Wei-hsien 
comprises  nine  ministers  (six 
Chinese  and  three  American)  and 
twenty  organized  chuiches,  togeth- 
er with  a  large  unorganized  work. 
Heretofore  it  has  been  custoniary 
for  the  Presbytery  to  convene  at 
the  central  Mission  compound  at 
Wei-hsien,  but  this  year  it  seemed 
expedient  to  meet  in  the  memorial 
chapel  recently  erected  by  the 
Chinese  Pi'esl)yterians  of  Shantung 
to  the  memory  of  the  late  Dr. 
Nevius.  This  church  is  at  Wu- 
kia-miao-tze,  some  sixty  li  west  of 
this  place.  It  is  a  buihling  in  plain 
Chinese  style,  fifteen  by  forty  feet, 
with  glass  windows  as  the  sole 
foreii;n  feature.  Here  the  brethren 
convened  on  November  16th  and 
adjourned  Saturday  the  18th 
November.  The  chuich  of  Chai-ti 
called  the  Rev.  Hwang  Ping-fu  at 
a  salary  of  75,000  real  cash.  He 
accepted  in  a  well-worded  and 
heartfelt  speech.  Mr.  Hwang  had 
served  the  church  last  year  as  their 
supply,  they  paying  the  salary. 
This  makes  the  sixth  native  minister 
the  churches  in  this  Presl)ylery 
have  undertaken  to  support. 

In  spite  of  tjje  hard  times  Shan- 
tung is  now  experiencing,  two  con- 
gregations voluntarily  increased  their 
pastors'  salaries,  raisini,'  the  whole 
amount  within  their  own  bounds. 
Among  other  items  of  busine.xs 
was  the  appointment  of  a  com- 
mittee to  prepare  a  history  of 
Presl«yterianism  in  Shantung.  This 
was  moved  by  a  Chinese  broth- 
er, who  urged  that  some  such 
work  should  be  undertaken  while 
the  pioneer  raissionaties   are   witli 


108 


THE    CHINESE    RECOBDKR. 


[Feb..  1900.] 


us,  whose  help  supplying  facts  and 
dates  is  essential  to  an  accurate 
history.  Notwithstanding  some 
knotty  problens  to  be  solved,  the 
meeting  was  characterized  by  the 
utmost  unanimity,  and  not  a  dis- 
cordant note  was  struck  during 
the  discussions.  The  non-Christian 
element  behaved  witli  commendable 
decorum,  especially  seeing  there 
were  two  bicycles  on  the  premises 
belon<»ing  to  the  foreis^n  contingent. 
The  additions  to  the  church  re- 
ported were  263,  and  the  losses  by 
death  removal  and  excommunica- 
tion, 108.  The  present  member- 
ship reported  is  2,849.  The  con- 
tributions for  preaching  and  benev- 
olence were  785,000  cash,  equival- 
ent to  just  $1,000  Mexican.  This 
represents  the  strictly  native  con- 


tributions. Besides  this  amount 
given  for  church  work  the  people 
expended  fully  $1,200  on  their 
schools.  This  last  item  is  from 
the  Mission  Report,  for  we  do  not 
permit  educational  expenditure  to 
be  reported  to  the  Presbytery  as 
on  a  par  with  contributions  for 
church  work  and  benevolence.  The 
reasons  for  this  are  obvious.  The 
past  year  has  been  a  trying  one 
for  the  Christians.  The  unsettled 
political  situation,  the  long  con- 
tinued drought,  and  the  consequent 
high  price  of  grain  have  combined 
to  make  the  poor  poorer  and  the 
rich  more  close-fisted.  In  spite  of 
these  adverse  conditions  the  con- 
tributions for  the  year  have  ex- 
ceeded all  previous  attainments. 
F.  H.  Chalfant. 


IlisstoinirjT  |0umaL 


BIRTHS. 

At  Piiolino-fu,  December  17th,  the  wife 

of  Rev.  J.  A.  Miller,  A.  P.  M.,  of  a  son. 

At  Nankin,  December  19tb,  the  wife  of 

T.  .J.  Arnold,  F.  C.  M.  S.,  of  a  son. 
At  Liao-yanj^,  Manchuria,  December  8th, 
the  wife  of  the  Rev.  George  Douglas, 
of  a  daughter,  Helen  Grant. 
At  Hsiche,  on  20th  December,  1899, 
to  Dr.  and  Mrs,  Malcolm,  C.  P.  M., 
a  dangbter,  Claire  Davidson. 

At  Hankow,  January  4th,  the  wife  of 
A.  A  P111LLIP.S,  C.  M.  S.,  West  China 
Mission,  of  a  daughter. 

At  Ping-tu,   January   5th,    the   wife  of 
Rev.  J.  W.   Lowe,   of   the  A.  B.  M. 
(South),  of  a  son,  VV'illiam  Alex. 
MARRIAGES. 

At  Kia-ting,  December  7tli,  E.  Amund- 
sen and  Miss  P.  Naess,  both  of  C.  1.  M. 

At  Swatow,  December  26th,  by  the  Rev. 
D.  Maclver,  M.A.,  assisted  by  Rev. 
J.  (;.*(;ii)son,  D.D.,  John  F.  Mo- 
PuoN,  M.li.,  CM.,  and  Margaret 
Falco.nkr,  both  of  E.  P   M. 

At  Hongkong,  December  23rd,  by  the 
Right  Reverend  the  liishop  of  Victoria, 
assisted  by  tiie  Reverend  R.  F.  Cob- 
bold,  Alfrko  James  Walker,  Vice- 
Principal  of  Trinity  College,  Ningpo, 
to  KDrni,  oiliest  daughter  of  the  late 
Clement  Alexander  Middleton,  Bench- 
er of  (j  ray's  Inn. 

At  Chung-king,  December  27th,  James 
Hi'TSDN  and  Miss  Widgery,  both  of 
the  C.  I.  M. 

At  Hhangliai,  January  17th,  by  the  Rev. 
H  C.  Hodges,  m.a.,  the  Rev.  Charles 


Robertson,  of  the  London  Mission, 
Wuchang,  to  Jane  Aitkenhead,  sec- 
ond daughter  of  George  McKendrick, 
Wishaw,  N.  B. 

DEATHS. 

At  Samkong,  Lien  chow,  on  January 
5th,  Elizabeth,  beloved  daughter  of 
Rev.  and  Mrs.  Ciias.  W  Swan,  A.  P. 
M.,  aged  1  year  and  4  days. 

In  Shantung,  Rev.  S.M.  Brooke,  of  the 
S.  P.  G. ,  at  the  hands  of  the  Great 
Knife  Society. 

ARRIVALS. 

At  Shanghai,  January  9th,  Geo.  Fox  Dk- 
voL,  M.D.,  F.  F.  M.  A.,  Nankin  ;  C.  S. 
Terrell,  M.D.,  and  wife.  Miss  Minnie 
Davids,  C,  and  M.  A.,  Central  China. 

At  Shanghai,  January  16th,  Rev.  Geo. 
and  Mrs.  Hlinter  and  one  child 
(returned),  Misses  Sanderson  (return- 
ed), A.  T.  Saltmarsh  and  J.  Sandk- 
BERG,  from  England,  for  C.  I-  M, 

At  Slianghai,  January  20th,  Rev.  A.  0, 
LoosLEY,  from  America,  for  C.  I.  M, 

DEPARTURES. 

From  Shanghai,  January  2nd,  Rev.  Q  A. 
Myers,  wife  and  child,  of  M.  E.  M. 
W.  China,  for  U.  S. 

From  Shanghai,  January  15th,  Mr,  J. 
T.  Dempsey  and  wife,  W,  M.  S.,  for 
Enghmd. 

From  Shanghai,  January  2tth,  0.  T. 
Lo(!AN,  M.I).,  wife  and  two  children, 
Cumb.  P.  M.;  Miss  M.A.  Snougrass, 
A.  P.  M.,  Tungchow  ;  Miss  E,  S.  Hart- 
well,  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  Foochow ; 
Miss  G.  B.  MosHER,  A.  C.  M.,  for  U.  S. 


THE 


CHINESE  RECORDER 


^Sli^^tonarp   ^onvvtaC. 


Vol.  XXXL  No.  3, 


MARriT    IQOO  (  $3.50  per  annum,  post- 

MAKOll,   lyOO.  I  paid.  (Gold  $1.75.) 


A  Review  of  "Methods  of  Mission  Work." 

BY  REV.    C.   W.    MATEER,    D.D. 

N  1886-87  Dr.  J.  L.  Nevins  published  ia  the  (Chinese  Recorder 
a  series  of  articles  on  "  Methods  of  Mission  Work."  Shortly 
afterwards  the  same  articles  were  slightly  revised  and  repub- 
lished in  book  form.  Some  years  later,  when  the  edition  was  exhausted, 
the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  reprinted  the  book  and 
sent  copies  to  all  of  its  missionaries,  and  in  other  ways  gave  it  an 
extensive  circulation.  During  these  years  it  has  been  widely  read 
and  often  quoted  in  discussions  on  mission  policy,  both  at  home  and 
on  many  mission  fields.  The  secret  of  its  popularity  with  Secretaries 
and  Boards  is  not  far  to  seek.  It  seemed  to  promise  the  rapid 
evangelization  of  the  world  at  a  minimum  of  expense.  From  various 
causes  the  Boards  were  becoming  embarrassed  for  want  of  funds, 
and  this  little  book  offered  a  most  inviting  and  opportune  text  from 
which  to  preach  and  enforce  economy.  It  was  tacitly  assumed  that 
the  method  therein  advocated  had  been  wrought  out  to  a  conspicuous 
and  assured  success,  and  that  there  were  in  Shantung  a  large 
number  of  self-supporting  churches  which  had  been  raised  up  without 
the  aid  of  paid  helpers.  Young  missionaries  made  great  use  of  the 
supposed  success  of  the  "  New  Method,"  both  in  print  and  in  mis- 
sionary addresses.  Self-development  and  self-support  were  heralded 
as  the  secret  of  all  true  success,  and  previous  generations  of  mission- 
aries were  condemned,  impliedly  if  not  expressly,  for  want  of  discern- 
ment in  the  conduct  of  the  work,  having  failed  to  develop  the  ideal 
self-nurture  and  self-support,  and  raising  up  a  generation  of  "rice 
Christians."  Frequent  inquiries  have  been  made  both  in  print  and 
by  letter  as  to  facts  in  the  case.  No  one  in  Shantung,  cognizant  of  the 
history  and  results  of  Dr.  Nevius'  work,  lias  ever  made  any  response. 
Two  things  have  operated  to  produce  this  reticence.    First,  while  it 


110  THE   CHINESE  RECORDER.  [March, 

was  felt  by  those  who  best  knew  the  facts  that  they  did  not 
really  sustain  the  theory,  yet  it  was  difficult  to  say  so  without 
giving  offence,  and  seeming  to  be  jealous  of  a  good  man's  work. 
Second,  it  seemed  an  ungracious  thing  for  younger  men  to  oppose 
their  views  to  those  of  Dr.  I^evins,  especially  after  his  death,  and  it 
was,  at  the  same  time,  a  difficult  thing  to  stem  the  tide  of  senti- 
ment which  home  secretaries  and  others  had  worked  up. 

The  writer  has  resisted  for  a  number  of  years  the  thought  of 
writing  on  this  subject,  though  urged  to  do  so  by  a  number  of 
experienced  missionaries  both  in  Shantung  and  elsewhere.  A 
special  appeal  from  the  editor  of  the  Recorder  finally  determined 
me  to  collect  information  and  review  the  book  in  the  light  of  all  the 
facts  of  the  case.  In  doing  so  I  realize  that  my  purpose  will 
perhaps  be  misconstrued  and  my  motives  misunderstood.  I  write 
reluctantly  and  under  a  strong  sense  of  duty.  In  common  with 
many  others  I  feel  that  the  cause  of  missions  demands  that  a  voice 
be  heard  from  Shantung  in  regard  to  this  book.  1  have  not  written 
hastily.  Over  ten  years  have  elapsed  since  "  Methods  of  Mission 
Work  "  was  first  published.  I  was  on  the  ground  and  thoroughly 
conversant  with  the  circumstances  in  which  the  book  was  conceived 
and  written,  and  I  have  specially  investigated  the  results  of  the 
particular  work  on  which  it  is  based.  I  have  also  watched  the 
progress  and  policy  of  mission  work  as  affected  by  the  book,  and 
am  profoundly  convinced  that  its  main  contention  is  based  on  in- 
sufficient data  and  exceptional  facts,  that  its  theory  is  partial  and 
defective,  and  its  aggregate  effect  a  serious  hindrance  to  mission 
work.  Before  proceeding  with  this  review  I  wish  most  explicitly 
to  disclaim  all  personal  animus.  Dr.  Nevius  and  myself  were 
friends  and  colaborers  for  twenty-five  years.  Nothing  at  any  time 
occurred  to  disturb  the  harmony  of  our  friendship  or  hinder  a 
hearty  co-operation  in  our  missionary  work.  So  far  as  Dr.  Nevina 
is  concerned,  and  more  especially  on  Mrs.  Nevius'  account,  I  would 
fain  not  write.  She  still  lives,  and  very  properly  feels  a  jealous 
interest  in  what  her  husband  did  and  wrote.  I  shall  strive  to  say 
nothing  unkind  or  ungenerous,,  but  confine  myself  entirely  to  what 
concerns  the  facts  and  principles  of  the  case. 

The  book  is  written  in  the  author's  best  style.  His  facts  and 
arguments  are  clearly  and  forcibly  stated.  The  spirit  of  the  book 
also  is  admirable,  and  easily  captivates  the  reader  and  carries  him 
along  in  the  author's  way  of  thinking.  I  fear  I  may  not  be  able  to 
put  my  review  in  sa  taking  a  way.  The  task  which  I  have  set 
myself  is  essentially  difficnlt.  I  am  opposing  the  principles  of  a 
book  that  is  very  popular  with  many,  and  in  order  to  do  so  with 
any  success  I  must  do  the  work  thoroughly,  opposing  argument 


1900.]  A  REVIEW  OF  "  METHODS  OF  MISSION  WORK."  Ill 

to  arirninent  and  fact  to  fact.  In  doin<^  this  there  is  danger  that 
I  will  seem  to  be  too  polemic.  What  I  ask  of  the  reader  is  that 
he  will  j^ive  the  case  a  fair  hearing  and  consider  that  I  am  opposing 
and  criticizing  not  a  man,  bat  a  theory. 


Terminology. 

In  the  book  constant  use  is  made  of  the  terras  old  and 
new  phm  or  method.*  By  the  former  is  meant  the  method  of 
employing  Chinese  preachers  or  helpers,  as  anxiliary  to  the  mis- 
sionary, and  by  the  latter  the  method  of  starting  and  carrying 
on  mission  work  without  the  aid  of  native  helpers,  as  illustrated  in 
Dr.  Nevins'  own  work  in  Shantung.  He  affirms  in  his  introductory 
chapter  that  there  had  been  for  a  number  of  years  a  progressive 
change  in  the  direction  of  the  non-employment  of  native  helpers, 
and  cites  his  own  experiment  in  Shantung  as  a  final  argument  in 
that,  direction.  Now,  I  do  not  think  there  is  any  sufficient  ground 
for  the  use  of  such  terms  either  in  general,  or  in  his  own  work.  It 
is  not,  by  any  means,  the  fact  that  in  former  years  all  missionaries 
favored  the  free  employment  of  native  preachers.  Still  less  is  it  the 
case  that  in  more  recent  years  missionaries  generally  refrained 
from  employing  native  evangelists  and  helpers.  So  fiir  as  I  could 
see  there  had  been  no  special  change  other  than  that  w-hich  grew 
naturally  out  of  the  advancement  from  the  pioneer  stage  to  that  of 
the  higher  and  raaturer  development.  The  change  was  not  in  the 
non-use  of  helpers,  but  in  choosing  them  more  carefully  and  in 
training  them  more  thoroughly.  I  cannot,  therefore,  but  feel  that 
the  constant  use  of  these  terras,  "old  and  new  method "  (except  it 
be  in  so  far  as  the  term  **  new  method  "  is  intended  to  describe  Dr. 
Nevins'  special  work)  was,  and  is,  calculated  to  create  a  wrong 
impression,  especially  on  those  not  well  acquainted  with  all  the  facts. 

Of  late  years,  especially  since  the  home  publication  of"  Methods 
of  Mission  Work,"  there  has  been  a  good  deal  of  writing  in  the 
papers  on  this  snbject,  mostly  by  a  few  men,  some  of  them  being 
young  men  who,  having  had  no  experience  of  their  own,  ventilate 
the  preconceived  ideas  they  brought  from  home,  often  easily  trace- 
able to  "  Methods  of  Mission  Work."  The  actual  change  in  opinion 
and  practice  has  not,  however,  been  nearly  so  great  as  the  continued 
agitation  of  the  question  would  indicate.  Within  a  few  years  an 
extensive  work  has  been  developed  in  Manchuria.  That  work  is 
now  advancing  by  leaps  and  bounds.  A  home  secretary  writino- 
of  it  says :  '•  The  reports  and  letters   from  Manchuria  impress  one 

*  The  edition  of  "Methods  of  Mission  Work"  referred  to  and  quoted  in  the 
following  pages,  is  that  printed  in  New  York  by  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions. 


112  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [March, 

with  the  idea  that  the  missionary  difficulty  there  is  an  embarrass- 
ment of  success."  Bat  unlike  Dr.  Nevins'  work  it  was  preceded 
for  many  years  by  a  preparatory  work  done  by  the  abundant  use 
of  native  helpers,  supported  by  the  Mission.  More  recently  most 
of  these  helpers  bave  been  supported  in  whole  or  iu  part  by  the 
churches.  This  result  did  not  come,  however,  until  after  many 
years  of  faithful  work  had  preceded  it.  Not  lou<^  after  Dr.  Nevius 
gave  over  his  work,  our  Mission  started  a  new  station  at  Chi-ning- 
chow,  in  the  south  west  of  the  province.  The  leading  man  in  starting 
the  new  station  was  Rev.  J.  H.  Laughlin,  who  was  associated  for  a 
time  with  Dr.  Nevins  in  his  work,  and  had  the  besc  possible 
opportunity  of  understanding  and  appreciating  his  theories.  Yet 
in  beginning  this  new  work  he  did  not  decline  to  use  native  helpers. 
On  the  contrary,  he  used  them  freely,  and  has  continued  to  use 
them.  At  the  Shantung  Missionary  Conference,  held  last  year  at 
Wei-hien,  when  speaking  of  using  native  helpers  in  starting  new 
work  he  said  :  "  In  the  expenditure  of  foreign  money  I  have  not 
lost  confidence.  My  experience  convinced  me  that  we  foreigners 
can  by  no  means  influence  the  Chinese  as  their  own  people  can. 
The  Chinese  who  have  been  brought  to  Christ  directly  and  solely 
by  the  foreigner  are,  I  fear,  very  few." 

Chapter  I. 

Native  Helpers  or  Paid  Assistants. 

After  a  shori;  introduction  setting  forth  the  terms  "  new  and 
old  method  "  the  author,  under  the  head  of  "  Objections  to  the  Old 
Method,"  draws  out  an  elaborate  argument  against  the  employment 
of  native  helpers.  This  is  the  ruling  thought  of  the  book.  The  one 
idea  to  which  the  author  continually  returns  is,  Do  not  pay  the 
Chinese  for  preaching.  Besides  arguing  the  question  on  its  merits, 
he  adduces  from  time  to  time  throughout  the  book  the  large 
work  he  himself  had  developed  without  paid  agents,  as  final  proof 
of  the  feasibility  of  the  method.  On  the  face  of  it  the  principle  is 
decidedly  taking,  and  it  is  freely  conceded  that  some  of  his  argu- 
ments are  sound  and  forcible.  Without  doubt  the  employment  of 
helpers,  like  most  things  in  this  world,  is  capable  of  excess.  He  is, 
however,  doing  the  work  of  a  reformer,  and,  as  is  common  in  such 
cases,  goes  to  extremes.  He  does  not  indeed  distinctly  announce 
himself  as  wholly  opposed  to  the  employment  of  native  helpers,  yet 
his  book  has,  to  a  great  extent,  made  such  an  impression,  both  in 
China  and  elsewhere.  Dr.  Ross,  of  Manchuria,  thought,  it  worth 
while  to  write  a  letter  to  the  Recorder  (May,  1898)  expressly  to 
8ho\yj  from  his  recollection  of  an  interview  with  Dr.  Nevins  a  few 
years  before,  that  he  was  not  by  any  means  opposed  to  the  employ- 


1900.]  A  REVIEW  OF  "  METHODS  OF  MISSION  WORK."  113 

meut  of  native  helpers  iu  all  circnmstances.  Dr.  Ross  felt  the 
pressure  of  the  sentimcMit  which  Dr.  Neviiis'  book  has  created  ia 
many  quarters  against  paying  the  Chinese  to  preach.  This  is,  in 
fact,  the  central  idea  of  the  book.  A  few  years  ago  a  widely  known 
and  veteran  missionary  of  South  China,  who  believes  iu  the  employ- 
ment of  native  preachers,  came  with  some  concern  to  one  of  our 
Shantung  missionaries  at  a  missionary  gathering  in  the  home  land 
to  ask  the  facts  in  regard  to  Dr.  Nevius'  work,  saying  :  "  Our  Board, 
under  influence  of  Dr.  Nevius'  book,  are  seeking  to  cut  off  our 
whole  su])ply  of  native  helpers."  Lest  the  writing  of  this  review 
should  create  a  wrong  impression  with  regard  to  my  own  views  I 
may  be  allowed  to  say  that  I  have  never  been  an  advocate  of  the 
extensive  employment  of  native  preachers,  but  rather  the  contrary. 

In  his  argument  against  the  employment  of  paid  helpers  the 
author  makes  the  following  points,  which  he  treats  at  length  : — 

1.  Making  paid  agents  of  new  converts  affects  injiirioudy  the 
stations  icith  which  they  are  connected. 

2.  Making  a  paid  agent  of  a  new  convert  often  proves  an  injury 
to  him  personally. 

3.  The  old  system  makes  it  difficult  to  judye  between  the  true  and 
false.,  whether  as  preachers  or  as  church  memhers. 

4.  The  employment  system,  fendu  to  excite  a  mercenary  spirit  and 
to  increase  the  number  of  mercenary/  Christians. 

5.  The  employment  system  tenuis  to  stop  the  voluntary  work  of 
unpaid  agents. 

6.  The  old  system  tends  to  lower  the  character  and  lessen  the 
influence  of  the  missionary  enterprize,  both  in  the  eyes  of  foreigners 
and  natives. 

1.  New    Converts  as   Helpers. 

The  first  two  points  refer  expressly  to  the  employment  of  new 
converts  as  helpers,  and  the  treatment  of  the  third  point  turns  on 
the  same  idea.  If  the  argument  here  and  throughout  the  book 
were  confined  to  this  class  of  helpers  there  would  be  comparatively 
little  objection  to  it.  This  is  not  the  case,  however,  even  in  this 
preliminary  argument,  for  in  the  other  three  points  this  special  idea 
is,  for  the  most  part,  lost  sight  of,  and  the  argument  merges  into 
what,  in  the  summing  up  at  the  close  of  the  chapter,  is  called  "the 
paid  agent  scheme,"  by  which  is  meant  the  employment  of  helpers 
in  general.  There  is  no  doubt  but  that  the  employment  of  new 
converts  as  hel{)er8  is  generally  o])en  to  serious  objection,  and  much 
that  Dr.  Nevius  here  says  is  worthy  of  great  attention.  Such  a 
course  has  not,  however,  v«5o  far  as  my  experience  goes,  been  practiced 
to  any  such  an  extent  as  Dr.  Nevius'  argument  would  imply.     It  is 


114  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [March, 

a  rare  thing  that  a  certain  amount  of  probation  and  of  time  spent  in 
special  stndy,  is  not  required.  As  mission  work  matures  there  is 
very  little  temptation  or  occasion  to  employ  men  without  such 
training.  Neither  is  it  by  any  means  wise  to  make  an  invariable 
rule  that  new  converts'  should  never  be  taken  up  and  trained  for 
helpers.  1  have  in  mind  several  men  of  this  kind  in  Shantung  who 
became  pre-eminently  useful  and  influential  men. 

In  the  course  of  his  argument,  to  show  that  the  employment  of 
a  new  convert  often  introduces  trouble  in  the  station,  the  author 
says  :  "The  religious  interest  which  passed  like  a  wave  over  the 
neighborhood  gives  place  to  another  wave  of  excitement,  and  the 
topics  of  conversation  are  now  place  and  pay."  This  seems  to  be  a 
purely  hypothetical  case,  which  in  my  opinion  is  quite  imaginary. 
A  "  wave  of  religious  interest "  which  has  not,  beneath  and  behind 
it,  some  selfish  temporal  end,  is  a  very  rare  if  not  an  unheard  of 
thinsr  amongst  the  unevaugelized  heathen.  No  such  thing  occurred 
in  Dr.  Nevius'  work  in  the  famine  region,  where  the  underlying 
thought  in  all  minds  was  temporal  advantage  through  connection 
with  the  foreigner.  The  extensive  work  in  Manchuria  already 
referred  to  had  and  still  has  beneath  it,  as  is  well  known,  a  large 
measure  of  selfish  worldly  ideas.  Men  must  know  something  about 
the  gospel  before  they  can  desire  it  for  its  own  sake.  Missionaries 
have  to  be  content  in  ..the  first  place  to  preach  to  and  teach  many 
who  are  listening  and  learning  from  selfish  motives.  The  genuine 
religious  interest  comes  later,  the  result  of  the  power  of  truth. 
The  idea  of  temporal  advantage  gets  there  much  earlier  than  the 
time  when  a  new  convert  is  employed  as  a  helper.  The  experience 
of  missionaries  in  a  new  place  is  almos;t  invariable,  viz.,  that  those 
who  first  receive  the  gospel  are  teachers  or  servants  or  workmen 
who  come  in  contact  with  the  missionary  in  a  business  way  rather 
than  from  religious  motives. 

2.  Native  Helpers  Mercenary. 

While  the  author  of  course  admits  that  many  paid  agents  are 
sincere,  earnest  men,  yet  his  argument,  both  here  and  throughout 
the  book,  proceeds  on  the  assumption  that  a  large  proportion  of 
them  are  mercenary.  This  I  certainly  regard  as  unjust.  In  the 
opening  years  of  mission  work,  in  a  given  place,  unworthy 
men  are  no  doubt  sometimes  employed,  but  as  the  work  matures 
and  experience  increases  this  is  not  often  the  case.  I  have  no 
hesitation  in  affii'niiug  that,  taken  at  large,  Chinese  preachers  are 
not  more  influenced  by  unworthy  motives  than  the  generality  of 
preachers  in  England  and  America. 


1900.]  A  REVIEW  OP  "  METHODS  OP  MISSION  WORK."  115 

3.   Using  Paid  Helpers  Fosters  a  Mercenary  Spirit. 

This  argameat  seoras  to  be  very  ranch  overstated.  In  the  first 
place  the  nnraber  of  native  helpers  is  very  small  indeed  in  pro- 
portion to  the  whole  nnraber  of  Christians.  Again,  the  whole 
nnraber  of  native  preachers  is  very  small  as  compared  with  the 
whole  nnraber  of  Christians  employed  as  school  teachers,  personal 
teachers,  servants,  etc.  Hence  to  regard  thera  as  the  chief  occasion 
of  the  snpposed  mercenary  character  of  (Christians  generally,  is,  to 
say  the  least,  to  put  the  lesser  reason  for  the  greater.  Would  Dr. 
Nevins  oppose  the  eraployment  of  a  Christian  in  any  capacity, 
using  otili/  heathen  teachers,  servants,  etc.  ?  Sorae  new  missionaries 
have  been  led  by  the  influence  of  his  book  to  go  even  this  far. 
The  next  step  would  be  to  dismiss  a  teacher  or  servant  converted 
in  the  missionary's  employ.  Of  this  I  have  not  heard,  but  I  have 
heard  it  seriously  proposed  to  have  such  converts  join  the  church 
of  another  uiission,*  What  a  s[)ectacle  we  would  present  to  the 
heathen  if  we  were  to  discriraiuate  against  our  own  cooverts.  As  an 
illustration  of  the  evil  effect  of  employing  unworthy  helpers  who 
drew  into  the  church  men  like  themselves  Dr.  Nevins  cites  the  case 
of  the  work  started  in  the  district  of  Shiu-kwang  by  Rev.  J.  A. 
Leyenberger,  and  which,  at  the  time  he  wrote,  seemed  to  be  in  a 
very  unsatisfactory  condition.  Many  afterwards  fell  away,  it  is 
true,  but  not  more  than  in  some  other  parts  of  the  famine  field. 
Yet  the  foundations  held,  and  there  is  to-day  no  more  prosperous 
work  in  any  part  of  Dr.  Nevius'  field  than  in  Shiu-kicang.  For 
several  years  that  district  has  contributed  about  three  times  as 
much  for  the  snp[)ort  of  the  gospel  as  any  other  part  of  Dr. 
Nevins'  field,  though  not  as  much  as  some  other  stations  in  the 
Wei-hien  district,  built  up  from  the  first  by  paid  agents. 

4.  Stops  Voluntary    Work. 

That  the  mistaken  employment  of  an  unworthy  man  would  tend 
to  discourage  the  voluntary  work  of  others  who  are  of  the  same 
spirit,  is  not  to  be  denied.  It  is  to  be  feared,  however,  that  the 
voluntary  work  of  such  men  would  be  very  little  in  any  case.  The 
argument,  moreover,  proves  too  much.  It  is  equally  good  against 
the  Christian  ministry  and  against  the  agents  and  other  paid 
workers  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  Christian 
Endeavor,  Bible  Society,  etc.     Christianity  has  ever  been  and  still 

*  Since  writing  the  above  a  friend  has  told  me  that  he  heard  a  missionary  who 
is  a  great  admirer  of  Dr.  Nevius  and  his  "  Method,"  saying  :  "  My  cook,  who  is  an 
excellent  servant,  is  thinking  of  becoming  a  Christian,  in  which  case  I  am  sorry  to 
say  1  shall  be  compelled  to  find  another  servant."  It  is  very  certain  that  Dr,  Nevius 
never  intended  such  conclusions  to  be  drawn  from  his  argument. 


116  THE   CHINESE    RECORDER.  [March, 

is  very  largely  dependent  for  its  aggressive  propagation  on  paid 
agents  who,  while  they  work  in  the  gospel,  live  of  the  gospel. 

5.  Rice  Christians. 

Whilst  Dr.  Nevius  very  justly  resents  the  imputation  that 
Chinese  Christians  in  general  are  rice  Cliristiaus,  yet  he  raises  the 
question  how  far  missionaries,  by  using  paid  helpers,  are  responsible 
for  giving  ground  for  the  charge.  This  argument  against  paid 
assistants  has  but  little  weight,  seeing  the  nnmber  thus  employed 
is  so  very  small  in  comparison  with  the  whole  number  of  Christians, 
and  seeing  that  the  same  argument  holds  against  employing  a 
Christian  in  any  capacity.  So  far  as  the  heathen  are  concerned 
they  are  bound,  as  Dr.  Nevius  admits,  to  attribute  a  mercenary 
character  to  the  Christians.  From  their  standpoint  they  can  con- 
ceive of  no  other  motive  for  becoming  a  Christian.  They  assume 
a  priori  that  every  man  acts  from  a  selfish  motive,  which  with  them 
generally  means  a  mercenary  motive.  This  estimate  is  just  as  true 
of  the  missionary  himself  as  it  is  of  the  helper  he  employs,  or  the 
convert  he  makes. 

It  is  worthy  of  special  remark  in  this  connection  that  in  China 
the  normal  idea  of  entering  a  sect  is  that  of  getting  a  living 
thereby.  This  idea  was  not  begotten  by  Christianity,  but  has  long 
been  associated  with  Buddhism  and  Taoism,  so  that  to  represent  it  as 
engendered  by  the  mistaken  policy  of  missionaries  in  propagating 
Christianity  is  beside  the  mark. 

6.     IVie  Argument  Defective. 

The  author's  argument  against  native  helpers  is  defective  and 
inconclusive,  in  that  it  fails  to  recognize  any  object  on  the  part  of  the 
missionary  beyond  the  direct  conversion  by  personal  effort  of  so 
many  individuals.  That  in  general  this  should  be  a  prime  object 
with  a  missionary  may  be  allowed,  but  it  is  not  his  only  object. 
He  desires  to  spread  far  and  wide  amongst  all  classes  a  knowledge 
of  the  fundamental  facts  and  truths  of  the  gospel.  For  this  purpose 
he  writes  books,  opens  schools,  trains  and  uses  native  helpers,  and 
subsidizes  indirect  agencies  of  every  kind.  If  he  is  a  wise  man  he 
will  not  be  deterred  from  using  every  available  means  of  spreading 
the  truth  by  the  fear  that  he  may  occasionally  use  an  unworthy 
agent.  Even  a  man  whose  motives  are  not  all  that  they  should  be, 
may  still  preach  the  great  facts  of  the  gospel,  and  in  so  far  accom- 
plish what  the  missionary  has  at  heart.  Whether  it  be  in  pretence 
or  in  truth  Paul  rejoiced  that  the  gospel  was  preached.  It  is  but  a 
narrow  view  of  the  missionary's  work  that  takes  no  account  of  the 
ultimate  effect  of  the  general  diffusion  of  religious  truth. 


1900.]  A  REVIEW  OP  "METHODS  OF  MISSION  WORK."  117 

7.     Incidental  Evils. 

That  in  the  employing  of  native  helpers  there  are  some 
incidental  evils  is  freely  admitted,  yet  they  are  not  more  in  pro- 
portion than  chiiracterizes  most  human  euterprizes.  The  prevalent 
good  far  oiitweiglis  the  incidental  evil.  This  has  ever  been  and  is 
still  the  deliberate  jad^meut  of  the  great  majority  of  missionaries, 
especially  of  those  who  have  been  longest  and  most  successfnlly 
engtiged  in  evangelistic  work.  In  support  of  this  I  could  easily 
cite  the  names  of  many  of  the  foremos-t  missionary  workers  in 
China.  Notwithstanding  the  earnestness  with  which  Dr.  Neviiis 
focuses  attention  on  the  attendant  evils,  yet  he  shimself  admits  the 
propriety  of  employing  some  helpers,  and  did  actually  employ  a 
number.  So  that,  after  all,  it  is  a  question  of  how  mani/  and  what 
kind.  Circumstances  differ,  and  so  do  men.  Some  men  are  able 
to  use  profitably  a  much  larger  number  of  helpers  than  others. 
The  condition  of  success  in  using  paid  agents,  is  a  strong  personal 
influence,  joined  with  diligent  and  careful  personal  supervision. 
I  have  heard  it  repeatedly  affirmed,  and  from  my  own  knowledge 
I  am  quite  sure  of  the  fact  that  Dr.  Nevins  was  considerably 
influenced  in  his  opposition  to  paid  helpers  by  what  he  considered 
as  the  unwise  and  excessive  use  of  them  by  his  principal  colleague. 
In  the  concluding  paragraph  of  the  author's  argument  we  read  : 
"Now  we  readily  admit  that  whatever  course  we  may  take,  the 
Chinese  will  still  regard  us  as  foreign  emissaries,  aur  religion  as 
a  feint,  and  our  converts  as  mercenaries.  What  we  deprecate 
is  gratuitously  furnishing  what  will  be  regarded  as  conclusive 
evidence  that  these  unfavorable  opinions  are  well  founded." 
The  term  (/rafuifousli/,  as  here  used,  is  certainly  unjustifiable. 
It  virtually  affirms  that  paid  agents  are  wholly  useless,  and  that 
those  who  are  using  them  are  wasting  time  and  money  to  no 
purpose.  The  use  of  such  language  shows  how  Dr.  Nevius'  zeal 
has  carried  him  away.  He  probably  used  the  word  inadvertently, 
and  would  no  doubt  have  changed  it  if  his  attention  had  been 
called  to  it. 

Chapter  IL 

Historical  Statement. 

Before  proceeding  further,  and  in  order  bo  a  clear  understand- 
ing of  the  case,  it  will  be  proper  to  give  a  brief  historical  statement 
of  the  after  development  and  i)resent  condition  of  Dr.  Nevius' 
sjiecial  work.  At  the  meeting  of  the  Shantung  Mission  in  Wei- 
liieu,  in  the  autumn  of  1886,  Dr.  Nevius  handed  over  Lis  entire 


118  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [March' 

ont-station  work  to  the  care  of  the  Mission.  Though  it  was  known 
that  he  intended  before  long  to  retire  from  itinerant  work  and 
band  over  his  stations  to  others,  it  was  not  known,  or  supposed, 
that  he  would  do  so  at  that  time.  He  surprised  some  of  us  not  a 
little  by  the  manner  in  which  he  insisted  in  handing  over  his  entire 
work  at  that  time  to  the  Mission. 

The  work  was  in  a  critical  condition.  Extensive  disaifection 
prevailed,  and  defections  were  numerous.  It  was  evident  to  the 
majority  of  the  Mission,  if  not  indeed  to  Dn  Nevius  himself,  that 
something  more  and  diflfej?ent  must  be  done  if  the  work  was  to  be 
preserved  from  disastrous  disintegration.  The  field  was  divided  in 
geographical  lines  and  assigned  to  liev.  J.  H.  Laughliu  and  Rev. 
J.  A.  lyeyenberger,  save  three  stations  in  the  extreme  south  which 
were  assigned  to  Dr.  Corbett.  Mr.  Laughlin  had  already  accom})anied 
Dr.  Nevius  on  several  tours  of  visitation  for  the  ])urpose  of  being 
inducted  into  his  methods  of  work.  Mr.  I^eyenberger  had  been  in 
charge  of  his  work  while  he  was  absent  on  furlough,  and  was  well 
acquainted  with  his  methods  and  largely  in  sympathy  wjth  them. 
Notwithstanding,  when  the  work  was  actually  transferred,  it  was 
felt  by  both  these  brethren,  as  well  as  by  others,  that  more  effective 
supervision  was  imperatively  needed.  For  this  purpose  they  each 
employed  several  well  trained  helpers,  who  gave  efficient  assistance 
in  shepherding  the  people  and  conserving  the  work.  A  number  of 
stations  seemed  on  the  point  of  going  to  pieces,  and  sevepal  did  pres- 
ently disappear.  Iq  a  number  of  cases  the  leader  had  proved  to  be 
unworthy,  and  naturally  carried  with  him  those  who  had  come  in 
under  his  influence.  In  most  of  the  stations  there  was  more  or 
less  disaffection,  a  part  at  least  of  which  sprang  from  the  blame 
that  was  past  on  Dr.  Nevius  and  his  leading  helper  in  the  matter 
of  a  silver  mine.  This  unfortunate  scheme  (referred  to  by  Dr. 
Nevius  on  page  52)  was  launched  by  several  of  Dr.  Nevius'  station 
leaders,  tlirough  the  active  assistance  of  the  helper  just  referred  to. 
He  wrote  a  letter  in  Dr.  Nevius'  name,  promising  his  assistance, 
and  especially  his  good  offices  with  the  authorities  in  Peking, 
whither  he  was  just  then  going  to  attend  a  meeting  of  the  North 
China  Tract  Society.  When  this  letter  was  brought  down  from 
Chefoo  and  its  contents  spread  about  hy  the  helper  as  he  went  the 
rounds  of  the  stations,  no  small  stir  was  created,  money  was  liberally 
subscribed  as  stock,  and  eight  men  posted  off  to  Peking  to  secure 
the  government's  sanction  to  the  enterprize.  Dr.  Nevius,  however, 
disowned  all  connection  with  the  letter  and  refused  his  assistance. 
After  large  sums  of  money  advanced  by  the  Christians  as  shares  had 
been^  squandered,  the  scheme  finally  fell  entirely  ihrongli.  The 
unscrupulous  qondiict  of  this  helper  and  t,h&  consequences  to  which 


1900.]  A  REVIEW   OF    "METHODS    OF    MISSION    WORK."  119 

it  led,  wrought  a  great  damage  to  the  cause.*  This  incident  shows 
how  strongly,  amongst  Dr.  Nevins'  converts,  the  mercenary  idea 
had  connected  itself  with  the  foreigner. 

•It  was  not  long  after  the  transfer  of  the  work  to  others  until 
the  method  of  teaching  on  the  Sabbath  by  the  memorizing  of 
Scripture  and  the  recital  of  Bible  stories,  was  more  or  less  replaced 
by  the  faithful  preaching  of  the  gospel,  accompanied  by  earnest 
personal  appeals  to  the  religious  consciousness  of  the  people.  As 
the  missionaries  in  charge  were  near  at  hand,  and  the  field  divided, 
they  were  able  to  make  more  Irequent  visits.  Presently  also 
schools  were  opened  at  many  of  the  stations  and  teachers  sought 
who  were  sufficiently  instructed  to  be  entrusted  with  the  conduct  of 
the  Sabbath  services.  These  schools  proved  to  be  a  very  efficient 
means  of  holding  the  stations  together,  and  in  many  cases  the 
influence  of  the  teacher  proved  to  be  most  happy. 

In  the  year  1890  the  Presbytery  of  Shantung  in  order  to  create 
a  stronger  inducement  to  give  for  the  support  of  the  gospel,  and,  if 
])Ossible,  prepare  the  way  for  the  support  of  pastors,  instituted  a 
scheme  of  ministerial  sustentation,  modeled  after  a  similar  scheme 
adopted  in  Brazil,  and  reported  to  us  as  having  worked  admirably. 
It  included  in  its  operation  all  the  churches  in  the  province 
connected  with  the  Presbyterian  Mission,  and  consisted  in  requiring 
from  each  church  and  station  an  annual  contribution,  representing 
their  ability  to  support  the  preaching  of  the  gospel.  All  these 
contributions  were  collected  into  a  common  fund,  which  was  to  be 
used  in  supporting  a  number  of  native  evangelists.  These  pastors 
or  evangelists  had  been  carefully  instructed  and  ordained  to  the  full 
work  of  the  ministry.  They  were  appointed  to  their  particular 
fields  by  the  Presbytery,  a  majority  of  which  were  native  elders. 
These  appointments  were  not  to  single  congregations,  but  embraced 
several  preaching  places,  in  some  cases  quite  a  number,  and  it  was 
understood  that  in  making  the  appointments  from  year  to  year 
those  giving  most  liberally  should  have  the  preference.  The  con- 
tributions were  collected  and  disbursed  by  a  committee  of  elders, 
who  also  fixed  the  salaries  of  the  pastors.  The  weakness  of  this 
scheme  proved  to  be  in  what  had  been  supposed  would  be  its 
strength,  viz.,  in  the  fact  that  the  salaries  were  fixed  by  the  native 
elders  of  the  committee.  From  the  first  they  were  put  too  high. 
The  foreign  members  of  the  Presbytery  brought  their  utmost  influ- 
ence to  bear  on  the  committee  to  have  them  fixed  at  a  lower  rate,  but 
with  only  partial  success.     As  the  money  was  given  by  the  Chinese 

*  A  similar  daiiiiige  to  the  stations  connected  with  the  Baptist  Mission  at 
Ching-chow  Fu  was  happily  prevented  by  the  prompt  and  energetic  action  of  Rev. 
A.  G.  Jones  in  warning  the  people  against  the  scheme.  As  he  was  living  on  the 
field  he  was  at  hand  and  able  to  act  with  sufficient  promptness. 


120  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [March, 

they  claimed  the  right  to  say  how  it  should  be  paid  oat.  This 
scheme  continued  in  operation  for  three  years,  when  it  was  dropped 
for  a  year,  after  which  it  was  revived  and  modified  and  continued 
for  two  years  more,  when,  at  the  division  of  the  Presbytery  in  1896, 
it  was  finally  abandoned.  It  did  good,  in  that  it  developed  the 
liberality  of  all  the  native  Christians  by  placing  before  them  as  a 
definite  object  the  sup[)ort  of  a  native  ministry,  and  it  did  actually 
secure  almost  the  entire  support  of  five  native  pastors. 

The  greater  ])art  of  Dr.  Nevius'  work  was  included  in  the 
appointments  of  these  native  pastors,  who  were  also  assisted  by 
many  school  teachers  and  by  the  advice  and  co-operation  uf  the 
missionaries  at  Wei-hien.  The  principal  weakness  of  these  native 
brethren  was  their  too  easy  reception  of  members  and  their  failure 
to  enforce  proper  discipline.  Upon  the  lapse  of  the  sustentation 
scheme  a  regular  call  was  made  out  from  about  thirty  stations  for 
the  pastoral  service  of  Hev.  Li-ping-i,  and  he  was  installed  over 
them.  Most  of  these  stations  belonged  to,  or  s[)rang  from.  Dr. 
Nevius'  work.  The  field  proved  to  be  too  large  for  one  pastor,  and 
the  second  year  a  portion  was  transferred  to  other  hands.  At  the 
end  of  this  year  the  pastor  resigned,  and  the  stations  were  placed 
again  under  the  care  of  the  missionaries  at  Wei-hien.  This  brings 
the  history  down  to  1898,  when  the  major  part  of  the  present 
review  was  written. 

Chapter  III. 
General  Statement   of  Results. 

In  order  that  I  might  know  the  facts  and  be  able  to  speak 
advisedly  concerning  them,  I  engaged  the  services  of  one  of  Dr. 
Nevius'  most  reliable  station  leaders  and  sent  him  to  visit  each 
station  and  investigate,  on  the  ground,  the  facts  concerning  it.  It 
was  found  to  be  a  difficult  thing  to  get  all  the  facts  desired.  The 
records  kept  were  not  left  with  the  stations,  but  retained  by  Dr. 
Nevius.  In  sonte  cases  the  leaders,  who  of  course  were  the  best 
informed,  were  dead  or  gone  elsewhere  ;  in  others  they  had  given  up 
their  religion  and  would  give  no  reliable  information.  The  whole 
number  of  members  reported  by  Dr.  Nevius  when  he  handed  over  his 
book  to  others,  was  considerably  greater  than  the  numbers  reported 
by  the  helper  who  made  the  investigation.  As  the  number  was 
generally  made  up.  by  recalling  the  names  from  memory,  this  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at.  Some  who  had  died  or  apostatized  years  ago 
were  forgotten.  Of  the  "  about  sixty  stations"  spoken  of  as  con- 
stitnting  Dr.  Nevius'  work  I  have  only  been  able  to  find  Jiftij-four. 
Of  these  there  are  four,  concerning  which  I  failed  to  get  any  partic- 
ulars. The  information  elicited  concerning  the  other  fifty  may  be 
briefly  sararaed  upas  follows:  Fourteen  stations  have  been  entirely 


1900.]  A   REVIEW   OF    "METHODS  OF  MISSION   WORK."  121 

abandoned,  the  members  having  all  apostatized  or  died.  (Many 
of  those  who  have  died  are  reported  as  having  previously  apostatized.) 
In  two  or  three  cases  one  or  two  have  remained  Christians,  bat 
have  removed  to  other  parts.  Five  other  stations  are  described  by 
one  of  the  brethren  who  succeeded  Dr.  Nevius  as  having  "  a  nominal 
existence^^  that  is,  a  very  few  remain  nominal  Christians,  but  do  not 
meet  on  the  Sabbatli  or  show  any  signs  of  life.  Besides  these  there 
are  eight  stations  in  which  no  Sabbath  service  is  held,  the  few 
remaining  members  attending  service  at  adjoining  stations.  The 
remaining  twenty-three  stations  have  been  so  grouped  as  to  be 
organized  into  eleven  churches  with  elders  and  deacons.  In  only 
one  case  is  a  church  confined  to  a  station.  Sabbath  service  is  main- 
tained with  more  or  less  frequency  in  each  station. 

Within  the  last  year  native  pastors  have  been  settled  in 
three  of  these  churches.  The  other  eight  churches  are  minis- 
tered to  more  or  less  regularly  by  the  missionaries  at  Wei-hien  and 
by  Chinese  helpers  under  their  direction.  Of  the  station  leaders 
about  one-third  have  entirely  given  up  their  religions  profession, 
having  for  the  most  part  fiiUen  into  vicious  practices,  such  as 
gambling,  opium  smoking,  etc.  Several,  not  finding  the  worldly 
advantage  they  had  expected,  went  to  the  Roman  Catholics. 
Another  third  remain  in  the  church,  but  are  decidedly  iudilFerent 
Christians.  The  remaining  third  are  good  men  ;  some  of  them 
being  eminently  useful,  but  none  of  them  have  prepared  themselves 
for  the  pastorate.  In  the  aggregate  quite  as  many  of  these  helpers 
have  gotten,  or  tried  to  get,  financial  gain  out  of  the  church  or  the 
foreigners,  as  any  other  class  of  men  in  the  church. 

Dr.  Nevius  assisted  about  fifteen  stations  to  build  or  lease 
houses  for  Sabbath  services,  giving  from  ten  to  fifty  dollars  to  each, 
which  was  from  one-fourth  to  three-fourths  of  the  whole  expense  in 
each  case.  The  majority  of  these  houses  have  passed  into  private 
hands,  and  are  no  longer  used  for  their  original  purpose.  In  nearly 
every  case  these  houses  have  been  the  cause  of  more  or  less  dis- 
sension and  disaffection.  In  twenty-five  stations  boys'  schools  were 
opened  by  those  who  succeeded  to  Dr.  ^fevius'  work.  Of  these 
schools  quite  a  number  were  boarding-schools.  Six  boarding-schools 
for  girls  were  also  started.  In  all  these  various  schools  self-support 
has  been  gradually  introduced  to  a  greater  or  less  extent.  A 
number  of  the  schools  at  first  started  have  since  been  abandoned. 

It  is  of  course  understood  by  all  who  are  at  all  familiar  with 
mission  work  that  defections  and  failnres,  to  a  greater  or  less 
extent,  are  one  of  its  constant  concomitants.  The  above  synopsis 
is  not  given  with  any  intention  or  desire  to  exhibit  Dr.  Nevius*  work 
as  a  failure,  but  simply  to  prove  that  notwithstanding  his  claim  to 


122  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [Marcll, 

a  superior  method,  his  work  has  shown,  to  say  the  least,  a  full 
share  of  the  defections  and  faihires  incident  r,o  work  done  on  what  are 
known  as  ordinary  methods.  Simnltaneonsiy  with  the  development 
of  Dr.  Nevins'  work,  Dr.  Corhett,  assisted  by  a  namber  of  paid 
helpers,  founded  a  considerable  number  of  stations  in  the  same 
general  region  which  was  covered  by  the  famine,  and  these  stations 
were^also  turned  over  to  the  care  of  the  mission  at  Wei-hien.  A 
canvass  of  these  stations  does  not  show  a  materially  different  result 
from  that  shown  by  Dr.  Nevius'  stations. 

Having  premised  this  statement  of  the  after  development  and 
general  results  of  Dr.  Nevius'  work,  I  will  now  proceed  to  call  atten- 
tion, in  order,  to  some  points  in  which  the  theories  advanced  in 
Methods  of  Mission  Work  seem  to  me  to  be  open  to  serious  criticism. 
In  doing  this  I  will  not  attempt  to  canvass  every  particular  state- 
ment or  argument  to  which  objection  might  be  made,  but  will  confine 
myself  to  such  important  matters  as  seem  to  call  for  special  notice. 

{To  he  continued.) 


Personal  Relations  between  the  Missionary  and 
his  Parish* 

BY  REV.   E.   E.    AIKEN. 

fT  is  a  familiar  remark  that  the  successful  minister  now-a-days 
must  be  preacher,  pastor,  and  administrator  in  one.  [f  this  be 
true  where  the  church  is  already  established  and  organized, 
how  much  more  true  must  it  be  where  the  business  of  the  minister 
is  to  create,  develop,  and  orgauiz3  a  church  where  there  was  none 
before,  as  upon  the  mission  field.  At  the  very  threshold  of  our 
subject  let  us  not  fail  to  do  full  justice  to  the  sentence  which  doubtless 
rings  in  the  ears  of  many  a  pastor  and  preacher  all  his  life  long  as 
clearly  as  when  he  first  heard  it  in  the  seminary,  "Nothing  will 
compensate  for  failure  in  the  pulpit ;  "  but  let  us  remember  that  in 
the  larger  sense  the  missionary's  pulpit  is  not  only  that  in  the  little 
chapel  or  meeting-room  where  he  begins  by  preaching  to  a  few  who 
can  be  gathered  together  Sunday  by  Sunday ;  it  is  also  the  sear, 
or  bench  on  which  he  sits  to  talk  with  visitors  at  the  inn  where 
he  may  be  stopping,  and  the  study-chair  from  which  he  talks 
informally  to  visitors,  church-members,  inquirers,  merchants,  work' 
men,  servants,  scholars,  teachers,  preachers,  men  of  every  class  and 
kind  who  are  learning  about  Christianity  from  the  whole  tenor  of 
his  daily  life  and  conversation,  as  well  as  from  his  Sunday  and 
chapel  sermons. 

*  Read  at  the  Pei-tai-ho  Conference,  August,  1899. 


1900.]  PERSONAL  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  THE  MISSIONARY,  ETC.  123 

Beariug  ia  mind  this  wider  sease/of  the  missionary's  call  to 
preach,  when  he  finds  himself  in  the  midst  of  a  people  who  know 
not  him,  nor  his  docti'ine,  nor  his  Master,  we  may  quote  here  the 
remark  of  an  able  and  practical  worker  on  the  field,  that  the 
missionary's  snccess  depends  not  chiefly  on  his  scholarship  or  his 
ability  in  other  directions,  important  as  these  may  be,  bnt  most  of 
all  upon  his  personal  treatment  of  those  for  whom  he  is  working. 

No  great  amonnt  of  thought  is  required  to  apprehend  the  fovce 
of  this  statement.  Christian  work,  the  world  over,  is  essentially 
one ;  yet  there  is  no  worker  of  whom  the  Master's  saying  is  more 
distinctively  true,  "  I  will  make  yon  fishers  of  men."  In  the  home 
lauds  from  which  the  missionary  comes,  Christianity  in  some  sense 
everywhere  prevails  ;  but  in  the  lauds  to  which  he  comes  it  is  a  new 
thing,  and  the  precise  errand  on  which  he  is  sent  is  that  of  winning 
to  himself  and  his  Master  those  who  belong  to  other  faiths.  The 
Lord's  own  simile  suggests  the  truth  we  have  in  mind.  The  fisher- 
man must  adapt  himself  to  the  habits  of  the  finny  tribes  he  seeks 
to  catch.  What  they  like  and  what  they  fear,  the  times  and  ways 
in  which  they  can  best  be  approached,  the  places  they  frequent, 
and  those  they  shun,  must  be  studied  and  learned,  aud  many  times 
it  is  only  at  the  cost  of  infinite  patience,  self-denial,  and  persever- 
ance, that  the  living  treasures  can  be  won  from  river,  lake,  or  sea. 
So  is  it  with  the  fisher  of  men.  That  he  should  understand 
and  know  how  to  deal  with  those  whom  he  seeks  to  win,  is  of  the 
first  importance.  Here,  as  in  so  many  other  spheres,  natural  insight 
aud  faculty  diff'er  widely. 

No  two  men  have  precisely  the  same  understanding  of  those 
by  whom  they  are  surrounded,  aud  the  faculty  possessed  by  diO'erent 
ones  for  dealing  with  men  is  as  infinitely  varied.  Yet,  while  all 
learn  ranch  by  experience,  there  are  few  who  do  not  need  the  aid  of 
careful  observation,  thorough  study,  aud  patient  reflection  to  fit 
them  for  the  daily,  practical  ,oftentiraes  infinitely  difiicnlt  but 
constantly  necessary  personal  dealing  with  men  of  every  sort  ;  and 
if  this  be  true  of  the  Lord's  servant  in  almost  any  sphere,  how 
emphatically  true  must  it  be  of  him  who  finds  himself  in  the  midst 
of  a  people  widely  difi'erent  in  customs,  ideas,  literature,  and 
language  from  those  among  whom  he  has  been  brought  up. 

But  before  going  on  to  speak  of  the  reception  a  missionary  is 
likely  to  meet  with,  in  the  first  instance,  among  a  polite  Oriental 
j)eople,  particularly  where,  as  is  so  largely  the  case  at  present,  the 
way  has  been  opened  and  prepared  by  those  who  have  gone  before, 
it  may  be  well  to  notice  that  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  often  requires 
considerable  patience,  not  now  to  say  also  experience,  justly  to 
appreciate  the  reception  which  one  at  first  receives.     This  is  due 


124  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [March, 

not  merely  to  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  language  of  the  people,  aud 
not  aloue  to  a  want  of  acquaintance  with  their  manners  and  customs, 
but,igenerally  speaking,  to  a  want  of  sense  of  the  significance  of  things 
among  them.  This  is  largely  due  to  the  above  causes,  it  is  true, 
but  springs  also  in  no  inconsiderable  measure  from  a  habit  of  mind, 
in  many  cases  instinctive,  in  some  apparently  almost  insuperable,  of 
regarding  those  to  whom  the  missionary  comes  primarily  as  belong- 
ing to  a  different  race,  instead  of  looking  beyond  and  deeper  to  what 
is  really  the  essential  and  fundamental  truth — however  numerous 
and  amusing  their  external  differences  from  his  own  people  may 
appear — viz.,  that  they  are  in  fact  men  and  women  like  himself,  of 
like  hearts,  like  possibilities,  like  destinies,  according  to  the  glorious 
gospel  teaching  that  "  God  hath  made  of  one  blood  all  nations  of 
men,"  and  the  yet  more  explicit  declaration  of  the  apostle  that  in 
the  kingdom  of  God  "  there  is  neither  Greek  nor  Jew,  circumcision 
nor  uncircumcision,  Barbarian,  Scythian,  bond  nor  free;  but  Christ 
is  all,  and  in  all." 

Here,  then,  we  find  the  broad  and  adequate  basis  for  the  whole 
wide  range  of  mutual  relations  between  the  missionary  and  his 
parish  ;  and  after  all,  when  all  external  differences  have  been  passed — 
not  always  a  very  easy  task,  it  is  true — the  principle  resolves 
itself  simply  to  this,  that  the  relation  between  the  missionary  and 
his  parishioner,  whoever  he  may  be,  is  and  should  be  that  between 
man  aud  man. 

How  much  this  means,  though  it  is  quite  simple,  many  essays 
may  be  written  adequately  to  explain  ;  but,  in  its  all-illuminating 
light,  shining  steady  and  clear,  let  us  go  to  deal  with  some  of  the 
successive  steps  by  which  the  missionary  may,  it  seems  to  us, 
acquire  the  great  personal  influence  which  it  is  his  high  calling  to 
wield  in  his  sometimes  limited  but  generally  magnificently  large 
and  wide  parish. 

Perhaps  the  first  idea  which  the  people  ordinarily  have  of  the 
missionary  is  that  he  is  a  guest  from  a  foreign  land,  and  is  to  be 
treated  as  such.  We  need  not  quote  from  the  usual  polite  and 
agreeable  style  of  native  conversation  with  a  foreigner,  set  off,  as  it 
is  quite  certain  to  be,  against  depreciatory  allusions  by  the  native 
participant  in  the  conversation  to  his  own  humble  kingdom,  stupid 
people,  very  ordinarj*  self  and  altogether  insignificant  position  and 
attainments.  Evidently  he  can  hardly  mean  all  that  he  seems  to 
say  ;  but  so  much  polite  conversation  will  undoubtedly  mean  at 
least  as  much  as  goodwill  and  a  desire  to  please. 

Now  we  think  it  may  safely  be  laid  down  as  a  rule  that  a  man 
should  be  met  as  far  as  possible  on  his  own  ground  as  being  by 
far  the  most  natural,  the  wisest,  aud  the  most  effective  way.     How 


1900.]  PERSONAL  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  THE  MISSIONARY,  ETC.  125 

i 

far  one  can  wisely  learn  and  use  the  ordinary  forms  of  polite 
oriental  conversation  is  a  question  which  will  be  answered  differ- 
ently in  different  cases ;  but  we  venture  here  to  say  that  the  more 
that- can  be  learned  and  rightly  used  the  better.  Making  allowance 
for  the  extravagant  expressions  already  alluded  to,  there  yet  remains 
a  great  deal  of  polite  conversation  which,  after  getting  accustomed 
to  unfamiliar  phrases,  can  be  used  as  similar  expressions  are  used  in 
ordinary  conversation  in  the  West. 

Let  it  always  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  use  of  hollow 
phrases  is  about  the  last  thing  to  be  recommended  to  a  missionary. 
Nothing  is  more  flat,  or  more  certain  to  destroy  all  wholesome  influ- 
ence. He,  of  all  men,  needs  to  be  genuine  and  fall  of  meaning  in 
what  he  says,  for  his  words  are  his  tools,  his  weapons,  the  expres- 
sion of  his  life  and  teaching,  and  the  power  by  which  he  is  to  mould 
and  change,  if  possible,  the  characters  and  lives  of  those  about  him. 
Let  him  learn  to  use  the  ordinary  polite  expressions  so  fast,  but  only 
so  fast,  as  he  can  use  them  naturally  and  genuinely  ;  bearing  in 
mind  that  as  Christianity  within  the  last  few  centuries  has  so 
greatly  purified  English  literature  of  the  coarseness  and  vulgarity 
formerly  current,  so  it  may  fairly  be  anticipated  that  in  the  East  a 
pure  and  simple  Christianity  will  purify  polite  conversation,  letter- 
writing,  and  the  various  forms  of  official  and  literary  composition  of 
the  absurdly  extravagant  phrases  which  now  so  frequently  occur. 

But  pleasant  and  helpfal  as  the  knowledge  and  use  of  the 
forms  of  polite  conversation  may  be,  and  "  Open  Sesame  "  as  they 
will  not  infrequently  prove  to  doors  and  hearts,  no  true  missionary 
will  be  content  to  stay  always  on  this  footing  only.  He  comes  for 
deeper  work  than  can  ordinarily  be  done  by  polite  phrases  ;  and 
while  he  is  not  unwilling  to  be  a  guest  for  a  time,  there  is  another 
name  which  he  prefers  as  giving  him  more  of  freedom  and  going 
deeper  into  the  meaning  of  his  coming — the  name  of  brother. 
While  we  conceive  it  to  be  in  one  sense  his  first  business  to  cul- 
tivate and  always  maintain,  as  far  as  possible,  pleasant  social  relations 
with  the  people  to  whom  he  has  come,  the  same  as  in  relation  to  a 
parish  at  home,  it  must  be  remembered  that,  in  both  cases,  this  is 
not  the  main  end  which  lies  beyond  and  deeper,  and  is,  briefly,  to 
bring  people  to  and  develop  in  them  the  Christian  life.  But  in 
both  cases  ordinary  pleasant  social  relations  may  mean  a  great 
deal.  The  mere  presence  and  natural  social  conversation  of  one 
who  is  a  Christian,  still  more  a  missionary,  and  whose  heart  is  in 
his  work,  often  exerts  a  large  unconscious  influence. 

But  among  the  people  in  the  midst  of  whom  we  are,  pre- 
eminently— and  doubtless  the  same  is  more  or  less  true  of  other 
eastern  peoples — men  are  generally  much  more  easily  approachable 


126  THE  CHINESE  EECORDEE.  [March, 

upon  religions  and  personal  subjects  than  at  home,  where  many- 
times  a  man  can  hardly  be  approached  upon  these  subjects  at  all. 
This  is  evidently  due  to  the  deeper  sense  of  individuality,  as  well 
as  of  the  sacredness  of  such  things  which  prevail  in  the  West ; 
but,  whatever  the  cause,  the  fact  remains  that  on  a  large  part  of 
the  mission  field  the  point  of  view  is  different,  and  religion,  or 
''tao-li,"  "doctrine,"  as  it  is  usually  called  in  China,  can  be  talked 
of  far  more  easily  than  in  Western  lands.  Personal  subjects,  too, 
form  a  larger  part  of  social  talk,  even  between  strangers ;  and  a 
further  fact  of  great  importance  along  this  line  is  that  the  good  old 
Scriptural  custom — of  which,  of  course,  none  of  us  want  too 
•  iiinch  I — of  exhortation,  which  in  the  West  is  likely  to  be  a  delicate, 
difficult,  not  to  say  formal  and  rather  infrequent  affair,  exists  in 
China  in  full  force,  so  much  so  as  to  be  really  one  of  the  mainsprings 
on  which  the  daily  course  of  events  in  office,  store,  and  home  all  over 
the  empire  depends.  Who  does  not  see  that  here  is  a  door  wide 
open  before  the  missionary  and  those  associated  with  him  in  his 
work,  by  which  a  quiet  but  most  powerful  and  effective  influence 
can  be  exerted,  both  in  personal  appeal,  argument,  and  persuasion 
with  those  not  yet  persuaded  (|^  -ffc  A),  and  in  the  no  less  necessary 
work  of  "-tsai-p'ei''  {^  i§)-ing,  developing,  guiding,  and  correct- 
ing, that  is,  by  suggestion,  counsel,  warning,  encouragement,  or 
entreaty,  those  who  already  believe.  Of  course,  however  patient 
and  amenable  to  exhortation  a  people  may  be — and  some  peoples, 
as  well  as  some  individuals,  are  very  much  less  so  than  others — it 
goes  without  saying  that  the  elementary  principle  of  "  speaking  the 
truth  in  love"  must  never  be  departed  from,  and  that  there  is  a 
danger  of  offending,  ^  fp  A.  which  must  not  be  forgotten. 

A  practical  question  in  regard  to  social  relations  is  whether  the 
missionary  should  seek  his  people  by  calling  upon  them,  especially, 
as  a  pastor  does  at  home,  or  wait  for  them  to  come  to  him.  Often, 
no  doubt,  it  will  be  wise  for  him  to  do  the  latter.  He  has  already 
travelled  thousands  of  miles,  perhaps,  at  great  expense  of  time  and 
money,  to  come  to  his  people ;  then,  when  he  locates  in  a  city,  or 
goes  to  a  village,  let  the  people  do  their  part  by  coming  to  see  him 
if  they  care  anything  about  him  or  what  he  has  to  say.  Moreover, 
he  soon  perceives  that  he  is  under  great  limitations,  as  compared 
with  his  brother  in  the  same  work  at  home.  He  is  not  only  a 
missionary,  but  a  foreigner  as  well;  and  while  his  very  appearance 
as  a  foreigner  may  not  frighten  the  small  children  of  the  neighbor- 
hood, as  it  sometimes  may,  a  call  from  him  is  a  great  and  marked 
event,  bringing  out  all  the  neighbors  in  curiosity  to  see  and  hear, 
and  making  the  family  on  which  he  calls  more  or  less  conspicuous, 
as  having  some  connection  with  foreigners. 


1900.]  PERSONAL  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  THE  MISSIONARY,  ETC.  127 

But,  makinor  dae  allowance  for  these  considerations,  we  believe 
there  is  more  opportunity  in  this  direction  than  is  sometimes  sap- 
posed  ;  and  this  must  also  be  increasingly  true,  as  the  missionary  be- 
comes better  known  and  his  character  and  motives  are  more  clearly 
understood.  There  are  times  when  all  doors  are  open ;  making  and 
receiving  visits,  hospitality j  congratulations,  and  good  wishes,  are  the 
order  of  the  day.  At  such  times,  in  the  case  of  almost  any  established 
mission,  certainly  the  missionary  will  find  no  difficulty  whatever 
in  calling  freely  on  his  neighbors  and  many  others.  True,  he  may 
find  the  majority  of  his  native  friends  forty  fathoms  deep  in 
heathenism  and  heathen  observances,  not  to  speak  of  other  sins, 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  for  a  score  of  years,  perhaps,  they  have  had 
a  Christian  mission  at  their  doors.  Never  mind;  if  he  cannot  say  a 
word  at  the  moment — sometimes  he  can — his  opportunity  will  come 
in  due  time ;  and,  in  any  event,  he  has  come  nearer  to  his  })eople 
and  knows  them  better  and  is  better  known  by  them  than  if  he  had 
not  seen  them  in  their  homes. 

So  in  a  village,  visitors  may  not  come  ;  in  which  case  since 
the  mountain  v/ill  not  come  to  Mohammed,  Mohammed  had  better 
go  to  the  mountain,  and,  instead  of  sitting  shut  up  in  the  house  or 
inn,  go  to  the  tea-shop  or  the  places  on  the  streets  where  the 
villagers  gather,  wbere  he  is  likely  to  find  plenty  of  opportunity 
both  for  social  conversation  and  making  acquaintance  and  for 
talking  about  the  "doctrine"  as  well. 

In  locating  or  opening  work  in  a  new  place,  too,  city  or  town, 
it  may  often  be  well  worth  while  to  take  pains  to  call  socially  on 
the  leading  public  men  of  the  place — officials  and  teachers,  perhaps 
also  the  principal  literary  men — as  the  way  may  be  open  for  doing 
so.  Unwelcome  calls,  it  hardly  needs  to  be  said,  should  not  be 
forced ;  but  a  pleasant,  even  cordial  reception  is  assured  in  many 
cases,  and  a  good-will  may  thus  be  secured  of  great  value  for  the 
missionary  work,  besides  opening  the  way,  possibly,  for  an  interest 
in  the  message  which  it  brings. 

Like  his  Master  the  missionary  must  keep  himself  accessible  to 
all  who  need  him.  "  The  man  who  wants  to  see  him  is  the  man  he 
wants  to  see."  It  may  be  vexatious  beyond  measure  from  the 
point  of  view  of  his  own  particular  plans  of  work  and  study  to 
have  one  interruption  after  another  and  one  caller  after  another  in 
his  most  precious  and  golden  working  hours;  nevertheless,  be  must 
be  ready  cheerfully  to  put  aside  the  occupation  of  the  moment,  being 
conscious  down  deep  in  his  heart  that  he  would  be  much  more 
disturbed  if  his  callers  ceased  to  come  than  by  any  temporary 
interruption.  Nor  will  it  answer,  especially  by  contrast  with 
the  open-hearted,   open-handed  hospitality  of  the  East  which  puts 


128  THE  CHINESE  EECOEDER.  [March, 

work,  meals,  and  other  things  aside  to  entertain  its  gnests,  to  show 
indifference,  lack  of  interest,  or  pre-occupation,  to  friends,  some  of 
whom  may  have  come  long  distances  to  see  him.  The  missionary 
has  something  to  give  to  those  who  come  to  him,  more  precious 
than  silver  or  gold;  it  is  his  time,  his  thought,  his  interest,  his 
sympathy,  his  love  for  them,  and  his  hope  on  their  behalf,  nay, 
more,  himself;  and  he  mnst  give  in  patience,  and  without  stinting, 
to  the  fall  measure  of  that  which  he  has  to  give  and  which  his 
visitors  can  receive. 

(To  be  concluded.) 


Different  Ways  lestding  to  the  Goal  of  Christianity 
in  China.^ 

BY  REV.    DIANUEL  GENAHR. 

(Concluded  /rom  p.  75,  February  number^ 

^UT  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  alone  will  not  achieve  it.  We 
f^  know  from  our  Lord  that  He  went  about,  teaching  in  their 
synagogues  and  -preaching  the  kingdom  and  healing  all 
manner  of  sickness  among  the  people  (Matt.  iv.  23.)  In  like 
manner  the  vast  work  of  Christianizing  China  will  not  be  brouo-ht 
about  entirely  through  missionary  instrumentality,  but  rather 
through  the  co-operation  of  Divine  and  human  agencies  working  in  a 
great  diversity  of  tvays,  certainly  far  more  slowly,  gradually,  and 
imperceptibly  than  is  usually  expected ;  for  the  problem  of 
missions  in  China  is  no  other  than  to  bring  about  the  moral 
transformation  and  regeneration  of  the  yellow  race.  And  this  will 
not  take  place  suddenly,  but  in  the  form  of  a  process,  by  which 
gradually  fresh  blood,  new  life,  and  new  strength  is  infused  into  the 
veins  of  the  mummy-like  China  of  to-day  (Matt.  v.  13,  14 ;  cb. 
xiii.  33). 

One  of  the  ways  by  which  this  process  will  be  effected  is 
medical  missions.  Our  brethren  of  the  medical  profession,  who 
walk  in  the  footsteps  of  Jesus,  are  in  a  way  to  do  more  than  can  be 
accomplished  by  any  other  work  of  Christian  charity  to  win  the 
hearts  of  the  Chinese  for  Christ.  By  the  work  done  by  them  the 
people  receive  a  kind  of  object  lesson,  suited  to  their  ability  of 
comprehension,  iu  which  unintentioi tally  the  likeness  of  the  Saviour 
and  His  kindness  towards  men  are  reflected. 

*  Read  before  the  Conference  of  the  Rhenish  missionaries,  Hongkong. 


1900.]  DIFFERENT  WAYS  LEADING  TO  THE  GOAL  OF  CHRISTLANITY,  ETC.      129 

Medical  missions  are  also  more  suited  than  any  other  mission- 
ary method  to  disarm  the  prejudices  of  the  Chinese,  to  break  their 
haughtiness,  and  to  lay  the  axe  to  the  root  of  the  ramified  tree  of 
Chinese  superstition,  which  luxuriates  most  wantonly  in  the  field 
of  medicine. 

We  do  not  go  so  far  as  to  say  the  work  of  medical  missions 
is  an  indispensable  requisite  for  our  evangelistic  endeavours,  but 
we  are  certainly  of  opinion  that  it  is  a  most  valuable  ally  and  one 
of  those  ways  in  which  many  already,  owing  to  the  relief  given, 
have  been  led  to  Christianity.  That  masterly  art  by  which  to-day 
the  blind  see,  the  deaf  hear,  the  dumb  speak,  the  lame  walk,  the 
fever-stricken  are  healed,  and  the  dead  are  brought  to  life  again 
through  "  these  medical  missionaries,"  as  Mr.  Smith  calls  them, 
and  their  hospitals,  does  not  at  all  prove  that  Jesus  Christ  is  tiot 
the  same  yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever,  as  he  and  others  want 
us  to  believe.  The  works  which  Christ  did  have  continued  upon 
earth,  the  change  which  has  occurred  is  simply  that  the  healing 
succession  has  been  turned  and  continued  by  the  Holy  Ghost  within 
the  line  of  natural  means.  No  doubt  "  the  medical  missionary, 
his  medicines  and  knives "  will  often  "  get  the  glory."  But  it  is 
also  true  that  medical  missionaries  and  hospitals  are  a  triumph 
of  the  Spirit  and  power  of  Him  who  "  took  our  infirmities  and  bore 
our  sicknesses."  Medical  work  in  China  is  a  work  fnll  of  toil  and 
hardship,  so  that  those  engaged  in  healing  need  the  hearty 
sympathy,  co-operation,  and  prayers  of  their  brethren. 

Another  ally  which  is  also  not  to  be  underrated  is  the  Christian 
school.  Of  course  I  do  not  mean  our  Christian  day  and  boarding- 
schools,  but  higher  schools  or  academies,  which  not  only  aim  to 
teach  the  English  language  and  other  branches  of  useful  knowledge, 
but  above  all  try  to  implant  a  higher  standard  of  Christian  morals. 

As  to  the  fruits  of  such  higher  schools  I  certainly  would  not 
hold  any  exaggerated  notions.  But  I  do  not  belong  to  those 
who  belittle  or  underrate  the  noiseless  and  painstaking  labour 
done  by  teaching  missionaries.  For  though  this  kind  of  labour, 
even  in  the  near  future,  may  yield  but  little  visible  fruit,  it 
nevertheless  belongs  to  the  class  of  preparation  by  which  the  soil 
of  paganism  will  be  loosened  and  prepared  for  the  activity  of  those 
missionaries  who  are  doing  specific  evangelistic  work.  Whosoever 
takes  it  for  granted  that  the  evangelization  of  the  world  is  possible 
in  the  course  of  the  next  deceuuiums  and  chases  this  phantom  of 
the  imagination,  will,  of  course,  be  prepared  to  judge  adversely  such 
quietly  operating,  indirect  missionary  agencies.  These  brethren 
ought  to  consider  for  a  moment  the  far  reaching  effects  prodnced  by 
men  like  Alexander  Duff  and  Joseph   Neesima,  and  others  in  this 


130  THE  CHINESE  REC30RDER.  [March, 

domaiQ.     Indeed,  one  has  only  to  mention  the  names  of  these  men 
to  secure  to  higher  schools  honorary  citizenship  in  missions. 

English  and  American  missionaries  have  tried  to  meet  the 
demand  for  foreign  learning  which  now  permeates  the  country  far 
and  wide,  inasmuch  as  they  have  called  into  life  higher  Christian 
schools,  which  enjoy  a  fair  reputation,  at  important  centres  of  the 
empire.  But  there  is  still  room  for  more.  The  days  of  the  old- 
fashioned  free-schools  (yi-hok)  are  numbered.  The  Chinese  them- 
selves are  tired  of  them.  To  schools,  however,  which  are  able  to 
give  their  pupils  a  sound  education  in  which  intellectual  and  moral 
culture  duly  balance  each  other,  the  future  in  China  belongs.  As 
schools  of  this  kind  have  been,  in  the  hands  of  God,  the  means  for 
many  a  youth  to  learn  to  know  Christ  and  to  grow  into  a  Christian 
character,  this  will  be  still  more  the  case  in  the  future  when 
Christian  ideas  have  become  the  common  property  of  the  learned, 
and  esteem  for  Christianity  has  become  more  and  more  prevalent. 

We  may  here  also  mention  the  literary  branch  of  mission  work 
as  one  of  the  ways  leading  to  the  goal  of  Christianity. 

China  as  well  as  India  has  its  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of 
Christian  and  General  Knowledge.  The  name  of  this  Society  itself 
suggests  that  it  does  not  limit  itself  to  the  propagation  of  Chris- . 
tian  and  apologetic  books  in  any  narrower  sense.  Its  publications 
are  far  more  comprehensive.  It  includes  all  branches  of  literature 
in  so  far  as  they  are  related  to  Christianity  (school  books,  periodic- 
als, conversational  literature,  etc.).  The  well  known  English 
missionary,  Mr.  Timothy  Richard,  is  at  the  head  of  the  Society. 
He  finds  the  task  of  his  life  in  producing  and  propagating  Christian 
and  general  knowledge  amongst  Chinese,  and  is  indefatigably  active 
in  recruiting  missionaries  for  this  so  badly  neglected  branch  of 
missionary  labour. 

If  one  considers  that  about  one  thousand  missionaries  are  mainly 
given  to  evangelistic  activity  in  China,  hundreds  mainly  to  edu- 
cational work,  and  again  hundreds  mainly  to  medical  work,  whilst 
the  number  of  those  who  are  wholly  devoted  to  the  preparation 
of  Christian  literature  can  be  counted,  according  to  Mr.  Richard 
on  the  fingers  of  one  hand,  one  cannot  but  admit  that  literary 
work  has  been  enormously  underrated. 

Again,  Mr.  Richard  is  quite  right  in  saying  that  now  when 
there  is  such  a  universal  demand  for  Western  learning,  the  time 
to  cultivate  this  branch  of  effort  is  more  propitious  than  ever. 
If  one  takes  into  consideration  the  fact  that  besides  Protestant 
^missions  there  are  other  powerful  competitors  for  the  sympathy  and 
suffrages  of  the  yellow  race,  there  is,  if  we  are  not  to  leave  the  field 
•clear  for  them  to  possess,  indeed  no  time  to  lose. 


1900.]   DIFFERENT  WAYS  LEADING  TO  THE  GOAL  OF  CHRISTIANITY,  ETC.      131 

These  competitors  are,  according  to  Mr.  Richard  (1),  the 
modern  materialists  and  agnostics,  without  God  and  religion.  They 
form  syndicates  and  expend  scores  of  millions  of  pounds  sterling 
to  exploit  China  for  their  own  benefit. 

(2.)  The  Romanists,  with  the  Pope  supreme  instead  of  God 
and  conscience,  light  and  love.  They  are  Romanists  first,  French- 
men or  Germans  second,  and  Christians  last.  By  weekly  papers 
and  other  means  they  propagate  their  views.  They  have  about  a 
million  followers.  Led  by  Jesuits  they  aim  at  nothing  else  than  to 
destroy  Protestantism. 

(3.)  The  Russians,  with  a  mixture  of  modern  materialism  and 
devout  but  dark  and  loveless  media&val  Christianity,  who  seek 
national  aggrandizement  and  Greek  orthodoxy  more  than  Chris- 
tianity. It  is  a  disquieting  fact  that  Russia,  besides  its  vast 
railway  and  banking  schemes,  has  decided  on  a  forward  missionary 
movement. 

In  the  face  of  these  adversaries  and  competitors  one  can  bat 
heartily  wish  that  the  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Chris-tian  and 
General  Knowledge  amongst  the  Chinese  may  be  abundantly  blest 
as  a  means  to  a  speedy  conversion  of  heathen  China.  Though  the 
Society  was  only  founded  ten  years  ago  the  resulcs  of  its  work  have 
been  remarkble.  Viceroy  Chang  Chih-tuug  in  1894  sent  1,000 
Taels  (£160),  and  other  influential  Chinamen  (non-Christians), 
unasked,  have  sent  smaller  sums  to  aid  the  Society's  work.  With 
its  head-quarters  at  Shanghai  the  Society  has  come  into  contact 
with  many  influential  Chinese,  including  both  the  Viceroys  Li 
Hung  chang  and  Chang  Chih-tung  and  many  of  the  Hanlins  (i.  e., 
doctors  of  Chinese  literature).  Many  officials,  high  and  low, 
appreciating  the  work  done  by  the  Society,  are  cultivating  friendly 
relations  with  Protestant  missionaries  and  have  promised  protection 
and  help  for  Christians.  The  province  of  Hunan  has  been  for  many 
years  the  hot-bed  of  anti-Christian  literature,  but  after  two  years* 
perusal  of  the  Society's  books  the  chancellor  of  education  for  the 
whole  province  has  invited  the  Society's  Chinese  editor  to  become 
professor  in  the  chief  college  of  the  provincial  capital  !  Thus  the 
results  form  a  marvelous  record,  which  is  not  easily  paralleled  in 
the  annals  of  missions.  Certainly  in  the  process  of  redeeming 
China's  millions,  this  method,  which  has  many  advantages  and 
suits  the  genius  of  the  Chinese,  will  not  be  less  effective  than 
others,  since  it  has  accomplished  so  wonderful  a  result  in  so  short 
a  time. 

I  should  perform  my  task  very  imperfectly  if  I  were  to  pass 
unnoticed  one  way  in  which  the  hidden  wisdom  of  God  has  recently 
made  known  to  many  Chinese  the  intentions  of  His  love.    I  mean 


132  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [March, 

the  way  of  "mass-conversioQs."  Not  only  onr  Mission,  but  also 
missions  as  a  whole,  in  China,  rejoice  in  the  fact  that  the  heathen 
are  coming  over  to  us  on  a  larger  scale  than  heretofore.  Witness 
the  increase  in  the  churches  during  last  years. 

Protestant  missions  iu  China  were  hitherto  distinguished  from 
Catholic  missions  in  this  respect,  amongst  others,  that  they  have 
directed  their  attention  not  so  much  to  the  aggregate  or  collective 
bodies  (Volksganze)  as  to  individual  conversions.  To  lead  men  one 
by  one  to  the  Lord  and  to  unite  them  to  small  communities  of 
believing  Christians,  was  our  aim.  But  if  the  conversion  of  in- 
dividuals is  set  up  as  the  proper  and  only  aim  of  missionary  labour 
the  object  of  missions  will  suffer  a  fatal  displacement.  According 
to  the  explicit  command  of  Christ  we  are  "  to  make  disciples  of  all 
the  nations."  No  matter  how  we  may  explain  the  words  fia^nrtvaars 
travra  ra  s^vri,  One  thing  is  plain,  that  the  great  commission  may 
not  be  mistaken  to  mean  :  "  make  a  full  and  true  conversion  of 
the  single  individuals  the  condition  of  baptism,  "  but  simply :  be  ye 
my  helpers  in  bringing  the  pagan  peoples  to  me  into  my  school  or 
discipleship  (/ia^-rjrEuo-arf),  where  they,  standing  under  the  discipline 
of  my  word  of  teaching  (StSao-Kovrtc),  will  have  opportunity  to 
develop  *  themselves  farther  and  farther. 

The  problem  of  missions,  then,  is  not  to  gather  a  "  pure  and 
spiritual  church,"  but  to  bring  about,  and  that  in  no  narrow 
restricted  sense,  a  national  church  (Volkskirche),  consisting  of 
baptized  Christians,  in  which  the  Holy  Ghost  Himself  gradually 
gathers  the  members  to  the  community  of  believers. 

God's  ways  in  the  Christianizing  of  the  nations  are  different 
from  our  plans  and  wishes,  which  often  are  beside  the  mark  and 
aim  to  bring  in  a  state  of  things  which  neither  the  apostolic  nor 
our  own  churches  in  practise  have  ever  attained.  It  belongs  to  the 
self-denial  which  our  calling  demands  from  us  that  we  dismiss  the 
fanciful  pictures  which  are  in  no  proportion  to  the  actual  state  of 
things  and  face  with  sobriety  the  reality,  no  matter  whether  it 
answers  our  wishes  and  illusions  or  not. 

It  seems  as  if  God  Himself  seeks  to  correct  some  mistakes  which 
have  been  made  and  some  false  notions  which  have  taken 
possession  of  our  minds.  Almost  contrary  to  our  expectations,  and 
perhaps  even  contrary  to  our  wishes,  God  leads  the  heathen  in 
larger  numbers  to  us.  I  believe  there  is  not  one  amongst  us  who 
does  not  look  with  mixed  feelings  at  this  movement  towards 
Christianity  which  goes  through  the  whole  empire  ;  for  we  cannot 

*  Dr.  Ashmore  has  lately  in  the  Recorder  very  aptly  called  the  bulk  of  our 
churches  "  undeveloped  "  Christians ;  others  have  given  them  the  name  "  elfcmentaiy  " 
Chi'istiaos* 


1900.]   DIFFERENT  WAYS  LEADING  TO  THE  GOAL  OF  CHRISTIANITY,  ETC.      133 

couceal  fVotii  ourselves  that  it  is  not  at  all  a  religions,  bnt,  as  I 
should  cull  it,  a  sooio-politic  movement.  Nevertheless  we  have 
reasou  tij  thank  God  foi"  opeiiiug  the  doors  in  China  so  wide.  More- 
ovei\  thougii  inquirers  of  tliin  class  may  not  be  called  "awakened," 
aud  still  less  "  converted  "  people,  yet  they  are  willing  hearers  and 
disciples  (^a^jjrm),  out  of  which  by  God's  grace  something  can 
be  made  unto  the  praise  of  His  glory. 

But  it  requires  also  ou  our  side  not  a  little  self-denying  love 
and  patience,  spirit luil  insight  and  pastoral  wisdom,  to  grasp  the 
situation  aud  to  direct  the  movement  into  a  sound  course.  From 
the  Catholic  church,  which  works  according  to  raediceval  patterns, 
we  can  learn  how  we  ought  not  to  do.  Every  missionary  method 
which,  owing  to  a  wrong  principle  of  accommodation,  only  kuows 
how  to  bring  a  mutilated  gospel  which  but  inadequately  presents 
the  central  truth  to  the  poor  ignorant  heathen  and  does  not  aim  at 
making  iiim  fia^tiTtiQ  y^piaruv,  cannot  but  appear  to  us  as  a  parody 
of  the  great  commission  of  Christ. 

But  there  is  also  a  true  and  justifiable  accommodation  which 
teaches  us  to  come  down  {amor  dencendit)  to  the  power  of  com- 
prehension of  our  people,  and  prevents  us  from  aiming  at  things 
impossible,  at  least  in  the  first  epoch  of  missionary  labour.  Here 
we  are  to  prove  self-denying  love,  which  consists  of  doing  a  work 
with  full  devotion,  which  only  half  meets  the  holiest  wishes  of  our 
hearts;  and  patience,  which  does  not  even  then  scold  and  find  fault 
when  the  ap[)licants  for  baptism  "  seek  their  own  "  in  external  benefit 
only — be  it  that  they  expect  to  escape  some  imminent  danger,  or  the 
plots  of  their  enemies,  or  even  to  get  the  help  of  the  missionary 
for  their  law-suits.  How  mildly  St.  Augustine  in  his  book,  "De 
Catechizandis  Jiudibus"*  judges  such  sincere  applicants,  because  he 
knows  how  to  take  into  consideration  the  demoralizing  effects  of 
paganism.  So  also  Cyril  of  Jerusalem,  from  whom  we  read  in  his 
introductory  catechism  :  "  It  may  also  be  that  thou  comest  under  a 
different  pretext,  for  it  is  possible  that  a  man  wants  to  seek  a  wife 
and  is  led  by  that  reason.  The  same  may  also  be  said  as  to  the 
women.  Often  a  slave  wants  to  please  his  master,  or  a  friend  to 
oblige  his  friend.  I  seize  the  bait  of  the  angler  and  receive  thee  iu 
good  hope  that  thou  willst  partake  of  salvation,  though  thy  motive 
was  bad.  Perhaps  thou  wast  not  aware  which  net  had  caught  thee. 
Thou  wentest  into  the  nets  of  the  church.  Let  thyself  be  caught 
alive.  Don't  flee,  for  it  is  Jesus  who  has  caught  thee,  not  to  kill 
thee  but  to  vivify  thee  after  having  killed  thee."  In  a  similar 
strain  an  English  bishop  (Caldwell)  has  expressed  himself  as  to  a 
certain  class  of  Indian  converts.  They  are,  so  he  says,  altogether 
*  Vide  Ncander,  Church  History  in  loco. 


134  THE    CHINESE   RECORDER.  [March, 

incapable  of  higher  motives.  If  they  place  themselves  under 
Christian  instruction,  then  it  depends  wholly  upon  our  motive  and 
not  upon  theirs.  *'  The  only  hope  for  them  is  to  bring  them  as 
soon  as  possible  into  the  school  of  Christ." 

Now,  as  to  the  average  heathen  Chinese,  no  one  who  has  had 
any  experience  will  deny  that  he  is  almost  incapable  of  higher 
motives.  Nor  is  this  to  be  wondered  at  if  we  take  into  considera- 
tion the  present  state  of  paganism.  Therefore  we  will  not  blame 
these  distressed  and  down-trodden  people  for  seeking  shelter  in  the 
church  against  all  kinds  of  violence.  Of  course  I  do  not  mean  that 
we  ought  to  foster  and  to  encourage  their  impure  motives,  but 
methinks  we  ought  to  abstain  from  finding  fanlt  with  them  and 
scolding  them.  Indeed  we  may  even  thank  God  that  we  are  not 
left  quite  powerless  to  help  them  in  some  way,  if  not  in  act  at  least 
in  giving  them  advice.  And  as  to  suffering  injustice  we  may  also 
well  distinguish  between  suifering  which  must  needs  be  according  to 
God's  will,  and  sufi'erings  which  may  properly  be  avoided.  Though 
the  whole  world  lieth  in  wickedness,  things  have  not  yet  gone  so  far 
that  tlie  most  violent  alone  are  likely  to  be  in  the  right.  In  the 
idea  of  authority  there  is  also  involved  a  pledge  to  suppress  all 
injustice.  If  we  help  it  to  fulfil  its  duty  by  denouncing  violent 
acts,  we  are  then  doing  our  duty  as  loyal  subjects. 

Thus  we  are  not  to  assume  the  higher  motives  in  our  converts, 
but  to  awaken  them,  and  so  to  give  the  will  a  right  direction.  This 
must  be  done  daring  the  catechumeuate  by  a  wise  and  cautions 
treatment.  When  we  have  succeeded  by  influencing  in  this  manner 
the  will,  and  when  a  modest  measure  of  Christian  knowledge  has 
been  the  result  of  our  instruction,  then  should  we  no  longer  delay 
baptism.  In  and  by  means  of  this  rite  we  bring  our  converts  into 
the  school  of  Clirist,  in  which  they — as  well  as  we — are  to  continue 
to  learn  all  their  life  long. 

[t  is,  however,  not  to  be  wondered  at  that,  in  spite  of  all  caution, 
painful  experiences  and  disappointments  of  many  kinds  are  not 
wanting  to  us,  since  spiritual  insight  and  pastoral  wisdom,  these 
indis{)ensable  qualities  requisite  for  a  missionary,  are  not  inborn  in 
us.  But  as  the  apostle  exhorts  us  to  "  desire  earnestly  spiritual 
gifts,"  amongst  which  he  also  enumerates  the  gift  of  "dis- 
cerning of  spirits "  (i.  e.,  spiritual  insight  and  pastoral  wisdom), 
we  sliould  take  it  home  to  our  hearts  in  a  special  manner  now,  since 
the  Lord  of  the  harvest  has  been  pleased  to  give  us  a  wide  entrance 
to  the  harvest  field  of  China  and  we  have  much  reason  to  fear  that 
we  must  needs  receive  a  great  deal  of  chaff  along  with  the  wheat. 

To  the  humble-minded,  who  recognize  how  insignificant  and 
poor  their  own  labour  is,  compared  with  the  high  claims  of  their 


1900.]  LONDON  MISSION   WORK   IN  HUNAN   AND   IIUPEII.  135 

calling  and  with  the  great  work  of  God  which  passes  all  nuder- 
stauding,  God  giveth  grace.  May  He  grant  to  us  a  keen  eye  to 
watch  the  ways  in  which  His  "manifold"  and  "hidden"  wisdom 
leads-  the  Chinese  to  salvation,  and  renewed  zeal  and  energy  to 
follow  more  fully  His  owu  laws  revealed  in  the  process  of  the 
redemption  of  the  human  race. 


London  Mission  Work  in  Eunan  and  Hupeb. 

[Dr.  John  has  kindly  furnished  us  the  following  letter,  which  is  a  Report  of 
the  L.  M.  S.  work  in  Hunan  and  Hupeh.— Ed.  Recorder.] 

Hankow,  December  30th,  1899, 
Rev.  Georgpj  Cousins, 

Foreign  Secretary^  London  Missionary  Society. 

Dear  Mr.  Cousins  :  This  letter  needs  not  be  a  long  one,  for 
most  of  the  facts  on  which  I  should  like  to  dwell  are  well  known  to  you. 
There  are  a  few  things,  however,  couuected  with  this  year's  experiences 
to  which  I  should  like  to  refer: — 

1.  The  Opening  of  Hunan. — The  most  signal  event  of  the  year 
has  been  the  opening  of  Hunan.  The  year  1899  will  always  be 
remembered  in  connection  with  the  wonderful  extension  of  Christian 
work  in  that  exclusive  and  bitterly  anti-foreign  province.  I  might, 
in  order  to  show  what  great  changes  have  taken  place  in  Hunan, 
dwell  on  the  remarkable  journey  made  by  Mr.  Sparham,  Mr.  Greig, 
and  myself  in  April  and  May  of  this  year,  on  the  opening  of 
Yo-chow  to  foreign  commerce  and  the  settlement  of  Mr.  Greig  and 
Dr.  Peake  at  that  city  in  November,  on  the  colportage  work 
carried  on  by  Mr,  Alexander  of  the  Alliance  Mission  within  the 
walls  of  Chang-sha  itself,  on  the  presence  of  the  representatives  of 
three  missions  at  Chang-teh  and  the  ease  with  which  they  have  been 
able  to  carry  on  their  work  in  and  around  that  important  city,  on 
the  imprisonment  of  Chow  Han  and  the  suppression  of  the  anti- 
foreign  literature  of  which  he  was  the  principal  author  and  dis- 
seminator. But  most  of  these  facts  are  in  your  possession,  so  I  need 
not  enter  into  particulars.  I  will  only  remind  you  that  the  changes 
which  have  taken  place  in  Hunan  are  to  be  ascribed,  in  a  great 
measure,  to  the  persistent  and  long  continued  efforts  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society  in  Central  China,  and  that  we  are  called 
upon  in  a  special  manner  to  give  God  thanks  for  what  our  eyes  are 
now  permitted  to  see  in  that  province.  I  would  add  that  I  look 
upon  the  opening  of  Yo-chow  to  foreign  commerce  as  an  event  of 
great  importance  in  its  bearing  on  the  missiouary  work  iu  Hunan. 


136  THE   CHINESE    RECORDER.  [March, 

Whether  Yo-chow  will  turn  ont  to  be  a  success,  lookinnj  at  it  from 
a  commercial  point  of  view,  remains  to  be  seen.  No  doubt  it  would 
have  been  better  in  every  way  if  Siang-tan  and  Chang-teh  could 
have  been  made  treaty  ports.  But  this  being  at  present  impossible 
the  next  best  thino  was  to  open  Yo-chow.  To  have  any  place  thus 
thrown  open  in  Hunan  is  an  important  step  in  advance.  The  fact 
that  there  is  a  spot  anywhere  within  the  province,  wiiere  foreigners 
may  reside  and  trade,  must  produce  a  very  salutary  effect  on  the 
Hunanese  mind  and  make  a  great  deal  of  difference  to  the  mission- 
aries in  their  efforts  to  carry  on  Christian  work  among  the  people  at 
large.  As  a  matter  of  fact  ib  has  made  a  marked  difference  already. 
It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  whole  of  Hunan  will  be  soon  thrown  wide 
open,  and  that  before  long  missions  will  be  found  actually  estab- 
lished in  all  its  sixty-four  counties. 

2.  The  Opening  of  the  High  School  and  Theological  College. — 
The  opening  of  the  high  school  in  April,  and  the  theological 
college  in  November,  will  render  the  year  1899  an  ever  memorable 
one  in  the  history  of  the  L.  M.  S.  in  Central  China.  The  applicants 
for  admission  into  the  high  school,  were  very  numerous.  We  saw  a 
hundred  at  least,  and  we  might  have  opened  with  that  number.  It 
seemed,  to  us  that  forty  would  be  as  many  as  we  could  manage 
at  the  beginning  ;  but  the  pressure  was  so  great  that  we  were 
compelled  to  yield  a  little,  so  we  commenced  with  forty-seven.  Of 
these,  twenty-five  were  Christian  boys,  and  thus  a  strong  Christian 
element  was  introduced  into  the  institution  at  the  very  commence- 
ment. The  heathen  boys  were,  for  the  most  part,  the  children  of  well- 
to-do  compradores  and  merchants.  All  the  children,  whether 
Christian  or  heathen,  were  charged  a  fee.  The  heathen  children 
were  all  charged  the  full  fee  of  $60  per  annum.  Some  of  the 
Christian  boys  paid  the  same,  but  being  on  the  whole  compara- 
tively poor  a  reduction  had  to  be  made  in  favour  of  most  of  them. 
None  of  them,  however,  paid  less  than  |24  per  annum,  a  sum 
sufiiciently  large  to  cover  their  board.  The  heathen  scholars  and 
the  wealthier  Christian  scholars  were  thus  made  to  help  the  poorer 
Christians,  and  the  school  was  started  on  a  self-supporting  basis. 
Thus  a  beginning,  and  a  very  promising  beginning,  was  made  in  the 
early  part  of  this  year.  Mr.  McFarlane  will  tell  you,  I  have  no 
doubt,  what  progress  the  school  has  made  since.  There  are  two  facts 
connected  with  our  high  school  which  I  should  like  to  mention  : 
(1).  It  is  the  first  institution  of  the  kind  that  has  been  established 
in  Hankow.  There  have  been  high  schools  in  Wu-chang  in 
connection  with  other  missions  for  years,  but  ours  is  the  first  in 
Hankow  itself.  They  have  been  creeping  up  slowly  these  years, 
whilst  we,  on  the  other  hand,  have  leaped  into  success  at  once,  and 


1900.]  LONDON  MISSION  WORK   IN  HUNAN  AND  HUPEH.  137 

find  ourselves  able  to  starh  with  ease  at  the  point  reached  by  them 
only  after  years  o£  hard  toil  and  pariont  waitinf^.  This  is  to  be 
ascribed,  of  course,  to  the  altered  condition  of  things  in  the  empire. 
(2).  Tlie  second  fact  I  wish  to  mention  is,  that  our  high  school  is  a 
genuine  Christian  school.  A  strong  Christian  influence  pervades 
it  and  must  emanate  from  it.  Among  the  heathen  boys  there  are  some 
who  declare  themselves  to  be  Christians  at  heart,  and  the  Christian 
vocabulary  is  rapidly  fastening  itself  upon  not  a  few  of  them. 

The  opening  of  the  theological  college  in  November  was  an 
event  which  brouoht  much  gladness  to  all  our  hearts.  We  have 
begun  with  eight  students  this  year  ;  but  we  hope  to  start  next  year 
with  not  less  than  twelve.  These  eight  are  giving  us  great  satis- 
faction as  studentis  as  well  as  in  every  other  respect.  They  are  hard 
working  men  and  deeply  in  earnest.  Some  of  them  have  unques- 
tionably the  preaching  p;ift  and  some  of  them  have  the  qualifications 
needful  for  the  pastoral  office.  We  have  every  reason  to  believe 
that  they  will  turn  out  to  be  valuable  helpers  to  the  Mission  in  the 
years  to  come.  One  of  the  greatest  needs  of  the  Mission  at  the 
present  time  is  a  strong  staff  of  well  trained  native  workers.  In  the 
theological  college  we  have,  1  think,  the  very  instrument  required 
to  secure  such  a  staff. 

Next  year  the  boarding-school  for  girls  will  be  started  in  Wu- 
chang, and  also  the  school  for  medical  students  at  Hankow  ;  and 
thus  before  the  close  of  the  year  our  educational  scheme,  iu  all  its 
four  branches,  will  have  been  fairly  launched.  This  is  a  consum- 
mation to  which  we  are  all  looking  forward  with  deep  thankfulness. 

In  the  matter  of  the  higher  education  the  L.  M.  S.  in 
Central  China  has  been  somewhat  late  in  starting.  But  we  have 
started  at  last,  and  all  that  we  have  to  do  now  is  to  go  on  and 
develop.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  educational  department  in 
connection  with  our  work  in  Central  China  should  not  become  one 
of  the  greatest  educating  and  Christianizing  forces  in  the  land. 

3.  The  Increase  in  Church  Membership. — The  increase  in 
chnrch  membership,  I  am  sorry  to  say,  has  not  been  as  large  as 
that  of  last  year.  In  1898  there  were  baptized — adults,  660 ;  non- 
adults,  149  ;  in  all  809.  All  these  were  baptized  in  Hapeh  alone. 
This  year  there  have  been  baptized — adults,  514 ;  uou-adalts, 
123;  in  all  637.  This  gives  the  accessions  for  both  Unpeh  and 
Hunan.  We  have  had  iu  Hunan  191  baptisms  and  iu  Hupeh  446. 
Thus  there  has  been  a  considerable  falling  off  in  the  increase  of 
the  year  in  Hupeh  as  compared  with  last  year.  Still  there  is  much 
cause  for  thankfulness. 

Real  progress  has  been  made  in  this  province  this  year.  An 
increase  of  446  is  by  no  means  stnall.    There   was  a  time  when  we 


138  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [March, 

should  have  looked  upon  it  as  very  large.  The  most  striking  fact 
iu  coDuection  with  the  increase  of  the  year  is  the  admission  of  so 
many  Hnnauese  to  church  fellowship.  This  adds  a  peculiar  interest 
to  the  year's  work,  and  will  make  the  year  itself  an  ever  memorable 
one  in  the  history  of  the  Lo  M.  S.  in  Central  China.  Hundreds 
more  might  have  been  baptized  by  us  on  the  journey  to  which  I 
have  already  referred,  for  there  were  many  hundreds  at  the  various 
stations  waiting  onr  coming.  The  173  adult  believers,  actually 
baptized,  were  admitted  only  after  careful  examination,  and  may  be 
regarded  as  the  very  pick  of  the  candidates  who  came  before  us. 

4.  Christian  Literature. — The  missionaries  of  the  L-  M.  S. 
in  Central  China  have  always  taken  a  deep  interest  in  the 
preparation  and  dissemination  of  Christian  literature,  so  a  reference 
to  the  work  done  at  Hankow  this  year  in  this  particular  line 
of  things  will  not  be  deemed  out  of  place.  For  particulars  I  must 
refer  you  to  the  annual  report  of  the  Central  China  Religious 
Tract  Society.  All  I  can  do  now  is  to  give  the  statistics  of 
the  year's  circulation.  The  total  number  of  Scriptures  issued  by 
the  National  Bible  Society  of  Scotland  has  been  9,725  Testaments 
and  545,193  Portions,  the  largest  number  ever  issued  by  the  Society 
in  one  year.  The  circulation  of  the  Tract  Society  has  amounted 
to  1,209,647.  The  united  circulation  of  the  two  Societies  amounts 
to  1,864,565  publications,  a  circulation  bordering  on  two  millions. 
That  is  what  I  call  a  magnificent  piece  of  work.  Every  tract  and 
every  gospel  is-  a  preacher  and  an  evangelist.  The  missionaries  are 
few,  but  the  tracts  and  gospels  are  many,  and  are  finding  their  way 
into  quarters  to  which  the  missionaries  have  no  access. 

5.  Encouragements,  Discouragements,  Progress. — I  could  give 
many  incidents  in  connection  with  the  work  of  the  year  bearing 
on  these  three  points.  But  it  is  hardly  necessary.  Some  of  the 
incidents  have  been  given  in  former  letters,  and  need  not  be 
repeated  now.  I  could  tell  you  of  drawbacks  and  failures,  of 
backslidings  and  apostasies.  I  could  tell  you  of  the  coldness  and 
worldliuess  of  some  and  of  the  inconsistencies  and  falls  of  others. 
It  is  not  all  sunshine  on  the  mission  field  by  any  means.  There  is 
a  very  bright  side  to  our  work  ;  and  there  is  a  dark  side  also.  The 
missionary  is  often  tried,  and  the  more  optimistic  and  enthusiastic 
he  is,  the  greater  the  trial.  It  is  not  the  pessimist  who  suffers. 
The  man  who  expects  nothing  is  seldom  disappointed.  It  is  the 
man  of  strong  faith,  big  hopes,  and  burning  enthusiasm  who  feels 
the  keenness  of  disappointments  and  the  bitterness  of  failures.  I 
believe  with  Emerson  that  "every  great  and  commanding  move- 
ment in  the  annals  of  the  world  is  the  triumph  of  enthusiasm," 
but  I  behove  also  that  true  enthusiasm  never  comes   without  bring- 


1900.]  LONDON  MISSION   WORK   IN   HUNAN   AND   IIUPEH.  139 

in<^  its  heavy  ponalfcies  along  with  it.  But  why  should  I  trouble 
you  with  a  detuiled  account  o£  our  triaU  ?  You  have  your  own,  and 
doubtless  you  often  feel  that  they  are  more  tiian  you  can  bear.  I 
would  assure  you  that,  in  spite  of  trials,  the  encouragetnents  are 
greater,  vastly,  than  the  discouragemeuts,  and  that  our  great  work  is 
making  genuine  progress  in  every  direction.  Carlyle  defines 
progress  to  be  "  living  movement."  Accepting  that  as  a  true 
definition  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  tlie  L.  M.  S.  in  Central 
Cbina  can  boast  of  real  progre-s.  We  may  not  be  moving  as  fast  as 
we  could  wish;  but  there  is  movement  and  living  movement  all 
around  us.  In  spite  of  much  opposition  and  some  disappointments 
the  kingdom  of  God  is  being  firmly  established  in  the  midst  of  this 
people.  Of  this  there  can  be  no  doubt  whatever.  When  I  am 
assailed  by  Giant  Despair  I  have  only  to  think  of  the  past  and 
compare  the  state  of  things  to-day  with  that  of  thirty  years  ago,  or 
even  ten  years  ago,  in  order  to  gain  a  complete  victory. 

"  Art  thou  low,  and  sick,  and  dreary  ? 
Is  thy  spirit  sunk  and  weary 
With  its  fight  against  the  ills  of  life,  that 
Seem  to  fill  the  air? 
Gird  thy  loins  once  more,  and  try, — 
The  stout  heart  wins  the  victory, 
But  never  dark  despair." 

6.  Reiuforcements. — Our  hearts  have  been  greatly  gladdened  this 
year  by  the  return  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Foster  and  the  addition  to  our 
number  of  Dr.  Peake,  Mr.  Burniss,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Fowler,  Dr.  Massey, 
and  Mrs.  McAlI.  Wuchang  has  been  highly  favoured  by  the  appoint- 
ment of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Foster  to  the  Mission  in  that  city.  We  in  Han- 
kow, whilst  feeling  our  own  loss  keenly,  sincerely  congratulate  our 
brethren  on  the  other  side  of  the  river.  In  the  hands  of  Mr.  Foster 
the  general  work  of  the  Mission  in  Wnchang  is  safe,  and  in  the 
hands  of  Mrs.  Foster  the  success  of  the  high  school  for  girls  is 
assured.  It  never  rains  but  it  pours.  Wuchang  is  to  have  not 
only  a  high  school  for  girls,  bat  a  hospital  for  women  also.  This  ia 
another  cause  for  congratulation.  I  congratulate  Wuchang,  and  I 
very  sincerely  congratulate  Miss  Massey  on  her  appointment  as  our 
pioneer  lady  medical  missionary  to  Wuchang,  one  of  the  finest  and 
most  important  cities  in  the  empire.  We  are  deeply  thankful  to 
the  directors  for  remembering  Hiau-kan  in  a  manner  so  handsome. 
The  advent  of  Mr.  Burniss  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Fowler  will  be  an 
inestimable  blessing  to  the  work  in  Hiau-kau,  Yun-mung  and 
Ying-shan.  Mr.  Geller  has  been  holding  the  fort  alone  all  through 
the  year,  and  has  done  splendidly.  I  am  glad  to  say  that  loneliness 
and  hard  work  have  not  told  injuriously  on  his  constitution.  When 
at  Hiau-kan,  a  few  days  since,  I  was  rejoiced  to  see  him  looking  so 


140  THE  CHINESE  KECORDER.  [March, 

■well  and  so  happy  at  the  end  of  the  year's  work.  Hian-kan  is  the 
oldest  of  onr  out-stations,  and  on  the  whole  the  most  prosperous.  The 
work  there  has  made  steady  progress  from  the  beginning.  Of  late, 
however,  the  progress  has  been  remarkable.  Last  year  there  were 
250  baptisms  in  that  county  alone,  and  this  year  there  have  been 
178,  making  428  in  two  years.  Converts  are  to  be  met  with  in 
every  part  of  the  district,  and  the  entire  district  is  becoming 
rapidly  leavened  with  a  knowledge  of  Christian  truth.  You  will  be 
pleased  to  hear  that  the  Lu-han  railway  is  passing  through  the 
district,  and  that  very  soon,  perhaps  before  the  end  of  the  year 
1900,  the  journey  between  Hian-kan  city  and  Hankow  will  be 
reduced  to  a  pleasant  trip  of  two  hours.  The  new  missionaries  are 
to  be  sincerely  congratulated  on  their  appointment  to  this  most 
attractive  sphere  of  labour.  Taking  Hian-kan,  Yun-mung,  and 
Ying-shan  together — and  they  do  go  together — you  have  a  sphere 
such  as  cannot  be  beaten  in  the  whole  of  Hupeh. 

The  advent  of  Dr.  Peake  as  our  pioneer  medical  missionary 
for  Hunan  was  a  great  joy  to  us  all,  and  to  no  one  was  it  more  so 
than  to  myself.  You  know  what  my  feelings  are  with  regard  to 
Hunan,  and  yon  may  imagine  how  glad  I  am  that  we  have  now  two 
missionaries  actually  settled  in  the  province.  The  ease  with  which 
we  have  taken  possession  of  Yo-chow  and  the  marked  progress  of 
the  work  in  the  whole  of  the  Siang  valley,  augur  well  for  the  future 
of  the  L.  M.  S.  in  Hunan.  To  make  it  one  of  the  finest  missions  in 
the  world  rests  with  yourselves.  ¥/e  thank  you  for  the  two  men 
you  have  given  us  for  Hunan;  but  we  have  asked  for  eight  more. 
Please  do  not  forget  that  Hunan  possesses  an  area  of  88,0U0  square 
miles  and  a  population  of  more  than  20,000,000.  In  asking  for  ten 
men  for  Hunan  do  you  think  we  have  asked  for  too  many  ?  The 
only  thing  that  surprizes  me  is  the  extreme  moderation  of  the 
Hankow  committee. 

7.  The  Health  of  the  Mission.— The  health  of  the  Mission 
has  been  exceedingly  good  throughout  the  year.  We  have  had 
no  deaths  and  hardly  any  illness.  This  is  to  be  ascribed  in  a 
great  measure,  under  God's  blessing,  to  Kuling.  It  is  impossible 
to  overestimate  the  debt  which  all  the  missions  in  this  valley  owe 
to  that  magnificent  sanatorium. 

8.  Sickness  and  Death  among  the  Converts. — Among  the 
converts  there  has  been  a  great  deal  of  sickness,  and  the  loss  by 
death  in  the  native  church  has  been  considerable.  One  dear 
brother,  Mr.  Wei  Teh-sheng,  our  senior  evangelist  in  Kiug-shau, 
is  now  lying  in  the  hospital  on  what  appears  to  us  to  be  his 
deatii-bed.  Mr.  Wei  was  converted  at  the  Wei  village  in  Hiau-kan 
more  than  twenty  years  ago,  and  ever  since  I  have  been  looking 


1900.]  tOKDON   MISSION   WORK  IN  HUNAN   AND  HUPEH.  141 

npon  him  as  one  of  my  dearest  children  in  the  faith.  From  the  day 
of  his  conversion  till  now,  his  has  heen  a  beantiftil,  exemphiry,  con- 
sistent Christian  life.  As  an  evanj^elist  in  King-shan  he  has  done  c- 
noble  work  for  the  Master.  'L'o  the  converts  he  has  been  a  trne 
shepherd  and  to  the  people  a  gennine  friend.  Two  days  ago  I 
went  to  see  him.  I  fonnd  him  very  weak  in  body,  bnt  strong  in 
sonl.  I  said:  "Mr.  Wei,  the  end  is  not  far  off;  yon  seem  to  be 
standing  on  the  brink  of  the  river.  Are  yon  afraid  ?"  "  Afraid  !  " 
was  the  reply,  "No,  I  am  not  afraid.  My  Father  is  at  the 
helm."  Of  Wei  Teh-sheng  it  may  be  said  with  confidence  :  "  He 
has  fonght  a  good  fight,  he  has  finished  the  conrse,  he  has  kept 
the  faith  ;  henceforth  there  is  laid  np  for  him  a  crown  of  righteona- 
ness."  I  mnst  refer  to  the  death  of  Pastor  Chn,  of  the  Wesleyan 
Mission.  In  his  death,  in  October,  the  Christian  chnrch  in  Central 
China  has  snstained  a  heavy  loss.  He  was  baptized  by  me  in  1862, 
and  was  the  first  baptized  convert  in  Central  China.  When  the 
Rev.  Josiah  Cox,  of  the  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society,  came  to 
Hankow,  I  handed  over  to  him  Mr.  Chn  as  a  teacher  of  the 
langnage  and  a  general  helper  in  Christian  work.  Soon  after  his 
conversion  his  sincerity  underwent  a  severe  test.  He  had  been  driven 
away  from  his  native  province  by  the  Tai-ping  rebellion.  The 
troubles  of  the  rebellion  having  quieted  down,  the  people  began  to 
return  to  their  homes  and  reclaim  their  property.  Mr.  Chu  was 
heir  to  the  estates  of  his  father  and  uncle,  and  would  have  been 
wealthy  if  put  in  possession.  He  laid  his  claim  before  the  guild 
of  his  native  province,  and  they  considered  it.  They  appointed  a 
day  for  the  hearing,  and  said  :  "  We  have  considered  your  claims, 
and  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  the  property  is  yours ;  but 
before  we  can  help  yon  to  get  it,  you  mnst  give  us  a  promise  that 
you  will  cease  worshipping  the  foreigners'  God  and  give  up  faith 
in  .Jesus."  In  reply  Mr.  Chu  said :  "  Then  the  property  may  go. 
I  believe  in  Jesus,  and  shall  worship  Him  all  the  days  of  my  life." 
After  working  for  several  years  as  a  catechist  he  was,  by  a 
unanimous  vote  of  the  district  meeting,  passed  on  to  the  ordained 
ministry,  in  which  he  laboured  for  many  years  as  a  faithful 
servant  of  Jesus  Christ.  His  long  Christian  career  of  more  than 
thirty-six  years  was  one  of  steady  progress  and  growing  influence. 
He  was  greatly  respected  by  all  the  Christians  in  these  three  cities 
and  highly  esteemed  by  the  missionaries  of  all  the  missions. 

In  speaking  of  Mr.  Chu  I  have  mentioned  the  fact  that  he 
was  baptized  in  the  year  1862.  I  commenced  work  at  Hankow 
in  1861,  but  none  were  baptized  that  year.  In  1862,  nine  were 
admitted  to  church  fellowship.  They  were  the  first  fruits  of 
Central  China  unto  Christ.     The  history  of  that  little   band  of 


142  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [March, 

believers  is  a  deeply  interesting  one.  Five  of  the  nine  developed 
into  valuable  native  helpers — -two  into  pastors,  two  into  evangelists, 
and  one  into  a  school  teacher.  Three  are  still  living,  and  all  three 
are  faithful  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  The  venerable  Mr. 
Pao  is  still  our  senior  evangelist  in  Ku-chang.  The  aged  Mrs. 
Kao  is  still  in  charge  of  one  of  oar  girls'  schools  at  Hankow,  and 
Mrs.  "Wang  is  the  wife  of  one  of  our  Wuchang  evangelists.  Six 
have  died,  and  all,  except  one,  have  died  in  the  faith.  The  church 
of  1862  was  small,  but  I  doubt  if  a  church  so  small,  even  in 
England,  has  ever  turned  out  so  many  helpers  of  sterling  worth.  I 
shall  never  forget  the  year  1S62.  It  was  a  year  of  outward  trial 
and  discomforts,  but  a  year  also  of  boundless  hope,  restless  activity, 
and  intense  religious  life. 

And  thus  are  we  brought  to  the  close  of  another  year.  To  me 
personally,  and  to  the  whole  Mission,  it  has  been  a  year  crowned 
with  mercies  innumerable.  Goodness  and  mercy  have  followed  us 
all  the  year  through,  There  have  been  mistakes  and  failures,  there 
have  been  imperfections  and  sins.  But  God  is  merciful  and  ready 
to  forgive.  At  the  close  of  the  year  we  come  to  the  Master  and, 
like  the  apostles  of  old,  tell  Him  all  things.  We  lay  our  work 
before  Him,  asking  His  forgiveness  and  beseeching  Him,  for  His  own 
name's  sake,  to  accept  and  bless  our  poor  endeavours.  And  we  do 
so,  knowing  that  our  Lord  is  wonderfully  merciful  and  kind.  He 
does  not  regard  the  amount  of  work  done,  or  even  the  quality  of  it, 
but  the  honest  endeavour  and  the  unselfishness  of  the  aim.  Our 
best  executions  may  be  ragged  and  incom{)lete,  but  the  Master  will 
not  despise  them  on  this  account.  Even  our  failures  he  can  use  for 
the  furtherance  of  His  kingdom.  "  His  infinite  plan  proceeds  by 
our  failures  as  by  our  triumphs.  B)th  arealike  to  Him,  for  He 
takes  them  both  up,  transforms  them  and  weaves  them  into  His 
cloth  of  gold  that  makes  up  the  warp  and  woof  of  time.  And  I 
am  not  sure  but  we  shall  find  that,  when  the  vast  fabric  has  all 
been  woven,  the  mistakes  and  weaknesses  of  men,  the  blunders  and 
failures,  will  show  as  important  threads  as  the  most  splendid 
successes  and  victories." 

Praying  that  the  new  year  may  come  to  you  there  and  to  us 
here  richly  laden  with  God's  best  gifts, 

I  am,  dear  Mr,  Cousins, 

Yours  sincerely, 

Griffith  John. 

P.  S.  January  1st,  1900.---Mr.  Wei  Teh'-sheng  passed  away  last 
night.  We  shall  miss  our  brother  greatly,  To  the  Kiug-shan  work 
bis  death  is  an  irreparable  loss. 


1900.]  THE    PROHiniTION  OF  RELIGIOUS   INSTRUCTION,  ETC.  143 

The  Prohibition  of  Religious  Instruction  in 
Government  Schools  in  Japan. 

BY   REV.   H.    LOOMIS, 

tHE  actioQ  of  the  Japanese  Edncatioaal  Department  in  prohibit- 
ing religions  iustrnction  in  all  the  schools  enjoying  special 
government  sanction  and  privileges  was  a  great  snrprize  and 
disappointment  to  the  friends  of  progress  in  Japan.  It  was  brought 
about  by  the  combined  action  of  a  few  representatives  of  the  old 
conservative  spirit  and  the  young  and  agnostic  element  that  has 
gained  a  considerable  influence  in  educational  circles  and  is  strongly 
opposed  to  all  forms  of  religious  belief. 

But  the  outcome  is  likely  to  be  the  very  reverse  of  what  was 
desired  and  expected  by  such  action.  All  the  leading  newspapers 
oppose  such  action,  and  the  discussion  that  has  followed  and  is  still 
going  on  will  no  doubt  help  the  cause  of  education  and  Christianity 
as  well. 

Some  representatives  of  the  missionary  body  recently  called 
upon  Marcjuis  Ito,  who  has  been  Prime  Minister  three  different 
times  and  is  recognized  as  the  ablest  and  most  influential  statesman 
in  the  country,  and  they  were  assured  that  he  did  not  approve  the 
restrictions.  By  his  suggestion  and  through  his  efforts  the  same 
persons  have  also  had  an  interview  with  the  present  head  of  the 
Cabinet,  Marquis  Yamagata,  who  gave  them  a  long  hearing  and  the 
assurance  that  their  statement  bad  given  him  new  light  on  the 
subject  and  would  receive  careful  consideration. 

It  is  evident  that  the  regulations  will  be  modified  or  revoked. 
The  public  sentiment  is  so  strongly  and  universally  opposed  to 
such  action  that  it  cannot  stand. 

There  may  be  no  change  during  the  term  in  office  of  the  present- 
Cabinet  ;  but  it'  is  generally  expected  that  those  now  holding  such 
positions  will  soon  be  replaced  by  those  who  more  fully  represent 
the  sentiment  of  the  people.  The  pi'esent  arrangement  was  simply 
what  has  been  termed  a  ''make-shift,'''  and  is  not  what  the  country 
requires.  Any  change  is  quite  certain  to  bring  into  power  those 
who  are  in  favor  of  a  broad  and  more  liberal  policy. 

The  recent  decision  of  the  Cabinet  to  place  all  forms  of 
religion  on  the  same  basis,  is  the  first  action  of  the  government  ia 
which  Christianity  has  received  official  sanction.  Hitherto  it  has 
been  simply  tolerated;  and  while  the  old  edicts  were  no  longer 
enforced  they  had  never  been  revoked,  and  CHiristianity  had  a  tacit 
bat  not  public  reooguitioa  of  its  presence  and  right  to  exist.    Now 


144  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [March, 

it  stands  on  the  same  footing  as  Buddhism  or  any  other  religion,  and 
can  claim  the  same  rights  and  privileges. 

This  state  of  affairs  has  caused  ranch  feeling  and  anxiety  on 
the  part  of  some  of  the  Baddhists  who  have  hitherto  enjoyed,  to  some 
extent,  government  patronage  and  the  advantage  that  comes  from 
being  recognized  and  sustained  by  those  who  occupied  positions  of 
rank  and  influence.  In  order  to  avoid  the  disadvantages  of  the  new 
situation,  a  branch  of  one  of  the  most  powerful  of  the  Buddhist  sects 
has  been  making  an  effort  to  have  the  regulations  that  are  recom- 
mended by  the  Cabinet  either  changed  or  disapproved  by  the  Diet. 
At  first  it  was  proposed  to  make  Buddhism  the  state  religion  ;  and, 
as  such,  accord  it  special  privileges.  But  it  has  become  evident  that 
however  much  this  may  be  desired  by  those  who  are  agitating  this 
matter  it  is  hopeless  to  expect  such  action  on  the  part  of  the 
government  or  the  Diet.  Hereafter  each  religion  must  stand  on 
its  own  merits. 

The  present  Diet  is  having  an  unusually  quiet  and  creditable 
session.  Hitherto  there  has  been  so  much  confusion  and  bitter 
strife  that  it  has  seriously  interfered  with  efficient  and  successful 
registration.  But  as  the  result  of  experience,  and  also  as  a  matter 
of  necessity,  there  has  come  to  be  a  recognition  of  certain  leadership 
that  tends  to  both  harmony  and  efficiency.  This  is  certainly  very 
desirable,  and  will  be  of  great  value  to  the  country. 

Thus  far  the  operation  of  the  revised  treaties  has  not  created 
any  special  difference  in  the  condition  of  foreign  residents.  As  a  rule 
the  officials  have  been  especially  anxious  that  the  new  condition  of 
affairs  should  be  as  free  from  inconvenience  and  as  pleasant  as 
possible.  Considering  the  lack  of  experience  on  the  part  of  so  many 
in  authority  it  is  very  creditable  to  the  Japanese  that  there  has 
been  so  little  friction  arising  from  the  new  state  of  affairs.  As  time 
goes  on  it  is  probable  that  the  relations  of  the  people  and  foreigners 
will  become  more  and  more  intimate  and  friendly. 

Such  a  condition  of  things  is  already  noticeable  in  all  places  in 
the  country  where  missionaries  reside.  Almost  without  exception 
the  offi<;ials  of  all  classes  are  asking  to  be  taught  English,  and  are 
ready  to  make  any  concession  if  they  can  only  secure  the  services 
of  a  missionary  as  teacher.  In  most  of  the  classes  that  have  been 
formed  the  Bible  is  made  one  of  the  text-books  and  is  studied  with 
interest  and  profit.  The  coming  into  such  close  contact  with  the 
best  and  ruling  class  cannot  but  be  helpful  to  the  missionaries 
and  the  cause. 

In  a  recently  published  book  entitled  "  Japan  in  Transition," 
the  author  states  that  the  converts  to  Christianity  may  be  classified 
under  five  keads^  viz.:  (1)  Those  who  make  their  living,  by  working; 


1900.]  THE  PROHIBITION  OF  RELIGIOUS  INSTRUCTION,  ETC.  145 

for  the  missioQaries ;  (2)  Those  who  derive  material  benefits  by 
falling  in  with  missionary  views ;  (3)  Those  who  have  been  in 
contact  with  missionaries  and  for  various  reasons  raise  no  objection 
to  being  styled  Christians;  (4)  Those  who  are  passing  through 
missionary  schools  for  the  purpose  of  being  educated  in  foreign  sub- 
jects; and  (5)  Those  who  are  wives  or  servants  of  such  Europeans 
as  insist  on  their  dependents  observing  Christianity. 

According  to  this  author  Christianity  has  made  little  impression 
upon  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  especially  upon  the  educated  or 
higher  class  of  the  Japanese. 

But  the  facts  of  the  case  go  to  prove  that  the  very  opposite 
is  the  true  state  of  affairs.  Instead  of  the  Christians  in  Japan  being 
of  the  inferior  class  and  making  their  religion  the  means  of  personal 
gain,  there  are  many  who  occupy  positions  of  importance  and 
influence  and  not  a  few  who  have  made  sacrifice  for  the  sake  of 
their  faith.  Among  the  members  of  the  Protestant  churches  the 
larger  part  belong  to  the  middle  or  better  class. 

As  an  illustration,  one  of  the  native  churches  in  Yokohama  has 
a  membership  of  six  hundred  and  seventy.  For  more  than  twenty 
years  they  have  supported  their  own  pastor  and  made  large  con- 
tributions to  the  general  work.  At  an  ordinary  contribution  to  the 
cause  of  home  missions  the  collection  amounted  to  |60.  One  of  the 
elders  is  the  proprietor  of  a  large  photographic  establishment  ; 
another  is  an  artist ;  and  two  more  are  business  men. 

In  the  present  Diet  there  are  thirteen  or  fourteen  Christians. 
The  President  of  the  Lower  House  is  a  very  devoted  member  and 
elder  in  the  Presbyterian  church.  The  recent  Chief  Justice  is  a 
prominent  member  of  the  Congregational  church.  The  Minister 
of  Foreign  Affairs  and  the  Secretary  of  the  Prime  Minister  are 
Christians.  The  captain  of  the  largest  ship  in  the  Japanese  navy 
is  a  Presbyterian  elder  ;  and  while  attached  to  the  naval  depart- 
ment in  Tokyo  was  the  President  of  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  in  that  city. 

In  the  faculty  'of  the  Imperial  University  there  are  three  or 
more  Christian  professors,  and  upwards  of  sixty  students.  The 
President  of  the  Agricultural  College  and  a  large  portion  of  the 
teachers  and  students  are  active  believers.  In  the  employ  of  the 
steamship  and  railway  companies,  as  also  in  the  banks,  there  is  a 
much  larger  number  of  Christian  young  men  than  would  naturally 
be  expected  from  their  proportion  to  the  whole  population. 

The  number  of  communicants  in  the  Protestant  churches  to-day 
is  not  far  from  41,000.  Their  contributions  to  the  support  of  the 
same  during  the  year  1898  were  upwards  of  $47,000.  Many  of  the 
Christians  make  large  sacrifices  on  account  of  their  faith.    In  a 


146  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER,  [March, 

considerable  part  of  the  eomitry  the  profession  of  Christianity  is 
attended  with  ridicule  and  opposition  that  tests  the  faith  to  the 
utmost.  Bnt  in  spite  of  all  hindrances  the  religion  of  Christ  is 
growing  in  influence  as  well  as  in  numbers,  and  the  only  hope  of 
the  country  lies  in  its  futnre  snccess. 


3n  riDemoriam. 

Dr.  masters. 
By  Rev.  C.  Bone. 


The  Ifist  mail  from  San  Francisco  brought  us  the  sad  intelligence 
of  the  sudden  death  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Masters.  Although  he  spent  but 
ten  years  in  Cliina,  he  was  essentially  a  inissionnry  to  the  Chinese ;  and 
the  last  fourteen  years  of  liis  busy  and  useful  life  he  devoted  to  the 
spread  of  the  gospel  amongst  the  Chinese  immigrants  on  the  Pacific 
slope.  Dr.  Masters  was  an  Englishman.  He  was  born  forty-nine  years 
at'o  in  EA'esham,  and  after  the  usual  middle  class  education,  spent  three 
years  in  Richmond  College,  which  was  then  exclusively  devoted  to  the 
training  of  missionaries.  He  came  to  China  in  the  autumn  of  1874. 
He  came  to  us  with  a  commanding  presence  ;  he  was  blessed  with  a  finely 
modulated  voice;  he  possessed  a  quick  ear  for  tones.  Consequently  he 
soon  became  a  fluent,  correct,  and  idiomatic  speaker  of  Cantonese.  He 
did  hard,  plodding,  conscientious,  and  successful  work,  and  there  are 
many  in  the  south  of  China  to-day  who  took  their  first  steps  in  the  way  of 
life,  led  b}'-  his  gentle  hand.  Dr.  Masters  was  also  a  powerful  preacher  in 
his  mother  tongue.  His  sermons,  logical  of  construction  and  pure  of 
diction,  are  remembered  yet,  and  if  at  times  he  was  thought  somewhat 
broad-minded  by  those  who  had  never  studied  Renan,  Wellhausen,  Colenso, 
and  Kuenen,  all  recoj^nized  in  him  a  loyal  champion  of  a  soul-saving  gospel. 

His  commentary  on  2nd  Corinthians  is  a  permanent  monument  of  his 
tireless  industry.  Dr.  Masters  was  a  genial,  brotherly  man,  whose 
love  of  fun  was  well-nigh  quenchless,  whose  exuberant  spirits  were  like 
dew  and  sunshine  to  all  within  the  circle  of  his  influence.  Of  his  life, 
after  he  left  China,  I  do  not  propose  to  write  at  length.  The  Californian 
papers  have  no  word  to  say  of  him  and  his  work  but  respectful  appre- 
ciation. He  devoted  fourteen  years  to  his  beloved  work  on  the  lovely 
Pacific  slope.  He  preached  in  the  streets  when  such  preaching  was 
unpopular.  He  attacked  the  high-binders  when  such  an  attitude  was 
dangerous.  He  defended  the  weak  when  such  devotion  was  Utopian. 
He  lived  for  the  solitary  Chinese  when  such  enthusiasm  was  a  puzzle. 
He  worked  for  the  government,  for  the  educated,  and  for  the  poor.  Now 
that  his  place  is  vacant,  all  recognize  the  unalloyed  manliness  of  the 
missionary,  and  all  vie  in  acknowledging  his  sterling  worth.  Dr.  Masters 
was  a  cultured  man — well  read  in  his  own  language,  a  reputable  scholar 
in  the  dead  languages,  and  a  frequent  and  able  contributor  to  the  current 
magazines  of  ids  adopted  country.  I  was  privileged  to  spend  a  fortnight 
with  him,  two  years  ago,  and  found  him  the  same  stalwart  Christian 
minister,  the  same  transparently  sincere  friend,  the  same  impassioned 
missionary — possessed  of  a  character  mellowed  by  age  and  beautified  by 
comnmnion  with  God.  He  lias  gone ;  his  place  will  not  be  more  ade- 
quately filled.  A  brother,  a  missionary,  a  man,  a  prince,  has-  fallen  in  the 
forefront  of  tlie  battle,  ere  yet  his  day  liad  wan«d. 


1900.] 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


147 


Corrcspaiititnci^* 


GOSPEL    ROLLS. 

To  the  Editor  of 

"Thk  Chinese  Recouder." 

Dear  Sir  :  I  have  recently  com- 
pleted what  I  call  the  first  edition 
of  my  "  Big  Gos-pel  Rolls,  "  and  I 
have  found  them  such  a  help  in 
my  woi'k,  it  seems  a  pity  that  the 
idea  should  not  become  widely 
known. 

From  each  of  the  gospels  I 
carefully  selected  passages  which 
seemed  the  most  striking  and  the 
most  easily  understood,  I  have 
employed  a  teacher  to  write  them 
out  on  large  sheets  of  paper  three 
feet  six  inches  by  two  feet,  in 
large  characters  readable  at  twelve 
or  fifteen  yards  distant.  These 
sheets  have  been  mounted  and 
then  bound  together  on  a  roll  like 
the  Daily  Text  Rolls;  a  heading 
or  hinge  of  calico  nine  inche^s, 
prevents  their  tearing  in  constant 
turning    over. 

1  now  have  Matthew,  Luke,  and 
John  more  or  less  complete,  and  so 
can  brinj^  the  Word  of  God  piom- 
inently  before  the  people.  I  find 
this  a  great  help  against  rambling 
and  aimless  talk,  and  would  ask 
special  prayer  for  this. 

There  are  few  stations  in  which 
the  teacher  has  not  many  leisure 
hours.  Let  him  write  out  a  few 
sheets  that  you  may  use  them   and 


try  for  yourself  and  native  helpers. 

I  l)egan  this  work  after  prayer- 
fully seeking  ^'uidance  about  the 
riiiht  use  of  £2  sent  for  the  work 
here. 

The      entrance     of     thv     WORD 
giveth  lii;ht.    And  I  trust  this  may 
lead   many  to  read  the  Scriptures 
lying   unused   in   so    many   homes, 
and  also  encourage  tiie    reading  of 
four  large  print   New  Testaments 
whichllend  in  tea  shops  in  this  city. 
I   must  also   mention   my    banner, 
"Repent,       for     the     Kingdom  t-: 
of  Heaven  is  at  hand,"  which  lias 
also   Ijeen  a   great  help  to  me,  1^ 
It  is  three  feet  six  inches  by  nine 
inches,   and   has   been    ray   con-  j^ 
stant    companion    in    town  and 
country  for  the  last  few  months     J 

It  goes  in  a  sling  across  my  ^ 
back  when  I  am  walking',  and  ^ 
is  now  getting  very  widely  ^ 
known.  ^ 

Probably  I  shall  be  changing /[fe 
this    banner    shortly  and    have 
Matthew  xxiv.  14  instead.  ^^ 

A  map  of  the  world  in  tract  form, 
twelve  inches  by  nine  indies,  is 
amongst  my  smaller  engines  of  war, 
but  very  useful,  because  I  have  at- 
tached to  it  a  small  calendar  with 
an  epitome  of  God's  dealinufs  with 
the  world  from  Adam  to  Christ, 
Believe  me. 

Yours  very  sincerely, 
M,  Beauciiamp. 


®ur  ^a0li  Cabk. 


The  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of 
Christian  and  General  Knowledge 
has  just  published  seven  volumes  of 
short  biographies  translated  by  Mrs. 
T.Richard.  They  are  on  white  paper, 
and  are  in  Mandarin  and  well  illus- 
trated. They  comprise  the  lives  of 
Christians— most  of  them  known 
in  the  church  as  leaders,  martyrs, 
or  philanthropists — chronologically 


arranged,  beginning  with  the 
apostles  and  ending  with  Professor 
Finney. 

Being  in  Mandarin  these  might 
be  useful  as  class  books  in  boys' 
and  gills'  schools  as  well  as  among 
women  and  children  generally. 

To  be  had  at  380  Honan  Road, 
Shanghai.  Price  $1.50  for  the 
seven  volumes  complete. 


148 


THE    CHINESE   RECOEDER, 


[March, 


We  are  glad  to  note  that  the  So" 
ciety  for  the  Diffusion  of  Christian 
and  General  Knowledge  has  issued 
this  the  first  part  of  the  autobiog- 
raphy of  the  venerable  John  G. 
Paton,  of  New  Hebrides  fame, 
whose  story  has  thrilled  multitudes 
in  all  English-speaking  lands.  The 
book  is  all  the  more  welcome  on  ac- 
count of  its  being  in  Kuan-hua, 
which  can  alone  do  justice  to  the 
graphic  style  of  the  original.  The 
book  will  be  devoured  by  native 
Christians,  and  pastors  would  do  well 
to  recommend  it  for  reading  aloud 
in  the  home  circle,  Bu*  the  story 
also  forms  a  valuable  and  striking 
evidence  of  Christianity  for  heathen 
readers.  The  book  ends  with  fare- 
well to  Tanna,  in  which  Mr,  Paton 
suffered  so  much  for  the  gospel ; 
and  which  is  still  the  scene  of 
bloodshed,  a  missionary  having 
lately  been  butchered  by  the  Tan- 
nese. 

The  work  is  the  translation  of 
Rev.  R,  Mateer,  of  Wei-hien,  Shan- 
tung Presbyterian  Mission,  and  the 
second  volume  will  follow  in  due 
time. 

Mc, 


Great  Books  as  Life-Teachers.  Studies 
of  Character  Real  and  Ideal.  By 
Newell  Dwight  Hillis,  Author  of 
"  The  Investment  of  Influence," 
"  Man's  Value  to  Society,"  etc. 

Right  Living  as  a  Fine  Art.  A  Study 
of  Channing's  Symphony  as  an  Out- 
line of  the  Ideal  Life  and  Character, 
Newell  Dwight  Hillis,  Fleming  H, 
Revell  Co.,  New  York^  Chicago, 
Toronto.  (To  be  had  of  Mr.  Edward 
Evans,  Shanghai.) 

The  career  of  Dr.  Hillis  has 
been  followed  by  a  multitude  of 
people  who  never  saw  him,  never 
heard  him,  and  know  very  little 
about  him  except  that  he  had  the 
moral  audacity  to  be  chosen  Dr. 
David  Swing's  successor  in  the 
unique  ministrations  of  the  Music 
Hall,  Chicago,  and  still  later  to  fol- 


low the  still  more  unique  captaincy 
of  Plymouth  Church,  Brooklyn, 
under  Henry  Ward  Beecher,  and  his 
pupil,  Dr.  Lyman  Abbott.  Dr.  Hillis 
has  published  many  books,  some  of 
which  we  have  previously  noticed 
in  these  columns.  They  are  all 
alike  full  of  meat,  and  show  that 
their  author  has  literally  drawn 
honey  from  a  multitude  of  hives. 
In  tiie  books  now  before  us,  he  has 
not  followed  his  previous  line  of 
selecting  a  theme  and  illuminating 
it  from  the  vast  ranges  of  human 
thought,  but  has  chosen  a  few 
great  books  and  has  analyzed  them 
on  a  plan  of  his  own  Avith  a  view 
to  the  elucidation  of  moral  instruc- 
tion therefrom. 

It  is  more  than  superfluous  to 
say  that  the  essays  are  brimful  of 
the  best  teaching  in  the  best  form. 
Many  readers  will  find  them  some- 
what florid  in  tlie  adornment  of 
expression,  but  this  is  a  fault  from 
which  the  more  recent  writings  of 
the  author  are  more  free  than  the 
earlier  ones.  It  is  well  known  thati 
the  substance  of  these  books  was 
delivered  as  discourses  to  Plymouth 
church  audiences,  but  possibly  not 
entirely  in  their  present  form. 
They  are  not  meant  as  homiletic 
models,  but  have  a  value  of  their 
own,  and  will  find  a  wide  and  a 
steadily  widening  circle  of  readers 
in  many  lands,  and  perhaps  wher- 
ever the  English  language  is  read. 


Eleventh  Annual  Report  of  the  Canadian 
Presbyterian  Mission  in  North  Honan, 
1899. 

This  young  Mission  now  numbers 
sixteen  adult  members  on  its  staff, 
together  with  a  number  of  workers 
who  have  no  mention  in  the 
official  list  i.e.,  the  wives  of  mis- 
sionaries. We  observe  that  the 
new  Imperial  Post  Office  has 
reached  North  Honan,  for  the  Mis- 
sion address  is  given  as  Chang-tS-fu 
via  Tientsin.  Three  main  stations 
are    occupied,    and    effective  work 


1900.] 


OUR   BOOK   TABLB. 


149 


done  in  Chang-te,  Wei-hui,  «and 
Huai-ch'ing,  the  three  northern  fu 
cities  of  the  province.  Adults 
baptized  during  the  year  number 
46.    ■ 

The  following  points  are  note- 
worthy :  (1).  All  the  stations  report 
an  increase  of  sales  of  Christian 
literature.  The  first  years  of  this 
mission  witnessed  extraordinary 
sales  of  literature.  This  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  period  of  indiflFerence 
to  books.  Now  a  stage  of  revived, 
and  we  believe  more  intelligent 
interest  in  books,  has  come.  The 
Reform  Edicts  caused  tlie  rise  of 
abnormal  feverish  interest,  succeed- 
ed by  the  cold  wave.  But  this 
year  it  is  gratifying  that,  notwith- 
standing, the  demand  is  increas- 
ing. Even  women  have  taken 
more  books  this  year  than  ever. 

(2).  Station  classes  are  now  self- 
supporting,  and  one  station  reports 
that  the  native  contributions  are 
enough  to  support  one  helper. 

(3).  A  further  advance  is  marked 
by  tlie  employment  in  future  of 
Honanese  as  helpers  instead  of 
importing  preachers  from  older 
missions  in  Shantung, 

(4).  There  is  better  observance  of 
the  rest  day  by  the  natives. 

(5).  The  first  chapel  erected  by 
the  natives  themselves,  in  a  small 
out-station,  has  been  dedicated. 

(6).  An  interesting  visit  to  hunt 
up  a  friend  in  the  capital  of  the 
province  showed  a  most  hopeful 
work  of  grace  in  that  great  city, 
entirely  carried  on  by  natives  who 
liad  visited  one  of  the  stations. 

(7).  A  noble  testimony.  We 
quote  from  the  Report :  "  At  a 
village  in  the  district,  where  a 
family  had  but  recently  forsaken 
idolatry,  threats  had  been  made  to 
compel  payment  of  the  customary 
temple  dues.  Two  of  the  natives 
were  sent  there  on  the  day  of  the 
tlieatricals  to  preach  and  sell  books, 
as  well  as  to  encourage  the  Chris- 
tians, but  the   villagers   seized  and 


beat  them.  Fastening  their  hands 
behind  their  backs  they  tied  them 
up  to  trees.  Besides  tln^y  smaslied 
their  table  and  chairs  and  tore  all 
their  books  to  pieces.  The  brethren 
thought  on  the  words  of  Jesus  and 
rejoiced,  and  said  :  'Since  you  have 
not  tied  our  tongues  we  will  continue 
to  testify  ! '  At  sundown  they  were 
released  and  told  to  leave  the  place. 
Two  other  Christians  hearing  of 
the  trouble  liastened  to  their  relief 
during  the  night.  They  held  their 
ground  next  day  ;  their  Bibles  were 
destroyed,  but  they  used  their  hymn- 
books  and  sung  and  testified."  Tiiis 
reads  like  the  account  of  Paul  and 
Silas,  with  their  feet  fast  in  the 
stocks,  praising  God. 

(8).  Such  societies  as  "  the 
Boxers,"  who  are  working  such 
havoc  in  the  neij^hboring  province 
of  Shantung,  do  not  seem  to  be 
active  in  Honan,  though  drought 
has  been  very  severe  and  the  future 
is  ominous.  A  little  local  insur- 
rection was  not  anti-foreign  or  anti- 
Christian,  and  tlie  leader  sent  the 
mission  a  friendly  letter  to  assure 
tlie  foreigners  he  meant  no  harm  to 
them  I  Well-poisoning  stories  swept 
over  the  field,  producing  blank 
dismay,  but  happily  no  lives  were 
taken,  and  the  excitement  died 
away. 

(9).  The  Mission  is  strong  in 
doctors  (four  male  and  two  female). 
The  extraordinary  number  of  catar- 
act cases  reported  in  previous  years, 
gives  little  sign  of  falling  off.  This 
year  there  were  thirty-four  in  one 
station  alone. 

D.  MacG. 


We  have  received  a  copy  of  Rev. 
Arthur  Smith's  new  work.  Village 
Life  in  China,  a  fitting  companion 
to  Characteristics,  which  we  hope 
to  notice  more  fully  in  our  next 
issue.  Price  to  missionaries,  $3.00. 
Presbyterian  Mission  Press  and  Mr. 
Edward  Evans. 


150 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[March, 


We  acknowledge  with  thanks  the 
receipt  from  the  Commercial  Press 
of  a  copy  of  their  English  and 
Chinese  Grammatical  Primer.  This, 
like  the  Readers,  etc.,  already  is- 
sued by  them,  is  a  translation  of 
the  work  prepared  by  the  Christian 
Vernacular  Society  of  India ;  and 
now,  being  issued  in  English  and 
Chinese,  makes  it  very  useful  in 
Chinese  school  rooms  where  English 
is  being  taught.  Paper  covers.  72 
pages.    Price  25  cents. 


Dr.  Muirhead  has  recei\ed  the 
following  notice  of  the  Mission 
World,  an  excellent  monthly 
magazine.  He  will  be  glad  to  send 
the  names  of  subscribers  to  the 
publishers  in  London  : — - 
The  Mission   World, 

We  would  be  greatly  obliged  if 
you  would  kindly  lend  us  your 
valuable  aid  in  making  The  Mission 
World  widely  known.  The  following 
brief  statement  has  been  signed  by  a 
number  of  leading  men  of  different 
religious  bodies  and  by  the  secre- 
taries of  almost  all  the  principal 
societies  : — 

"  Modern  missions  have  been  at 
work  for  about  a  century,  and  their 
operations  now  extend  to  almost  all 
parts  of  the  world,  while  their  work 
increases  daily  in  interest.  It  is 
therefore  of  the  greatest  importance 
that  there  should  be  a  journal 
published  in  the  United  Kingdom, 
giving  intelligently,  in  a  Catholic 
spirit  and  in  an  attractive,  readable 
method,  with  perfect  fairness  and 
trustworthiness,  a  connected  view, 
from  month  to  month,  of  the  prog- 
ress of  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in 
all  parts  of  the  foreign  field.  This 
want  has,  in  our  opinion,  been  well 
supplied  by  The  Mission  World, 
which  we  strongly  commend — wish- 
ing for  it  a  large  circulation." 

The  Mission  World  is  thus  not  a 
private  speculation,  but  a  public 
undertaking  for  a  most  necessary 
object  in  the  midst  of  the  rapid 
advance      of      missionary      effort. 


Clergymen  of  different  churches 
could  help  greatly  by  making  it 
widely  known  to  their  congregations 
by  whatever  means  seem  to  them 
most  advisable,  and  sending  names 
of  subscribers. 

All  such  assistance  would  be  of 
importance.  Lists  of  new  subscrib- 
ers could  be  sent  either  to  the 
publishers,  Marshall  Brothers,  Kes- 
wick House,  Paternoster  Row, 
London,  E.  C,  by  whom  copies  will 
be  sent,  without  delay,  post  free,  for 
four  shillings  a  year,  two  shillings  a 
half-year,  or  one  shilling  a  quarter, 
or  to  any  booksellers. 


Books  for  Mohamtnedans, 

Enquiries  often  come  to  us  as  to 
what  books,  suitable  especially  for 
Moslems,  are  available.  The  foU 
lowing  list  is  all  we  can  find  : — 

1-  ^'MjEM-  This  book,  com- 
posed by  Mr.  Mcllvaine,  long  since 
dead,  was  written  byhimat  Chi-nan- 
fu,  the  capital  of  Shantung.  When 
he  came  as  one  of  the  very  first 
to  preach  the  gospel  tliere,  the 
Mohammedans  flocked  around  him 
in  great  numbeis,  claiming  tliat 
they  were  religiously  nearly  related 
to  him.  This  kinship  Mr.  Mcllvaine 
was  not  willing,  however,  to  ac- 
knowledge, and  consequently  many 
bitter  argumentations  took  place. 
The  result  is  this  book,  in  which 
he  delivers  straight  from  the 
shoulder  blows  at  Mohammed  and 
his  doctrines,  sparing  nothing  and 
acknowledging  nothing  in  their 
favor.  The  first  part  of  the  argu- 
ment is  good,  showing  that  I'evela- 
tion  could  not  be  continued  in 
Mohammed  in  the  way  he  claimed, 
so  as  to  supersede  Christianity. 
But  the  references  to  the  prophet 
are  such  as  to  gender  the  deepest 
hate  in  the  mind  of  a  Moslem 
reader,  and  the  use  of  the  book 
would  need  to  be  wise,  or  riots 
could  be  easily  stirred  up  in  short 
order. 


1900.] 


OUR   BOOK  TABLE. 


151 


2.  ^mmmmEi^mt^'t- 

This  is  the  tliird  in  the  series 
published  by  the  S.  D.  C.  K.  called 
"  Portable  Evidence  of  Christian- 
ity."" The  idea  of  the  series  is  to 
furnish  from  all  lands  the  most 
noted  examples  of  conversion  to 
Christianity.  The  subject  of  this 
number  tells  how  an  Indian  Moslem 
passed  through  various  sects  of 
Mosleuiisin  without  finding  peace 
which  he  does  ultimately  in 
Chiistianity.  The  convert  after- 
wards becomes  a  minister  of  the 
Episcopal  Churcli.  The  book  is 
founded  on  an  autobiography.  This 
cannot  but  do  good  wherever  dis- 
tril)uted  to  Moslems. 

^-  SltMM  U-  In  *li>s  catech- 
ism by  Dr.  Muirhead,  which  deals 
mainly  with  the  Chinese  three 
reliijiions,  he  devotes  a  few  pages  to 
Mohainmedisra. 

4.  We  learn  that  the  S.  D.  C.  K. 
lias  in  press  a  volume  on  Compara- 
tive Religions,  in  which  the  four 
great  living  religions  are  treated. 
The  first  two  chapters  deal  with 
Mohammedism  in  a  modern  spirit, 
and  it  is  the  intention  to  publish 
these  separately  in  order  that  those 
upon  whose  hearts  work  for 
Moslems  is  laid,  ujay  be  able  to 
make  special  use  of  this  part. 

If  there  are  any  other  books 
which  deal  with  Moslems  we  would 
be  glad  to  hear  of  them. 


iS  ®  itl«.  3  vols.    Easy  Wcn-li,  by  ^ 
S  7^,  of  Shanghai. 

These  sermons  are  among  the 
recent  publications  of  the  Chinese 
Tract  Society  of  this  city.  Formerly 
we  had  Village  Sermons  by  Milne, 
Sermons  by  Moule,  and  Kuan-hua 
Sermons  by  DuBose.  All  these 
have  been  useful  for  Sabbath  read- 
ing to  Christians  who  are  too  few 
in  number  to  have  a  pastor  of  their 
own.  The  present  work  differs 
from  the  foregoing,  in  that  it  is  the 
first  specimen  of  sermons  from  a 
native,  and  as  such  is  to  be  wel- 


comed,    Ifc  shows  for  one  thing  the 
growth  of  the  native  church. 

From  the  Preface  we  learn  that 
the  author  was  educated  in  the 
schools  of  the  Episcopal  Church, 
especially  in  theology  at  St.  John's 
College,  and  iiis  book  has  received 
the  approval  of  his  Bishop.  He 
tells  us  that  owing  to  his  once 
having  been  partially  asphyxiated 
by  charcoal  fumes  his  memory 
seemed  ever  after  to  be  so  impaired 
that  he  could  not  recall  the  heads 
of  his  discourse  without  written 
notes.  In  time  the  number  of 
these  had  so  increased  that  when 
he  had  leisure  at  ^  |f^,  to  which 
he  was  appointed  preacher,  he 
revised  the  Avhole  and  had  them 
printed.  If  all  Chinese  preachers 
were  compelled  to  prepare  their 
sermons  with  similar  care  there 
would  doubtless  be  a  marked  im- 
provement in  their  utterances. 

The  preacher,  out  of  seventy-three 
sermons  has  nineteen  texts  from  the 
Old  Testament,  and  the  following 
list  of  most  of  his  New  Testament 
subjects  will  give  a  fair  idea  of  his 
range  : — 

Vol.  1.  Blessed  be  the  God  and 
Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
In  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of 
the  Son  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  I 
am  the  bright  and  morning  star, 
The  precious  box  of  ointment,  I  am 
the  Good  Shepherd,  He  is  not 
ashamed  to  call  them  brethren,  The 
temptation.  Triumphal  entry,  He  is 
the  propitiation  for  our  sins.  The 
resurrection.  The  ascension,  A  name 
which  is  above  every  name.  The 
sheep  and  the  goats.  Neither  give 
place  to  the  Devil  (four  sermons). 

Vol.  2.  The  leaves  were  for  the 
healing  of  the  nations,  Pool  of 
Bethesda,  Behold  I  stand  at  the 
door  and  knock,  Thy  will  be  done, 
The  one  thing  needful.  Nothing  but 
leaves.  Without  faith  it  is  impossible 
to  please  God,  God  be  merciful  to  me 
a  sinner.  The  laborers  in  the  vine- 
yard. This  do  in  remembrance  of 
me  (two  sermons),  Bring  him  to  me. 


152 


THE    CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[March, 


He  that  eateth  my  flesh  and  drinketh 
luy  blood  hath  eternal  life,  The 
seven  words  on  the  cross. 

Vol.  3.  Quit  ye  like  men,  Faith- 
ful in  a  few  thinf;s,  Faithful  unto 
death,  Let  not  the  sun  go  down 
upon  your  wrath,  Son  of  David 
have  mercy  upon  me  that  I  may 
receive  my  sight,  Go  ye  into  all  the 
world.  Examine  yourselves,  The 
time  is  short,  Grace,  mercy,  and 
peace  be  unto  you. 

The  treatment  usually  falls  under 
three  heads  in  the  old-fashioned 
way.  His  illustrations  are  usually 
from  Scripture,  and  one  would  hke 
if  he  had  made  more  frequent  use 
of  illustrations  peculiar  to  his  own 
country.  But  the  Wen-li  form 
seems  to  forbid  anything  novel  in 
this  line.  The  sermons  are  ad- 
dressed to  Christian  congregations, 
and  differ  in  that  respect  from  Dr. 


DuBose's  work.  But  the  sermons 
will  be  appreciated  by  helpers  and 
others  who  seek  to  edify  Christian, 
gatherings.  D.  MacG. 


The  Christian  Endeavor  Topic 
Cards  (in  Chinese),  with  Daily 
Readings,  for  1900,  are  now  ready. 
Price  two  and  a  half  cents  each. 
Presbyterian  Mission  Press. 


PAMPHLETS   AND   MAGAZINES 
RECEIVED. 

The  China  Beview  for  December 
and  January. 

Annual  Report  of  the  Medical 
Missionary  Society  in  China  (Can- 
ton) for  1899. 

Twenty-fourth  Annual  Report  of 
the  Central  China  Religious  Tract 
Society  (Hankow). 

Ecumenical  Conferenceon  Foreign 
Missions.     (New  York.) 


dBtrit0ria;I    €mmmnt 


We  begin  in  this  number  of 
the  Recorder  a  series  of  articles 
by  Dr.  Mateer,  which  are  of  the 
nature  of  a  critique  on  Dr. 
Nevius'  little  book— "Methods 
of  Mission  Work."  Many  will 
be  glad  to  read  what  Dr.  Mateer 
has  to  say,  as  it  has  long  been 
felt  that  something  ought  to  be 
written  showing  what  has  been 
the  outcome  of  the  application  of 
Dr.  Nevius'  theories  in  the  very 
field  in  which  he  labored.  Dr. 
Mateer  has  waited  long  before 
writing,  and  now  writes  carefully 
and  candidly.  He  would  be  the 
last  to  misrepresent  Dr.  Nevius 
or  his  methods,  but  he  feels  that 
in  justice  to  the  work  of  missions, 
not  alone  in  China,  but  also  in 
other  lands,  certain  facts  should 
be  given  and  impressions  cor- 
rected. The  work  of  missions 
is  not  only  many  sided  but  also 
coraph'cated.  We  sometimes 
think    we    see    clearly,    and   iu 


stating  our  views  we  find 
many  to  corroborate  or  at  least 
approve  them,  when  perhaps  all 
the  time  we  were  mistaken,  or 
were  dwelling  upon  half  truths. 
Certainly  with  Dr.  Mateer's  arti- 
cle before  us  we  shall  be  able 
to  form  a  juster  estimate  of  the 
views  of  Dr.  Nevius,  and  the 
cause  of  truth  will  be  a  gainer, 
as  also  the  cause  of  missions. 
When  the  articles  are  finished 
they  will  be  gathered  into  a 
booklet  and  published. 


Our  missionary  friends  in  the 
province  of  Shantung  are  cer- 
tainly living  in  perilous  times. 
The  "Boxers"  are  threatening 
them  on  every  hand,  and  while 
no  foreign  missionary  has  suffer- 
ed violence — so  far  as  we  know — 
since  the  lamentable  death  of 
Mr.  Brooke,  yet  the  native 
Christians  have   endured   untold 


1900.] 


EDITORIAL   COMMENT. 


153 


persecution,  have  been  mulcted 
in  fines  of  fifty  fcaels  or  more 
each,  in  places,  and  been  robbed 
and  .  plundered,  the  Cliinese 
officials  quietly  looking  on.  Sol- 
diers have  been  sent  to  various 
places,  but  with  strict  orders  to 
make  no  trouble  wit,h  the  Box- 
ers. A  friend  writes  that  the 
Empress-Dowager  is  trying  to 
protect  the  missionaries  under 
cue  wing  and  the  Boxers  under 
the  other.  We  scarcely  think, 
though,  that  she  has  the  mission- 
aries "  under  her  wing."  At  tbe 
same  time  she  is  afraid  to  have 
them  killed  or  driven  out  for 
fear  of  international  complica- 
tions. A  note  from  Dr.  Porter, 
of  P'ang-chuang,  received  jusfc 
before  we  go  to  press,  states  tliat 
Dr.  Smith  (Rev.  A.  H.)  and  Mr. 
Chapiu  had  gone  to  (^hi-nan  Fu 
to  consult  with  Mr.  Campbell  in 
the  matter  of  the  Boxers.  We 
are  sure  our  readers  everywhere 
will  be  glad  to  unite  in  prayer 
that  God's  people  may  be  pro- 
tected iu  these  times  of  trouble. 

The  real  animus  which  actuates 
the  Empress-Dowager  is  seen  iu 
the  fact,  recorded  in  the  Shanghai 
daily  papers  of  February  26th, that 
she  has  issued  orders  to  have  the 
bones  of  K'ang  Yu-wei's  ances- 
tors taken  from  their  resting  place 
and  destroyed.  We  only  hope 
that  K'ang  is  enlightened  enough 
to  know  that  this  can  only  harm 
the  perpetrator  of  such  an  act  of 
vandalism.  Meanwhile  we  learn 
that  K'ang,  fearing,  doubtless,  for 
his  life,  baa  left  Sinoapore,  taking 
passage  for  England.  Word 
also  comes  that  Mr.  King,  late 
superintendent  of  telegraphs,  has 
been  arrested  by  the  Portuguese 
in  Macao,  and  is  to  be  handed 
over  to  the  Chinese  authorities. 


This  is  in  such  strong  contrast  to 
the  action  of  the  Britisii  govern- 
ment in  relation  to  these  much 
sought  after  but  honored  ref- 
ugees, that  we  hope  tlie  Portu- 
guese government  will  repudiate 
the  action  of  the  loc;il  authorities 
and  release  Mr.  King,  and,  more 
than  that,  ensure  him  safety  so 
long  as  he  is  on  Portuguese  soil. 

The    Ecnraenical    Conference 
on  Foreign  Missions  which  is  to 
be  held  in  New  York,  April  2lst. 
to    May    1st,   promises   to    be  a 
grand    affair,    and    we   consider 
those  hap[)y  who  will  be  able  to 
attend  it.     Already  we  begin  to 
hear  people  declaiming  against 
the  great  expense  it  will  be,  and 
like  some  of  the  disciples  when 
they  thought  there  had  been  a 
lavish     and     needless     use     of 
precious  ointment    on    one    oc- 
casion,    exclaim,     "  Why     this 
waste."     But  the  Lord  did  not 
object.     It  was  worth  all  it  cost. 
We  always  feel   sad  at  a  great 
expenditure    of    money    over   a 
funeral,    but    at    a    wedding, — 
that's  a  different  matter.     That's 
for  the  living.     And  this  is  to  be 
in   some   respects    the   grandest 
wedding    that   Christendom  has 
ever   witnessed.     Not  only   will 
the  ends  of  the   earth  be  here 
brought  together,  but  the  dift'er- 
ent  branches   of  the   church   of 
God  will  be  brought  into  touch 
and  sympathy  as  never  before. 
We  believe  that  this  Council  will 
have  far  reaching  effects  for  good 
upon   the    work  of  missions  for 
all  time  to  come,  and  all  that  it 
costs    will  be  more  than  amply 
repaid  by  what  it  achieves.     We 
do  not  believe  that  the  Master  will 
object  to  tlie  expense.    Let  grum- 
blers say  what  they  may;  let  ws 
rejoice  and  give  thanks. 


154 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[March, 


We  wonld  call  special  atten- 
tion to  the  Tentative  Pro.2;ram  of 
the  Christian  Endeavor  Conven- 
tion, to  he  held  at  Foochow, 
April  3rd  to  6th.  Dr.  Clark  has 
already  arrived  in  Japan,  and 
the  friends  in  Foochow  are  pat- 
ting forth  every  effort  to  make 
the  Convention  such  a  meeting 
as  has  never  before  been  held  in 
China.  We  feel  sure  that  it  will 
be  well  worth  while  for  every- 
body to  attend  that  can  possibly 
do  so.     There  are  perhaps  more 


native  Christians  in  and  abont 
Foochow  than  any  other  part  of 
China,  and  they  seem  to  be 
capable  of  more  enthusiasm, 
jndgiuo:  from  all  we  have  heard. 
Even  if  some  of  the  Chinese 
Endeavorers  are  not  able  to  nn- 
derstaud  all  that  goes  on,  owing 
to  difference  oc  dialect,  etc.,  yet 
they  will  get  great  good  jnst 
from  seeing  and  being  part  of 
such  a  meeting.  Do  not  forget 
the  time,  April  '3rd  to  6th. 


is.^i0ixarjT 


ci:^' 


Statistics  of  the  English  JBaptist  Mission , 
Shantung,  to  31st  December,  1899. 


Ch'ing-chow-fu.   Chou-ping. 


Area. 
Workers. 

Stations. 

Membership. 


Area  worked  in  counties... 

Missionaries  and  wives  and 
Z.  M.  S.  workers 


19 


Stations  occupied  by  foreigners   1 
Sub-stations  ...  ...       98 

Baptized  last  year ^^•^\\ 

-    -  .^1 


3.3 


Educational. 


52 


Transferred  or  added  otherwise 
Decrease  by  death,  etc.     ...       46 
Total     membership     (com- 
municants)         1,618 

Theological  Training  Insti- 
tute, Ch'ing-chow-fu  .„ 
Boarding-school    for    boys, 

Ch'ingchow-fu 

Boarding-school    for    girls, 

temporarily  dismissed. 

Village  schools  for  boys    ... 

do.  „    girls   ... 

do.      scholars  (boys) 

do.  „        (girls) 

Native  staff  in  Mission  em- 

p'oy    

Medical  returns,  dispensary 

patients  9,650 
do.  hospital  ,,  21 1 
do.  visited  in  homes  250 
do.     poisoning  cases  ...    33  J 

Museum  Work.  Visitors  to  museum,  Ch'ing-chow-fu. 


Ch'ing-ciiow-fu,  February  2ud,  1900. 


14 

15 

1 

209 

28^284 
49 


2,577 

students 
70  pupils 


12)*" 
76)*^* 


Native  Staff. 
Medical  Work. 


43 


10,144 


60 

9,013"! 
143  [ 

37J 


Total. 
18 

34 
2 

307 
406 


95 


4,195 

52 
70 


774  ^ ' 

103)8^^ 
103 


18,663] 


663 1 
9,193     JgJ  [19,337 
70J 

78,399 


R.  C.  Forsyth. 


state  of  the  Missions  whose  Eead-qimrters  are  at 
Eangchow  for  the  year  (£.  "M)  ending  January  80th,  1900. 


... 

Actual  Oorn- 

Raptized 

Applicants 

Contributions  (by 

M18BIONARY  S0CIKTIK8,  Missions, 

inuiiicaiits. 

(lunntf  the 

for  liaptisni. 

('hinese  only), 

AND  CIIURCIIK8. 

year. 

Church  (2)  1  Alms  and 

M.  (1)  F. 

M.        F. 

M.        F. 

support.    1  other  uses. 

CHURCH- 

1864,  Haiif/chow 
By  letters 

56    32 
27    23 

23:!:  10 

15      6 

190.60 

67.08 

MISSION- 

1876, River Hsiena 

27    31 

8      5 

9      9 

61.20 

12.95 

ARY 

1877,  ChukiCh..\ 
'                West        J 

120    60 

34      7 

35      6 

130.00 

74.00 

SOCIETY, 

Chn-kiCh.,\ 
East        j 
P^u-kyang 

55    29 

17    ... 

24      9 

56.00 

14.00 

C.  M.  S. , 

3    ... 

2     ... 

10      4 

6.00 

2.00 

Totals 

463 

106 

126 

$603.83 

AMERI-    ^ 

1865,  Ilangchotu 

76    50 

7 

8 

146.00 

79.00 

CAN 

Sin-z 

24     12 

8 

12 

56.00 

41.00 

PRESBY- 

Hai-ving 

6      2 

1 

8 

TERIAN 

I           Tong-yang 

37     49 

10 

12 

20.00 

'8.66 

MISSION. 

P'u-kyang 

14      2 

7 

12 

16.00 

NORTH, 
A.  P.  M.N. . 

Totals 

272 

33 

52 

$366.00 

■\ 

1866,  Hangchow 

25    29 

3      2 

5      1 

74.84 

CHINA 

Siao-san 

11     12 

4     ... 

7      4 

71.40 

H 

Chu-ki 

34     14 

4     ... 

7      3 

20.00 

<-► 

INLAND 

Siii-dzen 

10      5 

1     ... 

2      3 

4.20 

— 

Dong  lit 

12      6 

2     ... 

3       1 

8.20 

K) 

MISSION, 

Yil-ang 

17      9 

•»•          •♦• 

4      4 

15.10 

Lin-an 

26      8 

•  »• 

6      2 

11.00 

«J 

C.  I.  M.  , 

An-kyih 

5      3 

...       1 

4      2 

8.60 

Totals 

226 

17 

58 

$242.11 

AMERICAN^  imS.T'ieusioeA 

PRESBY- 

gyao    ] 

46    72 

5      6 

4      1 

69.38 

25.68 

TERIAN 

MISSION, 

Hana-Tai-bin-^ 

■  Choio       gyao 

18     16 

3      3 

5      5 

43.29 

7.07 

SOUTH, 

Totals 

A.  P.  M.  S.  , 

152 

17 

15 

$145.42 

Totals  reported  1900  .Ian.  31 

1,113 

173 

251 

$1,.357.36 

.,            ,,        1899  Feb.  10 

990 

115 

322 

1,493.39 

,,            „         1898  Jan.  22 

1,009 

126 

285 

1,. 333. 22 

„            »        1897  Feb.    2 

971 

155 

192 

1  038.44 

»            „        1896     „      3 

876 

131 

189 

750.01 

M            „         1894     „       6 

685 

79 

117 

707.14 

„        1893     „     17 

662 

105 

115 

718.34 

„             „         1892  Jan.  30 

575 

98 

93 

624.00 

„            „        1891  Feb.    9 

486 

82 

137 

550.90 

„            „         1890  Jan.  21 

443 

63 

109 

514.67 

„            „        1889     „     31 

430 

32 

75 

496.13  . 

„            „        1888  Feb.  11 

442 

30 

69 

411.80 

„            „         1884  Jan.  28 

350 

36 

41 

320.00 

Notes. — (1).  Digproportion  of  the  iSea;e«.— Looking  at  the  aggregate  of  communicants  only  about 
41  per  cent,  are  women.  Of  those  returned  by  C.  M.  S.  litttle  more  than  37i  %,  by  A.  P.  M.,  N.,  about 
42 J  %,  by  C.  I.  JI.  38  %,  but  by  A.  P.  M.,  S.,  nearly  67  %,  accounted  for  perhaps  by  the  great  girls' 
school  at  T'ien-swe-gyao.  I  am  inclined  to  attribute  the  paucit.^'  of  female  converts  not  to  the  lack  of 
women  evangelists,  who  are  far  more  numerous  than  the  clergy,  so  much  as  to  the  apathy  of  husbands 
and  parents  with  regard  to  the  spiritual  interests  of  wives  and  daughters.  In  part  it  is  accounted  for 
by  the  woman's  difficulty  in  attending  church. 

(2).  Contributions. — These  on  the  whole  are  not  up  to  last  year's  mark.  Only  C.  M.  S.  records  a 
decided  increase.  This  consists  partly  of  gifts  to  the  Society's  Centenary  and  Gleaners'  Funds,  partly 
of  a  gift  of  $J0  by  a  native  Christian  in  Chu-ki  towards  relief  of  Christians  rendered  destitute  by  last 
sununer's  floods.  Towards  chiuxh  mpjiort,  owing  to  bad  harvests,  less  wtvs  given  in  Chu-ki  than  prom- 
ised at  the  beginning  of  the  year.  Nevertheless  the  collections  there  and  in  Hangchow  reached  a 
total  of  §376,  or  about  91  %  of  the  mlarieK  of  the  three  native  pastors  in  charge.  Other  expenses  are 
met  partly  by  the  interest  on  a  deposit  fund  collected  before  pastors  were  appointed,  partly  by  a 
grant-in-aid  of  the  common  fund  from  C.  M.  S.,  annually  reduced  by  5  X  (of  the  original  grant).  "The 
Hangchow  congregation  gave  some  §50  more  than  their  pastor's  salary.  They  could  easily  have  done 
better. 

1'.  S.  Addendum.— Besides  the  sum  above  reported,  the  native  members  of  the  Ajiericak 
Presbvtkrias  Mission,  North,  contributed  §170  towards  the  expense  of  removing  and  enlarging  one  of 
the  college  buildings,  raising  their  total  of  coiUributious  to  $536  and  the  aggregate  from  Hangchow 
native  Christi.ins  to  §1,527.36. 

J  Lepers,  twelve,  included. 


January  31.  1900. 


G  E   MouLE  Bi.-iho}t 


156 


THE    CHINESE    RECORDER. 


[March, 


Mevival  in  An-huei, 

There  has  been,  and  is  still  in 
the  C'hu-clieo  district,  Central 
An-huei,  quite  a  revival  iu  the 
churches  there  established.  For 
long  years  the  missionaries  here 
have  been  working  "  as  seeing 
Him  who  is  invisible."  ISTow  the 
Lord  is  giving  the  increase.  Within 
four  months  thitty-seven  souls  have 
been  brought  into  the  kingdom. 
Our  joy  is  attended  also  with  re- 
newed responsibility  in  the  training 
of  thesenewly-eniancipated  converts, 

W.  Remfry  Hunt. 


JReports  Wanted. 

An  eflfort  is  being  made  to  com- 
pile a  report  of  Cliristian  Endeavor 
work  in  Cliina.  Many  individuals 
have  been  written  to  for  reports, 
but  some  may  have  been  over- 
looked, and  letters  may  not  have 
reached  their  destination.  We 
would  therefore  ask  those  who 
have  Christian  Endeavor  Societies 
which  have  not  been  reported  to 
send  statistics  and  an  account  of 
work  done,  to  Miss  Susie  M. 
Burdick,  West  Gate,  Shanghai. 
While  the  reports  from  distant 
stations  could  not  be  received  in 
time  to  be  presented  at  the  Foo- 
chow  Convention  in  April,  they 
would  go  to  make  the  report  of 
the  year  more  complete. 


Anti- Opium  League  Notes, 

The  Executive  Committee  at  its 
meeting,  December  23rd,  1899, 
elected  Rev.  R,  A.  Parker  as  one 
of  its  members  in  place  of  Rev.  T. 
A.  Hearn,  who  returns  home.  Rev. 
C.  J.  Voskcamp  and  Rev.  F. 
Brown  were  also  elected  vice- 
presidents  of  sections  in  and  about 
Shantung.  Rev.  Geo.  Hudson  was 
commissioned  to  represent  the 
League  while  at  home  in  England. 

At  tlie  meeting,  January  13th, 
1900,   Dr.    W.   H.    Park  reported 


that  his  tract,  "  Shall  we  all  smoke 
Opium  ? "  had  been  published  and 
sent  to  every  missionary  in  China. 
It  was  decided  to  elect  local 
secretaries  of  the  League  in  as 
many  different  stations  as  possible, 
whose  duties  shall  be  to  collect 
funds  for  the  cause,  distribute 
anti-opium  literature,  organize 
societies,  and  do  all  that  is  possible 
to  create  a  local  interest  in  this 
anti-opium  crusade.  Resolutions 
were  also  passed,  asking  the  Pro- 
gramme Committee  of  the  Ecu- 
menical Conference  to  give  a  place 
for  the  consideration  of  the  subject 
of  anti-opium  during  the  meeting 
in  New  York,  and  that  Dr.  Speer 
be  requested  to  represent  the 
League,  and  that  three  thousand 
copies  of  the  book  "  Opinions  of 
One  Hundred  Doctors  as  to  the 
Use  of  Opium,"  be  sent  to  that  Con- 
ference. 


At  the  meeting  of  the  Executive 
CoMJinittee  of  the  Anti-Opium 
League  on  February  6th,  the 
president  read  a  letter  from  Mr. 
Wilson,  Secretary  of  the  Society 
for  the  Suppression  of  Opium, 
expressing  their  gratification  at  the 
work  of  our  Society  in  China. 

Rev.  John  Ross,  of  Moukden, 
was  elected  vice-president  for  Man- 
churia. 

T.  C.  Britton, 

SeG7'etary. 


Tentative  Program  for 
the  National  Christian 
Endeavor  Convention  of 
China  f  at  Foochow,  April 
3rd  to  6th,  1900. 

Tuesday,  p.m.,  April  3rd,  at  C.  M. 
S.  Ladies'  Home.  Reception  and 
Recognition  Meeting  to  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  F.   E.   Clark. 

Wednesday,     a.m.,    April    4th, 
Tieng  Ang  Dong  Church. 
9-9.30.  Early  Prayer  Meeting. 
9.30.  Rev.  G.  H.  Hubbard  and  Mr. 
Ho  Hok-siug  presiding 


190O.] 


MISSIONARY  NEWS. 


157 


Welcomes  by  C.  E.  and  Epworth 
League  Presidents — Mr.  Ding  Kai- 
ceng  and   Mr.   Go  Tieng-seu, 

10  a.m.  Rt!sponses  by  Central 
Committee  and  Visitors. 

11  a.m.  World-wide  Endeavor.  Dr. 

F.  E.  Clark. 
Wednesday,  p.m.,  Geu  Cio  Dong. 

2  p.m.  Paper  on  the  15th  Anniver- 
sary. Miss  E.  J.  Newton. 

2.30.  Good  Citizenship.  Rev.  Mr. 
Darwent,  of  Shanghai. 

3.15.    Active  and  Associate  Mem- 
bers' Pledges.  Dr.  Clark. 
Thursday,  a.m.,  Geu  Cio  Dong. 

9.9.30.  Early  Prayer  Meeting. 

9.30-10.30.  Mr.  Lyon  or  Mr. 
Brockman.     On  Bible  Study. 

10.30.  Prayer.     Native  speakers. 

11-12.      The  Quiet  Hour.    Dr.  F. 
E.  Clark. 
Thursday,  p.m.,  Tieng  Ang  Dong. 

3.  Junior  Endeavor  Rally. 

3-3.30.  Address  by  Mrs.  Rich,  of 
Shanghai. 

3.30.  Address  by  Mrs.  F.  E.  Clark. 
Friday,  a.m.,  Tieng  Ang  Dong 

9-9.30.    Prayer  Meeting. 

9.30.  The  Lookout  Committee.  How 
to  make  C.  E.  and  E.  L. 
Societies  grow.  Native  speakers. 

10-11.  Systematic  Giving.  Dr. 
Clark.    Voluntary  discussion. 

Friday,  2  p.m.,  Geu  Cio  Dong. 
Consecration  service.  Led  by 
Dr.  F.  E.  Clark. 


Dr.  Porter,  of  P'ang-chuang, 
writes  us  : — 

We  are  still  in  the  midst  of  the 
trial  and  sorrow  of  the  "  Spitit 
Boxer  "  movement.  Who  could  have 
foretold  three  months  ago  that 
such  widespread  disaster  would 
succeed  !  One  could  not  have  imag- 
ined the  idiocy  or  the  obdurate- 
ness  of  the  Ciiinese  officials. 

On  the  18th  of  October,  the  battle, 
of  which  I  wrote  you,  stopped  for  a 
brief  period  the  progress  of  the  perse- 
cutors. For  ten  days  there  was  an 
evident  paralysis  of  their  plans. 
During  that  time  the  criminal  pur- 


poses of  the  Shantung  governor 
slowly  developed.  His  reply  to  oui' 
earlier  appeals  were  intended  for 
show  alone.  He  degraded  the  suc- 
cessful leaders  in  that  tight,  arrested 
the  constable  who  had  been  brave 
enough  to  attempt  to  attack  the 
Boxers  in  their  nest,  and  whether 
wittingly  or  not,  allowed  the  heads 
of  the  Boxers  to  suppose  they  were 
authorized  in  their  attacks  upon 
Christians.  Then  followed  in  quick 
succession  the  attacks  upon  Roman 
Catholic  chapels  and  the  subsequent 
successive  lootings  in  Ch'ih  p'ing, 
Kao-t'ang,  and  Ch'ang-ch'ing.  As 
the  result  of  the  widespread  feeling 
that  the  Boxers  had  a  secret  order 
from  the  Empress,  permitting  them 
to  do  as  they  pleased,  they  re- 
organized very  rapidly.  Within 
a  month  there  were  twenty  districts 
in  Chihli  and  Shantung  full  of 
the  raiders  who  committed  daily 
depredation.  When  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Verity  arrived  here  en  7'oute  for 
Tai-an,  it  was  from  great  peril  that 
they  escaped  attack.  The  higher 
authorities  at  Peking  at  last  were 
roused  to  a  conception  of  the  enor- 
mity of  the  depredations.  The 
overthrow  of  governor  Yvi  was  a 
most  merciful  providence.  Yuan 
Shih-k'ai  came  as  soon  as  possible, 
but  not  early  enough  to  stay  the 
utmost  of  misery  and  sorrow.  The 
soldiers  from  Tientsin  arrived  in 
time  to  prevent  the  looting  of  the 
London  Mission  in  Chi-chuu,  but 
not  early  enough  to  prevent  the 
looting  of  one  hundred  Christian 
families  of  Protestants  in  Chihli. 
One  of  our  very  lovely  little  stations, 
the  home  of  a  native  pastor  and 
the  center  of  work  for  nearly  forty 
years,  was  trampled  upon  by  the 
wild  boars  from  the  forest.  Chapel 
and  school  and  home  were  wlioUy 
despoiled.  The  loss  was  very  great 
and  the  sorrow  and  despair  still 
greater.  Rees'  compound  was  filled 
with  refugees.  Our  flocks  in  Kao- 
t'ang  suffered  one  by  one  until 
not  a  family  escaped.  Finally   the 


158 


THE   CHINE8B    RECORDER. 


very  week  that  the  governor  as- 
sumed the  office,  another  of  our  spe- 
cially happy  stations  was  looted  in 
a  friglitful  manner,  in  the  district 
of  Hsia-chin,  although  the  official 
had  been  fully  informed  of  the 
danger.  He  made  an  effort  to 
drive  the  Boxers  from  his  own 
district,  but  none  whatever  to 
throttle  the  rising,  although  he  had 
soldiers  in  good  numbers.  That 
•was  the  same  week  that  Mr.  Brooks 
was  murdered  so  ruthlessly  and  his 
head  offered  to  the  way-side  g  od. 
Gen.  Yuan  has  been  making  an  effort 
to  catch  up  with  the  destruction 
and  awful  wrong.  But  he  is  hedged 
about  by  method  and  etiquette. 
The  four  officials  chiefly  implicat- 
ed in  indolence  and  negligence, 
are  likely  to  be  replaced.  Two  fair 
^proclamations  have  been  reluctantly 
issued.  Three  men  were  beheaded 
by  Yu  Hsien  as  a  sop  to  the 
foreign  influence  which  secured  his 
removal.  But  aside  from  that 
veiy  few  arrests  have  been  made 
and  no  vigor  shown  in  an  effort  to 
suppress  this  vast  tumult  with  its 
terrible  meaning.  The  wonder  is 
that  so  little  harm  has  come  to  the 
four  stations  of  foreigners  in  the 
Vortex  of  the  storm.  The  Lord  has 
been  very  gracious.  The  despoiled 
church  members,  Catholic  and  Prot- 
estant, have  stood  by  their  faith 
with  wonderful  persistence.  Very 
few  have  fallen  away.  A  bitter 
winter  has  followed  the  track  of  the 
Boxers.  We  have  never  known 
such  extreme  cold.  The  New  Year 
is  close  at  hand,  and  we  still  do  not 
know  that  immediate  relief  is  to 
come.  In  view  of  imminent  peril 
not  far  off,  eighty  soldiers  have 
come  to  stand  guard  through  the 
peril  of  the  New  Year  quiet. 

When  all  this  storm  has  passed 
and  the  sunshine  appears  again, 
shall  we  see  the  beginning  of  that 
new  China  for  which  we  wait  ? 
The  Protestant  Christians  at  least 
Vv^ill  feel  fresher  bonds  of  sympathy 
and  the  martyr  church  of  Shantung 


[March, 

will  make  a  fresh  appeal  to  the 
prayers  and  interest  of  men  through- 
out the  empire. 


Reinforeetnents  for  the 

Christian  Literature 

Society  for  China. 

It  is  very  gratifying  to  the 
Christian  Literature  Society  for 
China  {i.e.,  the  S.  D.  C.  K.)  that  the 
missionary  societies  in  Europe  and 
America  are  beginning  to  realize  the 
importance  of  setting  men  apart  to 
prepare  Christian  literature  just 
as  much  as  it  is  important  to  have 
men  specially  qualified  as  evangel- 
ists, medical  men,  educationists,  or 
for  any  other  department  of  work. 

Early  last  year  our  Society  was 
reinforced  hy  the  Rev.  W.  A. 
Cornaby,  who  edits  our  Chinese 
Missionary  Review.  Later  on  in 
the  year  we  find  the  Canadian 
Presbyterians  and  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  expressing  their 
views  on  the  subject.  Many  no 
doubt  will  be  glad  to  read  the 
following  extracts : — 

The  Westminster,  Canada,  for  May 
20th,  1899,  writes:— 

AppomTMENT  OF  Rev.  Donald 

McGlLLIVRAY,  M.A.,  B.I>. 

"  The  General  Assembly's  Foreign 
Mission  Committee  meeting  in 
Toronto,  Tuesday  last,  did  a  most 
unusual  thing,  a  thing  for  which, 
as  far  as  we  know,  they  had  no 
precedent,  a  tiling  which  deprives 
the  Mission  in  Honan  of  one  of  its 
most  valuable  members,  but  a  thing 
which,  we  are  convinced,  will  not 
only  stand  to  their  credit  but  will 
tell  in  the  work  of  Chinese  re* 
generation  and  missionary  exten- 
sion far  beyond  what  the  Committee 
or  the  church  in  Canada  can 
measure  or  comprehend.  They 
agreed,  subject  to  the  approval  of 
the  General  Assembly,  to  the  re- 
lease of  the  Rev.  Donald  Mc- 
Gillivray    from   service   in    Honan 


1900] 


MISSIONARY  NEWS. 


159 


and  to  his  transference  to  the 
service  of  the  Society  for  the 
Diffusion  of  Cliristiaii  and  General 
Knowledge  among  the  Chinese, 
with  .head-quarters  at  Shan<,'hai. 
This  action  of  the  Foreign  Mission 
Committee  is  so  exceptional,  and 
the  announcement  of  it  will  come 
witii  such  surprize  to  the  church, 
that  it  deserves  special  attention. 
And  in  that  work  of  evangelization 
the  church  of  Jesus  CInist  needs 
not  only  evangelists,  educationists, 
medical  missionaries,  and  the  like, 
specially  qualified  and  set  apart 
each  to  his  peculiar  work,  but  also, 
and  at  this  unique  crisis,  most 
urgently,  there  are  needed  con- 
secrated men  of  literary  gifts  to 
provide  Christian  literature  to  meet 
the  new  and  enormous  demand  for 
Western  knowledge. 

"The  new  literature  will  decide 
the  character  of  the  new  China. 
Let  it  be  Christian,  and  the  victory 
of  Christian  missions  is  sure  ;  let  it 
be  infidel,  and  the  sorest  battles 
and  worst  defeats  are  yet  to  come. 

"  Tlie  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of 
Christian  and  General  Knowledge 
among  the  Chinese,  which  has 
recently  issued  its  Eleventh  Annual 
Report,  most  assuredly  has  come 
into  the  kingdom  for  such  a  time 
as  this. 

"The  years  of  experiment  and 
preparation  have  been  enormously 
rich  in  results,  and  in  the  new 
times  now  upon  China  the  Society 
will  become  the  greatest  missionary 
force  in  the  empire.  It  works 
through  all  the  missionary  societies 
of  all  the  churches. 

"  China. — It  is  the  hope  of  the 
Society  that  one  man  at  least  from 
each  of  the  great  missionary  societies 
working  in  China  should  be  set 
apart  for  the  special  work  of  provid- 
ing for  China  a  new  literature  based 
on  Christian  principles,  and  the 
success  of  their  small  effoit  is  full 
of  promise  for  the  Mission  Boards, 
and  calls  for  immediate  and  ex- 
tensive enlargement  of  the  work." 


Appointment  op  Rev.  W.  G. 
Walsiie,  B.A. 

The  Committee  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  on  receipt  of  a 
letter  from  Bishop  Moule,  enclosing 
letters  from  the  .'Secretary  of  the 
Christian  Literature  Society  in 
Shanghai,  passed  the  following 
Resolution : — 

"  I. — The  Committee  have  for 
some  years  had  pressed  upon  them 
the  importance  of  taking  a  larger 
share  in  the  evangelization  of  the 
woild  through  the  agency  of  dis- 
tinctively Christian  literature, 
specially  in  connexion  with  their 
work  in  China.  They  believe  this 
branch  of  missionary  labour  to  be 
second  to  none  in  solemn  respon- 
sibility and  in  possibilities  of  useful- 
ness, as  being  well-nigh  the  only 
means,  humanly  speaking,  by  which 
to  reach  the  more  educated  classes 
of  Chinese  society. 

"  When  they  recall  how  much  the 
English  church  owes  at  the  present 
moment  to  the  writings  of  her  great 
divines,  and  attempt  to  measure  the 
influence  of  Christian  literature  in 
our  own  lands,  and  still  more  when 
they  realize  how  much  of  the  time 
and  strength  of  the  great  mission- 
ary to  the  Gentile  world  were 
occupied  in  this  branch  of  service, 
and  seek  to  gauge  the  immeasurable 
results  which  have  flowed  there- 
from, they  believe  that  they  possess 
unassailable  ground  for  a  policy 
which  they  desire  now,  by  God's 
help,  more  adequately  to  develop. 

"  2. — Moreover,  inasmuch  as  a 
special  request  has  at  this  juncture 
come  to  the  Committee  through  the 
Bishop  of  Mid-China  from  a  society 
which  is  specially  identified  with  the 
diff"usion  of  Christian  and  general 
knowledge  among  the  Chinese, 
emphasizing  the  urgent  need  which 
exists  that  the  leading  officials  of 
China  sliould  become  more  conver- 
sant with  the  aims  and  nature  of 
Christianity,  pointing  out  that  their 
ignorance    is    the    natural     result 


160 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[March, 


of  the  fact  that  very  few  books  on 
the  subject  are  as  yet  published  in 
Chinese,  pleading  that  a  strong  body 
of  men  is  required  to  supply  this 
need,  and  definitely  appealing  to 
the  Conamittee  to  permit  the  Rev. 
W.  G.  Walshe,  of  the  Mid-China 
Mission,  to  be  set  apart  for  the 
purpose  of  taking  a  share  in  this 
great  enterprize ;  and  inasmuch  as 
this  suggestion  has  been  cordially 
approved  by  the  Bishop  of  Mid- 
China,  and  is  known  to  be  in  entire 
harmony  with  Mr.  Walshe's  own 
■wish, — the  Committee,  having  had 
the   matter   under   their   full   and 


prayerful  consideration,  have  come 
to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  their 
bounden  duty  to  take  an  augmented 
share  in  the  production  of  distinct- 
ive Christian  literature  for  China  ; 
they  therefore  approve  of  the  Rev. 
W.  G.  Walshe  devoting  his  time 
and  energies  to  literary  work  of  this 
particular  character. 

"  While  this  arrangement  will  at 
present  be  tentative,  the  Committee 
express  the  hope  that  it  may  lead, 
if  it  so  please  God,  to  fuller  and 
permanent  developments." 

Timothy  Richard. 


liarjT  nf  ^trcnis  in  tijc  Jin:r  (^ctst 


Editorial  reference  was  made  in  our 
last  issue  as  to  the  coup  d'etat  at 
Peking.  We  give  below  the  text  of  the 
sundry  decrees  : — 

TO  KKCEIV]    INSTRUCTIONS  CONCERNING 
A   NEW   EMPEROR. 

T'he  Grand  Secretariat  is  hereby  com- 
manded to  transmit  our  instructions  to 
the  following  persons  : — P'u  Wei,  Prince 
of  Kung,  1st  Order;  Princes  Tsai  Lien 
and  Tsai  Ying,  3rd  Order,  and  Duke 
Tsai  Lan  ;  also  the  members  of  the 
Grand  Secretariat,  Lord  Chamberlain, 
Ministers  of  the  Presence,  Grand  Council, 
Board  of  Comptrollers-General  of  the 
Imperial  Household  Department,  the 
Manchu  and  Chinese  Presidents  of  the 
Six  Boards  and  Nine  Ministries,  and  the 
heads  of  the  Imperial  Academy  and 
Library.  The  above-named  are  hereby 
commanded  to  assemble  in  the  Palace 
to-morrow  morning  (24th  January)  and 
await  further  instruction. 


THE  RESIGNATION  OF  THE  EMPEROR 

KUANG  HsiJ.  (January  24). 

While  yet  in  our  infancy  we  were 
by  grace  of  the  Emperor  Tung  Chih 
chosen  to  succeed  him  in  the  heavy 
responsibilities  of  Head  of  the  whole 
empire,  and  when  His  Majesty  died  we 
sought  day  and  night  to  be  deserving 
of  such  kindness  by  energy  and  faithful- 
ness in  our  duties.  We  were  also 
indebted  to  the  Empress-Dowager  who 
taught  and  cherished  us  assiduously,  and 
to  her  we  owe  our  safety  to  the  present 
day.     Now  be  it  also  known  that,  when 


selected  to  the  Throne,  it  was  then 
agreed  that  if  ever  we  should  have  a 
son,  that  son  should  be  proclaimed 
heir  to  the  Throne.  But  ever  since  last 
year  (1898)  we  have  been  constantly  ill, 
and  it  was  for  this  reason  that,  in  the 
8th  month  of  that  year,  the  Empress- 
Dowager  graciously  acceded  to  our 
urgent  prayers  and  took  over  the  reins 
of  government  in  order  to  instruct  us 
in  our  duties.  A  year  has  now  passed, 
and  still  we  find  ourselves  an  invalid  ; 
but  ever  keeping  in  our  mind  that  we 
do  not  belong  to  the  direct  line  of 
succession,  and  that  for  the  sake  of  the 
safety  of  the  empire  of  our  ancestors  a 
legal  heir  should  be  selected  to  the 
Tlirone,  We  again  prayed  the  Empress- 
Dowager  to  caiefully  choose  from 
amongst  the  members  of  the  Imperial 
Clan  such  an  one,  and  this  she  has  done 
in  the  person  of  P'u  Chiin,  son  of  Tsai 
Yi,  Prince  Tuan,  2nd  Order. 

KUANG  HSiJ  PROCLAIMS  THE  NEW 
EMPEROR, 

We  hereby  command  that  P'u  Chiin, 
the  son  of  Tsai  Yi,  Prince  Tuan,  2nd 
Order,  be  made  heir  to  the  late  Emperor 
Tung  Chih. 

TUTORS   FOR  THE   NEW   EMPEROR. 

The  Ta  A-yo,  being  still  young  in 
years  and  at  the  age  for  instruction,  We 
hereby  appoint  Ch'ung  Yi  to  be  Im- 
perial Tutor,  and  the  Grand  Secretary 
Hsu  Tung  is  to  be  always  by  the  Prince's 
side  to  attend  to  him.  The  Court  of  the 
Prince  is  to  be  in  the  Western  Palace. 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY    JOURNAL 


161 


OTHER   MATTERS, 

A  telegram  from  Tsin-tao,  of  tlie  14(h 
states  that  a  (k'tacliinent  of  180  men, 
with  two  Held  guns  and  two  maxim-guns 
under  command  of  Mnjor  Diirr,  Jmve 
left  Tsin-tao  to-day  for  Kiao-cliou  in 
order  to  protect  tlie  lives  and  property 
of  Germans  in  the  hiiderland. 

From  Peking,  on  the  16th  : 


"  News  has  been  received  at  the 
Legation  that  two  members  of  the  Burma 
Commission,  named  Kiddie  and  Snther- 
liind,  were  murdered  in  tlie  bazaar  at 
Meng-ka,  200  miles  from  Teng-yue 
(Momein),  on  tlieBurmo-Ciiinese  frontier, 
on  tlie  10th  instant.  Mr.  (i.  J.  L.  Litton, 
of  tlie  British  Connular  Service  in  China, 
was  slightly  wounded  on  the  same 
ocoasion." 


P^issionarjT  |0urnaL 


BIRTHS. 

At  Nairn,  Scotland,  Dec.  31st,  1899,   the 

wife  of  Rev.  W.  M.  Cameron,  A.  B.  S., 

of  a  son. 
At    Ch'uiigk'ing,    Jan.     18th,     Esther 

Louisa,  the  wife  of  Isaac  Mason,    F, 

F.  M.  A.,  Hung  Hsien,  of  a  daughter, 
"Grace." 
At  Chinkiang,  Jan.  27th,  the  wife  of  A. 

Gracik,  C.  I.  M  ,  of  twin  daughters; 

one  still-born. 
At  Deerfield  Centre,    New    Hampshire, 

U.  S.  A.,  the  wife  of  W.  W.  Simpson, 

C  and  M.  A.J  of  a  daughter,  Louise 

Martina. 
On  the  3rd  of  February,  1900,  at  Amoy, 

the  wife  of  the  Rev.  A.  J.  Hutchinson, 

of  a  son  (Henrj-  James). 

MARRIAGES. 

At  Piio-ninLf,  Dee.  2otli,  R.  W,  Middle- 
ton   and  Miss  M.  A   G.  Jose,  ('.  I.  M, 

At  Piio-mng,  Jan.  4th,  James  C.  Plati 
and  Miss  E.  Hunt,  C,  I.  M. 

At  Shanghai,  Feb  9 rh,  Robert  GiLLlES 
and  Miss  V.  A.  Russell,  C.  L  M. 

At  Hongkong,  Feb.  22nd,  Rev.  AUGUST 
Bettin  and  Miss  Anna  Wollermann, 
Rh.  M.  S. 

At  Shanghai,  Feb.  21th,  Rev.  C.  A. 
MoKCAN  and  Miss  M.  Gower,  C.  L  M. 

DEATHS. 

At  Sui-fu,  Sz-chuan,  Jan.  16th,  of  bron- 
cho-pnenmonia,  at  the  age  of  !)  months 
and  7  days,  Helene  Gertrude,  only 
child  of  Rev.  and  Mrs.  C.  A.  Salquist, 
A.  B.  M.  U. 

At  Ta-kut'ang,  February  26tl),  of  pneu- 
monia, Miss  Sundstrom,  of  the  C.  I.  M. 

ARRIVALS. 

At  Shanghai,  Januar}'   16th,    Dr.    Geo. 

F.  Stooke,  for  C.  S.  M.,  Ichang. 
At  Amoy,   January    ISth,    Miss  Angie 

M.  Myers,  M.D.,  for  A.  R.  C.  M. 
At     Shanghai,     February     .3rd,      Rev. 

John  McCarthy,    from  England   via 

Ainerica,  for  C.  I.  M 
At     Hongkong,     February    7th,      Rev. 

Wilhelm  Schmidt,  Rav.  Paul  Lang- 


RELE,  M.A.,  and  Miss  Anna  Wol- 
LKHMANN,  from  Germany  for  Rh.  M.  S. 
At  Shanghai,  February  11th,  Rev.  E. 
and  Mrs.  Tomalin,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  H. 
F.  Ridley  and  two  children,  Misses 
A.  M.  M.  Gower,  M.  Goold,  L. 
Richardson,  G.  M.  Blakely,  G. 
Dring,  E.  a.  Shepperd,  J.  Carmi- 

CHAEL,    E.     W.    FlSHE,    M.    H.    FiSHE, 

N.  E.  FiSHE,  from  England  for  C. 
I.  M. 

At  Shanghai,  February  ISth,  W.  W. 
Lindsay,  from  Australia,  for  C   I.  M. 

At  Shanghai,  February  21st,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  W.  Hagqvist  and  two  children, 
Jliss  A.  Olson  and  Mr.  Emil  John- 
son, from  America,  for  C.  I,  M. 

At  Shanghai,  February  22nd,  Messrs. 
N.  Carleson.  D.  Urquhakt,  C. 
Wohllebeu  and  E.  PETTER^sox,  from 
England,  for  C.  I.  M. 

At  Shangliai,  February  26th,  Miss  M. 
Wiley,  frmn  America,  for  A.  B.  C. 
F.  M.,  Foochow. 

At  Shinghai,  February  27th,  Miss  R. 
Groves,  from  England,  for  C.  M., 
Ningpo,  Rev.  C.  H.  Parsons,  Rev. 
and  Mrs.  J.  JoH.  Skold  (returned), 
and  Miss  Isakson,  ..for  the  Swe.  Mis. 
Soc.,  Hankow. 

DEPARTURES. 

From  Shanghai,  February  4th,  Rev, 
F.  E.  Meigs,  F.  C.  M  S  ,  for  U.  S.  A.; 
Rev.  and  Mrs.  J.  L.  Rees,  A.  C-  M., 
and  children,  for  London  ;  Mr.  Robert 
Watt,  B.  and  F.  li.  S  ,  for  U.  S.  A. 

From  Sliangliai,  February  8th,  Rev. 
A.  In(;lem.\n,  for  Sweden. 

From  Shanghai,  February  17th,  Mi.'s 
Alice  Johnston,  B.  (i.  M.  (A),  Kiu- 
kiang,  foi  England;  Mrs.  F.  E.  Mei<;s, 
F.  C.  AF.  S  ..and  oliildrer,  for  U.  S.  A.; 
Rev.  T.  Richard,  S.  D.  C.  K.,  for 
New  York, 

Fr)m  Shanghai,  Februarj'  26th,  Rev. 
W.  H.  Sears  and  family,  Rev.  J.  W. 
■Pierce  and  family,  botii  of  S.  B.  C, 
for  U.  S.  A.  ;  Rev.  and  Mrs.  A.  E. 
Thor,  C.  I.  M.,  and  children  ;  Rev.  J. 
S.;  Whitewright,  E.  B.  M  ,  and 
family,  for  England. 


ADVERTISEMENTS. 


The  following  books  are  cordially  recommended  for  use  in  schools, 
families  or  for  presents  to  Chinese  pupils  and  friends,  and  for  prizes  in 
schools. 


m    m    \^    m 

First  Lessons  in  Draudng,  gives  in  easy  Chinese  the  simplest  and 
most  important  rules  in  drawing.  The  author  has  compressed  into 
twenty -one  pages  all  that  is  necessary  to  be  known  in  order  to  execute 
simple  drawings;  including,  what  the  Chinese  so  much  fail  on,  the  laws  of 
perspective. 

The  principles  are  illustrated  with  fifty-nine  well-executed  cuts  and 
figures.     Price  10  cents. 

:i^    ^    IE    ^  .  — 

The  Illustrated  Primer,  fourth  edition,  contains  three  hundred  and 
seventy-six  large  characters  with  which  the  child  easily  becomes  familiar 
while  looking  at  the  pictures.  There  are  four  pictures  on  each  p;ige  witli 
the  name  of  the  article  in  large  characters  opposite.  It  can  be  had  with 
explanations  in  the  Shangliai  Colloquial.     Price  10  cents. 

'^      ^      11      M     ^, 

The  First  Reader  is  designed  to  succeed  the  Primer  as  a  school  book. 

It  has  a  picture  on  each  page  with  letter  press  description  in  large  type, 
making  an  attractive  picture  book  for  a  present  to  a  child  or  for  a  prize 
in  school.     Price  1 0  cents. 

ik  m  m  ,    , 

Resiwnsive  Readings  \^  the  translation  of  the  Souls'  Cry  and  the  Lord's 
Answer,  arranged  for  alternate  reading  by  tlie  pastor  and  congregation  or 
the  teacher  and  pupils  in  connection  witii  devotional  exercises  in  schools. 
It  is  made  up  of  suitable  extracts  from  the  Bible,  and  in  giving  all  a  part 
is  likely  to  help  them  to  take  more  interest  in  the  services.  It  can  be 
had  in  Mandarin  and  in  the  Shanghai  Colloquial.     Price  6  cents. 

m  M  m  \^  ^.m  f^ 

Around  the  World  Pictures,  or  Pictures  Jrom  all  Lands.  We 
acknowledge  with  thanks  the  leceipt  of  a  book  got  up  in  Chinese  style, 
containing  more  than  one  hundred  engravings  of  scenes  in  different  parts 
of  the  world,  which  are  so  arranged  as  to  enable  the  reader  to  take  (in 
imagination)  a  round  the  world  trip,  starting  from  Peking,  proceeding 
thence  to  India  and  Europe  and  returning  via  America  and  Japan.  The 
Introduction  is  in  Chinese  and  the  titles  of  the  scenes  depicted  are  given 
both  in  Chinese  and  in  English. — The  Shanghai  Mercury. 

The  North-China  Daily  News  says  : — ^^  Pictures  from  All  Lands  is  a 
quarto  volume  of  100  pages  well  printed  on  Chinese  paper.  It  contains 
one  hundred  wood-cuts  of  such  scenery,  cities  and  buildings  as  would  be 
seen  on  a  journey  round  the  world  and  will  go  far  to  impress  tlie  Chinese 
who  see  the  volume  with  a  proper  idea  of  Western  nations,  and  will  supply 
plenty  of  matter  for  cogitation,  pleasure  and  wonder  on  the  part  of  Chi- 
nese readers." 

The  Union  says: — ^'^ All  Around  the  World  Pictures  should  fulfil  the 
purpose  for  which  it  has  been  publislied,  namely  to  enlighten  the  natives. 
We  would  suggest  that  people  who  live  in  the  interior  among  the  Chinese 
should  purchase  copies  which  could  also  be  presented  as  prizes  to  the 
children  in  the  various  mission  schools  throughout  the  country." 

For  sale  at  the  Mission  Press  and  the  Scientific  Book  Store,  Shanghai. 
Price  $1.00. 


THE 


CHINESE  RECORDER 


^^x^^ionavif^   ^oxtxvtaC. 


Vol,  XXXL  No.  4. 


APPTT     IQOn  C  $3.50  per  annum,  post 

APRIL,  1900.  I      p^.^   ^(.^j^  ^1  75^ 


i.  iJeFiew  of  "Methods  of  Mission  Work." 

BY  REV.  C.  W.  MATEER,  D.D. 

(Continued  from  p.  122,  March  number.) 

Chapter  IV. 

False  Impressions  Made. 

HILE  Dr.  Nevius  of  course  intended  to  give  a  perfectly  fair 
statement  of  the  whole  case,  and  took  pains  to  qualify 
his  argument  in  various  ways,  yet  in  setting  forth  and 
defending  his  theories,  his  enthusiasm  seems  to  have  carried  "him 
away  and  blinded  his  eyes  to  some  very  important  facts  and 
principles.  The  arguments  adduced  in  favor  are  elaborate  and 
exhaustive,  whilst  the  qualifying  admissions  are  comparatively 
few  and  brief,  and,  coming  for  the  most  part  at  the  close,  fail  to 
make  any  adequate  impression.  The  net  result  of  the  wide  circula- 
tion of  the  book  has  been  the  creating  of  a  false  impression  in 
several  important  respects. 

1.  Planting  of  New  Stations  the  Result  of  a  Method, 

The  impression  has  been  made,  especially  on  those  at  a 
distance,  that  the  rapid  and  successful  planting  of  a  large  number 
of  new  stations,  embracing  over  one  thousand  converts,  was  the 
result  of  a  particular  method  of  propagation.  In  two  short 
paragraphs  an  account  is  given  of  the  events  which  led  to  the  open- 
ing  of  these  numerous  stations.  The  famine  is,  of  course,  referred 
to,  but  that  prominence  is  not  given  to  it  which  the  circumstances 
demand.  In  order  to  understand  the  case,  a  little  history  is 
necessary. 

In  1869  Dr.  Nevius  returned  to  China  after  a  prolonged  visit 
in  America.     He  at  first  settled  in  T^ngchow,  but  presently  re- 


164  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [April, 

moved  to  Chefeo.  He  took  very  little  part  in  the  local  work  at 
Cbefoo,  but  began  making  long  itinerating  tours  in  the  spring 
and  autumn.  He  chose  as  his  "beat,"  as  he  was  wont  to  call  it,  a 
string  of  towns  embracing  a  strip  of  country  lying  parallel  with 
the  southern  coast  of  the  province,  and  extending  past  Chiao-c/iiu 
through  Chu-ch'eng  in  the  direction  of  I-chow-fu.  This  "  beat " 
he  went  over  regularly  twice  each  year.  His  plan  was  to  remain 
several  days  in  a  place,  not  preaching  on  the  street  or  in  the 
surrounding  villages,  but  receiving  visitors  in  his  inn.  He  usually 
had  with  him  a  servant  and  one  or  two  helpers.  One  or  more  of 
these  went  out  each  day  on  the  street  or  to  adjoining  villages,  dis- 
tributing books  and  talking  with  the  people,  inviting  and  oftentimes 
conducting  them  to  the  inn  to  see  the  foreign  teacher.  These 
visitors  were  usually  received  in  an  anteroom  and  entertained  and 
discoursed  to  until  it  was  convenient  for  Dr.  Nevius  to  see  them. 
While  he  was  on  one  of  these  tours  I  visited  him  at  Ghu-ch'ing 
and  remained  with  him  a  day  or  two.  His  method  impressed 
me  as  in  some  respects  a  very  admirable  one,  especially  for  one  who 
knew  so  well  how  to  entertain  and  make  a  good  impression  on  a 
guest.  It  should  also  be  stated  that  Dr.  Nevius'  throat  was  weak, 
and  did  not  allow  of  his  preaching  to  any  extent  to  a  crowd  on  the 
street.  Moreover  he  did  not,  as  he  has  repeatedly  told  me,  have 
much  faith  in  the  efficiency  of  such  preaching.  This  "beat"  he 
continued  to  traverse,  with  slight  variations,  for  about  seven  years. 
During  the  first  five  years  he  did  not  make  a  single  convert,  and 
but  very  few  during  the  next  two,  not  establishing  a  single  station. 
When  in  1877  the  famine  came,  it  did  not  include  the  region  referred 
to — barely  touching  it  on  the  north.  When  in  response  to  appeals 
for  help  large  sums  were  contributed  in  Shanghai  and  elsewhere, 
Dr.  Nevius  was  out  on  his  regular  tour.  A  special  messenger 
was  sent,  asking  him  to  leave  his  regular  work  and  go  north- 
ward into  the  famine  district  and  assist  in  distributing  the  reliefli 
This  he  did,  and  continued  until  the  close,  canvassing  an  extensive 
district  and  distributing  to  over  thirty  thousand  people.  The 
effect  produced  was  profound  and  far-reaching.  The  strong  antipathy 
to  foreigners  was  neutralized  and  the  minds  of  the  people  opened 
to  hear  what  was  said  in  favor  of  a  religion  which  had  produced 
Buch  a  splendid  charity.  Towards  the  close  of  the  distribution 
Dr.  Nevius  and  his  helpers  made  a  start  in  mission  work  by  preach- 
ing and  distributing  some  books.  The  following  autumn  he  forsook 
his  usual  beat  to  the  south  and  went  north  into  the  famine  district, 
where  inquirers  crowded  around  him,  more  than  he  and  his  helpers 
were  able  to  teach.  From  this  time,  as  he  himself  says,  "the 
work  of  establishing  stations  was  foirly  begun,"  and  it  continued 


1900.]  A   REVIEW  OF  "METHODS  OF  MISSION    WORK."  165 

until  in  a  few  years  the  whole  region  was  dotted  with  stations- 
Having  but  few  helpers,  and  not  wishing  to  employ  more,  he 
developed  the  system  of  teaching  by  memorizing  a  catechism  and 
select  [jortions  of  Scripture,  and  the  reciting  and  amplifying  of  Bible 
stories,  eiitrnsting  the  work  in  each  station  to  the  man  who  seemed 
to  be  tlie  uatnral  leader  and  best  fitted  to  teach  others.  In  1881-2 
Dr.  Nevins  was  absent  a  year  and  a  half  on  fnrlongh.  During  this 
time  llev.  J.  A.  Leyenberger  took  cliarge  of  his  work  and  carried  it 
forward  on  precisely  the  same  lines.  In  his  hands  it  spread  still 
farther  to  the  north,  extending  in  some  cases  beyond  the  actual 
bounds  of  the  famine  distribution.  The  effect  of  the  famine  relief 
was  not  confined  to  the  localities  benefited,  but  extended  to 
adjoining  districts.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  very  little  evangelistic 
work  had  previously  been  done  in  this  region.  It  had  been  crossed 
a  few  times  by  diff'erent  missionaries,  and  books  had  been  scattered, 
as  was  the  case  in  most  parts  of  the  province,  but  no  lodgment 
had  been  made.  The  large  and  rapid  development  achieved  by  Dr. 
Nevius  was  on  practically  new  ground,  a  fact  which  it  is  impor- 
tant to  keep  in  view. 

Now  I  think  it  must  be  evident  to  everyone  at  all  acquainted 
with  the  nature  of  heathen  evangelization,  and  who  carefully 
considers  the  facts,  that  this  large  and  rapid  development  of  stations 
on  new  ground  was  not  due  to  a  method,  but  to  a  providence.  Before 
the  close  of  his  series  of  articles  in  the  Recorder,  I  personally 
protested  to  Dr.  Nevius  that  he  was  not  putting  the  case  fairly, 
and  that  his  representation  of  it  was  misleading.  He  promised 
to  make  some  explanations  in  his  last  article,  and  especially  to 
speak  of  his  previous  seven  years  of  fruitless  labor  in  an  adjoining 
district.  This  he  did  to  some  extent  (see  pages  90-2),  but  not  at 
all  in  such  an  adequate  way  as  would  serve  to  correct  the  wrong 
impression  already  made,  viz.,  that  the  great  success  which  attended 
his  work,  was  mrttM/y  ^/le  resuZ^  of  an  improved  method.  Zeal  for 
his  method  blinded  his  eyes  to  the  wrong  impression  he  had  made. 
It  is  sufficient  to  observe  that  his  previous  labors  on  a  different 
field,  based  on  the  same  ideas  as  to  method,  yielded  almost  no 
result  at  all,  while  his  labor  in  the  wake  of  the  famine  relief, 
though  not  preceded  by  any  seed-sowing,  quickly  yielded  a  splendid 
result.  I  call  special  attention  to  this  fact.  It  may  furthermore  be 
noted  that  Dr.  Corbett's  labors  in  the  famine  district  and  adjoining 
parts,  though  based  on  a  different  method,  yielded  equally  encourag- 
ing results,  although  he  himself  had  not  participated  in  the  famine 
distribution. 

I  strongly  suspect  that  Dr.  Nevius'  presentation  of  his  method 
has  created  in   the   minds  of  manv  voung  missionaries  who   have 


166  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [April, 

set  themselves  to  imitate  him,  expectations  which  have  not  heen 
realized;  the  result  beiog  that  they  have  been  greatly  dis- 
couraged and  driven  to  think  and  say  hard  things  of  themselves 
as  the  source  of  the  failure. 

2.  Self-supporting  Churches. 

As  the  result  of  the  circulation  of  "Methods  of  Mission  "Work," 
the  impression  has  gone  abroad  that  amongst  Dr.  Nevins'  stations 
there  were,  and  are,  a  large  number  of  self-supporting  churches. 
The  numerous  articles  written  on  this  general  subject,  both  in 
China  and  elsewhere,  in  which  reference  is  made  to  Dr.  Nevius'  book 
and  work,  sufficiently  attest  the  existence  of  this  impression.  As 
the  term  self-support  is  generally  understood  by  the  Protestant 
Christian  world,  this  impression  is  a  false  one.  A  self-supporting 
church  is  a  company  of  believers  organized  as  a  church,  with  some 
kind  of  administrative  ofScers,  and  supporting  by  its  own  contribu- 
tions a  pastor  who  administers  ordinances  and  statedly  preaches 
the  gospel  to  the  people.  Now  as  thus  understood.  Dr.  Nevius  did 
not  have  a  single  self-supporting  church  amongst  his  sixty  stations, 
nor  anything  that  approximated  it.  These  stations  were  simply 
little  companies  of  from  three  or  four  to  twenty  or  thirty  Christians 
who  met  with  more  or  less  regularity  on  the  Sabbath,  to  be  in- 
structed and  drilled  in  a  certain  course  of  study  by  the  leaders 
whom  he  had  appointed  and  trained.  He  himself  visited  them 
twice  each  year  for  a  day  (rarely  more),  to  review  their  studies  and 
examine  and  baptize  new  converts.  They  had  no  organization  as 
churches,  no  elders,  deacons,  or  office  bearers  of  any  kind  (except 
the  leader  appointed  by  Dr.  Nevius).  They  had  no  pastor  or 
preaching,  and  contributed  very  little  for  the  support  of  anything. 
In  regard  to  this  point,  one  of  the  Wei-hien  missionaries  observes 
very  pertinently,  "  The  system  was  not  one  of  self-support  but  of 
no  support;  there  being  nothing  to  support."  Dr.  Nevius  was 
really  their  pastor,  and  they  paid  him  nothing.  On  the  contrary, 
he  helped  many  of  them  who  were  poor,  and  on  his  visits  generally 
fed  all  who  came  from  other  villages  to  attend  the  meetings  he  held. 
It  may  of  course  be  said  that  in  his  book  he  does  not  claim  for  his 
stations  the  status  of  self-supporting  churches  as  defined  above. 
This  is  no  doubt  true,  nevertheless  the  impression  that  he  had  such 
churches  has  been  widely  made.  The  question  has  been  repeatedly 
asked  of  me,  "  How  many  self-supporting  churches  had  Dr.  Nevius 
in  his  field,"  and  the  same  question  has  been  asked  of  other 
members  of  our  Mission,  both  personally  and  by  letter.  At  the 
General  Conference  in  1890  Dr.  Nevius,  in  the  course  of  some  ex 
tempore  remarks,  made  the  statement  that  he   had   at    that    time 


1900.]  A  REVIEW   OF  "METHODS  OF  MISSION  WORK."  167 

nineteen  self-snpporting  churches  on  his  field.*  The  statement  made 
a  very  nnpleasant  impression  on  me,  and  I  at  first  thonght  of 
challenging  it,  but  refrained,  lest  I  should  bring  on  an  unseemly 
discussion  between  myself  and  my  much  esteemed  senior  colleague, 
and  my  motives  perhaps  be  misconstrued.  However  the  impres- 
sion may  have  been  made,  the  fact  is  patent  that  in  the  present  hue 
and  cry  about  self-support,  both  by  mission  secretaries  at  home 
and  zealous  magazine  writers  on  the  field,  iDr.  Nevius'  self-support- 
ing work  is  constantly  in  evidence.  The  millennium  of  missions  is 
to  be  achieved  by  enforcing  this  idea  and  process  of  self-support, 
and  "  Methods  of  Mission  Work  "  is  scattered  far  and  wide  as  the 
gospel  of  its  consummation.  To  those  who  are  here  on  the  ground 
and  conversant  with  the  facts,  it  is  self-evident  that  a  false  impres- 
sion exists,  and  that  a  wrong  inference  has  been  drawn,  growing 
largely  no  doubt  out  of  a  misconstruction  or  misconception  of 
the  term  self-support. 

3.   Freedom  from  Mercenary  Motives, 

"  Methods  of  Mission  Work "  has  made  the  impression  that 
the  Christian  converts  gathered  in  under  the  so-called  "  new 
methods  "  were  specially  free  from  mercenary  motives,  and  on  that 
account  more  likely  than  others  to  form  growing  and  aggressive 
churches.  This  impression  arises  naturally  from  Dr.  Nevius'  pre- 
sentation of  the  case,  especially  from  the  great  pains  taken  to  set 
forth  the  mercenary  ideas  fostered  by  the  use  of  paid  agents  as 
in  contrast  with  a  better  method,  supposed  to  be  free  from  such 
an  effect.  I  do  not  think  my  statement  will  be  questioned 
by  those  who  are  familiar  with  the  facts  when  I  say  that  the 
converts  gathered  in  by  Dr.  Nevius,  in  accordance  with  his  method, 
have  shown  no  apparent  superiority  in  this  respect  over  converts 
gathered  in  by  other  missionaries  on  a  different  method.  It  must 
be  remembered  that  the  effect  of  the  famine  relief  was  not  only 
moral ;  it  was  also  mercenary  in  the  highest  degree.  Famines  have 
been  of  frequent  occurrence  in  Shantung,  and  the  Chinese  did  not 
need  to  be  told  that  in  the  case  of  another  famine  their  being 
Christians  would  be  a  very  great  advantage.  They  also  rightly 
judged  that  the  generous  charity  which  had  responded  to  one  want 
would  not  fail  them  in  another.  Further,  they  saw  that  foreigners 
had  no  small  prestige  with  local  officials,  and  easily  inferred  that 
their  good  offices  might  be  of  good  service  in  an  emergency.     One 

*  At  that  time  Dr.  Nevius'  sixty  stations  had  been  reduced  by  grouping  into, 
perhaps,  nineteen  places  of  meeting  for  worsliip.  They  had  no  pastors,  but  were 
roinistHied  to  by  the  Wei-hien  missionaries  and  by  a  corps  of  trained  helpers, 
paid  largely  by  the  Mission.  Whether  such  churches  can  be  called  self-supporting, 
I  leave  others  to  say.  If  so,  thea  all  vacaut  luissiouarj  oongregatious  iu  the  hoiue 
laudd  are  self-supporting. 


168  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [April, 

mau  at  the  least  from  each  station  was  taken  np  each  year  to 
Chefoo  for  instrnctioa  and  hospitably  entertained  for  about  six 
weeks.  This  was  a  great  eye  opener  to  these  men.  In  Chefoo  they 
saw  and  heard  of  promising  openings  for  employment  or  for 
business.  There  were  few  of  them  who,  after  the  first  visit,  did 
not  improve  the  op[)ortnnity  to  seek  employment  of  some  kind 
for  one  or  more  of  their  family,  or  to  purchase  for  themselves  or 
others  a  stock  of  articles  that  might  yield  a  profit.  Rev.  J.  A. 
Leyenberger,  who  lived  in  Chefoo  and  had  charge  of  Dr.  Nevius' 
work  while  the  latter  was  at  home  on  furlough,  said  that  in  his 
opinion  there  was  not  one  of  these  men  thus  taken  to  Chefoo  for 
instruction  who  was  not  seriously  injured  thereby.  In  my  opinion 
the  evils  resulting  from  this  cause  far  exceeded  those  that  would 
have  resulted  from  the  employment  of  a  sufficient  number  of  native 
preachers  who  would  have  carried  on  at  home  the  work  of  instruc- 
tion in  a  much  more  satisfactory  way.  So  far  as  the  actual 
results  are  concerned,  it  is  the  o[)iniou  of  the  great  majority  of  Dr. 
Nevius*  colleagues  and  successors  that  the  number  of  those  who 
were  disappointed  in  the  hope  of  temporal  gain,  and  so  became 
disaffected  and  fell  away,  has  been  as  large,  both  before  Dr.  Nevius 
handed  over  his  work  to  others  and  since,  as  it  has  been  in  the  case 
of  stations  founded  in  similar  circumstances  by  men  who  did  not 
follow  his  methods.  The  impression  that  Dr.  Nevius'  converts  and 
station  leaders  were  specially  free  from  mercenary  motives,  is  not 
warranted  by  the  facts. 

Chapter  V. 

Preaching. 

We  are  told  by  the  best  of  authority  that  "by  the  foolishness 
of  preaching,  it  pleased  God  to  save  them  that  believe."  Few 
missionaries  go  to  the  heathen  who  do  not  expect  and  intend  to 
preach,  and  to  this  end  they  are  specially  trained  in  the  art  of 
preaching.  We  not  nnfrequently  hear  criticisms  on  missionaries  for 
teaching  schools  to  the  neglect  of  preaching,  but  it  is  a  rare  thing 
that  preaching  and  the  work  of  the  Christian  pastor  are  relegated 
to  a  second  place.  This,  however,  is  just  what  Dr.  Nevius  seems 
to  do,  and  in  so  doing  he  has  laid  himself  open  to  serious  criticism. 

1.  Preaching  Discredited. 
On  pages  thirty-six  and  seven  we  find  an  elaborate  argument 
against  the  utility  of  formal  preaching,  because :  First,  it  is  not 
adapted  to  the  circumstances  and  does  not  profit  the  hearers,  who 
are  too  ignorant  and  untrained  in  the  art  of  listening  to  follow 
a  connected  discourse  ;   and  second,  because  it  gives  rise  to   form- 


1900.]  A   REVIEW  OF   "METHODS   OF   MISSION    WORK."  169 

ulism — leadinj^  the  worsliipi)er  to  regard  preaching,  prayinsT,  and 
siiii'in'r  as  a  mere  form.  For  the  usual  Christian  service,  Dr.  Nevina 
snhstitnted  a  system  of  teaching  and  of  memorizing  of  Scripture, 
etc.  The  Sabbath  exercises  he  divided  into  six  heads,  viz.,  "  Learu- 
ing  to  read,  memorizing  portions  of  Scripture,  reading  Scriptures 
in  course,  telling  Scrii)ture  stories,  learning  the  meaning  of  Scripture, 
and  reviewing  former  lessons."  To  these  studies  were  added  the 
singing  of  hymns  and  the  repeating  of  prayers.  When,  on  his 
semi-annual  tours,  Dr.  Nevius  himself  visited  his  stations,  he  did 
not  ordinarily  preach,  but  spent  the  time  in  examining  the  peo[)le 
on  the  Scripture  they  had  memorized  and  ia  hearing  them  recite 
Scripture  stories. 

Throughout  a  large  part  of  his  book  the  author  is  profuse  ia 
his  reference  to  apostolic  precept  and  example,  appealing  even 
to  the  negative  fact  that  there  is  no  evidence  that  such  and  such 
things  were  done  by  the  apostles.  On  the  point  now  in  review  he 
abstains,  for  evident  reasons,  from  referring  either  to  apostolic  precept 
or  example.  If  there  was  a^iy  one  thing  that  the  apostles  did  do 
it  was  to  preach.  Paul  sums  up  his  grand  charge  to  Timothy  in 
the  burning  words,  "I  charge  thee  before  God,  and  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  who  shall  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead  at  His  appearing 
and  His  kingdom,  preach  the  word,  be  instant  in  season  and  out 
of  season,  reprove,  rebuke,  exhort  with  all  long  suffering  and 
doctrine."  Preaching  is  pre-eminently  the  agency  which  God  has 
chosen  for  the  {^'opngating  of  His  ^^ospel  in  the  world.  No  system 
that  discredits  preaching  can  be  a  true  success.  Teaching  and 
memorizing  may  fill  the  head,  but  preaching  is  needed  to  reach 
and  move  the  heart.  Here  is  just  the  weakness  of  Dr.  Nevius' 
system  of  dealing  with  inquirers  and  new  converts.  It  consists  in 
repeating  stories  and  studying  books.  It  fills  the  head,  but  it  does 
not  awaken  the  conscience  or  stir  the  feelings.  This  is  the  special 
office  of  the  preacher.  He  of  coarse  teaches  and  explains  the 
truth,  but  he  accompanies  it  with  a  constant  appeal  to  the  heart. 
His  power  is  in  the  living  voice,  the  beaming  eye,  the  earnest 
manner,  and  the  searching  personal  appeal.  These  are  the  thinj^s 
which  the  spirit  of  God  is  wont  to  use  to  awaken  the  dead  to 
spiritual  life  and  stimulate  their  growth  in  grace.  Whether  or 
not  the  preacher  transcends  the  ability  of  his  hearers  to  understand 
and  to  follow  the  course  of  his  thought,  depends  on  the  preacher. 
He  is  supposed  to  understand  his  business,  and  if  he  does  not,  the 
fault  should  not  be  laid  to  the  charge  of  preaching  as  such. 

The  Chinese  are  strongly  predisposed  to  regard  religion  as 
mere  intellectual  acquisition,  and  Dr.  Nevius'  system  falls  in  quite 
too  well  with  this  idea  and  greatly  increases  the  danger  that  many 


170  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [April, 

will  enter  the  church  with  a  mere  theoretical  knowledge  of  the  truth, 
bat  without  any  saving  experience  of  its  power.  Without  affirming 
that  his  method  of  teaching,  by  requiring  the  memorizing  of  Script- 
ure stories,  prayers,  etc.,  may  not  have  an  important  place  as  an 
adjunct  in  building  up  churches,  it  nevertheless  remains  true  that 
preaching  is  the  great  and  the  indispensable  agency.  Neither  Dr. 
Nevius'  arguments,  nor  the  practical  working  of  his  system,  has 
convinced  a  single  member  of  his  Mission  that  preaching  is  not 
in  China,  as  elsewhere,  the  very  best  means  to  bring  about  the 
conversion  of  men  and  promote  their  upbuilding  in  the  faith. 

2.    The  Pastorate  Slighted. 

On  pages  sixty-three  to  seventy  the  author  argues  at  length 
against  the  utility  of  a  formal  pastorate  on  mission  fields.  Further- 
more, in  his  plan  of  carrying  on  his  stations  he  makes  no  provision 
or  preparation  for  a  ministerial  office,  or  a  preached  gospel.  Now,  I 
submit  that  such  a  theory  as  this  is  contrary  to  first  principles  and 
to  the  universal  practice  of  the  Christian  church.  At  the  very  dawn 
of  uninspired  church  history  we  find  that  the  church  everywhere 
had  pastors,  either  settled  or  itinerant.  The  most  natural  inference 
is  that  in  this  as  in  other  things  they  were  following  the  instructions 
and  example  of  the  apostles,  especially  as  pastors  are  specifically 
mentioned  amongst  the  offices  given  by  the  Spirit.  The  author 
quotes  Dr.  Kellogg  as  saying  with  much  confidence:  "Where  in 
the  New  Testament  is  there  any  intimation  that  the  apostles 
ordained  pastors,  in  the  modern  sense  of  that  word,  over  the  churches 
which  they  formed?"  It  would  be  quite  sufficient  to  say  in 
reply  to  this  negative  argument, — where  is  there  any  evidence  that 
they  did  not  do  so?  We  have  but  a  very  brief  account  of  apostolic 
practice,  and  that  largely  limited  to  the  life  of  one  apostle.  In  the 
institutions  of  the  early  church,  however,  we  have  the  result  of 
apostolic  practice,  which  we  know  included  pastors.  Moreover  we 
have,  in  the  case  of  John's  letters  to  the  seven  churches,  a  very  plain 
indication  that  each  church  had  a  pastor.  The  most  natural  in- 
terpretation, and  that  generally  accepted,  is  that  the  "  angels  " 
were  pastors  who  were  held  responsible  for  the  spiritual  condition 
of  the  churches. 

I  shall  perhaps  be  called  to  account  for  assuming  more  in 
regard  to  Dr.  Nevius'  opposition  to  a  native  pastorate  than  his  argu- 
ment will  warrant.  I  think,  however,  that  I  understand  his  position, 
having  been  intimately  associated  with  him  for  twenty-five  years 
and  having  discussed  these  questions  with  him  many  times,  both 
privately  and  in  mission  meetings.  He  came  to  Shantung  after 
au   experience  of  ten  years  in  Central  China,  strongly  prejudiced 


1900.]  A  REVIEW  OP   "  METHODS   OP  MISSION  WORK."  171 

against  a  native  pastorate  as  there  illustrated,  but  strongly  ia 
favor  of  its  early  introductioQ  ia  a  different  form.'  He  moreover 
felt  himself  specially  called  to  the  work  of  theological  instruction, 
for  which  he  certainly  had  pre-eminent  qualifications.  He  urged 
upon  his  colleagues,  Messrs.  Corbett,  Mills,  and  myself,  the  pro- 
priety of  at  once  starting  a  theological  class.  He  built  ia  connec- 
tion with  his  house  a  suite  of  rooms  for  the  lodging  of  such  a  class, 
and  wrote  ■  an  elaborate  appeal  to  the  brethren  in  Central  China, 
nrji^ing  them  to  join  us  in  establishing  a  theological  institute  iu 
Chef'oo.  As  our  senior  missionary  we  deferred  to  his  judgment, 
though  feeling  that  the  step  was  somewhat  'premature.  A  class  was 
accordingly  organized  and  carried  through  a  three  years'  course 
of  study.  Five  of  the  class  finished  the  course  and  were  licensed  to 
preach.  Of  these,  two  only  were  finally  ordained  and  set  over 
churches.  One  of  these  was  subsequently  deposed  from  the  ministry 
for  gross  immorality,  and  the  other,  after  a  pastorate  of  three 
years,  resigned.  He  has  never  had  another  charge,  and  for  the  most 
part  has  not  been  emi)loyed  by  the  Mission,  though  his  Christian 
character  is  without  reproach.  This  experiment  so  disgusted  Dr. 
Kevins  that  he  quite  reversed  his  policy,  and  ever  afterwards 
op{)Osed  a  native  ministry  and  pastorate  as  premature.  He  did  not 
indeed  go  the  length  of  rejecting  the  pastoral  office  as  a  final 
condition,  nor  refuse  to  assist  iu  teaching  the  classes  organized  by 
the  Presbytery,  yet  the  trend  of  his  argument,  as  well  as  his  practice 
in  the  training  of  his  converts  and  stations,  looks  strongly  in  that 
direction.  He  deprecates  what  he  calls  the  "  all  prevailing  spirit 
of  ecclesiasticism,"  saying  that  we  should  not  impose  on  the 
Chinese  our  Western  ideas  of  church  organization,  etc.,  and  quotes 
Dr.  Kellogg  at  length  in  the  same  strain  of  opposition  to  a 
pastorate.  The  theory  which  he  seemed  to  hold  in  his  later  years 
was,  that  it  was  not  the  business  of  tlie  missionary  to  train  or  locate 
pastors,  but  rather  to  await  the  call  of  the  native  church  for  them, 
when  the  demand  would  induce  the  supply.  Every  step  in  the 
direction  of  providing  pastors  for  the  churches  he  characterized  as 
premature.  It  is  certainly  hard  to  see  how  stations  or  churches 
trained  on  his  plan  would  ever  desire  a  pastor,  or  be  willing  to  pay 
for  one.  Supposing  that  a  station  should  go  forward,  on  his  theory 
of  self-development  and  self- nurture,  to  a  maturity  strong  enough 
to  support  a  pastor,  it  is  hardly  likely  that  the  people  would 
suddenly  feel  the  need  of  one  and  as  suddenly  become  willing 
to  contribute  his  support — not  having  previously  had  any  experience 
of  the  value  of  preaching  and  never  having  given  anything  for 
such  a  purpose.  Having  reached  strength  and  maturity  without  a 
preached  gospel,  there  is  no  evident  reason  why  the  church  should 


172  THE   CHINESE  RECORDER.  [April, 

not  continne  indefinitely  on  the  same  lines.  //  the  child  grew  and 
flourished  on  two  visits  of  a  day  each  'per  year,  why  should  the  strong 
man  require  more  ?  As  a  matter  of  economy  and  as  a  permanent 
arrangement,  these  semi-annual  visits  might  be  made  by  a  properly 
qualified  native  bishop  at  one-twentieth  the  cost  of  a  foreign  mis- 
sionary. Dr.  Kellogg  is  quoted  as  saying  :  **  Here  and  there  upon 
our  Mission  fields  there  may  be  a  native  church  which  in  wealth, 
intelligence,  and  numbers,  is  ready  for  the  one  man  pastorate."  The 
reason  why  a  large  and  wealthy  church  requires  a  pastor  while 
a  poor  and  weak  church  will  grow  and  flourish  without  one, 
is  a  question  that  needs  elucidation.  On  such  a  point  I  would 
suggest  that  fticts  gathered  from  experience  would  be  more  convinc- 
ing than  theories.  The  experience  of  the  missionaries  in  Shantung 
is,  that  a  weak  church  left  without  efficient  pastoral  oversight  of 
some  kind,  will  presently  die. 

The  truth  is  that  the  genius  of  Dr.  Nevius'  method  looks 
away  from  a  pastorate,  not  towards  it.  He  did  not  expect  his  station 
leaders  to  become  pastors.  They  were  not  preachers,  but  rather 
drill  masters  to  teach  to  the  people  what  Dr.  Nevius  in  his  annual 
classes  taught  to  them.  As  the  result  has  shown,  they  were  in  many 
cases  no  small  hindrance  to  the  introduction  of  pastors.  They  were 
too  jealous  of  their  own  authority  and  influence  to  take  kindly  to 
the  coming  in  of  another.  They  thought  themselves  quite  worthy 
to  receive  the  money  the  church  should  raise,  or  the  foreigner  give. 
They  also  saw  that  the  advent  of  a  pastor  would  expose  some  of 
their  inconsistent  conduct.  It  must  be  remembered  that  institutions 
like  the  Christian  pastorate  are  not  born  suddenly.  They  do  not 
spring  full  panoplied  into  being  as  Minerva  did  from  the  head 
of  Jupiter.  Their  maturity  is  reached,  like  other  things  in  this  world^ 
by  a  process  of  growth.  Dr.  Nevius  quotes  in  his  argument  the 
native  pastorate  at  Amoy,  which  was  finally  consummated  by  the 
want  of  funds  to  assist  ;  the  necessity  of  assuming  the  entire 
support  of  their  pastors  being  thus  laid  on  the  native  church. 
The  case  is  not  really  a  happy  one  for  Dr.  Nevius'  purpose, 
for  the  reason  that  the  missionaries  in  Amoy  had  been  previously 
doing  precisely  what  Dr.  Nevius  so  strenuously  opposes,  viz.,  educat- 
ing and  employing  native  evangelists  and  assisting  the  native 
church  to  support  pastors.  "Without  such  a  preparation  and  previous 
growth,  no  native  pastorate  could  have  been  established. 

It  is  superfluous  for  me  to  stop  to  vindicate  the  propriety  of 
the  Christian  pastorate.  The  universal  practice  of  the  Christian 
church  iu  all  ages  has  settled  that  question.  The  only  church  of 
any  size  which  has  maintained  an  existence  without,  a  regularly 
constituted  ministry,  is  the  Society  of  Friends,  and  they  have  wholly 


1900.]  A   REVIEW    OF   "  METHODS  OP  MISSION    WORK."  173 

failed  in  aggressiveness,  having  made  little  or  no  progress  beyond 
the  circnmstauces  which  gave  thetn  birth.  A  tnissiouary  propajiauda 
which  takes  no  steps  for  the  training  and  setting  np  of  a  Christiaa 
ministry  in  the  chnrches  it  founds,  but  leaves  it  all  to  the  haphaz- 
ard efforts  of  the  native  chnrch  to  supply  itself,  is  unquestionably 
failing  in  a  very  important  part  of  its  business  and  its  duty.  The 
principle  which  Dr.  Nevius  advocates,  of  giving  no  aid  and  providing 
no  preaching  for  churches  during  their  minority,  beyond  a  mission- 
ary visit  fwice  each  year,  would  at  once  do  away  with  Home 
Missionary  Boards  and  their  many  hundreds  of  workers.  There 
would  only  be  needed  a  few  itinerant  missionary  bishops  to  visit  the 
weak  chnrches  and  scattered  mission  stations  once  or  twice  each 
year  and  give  them  some  instruction  in  self-nurture.  The  home 
church  does  not  see  the  case  in  this  light.  By  far  the  larger 
proportion  of  money  raised  for  home  mission  purposes  is  spent  in 
helping  to  support  pastors  in  weak  churches,  several  of  which  are 
generally  combined  in  one  charge.  The  wisdom  of  having  the 
strong  thus  help  the  weak,  seems  to  be  self-evident.  The  necessity 
of  a  preached  gospel)  to  the  growth  of  a  church  is  universally 
conceded.  A  recent  writer  in  a  home  magazine,  speaking  of  the 
backward  and  downward  tendency  induced  by  a  want  of  stated 
preaching,  says  :  "  This  tendency  is  so  well  recognized  that  no 
pastor  is  willing  to  leave  his  pulpit  unsupplied  for  a  single  Sabbath. 
No  chnrch  will  risk  the  effect  of  a  neglected  service.  If  temporary 
suspension  of  service  is  followed  by  a  marked  and  manifest  effect, 
what  must  it  be  when  Sabbath  after  Sabbath,  month  after  month, 
and  year  after  year  no  preaching  is  heard?  It  is  certainly  true 
that  where  there  is  no  preaching  there  will  be  no  church,  where 
there  is  no  church  there  will  be  no  Sabbath,  and  where  there  is  no 
Sabbath  there  will  be  no  religion."  It  is  a  vain  thing  to  suppose 
that  under  normal  circumstances  a  half  dozen  converts  in  a  given 
place,  or  three  times  that  number  forming  a  weak  chnrch,  will, 
without  a  preached  gospel  or  other  external  aid  or  instruction 
beyond  two  or  three  brief  visits  of  a  day  from  a  missionary  each 
year,  grow  up  of  itself  to  be  a  vigorous  church  ready  to  call  and 
support  a  pastor.  To  convey  the  impression  that  failure  to  realize 
this  result  has  arisen  mainly  from  the  injudicious  use  of  paid  native 
preachers,  and  that  faithlul  adherence  to  the  plan  outlined  by  Dr. 
Nevius  would  presently  achieve  the  result,  is  to  my  view  to  convey 
an  entirely  false  impression,  an  impression  contrary  to  the  logic 
of  facts  as  seen  in  history,  and  not  sustained  by  the  results  of 
the  work  done  by  Dr.  Nevius  himself.  At  a  conference  of  the 
Shantung  missionaries  in  1898,  Rev.  J.  A.  Fitch,  of  Wei-hien, 
speaking  of  the  "Nevius'  System,"  said:  "We  have  in  this  Wei- 


174  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [ApHl, 

hien  field  a  good  deal  of  Dr.  Nevins'  work.  It  is  a  form  of  work 
that  is  opposed  to  building  the  chapel  and  hiring  the  preacher,  but 
it  does  not  provide  for  the  training  of  the  Christians.  Its  natural 
result  is  the  gradual  starving  of  the  spiritual  life."  "  In  America, 
a  small  body  of  Christians  worshipping  together  would  die  if  not 
shepherded  by  a  pastor."  At  the  same  conference  Dr.  H.  D.  Porter, 
of  P'ang-chuaug,  said  :  "It  was  my  privilege,  in  company  with  my 
colleague,  Rev.  A.  H.  Smith,  to  meet  Dr.  Nevins  some  years  ago, 
at  Wei-hien,  and  visit  his  stations  with  him.  The  result  of  onr 
observation  was,  that  his  methods  were  too  radical.  The  system 
makes  no  provision  for  an  educated  C'hristian  community."  "  Herein 
lies  the  failure  of  the  whole  system — a  system  that  has  passed  into 
a  gracious  and  beautiful  history."* 

I  was  not  at  the  conference  referred  to,  but  a  member  of  my 
station  who  was  there  said  to  me  on  his  return  that  a  marked 
feature  of  the  conference  was  opposition  to  the  "  Nevius'  System." 
The  most  favorable  opinion  was  that  expressed  by  Rev.  J.  Percy 
Bruce,  of  the  English  Baptist  Mission,  who  said  :  "In  considering 
the  Nevins'  system  we  ought  to  consider  its  origin.  It  was  a  protest 
against  the  excessive  use  of  foreign  money,  and  ought  to  be 
estimated  in  relation  to  the  practices  in  South  and  Central  China 
during  the  early  days  of  the  work.  As  such,  it  is  a  system  of 
which  we  would  all  probably  approve  to-day  in  our  work,  though 
its  methods  are  modified  and  are  probably  snch  as  Dr.  Nevins 
would  himself  adopt  if  now  working  with  us." 

Dr.  Nevins  changed  his  opinion  once  at  least,  if  not  twice,  on 
this  general  subject,  and  if  he  had  lived  ten  years  longer  he  would  in 
all  probability  have  changed  it  again.  He  did,  in  fact,  within  a  year 
or  two  of  his  death,  express  grave  doubts  as  to  what  method  was 
after  all  the  best.f  I  have  never  heard  that  he  found  fault  with  those 
who  took  charge  of  his  work  for  not  adhering  to  his  methods,  or  that 
he  ever  claimed  that  the  result  would  have  been  essentially  different 
if  his  methods  had  been  more  fully  carried  out.  It  is  safe,  for 
young  men  at  least,  who  may  be  inclined  to  accept  without  question 
the  theories  set  forth  in  "  Methods  of  Mission  Work,"  to  assume 
that  the  missionaries  of  the  last  hundred  years  have  not  wholly 
failed  to  understand  the  genius  of  the  work  committed  to  them. 

*If  the  book  as  printed  in  China  had  not  been  reprinted  and  widely  distributed 
by  parties  «t  home,  who  were  taken  witli  its  ideas  and  anxious  to  |iropagafce  them, 
but  tind  been  allowed  to  pass  into  the  same  "griicions  history"  into  which  Dr. 
Porter  very  truly  says  the  "system"  itself  has  passed  in  the  field  that  gave  it  hirtii, 
1   should    not   have  felt  called  upon  to  write  this  review. 

t  About  a  year  before  his  death  Dr.  Neviup,  in  talking  with  one  of  the  mission- 
Bvies  at  Wei-hien  about  the  condition  of  the  work  in  his  old  field,  said  :  "  Twenty 
yeais  ngo  I  thought  I  knew  just  how  the  thing  ought  to  be  done,  but  now  I  am  all 
at  sea."  A  memher  of  the  East  Shantung  Mission,  wlio  took  charj^e  of  several  of 
Dr.    Neviua'  out-8tatious,  testifies  that  he  said  substantially  the  same  thing  to  him. 

{To  he  concluded.) 


1900.]  MISSION   WORK   IN  JAPAN,   TREATY  REVISION,   ETC.  175 

Mission  Work  in  Japan,  Treaty  Revision,  Etc. 

BY  REV.    H.    L00MI8,   YOKOHAMA. 

'^l^HE  statistics  of  Christian  work  in  Japan  for  the  year  1899  do 
not  show  as  large  an  increase  in  church  membership  as  in 
some  former  years.  Ih  the  case  of  several  of  the  religious 
bodies  there  has  been  but  little  increase  and  in  some  instances  the 
membership  is  less  than  that  reported  one  year  ago.  In  the  number 
of  Christian  schools  and  pupils  there  has  been  a  large  falling  off  on 
account  of  the  restrictions  that  were  promulgated  in  August  last  by 
the  Department  of  Education.  What  will  be  the  final  outcome  is 
still  uncertain,  as  the  discussions  have  not  ended,  and  it  is  hardly 
possible  that  matters  can  continue  as  they  are. 

There  are  various  causes  for  the  small  increase  in  the  church 
membership  in  Japan.  One  is  that  the  Japanese  are  accustomed 
to  frequent  changes,  and  many  Christians  go  to  the  places  where 
there  are  no  churches  of  their  own  faith,  or  any  other ;  and  they 
are  no  longer  carried  on  the  rolls  of  the  church  which  they  have  left, 
because  those  who  remain  dislike  to  be  taxed  on  account  of  absent 
members. 

Then,  too,  it  has  been  much  the  same  in  Japan  as  in  the 
United  States  and  other  Christian  countries,  where  the  progress  of 
Christianity  in  the  past  year  or  two  has  been  less  than  usual.  The 
lack  of  zeal  on  the  part  of  Christians  in  the  home  lands  is  felt  here. 
We  hope  also  that  an  increasing  interest  in  spiritual  things  else- 
where will  be  favorable  to  growth  in  this  field. 

But  the  chief  cause  of  decline  in  the  progress  of  Christianity  in 
Japan  is  the  failure  of  the  native  ministry  to  meet  the  responsibili- 
ties that  devolve  upon  them  as  the  work  enlarges  and  duties  multi- 
ply. I  think  it  is  not  unjust,  and  at  the  same  time  proper,  to  say 
that  as  the  foreign  workers  have  left  the  work  in  native  hands  it 
has  not  gone  forward  to  the  same  extent  as  heretofore.  This  applies 
both  to  the  evangelistic  and  the  educational  departments. 

This  is  due  partly  to  a  want  of  experience,  partly  to  the  lack 
of  those  qualities  that  are  requisite  to  continuous  and  successful 
leadership,  and  also  to  the  unfortunate  characteristic  of  the  Japan- 
ese that  they  are  constantly  dividing  up  into  parties  that  are  jealous 
of,  and  opposed  to,  each  other.  It  is  the  same  in  politics  ;  and  for 
that  reason  the  effort  to  establish  a  party  government  has  thus  far 
proved  a  failure. 

With  many  of  the  preachers  also  there  is  a  want  of  tact  and 
judgment  as  to  the  best  method  of  presenting  the  gospel  truths  so 
as  to  build  up  the  believers  and  win  souls  to  Christ.     Not  only  have 


176  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [April, 

the  leaders  failed  to  carry  on  the  work  that  has  fallen  to  them  to 
conduct,  but  a  considerable  number  have  turned  aside  into  teaching, 
or  business ;  and  some  have  given  up  their  faith. 

Christianity  is  nevertheless  making  decided  progress.  The 
number  of  adult  baptisms  reported  in  1899  was  3,148.  This  shows 
growth  that  is  indicative  of  a  good  work  still  going  on.  The  fact  is 
unquestionable  that  there  is  an  increase  in  the  power  and  influence 
of  Christianity  which  is  seen  in  many  ways  but  which  cannot  be 
tabulated.  It  is  becoming  more  and  more  an  influence  in  the  life  of 
the  nation,  although  the  casual  observer  may  not  be  aware  that  such 
is  the  case. 

That  the  gospel  of  Christ  should  meet  with  no  check  or  opposi- 
tion is  not  to  be  expected,  and  is  contrary  to  the  history  of  the 
Christian  faith  in  other  lands.  What  we  are  experiencing  in  Japan 
is  what  has  taken  place  elsewhere,  and  is  inevitable  in  the  growth 
of  a  system  that  is  hostile  to  and  destined  to  supplant  all  other 
forms  of  belief 

This  is  felt  already  to  such  an  extent  that  the  chief  Buddhist 
sect  is  divided  into  two  hostile  parties  on  the  question  of  toleration. 
One  section  is  willing  to  allow  all  the  various  systems  of  faith  to 
stand  on  the  same  platform.  But  another  part  insists  upon  certain 
rights  being  accorded  to  Buddhists  that  others  do  not  enjoy.  It  is 
their  wish  and  purpose  to  make  Buddhism  the  state  religion. 

Such  strife  will  only  hasten  the  downfall  of  ignorance  and 
bigotry.  Christianity  has  nothing  to  fear  from  opposition  of  this 
kind.  All  that  is  asked  is  a  free  field  and  an  increase  of  suitable 
labourers  from  the  home  lands. 

The  field  is  now  ripe.  There  is  such  a  spirit  of  inquiry  as  has 
not  been  found  before  for  many  years.  The  prosperity  and  strength 
of  Christian  nations  is  so  evident  to  the  Japanese  that  they  want  to 
know  how  it  is  that  Christianity  has  such  an  influence,  and  is  there 
not  something  in  its  teachings  that  is  needed  in  Japan. 

One  of  the  princes,  who  is  the  President  of  the  House  of  Peers, 
and  one  of  the  leading  men  in  educational  circles,  has  recently  made 
a  visit  to  Europe  and  America,  and  on  his  return  said  in  one  of  his 
addresses  that  the  one  thing  that  especially  impressed  him  was  the 
fact  that  the  men  who  control  affairs  in  Great  Britain,  Germany,  and 
the  United  States  are  sincere  Christians.  The  question  very  nat- 
urally arises,  if  such  is  the  case,  why  not  encourage  the  growth  of 
Christianity  in  Japan.  The  mere  mention  of  this  fact  will  awaken  in- 
terest in  the  subject  in  many  minds  and  prepare  the  way  for  the 
reception  of  the  gospel. 

A  few  days  ago  there  died  in  Tokyo  a  judge  of  the  Supreme 
Court  who  was  regarded  as  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  learned  men 


1900.]  MISSION   WORK   IN  JAPAN,    TREATY   REVISION,    ETC.  177 

who  have  ever  occupied  that  important  position.     He  was  a  devoted 
Christian. 

There  are  two  battle  ships  of  the  first  class  in  the  Japanese  navy, 
and  both  are  commanded  by  Christian  captains.  They  are  both 
members  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  as  is  also  Mr.  Kataoka,  the 
honored  President  of  the  Lower  House  of  the  Diet. 

There  are  three  Christian  professors  and  upwards  of  sixty  mem- 
bers of  the  Christian  Association  in  the  Imperial  University  in  Tokyo. 
There  are  thirty  Christian  Associations  among  the  students  in  Japan 
and  a  total  membership  of  850.  Sixty  students  were  baptized  last 
year  who  had  been  brought  to  an  acceptance  of  Christianity,  chiefly 
through  the  influence  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.* 

A  writer  in  one  of  the  secular  papers  in  Tokyo  sums  up  the 
reasons  for  encouragement  on  the  part  of  Christians  as  to  the  results 
of  the  past  year  somewhat  as  follows : — 

The  rapid  strides  made  by  Japanese  Christians  in  educational 
work  in  Korea,  the  launching  of  a  gospel  ship  for  mission  work  in 
the  inland  sea,  the  establishment  of  a  house  for  discharged  convicts, 
the  opening  of  reform  schools  for  young  criminals,  the  formation  of 
the  young  men's  reform  association, — are  all  events  of  such  impor- 
tance that  they  deserve  our  careful  consideration. 

Though  not  accompanied  by  the  noise  and  dclat  that  have 
characterized  the  Buddhist  movements,  the  work  the  Christians  have 
done  has  been  solid  work ;  they  have  laid  the  foundation  for  a  future 
structure. 

It  is  reported  on  good  authority  that  a  person  can  now  travel 
from  Nemuro  (which  is  on  the  island  of  Yezo  and  the  extreme 
northern  part  of  Japan)  to  Kumamoto  at  the  southern  extremity 
of  Kiu-shiu  and  spend  every  night  in  a  Christian  home.  When  we 
compare  this  state  of  things  with  what  existed  only  thirty  years  ago 
it  seems  almost  incredible.  Such  a  change  could  never  be  brought 
about  by  the  efforts  of  man  alone.     It  is  surely  the  work  of  God. 

When  the  subject  of  treaty  revision  was  being  discussed  by 
the  Japanese,  one  of  the  greatest  and  most  common  objections  was 
the  belief  that  as  soon  as  the  foreigners  were  allowed  to  reside 
freely  in  any  part  of  the  country  there  would  be  such  a  rush  of 
people  from  other  lands  as  to  interfere  with  the  business  now 
carried  on  by  the  natives  to  such  an  extent  as  to  upset  matters 
generally.  So  universal  was  this  belief  that  clubs  were  formed 
in  various  cities  to  practice  the  nse  of  English  and  acquaint  them- 
selves with  the  methoiis  of  entertainment  according  to  foreign  style. 
One  of  those  organizations  was  called  "The  Beef-eating  Club" 
of  S .    Another  "The  Society  which  is  able  to  speak  English." 

*  Tlie  sale  of  Soripfcures  during  1898  was  36,811  vols,  and  the  receipts  4,873 
Yen.     The  sale  iu  1899  was  77,203  vols,  and  the  receipts  7,208  Yen. 


178  TfiE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [April, 

Another  result  of  this  expected  influx  of  foreign  settlers  was 
the  purchase  of  desirable  sites  for  residence  by  persons  who  anti- 
cipated a  great  increase  in  their  value.  It  was  almost  ludicrous  to 
see  to  what  an  extent  this  idea  prevailed,  and  its  effect  upon  the 
people. 

Six  months  have  now  passed,  and  to  the  astonishment  of  all 
there  has  been  no  perceptible  increase  in  the  number  of  persons 
seeking  a  residence  in  Japan.  It  has  been  a  great  disappointment 
to  many,  and  the  lesson  will  be  a  valuable  one. 

The  general  belief  has  been  that  this  is  the  most  beautiful 
country  in  all  the  world  and  the  most  desirable  place  to  live  in 
that  could  anywhere  be  found.  The  praise  that  has  been  lavished 
upon  Japan  and  its  people,  has  turned  their  heads,  and  they  have 
prided  themselves  that  no  other  nation  was  to  be  compared  with 
their  own. 

Now  they  are  coming  to  their  senses,  and  are  slowly  learning 
that  beauty  of  scenery  and  charming  manners  do  not  constitute  the 
chief  attractions  of  any  country.  There  is  something  more  to  be 
considered  in  the  selection  of  a  home.  The  introduction  of  steam 
and  electricity  and  other  modern  improvements  do  not  constitute  the 
whole  of  civilization.  The  habits  and  morals  of  the  people,  and  the 
laws  and  constitutions  of  the  country,  are  of  the  greatest  importance  ; 
and  in  this  respect  Japan  has  yet  much  to  learn. 

This  idea  is  understood  by  some  of  the  leaders,  and  they  are 
trying  to  impress  it  upon  their  people.  In  an  excellent  address 
by  Marquis  Ito,  delivered  recently  in  Tokyo,  he  told  his  hearers 
that  it  was  a  mistake  on  the  part  of  the  Japanese  to  suppose  that 
because  they  had  made  such  great  advance  during  the  last  thirty 
years  they  were  therefore  superior  to  other  nations.  What  has 
been  done  in  Japan  is  indeed  commendable,  but  it  was  a  fact  that 
they  must  properly  consider  that  other  civilized  countries  were 
making  still  more  important  and  rapid  progress.  Japan  was  by  no 
means  a  leader  of  civilization,  but  simply  following  in  the  wake  of 
other  and  more  advanced  nations. 

In  an  address  by  the  Japanese  Minister  to  England  before  the 
Edocational  Club  in  Tokyo  the  speaker  took  the  opportunity  to  offer 
some  very  useful  suggestions  as  the  result  of  his  observations  at  the 
English  court. 

In  the  first  place  he  said  that  the  English  were  conspicuous 
for  their  love  of  order.  While  there  had  been  more  or  less  of  strong 
political  feeling  and  heated  discussion,  the  country  as  a  whole  had 
been  remarkably  free  from  those  convulsions  of  a  social  and  political 
nature  that  had  so  seriously  disturbed  some  of  the  continental 
nations. 


1900.]  MISSION    WORK   IN   JAPAN,  •  TREATY   REVISION,    ETC.  179 

Allied  to  the  love  of  order  was  the  law-abiding  instinct.  If 
laws  were  considered  iniqiiitons,  or  injurious,  they  would  grumble; 
but  as  long  as  they  were  in  force  they  would  invariably  observb 
them.  This  was  not  only  true  of  the  better  and  educated  section, 
but  noticeable  among  all  classes. 

Next  was  the  importance  which  an  Englishman  attached  to  his 
character,  or  reputation  and  social  standing;  an  importance  that 
would  be  wholly  inconceivable  to  a  modern  Japanese  gentleman, 
whose  only  idea  of  respectability  consisted  in  a  successful  speculation 
in  stocks  and  the  possession  of  a  few  hundred  shares  on  bor- 
rowed capital. 

Another  strong  trait  of  the  English  character  was  the  sense  of 
individual  responsibility.  Whatever  his  station  and  however  humble 
the  nature  of  the  work  the  Englishman  always  made  it  his  object  to 
do  his  utmost  to  discharge  his  share  of  responsibility. 

Public  spirit  was  also  one  of  the  most  distinguishing  traits  of 
that  remarkable  people.  The  amount  of  energy  and  money  spent  by 
individual  persons  for  the  public  welfare  was  something  wonderful. 

Another  lesson  to  them  was  the  industrious  habits  of  the 
English  people.  High  and  low,  old  and  young,  Englishmen  worked 
hard  and  steadily.  Once  engaged  in  work  they  would  not  easily 
give  it  up. 

In  their  intercourse  with  friends  and  relatives  the  Japanese 
were  exceedingly  polite,  and  would  make  any  number  of  bows  and 
courtesies.  But  when  travelling  they  would  frequently  behave 
themselves  as  if  they  were  supremely  indifferent  to  the  comfort  and 
convenience  of  others.  It  was  exactly  otherwise  with  the  English 
people.  They  always  respect  the  comfort  and  rights  of  others,  no 
matter  whether  they  were  personally  known  or  not. 

The  whole  social  fabric  of  England  is  constructed  on  the  assumed 
principle  that  men  are  honest  and  thieves  are  exceptions.  But  the 
endless  rules  and  regulations  in  Japan  seemed  to  prove  that  the 
assumed  principle  here  was  that  men  are  thieves  and  law  breakers, 
and  honesty  the  exception.  The  beauty  of  English  character  was 
no  doubt  due  in  a  large  measure  to  religious  teachings,  but  of  more 
immediate  consequence  was  the  rigid  restraints  of  public  opinion 
and  social  law." 

It  is  gratifying  to  learn  that  the  bold  and  plain  utterances  of 
Mr.  Kato  were  received  with  respectful  attention  and  keen  interest. 
It  is  also  reported  that  where  he  emphasized  the  importance  of 
learning  from  other  people  his  speech  evoked  applause.  This  readi- 
ness to  receive  advice  and  assent  to  such  proposed  changes,  indicates 
a  more  healthy  and  liberal  spirit  in  what  has  been  supposed  to 
be  the  most  exclusive  section  of  the  community. 


180  THE   GIIINJISE   RECOBDEB.  [April 

In  the  year  1889,  the  Rev.  A,  M.  Knapp  was  sent  to  Japan  to 
propagate  the  doctrine  of  Unitarianism.  A  large  and  enthusiastic 
meeting  was  held  in  Boston  to  celebrate  the  establishment  of  the 
project,  which  was  not  to  be  like  an  ordinary  mission  to  the  heathen 
but  simply  an  "  embassy "  from  the  representatives  of  liberal 
religion  in  the  United  States  to  the  representatives  of  the  various 
religious  systems  in  Japan, 

The  one  prominent  characteristic  of  the  teachings  was  to  be  its 
opposition  to  orthodoxy. 

Two  differeijt  clergymen  have  joined  the  Mission  since.  One 
remained  but  three  or  four  years.  The  other  has  continued  to  the 
present  time.  All  have  been  men  of  exceptional  ability  and 
superior  culture. 

The  method  of  propagating  their  religious  views  has  been  by 
means  of  public  lectures  and  the  dissemination  of  Unitarian  litera- 
ture. Such  publications  were  sent  to  the  different  native  preachers 
and  others;  and  several  were  turned  away  from  their  former  belief 
by  this  means. 

Mr.  Knapp  continued  to  propagate  his  views  for  some  five  or  six 
years.  Since  that  time  he  has  been  engaged  in  various  literary  and 
business  euterpri2!es,  and  is  now  editor  of  a  local  daily  paper  in 
Yokohama. 

His  associate  has  continued  to  work  in  the  same  lines,  but  has 
also  published  a  book  on  the  Japanese  language  and  was  one  of  the 
leading  members  of  the  Tokyo  Dramatic  Society. 

For  the  past  few  years  an  effort  has  been  made  to  ascertain  the 
result  of  their  work.  At  one  time  there  was  reported  one  church, 
but  no  intimation  was  given  as  to  the  number  of  members.  Of  late 
they  report  no  churches,  no  members,  and  no  contributions. 

In  an  editorial  which  recently  appeared  in  the  Japan  Daily 
Advertizer,  Mr.  Knapp  announces  that  the  Unitarian  Board  is  about 
to  withdraw  from  Japan  its  only  representative  and  leave  its  work 
henceforward  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Japanese.  This  is  de- 
clared to  be  the  virtual  consummation  of  the  original  purpose  when 
the  project  was  begun.  The  object  in  view  was  not  to  make  con- 
verts from  the  followers  of  the  religions  systems  prevalent  in  Japan, 
but  simply  to  let  their  religious  views  be  known,  and  then  leave 
them  to  be  taken  for  what  they  were  worth. 

It  is  especially  to  be  noted  that  pecuniary  aid  is  to  be  supplied 
for  the  support  of  such  native  propagandists  as  it  may  seem  neces- 
sary or  possible  to  employ. 

The  movement  has  no  vitality  or  strength  to  go  forward  of 
itself,     It  did  at  one  time  attract  considerable  attention  and  was  the 


1900.]  now    JESUS   PREACHED   TO   UNBELIEVERS.  181 

cause  of  much  anxiety.  But  the  failure  to  produce  any  radical 
change  in  the  lives  of  the  believers  soon  convinced  the  thoughtful 
that  such  a  system  was  little  better  than  paganism.  Without  a 
living  Christ,  mere  intellectual  forms  of  belief  are  worthless.  It  is 
Christ,  and  Him  crucified,  that  is  needed  to  satisfy  the  longings  and 
needs  of  sin-stricken  souls. 


Eow  Jesus  Preaohed  to  Unbelievers. 

BY   REV.    J.    C.    GARRITT. 

NE  of  the  problems  most  constantly  before  the  missionary  is 
_  this  :  How  to  present  the  message  of  the  gospel  to  the 
Chinese  so  as  to  reach  their  heart  and  conscience.  During 
the  long  years  of  sowing,  while  as  yet  the  harvest  is  not  ripe  for  the 
sickle,  there  is  the  more  reason  for  us  to  search  ourselves  and  see  if 
the  method  and  the  matter  of  our  preaching  is  in  harmony  with  the 
Master's  will.  There  can  be  no  more  important  question  to  engage 
our  attention  than  this. 

With  this  thought  in  mind  the  writer  undertook  to  study  afresh 
the  life  and  preaching  of  our  Saviour,  especially  in  relation  to  His 
method  of  reaching  unbelievers.  A  few  of  the  thoughts  and  helps 
received  are  put  down  here,  in  hope  that  they  may  be  suggestive  to 
some  worker  who  is  seeking  how  more  effectively  to  present  the 
word  of  life  to  this  people. 

First  of  all,  note  the  words  used  descriptive  of  His  ministry.  In 
Matt.  iv.  23  we  are  told  that  "  Jesus  went  about  all  Galilee,  teaching 
in  all  their  synagogues,  and  preaching  the  gospel  of  the  kingdom, 
and  healing  all  manner  of  sickness  and  all  manner  of  disease  among 
the  people."  Almost  the  identical  words  are  repeated  in  Chap.  ix.  35  ; 
and  teaching  and  preaching  are  joined  in  two  other  places — Matt, 
xi.  1  and  Luke  xx.  1.  A  glance  through  the  passages  where  these 
words  occur,  reveal  the  remarkable  fact  that  teaching  is  predicated  of 
the  Lord  Jesus  twice  as  often  as  preaching.  The  proportion  is  even 
greater  in  the  book  of  Acts  in  regard  to  the  evangelistic  work  of  the 
apostles.  What  does  this  mean  ?  It  means  that  the  Chinese  are 
not  alone  in  needing  instruction  and  preparation  in  order  to  the 
reception  of  the  gospel.  Even  in  Judaea,  where  we  would  naturally 
think  preparation  was  almost  complete  and  teaching  might  follow 
preaching,  even  there  the  Master  was  continually  teaching,  in  the 
synagogues,  in  the  temple,  by  the  wayside,  and  in  the  quiet  of 
the  hills. 


182  THE    CHINESE    RECORDKR.  [April, 

There  are  those  who  say  that  the  evangelistic  work  is  the  most 
important,  as  though  it  could  be  divorced  from  teaching  ;  that  we 
must  go  to  every  city  and  town  and  hamlet  and  preach,  proclaiming 
the  cross,  and  leave  the  Spirit  to  work  in  the  hearts  of  the  hearers ; 
and  that  teaching  is  not  properly  the  work  of  the  missionary.  The 
Scriptures  do  not  bear  out  this  view.  The  teaching  above  referred 
to,  in  which  our  Saviour  engaged,  was  doubtless  the  instructing  of 
the  minds  of  the  people  from  the  Old  Testament  Scriptures  in  such 
a  way  as  to  remove  their  ignorance  and  prejudice  and  enable  them 
to  receive  the  gospel.  It  was  just  as  difficult  for  a  Jew  of  those 
days  to  believe  that  he  "  needed  salvation "  as  it  is  for  a  Chinese 
to-day.  Even  the  Rulers  of  the  Jews  required  instruction  in 
the  proposition  fundamental  to  the  gospel,  that  "  Ye  must  be 
born  again." 

It  may  be  said,  "  But  there  is  teaching  and  teaching."  True ; 
and  any  teaching  which  has  to  do  with  men's  needs  of  to-day,  which 
touches  their  life  and  thought  and  can  be  made  the  vehicle  of  a 
word  for  Christ,  is  legitimate.  That  which  removes  superstition, 
rouses  the  power  of  reason  and  embraces  the  opportunity  to  present 
the  Saviour,  i&  necessary.  A  wrong  use  is  often  made  of  that  verse 
in  Paul's  letter  to  the  Corinthians,  where  he  said :  "  I  determined 
not  to  know  anything  among  you  save  Christ  and  Him  crucified." 
As  one  has  pointed  out,  in  that  very  epistle  Paul  proceeded  to  deal 
with  a  number  of  every- day  matters,  among  which  were  the 
advisability  of  marriage  in  certain  cix'cum stances,  purity  of  discipline 
in  the  church,  parties  and  strife,  meats  offered  to  idols,  the  taking 
up  of  collections,  etc.  But  it  is  further  noted  that  he  makes  each  of 
these  an  opportunity  for  the  elevating  of  Christ  before  their  eyes. 
For  example,  in  urging  purity  of  discipline,  he  as  an  argument  says  i 
"  Purge  out  the  old  leaven  ;  ...  for  Christ  our  passover  is  sacrificed 
for  us,'^  etc.  This  is  the  true  meaning  of  knowing  nothing  but  Christ 
and  Him  crucified; — not  a  narrow  view  of  preaching  which  finds 
but  one  subject  and  very  little  variety  in  treating  it,  but  finding 
the  relation  of  every  circumstance  to  Christ  and  reducing  every 
subject  to  the  terms  of  the  gospel.  So  again  Paul,  when  calling  on 
the  Corinthians  to  learn  beneficence,  by  a  sudden  turn  shows  that  the 
whole  of  the  gospel  is  bound  up  in  this  duty :  "  Ye  know  the  grace 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  though  He  was  rich,  yet  for  your 
sakes  He  became  poor,  that  ye  through  His  poverty  might 
become  rich ! " 

Thus  were  preaching  and  teaching  joined  together  from  the 
time  our  Lord  entered  upon  His  ministry ;  and  let  none  put  them 
asunder,  either  so  as  to  teach  without  fulfilling  the  grand  end  of 
teaching — proclaiming  Christ — or  so  as  to  preach  without  leading  the 


1900.]  now  JESUS  preached  to  unbelievers.  183 

intellect,  heart,  and  conscience  into  the  light  where  it  is  possible  to 
perceive  the  truth. 

The  mere  constant  repetition  of  an  invitation  to  believe  Christ 
is  not  preaching;  or  at  least,  if  it  is  in  any  part  of  the  world,  it  is 
not  in  China.  We  can  'preach,  proclaim  Christ,  only  when  we  have 
endeavored  to  prepare  the  soil,  or  have  found  it  already  prepared. 
The  name  of  Jesus,  so  sweet  in  the  believer's  ear,  is  no  talisman  or 
mystic  charm  which  displaces  the  old  beliefs  and  affections  and  of 
itself  opens  the  eyes  of  the  soul.  We  must  face  clearly  the  great  prob- 
lem of  our  life  here,  so  to  teach,  by  parable  and  sermon,  by  schools 
and  hospitals,  by  spoken  and  written  word,  and  by  object  lesson,  by 
every  means  we  can,  that  the  minds  of  the  people  may  be  opened 
to  the  truth. 

Further,  note  that  Jesus  in  preaching  to  unbelievers,  did  not 
stand  off  from  the  people  as  though  He  belonged  to  a  higher  order 
of  beings  from  them.  He  was  a  man,  and  of  their  race,  and  His 
whole  life  was  lived  in  their  midst.  While  the  people  realized  that 
He  spoke  with  authority,  and  not  as  the  scribes,  it  was  not  a  vaunt- 
ed authority  which  woke  the  people's  prejudice.  There  was  a  quiet, 
deep  consciousness  that  He  was  sent,  and  that  His  message  was 
given  Him  by  the  Father.  But  He  did  not  in  any  sense  parade 
Himself.  We  can  imagine  that  an  angel,  had  this  work  of  preaching 
the  kingdom  been  entrusted  to  one,  might  have  failed  at  this  point. 
When  the  Jews  showed  their  ignorance  and  prejudice  and  conceit, 
how  natural  it  would  be  to  give  way  to  anger  and  say :  You  are  but 
man,  and  your  intelligence  is  very  limited  !  What  do  you  know  of 
the  counsels  of  heaven  ?  In  fact,  the  sin  of  Moses  in  smiting  with 
the  rod  and  upbraiding  when  the  Lord  had  not  given  him  the  mes- 
sage, is  the  easiest  of  sins  for  the  preacher  in  heathen  lands  to  com- 
mit. We  are  not  different  from  the  Chinese;  and  we  do  not  come 
here  to  preach  to  them  that  our  customs  of  the  West  are  better  than 
theirs.  May  we  be  careful,  lest  our  consciousness  of  wider  knowledge, 
better  trained  minds,  and  higher  views  of  life,  lead  us  to  retort  at 
their  scoffs,  or  be  supercilious  toward  them. 

One  reason  for  the  difficulty  we  have  in  meeting  the  Chinese  on 
their  own  plane  is  that  their  characteristics  are  so  entirely  alien  to 
us.  We  despair  of  ever  knowing  them  or  their  customs  thoroughly  ; 
and  we  draw  within  ourselves.  So  in  our  preaching  we  are  all  at 
sea.  We  preach  at  random,  because  we  do  not  know  what  is  in  the 
hearts  of  our  hearers.  One  great  reason  of  the  unproductiveness  of 
street-chapel  work  lies  here ;  and  we  need  to  turn  more  to  individual 
work  and  to  catching  the  passing  topics  of  the  neighborhood,  the 
questions  of  the  hour,  in  our  general  preaching.  We  need  to  touch 
the  Chinese  at  more  points  of  contact  and  get  them  to  realize  that 


184  THE   CHINESE  RECORDER.  [April, 

we  are  one  with  them,  while  at  the  same  time  our  authority  comes 
from  the  consciousness  of  a  message  direct  from  God.  Have  you 
ever  felt  that  you  work  at  a  disadvantage, — that  your  work  is  not  as 
direct,  intelligent,  and  telling  as  it  might  be  among  your  own 
countrymen  ?  It  is  because  we  fail  to  place  ourselves  on  their  plane. 
We  do  not  feel  willing  to  adjust  ourselves  to  their  prejudices  and 
difficulties.  We  still  think  too  much  like  Westerners  in  presenting 
the  truth  to  them. 

Christ  made  no  mistakes  of  this  kind.  He  corrected,  and 
rebuked,  and  stood  in  the  place  of  a  teacher,  but  He  began  on  a 
common  ground,  and  His  argument  and  entreaty  were  such  as  should 
appeal  to  them,  not  to  men  of  other  age  or  training,  or  beings  of 
higher  intelligence. 

I  wonder  sometimes  if  we  do  not  forget  to  a  degree  what 
human  nature  is  at  home.  We  imagiue  that  we  must  meet  the 
Chinese  in  another  way  from  what  we  should  meet  persons  at  home 
whom  we  wish  to  win.  We  fancy  that  we  must  preach  differently 
out  here.  When  Mr.  Inwood  was  here  a  few  months  ago,  more 
than  one  Chinese  was  heard  to  say:  "  He  certainly  knows  what  is  in 
the  heart  of  man  !  "  Now  if  his  work  at  home  fitted  him  to  reach 
the  hearts  of  our  Christian  Chinese,  our  knowledge  of  human  nature 
gained  at  home,  added  to  what  we  learn  of  the  Chinese,  ought  to 
more  than  fit  us  to  reach  the  hearts  of  the  heathen.  Let  us  meet 
them  as  men,  as  women,  with  the  same  mental  and  spiritual 
powers  and  capabilities  with  ourselves  and  get  to  know  them  in 
their  lives,  so  as  to  reach  them  at  any  and  every  moment  of  need. 
Let  ns  not  yield  to  that  very  serious  temptation  which  would  lead 
us  to  sit  in  our  study,  or  turn  to  some  other  kind  of  work  and  leave 
the  evangelistic  work  to  our  native  helpers  alone. 

Again,  we  see  in  the  preaching  of  Jesus  a  wonderful  com- 
bination of  courage  and  tenderness.  With  the  bold  directness  of 
His  scathing  rebukes  is  joined  a  deep,  souUmoving  tenderness  and 
pity  toward  those  to  whom  He  is  speaking.  It  is  said  that  an 
infidel  once  went  to  a  noted  divine  and  scoffed  at  the  Bible  and  at 
Christianity,  basing  his  objections  o»  the  stern  rebukes  of  Matt. 
23  and  similar  chapters.  "How  ont  of  character  were  such 
outbursts  of  anger,"  said  he,  "  in  one  who  is  said  to  be  so  gentle 
and  loving  ?  "  After  listening  for  a  tirae  the  preacher,  taking  np 
the  Bible,  read  the  chapter  aloud.  His  voice  was  one  of  the  most 
sympathetic  ;  and  with  the  sternness  of  the  words  be  combined  a 
yearning  tenderness,  such  as  he  conceived  characterized  our  Lord 
when  uttering  the  words  at  the  first.  The  whole  spirit  of  the 
passage  was  so  different,  as  the  skeptic  now  heard  it,  that  before 
the  chapter  was  half  read  be  was  in  tears.    The  One  who  said  with 


1900.]  HOW   JESUS  PREACHED  TO  UNnELlEVERS.  185 

weepiug  :  "0  Jernsalern  I  Jerusalem  !  Thon  that  killest  the  proph- 
ets and  stonest  them  that  are  sent  nnto  thee  !  how  often  would  I 
have  gatliered  thy  children  together,  even  as  a  hen  fjathereth  her 
chickens  under  her  wing — andye  would  not  !  " — that  One  might  well 
move  to  tears  as  well  as  to  terror,  as  He  said  :  "  Ye  serpents,  ye 
generation  of  vipers,  how  shall  ye  escape  the  datunation  of  hell." 
Matt,  xxiii.  37,  33.  His  woes  are  not  rushing,  indignant  invective  ; 
His  rebukes  do  not  rise  from  auger.  They  are  rather  wrung  from 
Him,  and  are  the  utterances  of  a  heart  pierced  with  grief  as  He 
foresees  the  inevitable  doom  of  their  unbelief. 

There  is  a  lesson  for  us  here  in  our  preaching  and  in  our  less 
official  intercourse  with  the  people.  We  find  in  no  discourse  or 
conversation  of  our  Lord,  any  instance  of  His  being  vexed  or  angry 
and  giving  vent  to  this  auger  in  rebukes.  When  He  showed  in- 
dignation it  never  had  the  slightest  tinge  of  self  in  it;  He  never 
was  moved  to  anger  by  any  insult  oifered  to  Himself.  How  quiet 
and  full  of  power  was  His  self-composure  on  that  day  when  after 
many  insults  He  said :  "  I  honor  my  Father,  but  ye  do  dishonor  me  I  " 
To  these  words  Peter  doubtless  refers  1  Pet.  ii.  21-23,  where  he  de- 
scribes Christ's  example,  "  who,  when  He  was  reviled,  reviled  not 
again;  when  He  suffered.  He  threatened  not;  but  committed 
Himself  to  Him  that  judgeth  righteously."  He  told  them  on  another 
occasion  that  blasphemies  against  the  Sou  of  Man  might  be 
forgiven  them,  but  to  beware  of  blaspheming  against  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

This  is  the  pattern  of  the  missionary.  We  are  doubtless  called 
on  to  be  bold,  and  in  preaching  to  unbelieves  sometimes  to  say 
stern  and  uncompromising  things.  But  we  are  not  to  say  these 
things  as  from  ourselves,  or  on  our  own  account.  The  stern  word 
is  always  wrong,  unless  it  comes  from  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  test 
whether  or  no  the  Si)irit  is  with  us,  I  believe  to  be  the  presence  or 
absence  of  this  Christ-like  tenderness.  Without  that,  stern  words  are 
merely  bitter  words,  and  are  unworthy  the  minister  of  Christ.  A. 
A.  Bonar,  in  his  memoir  of  McCheyne,  quotes  from  his  diary  as 
follows  :  "  Day  of  visiting  ....  felt  very  happy  after  it,  though 
mourning  for  hitter  speaking  of  the  gospel.  Surely  it  is  a  gentle 
message ;  and  should  be  spoken  with  angelic  tenderness."  Bonar 
adds  that  on  one  occasion  McCheyne  asked  him  the  subject  of  his 
last  Sunday's  sermon.  It  had  been,  "The  wicked  shall  be  turned 
into  hell."  On  hearing  this  awful  text  he  asked,  "Were  you  able 
to  preach  it  with  tenderness  ? "  If  we  have  not  this  tender,  yearning 
pity  for  those  who  are  face  to  face  with  a  dark  and  hopeless 
eternity  we  are  not  empowered  to  speak  one  word  of  rebuke  or 
warnins:. 


186  THE   CHINESE   RECOKDER.  [April, 

It  has  been  said  by  some  that  we  need  not  preach  any  of  the 
harsh  or  terrible  views  of  hell  and  punishment  to  the  Chinese. 
Some  would  preach  only  law,  and  some  only  love.  But  surely  we 
must  preach  the  whole  truth  and  bring  the  heathen  to  a  knowledge 
of  their  state  of  sin  and  rebellion.  But  there  is  a  difference  between 
convincing  them  tliat  they  are  rebels,  and  convincing  them  that  we 
think  they  are  rebels.  Moreover,  the  Chinese  are  quick  to  see  and 
feel  the  difference  between  one  who  is  speaking  from  his  own 
apprehension  of  their  faults  and  follies,  and  one  who  is  enabled  by 
the  Spirit  of  Christ,  impersonally  but  fervidly,  to  press  home  their 
faults  and  follies.  They  feel  the  sharp  edge  of  the  sword  in  each  case ; 
but  in  the  first  case  your  awkward  thrust  makes  them  turn  their 
eyes  on  you  in  anger  ;  in  the  other,  they  are  compelled  to  feel  your 
tender,  longing  love,  and  the  conscience  leaps  at  the  sword-thrust 
and  Siiys  :  "  It  is  the  truth  !  It  is  a  voice  from  heaven."  Both 
preacher  and  hearers  feel  the  diflference ;  and  though  some  still 
rage,  and  few  may  believe,  yet  God  is  honored,  and  the  gospel  of 
His  Son  is  preached  of  love,  not  of  strife. 

This  tender  compassion  for  the  souls  of  His  hearers  enabled 
Christ  to  present  the  hardest  and  least  inviting  lessons  of  His  truth 
with  boldness.  In  preaching,  whether  to  heathen  or  to  converts,  we 
are  liable  at  times  to  feel  that  this  doctrine  or  that  duty  is  too  hard 
for  them.  Now  while  in  every  case  Jesus  acted  with  greatest  kind- 
ness, yet  His  statement  of  the  ideals  of  the  Christian  life  was  always 
the  highest.  "  Whosoever  will  come  after  me  let  him  deny  himself 
and  take  up  his  cross  and  follow  me."  "  Let  the  dead  bury  their 
dead."  "  If  any  man  come  to  me  and  hate  not  his  father  and  mother, 
and  wife,  and  children,  and  brethren,  and  sisters,  yea,  and  his  own 
life  also,  he  cannot  be  my  disciple." 

How  may  we — not  obtain,  but — presume  to  use  such  a  sublime 
boldness  in  proclaiming  the  truths  most  alien  to  human  nature  ? 
Our  Lord's  boldness  came  from  no  dogmatism, — saying  these  things 
merely  because  He  believed  or  knew  them  to  be  true,  because  they 
were  a  part  of  the  system.  He  spoke  these  tremendous  truths 
because  He  saw  the  eternal  issues  at  stake.  In  the  conclusion  of  the 
passage  above  quoted  from  Mark,  having  depicted  the  life  of  His 
followers  as  one  of  cross-bearing,  with  infinite  tenderness  and  the 
earnest  thrill  of  one  who  sees  the  future  of  which  he  speaks,  He 
says :  "  For  what  shall  it  profit  a  man  if  he  shall  gain  the  whole 
world  and  lose  his  own  soul  ?  Or  what  shall  a  man  give  in  exchange 
for  his  soul?"  And  that  glorious  Coming  is  present  to  His  view — 
so  unlike  the  humiliation  which  was  visible  to  His  hearers — when 
eternal  joy  and  sorrow  shall  hang  on  a  look  from  Him,  the  Man  of 
Sorrows :  "  Whosoever  therefore  shall  be  ashamed  of  me  and  of  my 


1900.]  HOW   JESUS   PREACirED  TO  UNHELIEVERS.  187 

words  in  this  adulterous  and  sinful  generation,  of  him  also  shall  the 
Son  of  Man  be  ashamed  when  He  comcth  in  the  glory  of  His  Father 
with  the  holy  angels."     (Mk.  viii.  34-38.) 

So  real  and  solemn  must  be  our  view  of  the  issues  which  hang 
upon  our  work.  Do  we,  or  do  we  not,  convict  ourselves  of  being 
ashamed  of  any  of  His  words,  by  thinking  any  part  of  the  Word  too 
hard  for  the  Chinese,  and  trying  to  lighten  some  part  of  the  load  for 
them  ?  As,  for  example,  in  the  Sabbath  question  now  so  much 
discussed.  It  is  a  false  tenderness,  not  after  the  pattern  of  Christ, 
which  will  refrain  from  putting  the  highest  ideals  of  the  Christian 
life  before  these  perishing  ones,— which  fears  to  make  known  to 
them  the  infinite  importance  of  living  for  eternity,  and  throwing 
away  all  that  impedes.  Let  us  see  that  like  Paul,  we  "  shun  not  to 
declare  to  them  the  whole  counsel  of  God." 

In  closing,  we  may  note  that  it  was  because  the  Lord  saw 
eternity,  as  well  as  that  He  was  so  eminently  the  Man  of 
Prayer,  and  the  Pattern  for  us  as  winners  of  souls.  No  human 
standards  obscured  His  vision  as  to  the  value  of  a  human  soul.  He 
knew  the  day  of  judgment  was  to  reveal  all  thinga  He  knew  the 
terrible  importance  of  bringing  every  man  to  the  point  where  he 
could  intelligently  choose  between  life  and  death.  He  felt,  with  His 
sensitive  God-heart,  the  burden  of  souls.  This  made  his  whole  life 
solemn.  It  is  only  once  recorded  of  Him  that  He  rejoiced ;  and  that 
was  when  the  disciples  returned  with  joy  from  their  trial  preaching- 
tour.  Jesus  bade  them  rejoice,  not  that  the  spirits  were  subject  to 
them,  but  rather,  because  their  names  were  written  in  heaven.  Then 
He  "rejoiced  in  spirit,"  thanking  the  Father  who  had  hid  these 
things  from  the  wise  and  prudent,  and  revealed  them  to  babes.  It 
is  further  significant  that  in  the  parables  of  the  ninety-and-nine,  the 
lost  sheep,  and  the  lost  piece  of  silver,  the  finder  rejoices,  and  calls 
on  his  friends  to  rejoice.  The  father  of  the  prodigal  says :  "  It 
was  meet  what  we  should  make  merry  and  be  glad."  These  expres- 
sions prepare  us  for  that  wonderful  Word  of  Christ:  "  There  is  joy  in 
the  presence  of  the  angels  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth."  The  one 
joy  of  our  Saviour's  life  while  here  on  earth,  then,  was  to  save  the 
lost.  The  saving  of  one  soul  to-day  moves  the  eternal  God  to  a 
proclamation  of  joy  before  the  angels.  And  it  must  be  so,  for  the 
grief,  the  sorrow  of  His  life,  was  our  sin  and  guilt  It  was  love  for 
our  souls,  desire  for  our  life,  that  led  Him  to  make  that  atonement 
for  us.  Each  day,  each  moment  of  His  life  witnessed  to  the  depth  of 
that  love.  His  long  nights  of  prayer.  His  long  days  of  labor,  were 
filled  with  this  ceaseless  hunger  for  souls.  He  was  sustained  by 
looking  forward  to  the  day  when  He  should  see  of  the  travail  of  His 
soul  and  be  satisfied.      He    not  only  wept  in  sympathy  with  the 


188  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [April, 

griefs  of  others ;  He  saw  cause  for  weeping  when  others  did  not. 
How  He  must  have  been  moved  to  heart's  center  with  the  emotions 
of  His  daily  life !  As,  see  how  He  was  so  moved  with  compassion 
toward  the  multitudes,  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd,  that  He  gave 
up  His  much-needed  rest  that  He  might  give  them  the  gospel. 

While  we  should  stand  out  against  emotionalism  in  religion,  are 
we  not  in  danger  of  teaching  ourselves  not  to  feel  as  much  as  we  ought  ? 
Many  are  too  prone  in  these  days  to  put  reason  forward,  and  put 
depth  of  feeling,  enthusiasm  or  emotion,  in  the  background.  It  is 
doubtless  true  that  so  soon  as  self  emerges  above  the  horizon  of 
consciousness,  the  emotion  in  which  we  may  be  indulging  is  worth- 
less. The  curse  of  our  age  is  self-consciousness ;  it  is  that  which 
clamors  for  poise,  control,  subduing  the  emotions.  We  need  to  learn 
of  Christ  that  abandon  of  emotion,  that  true  giving  of  the  whole  self 
to  others,  which  shall  keep  alive  in  us  constantly  a  deep,  painful 
desire  to  win  souls  from  death  to  life.  If  this  desire  is  strong  within 
us,  it  will  lead  us  not  only  to  unremitting  endeavor  for  those  about 
us,  but  also  to  more  earnest  and  strong  crying  out  and  supplication 
for  them.  May  the  Spirit  of  Christ  dwell  in  us  richly,  that  we  may 
give  ourselves  more  unreservedly  than  ever  to  this  Christ-like  work 
of  winning  back  the  lost  sheep. 


Studies  in   Faith    Cure. 

BY  REV.  A.   SYDENSTRICKER. 

fHE  old  theologians  tell  us  that  the  day  of  miracles  is  past. 
This  is  such  an  easy  solution  of  a  confessedly  difficult 
problem  that  one  is  a  little  suspicious  of  the  correctness  of 
the  solution.  It  looks  like  "begging  the  question"  instead  of 
solving  it.  We  might  ask,  Why  has  the  age  of  miracle  working 
passed  away  ?  or,  Has  it,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  passed  away  ? 

Since  this  subject  is  more  and  more  engaging  the  attention  of 
Christian  people,  and  since  the  claims  of  faith  healers  is  being 
pressed  on  us  from  different  quarters  and  there  is  constant 
danger  of  being  misled  on  a  subject  of  such  transcendent  interest 
and  of  such  momentous  consequences,  it  may  be  well  for  us  to  give 
it  a  careful  study.  It  is  certainly  not  the  part  of  wisdom  to  "  pooh- 
pooh  "  it  aside  and  give  it  the  go-by.  It  is  far  safer  to  examine  the 
subject  carefully  in  the  liglit  of  present  facts  and  claims  and  of 
Scripture  teaching  and,  if  possible,  to  arrive  at  a  safe  footing, 
where  we  need  fear  no  molestation. 

The  writer  of  this  paper  has  for  a  number  of  3'ears  held  himself 
open  to  conviction,  ready  and  willing   to  believe  that  cures  are 


J  900.]  STUDIES  IN  FAITH  CURE.  189 

wrought  by  simple  prayer  and  faith  whenever  the  evidence  for  snch 
cares  having  been  wroiiL^ht  is  incontestible.  Tbere  seetns  to  be  no 
a  priori  reason  why  miracles  cannot  be  performed  now  as  they  were 
wrought  in  the  first  century  of  the  Christian  church.  But  more  of 
this  later  on  in  our  discussion. 

Now  it  must  be  premised  that  the  proofs  and  testimonies  that 
miracles  are  being  wrought  must  be  overwhelming  ;  they  must 
be  such  as  admit  of  no  reasonable  doubt,  and  the  examples 
brought  forward  for  our  credence  must  be  such  as  cannot  be 
explained  in  any  other  way  than  by  the  direct  intervention  of 
divine  power;  that  is  to  say,  the  evidence  must  be  of  the  same 
character  as  that  on  which  our  faith  in  the  Bible  miracles  is 
established.  We  can  and  must  say  to  the  faith  healer,  Where  is 
your  proof?  We  must  have  incontestible  evidence,  such  as  cannot 
be  gainsaid  or  explained  away.  This  is  the  kind  of  evidence  that 
the  Bible  gives  for  its  recorded  miracles,  and  we  cannot  demand  less 
from  the  modern  claimant  to  miracle  working. 

The  writer  has  watched  with  interest  the  various  accounts  of 
cures  claimed  to  have  been  performed.  It  seems  to  him  that  these 
accounts  in  general  have  more  than  one  serious  defect  when  com- 
pared with  the  accounts  of  Bible  miracles. 

1.  The  evidence  adduced,  or  the  witnesses  to  these  alleged 
cures  by  prayer  and  faith,  are  not  generally,  if  indeed  in  any  case, 
such  as  to  produce  conviction.  Not  only  is  the  evidence  insufl&cient 
in  itself  ;  the  character  of  the  proof  is  certainly  in  very  many  cases 
seriously  defective,  and  the  faith-cure  workers  in  modern  Christen- 
dom are  generally  not  themselves  persons  that  inspire  us  with 
confidence  in  their  claims.  It  is  generally  true  that  they  are 
woefully  erratic  in  Christian  doctrine  or  practice  or  in  both.  The 
testimonials  brought  before  the  public  remind  one  very  much  of 
those  issued  by  patent  medicine  cure-all  establishments.  Those  of 
our  readers  who  have  noticed  much  of  the  current  literature  on 
faith  cure  will  see  that  we  here  put  the  case  very  mildly. 

2.  The  limited  range  of  diseases  claimed  to  be  cured  is  a  serious 
defect.  Even  the  most  powerful  faith  healer  does  not  claim  to 
raise  the  dead ;  rarely,  if  ever,  to  restore  a  lost  limb,  or  to  open  a 
hopelessly  blind  eye.  These  are  the  very  cases  in  which  the  divine 
power  of  our  Lord  and  His  apostles  was  most  conspicuously  man- 
ifested, and  these  are  the  very  cases  in  which  the  faith  healer 
conspicuously  fails.  Clearly,  so  far  in  the  history  of  faith  healino-, 
right  here  is  a  fatal  defect. 

3.  The  cures  wrought  by  the  Savior  and  His  apostles  were 
instantaneous  and  thorough.  Not  only  were  the  diseases  instantly 
removed,  but  the  sufferer's  strength  was  also  immediately  restored 


190  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [April, 

to  bira.  He  was  made  "  perfectly  whole."  The  helpless  paralytic 
could  at  once  take  up  his  couch  and  carry  it  home;  the  fever 
stricken  mother-in-law  could  immediately  arise  and  minister  to  her 
benefactor.  How  very  different  the  vast  majority,  if  not  411,  the 
faith-cures  of  to-day.  These  are  almost  always  <^radual,  imperfect, 
and  often  there  are  lapses  sue!)  as  show  clearly  enough  that  there 
had  been  no  real  cure  at  all !  Here  one  cannot  but  notice  a 
wide  divergence  from  Bible  miracles. 

4.  In  modern  faith-cure  there  is  always  required  as  essential, 
an  absolute  and  entire  surrender  to  the  will  of  God,  that  is,  as  it  is 
explained,  a  putting  away  of  all  known  sin.  Whenever  there  is  a 
lapse  from  this  spiritual  status  the  sufferer  may  be  expected  to  be 
afflicted  again.  But  it  is  clear  that  this  spiritual  condition,  no 
matter  how  desirable  in  itself,  was  not  required  as  a  prerequisite  to 
miraculous  cure,  either  by  Christ  or  by  His  apostles.  All  that  they 
demanded  was  faith,  and  our  Savior  never  turned  away  an  ap{)li- 
cant,  neither  did  He  nor  the  apostles  inquire  into  the  spiritual  con,- 
dition  of  the  applicant  further  than  to  elicit  his  faith.  Our  Savior's 
words  were,  "If  thou  canst  believe.  All  things  are  possible  to  him 
that  believeth." 

5.  A  careful  examination  of  the  New  Testament  miracles 
reveals  the  fact  that,  so  far  as  we  can  gather  from  the  records,  the 
Lord  and  His  apostles  healed  only  those  that  were  recognized  as 
incurable  by  human  skill.  If  we  notice  the  cases  in  which  maladies 
are  described  I  think  we  can  safely  say  that  every  one  of  them  was 
considered  as  incurable  by  human  skill.  The  general  descriptions 
of  the  diseases  healed  would  lead  us  to  the  same  conclusion.  They 
were  the  lame,  the  halt,  the  blind,  the  lepers,  demoniacs,  etc., — all 
hopelessly  beyond  the  power  of  human  help. 

It  was  when  men  could  not  help  themselves  that  divine  power 
was  immediately  put  forth  for  their  help.  Man's  extremity  was 
God's  opportunity.  And  this  has  always  been  His  way  of  working 
with  man,  both  in  providence  and  in  grace.  God  does  not  do  for 
man  by  direct  interference  what  the  latter  can  do  throngh  the 
ordinary  means  of  His  providence.  It  is  only  when  human  help 
fails  that  we  can  expect  direct  intervention  of  divine  help.  When, 
e.g.,  I  am  suffering  from  an  attack  of  malaria  and  have  with  me  a 
remedy  that  I  know  to  be  generally  effective,  what  right  have  I  to 
throw  that  aside  and  demand  to  be  cured  in  a  miraculous  way  ? 
That  remedy  God  has  given  me  in  His  providence,  and  if  I  am 
healed  by  it,  it  is  no  less  the  Lord  healing  me  than  ii  He  had  done 
it  by  a  direct  act  of  divine  power. 

The  Apostle  Paul  states  the  general  principle  in  a  particular 
case  when  he  says;  "  For  if  there  had  been  a  law  given  which  could 


I 


1900.  J  STUDIES  IN  FAITH   CURE.  191 

make  alive,  verily  righteonsuess  would  have  been  by  the  law." 
What  is  trne  of  justification  is  just  as  true  of  all  God's  dealings 
with  us.  If  He  puts  a  remedy  into  my  hands  I  feel  bound  to  use 
that  remedy  which,  with  His  blessing  upon  it,  brings  about  the 
desired  result.  It  is  only  when  available  human  remedies  fail  that 
we  have  a  right  to  expect  immediate  hel[)  from  God  in  an  extra- 
ordinary way.  Huch  seems  to  be  the  clear  teaching  of  the  Word  of 
God  on  this  subject,  and  this  certainly  agrees  with  our  reason  and 
common  sense. 

Not  so  the  modern  faith  healer.  He  insists  that  all  healing 
mnst  be  a  matter  of  faith  alone,  that  no  medicines  whatever  must 
be  used.  He  teaches  that  the  Savior  will  do  for  us  not  only  what 
we  cannot  do  for  ourselves  and  others,  but  that  He  will  do  that 
which  we  can  in  the  providence  of  God  ourselves  accomplish.  Here, 
then,  we  would  remark,  is  another  very  wide  divergence  between 
what  seems  to  be  the  teaching  of  Scripture  and  tiie  theory  and 
practice  of  faith  cure. 

6.  The  fundamental  doctrine  of  faith  cure — though  not  explicitly 
so  stated  by  its  advocates — seems  to  be  this :  All  sickness  is  the 
direct  result  of  sin  committed  by  the  sufferer.  By  careful  self- 
examination  the  sickness  can  be  traced  directly  to  some  known 
sin  committed.  The  process  of  healing  is  a  very  simple  one.  The 
suiferer  must  confess  his  sin,  repent  of  it,  and  turn  away  from  it 
and  then  ask  the  Lord  to  heal  the  disease ;  then,  if  he  has  the 
faith,  he  is  healed.  Such  seems  to  be  the  theology  which  underlies 
the  doctrine  of  "  divine  healing  "  as  it  is  called.  It  follows  then  as  a 
matter  of  course — the  very  thing  that  is  constantly  insisted  on — 
that  the  use  of  medicines  and  the  physician  are  not  necessary, 
if  indeed  not  positively  sinful. 

Let  us  now  measure  this  doctrine  with  Bible  teaching  and  see 
whether  they  agree.  Now  it  goes  without  saying  that  a  very  iar<'-e 
part  of  the  sickness  to  which  mankind  is  subject  can  be  traced 
directly  to  sinful  indulgence  and  to  imprudence.  It  is  also  true  that 
when  the  sick  are  taken  out  of  unsanitary  surroundings,  placed  in  a 
clean  hospital  and  properly  cared  for,  they  get  well  without  the  use 
of  drugs;  and  this  is  just  where  the  chief  benefit  of  faith-cure 
establishments  doubtless  comes  from.  It  may  also  be  safely  said 
that  all  suffering  is  nearly  or  remotely  the  fruit  of  sin.  "  Death,'' 
penal  suffering  "  by  sin,"  is  the  Bible  statement  of  the  truth,  and 
we  may  be  sure  that  in  a  world  where  there  is  absolutely  no  sin 
there  is  also  no  suffering. 

Admitting  all  this,  it  still  cannot  be  asserted  that  every  case 
of  illness  is  to  be  attributed  directly  to  sin,  or  even  carelessness  in 
the  sufferer.     Both  Scripture  and  experience  contradict  it  at  many 


192  THE   CHINESE  RECORDER.  [April, 

points.  That  the  most  godly  persons  are  the  freest  from  sickness 
is  notoriously  not  true.  The  best  of  Christ's  followers  are  very 
often  the  greatest  sufferers.  The  Bible  gives  us  Job  as  a  typical 
example.  The  most  remarkable  fact  about  this  good  man  perhaps 
was  that  his  afflictions  came  through  no  sin  or  fault  of  his  own. 
God's  own  testimony  of  Job  is  that  "  there  is  none  like  him  in  the 
earth,  a  perfect  and  an  upright  man,  one  that  feareth  God  and 
escheweth  evil."  Even  in  his  severest  sufferings  Job  "sinned  not 
with  his  lips,"  though  his  afflictions  came,  as  far  as  he  could  see, 
entirely  without  any  cause. 

When  our  Lord  and  His  disciples  met  the  man  blind  from  his 
birth  the  disciples  at  once  began  to  inquire  for  whose  sin  this 
affliction  had  been  sent  upon  him.  The  Savior  answered,  "  Neither 
hath  this  man  sinned  nor  his  parents  ; "  the  affliction  was  sent  for  a 
very  different  purpose.  But  it  is  not  necessary  to  multiply  examples 
to  prove  a  fact  that  is  so  clear  to  all, 

7.  If  all  sickness  can  be  healed  by  prayer  and  faith,  it  is  not 
easy  to  explain  why  Paul  left  Trophimus  at  Miletum  sick.  Why  did 
he  not  heal  him  and  take  him  along  on  his  journey  ?  Nor  can  it  be 
accounted  for  why  Paul  advised  Timothy  to  "  take  a  little  wine  for 
his  stomach's  sake  and  for  his  often  infirmities."  Why  did  he  not 
advise  Timothy  to  repent  of  and  confess  the  sin  that  had  brought 
on  the  infirmity  and  look  to  the  Lord  to  heal  the  sickness  ?  Further- 
more, it  is  entirely  unaccountable  why  Paul  himself  should  have 
suffered  from  "an  infirmity  in  the  flesh,"  a  "thorn  in  the  flesh," 
for  which  he  "  besought  the  Lord  thrice  "  that  it  might  be  removed. 
In  the  Lord's  answer  he  gives  not  the  least  intimation  that  the 
affliction  came  on  account  of  some  sin  that  Paul  was  still  cherishing. 
Paul  himself  tells  us  that  the  infirmity  was  disciplinary.  It  was 
sent,  not  because  he  had  sinned,  but  to  keep  him  from  sin,  "lest  he 
should  be  exalted  above  measure." 

Again.  If  the  teaching  about  faith  cure  had  held  as  important  a 
place  in  the  minds  and  writings  of  the  apostles  as  it  holds  among 
modern  faith  healers,  it  is  entirely  unaccountable  why  they  did  not 
say  more  about  it.  Why  in  all  of  Paul's  thirteen  epistles  does  he 
never  once  refer  to  it  ? 

8.  This  leads  us  to  another  point  in  our  examination  of  the 
subject  iu  hand.  The  advocates  of  faith- healing  make  a  distinc- 
tion in  the  "gifts"  originally  granted  to  the  church,  which  seems 
to  be  unauthorized  in  the  Word  of  God.  Healing  the  sick, 
"  speaking  with  toognes,"  casting  out  demons,  raising  the  dead, 
etc.,  were  all  classed  together  in  the  teaching  and  practice  of  the 
apostles.  If  they  could  do  one  of  these  they  could  do  all.  Why 
now  should  the  healing  of  the  sick  be  singled  out  from  the  rest  of 


1900.]  STUDIES  IN  FAITH  CURE.  193 

these  ^ifts  and  iusisted  on  while  the  others  are  practically  ignored  ? 
Is  it  because  these  others  are  confessedly  beyond  onr  power  P  But 
if  it  be  "divine"  healing,  if  it  is  the  Lord  healing  in  answer  to 
prayer,  why  may  we  not  expect  Him  to  grant  the  other  gifts  as 
well  as  He  actually  did  in  the  ajiostolic  chnrch  ?  Are  we  not 
overlooking  the  important  statement  of  Panl  when  he  says  :  "But 
all  tiiese"  (gifts)  "  worketh  the  one  and  the  same  spirit,  dividing  to 
each  severally  even  as  He  will."  That  is  to  say,  these  gifrs  and 
these  miracles  wrought  were  never  at  any  time  the  "order  of  the 
day."  'J'hey  were  never  tlie  common  property  of  all  believers. 
Nor  was  there,  so  far  as  we  know,  even  a  time  when  the  gift  of  heal- 
ing was  exercised  alone  while  the  others  were  withheld.  The  gifts 
were  the  peculiar  property  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  He  granted  or 
withheld  them  according  to  His  own  will. 

It  is  true  that  the  Savior  in  giving  His  last  commission  to  the 
apostles,  promised  these  powers  to  "  him  that  believeth  " — to  all 
believers,  but  this  promise  must  be  interpreted  in  the  light  of  its 
subsequent  actual  fulfillment.  Where  in  the  history  of  the  apostolic 
church  have  we  any  account  that  all  believers  in  common  ever 
exercised  all  or  any  one  of  these  gifts?  A  parallel  is  seen  in  the 
promise  that  after  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  "  sons  and 
daughters,"  "  bondmen  and  bondmaidens  shall  prophesy."  In  the 
actual  fulfillment  of  this  promise,  though  all  were  "filled  with  the 
Holy  Spirit,"  when  it  come  to  prophesying,  that  is,  "speaking  for 
God"  in  public,  we  are  distinctly  told  that  "Peter,  with  the 
eleven,  lifted  up  his  voice  and  spoke  forth  unto  the  multitudes 
assembled."  The  Lord  knows  how  to  fulfill  His  own  promises,  and 
He  certainly  has  the  right  to  grant  or  withhold  when  and  where 
and  how  He  pleases. 

9.  From  what  we  have  already  said,  it  will  appear  that  faith- 
healing  as  now  taught  seems  to  be  entirely  and  radically  different 
from  the  working  of  miracles  recorded  in  the  Bible  both  in  theory 
and  practice.  Of  course  the  attempt  is  made  to  found  it  on 
Bible  teaching,  but  so  it  is  with  almost  every  religious  ism  in 
Christendom. 

10.  There  certainly  seems  to  be  a  misinterpretation  of  the 
promises  in  the  Bible  referring  to  temporal  blessings,  especially  as 
to  healing  the  sick.  The  advocate  of  divine  healing,  teaches  us 
that  we  may  claim  immnnity  from  all  sickness  during  life,  if  not 
from  death  itself.  That  is,  we  may  here  and  now  enjoy  the  full 
temporal,  or  physical,  blessings  promised  in  the  gospel. 

But  the  Bible  unmistakably  teaches  that  in  this  life,  as  to 
spiritual  blessings,  we  receive  and  enjoy  only  an  "  earnest,"  a  fore- 
taste, a  pledge  of  what  is  to  come.     But  according  to  the  faith-healer's 


194  THE    CBINESE    EECORDKR.  [ApHI, 

own  showing,  freedom  from  sickness  is  dependent  on  and  follows  from 
freedom  from  sin.  Now  let  us  put  the  question,  Since  we  receive 
and  enjoy  only  a  foretaste  of  spiritual  blessing  in  this  life,  can  we 
expect  to  come  into  the  full  possession  of  bodilj'^  good  at  this  time  ? 
Can  we  expect  any  more  than  a  foretaste  of  these  ?  Can  we  look 
for  the  full  crop  of  fruit  so  long  as  the  tree  is  yet  so  far  from 
being  fully  grown  ?  Since  the  physical  good  is  dependent  on  and 
follows  the  spiritual,  can  we  expect  perfection  in  the  former  when 
confessedly  we  have  it  not  in  the  latter,  nor  even  hope  to 
have  it  now  ? 

From  considerations  like  those  presented  above,  it  would  seem 
that  we  ought  to  be  wary  of  this  "  new  teaching  "  till  the  evidence 
is  such  as  to  command  our  credence. 

But  now  laying  aside  all  those  cases  of  human  suffering  that 
medical  treatment  can  remove,  and  laying  aside  the  whole  faith-cure 
theory  and  practice  as  now  taught  and  worked,  the  question  still 
recurs,  Have  we  a  right  to  expect  direct  intervention  of  divine  power 
when  and  where  human  help  fails  ?  For  the  sake  of  clearness  in 
the  discussion  of  this  question,  it  may  be  found  convenient  to  class 
the  miracles  of  the  New  Testament  under  two  divisions.  One 
division  includes  those  that  were  wrought  especially  as  "  signs  "  to 
prove  the  truth  of  the  gospel.  The  other  includes  those  that  were 
mere  "miracles  of  mercy,"  which  were  not  wrought  primarily  to 
establish  the  claims  of  the  new  revelation.  Many  of  the  recorded 
miracles  have  both  of  these  features,  while  others  have  only  one  of 
them.  We  know,  e.g.,  that  the  Savior  on  more  than  one 
occasion  healed  the  sick  where  He  enjoined  strict  silence  as  to  the 
promulgation  of  the  miracle.  In  more  than  one  instance  compassion 
for  the  suffering  was  the  ruling  motive  that  led  Him  to  exercise 
divine  power. 

Now  we  may  ask  the  question,  Since  there  was  in  the  time  of 
the  Savior  and  His  apostles  the  need  for  the  display  of  divine 
power  in  both  these  directions,  to  show  both  signs  and  mercy,  does 
that  need  exist  at  the  present  time  ?  Do  the  miracles  wrought 
and  recorded  at  that  time  suffice  for  this  time,  so  long  and  so  far 
separated  from  that  time  ?  Let  us  cite  an  example  by  no  means 
hypothetical.  The  believers  in  the  city  of  Corinth,  only  a  few  tens 
of  years  after  the  Savior's  ascension  to  heaven,  claimed,  and  the 
Apostle  Paul  acknowledged  the  necessity  of  the  "  signs  of  an  apostle ' ' 
being  wrought  among  them.  Paul  said  with  reference  to  at  least 
one  or  two  classes  of  the  miracles  wrought  at  that  time  and  place : 
"  Tongues  are  for  a  sign,  not  to  them  that  believe,  but  to  the  unbe- 
lieving ;  but  prophesying  is  for  a  sign,  not  to  the  unbelieving,  but  to 
them  that  believe."     It  might  be  asked,  Would  not  a  simple  recital 


1900.]  STUDIES  m  FAITH   CURE.  195 

of  the  miracles  wrought  by  the  Lord  have  been  sufficient  ?  What 
need  was  there  for  any  further  manifestation  of  divine  power  ?  But 
the  apostle  and  the  believers  in  Corinth  did  not  think  thus.  They 
were  favored  with  miracles  wrought  in  their  sight.  They  did  not 
need  to  depend  solely  on  the  testimony  of  others,  even  though  that 
testimony  was  that  of  an  apostle  and  eye-witness  of  the  Lord's 
resurrection. 

Now  we  will  put  another  question.  Since  the  hearers  of  the 
gospel  in  Corinth,  during  the  life-time  of  the  apostles,  so  soon  after 
the  Savior's  resurrection  and  ascension,  and  separated  only  a  few 
hundreds  of  miles  from  the  land  that  had  witnessed  His  wonderful 
works  of  power  and  mercy — since  they,  so  fixvorably  situated,  yet 
had  need  of  the  evidence  of  miracles  wrought  among  them,  do  not 
the  modern  Chinese,  for  example,  living  more  than  eighteen 
hundred  years  after  that  time,  removed  thousands  of  miles  away 
from  the  place  where  the  Savior  wrought  His  miracles,  and  so 
different  in  mental  make-up  and  training — do  not  they,  too,  need  and 
need  much  more  the  evidence  of  "  signs  wrought  among  them  ? " 
Are  the  miracles  that  were  performed  at  that  remote  time  and 
place  convincing  to  the  minds  of  the  heathen  Chinese  to-day?  Do 
they  believe  the  testimony  of  the  foreigner  when  he  recounts  these 
miracles  ?  Could  we  exchange  places  with  the  Chinese  and  listen 
to  his  recital  of  them,  would  we  believe  them  ?  But  these  and  like 
questions  are  more  easily  asked  than  answered.  We  may  safely  say, 
in  general,  that  if  any  people,  at  any  time  or  place  in  any  age  of 
the  world,  apparently  needed  proofs  of  a  divine  power  wrought 
among  them,  those  people  are  the  stolid,  phlegmatic  Chinesa  And 
we  suppose  that  almost  every  missionary  may  be  ready  to  say 
the  same  thing  with  reference  to  the  people  among  whom  he 
labors. 

We  may  now  perhaps  venture  a  step  farther  and  say,  since,  as 
we  can  see  it,  there  is  here  in  China  such  a  great  need  for  the  "  signs 
of  an  apostle  wrought  among  them,"  have  we  on  any  condition  a 
right  to  expect,  to  hope  for,  to  pray  for,  miraculous  power  ?  We 
shall  attempt  no  direct  answer  to  this  question.  Let  us  read  again 
the  commission  as  given  in  the  gospel  of  Mark.  And  He  said  unto 
them :  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  gospel  to  the  whole 
creation.  He  that  believe th  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved  ;  but  he 
that  disbelieveth  shall  be  condemned.  And  these  signs  shall  follow 
them  that  believe;  in  my  name  shall  they  cast  out  demons; 
they  shall  speak  with  new  tongues;  they  shall  take  up  serpents, 
and  if  they  drink  any  deadly  thing,  it  shall  in  no  wise  hurt 
them,  and  they  shall  lay  their  hands  on  the  sick,  and  they  shall 
recover. " 


196  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [April, 

It  will  be  said  of  course  that  the  last  part  of  this  chapter  in 
Mark  is  not  genuine,  that  it  was  added  by  a  later  hand.  To  this  we 
reply,  Suppose  it  was  not  written  by  Mark,  but  added  by  a  later 
hand,  does  this  destroy  its  inspiration  ?  But  even  if  it  be  not  in- 
spired, it  states  what  actually  took  place  during  the  preaching  of 
the  apostles,  and  so  it  is  true  as  to  fact  whether  inspired  or  not. 
What  is  related  as  promised  here  by  the  ascending  Lord  is  just  what 
took  place  after  His  ascension.  It  is  necessary  only  to  state  further 
in  connection  with  what  is  promised  here  that  there  is  no  limit 
defined  as  to  either  time  or  place.  The  promise  is  as  general  and 
as  wide  as  the  preaching  and  the  believing  of  the  gospel. 

It  may  be  said  also  that  medical  skill  as  now  showu  among 
heathen  people  by  Christian  physicians,  obviates  the  need  of 
miracnlous  intervention.  One  need  only  remark  that  while  the 
medical  profession  may  have  reason  to  be  proud  of  its  advancements 
and  successes,  it  has  equally  good  reason  to  be  humbled  at  the  many 
failures  that  constantly  occur,  the  many  premature  deaths,  the  fatal 
mistakes  in  diagnosis  of  diseases,  and  the  heart-rending  bereave- 
ments that  come  to  so  mauy  homes  in  spir,e  of  all  that  medicine 
can  do. 

A  word  or  two  with  reference  to  one  or  two  favorite  passages 
that  the  advocates  of  faith-healing  always  use,  ought  to  be  added. 
The  first  occurs  in  Jas.  v.  13-15.  This  passage  is  the  strong- 
hold of  the  faith-healer,  and  no  one  who  studies  the  passage  will 
admit  that  it  is  easy  of  interpretation.  But  before  we  conclude  that 
it  of  course  teaches  healing  by  faith  without  the  use  of  medicine 
let  us  take  the  following  points  into  consideration: — 

1.  We  may  well  ask,  Is  it  safe  to  build  on  one  single  passage 
of  Scripture  a  doctrine  of  such  wide  application  and  on  which  so 
much  depends  ?  We  may  confidently  answer.  No,  if  there  is  any 
other  legitimate  way  of  interpreting  the  passage. 

2.  The  great  body  of  Christians  from  the  early  ages  of  the 
church  down  to  the  present  have  not  understood  the  passage  as  the 
advocate  of  faith-healing  understands  it,  nor  have  they  literally 
obeyed  the  injunction  here  given. 

3.  We  must  repeat  what  has  already  been  said  at  the  outset, 
Where  is  the  evidence,  clear  and  incontestible,  that  cures  are  now 
being  performed  by  anointing  with  oil  and  prayer  ?  Not  a  few  sick 
are  being  thus  treated,  but  who  is  healed  thereby  ?  Again,  not  only 
should  we  expect  that  a  few  are  healed  in  this  way,  but  we  ought  to 
see  this  way  of  dealing  with  sick  believers  generally  if  not  univer- 
sally effective.     We  wait  for  evidence. 

4.  Another  favorite  passage  is  Matt.  viii.  17,  "  He  himself  took 
our  infirmities  and  bore  our  sicknesses,"  quoted  by  the  evangelist 


1900.]  A   CHINESE   DIVES  AND   LAZARUa  197 

from  Isa.  liii.  4.  Our  Saviour  is  here  spoken  of  as  bearing  our 
sicknesses  just  as  in  many  places  He  is  spoken  of  as  bearing  our 
sins  and  our  guilt  and  taking  them  away,  and  we  have  not  the 
remotest  doubt  that  when  His  work  of  putting  away  sin  shall 
have  been  completed,  sickness  and  all  other  results  of  sin  shall, 
too,  have  become  things  of  the  past.  As  we  have  already  in- 
timated above  we  cannot  expect  entire  immunity  from  sickness 
so  long  as  there  is  sin  in  us  and  so  long  as  we  live  in  an  environ- 
ment of  sin. 

We  conclude  this  discussion  by  saying  that  the  power  to  work 
miracles  is  promised ;  their  need  is  apparent,  real,  and  great,  so 
far  as  we  can  see,  and  no  one  now  seems  to  have  the  power  in 
exercise,  but  that  the  reason  why  the  power  is  withheld  we  are 
unable  to  give. 


A  Chinese  Dives  and  Lazarus. 

CERTAIN  man  rich  iu  houses,  lauds,  and  servants,  was  fond 

of  fine  clothes,  but  dressed  himself  more  and  more  meauly 

as  his  wealth  increased,  lest  the  robbers  should  take  notice 

and   come   to    attack    him.     His    food    was    vegetarian    and 

simple,  because  he  could  save  money  and  accumulate  merit  at  the 

same  time. 

A  beggar  covered  with  sores,  and  alive  with  vermin,  lay  at  his 
gate  and  fed  ou  a  pittance  of  cold  rice  from  the  rich  mau's  kitchen. 

The  street  dogs  respected  the  beggar,  because  he  had  a  loud 
voice  and  a  long  stick. 

Wiien  winter  came  on  the  rich  man  reluctantly  allowed  tiie 
beggar  to  come  inside  his  gate  and  lie  on  a  pile  of  straw  with  some 
casl-off  garments  for  covering.  The  rich  man's  compassion  grew 
only  so  fast  as  his  store  of  merit  was  applauded. 

The  beggar  accepted  all  that  was  offered,  as  a  matter  of  course, 
and  secretly  appropriated  all  he  could  lay  hands  ou.  Iu  the  course 
of  time  the  beggar  died,  and  his  body  was  buried  at  the  ricli  man's 
expense.  When  the  beggar's  distant  and  hitherto  unsytupathetic 
kinsmen  heard  about  it,  they  came  iu  crowds  and  demanded  hush 
money  from  the  rich  man  for  murdering  their  poor  unfortunate 
relative.  The  rich  man  seeing  how  fierce  they  were,  and  fearing 
that  the  magistrate  would  pronounce  against  him  without  a  heavy 
bribe,  paid  the  crowd  cue-half  of  what  they  asked  and  took  a  receipt 
iu  full. 


198  THE    CHINESE   RECORDER.  [April, 

The  beggar's  sonl  went  to  the  cold  and  hungry  department 
for  the  dead,  and  shivered  there  indefinitely  with  a  multitude  of 
other  impecunious  spirits. 

Finally  the  rich  man  sickened,  took  very  little  medicine,  but 
paid  large  physician's  fees  and  died. 

His  funeral  lasted  two  months,  and  cost  two  thousand  strings  of 
cash.  His  grave  was  made  of  granite,  and  cost  ten  thousand  ounces 
of  silver. 

His  soul  went  to  the  hall  of  happiness  and  plenty  and 
stayed  there  as  long  as  his  male  descendants  offer  the  annual 
ancestral  sacrifices. 

Moral. — Riches  bring  happiness  both  here  and  hereafter,  while 
poverty  is  the  worst  of  sins  ! 


^trxttalbintl    department. 


Rev.  E.  T.  Williams,  M.A.,  Mitor, 

Published  in  the  interests  of  the  "  Educational  Association  of  China." 


The  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Trmslitemtion. 

"X^^TE  are  glad  to  note  that  the  Report  of  the  Committee  on 
^^'V^  Terminology  of  the  Educational  Association  of  China  has 
at  last  been  printed.  lb  contains  the  list  of  characters 
which  it  has  been  proposed  to  use  in  representing  Western  names  in 
Chinese  and  two  lists  of  words  so  transliterated — one  the  biographical 
names  in  Sheffield's  Universal  History  and  the  other  the  geographical 
names  from  Chapin's  Geography.  The  book  fills  or  partially  fills 
a  long-felt  want.  As  we  all  know,  the  greatest  confusion  exists 
in  the  transliteration  of  Western  proper  names.  When  there  is  no 
authority  in  Israel  "  every  man  does  that  which  is  right  in  his  own 
eyes."  In  this  matter  he  could  not  very  well  have  done  otherwise, 
since  few  lists  have  been  printed,  and  those  which  were  published 
represented  individual  opinions  only. 

The  Committee  of  the  Educational  Association  does  not  claim 
to  possess  authority,  but  as  it  represents  the  Association,  which 
contains  all  the  prominent  educators  in  China,  and  especially  since 
the  report  was  approved  by  the  Association  at  its  last  meeting,  it 
is  perhaps  not  too  much  to  hope  that  all  translators  hereafter    will 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL   DEPARTMENT.  199 

consent  to  use  the  list  of  characters  recommended,  and  that  names 
already  transliterated  in  accordance  with  other  systems  will  be 
gradually  revised,  except  in  the  case  of  those  which  are  already  well 
known  and  widely  used.  Those  who  are  engaged  in  translating  will 
confer  a  favor  upon  the  committee  and  upon  their  fellow-workers 
by  sending  to  the  chairman  of  the  committee  lists  of  those  proper 
names  which  they  are  transliterating.  A  good  biographical  and 
geographical  vocabulary  is  a  sore  need.  This  report  furnishes  us 
with  a  good  beginning,  but  it  is  necessarily,  of  course,  far  from 
complete. 


A  Word  to  Teachers . 


fHE  Educational  Department  of  the  Recorder  was  established 
by  the  Educational  Association  of  China  in  the  belief  that  it 
was  needed  for  the   intercliange  of  opinions   upon   the   many 
problems  connected  with  the  work  of  Western  education  in  China. 
It  was  hoped  that  the  teachers  engaged  in  this  work  would  avail  them- 
selves of  the  opportunity  thus  offered  to  express  their  views  and  to 
give  their  fellows  the  benefit  of  their  experience  and  observation.    The 
present   editor   took  over     the  care  of   the    department    under    the 
impression  that  there  would  be  no  lack  of  contributions,  inasmuch  as 
there  is  certainly   no    lack  of    themes    that   demand    consideration. 
But  he  is  not  himself  engaged  in  school  work,  and   feels   that   these 
interesting  and  important  subjects  should  be  discussed  by  those  who 
have  had   practical  acquaintance  with   them.     So  far  he  has  been 
greatly  disappointed.     The  hundreds  of  educators  in  China,   most  of 
whom  presumably  read  the  Recorder,  apparently  take  little  or  no 
interest  in  the  department.     We  say  "  apparently,"  for  we  feel  sore 
they  are  deeply  interested  in  their  work,  but  probably  feel  too  much 
pressed  for  time  to  undertake  to  bring  the  results  of  their  experience 
to  the  attention  of  others  through  the  medium  of  this  department. 
One  waits   upon  another,    too,  as  sometimes   happens  in   a  prayer 
meeting,  and  as  the  prayer  meeting  in  such  a  case  is  a  drag,   so  the 
Educational  Department  under  these  circumstances  is  of  little  valne. 
We    appeal  to   the   ladies  and  gentleman   who   are  busy  with  this 
great  work  to  pause  a  few  moments  now  and  then,   just  long  enough 
to  pen  a  brief  report  of  their  work,  or  express  their  latest  conclusions 
on  some  of  the  great  questions  connected   with  their  school  work 
which  they  are  compelled  to  face  and  answer  in  a  very  practical 
way  day  by  day.     Surely  the  last  word  has  not  yet  been  said  upon, 
"  Courses  of  Study,"  "  Text  Books,"  "  Discipline,"  "  Manual  Training," 


200  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [April, 

"Self-support,"  or  "English  in  Mission  Schools,"  or  the  more 
general  themes  of  the  "Relation  of  the  JSew  Learning  to  the  State," 
"The  New  Learning  and  Social  Reforms,"  "Religion  in  the  School," 
and  "  The  Place  of  Science  in  Mission  Schools."  Upon  these 
or  any  other  living  topics  the  editor  will  be  pleased  to  receive 
contributions. 


A  Public  Sehool  for  Chinese  in  Shanghai. 

"rri^TE  are  glad  to  be  able  to  report  that  the  rate-payers  of 
^^^f^  Shanghai,  at  their  annual  meeting  recently  held,  decided  to 
authorize  the  Council  to  establish  a  public  school  for 
Chinese  children  in  the  Settlements. 

The  plan  was  proposed  originally  by  a  committee  of  the  Society 
for  the  Diffusion  of  Christian  and  General  Knowledge,  consist- 
ing of  Revs.  T.  Richard,  F.  L.  H.  Pott,  and  J.  C.  Ferguson.  A 
number  of  Chinese  gentlemen  agreed  to  subscribe  Tls.  30,000  for  the 
erection  of  buildings,  and  the  Council  was  asked  to  grant  a  piece 
of  land  and  an  annual  appropriation  of  Tls.  5,000  for  expenses, 
particularly  for  the  salaries  of  a  head  master  and  one  assistant.  This 
the  Council  recommended  the  rate-payers  to  do,  and  a  majority 
of  tbe  latter  gave  their  votes  in  favor  of  it. 

Some  considerable  discussion  was  aroused  through  the  daily 
papers,  much  of  which  was  based  upon  a  misapprehension  of  the 
character  of  the  school. 

The  details  are  yet  to  be  worked  out  by  the  Council,  and  we 
have  no  doubt  that  in  the  end  the  school  will  prove  to  be  a  great 
boon  to  the  Chinese  residents  and  that  the  slight  cost  to  the  foreign 
tax-payers  will  be  more  than  compensated  by  the  improvement 
which  will  result  in  the  relations  between  Europeans  and  natives 
and  by  the  beneficial  influence  which  such  a  school  cannot  but  exert 
upon  the  whole  empire.  The  present  reactionary  policy  of  the 
government  is  based  upon  the  fear  that  Western  education  means 
disloyalty  to  the  dynasty.  That  such  a  fear  is  altogether  unfounded 
needs  no  demonstration,  and  we  have  no  doubt  that  this  will  be  made 
clear  in  time  and  a  more  progressive  policy  adopted.  The  effect 
of  this  new  movement  on  the  part  of  the  Shanghai  community 
will  greatly  aid,  as  we  believe,  in  bringing  about  this  desirable 
change. 

It  is  too  early  to  ask  that  free  education  be  provided  for  all 
Chinese  children  in  the  Settlements,  but  the  step  taken  is  a  long  one 
iu  the  right  direction. 


1900.] 


CORRESrONDENCK. 


201 


C0iTCSj:i0ubcira* 


WORK   IN   KIRIN. 

To  the  Editor  of 

"  The  Chinkse  Recorder." 

Dear  Sir:  Tlirou<,'h  reading  the 
suramary  of  results  as  reported  by 
Rev.  D.  W.  Nicliols,  of  the  Nan- 
cliang  district  in  Kiang-si,  which 
you  present  in  your  December  issue, 
it  has  occurred  to  me  to  make  a 
similar  summary  for  the  work  in 
the  Kirin  district  (Manchuria) 
during  the  same  period — 1896-99. 
This  I  do  out  of  no  feeling  of 
rivalry,  but  rather  to  join  my 
voice  to  many  in  thanksgiving  to 
God  for  the  marvelous  things  He  is 
doing  in  widely  separated  sections 
of  this  vast  Chinese  empire. 

1896.  Members...  12.     Probationers  .  10 

1890.  „        467.                „            3S0 

1896.  Contributed  for  all  purposes,  None 

1899.  „           ,,     „         ,,  $1,250.00 

The  total  contributions  for  1899, 
as  given  above,  are  entirely  raised 
by  the  native  church,  and  do  not 
include  donations  to  the  hospital, 
whether  from  natives  or  foreigners. 

These  figures  of  course  only  refer 
to  one  district  of  the  Manchurian 
church,  the  total  membership  of 
wiiich  at  this  moment  can  hardly 
be  much  below  20,000.  Of  almost 
any  mission  district  in  Manchuria 
similar  details  of  rapid  growth 
might  be  yiven.  May  the  great 
Captain  guide  His  own  l)ark  among 
the  many  shoals  which  surround  it. 
Alex,  R.  Crawford. 


THE    CHINESE    CHRISTIAN   ADVOCATE, 
FOOCHOW. 

To  the  Editor  of 

"The  Chinese  Recorder." 

Dear  Brother  :  In  your  valued 
magazine  for  February,  1900,  you 
make    certain     statements    which 


are  unintentionally  incorrect  and 
which  I  desire  to  answer. 

On  page  105  you  say  :  "During 
the  past  month  we  have  received 
two  specimen  numbers — one  from 
Foochow  and  one  from  Shanghai — 
of  new  papers  or  magazines  for 
the  Chinese,  both  to  be  puljjished 
monthly.  The  one  from  Foochow 
is  called  the  Hwa  Mei  Pao^  or 
Chinese  Christian  Advocate,  and 
the  one  from  Shanghai  the  Kiao 
Pao,  or  Christian  Advocate.  Both 
are  well  edited  ;  the  former  by  Rev. 
M.  C.  Wilcox,  assisted  by  Rev. 
Uong  De-gi,  and  the  latter  by  Dr. 
Y.  J.  Allen.  Both  contain  a 
variety  of  useftd  information,  and 
as  such  are  to  be  welcomed.  We 
confess  to  a  feeling  of  regret, 
however,  in  seeing  that  both  are 
in  the  interests  of  a  denomination, 
confessedly  so." 

So  far  as  I  am  personally  con- 
cerned I  want  to  thank  you  for 
your  appreciative  words  and  for 
the  kind  spirit  in  wiiich  your  well- 
meant  criticism  is  expressed.  But 
you  are  in  error  when  you  speak 
of  the  Chinese  Christian  Advocate 
as  a  new  publication,  though  your 
mistake  was  doubtlesrs  due  to  the 
fact  that  the  volume  of  the  speci- 
men number  was  inadvertently 
omitted. 

The  Chinese  Christian  Advocate 
is  a  successor  to  the  Fuhkieu 
Christian  Advocate  and  the  Central 
China  Christian  Advocate.  How 
long  the  latter  paper  had  been  in 
existence  I  do  not  know,  but 
when  I  joined  the  Foochow  Meth- 
odist Episcopal  Missiotx  nearly 
seventeen  years  ago  the  former 
had  already  been  published  eight 
years,  its  editors  being  chosen  from 
among  the  members  of  this  Mission. 

Two  years  ago  at  its  first  meet- 
ing— held  in  Shanghai — the  Central 
Conference,  representing  the   Mis- 


202 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[April, 


sions  and  three  conferences  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in 
China,  became  responsible  for  the 
continuance  and  management  of 
the  Fuhkieii  Christian  Advocate,  the 
name  of  which  was  changed  to  its 
present  form.  Rev.  G.  B.  Smytli, 
D.D.,  who  for  seven  or  eight  years 
had  been  in  charge  of  the  Advocate 
at  Foochow,  was  then  chosen  edit- 
or of  the  Chinese  Christian  Ad- 
vocate, the  present  incumbent  hav- 
ing been  chosen  by  the  same  body 
at  Shanghai  last  November. 

During  all  the  years  I  have 
known  anything  about  this  paper — 
whether  under  its  present  or  its 
former  name — its  scope  and  appear, 
ance  have  remained  substantially 
the  same,  except  that  it  h^s  been 
enlarged  from  time  to  time  to  meet 
new  demands.  Articles  and  news 
from  missionaries  and  native  work- 
ers of  every  name  and  place  have 
always  been  welcomed,  and,  so  far 
as  myself  or  any  of  my  fellow- 
workers  are  aware,  this  is  the  first 
time  it  has  been  hinted  that  the 
paper  is  published  "  in  the  interests 
of  a  denomination." 

The  paper  is  technically  denom- 
inational, because  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church  has  for  a  quarter 
of  a  century  been  financially  and 
in  every  other  way  responsible  for 
its  existence,  but  that  it  is  denom- 
inational in  the  usual  sense  of 
that  word,  is  incorrect.  On  the 
other  hand,  it  adheres  to  the  "  Open 
Door  Policy,"  as  the  following  quo- 
tations from  the  circular  sent  out 


with  the  specimen  number  will 
show  : — 

"  This  paper  seeks  to  promote 
the  religious  and  educational  in- 
terests of  Protestant  missions  in 
general  and  at  the  same  time  to 
win  the  goodwill  and  adhesion 
to  Christianity  of  those  who  are 
now  strangers  to  its  saving  bene- 
fits." Can  the  Recorder  present  a 
broader  platform  ? 

The  circular  also  says  :  "  In 
addition  to  various  articles,  etc., 
The  Advocate  will  hereafter  con- 
tain departments  devoted  to  the 
Sunday  School,  the  Christian  En- 
deavor Society,  and  the  Epworth 
League,  each  being  under  a  special 
editor."  I  may  remark  here  that 
the  Christian  Endeavor  Depart- 
ment is  edited  by  Miss  Emily  S. 
Hartwell,  a  missionary  of  the 
American  Board  Society.  The  fact 
also  that  more  than  forty-two  per 
cent,  of  our  subscribers  are  non- 
Methodist,  shows  that  the  paper  is 
not  run  on  denominational  lines. 

As  to  the  attitude  of  the  present 
editor  of  the  paper  in  reference 
to  this  matter  I  feel  that  I  can 
humbly  and  safely  leave  the  ques- 
tion to  my  fellow-workers  of  the 
various  missions  as  I  have  con- 
stantly sought  to  emphasize  the 
importance  of  practical  Christian 
unity,  such  as  that  described  by 
Rev.  Charles  Hartwell  in  the 
February  Recorder. 

Yours  fraternally, 
M.  C.  Wilcox. 


®m  i00li  Cabk. 


Village  Life  in   China,   by    Arthur  H. 

Smith,    D.D.   Pp.   aeO.      Fleming   H. 

Revell   Company.    ft.OO;   to  migsion- 

ariea,    $3.00.      Presbyterian    Mission 

Press  and  Mr.  E.  Evans.- 

In  the  "  Foreword  "  we  are  told 
that  "  China  was  never  so  much  in 
the  world's  thought  as  to-day,  nor  is 
there  any  apparent  likelihood  that 


the  position  of  this  empire  will  be 
less  conspicuous  at  the  opening  of 
the  twentieth  century.  Whatever 
helps  to  a  better  understanding  of 
the  Chinese  people,  is  an  aid  to  the 
comprehension  of  the  Chinese  prob- 
lem.  To  that  end  this  volume  is 
intended  as  a  humble  contribution." 


1900.] 


OUR   BOOK   TABLR. 


203 


From  known  facts  concerning 
India  Mr.  Smith  draws  the  com- 
parative supposition  that  there  are 
two  million  villages  in  China  in 
which  three-fourths  of  its  popula- 
tion reside.  As  he  assigns  himself 
the  task  of  answering  the  questions, 
"What  are  those  incomputable  rail- 
lions  of  human  beings  thinking 
about?  What  is  the  quality  of  the 
life  which  they  live  ?  What  is  its 
content  and  scope?"  he  may  well 
style  his  book  "A  Study  in  So- 
ciology." 

Those  who  have  lived  longest  in 
China  can  perhaps  best  appreciate 
the  difficulties  and  the  unendingness 
of  this  study. 

How  true  it  is  that  the  "  oldest 
resident"  is  still  a  student  with 
China  as  his  text-book,  and  that  no 
matter  how  much  he  has  learned 
there  is  always  "just  as  much  as 
ever  that  he  has  never  heard  of 
before."  But  the  author  brings  to 
this  study  years  of  painstaking 
observation  of,  as  well  as  an  every- 
day intimacy  with,  this  people,  and 
is  able  to  guide  others  in  their 
study  of  them. 

The  volume  is  divided  into  three 
parts — the  first  containing  twenty- 
one  chapters  describing  "  Tlie  Villajje, 
its  institutions,  usages,  and  public 
characters ; "  the  second,  in  five 
chapters  dealing  with  "  The  family 
life  of  the  village;"  and  the  third, 
aiming  to  answer  the  question, 
"  What  can  Christianity  do  for 
China?"  These,  with  a  concise 
glossary,  a  well  prepared  index, 
thirty  or  more  good  illustrations, 
and  attractive  binding  in  red,  white, 
and  gold,  make  up  the  volume  be- 
fore us. 

Though  it  has  the  somewhat  local 
coloring  of  the  northern  districts, 
this  book  is,  on  the  whole,  a  very 
realistic  picture  of  Chinese  life  as  it 
is  lived.  The  chapters  are  sprinkled 
with  many  a  bit  of  humor,  but  one 
class  of  readers  will  be  conscious  of 
a  certain  painful  recoil  as  they  read 


tijem.  They  experienced  the  same 
sensation  years  ago  when  reading 
"  Chinese  Characteristics."  Is  it 
that  the  descriptions  are  truer  to 
the  life  than  we  wish  they  were  1 
Is  it  that,  after  long  lives  given  to 
work  among  this  people,  we  love 
them,  so  that  we  do  not  like  to  see 
their  weaknesses  laid  bare  before 
the  world?  Take  for  instance  the 
chapter  on  the  Village  School. 
Alas,  as  we  read  we  see  that  luck- 
less boy  running  in  and  out  among 
the  hills  barefoot  and  blindfolded, 
with  the  dense  fog  mercilessly  clos- 
ing in  about  him.  We  see  his  pur- 
suer with  his  long  ox  whip,  and  we 
know,  alas,  that  "  the  boy  is  father 
to  the  man."  This  boy  in  the  fog 
is  China  itself  in  miniature. 

Mr,  Smith  says  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  pupils  leave  school 
knowing  very  little  about  the 
Chinese  language,  and  "  much 
of  what  they  do  know  is  wrong." 
Alas,  we  know  how  millions  of 
them  are  leaving  the  school  of  life, 
having  learned  little  of  its  best 
lessons,  and  a  large  part  of  that  is 
"  wrong  "  also. 

The  many  people  who  are  really 
interested  in  China  will  find  this 
volume  a  pair  of  excellent  spec- 
tacles with  which  to  look  into  the 
life  of  this  people,  and  God's  f)eople 
everywhere  who  long  to  have  the 
Chinese  become  God's  people,  too, 
and  who  realize  that  the  reception 
of  the  gospel  is  tiie  one  "  some- 
thing "  that  China  needs,  can  re- 
joice that  this  good  tidings  is  being 
told  and  is  being  received  to-day. 
It  will  surely  make  the  Chinaman 
a  "new  man."  It  will  sanctify, 
ennoble,  and  dignify  every  condition 
of  even  poor  lost  China.  The  book 
is  good  enough  to  ask  busy  workers 
to  read  it  all,  and  Cinnot  we  who 
read,  shorten  by  our  t'aith  and  pray- 
er and  work  the  eis/lir  hundred 
years  of  which  Mr.  Smith  writes  ou 
page  351 ? 

If  we  can,  let  us  see  that  we  do. 


204 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[April, 


Transactions  of  the  Asiatic  Society  of 
Japan.  Vol.  XXVII.  Part  1.  Con- 
tents :  A,  Ancient  Japanese  Rituals. 
B,  Note  on  Long-tailed  Breed  of  Fowls 
in  Tosa. 

The  description  of  ancient  Sl)into 
ritual  is  interesting  as  showing  that 
the  ancient  Japanese  considered 
some  ceremonies  needed  to  purify 
and  free  from  siiis,  pollutions,  and 
calamities.  But  the  details  are  in- 
telligible only  to  specialists  in 
Japanese. 


Medical  Missionary  Society  in  China, 
Canton.  Sixty-first  Annual  Report. 
Drs.  Reed,  Swan,  and  Fulton. 

The  following  points  of  interest 
are  noted  : — 

(1.)  Dr.  J.  G.  Kerr,  the  veteran 
missionary  doctor,  who  so  long  and 
faithfully  served  the  Society,  has 
resigned  liis  position. 

(2.)  Chinese  friends  subscribed 
.00  for  the  purchase  of  an  X- 
ray  outfit. 

(3.)  Out-patients,  25,340;  in- 
patients 1,760  ;  surgical  cases,  1,884; 
deaths  in  hospital,  86.  Beri-beri  is 
common. 

(4.)  The  hospital  keeps  up  its 
extraordinary  and  world-wide  fame 
for  lithotomies  and  litholapaxies. 
Fifty-two  cases  reported. 

(5.)  The  Society  is  also  a  pub- 
lisher of  nineteen  different  medical 
works. 

(6.)  Amongst  the  contributors 
are  tiie  Viceroy,  the  Governor,  the 
Hoppo,  the  Salt  Commissioner,  Prov- 
incial Treasurer,  Lieut.-Governor, 
Provincial  Judge,  Grain  Commis- 
sioner. These  doubtless  agree  with 
Li  Hung-chang's  opinion  that  the 
Chinese  can  look  after  their  souls, 
but  not  their  bodies. 


Second  Session  of  M.  E.  Central  Confer- 
ence, held  at  Shanghai  November  15th- 
18th,  1899,  consisting  of  five  difi'erent 
local  Conferences. 

(1.)  The  first  steps  towards  estab- 
lishing a  Methodist  publishing 
house  in  Shanghai  were  taken. 


(2.)  A  memorial  was  presented  for 
the  General  Conference  to  establish 
a  resident  bishop  for  four  years, 
instead  of  present  system. 

(3.)  A  committee  was  appointed 
to  prepare  a  Methodist  hymn-book 
in  Mandarin. 

(4.)  The  Chinese  Christian  Advo- 
cate, the  organ  of  the  Methodists, 
now  printed  in  Foochow,  reports  an 
annual  deficit  of  $350.00. 

(5.)  In  literary  work,  Rev.  Jas. 
Jackson's  Commentaries  are  com- 
mended, and  he  is  requested  to 
complete  the  whole  Bible. 

(6.)  We  notice  in  the  Courses  of 
Study  the  names  of  several  books 
which  deserve  more  than  their 
present  denominational  use,  viz., 
How  to  win  Souls  (Miss  Sites), 
Drummond's  Greatest  Thing  in  the 
World,  Life  of  Wesley,  Murray  on 
Humility.  Why  are  not  these 
published  by  the  great  Tract  So- 
cieties ? 

(7.)  Members,  native,  in  the  five 
Conferences,  12,536 ;  baptisms, 
2,104;  Sunday  School  scholars, 
11,961 ;  contributions,  $24,490.95  ; 
pages  printed,  24,620,060. 


Annual  Report  of  the  Chinese  Tract 
Society,  1899. 

Annual  Report  of  Central  China  Re- 
ligious Tract  Society,  1899. 

The  first  of  these  Societies  is  now 
in  its  21st  year  and  the  second  in  its 
24th  year.  The  first  issued  5,042,8*58 
pages,  a  million  more  than  the 
previous  year.  Somehow  the  coup 
d'etat  did  not  lessen  the  output. 
The  second  Society  issued  1,209,647 
pages  only,  a  decrease  of  about 
250,000,  which  is  partly  accounted 
for  by  this  Society's  swarming  off  a 
fresh  hive  in  the  shape  of  the  West 
China  Religious  Tract  Society,  ne- 
cessitated by  the  clamant  demands 
of  the  growing  Westei'n  work,  which 
lack  of  communication  forbids  dis- 
tant presses  from  fully  and  promptly 
supplying. 

These  Tract  Societies  provide  the 
three   Bible    Societies  working  in 


1900.] 


OUR   BOOK  TABLE. 


205 


Cluna  with  those  Introductions  to 
the  reading  of  the  Scripture  which 
were  so  loudly  called  for  at  the 
Conference  of  1890.  The  American 
Society  used  12,000,  the  British 
and  Forei<,ni  100,000,  and  the  Scot- 
tish Society  520,310.  These  aids  to 
the  understandini^  of  the  Scriptures 
should  increase  the  power  of  the 
Societies  an  hundred-fold. 

Most  of  the  new  publications 
have  been  noticed  in  the  Recorder, 
but  we  subjoin  a  list : — 

By  the  Shanjithai  Society. — Con- 
ference Commentary,  3  vols.;  Short 
Sermons  by  Native  Preachers,  3  vols. 

By  the  Hankow  Society. — Daily 
text  for  every  day  in  the  year  ;  Res- 
urrection of  the  Loi'd,  by  Dr.  John ; 
Messianic  Prophecy,  by  Mrs.  El  win, 
Shangliai ;  Romans,  by  J.  Jackson 
(in  press). 

One  wonders  why  Mrs,  Elwin 
had  to  go  to  Hankow  to  bring  out 
her  work.  The  Commentary  on 
Romans  makes  the  fourth  on  that 
book,  which  seems  a  favorite.  One 
of  the  speakers  at  the  annual 
meeting  made  two  noteworthy  re- 
maiks :  1.  The  need  of  good  Chris- 
tian biography.  2.  The  absence  of 
several  names  of  senior  missionaries 
from  the  list  of  authors.  Certainly 
the  actual  bulk  of  the  Tract  Socie- 
ties' separate  works  is  exceedingly 
surprizing  in  its  smallness  to  all 
except  those  who  have  made  a  com- 
plete collection  of  the  issues. 


^  5S  ^  ^.  Seven  volumes.  A  Diction- 
ary of  the  English  and  Chinese  Lan- 
guage, with  the  merchant  and  Mandarin 
pronunciation,  by  Rev.  J.  W.  Lob- 
scheid.  Revised  by  F.  Kingsell.  Pub- 
lished by  Kingsell  &  Co.,  Yokohama. 
Yen  6.00,  or  about  $6.45  Mex.  Pp. 
1,145.  Demy  4to. 

During  a  recent  sojourn  in 
Japan  the  writer,  in  reply  to  some 
enquiriea,  had  recommended  to 
him  Lobscheid's  dictionary,  a  re- 
commendation which  he  received 
with  surprize,  owing  to  an  old  ac- 
quaintance with  the  scorn  that  had 
been   poured    on    Lobscheid's   dic- 


tionary in  China,  and  specially  in 
tlie  columns  of  one  of  the  leading 
Reviews.  However  he  repaired  to 
the  publishers  of  the  new  and  re- 
vised work,  asked  for  a  copy,  and 
there  and  then  on  the  spot  tested 
it  by  looking  up  some  English 
terms  for  which  it  is  notably  dif- 
fioult  to  find  suitable  Chinese 
renderings.  The  result  was  satis- 
factory ;  a  copy  was  bought,  and  has 
been  in  constant  use  for  two 
months,  practically  excluding  the 
need  of  ever  referring  to  Doolittle 
or  Kwong  Ki-chiu,  it  being  al- 
most always  found  to  excel  them 
as  regards  general  vocabulary,  i.e., 
excluding  the  special  matters  dealt 
with  by  Doolittle  in  Pt.  III.  In 
cases  where  it  turns  out  defecitiva 
it  even  then  very  often  gives  a 
valuable  clue  to  pursuing  the  further 
search  for  the  right  expression  in 
the  pages  of  Giles  and  Williams,  or 
with  one's  teacher. 

The  various  senses  and  uses  of 
the  English  words  seem  very  well 
treated  on  the  whole,  and  appear  to 
have  been  done  by  a  fairly  com- 
petent hand,  and  I  should  say  the 
man  who  felt  himself  independent 
of  such  a  book  would  require  to  be 
a  scholar  of  a  high  order  and  gifted 
with  a  phenomenal  memory. 

Of  course  it  is  a  far  more  ad- 
vanced book  than  Doolittle,  and  I 
should  say  not  at  all  so  suitable  for 
a  man  in  his  first  or  second  year, 
rather  for  those  who  are  "begin- 
ning to  feel  the  pull "  on  their 
powers  of  expression. 

The  appendix  contains  over  seven- 
ty pages  of  letter-forms,  social  and 
commercial ;  drafts,  cheques,  lists 
of  precedence,  and  what  not,  in 
English  and  Chinese. 

This  new  edition  is  made  by  Mr. 
F.  Kingsell,  a  Chinese  naturalized 
British  subject;  his  Chinese  name 
being  J^  |^  ^Di  and  the  address  of 
the  publishers  is  53  Settlement, 
Yokohama. 

This  critique  of  the  book  is 
based  on  the  writer's  own  personal 


206 


THE   CHINESE    RECORDER. 


[April, 


experience  which  led  him  to  feel 
that  he  conld  not.  keep  back  in- 
formation so  very  likely  to  be  of  use 
to  his  fellow-workers  and  so  little 
likely  to  come  before  them  unless 
in  this  way. 

Hoping  these  remarks  may 
escape  the  ire  of  those  who  have 
lashed  poor  Lobscheid's  ghost  in 
the  past,  I  commend  the  book  to  all 
who  seek  and  need  such  help, 
despite  its  necessary  imperfections. 
A.  G.  Jones. 


Moody's  Anecdotes,  Illustrations,  In- 
cidents, The  Latest  and  only  Au- 
thorized  Collection  By  D.  L-  Moody. 
Fleming  H.  Re  veil  Co.   Pp.  126. 

One  is  surprized  to  find  what  a 
newspaper  currency  many  of  these 
stoiies  have  gained  through  being 
minted  with  Mr.  Moody's  stamp 
upon  them.  Many  of  them  are 
derived  from  the  author's  personal 
experience,  others  have  been  picked 
up  from  any  available  source,  and 
some,  like  the  bagpipe  story  of  the 
siege  of  Lucknow,  are  unauthentic, 
«jr  at  least  unauthenticated.  But 
that  does  not  interfere  with  their 
effective  use.  It  is  not  at  all  unlikely 
that  he  who  picks  up  the  book  for 
a  few  moments  reading  may  find 
himself  repeating  two  or  three  of 
the  anecdotes  in  a  Bible-class  the 
next  day.  Cloth,  30  cents ;  paper, 
15  cents. 


The   Sky  Pilot :     A  Tale   of  the  Foot- 
hills.    By    Ralph    Connor,  author    of 
'*  Black  Rock."      Fleming  H.   Revell 
Co.    1899.    Pp.300.    $1.25. 
Not  since  the  days  of  "  Beside  the 
Bonnie  Brier  Bush "  has  a  tale  so 
sweet  and  strong  come   within  our 
way.     Like  that  inimitable  master- 
piece, it  is  racy  with  the  native  prod- 
ucts of  the  soil,  and  a   soil  hitherto 
but  little  cultivated.     The  author's 
previous    story — "  Black    Rock  " — 
has  not  fallen  under  our  notice,  but 
the  present  volume  is  quite  sufficient 
to  make  the  reputation  of  the  most 
unknown    writer,    who   is    morally 
certain  to  be  heard  from  again  and 


again.  The  number  of  copies  sold 
will  probably  be  somewhat  limited 
in  China,  at  least,  for  the  reason  that 
every  one  who  reads  it  will  insist 
upon  lending  it  to  all  his  friends, 
so  that  each  copy  will  be  made  to 
do  the  work  of  ten.  All  Canadians 
will  want  to  see  it,  because  it  will 
remind  them  of  what  they  know, 
and  all  who  are  not  so  fortunate 
as  to  be  Canadians,  will  desire  to 
follow  it  to  the  close  to  see  what 
certain  aspects  of  frontier  life  are 
as  described  by  one  who  evidently 
is  to  the  manner  born. 


The  Apostle  of  the  North — Rev.  James 
Evans.  By  Rev.  Egerton  R.  Young, 
author  of  "On  the  Indian  Trail," 
"  By  Canoe  and  Dog-Train,"  etc. 
Fleming  H,  Revell  Co.  f  1.25.  Pp. 
262.    Illustrated. 

The  author  of  this  biography  of 
a  distinguished  pioneer  of  missions 
to  the  Indians  in  Canada,  has 
himself  had  large  experience  of  the 
kind  of  life  here  described,  and 
has  written  fully  regarding  it  in 
his  previous  works ;  some  of  the 
details  given  in  this  volume  are 
also  to  be  found.  James  Evans 
was  a  remarkable  exemplificatioa 
of  the  general  rule  that  the  men 
whom  the  Lord  calls  to  begin  im- 
portant missionary  undertaking 
are  superior  to  any  who  come  after 
them.  Evans'  invention  of  the 
Indian  alphabet  of  syllables  would 
have  brought  him  fame  on  a  large 
scale  in  a  later  generation,  but  as 
it  was  it  does  not  seem  to  have  at- 
tracted anything  like  the  attention 
which  one  would  have  expected. 
The  materials  for  the  memoir  are 
somewhat  scanty,  but  pieced  out 
by  the  ample  knowledge  of  Mr. 
Young  they  make  a  tale  of  almost 
unequalled  pathos,  not  only  in 
the  heroic  and  almost  incred- 
ible labors  undergone,  but  in 
the  tragic  conclusion  of  so  great  a 
life  so  worthily  spent.  To  an  in- 
habitant of  China  perhaps  the 
most  interesting  item  iu  the  book  is 


1900.J 

the  incidental  information  that  one 
hundred  and  twenty  rabbit  skins 
make  the  warmest  robe  beneath 
wliicli  man  can  sleep,  and  that 
Indians  will  perspire  under  one  of 
them,  even  when  the  thennometer 
registers  forty  dej^rees  below  zero. 
With  the  illimitable  numbers  of 
rabbits — or  hares — in  Nortliern 
China,  it  ouijlit  to  be  possible  to 
provide  bedding  for  a  part  at  least 
of  the  population,  which  should 
be  more  satisfactory  than  the  scan- 
ty supply  at  present  available.  The 
book  is  well  illustrated,  but  is 
grievously  defective  in  being  des- 
titute of  a  map.  There  are  super- 
fluous typographical  errors  on  pages 
77  and  157. 


EDITORIAL  COMMENT. 


207 


Nineteen  Centuries  of  Missions.  A 
Handbook  primarily  prepared  for 
Young  People.  By  Mrs.  William  W. 
Scudder.  Witii  an  Introduction  by 
Rev.  F.  E.  Clark,  D.D.  Fleming  H. 
Rovell  Co.  1899.  Pp.  250.  $1.00. 
(With  the  preceding,  to  be  obtained 
of  Mr.  Edward  Evans). 

This  is  another  in  the  rapidly 
growing  series  of  works  intended  to 
aid  in  the  important  work  of  putting, 
the  outline  facts  of  the  history  of  mis- 
sions before  the  increasing  army  of 
young  people  willing  and  even  eager 
to  be  taught.  The  history  is  divided 
into  the  five  periods  of  The  Apostolic, 
The  Early  Church,  The  Church  of 
the  Middle  Ages,  Missions  during 
the  Rise  and  Progress  of  the  Ref- 
ormation, and  Nineteenth  Century 
Missions.  The  plan  is  to  put  in 
a  few  sentences,  often  covering 
only   two    or    three    pages,    some 


salient  events  and  outlines  of  a 
period  or  a  part  of  it,  followed  by 
several  questions  upon  what  has 
been  thus  set  forth,  with  a  view  to 
use  as  a  text-hook.  One's  first 
impres.sion  is  that  it  is  absolutely 
hopeless  to  deal  say  with  tlie  pe- 
riod from  the  year  100  to  800  in 
the  compass  of  about  eight  small 
pages.  The  space  at  disposal  is  so 
minute  that  the  effect  must,  to  a 
great  extent,  be  that  of  a  charcoal 
sketch.  Yet  this  feeling  di- 
minishes when  the  book  is  consecu- 
tively perused  as  a  whole,  the 
general  effect  to  give  a  fair  sketch 
of  the  moral  and  spiritual  progress 
of  many  ages  and  climes.  Every 
reader  will  perceive  gaps  which 
might  have  been  filled,  but  perhaps 
two  hundred  pages  could  not  have 
been  better  used  than  the  author 
has  utilized  thera  and  as  the 
Chinese  aphorism  runs,  "  Feeding 
a  person  less  than  a  full  meal  is  at 
least  better  than  burying  him  alive." 
With  this  volume  may  be  profitably 
consulted  the  one  issued  by  the  same 
firm,  reviewed  in  the.se  columns  a 
few  months  ago — "  Missionary  Ex- 
pansion Since  the  Reformation  " — 
which  is  at  once  narrower  and 
broader  than  this  ;  each  being  use- 
ful in  its  way.  The  author  is  much 
too  economical  in  the  u.se  of  capital 
letters  and  inconsistent  as  well ; 
sometimes  writing  American  Board, 
e.g.,  but  usually  '  American  board,' 
which  is  quite  unexampled  and 
undesirable.  There  is  a  deadly 
misprint  on  page  124. 

A.  H.  S. 


^tritnrial    Cnmniciit, 


The  arrival  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  F. 
E.  Clark  in  China  brings  prom- 
inently to  the  front  again  the 
subject  of  Christian  Endeavor 
work  in  China,  and  the  Conven- 
tion in  Foochow,  at  which  they 
expect  to  be  present,  will  doubt- 


less give  a  new  impetus  to,  and 
interest  in,  the  work.  Probably 
there  are  still  not  a  few  who 
think  that  the  time  has  not  yet 
arrived  for  the  introduction  and 
organization  of  Societies  in  con- 
nection   with    their    work,    and 


208 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[April, 


while  this  may  be  true  in  some 
cases,  yet  doubtless  the  reverse 
is  true  in  more  cases  than  is  wot 
of.  It  will  be  a  matter  of  sur- 
prize to  many  to  find,  after  the 
Convention  in  Foochow,  how 
many  Societies  are  already  or- 
ganized and  in  good  working 
order,  and  many  of  them  in 
places  where  it  would  have  been 
supposed,  a  priori,  that  the  field 
was  not  yet  ready.  Of  course 
a  Christain  Endeavor  Society, 
like  many  another  good  institu- 
tion, will  not  grow  and  thrive  of 
itself.  It  will  require  a  guiding 
hand,  constant  watching,  and 
wise  directing.  But,  with  judi- 
cious care  aud  oversight,  it  is 
wonderful  what  such  organiza- 
tions may  be  made  to  effect  in 
the  life  of  a  church.  Endeavor 
has  wonderful  developing  power, 
and  it  is  just  this  that  the 
infant  church  in  China  needs. 
Work  for  everybody,  and  every- 
body at  work.  All  our  converts, 
for  the  most  part,  are  "  Young 
People "  in  the  sense  of  having 
been  recently  born  into  the  king- 
dom, and  there  is  no  good  reason 
why  what  has  worked  so  well  in 
America  aud  England  should  not 
accomplish  most    happy    results 

in  China. 

#         *         * 

But  there  is  always  one  danger 
in  Endeavor  Societies,  aud  that 
is  that  a  number  of  committees 
will  be  appointed  and  then  left 
to  themselves,  which  will  usually 
result  in  their  having  a  name  only 
and  no  practical  good  be  accom- 
plished, but  harm  rather.  These 
committees  will  need  to  be  shown 
how  to  work,  and  then  when 
rightly  instructed  and  operated 
there  is  no  reason  why  they 
should  not  become  most  efficient 
helpers  iu  the  work  of  the  church. 


Doubtless  the  Convention  in 
Fo'ochow  will  give  a  great  fillip 
to  the  work  in  that  region,  but 
throughout  China  something  more 
is  wanted,  and  we  are  convinced 
that  what  is  needed  is  a  General 
Secretary,  just  as  the  Y.  M.  C. 
A.  already  have  five  for  their 
work,  who  shall  devote  himself 
exclusively  to  preparing  and 
disseminating  literature,  visiting 
the  fields,  and  arousing  the  in- 
terest of  the  missionaries.  We 
trust  the  United  Society  in  the 
United  States  will  see  their  way 
to  send  such  an  one  and  that  the 
right  man  may  be  found  for  the 
place.  In  no  other  way,  it  seems 
to  us,  can  the  Endeavor  work  be 
adequately  inaugurated  in  China. 
♦         *         # 

The  insane  policy  of  the  Em- 
press-Dowager in  wilfully  har- 
boring the  Boxers  in  the  north  of 
China,  is  likely  to  lead  to  serious 
complications.  As  we  go  to  press 
there  is  a  oathering  of  foreign 
men-of-war  in  the  north,  but  just 
what  it  portends  is  not  definitely 
known.  It  is  evident,  however, 
that  matters  cannot  long  continue 
as  they  are.  It  is  more  than 
native  converts,  more  than  mis- 
sionaries that  must  suffer  and  be 
driven  out.  A  fire  is  likely  to  be 
kindled  that  not  all  the  astute- 
ness of  the  Empress-Dowager  will 
be  able  to  quench. 

There  is  no  question  but  thafc 
medical  missions  have  been  a 
great  help  in  the  work  of  evan- 
gelizing China,  not  alone  in 
opening  up  new  fields,  breaking 
down  prejudice,  and  preparing 
the  way  otherwise,  but  also  in 
direct  results  in  conversions. 
And  when  a  medical  missionary 
is   also  a   consecrated  Christian, 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY   NEWS. 


209 


such  as  Mackenzie  of  Tientsin  for 
example,  there  is  no  measuring 
the  amount  of  good  he  may  do. 

We  should  like  to  call  the  at- 
tention of  the  clerical  mission- 
ary body  to  the  words  of  the 
editor  of  the  Medical  Missionary 
Journal  in  its  last  (April^)  issue. 
Under  the  caption  "  Hospital 
Converts,"  he  says:  "If  our 
clerical  friends  will  kindly  note 
cases  of  discharged  hospital 
patients  who  prove  to  have 
received  their  first  religious  im- 
pressions while  under  treatment, 
and  also  cases  in  which  such 
patients  have  formed  the  nuclei 
of  bands  of  Christians,  and  will 
report  them  to  the  medical  men 
under  whose  care  the  patients 
have  been,  they  will  do  much 
toward  brightening  the  lives  of 
their  medical  co-workers  in 
Cliina."  Tliis  is  certainly  a  very 
reasonable  request,  and  we  trust 
will  be  made  a  note  of.  The 
editor  further  says  :  "  No  doubt 
most  of  us  feel  that  our  medical 
work  is  well  worth  doing  for  its 
immediaie  tangible  results  in  the 


way  of  relieving  suffering  and 
healing  disease,  and  this  is  a 
great  comfort  when  tempted  to 
indulge  in  pessimistic  thoughts 
about  the  general  results  ;  but  at 
the  same  time,  what  a  joy  it  is 
when  we  can  see  patients  lifted 
up  to  a  higher  moral  plane  and 
led  to  a  knowledge  of  Christ 
while  under  treatment  in  hospital." 

*  *         # 

The  Editor  also  remarks  that 
he  has  been  surprized  to  find 
that  over  one  hundred  of  the 
medical  missionaries  of  China 
are  not  subscribers  to  that 
Journal !  A  distinct  loss,  we 
should  say,  on  their  part,  a>id  one 
wiiich  they  would  do  well  to 
rectify  at  once.  And  indeed 
others  than  medical  men  might 
peruse  the  pages  of  this  last 
number  with  profit,  and  we  sug- 
gest that  others  than  medical 
men  become  regular  subscribers. 

♦  *         * 

We  are  pleased  to  welcome 
the  Gospels  of  Mark  and  John, 
the  work  of  the  Committee  oa 
the  Union  Version  of  the  New 
Testament,  Maudarin. 


issionary 


The  home  address  of  Dr.  H.  T. 
Whitney  is  35  Market  St.,  Santa 
Cruz,  California. 


The  Synod  of  Central  and 
Southern  China  of  the  American 
Presbyterian  Mission  (North)  will 
meet  in  Ningpo  on  Thursday,  May 
17th,  at  10  a.m.,  Rev.  D.  N.  Lyon, 
the  retiring  moderator,  to  preach 
the  opening  sermon. 

G.  F.  Fitch, 
Satted  Clerk. 


A»-0,  League  Notes, 


At  the  meeting  of  the  Executive 
Coiinnittee  early  in  this  month  tlie 
following  Vice-presidents  of  the 
League  were  elected  :  Rev.  W.  P. 
Bentley,  for  Shanghai ;  Rev.  Arnold 
Foster,  for  Hankow ;  and  Rev. 
Dugald  Christie,  for  Manchuria. 

Rev.  J.  K.  Marshall  was  also 
elected  Local  Secretary  for  Soochow. 
Mr.  Marshall  finds  that  the  Chinese 
readily  sign  the  pledge,   when  an 


210 


THE    CHINESE    RECORDER. 


[April, 


effort  is  made  to  induce  them    to 
do  so. 

Dr.  W.  H.  Park,  Treasurer,  is 
encouraged  by  the  fact  that  not 
only  the  wealthy  Chinese  give  to 
the  League  but  that  those  in  more 
moderate  circumstances  also  give 
when  the  matter  is  presented  to 
them.  And  the  work  done  seems 
to  be  bearing  fruit  in  the  larger 
number  coming  to  the  hospital 
to  break  off  the  habit  of  opium 
smoking. 

T.  C.  Brixton,  Sec. 


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Treaaurer, 


SoocHOW,  March  10th,  1900. 


Heception  to  Dr.  Clark. 

On  March  twentieth  the  Y.  P.  S. 
C.  E.  of  Union  Church,  Shanghai, 
gave  a  reception  to  Dr.  Clark, 
president  of  the  World's  United 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  in 


the  Union  Church  Sunday-school 
Hall,  which  Hall  had  been  beauti- 
fully decorated  and  reflected  much 
credit  upon  the  decoration  com- 
mittee. The  reception  was  of  an 
informal  nature ;  it  being  the  object 
of  the  Cliristian  Endeavor  Society 
to  make  the  evening  an  opportunity 
for  people  to  have  the  pleasure  of 
meeting  Dr.  Clark,  and  in  this  they 
were  quite  successful.  There  was 
no  set  program,  but  a  number  of 
piano  pieces  were  played  during 
the  evening,  and  this  music  added 
greatly  to  the  pleasure  of  the  recep- 
tion. Refreshments  were  served  in 
a  room  adjoining  the  main  hall, 
and  in  this  department  the  Cliristian 
Endeavorera  were  again  very  suc- 
cessful. 

After  refreshments  were  over, 
Mr.  Robert  Fitch  favored  the 
company  with  a  violin  solo  and 
responded  to  an  encore.  A  few 
remarks  of  welcome  were  then  made 
by  Mr.  Goodcell  on  behalf  of  the 
Christian  Endeavor  Society.  Rev. 
Mr.  Darwent  followed  with  words 
of  appreciation  for  the  Christian 
Endeavor  movement,  and  again 
welcomed  Dr.  Clark,  who  has  been 
so  much  to  the  Society  since  its 
organization  in  his  parlor  twenty 
years  ago. 

Dr.  Clark  then  gave  a  short 
talk  upon  the  opportunities  for 
Christian  work  that  offer  them- 
selves here  in  the  Far  East  and 
touched  upon  the  growing  feeling 
of  unity  that  naturally  springs  up 
among  people  of  different  countries 
when  they  are  brought  together 
under  conditions  similar  to  those 
existing  in  Shanghai,  and  he  hoped 
that  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society 
would  flourish  and  be  a  power 
for  good  in  this  land  of  heathen- 
ism. 

The  reception  closed  with  the 
stirring  words  of  "  Old  Hundred  " 
and  the  Christian  Endeavor  bene- 
diction, "  May  the  Lord  watch 
between  me  and  thee  while  we  are 
absent  one  from  the  other." 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  NEWS. 


211 


The  Trial  oftlie  Murderers 
of  Mr,  Brooks. 

The  trial  of  the  murderers  of  Mr. 
Brooks  took  place  on  the  28th  of 
February  and  the  following  clays, 
at  Chi-nan-fu,  in  the  presence  of  Mr. 
C.  W.  Campbell,  of  H.  B.  M.'s  Con- 
sular Service. 

Before  the  trial  was  held  Mr. 
Campbell  visited  the  disturbed  dis- 
trict, where  the  murder  was  com- 
mitted. After  going  over  the 
ground  the  case  could  be  understood 
much  more  clearly ;  besides  which, 
the  visit  of  a  British  Consul  in  a 
green  chair  escorted  by  some  twenty 
of  the  Governor's  soldiers  had  an 
excellent  effect  on  the  population. 
The  officials  of  the  four  districts 
visited  were  more  or  less  servile, 
only  .  one  showing  any  disinclina- 
tion to  toe  the  line.  The  officials  in 
Chi-nan-fu,  from  Yuan  Shih-k'ai 
downwards,  were  reasonable  and 
respectful  without  being  obsequious. 

Twenty-two  names  were  given  in 
of  persons  suspected  of  complicity 
in  the  murder.  Of  these  fifteen 
were  arrested,  and  the  authorities 
added  three  others,  making  eighteen 
to  be  tried.  It  proved,  however, 
that  the  majority  of  these,  whether 
implicated  in  Tatao  Hui  offijnces  or 
not,  had  no  hand  in  this  murder. 

The  trial  was  conducted  by  the 
Provincial  Judge  in  a  large  hall  of 
the  Hofang-chii,  where  important 
cases  are  taken.  Mr.  Campbell 
took  with  him  as  secretaries  Mr. 
Mathews  (Mr.  Brooks'  colleague) 
and  Mr.  Couling  (English  Baptist 
Mission,  Shantung). 

Three  tables  were  arranged  as 
three  sides  of  a  regular  hexagon; 
the  judge  sat  at  the  centre  table, 
with  Mr.  Campbell  on  the  left  in 
the  seat  of  honour;  at  the  judge's 
side  table  sat  three  expectant  pre- 
fects ;  at  the  tal)le  on  Mr.  Camp- 
bell's side  sat  Mr.  Mathews,  Mr. 
Couling,  and  the  governor's  inter- 
preter, who,  of  course,  was  Bot  used 
at  all  during  the  trial. 


Mr.  Campbell  put  most  of  his 
questions  through  the  judge,  but 
sometimes  when  it  was  desirous  to 
get  a  quick  reply  without  allowing 
time  for  consideration  he  addressed 
the  prisoner  or  witness  direct. 

The  men  more  or  less  closely 
connected  with  the  murder  were  : — 

Meiig  Kuang  wgn, 

Wu  Fang-ch'6ng, 

Wu  Ching-ming, 

P'ang  Yen-mu, 

Li  T'UMg.kuan, 

Li  Ta-ch'dng  (inn-keeper  at  Hsia- 
ching-tze), 

Liu  Hsiu-yi  (constable  at  Chang- 
chia-tien). 

The  first  five  were  a  gang  of 
Tatao  Hui  members;  they  had  with 
them  two  more  men,  whose  names 
were  given  as  Wang  and  Chang, 
about  whom  very  little  could  be 
ascertained,  and  there  is  little  hope 
of  their  being  arrested.  This  is  of 
less  importance,  however,  because 
though  they  were  in  the  gang  for 
part  of  the  time  they  were  not 
present  at  the  murder,  and  were 
not  parties  to  it. 

The  evidence  of  the  prisoners 
when  sifted  and  arranged,  amounts 
to  the  following  : — 

Meng  was  the  ringleader.  He 
said  the  foreign  devils  had  poisoned 
his  brother,  and  others  of  his  family 
had  been  killed  in  the  tight  at 
P'ing  yuan,  where  so  many  Boxers 
lost  their  lives  some  months  ago. 
For  revenge,  therefoie,  he  came 
down  from  En-hsien  to  stir  up  strife 
in  Fei-ch'eng.  With  Wang  and 
Chang  he  went  to  Fei-ch  eng  city, 
appeared  on  the  streets  of  the  south 
suburb  with  red  clotiis  round  their 
heads,  got  some  recruits,  and  re- 
turned to  Chang-chia-tien,  a  large 
village  about  30  li  west  of  Fei- 
ch'eng.  The  Fei-cii'eng  official  de- 
clai'es  that  he  vvas  never  informed 
of  their  presence  in  the  suburb. 

The  sixth  day  the  two  Wu's  (who 
were  not  related  to  one  another) 
and  P'ang,  a  mere  silly  youth  led 


212 


THE    CHINESE    RECORDER. 


[April, 


astray  by  Wu  Fang-ch'giis?,  went 
over  from  Fei-cli'^ng  to  Chaiig-chia- 
tien  and  joined  Meng  and  the  others 
in  an  inn  there  on  the  morning 
of  the  30th  of  December  last. 

The  six  men  were  having  break- 
fast when  they  heard  a  commotion 
on  the  street,  and  were  told  that  a 
foreigner  was  passing.  This  was 
Mr.  Brooks,  who  was  going  from 
T'ai-an  to  P'ing-yin,  one-aiid  a-half- 
days'  journey,  and  who  at  tliis  time 
(about  10  a.m.)  was  within  four 
hours  of  the  end  of  his  I'ide.  The 
six  men  rushed  out,  some  putting 
on  red  head-cloths  as  they  went, 
and  overtook  Mr.  Brooks  just  out- 
side the  viilacje;  a  crowd  of  villagers 
following  them.  The  "village,"  it  may 
be  remarked,  has  over  1,000  fami- 
lies, or  say  over  6,000  inhabitants. 

Mr.  Brooks,  seeing  several  men 
rushing  at  him  with  swords  in  their 
hands,  jumped  off  his  donkey, 
closed  with  the  first  man  Meng, 
and  managed  to  take  the  sword 
from  him.  The  two  men  named 
Wu  attacked  him,  however,  and 
wounded  him  on  the  temples,  cheek, 
and  arms.  Certain  parallel  wounds 
scored  on  the  backs  of  both  hands 
were  probably  inflicted  at  this  time, 
to  make  him  loose  his  hold  of  the 
sword  and  whatever  else  he  was 
grasping.  Disarmed,  he  broke  from 
them  and  ran  into  a  house  in  the 
village,  but  was  immediately  drag- 
ged out,  his  Chinese  garments 
stripped  from  him,  and  his  wrists 
bound  in  front  of  him  with  a  girdle. 
His  undergarments  and  a  pair  of 
foreign  trousers  he  was  wearing 
and  his  shoes  were  not  taken  from 
him.  The  day,  however,  was  over- 
cast, snow  was  on  the  ground,  a 
keen  wind  was  blowing,  the  mercury 
was  well  below  freezing  point,  and 
the  sujffering  from  cold  must  have 
been  worse  than  that  from  wounds. 
It  is  something  to  be  thankful  for, 
however,  that  there  were  no  further 
wounds  given  until  the  death-blow. 

The  constable  (tipao)  of  the 
village,  named  Liu  Hsiu-yi,    came 


and  expostulated,  and  the  gang  led 
their  prisoner  away  westward.  If 
the  constable  had  at  once  gone  to 
Fei-ch'eiig,  30  li  away,  it  is  possible 
that  the  official  might  have  sent 
help  in  time  to  save  Mr.  Brooks' 
life.  He  first,  however,  followed 
the  gang  for  some  distance,  then 
returning  discussed  the  matter  with 
the  village  elders  and  did  not  start 
on  his  journey  till  nearly  dark  that 
night,  notifying  the  official  some 
twelve  or  fifteen  hours  after  the 
seizure,  that  is,  long  after  the  mur- 
der had  been  committed  ! 

They  took  their  victim  some  ten 
li  westward  and  reached  a  group  of 
inns  or  food-shops  called  Hsia-ching- 
tze.  They  stopped  at  Li  Ta-ch'eng's 
food-shed,  tied  Mr.  Brooks  to  a  tree 
near  by,  and  sat  down  to  drink  hot 
water.  Li  Ta-ch'gng  appears  to 
have  given  a  bowl  of  water  to  Mr. 
Brooks  also. 

The  band  was  joined  here  by  a 
young  man  named  Li  T'ung-kuan. 
According  to  his  own  account  he 
was  out  collecting  debts,  riding  his 
own  horse,  had  stayed  the  night  at 
Hsia-ching-tze,  and  was  just  starting 
oflf  after  breakfast  when  Mr.  Brooks 
was  led  up.  At  any  rate  he  rode 
with  or  after  the  band  all  that  day, 
and  was  within  a  few  yards  of  Mr. 
Brooks  when  the  murder  was  done. 
He  pleaded  that  he  followed  to 
"  k'an-je-nao "  simply,  or,  as  we 
might  put  it,  to  "  see  the  fun  ; "  but 
Meng  had  mentioned  his  name  as 
one  of  the  band  who  had  been  left 
at  Hsia-ching-tze  by  Meng  himself 
the  previous  day  or  the  day  before 
that.  P'ang  did  not  go  beyond  this 
place.  He  was  footsore,  lay  down 
and  slept  a  few  hours,  and  then 
returned  by  himself  to  Chang-chia- 
tien  to  await  the  return  of  the  others. 

From  Hsia-ching-tze  they  led  their 
prisoner  some  five  li  further  to  a 
village  called  Mao-chia-p'u  (400  fami- 
lies), where  there  had  been  a  raid 
two  days  before  on  Roman  Catholic 
Christians.  Mr.  Brooks  was  tied 
up  at  the  door  of  the  Roman  Catho- 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  NEWS. 


213 


lie  place  of  worship  and  given  a 
bowl  of  gruel  ;  the  gang  had  their 
meal  in  an  inn.  During  the  two  or 
three  .hours  spent  there,  probably 
every  one  in  the  village  saw,  but  no 
one  attempted  a  rescue  from  the 
band  of  five  armed  men,  though 
only  armed  with  swords. 

At  this  time  two  of  the  band 
withdrew.  They  were  the  two  who 
have  not  been  arrested,  namely 
Wang  and  Chang. 

In  the  afternoon  the  party  started 
back  again  towards  Chang-chia-tien. 
It  would  seem  that  they  were  still 
doubtful    what    to   do    with    their 
prisoner,    although    Mgng    had    al- 
ready threatened  to  kill  him.  By  the 
time    they   reached   Hsia-ching-tze, 
however,  Mr.  Brooks  seemed  unable 
to    go   further.     The   wounds,   and 
perhaps    still    more    the  six   hours' 
exposure    to   intense   cold,   had   so 
told  on   him   that  he  sank  down  at 
the  inn-door,  striking  his  head  on 
the  door  post.     The  inn-keeper,  Li 
Ta-ch'eng,  who  had  given  him  water 
in    the   morning,   now   pleaded   for 
him.       The   others,    perhaps   some- 
what alarmed  at  Mr.  Brooks'  con- 
dition,  went  to  cut  the  bands,  but 
Li   Ta-ch'eng    untied   them.      Mr. 
Brooks,  on  being  released,  suggested 
that  they  should   take  him  to  Ta- 
kuan-chuang,  where  there  were  some 
of  his   church  members,  and   there 
make  an  arrangement  and  get  some 
silver  for  his  ransom.    Tliey  agreed, 
and  all  started   westward  over  the 
road   already  traversed   twice   that 
day.  The  path  is  a  rough  mountain 
road   somewhat  uphill.     They   had 
gone  but  a  little    way    when   Mr. 
Brooks,   who  from   his  school-days 
had  been  a  first-rate  runner,  moved 
by  one  cannot  tell   what  impulse, 
broke  from   them   and   ran.     This 
perhaps  gave  the  necessary  fillip  to 
their   courage ;    they    shouted    and 
pursued.    Li  T*ung-kuan,  on  horse- 
back,   caught    up    first ;    then   Mr. 
Brooks    slipped    in    the   snow    and 
fell ;    Wu    Fang-ch'eng    was    close 
behind,  and  slashed  thrice  with  his 


sword,  giving  wounds  behind  the 
ear  and  on  the  neck.  As  Mr. 
Brooks  was  still  struggling  to  recover 
his  feet  Mfing  arrived,  and  shout- 
ing '  He  must  be  killed  '  (fei-sha-pu- 
hsiiig),  struck  twice,  and  cut  off  his 
head 

The  body  and  head  were  carried 
in  the  gathering  dusk,  by  Meng  and 
the  two  men  VVu,  to  a  ravine  some 
sixty  yards  from  the  road  and 
thrown  there.  Li  T'ung-kuan  did 
not  dismount  from  his  horse.  The 
other  three  then  went  back  to  the 
inn  at  Chang-chia-tien,  where  P'ang 
had  already  returned  in  the  after- 
noon. 

On  some  minor  points  the  evidence 
was    very    contradictory,    but    the 
more  important  matters  came  out 
very    clearly,    and  tiiere  seems  no 
reason    to   doubt   that    the    above 
statement   of   the   case   is  correct. 
Meng  was  no  doubt  the  rinjj;leader, 
Wu  Fang-cheng  helped  to  kill,  Wu 
Ching-ming    wounded    Mr.   Biooks 
when  first   seizing  him,   helped  to 
take  his  clothes  from  him,  was  there 
at    the    murder,     and    assisted    in 
hiding  the  body.  There  is  no  doubt 
these  are  the  men  who  did   these 
things,  and  there  is  no  evidence  of 
any  others  having  had  any  hand  in 
the  actual  murder.     Li  T'ung-kuaa 
was     there,     but     took    no    part; 
Wang  and   Chang,   who   have  not 
been  arrested,   were  concerned   in 
the  taking  and  binding,   but  disap- 
peared from  the  band  some  hours 
before  the  murder ;  P'ang  was  with 
the  gang  at  first,  but  took  no  part 
in  ill-treating  Mr.  Brooks,  and  did 
not  go  further  than  10  li  with  them. 
There  was  no  evidence  to  show  tliat 
any  other  person  had  any  connec- 
tion with  the  affair.     Li  Ta-ch'ng, 
the    Hsia-ching-tze  inn-keeper,  was 
under  strong  suspicion  of  complici- 
ty, but  though  he  may  be  more  or 
less   directly   connected    with    the 
Tatao  Hui,  all   the  evidence  went 
to    show    that    he    had  helped  Mr. 
Brooks  by   giving  him   water    and 
loosening    his    bands.     For    these 


214 


THE    CHINESE    EECOEDER. 


[April, 


good  deeds  he  was  discharged,  on 
finding  guarantees. 

Tlie  constables  and  other  oflBcers 
of  the  two  villages — Chang-chia-tien 
and  M;io-chia-p'u — are  to  be  severe- 
ly blamed  for  their  inaction,  and  in- 
deed all  the  onlookers  in  both  places. 
Tlieir  only  excuse  is  that  they  were 
afraid,  not  of  the  half-dozen  men, 
but  of  the  hundreds  of  Tatao  Hui 
members  in  the  neighbourhood. 

The  writer  left  Chi-nan-fu  imme- 
diately after  the  conclusion  of  the 
trial,  and  before  the  sentences  had 
been  passed.  S.  C. 

— ^\-C.  Daily  News. 


Concerning  Mission  Work 
in  Pyengyang,  Korea, 

The  work  in  Whanghai,  Pyeng- 
yang,  and  the  northern  part  of 
Korea,  which  was  reported  in  the 
Recorder  in  January,  1899,  con- 
tinues in  the  same  successful 
way.  It  is  in  many  respects  an- 
alo<,'Ous  to  that  in  Manchuria,  in  that 
it  is  done  through  native  helpers, 
self-supporting  in  the  great  majority 
of  cases,  but  the  main  propagation  is 
done  through  converts  wlio  influence 
their  fellows.  The  men  here  found 
certain  conditions  and  have  met 
them  by  applying  the  principles 
laid  down  as  proper  by  Rev,  John 
Ross,  Dr.  Nevius,  Dr.  Underwood, 
and  others. 

In  every  place  in  Korea  where 
missionary  work  is  evidenced  in 
large  measure,  the  medical  work  has 
preceded  the  evangelistic,  though 
the  growth  in  Whanghai  and  in 
the  extreme  north  is  only  through 
its  indirect  influence. 

The  statistical  growth  extends 
bark  but  a  little  over  three  years 
when  two  figures  sufficed  to  show 
all  the  baptized  persons  and  cate- 
chumens on  one  hand  and  proba- 
tioners and  full  members  on  the 
other.  The  last  figures  taken  from 
the  printed  report  of  the  Presbyte- 
rian station  shows  6,433  adherents, 
of  which  1,512  are  communicants; 


434  having  been  added  last  year. 
There  are  153  self-supporting  meet- 
ing places,  94  of  which  are  churches 
and  chapels.  The  total  native  con- 
tributions for  all  purposes,  except 
for  medicines  in  tlie  hospital,  was 
3,780  yen.  Overseeing  this  work 
are  six  ordained  men,  one  doctor, 
one  single  woman,  and  six  married 
women,  all  who  have  work  assigned 
them.  The  Methodists  are  rep- 
resented by  Rev.  W.  A.  Noble, 
Douglass  FoUwell,  M.D.,  and  Mrs. 
Hall,  M.D.  They  report  632  pro- 
bationers and  73  full  members. 
In  1896  they  had  30  probationers 
and  17  full  members. 

The  work  is  largely  what  may 
be  called  self-supporting.  By  far 
the  great  majority  of  churches  and 
chapels  have  been  provided  entirely 
by  the  natives.  They  don't  seem 
able,  however,  to  build  a  church 
here  in  Pyengyang,  unaided  by  for- 
eign funds,  which  will  be  large 
enough  to  seat  the  congregation. 
At  present,  services  are  held  in  two 
places,  one  in  which  the  men  meet 
and  the  other  the  women.  This 
is  from  necessity  and  not  choice 
by  any  means ;  and  so  to  meet  the 
conditions  it  is  proposed  to  aid  to 
the  extent  of  a  little  over  a  third  in 
erecting  a  suitable  church  building. 
This  of  the  Presbyterians. 

A  feature  of  the  work  is  the 
training  classes  after  the  style  of 
the  old-fashioned  Methodist  class 
meeting,  which  is  in  vogue  among 
the  Presliyterians  here  as  well  as 
the  Methodists.  Seventeen  of  such 
classes  were  held  by  the  former 
during  the  past  year,  though  the 
missionaries  were  not  at  all  present 
in  five  instances.  These  classes 
were  all,  with  the  exception  of 
two,  entirely  self-supporting.  A 
deli;,'htful  anomaly  is  that  the 
women's  training  class,  for  all 
practical  and  theoretical  purposes, 
is  entirely  self-supporting.  The 
attendance  in  this,  however,  is  more 
of  a  voluntary  character  than  that 
of  the  men's. 


1900.] 


DIARY  OF  EVENTS  IN  THE  FAR  EAST. 


215 


riDarcb  Jeeues  from  jpreebi^tcrian  fBMseion  prces. 


•^   it  ^  ^Xf^.    Natural  Philosophy.  7  Vols.  1  Tao.    W.  A.  P.  Martin,  D.D. 
V^f^l^^^trik.  M  P9  •     Words  and  Works  of  Jesus.     Shanghai  Vernacular  Society. 
SjA^  — II1^r£I5?-     Commentary  on  John's  Epi.stles.     P.  M.  P. 

mm  ^:^- 
i#  ti  ^  ii- 

/t:  fx  H  '-1^  $s- 

^  'is  n. 


^  ^.BW 


St.  Mark.     Mandarin.     Bible  Societies. 

Introduction  to  the  Bible.     C.  T.  S. 

St.  John.     Mandarin.     Bible  Societies, 

Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.  Topics  for  1900. 

Genesis.     VVfin-li.     B.  and  F.  B.  S. 

Psalms.        Do.  Do. 

Throe  Character  Classic.     London  Mission. 

Anti-Opium  Xews,  No.  5. 

Cliurch  Rules.     U.  M.  F.  C.  Mission. 

Bible  Studies.     Mr.  D.  W.  Lyon. 
H[5    M  ^  ^  ^'  !^- Important  Truths  for  Christians.     Nor.  Luth.  Mis. 
&   fS    Q    ^  ^-        Easter  Carols.     St.  John's  College. 

m   pT  St.  Mark  in  parallel  Editions  of  both  Cantonese   and  Man- 

*^     ''■  darin  with  English.     Am.  Bible  Society. 

3iM  ffl  ^  1^-  Hymn  Book.     Shanghai  Colloquial. 

i   5^.-)   ^  n£  M  ^  S.  S.  Lessons.     Dr.  G.  A.  Stuart. 

^0    f^"  ^  Sh  Catechisms.     Mandarin.     Mr.  C.  F.  Hogg. 

M  &&pk-  The  Two  Friends.     C.  T.  S. 

Western  Biograpliical  and  Geographical  Names  in  Chinese.    Educational  Asaociation. 

Records  of  Tiie  Third  Triennial  Meeting  of  the  Educational  Association. 

The  Radica's,  for  Shanghai  Students.     Rev.  J.  A.  Silsby. 

A  Review  of  "  Methods  of  Mission  Work,"     (Nevius').     Rev.  C.  W.  Mateer,  D.D. 

Joshua.     Ningpo  Romanized.     B.  and  F.  B.  S. 

St.  John's  College,  Echo,  Vol.  11,  No.  2. 

Medical  Journal,  Vol.  14,  No.  2,  April. 

Bi  Monthly  Bulletiuj  Vol.  II,  No.  Ill, 


\m\)  d  €bmt$  m  tbc  ifar  d^ast 


RUMOURED    IlISINGS. 

A  Peking  dispatch  of  the  5th  instant 
states  that  the  Grand  Council  has  re- 
ceived telegrams  from  the  Viceroys  and 
Governors  of  the  Liang- kiang.  Two 
Kuang,  Hukuang,  and  Min-Che  prov- 
inces, stilting  that  they  had  received 
reliable  infonnatiou  that  tlie  Reform 
Party,  who  are  being  assisted  by  Chi- 
nese abroad  and  numerous  secret  socie- 
ties hostile  to  the  Manchu  dynasty,  in- 
tend to  proceed  to  active  rebellion  tiie 
moment  Kuang  Hsu  is  superseded  on 
the  Throne,  or  if  news  is  received  of  his 
Majesty's  death.  Tiie  acting  Viceroy  of 
the  Liaug-kiang  provinces  further  con- 
fidentially reports  that  no  less  than 
140,000  Hunaneso  in  his  jurisdiction  are 
showing  symptoms  of  restleasnesa  and 


(Si 

are  lipe  for  rebellion,  and  are  being  kept 
quiet  by  the  inHuenec  of  one  man,  the 
ex-Viceroy  Liu,  who  is  a  Hunanese. 
The  acting  Viceroy,  therefore,  recom- 
mends either  liiat  Viceroy  Liu  be  re- 
stored to  his  old  poster  another  Hunanese 
be  placed  in  the  Nanking  Viceroyalty. 
When  these  telegrams  arrived  a  secret 
Council  was  held  before  the  Empress- 
Dowager  at  once,  and  amongst  othec 
matters  Jung  Lu  was  asked  as  to  the 
fidelity  of  tlie  Grand  Army  under  liim. 
It  is  reported  that  his  reply  was  that,  if 
a  rebellion  arose  on  account  of  the 
Emperor's  deposition,  or  if  matters  re- 
sulted in  a  i-ace  war,  neither  he  nor  hia 
Commanders  of  Corps  could  guarantee 
the  troops  from,  at  the  last  moment 
joining  their  countrymen,  the  Chinese  in 
the  Grand  Army  numbering  nine-tenths 


^u 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[April,  1900.] 


of  the  whole.  To  this  reply  Princes 
Ghing  and  Ttian  (father  of  Pu  Chiln,  the 
Heir  Apparent)  sneeringly  answered 
^l^at  they  and  their  Manchus  of  the 
Peking  Field  Force  and  Banner  Corps 
were  quite  sufficient  to  fight  not  only 
the  Chinese  but  also  any  other  probable 
enemy.  It  is  expected  that  this  will 
farther  diminish  Jung  Lu's  influence 
■with  the  Empress-Dowager. 

ON  THE  TRACK  OF  THE  BEPOEMER8. 

A  dispatch  of  the  26th  says: 
Orders  have  been  sent  to  Admiral  Yeh, 
commanding  the  Peiyang  squadron,  who 


is  now  at  Canton  with  the  fast  cruisers 
Haitien  and  Haishou,  to  cruise  to  the 
Straits,  emissaries  of  the  Empress-Dow- 
ager having  already  arrived  at  Singa- 
pore in  the  hope  of  assassinating  or 
capturing  alive  Kang  Yii-wei,  Ch'iu  Shu- 
yuan,  Editor  of  tlie  Tiennan  Sinpao^  and 
others  of  the  Reform  Party  who  have 
taken  refuge  under  the  British  flag 
there.  The  speed  of  the  Chinese  cruis- 
ers (24  knots)  as  soon  as  the  captured 
men  are  conveyed  on  board  will  defy 
pursuit  by  anything  that  the  British 
government  possesses  in  the  Far 
East. 


Jissionarjj  |0itntaL 


MARRIAGE. 

At  the  Cathedral,  Shanghai,  March  12th, 
Rev.  A.  G.  SuouROCK,  B.A.,  E.  B.  M., 
Shensi,  and  Miss  Maud  M.  Dodlton, 
B.A. 

DEATHS. 

At  Tchang,  March  12th,  Rev.  Geo. 
HoNTEK,  of  C.  I.  M.,  of  malaria. 

At  Cheo-kia-k*eo,  Honan,  March  1.3th, 
of  pneumonia,  Adolf  Johannes  Hel- 
GESEN,  aged  31,  of  the  B.  and  F.  B.  S. 

At  Shanghai,  March  28th,  Thomas 
Ukut,  of  C.  I.  M.,  T'ai-chow. 

ARRIVALS. 

At  Canton,  March  2nd,  Messrs.  C.  M. 
Lewis  and  A.  H.  Woods,  M.D.,  from 
U.  S.  A.  for  the   "  Christian  College." 

At  Shanghai,  March  9th,  Rev.  M.  B. 
Dunoan  and  wife  (returned)  and 
Miss  M.  M.  Doulton,  for  E.  B.  M., 
Shensi  ;  Rev.  F.  A.  Steven,  wife  and 
five  children,  C  H  S.  Green,  wife 
and  two  children  and  Miss  Guex 
(returned),  Mr.  H.  Witt,  Mrs.  Just 
and  Miss  E.  F.  Burn,  from  England 
for  C.  I.  M. 

At  Shanghai,  March  17th,  Rev.  C.  F. 
Viking,  wife  and  one  child  (returned), 
for  the  Catholic-apostolic  Church  in 
Zion  Mission. 

At  Shanghai,  March  24th,  J.  D. 
Tbawick,  M.D.,  from  U.  S.  A.  for 
M.  E.  S.  M. 

At  Shanghai,  March  27th,  Mrs.  G.  B. 
Farthing  and  three  children  (return- 
ing), for  E.  B.  M.,  Shantung. 


DEPARTURES. 

From  Shanghai,  March  3rd,  C.  T.  FisilB 
and  two  children  and  Mrs.  E.  A. 
Walker,  of  C.  I.  M.,  for  England  ; 
Rev,  George  Hupson,  wife  and  two 
children,  S.  P.  M.,  Hangchow,  for 
England. 

From  Shanghai,  March  7th,  Dr.  H.  L. 
Canwright,  wife  and  four  children,  M. 
E.  M.,  West  China,  for  U,  S.  ;  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  J.  N.  B.  Smith  and  eight  chil- 
dren, A,  P.  M.,  for  U.  S.  A.  ;  Rev. 
and  Mrs.  VV.  E.  Soothill.  U.  M.  F. 
C.  M.,  Wenehow  ;  Misses  Elwin,  C. 
M.  S.,  Shanghai,  for  England. 

From  Hongkong,  Rev.  C.  Maus,  wife 
and  three  children,  Rh,  M.  S.,  for 
Germany. 

From  Shanghai,  March  14th,  W.  C. 
Noble,  M.D.,  and  Miss  J.  E.  Chapin, 
A.  B.  C  F.  M.,  for  U.  S.  ;  Rev.  I. 
Headland,  wife  and  one  child,  M.  E. 
M.,  for  U.  S. 

From  Shanghai,  March  24th,  August 
Karlsson,  of  C.  I.  M.,  for  America ; 
Rev.  W.  Harvev  Grant,  C.  P.  M., 
Honan,  for  Canada ;  Rev.  Earle  D. 
Sims,  wife  and  one  child,  of  Gospel 
Mission  (Southern  Baptist),  Shantung, 
for  U.  S. 

From  Shanghai,  March  26th,  Miss  A. 
Hocking,  \V.  M.  S.,  Mrs.  A.  G.  Jones 
and  three  children,  E.  B,  M.,  Miss 
Barraclough,  C.  I.  M.,  for  England  ; 
A.  Witzell,  wife  and  one  child  and 
Miss  SwASsoN,  of  C.  I.  M.,  for 
Sweden;  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Joseph 
Adams  and  four  sons,  A,  B.  M.  U., 
for  England. 

From  Shanghai,  March  .31st,  Rev.  A.  E. 
Claxton',  L,  M.  S.,  West  China,  for 
England. 


THE 


CHINESE   RECORDER 

AND 

VOL^  XXXI.  No,  6.  MAY,  1900.  (  *^-^°  f^'nTS  ^t 

'  (_      paid.  (Gold  $1.75.) 


A  Review  of  "Methods  of  Mission  Work.'' 

BY  REV.  C.  W.  MATEER,  D.D, 
(Concluded  from  p.  17 J/.,  April  number). 

Chapter  VI. 
Self -propagating  Povier  Exaggerated. 

fHE  natural  correlative  of  depreciatiug  the  ministerial  office,- 
is  the  undue  exaltation  of  lay  effort.  Our  author  has  accord- 
ingly very  much  exaggerated  the  power  of  the  gospel  to  prop- 
agate itself  through  the  spontaneous  efforts  of  private  Christians, 
as  contrasted  with  the  work  of  evangelists  and  preachers.  In  his 
third  chapter  he  treats  at  length  of,  "How  to  deal  ivith  new  converts." 
The  thought  that  runs  through  the  whole  argument  is,  Develop  their 
spontaneous  zeal  for  the  faith,  and  in  order  to  do  this  leave  them 
largely  to  their  own  resources,  and  especially  do  not  hire  any  of 
them  to  preach.  In  the  course  of  his  plea  he  says  many  excellent 
things,  but  as  a  whole  the  argument  is  overstated.  Especially 
are  unwarranted  conclusions  drawn  from  his  own  exceptional  ex- 
perience. Young  missionaries,  who  accept  his  reasoning  and  act 
on  his  theories,  will  certainly  meet  some  bitter  disappointments. 
His  theories  need  to  be  brought  into  comparison  with  the  facts  of 
history  and  the  experience  of  the  church  at  large.  That  the  gospel 
is  self-propagating,  Christ  clearly  taught  in  the  parable  of  the 
leaven  hid  in  three  measures  of  meal.  That  every  missionary  should 
strive  to  cultivate  in  all  new  converts  the  disposition  to  make  known 
the  gospel  to  others,  goes  without  saying.  Nevertheless,  this  self- 
propagating  principle  has  important  limitations.  To  magnify  it 
to  the  neglect  of  approved  and  divinely  appointed  agencies,  is  a 
great  mistake.  Without  going  into  detail,  the  following  points 
seem  to  call  for  special  notice  : — 


218  THE    CHINESE   RECORDER.  [May 

1.  Let  Converts  Abide  in  their  Original  Galling. 

Far  too  much  stress  is  laid  on  the  supposed  evil  of  taking 
away  men  from  their  original  callings  in  order  to  use  them  as 
preachers.  Special  emphasis  is  laid  on  Paul's  words  :  '*  Let  every 
man  abide  in  the  calling  wherein  he  was  called."  This  was  a  favorite 
quotation  with  Dr.  Nevius.  I  have  heard  him  refer  to  it  many 
times.  As  here  used,  it  is  clearly  misapplied.  It  was  origiually 
spoken  with  reference  to  circumcision,  servitude,  marriage,  etc.,  and 
had  no  reference  to  preaching,  nor  is  the  principle  properly  applic- 
able to  the  present  case.  Every  one  of  the  apostles,  as  also 
Barnabas,  Silas,  Timothy,  etc.,  were  called  from  other  pursuits  to 
engage  in  propagating  the  gospel.  The  question  is  not  one  of 
leaving  another  calling  to  engage  in  preaching,  but  of  a  call  to  do 
so.  The  call  must  be  decided  on  its  own  merits.  It  will  not 
do  to  assume  that  because  a  Chinese  Christian,  after  due  prepara- 
tion, is  given  a  salary  for  his  support  while  he  preaches  the  gospel, 
that  therefore  he  is  not  in  the  line  of  duty,  nor  yet  that  the  party 
employing  him  is  acting  unwisely.  By  the  same  rule  our  mot- 
ives as  missionaries  in  receiving  a  salary  to  come  to  China  might 
be  questioned,  as  also  the  wisdoui  of  the  Boards  in  sending  us.  Dr. 
Nevius  felt  the  inconsistency  of  his  position  in  this  respect,  and  on 
pages  twenty  and  twenty-one  makes  an  effort  to  explain  it  away. 
With  what  success  the  reader  can  judge.  On  page  ten,  when 
inveighing  against  the  use  of  native  helpers,  he  cites  the  case 
of  several  men  in  his  Ningpo  experience  who  were  taken  out 
of  callings  in  which  they  were  useful  as  private  Christians  and 
trained  to  be  preachers,  but  who  did  not  afterwards  prove  them- 
selves to  be  specially  useful  men,  and  adds  that  most  missionaries 
could  probably  recall  similar  cases.  Perhaps  they  could,  for  mis- 
takes are  frequently  made  in  every  department  of  life.  It  is  in 
point  also  to  remark  that  most  missionaries  of  experience  could 
recall  cases  of  an  exactly  opposite  kind.  I  recall  a  notable  one  in 
my  own  experience.  A  young  man  served  five  years  in  our  kitchen, 
and  was  then  put  upon  a  course  of  training  for  a  preacher. 
He  made  a  most  efficient  preacher  and  helper,  and  is  now  pastor 
of  a  native  church  which  supports  him.  He  is  by  common  consent 
one  of  the  most  useful  and  influential  men  in  this  province.  A 
Wei-hien  missionary  writes :  "  The  most  influential  elder  among 
the  twenty  churches  at  Wei-hien  originally  made  his  living  by 
the  practice  of  medicine.  He  is  now  employed  by  the  Mission,,  and 
goes  with  the  missionaries  among  the  churches  to  assist  in  holdrag 
special  services.  His  preaching  is  greatly  blessed^  and  no  oae  thinks 
of  the  fact  that  he  is  a  paid  agent." 


190Q.]  A   REVIEW   OF   "methods  OF  MISSION   WORK."  219 

That  the  Cliiuese  should  seek  to  profit  by  their  religion  is 
perfectly  natural  and  to  some  extent  unavoidable.  Those  who 
become  Christians  are  generally  poor.  Through  their  profession 
of  Christianity  they  are  often  thrown  out  of  employment,  and 
find  it  extremely  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  secure  places  with 
the  heathen.  For  this  and  other  reasons  many  of  them  seek  and 
find  employment  with  foreigners.  The  number,  however,  who  are 
employed  as  preachers  is  in  the  aggregate  exceedingly  small,  so 
that  to  attribute  much  harm  to  the  reflex  influence  of  their  em- 
ployment in  this  capacity,  is  to  greatly  exaggerate  the  case.  That 
new  converts  of  a  certain  class  are  inclined  to  seek  the  office  of  a 
preacher  for  the  sake  of  the  su[iport  it  brings,  is  no  doubt  true, 
and  tiie  author's  warnings  on  this  point  should  be  heeded.  Never- 
theless, this  abuse  is  no  sufficient  argument  against  the  discrim- 
inating employment  of  native  preachers.  All  depends  on  the 
wisdom  and  prudence  of  the  missionary  employing  them. 

2.     Lay   Agency    Overestimated. 

The  importance  of  calling  forth  the  activities  of  private  Chris- 
tians is  not  easily  overestimated.  To  depreciate  it  is  the  very  last 
thing  I  wouhl  desire  to  do.  Theoretically,  every  Christian  should 
be  a  propagator  of  the  faith.  My  contention  is  that  Dr.  Nevius,  in 
his  zeal  for  a  method,  too  largely  ignores  the  lessons  of  history, 
setting  up  an  ideal  which  has  not  and  cannot  be  realized.  The 
process  of  the  church's  enlargement  is  only  in  part  through  the 
spontaneous  agency  of  hiy  effort.  History  shows  that  the  propagation 
of  Christianity,  especially  its  first  planting  in  new  soil,  is  largely 
due  to  the  efforts  of  men  specially  called  and  sent.  So  it  was 
at  the  beginning,  and  so  it  has  continued  to  be  until  this  time. 
The  preacher  and  the  evangelist  go  before  and  make  converts 
and  found  churches.  Churches  do  not  spring  up  of  themselves,  and 
when  they  have  grown  to  maturity  ask  for  a  preacher.  It  is  pre- 
eminently by  'preaching   that   the   gospel  advances. 

I  must  not  be  understood  as  disparaging  lay  agency  when 
I  affirm  that  preaching  is  now  and  has  ever  been  an  office,  a 
ministry,  a  calling.  Paul's  charge  to  Timothy  was,  "  Give  thyself 
wholly  to  it."  Nowhere  does  this  charge  need  to  be  more  heeded 
than  in  China.  The  struggle  for  existence  is  so  sharp  that  few 
private  Christians  can  give  much  time  to  preaching,  or  the  systematic 
teaching  of  others.  Their  business  is  to  ii'VQ  the  gospel,  and  as 
occasion  offers  exhort  their  friends  and  neighbors,  and  this,  if 
faithfully  done,  is  a  very  great  power  for  good.  But  experience  has 
abundantly  shown  that  this  is  not,  by  any  means,  all  that  is  needed 
in  order  to  extend  the  gospel  and  build  up  churches.     Dr.  Nevius 


220  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [May, 

appeals  to  his  own  experience  in  vindication  of  his  theory  that  the 
efforts  of  private  Christians  are  snfiScient  for  the  pUintiug  and 
building  up  of  new  churches.  He  claims  that  in  his  field  interest 
sprang  np  and  new  stations  were  fonnded  by  the  spontaneous 
efforts  of  private  Christians.  This  he  attributes  to  their  zeal  for 
the  gospel,  a  zeal  supposed  to  be  fostered  by  the  system  of  no 
employment  of  ])aid  helpers.  In  this  I  confidently  affirm  he  is  in 
a  great  measure  mistaken.  His  "  method  "  was  then  in  its  initiatory 
stage,  and  really  had  little  or  no  relation  to  the  rapid  planting 
of  his  numerous  new  stations.  The  circumstances  were  peculiar. 
The  effect  of  the  famine  relief  has  already  been  spoken  of,  and 
need  not  be  again  enlarged  upon.  It  is  sufficient  to  remark  in 
this  connection  that  it  gave  rise  to  an  exceptional  zeal  which  was 
prompted  in  great  measure  by  interested  motives.  To  assume  that, 
in  the  general  experience  of  missionaries,  the  want  of  zeal  on  the 
part  of  private  members  has  been  largely  due  to  the  employment 
of  paid  agents,  and  that  the  plan  of  employing  no  preachers,  but 
leaving  the  new  converts  to  themselves,  accounts  for  the  self- 
propagating  zeal  manifested  on  Dr.  Nevius'  field,  is  a  great  ex- 
aggeration, and  conveys,  especially  to  those  without  experience 
in  mission  work,  an  entirely  wrong  impression.  I  say  "  exag- 
geration" because  all  will  allow  that  the  free  use  of  paid  helpers 
has  some  effect  on  the  zeal  of  others,  especially  on  those  whose 
motives  are  low  and  selfish.  On  the  other  hand,  the  non-employ- 
ment of  helpers  will  not  have  one  hundredth  part  of  the  effect 
assumed  by  Dr.  Nevius.  He  who  would  estimate  the  rapid 
development  of  Dr.  Nevius'  stations  at  its  true  value  must  bear 
in  mind  that  the  circumstances  were  exceptional,  and  that 
worldly  motives  prevailed  to  a  large  extent.  U{)on  these  points 
there  is  no  difference  of  opinion  on  the  part  of  those  who  have 
since  wrought  in  his  field.  A  general  rule  cannot  be  proved  by  an 
exceptional  fact.* 

3.     Commit   Young  Converts  to  the  Lord. 

On  page  twenty-seven  it  is  said  that  we  should  with  faith  and 
confidence  commit  our  young  converts  •''  to  the  Lord  on  whom  they 
have  believed ;"  the  point  of  the  argument  being  that  they  would 

*  The  author  refers  to  the  stations  of  the  English  Baptist  Mission  at  Ch'ing- 
chow-fu  as  having  been  founded,  for  the  most  part,  without  paid  evangelists.  It 
is  aside  from  my  purpose  to  speak  at  length  of  the  evangelistic  methods  of  tiie 
Pap(ist  Mission.  Suffice  it  to  say  tliiifc  the  circumstances  in  the  two  cases  were 
largely  similar,  famine  relief  having  been  distributed  through  a  large  portion 
of  the  field  they  then  occupied.  'J'heir  stations  also  were  close  around  them,  withiu 
easy  reach  of  the  constant  personal  supervision  of  the  missionaries  themselves, 
tlius  largely  obviating  the  need  of  native  |)reachers.  Moreover,  while  not  using 
many  native  helpers,  they  have  uot  by  auy  means  wholly  declined  to  use  them. 


1900.]  A   REVIEW  OP   "METHODS   OF  MISSION   WORK."  221 

themselves  make  known  the  trnth  to  others,  and  by  the  aid  of  an 
occasional  visit  from  the  itinerant  missionary,  <,n'ow  up  into  a  church. 
If  this  were  really  so,  how  easily  would  the  evangelization  of  China 
be  accomplished!  If  in  all  cases  (by  simply  avoidini^  the  use  of 
paid  preachers)  converts  should  multiply  as  rapidly  as  they  did 
under  Dr.  Nevius'  hand  during  the  first  years  he  wrought  in  the 
famine  region,  and  should  so  continue  to  grow  and  remain  faithful, 
the  Christianizing  of  the  heathen  would  be  but  a  light  task.  If  this 
theory  be  true  and  practicable  on  a  mission  field,  why  should  it 
not  be  still  more  so  in  home  lands,  where  converts  are  generally 
much  more  intelligent  ?  That  it  is  not  the  case,  it  is  needless  to 
affirm. 

The  truth  is,  that  the  first  few  years  of  Dr.  Nevius'  successful 
work  were  exceptional.  As  time  passed  on  more  normal  conditions 
began  to  assert  themselves.  It  became  evident,  shortly  before  he 
handed  over  his  work  to  others,  that  a  crisis  had  been  reached. 
More  were  falling  away  than  were  coming  in,  and  it  was  plaia 
that  to  conserve  the  work  already  done  some  change  of  plan  was 
necessary.  More  vigorous  superintendence  and  more  thorough  in- 
struction in  practical  religion  had  become  indispensable.  For  this 
purpose,  as  has  already  been  stated,  native  evangelists  were  freely 
employed  by  those  who  succeeded  to  Dr.  Nevius'  work,  A  leaf 
from  my  own  experience  will  be  in  place  here.  Some  twenty  years 
ago  Dr.  0.  R.  Mills  and  myself,  yielding  to  the  ideas  advanced 
by  Dr.  Nevius  against  foreign  1i)aid  preachers,  determined  to  adopt 
his  self-nurture  policy  in  our  stations  in  the  districts  of  Ping-tu  and 
Chao-ylien.  What  helpers  we  had  (they  were  very  few)  we  used 
in  other  places,  or  sent  them  away  to  preach  wholly  amongst 
the  heathen.  We  and  our  associates  continued  in  this  line  for 
about  sixteen  years,  visiting  the  stations  ourselves  twice  each  year 
and  doing  what  we  could  to  encourage  and  strengthen  the  faith  of 
the  Christians.  Before  the  end  of  that  time  one  station  was  extinct 
and  another  nearly  so  and  the  third  steadily  decreasing  by  death  or 
defection.  A  few  members  had  been  added,  but  not  enough  to  make 
up  the  losses.  A  faithful  evangelist  was  finally  sent  to  minister 
to  the  two  stations  in  Ping-tu,  which  were  not  yet  quite  extinct, 
to  preach  to  them  and  to  work  in  the  surrounding  region.  The 
result  was  a  great  revival  of  interest  and  a  large  increase  in  zeal 
and  numbers,  and  several  new  centres  were  presently  started. 
Partly  as  the  outcome  of  this  experience,  and  partly  from  my 
observation  of  the  working  of  the  same  method  in  other  hands,  I 
came  to  the  definite  conclusion  some  years  ago,  that  it  was  vain 
to  expect  a  station  or  a  church  to  grow  and  flourish  unless  faithfully 
fed  and  shepherded.     At  the  Shantung  Conference  in  1898,  the  Rev, 


222  THE   CHINESE   KECORDER.  [May, 

A.  Gr.  Jones,  the  oldest  member  of  the  English  Baptist  Mission  at 
Ching-chow  Fn,  said  :  "  I  started  in  China  with  views  similar 
to  those  of  Dr.  Nevius,  and  had  to  see  Christianity  wither  in  ray 
stations  before  I  remodeled  my  ideas  and  saw  that  the  men 
(preachers)  must  be  re-eqnipped  by  education." 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  self-propagating  power  of  Christianity 
is  exceptionally  weak  in  China.  More  than  two  millenuinms  of 
scepticism  in  regard  to  the  reality  of  a  life  to  come,  have  made  a 
marked  impression  on  the  moral  and  spiritual  faculties  of  the  race, 
so  that  they  are  but  weakly  res{)onsive  to  spiritual  things.  As  a 
people  they  are  also  greatly  wanting  in  euterprize,  or  enthusiasm 
of  any  kind,  especially  in  that  which  pertains  to  religion.  Chris- 
tianity in  China,  notwithstanding  the  large  start  it  now  has,  if  left 
wholly  to  itself,  without  foreign  aid  of  any  kind,  and  apart  from 
the  educational  reform  now  making  itself  so  strongly  felt,  would  in 
all  probability  decline  and  finally  perish.  In  the  early  Christian 
centuries  it  was  introduced  into  China  by  the  Nestorian  missionaries 
and  planted  in  considerable  force.  It  subsisted  for  a  while  under 
the  lead  of  those  who  planted  it,  but  when  left  to  itself  declined 
and  finally  perished.  For  some  time  to  come,  at  least,  the  zeal 
and  enthusiasm  which  is  to  make  the  church  aggressive  in  China 
must  come  from  the  West.  Spontaneous  zeal  for  the  gospel  will 
grow  with  the  change  which  Christianity  itself  will  gradually  work 
on  the  moral  sense  and  religious  character  of  the  people. 

Chapter  VII. 

Giving  for  the  Support  of  the  Gospel. 

The  continued  existence  of  Christianity  in  an  organized  form 
involves  the  use  of  money — more  or  less  according  to  circumstances. 
To  assist  in  supplying  this  money  is  a  universal  Christian  duty.  la 
the  founding  of  a  Christian  church  it  is  a  matter  of  prime  importance 
to  train  the  people  to  give.  On  page  fifty-two  is  a  section  headed 
"  Contributions."  In  the  first  sentence  Dr.  Nevius  frankly  admits 
that  in  this  matter  all  had  not  been  done  that  should  have  been 
done.  Many  other  missionaries,  if  questioned,  would  doubtless  feel 
constrained  to  admit  the  same  thing.  Seeing,  however,  that 
"  self-support "  is  the  special  end  and  aim  of  the  "  New  Method," 
one  is  not  prepared  to  find  its  practical  illustration  so  deficient 
in  this  particular  matter. 

On  page  seventy-one,  in  speaking  of  the  ability  ot  his  sixty 
stations  of  eight  hundred  and  sixty  members  to  provide  for  their 
own  wants  and  more,  he  says  that  they  could  easily  contribute  one 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  and  farther  that  if  they  should  give  as 


1900.]  A  REVIEW   OF  "METHODS  OP  MISSION   WORK."  223 

much  as  they  had  previously  done  to  idolatry,  that  amount  would 
probably  be  doubled.  The  records  of  our  Presbytery  show  that 
as  a  matter  of  fact  the  gross  amount  contributed  by  all  his  stations 
for  all  purposes  was,  in  the  previous  year  (1884),  sixty-eight  dollars, 
and  in  the  year  in  which  he  wrote  eighty-eight  dollars.  This  aggre- 
gate included,  according  to  our  rules,  church  building  or  rental, 
entertainment  of  inquirers,  help  to  the  poor,  etc.  The  strong 
probability  is  that  only  a  ver7j  small  fraction  of  it  was  given  for  the 
support  of  helpers  or  of  preaching.  On  page  seventy-two  he  says: 
"  During  the  last  few  years  I  have  urged  the  stations  to  contribute 
to  the  support  of  the  helpers  as  the  most  natural  and  available 
object  that  conld  be  presented."  He  goes  on  to  say  that  the  plan 
did  not  work  well,  because  the  people  regarded  the  helpers  as 
his  men,  not  theirs,  and  also  that  the  helpers  were  themselves  averse 
to  the  plan.  He  accordingly  gave  it  up,  and  vindicates  himself  for 
paying  his  own  helpers  by  quoting  Paul's  example  in  dealing  with 
the  Galatians.  My  own  recollection  of  this  experiment  and  its 
results,  as  1  learned  it  at  the  time  from  Dr.  Nevius  and  his 
helpers,  is  as  follows:  Having  thus  fiir,  as  he  himself  said  to  me, 
made  no  appeal  to  the  people  for  contributions  for  the  purpose  of 
supporting  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  he  felt  that  the  time  had 
now  come  when  a  move  should  be  made  in  that  direction.  Accord- 
ingly on  his  next  tour  he  urged  the  matter  with  considerable  force, 
using  the  liberality  of  a  few  to  stir  up  the  emulation  of  the  many, 
and  in  this  way  raised  a  subscription  on  paper,  aggregating  quite  a 
handsome  amount.  On  his  autumn  tour,  however,  when  the  money 
was  to  be  paid,  no  small  difficulty  was  experienced.  Some  accused 
him  of  betraying  them  by  unjustifiable  pressure  into  promising 
what  on  sober  thought  they  were  unwilling  to  give.  Others  suspect- 
ed a  design  to  make  gain  of  them,  and  refused  to  give  at  all.  In 
one  or  two  stations,  the  whole  station  sympathized  in  this  revulsioa 
of  feeling  and  refused,  with  some  asperity,  to  pay  their  subscrip- 
tions. The  net  result  was  that  bat  little  was  given,  while  considera- 
ble dissatisfaction  was  engendered.  That  the  helpers  were  averse 
to  receiving  the  money  subscribed  in  this  way  was  natural  enough, 
seeing  it  fell  to  them  to  urge  the  payment  of  the  subscriptions. 
On  page  seventy-two  he  says,  that  at  the  time  of  writing  his 
book  he  and  Mr.  Laughlin  (this  was  the  last  tour  he  took)  were  try- 
ing the  plan  of  raising  money  for  the  support  of  men  chosen  by  the 
people  themselves,  who,  without  giving  up  their  ordinary  occupa- 
tion, should  go  on  evangelistic  tours  for  a  portion  of  the  year.  This 
plan,  which  had  also  been  tried  by  other  members  of  the  Mission, 
worked  much  better.  As  well  from  what  he  has  written  as  from 
my  own  knowledge  of  the  facts,  I  have  no  hesitation    in    saying 


224  THE    CHINESE   RECORDER.  [May, 

that  Dr.  Nevins'  management  of  the  business  of  giving  is  open 
to  serious  criticism.  Where  his  "  method "  should  have  been, 
strongest,  it  was  weakest.  lu  his  strong  desire  to  keep  from  the 
people  the  idea  of  money  as  connected  with  religion,  he  neglected 
far  too  long  to  instruct  and  train  them  in  the  duty  and  habit  of 
giving  for  the  support  of  the  gospel.  He  was  handicapped  also  by 
the  fact  that  the  few  helpers  he  used  were  not  trained  candidates 
for  the  ministry,  nor  such  as  could  be  thought  of  in  such  a 
connection.  They  were  for  the  most  part  messengers  and  Bible 
readers,  charged  with  the  work  of  carrying  out  his  instructions. 
They  were  not  by  any  means  such  as  would  lead  the  people  to 
appreciate  or  desire  a  pastor,  or  to  call  forth  contributions  to 
su{)port  one.  It  should  be  noted  that  Chinese  heathenism  has 
in  it  nothing  that  answers  to  the  Christian  idea  of  giving  to  the 
Lord.  What  the  Chinese  give  to  temples  and  theatricals  is  really 
a  tax,  collected  by  the  priests  in  virtue  of  a  custom  that  has  all 
the  practical  force  of  a  law.  A  new  and  a  Christian  duty  has  to 
be  instilled  into  the  minds  of  the  people,  and  the  habit  of  giving 
cultivated.  To  develop  in  new  converts  this  grace  of  giving  for 
the  sup[)ort  of  the  gos[)el,  is  one  of  the  most  important  of  a  mis- 
sionary's duties.  In  order  to  success,  a  sine  qua  non  is  a  suitable 
object,  one  that  appeals  to  the  convictions  of  the  people,  and  in  its 
effect  looks  towards  a  self-suj)ported  pastorate  as  the  ultimate 
condition  of  an  indigenous  and  self-sustaining  church.  To  achieve 
this  result  will,  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  require 
patient  and  persevering  effort.  To  fail  in  doing  this  work  is  a 
very  serious  failure. 

Chapter  VIII. 

Money  as  a  Factor  in  Mission   Work. 

Dr.  Nevins'  theories  in  regard  to  the  use  of  money  in  connection 
with  mission  work,  seem  to  me  to  be  both  unsatisfactory  and 
inconsistent.  He  commences  his  book  by  an  elaborate  argument 
against  the  use  of  money,  especially  opposing  the  use  of  paid 
helpers  as  demoralizing  the  church  and  fostering  a  mercenary 
spirit.  He  is  indeed  careful  to  say  that  he  does  not  oppose  the 
use  of  such  helpers  in  loto.  But  he  evidently  regards  their  excessive 
use  as  the  crying  evil  of  the  times  in  missionary  work.  He  cites  at 
length  the  example  and  practice  of  Paul  (pages  twenty  and  twenty- 
one),  but  finally  comes  to  a  point  where  he  cannot  shut  his  eyes  to 
the  glaring  inconsistency  presented  in  tiie  fact  that  he  himself  and 
his  missionary  colleagues  were  paid  agents.  He  makes  a  vigorous 
effort  to  break  the  force  of  this  objection  by  showing  that  the  cases 


1900.]  A   REVIEW  OF  "METHODS  OF  MISSION    WORK."  225 

are  entirely  different.  Whatever  may  be  thought  of  his  argament 
on  this  point,  the  inconsistency  still  remains  as  a  fact,  especially 
in  the  eyes  of  the  native  convert  and  preacher.  In  his  effort  to 
remove  the  inconsistency  he  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  if  the 
circumstances  were  similar,  and  such  a  course  would  secure  the 
end  it  served  in  apostolic  times,  missionaries  would,  in  his  opinion, 
gladly  adopt  the  self-supporting  life  of  Paul.  There  were  no  doubt 
in  the  first  heroic  beginnings  of  modern  missions  some  who  ap- 
proximated such  a  standard,  and  otherKS  who  were  ready  to  attempt 
it,  had  it  been  deemed  necessary  or  advisable.  It  is  probable,  how- 
ever, that  there  are  at  the  present  time  but  very  few  who  would  be 
ready  for  such  an  undertaking.  It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the 
similarity  of  language,  laws,  employment,  and  social  habits,  on 
which  Dr.  Nevius  lays  stress  in  the  case  of  Paul  and  his  companions, 
do  actually  exist  in  full  force  in  the  case  of  home  missionaries, 
snch  as  in  the  United  States  go  to  the  destitute  fields  of  the  great 
West.  Yet  where  are  the  men  who  are  ready  to  cut  loose  from  all 
home  snpi^ort  and,  like  Paul,  undertake  the  work  of  founding  and 
building  up  churches  at  their  own  charges?  This  I  say  without 
any  desire  or  intention  to  detract  one  iota  from  the  self-denying 
work  done  by  many  of  our  home  missionaries,  or  to  intimate  that 
there  is  any  obligation  resting  on  them  to  relieve  the  church  by 
supporting  themselves. 

It  is  a  singular  thing  that  so  acute  a  man  as  Dr.  Nevius  did 
not  see  that,  all  explanations  to  the  contrary  notwithstanding, 
this  one  glaring  inconsistency,  that  he  himself  was  a  paid  agent, 
did  in  fact  take  all  the  wind  ont  of  the  extended  canvas  he  was 
setting  to  carry  him  to  the  land  of  no  paid  agents  in  mission  work. 
He  forgot  that  he  was  living  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century 
of  the  Christian  era,  that  he  came  to  China  as  the  representative  of 
a  great  and  rich  church,  as  the  embodiment  of  a  civilization  higher 
in  its  arts,  sciences,  education,  and  social  life,  than  the  one  to 
which  he  came,  that  he  was  protected  in  his  personal  and  civic  rights 
by  the  ajgis  of  a  great  nation,  that  the  commerce  of  the  great 
West,  from  which  he  came  and  with  which  in  spite  of  himself 
he  was  associated,  was  pouring  itself  into  China.  In  these  circum- 
stances it  was  simply  impossible  for  him,  or  for  any  other  man, 
to  disconnect  himself  as  a  missionary  from  the  consequences  and 
concomitants  of  these  things.  In  our  modern  Christian  civiliza- 
tion money  is  an  omnipresent  force  which  cannot  be  discarded  any 
more  than  we  can  discard  the  air  we  breathe.  It  is  essential  to  the 
success  of  every  euterprize,  religious  as  well  as  secular.  Nor  is  this 
to  the  discredit  of  religion  any  more  than  it  is  to  the  discredit  of 
science  or  education.    It  is  perfectly  inevitable  that  money  should 


226  THE   CHINESE  RECORDER.  [May, 

play  an  important  role  in  the  propagation  of  the  gospel  in  this  age 
of  the  world.  This  is  pre-emineotly  true  in  such  a  country  as 
China,  where  the  use  of  money  is  so  universal  and  so  thoroughly 
understood. 

Some  twenty  years  ago,  Dr.  Luther  H.  Gulick  came  to  Tuog- 
chow  in  the  interest  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  and  in  the 
course  of  conversation  criticised  with  some  severity  the  policy  of 
mission  work  in  China  in  regard  to  the  use  of  money,  saying  that  in 
the  Hawaiian  Islands  the  gospel  had  been  introduced  and  propagated 
without  the  use  of  money ;  that  the  natives  paid  their  own  preachers, 
built  their  own  churches,  and  by  and  by  gave  handsomely  to  the 
support  of  the  missionaries,  and  added  that  the  same  thing  should 
have  been  done  in  China.  To  this  I  replied  that  if  his  father  and 
those  who  followed  him  had  come  to  China,  and  Dr.  Legge  and  those 
who  followed  him  had  gone  to  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  the  result 
would  not  have  been  essentially  diiFerent  in  either  case.  It  was 
not  the  superior  discernment  of  the  missionaries,  but  the  wholly 
diiFerent  character  and  circumstances  of  the  people  that  made  the 
result  there  different  from  what  it  was  here.  In  the  one  case  the 
missionaries  had  to  deal  with  a  barbarous  people,  who  scarcely 
knew  what  money  was ;  in  the  other  they  had  to  do  with  a 
civilized  people,  who  understood  to  perfection  the  place  and  power 
of  money. 

Several  independent  missions  have  been  begun  and  are  working 
in  China  which  aim  at  a  higher  standard  of  self-sacrifice  and  a  nearer 
approach  to  Chinese  standards  of  living  than  other  missions, 
employing  few  if  any  helpers  and  opening  no  schools.  Whether  in 
proportion  to  the  whole  number  of  years  of  missionary  service,  and 
the  money  expended,  they  have  made  more  or  better  converts  or 
have  done  more  towards  the  speedy  Christianizing  of  China,  is 
very  open  to  question.  Comparisons  of  this  kind  are  invidious  it  is 
true,  but  when  great  questions  of  mission  policy  are  at  issue,  it  is 
sometimes  necessary  to  make  them.  Every  theory  must  finally  come 
to  the  test  of  results. 

In  his  effort  to  avoid  awakening  mercenary  motives  amongst 
his  converts,  Dr.  Nevius  was  in  a  sense  acting  out  of  harmony  with 
himself.  He  was  naturally  a  large-hearted  and  generous  man.  He 
entertained  liberally  both  foreign  and  Chinese  guests.  He  did  not 
stint  the  wages  he  paid  those  in  his  employ.  When  travelling  he 
paid  generously  for  lodging  and  attendance  at  the  inns  where  he 
stopped.  He  was  liberal  to  the  poor  and  the  unfortunate.  When 
itinerating  he  entertained  freely  those  who  came  from  a  distance 
to  his  meetings.  These  things,  while  they  show  that  the  policy  he 
advocates  was  not  a  mere  matter  of  economy  but  from  a  high  sense 


1900.]  A  REVIEW   OF   "METHODS   OP  MISSION    WORK."  227 

of  propriety  and  dnty,  yet  operated  ia  a  very  considerable  measure 
against  that  policy.  His  disposition  to  assist  the  weak  led  hitn  to 
gTve  somewhat  freely  for  native  charch  buildings,  as  is  seen  in  the 
statement  of  results  already  given.  Some  of  those  who  have  suc- 
ceeded to  his  work  have  not  hesitated  to  say  that  if  he  had  lived 
more  up  to  his  theory  in  this  regard,  it  would  have  been  an  ad- 
vantage to  his  work. 

In  the  propagation  of  the  gospel  in  China,  wisdom  does  not  lie 
in  the  disuse  of  money,  but  in  such  a  use  of  it  as  will  make  it  serve 
the  high  and  important  ends  to  which  it  is  adapted,  whilst  avoiding 
as  far  as  possible  the  abuses  to  which  it  is  liable.  From  this 
point  of  view  I  cannot  but  regard  Dr.  Nevius'  treatment  of  the 
subject  as  extremely  unsatisfactory.  He  assumes  that  the  origin 
and  growth  of  his  sixty  stations  was  practically  free  from  money 
influence  ;  whereas,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  money  scattered  with  an 
open  hand  by  the  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  was  the  very 
seed  plot  from  which  his  work  grew  and  on  which  for  a  time  it 
flourished.  So  far  from  being  free  from  selfish  or  mercenary  ideas  it 
was  steeped  in  such  ideas  from  the  foundation.  It  is  the  sober 
judgment  of  most,  if  not  all,  who  have  had  to  do  with  his  stations, 
that  worldly  and  mercenary  considerations  had,  to  say  the  least, 
full  as  large  a  place  in  the  minds  of  the  people  as  has  been  the 
case  in   the  work  of  the  average  missionary. 

Chapter  IX. 

General  Remarks — Self-support. 

Without  doubt  the  book  has  served  to  call  the  attention  of 
missionaries,  especially  of  new  missionaries,  to  the  great  importance 
of  urging  self-support  on  the  native  churches,  and  in  so  far  the 
book  has  served  a  good  purpose.  It  should  not  be  assumed, 
however,  that  self-support  has  not  always  been  a  prime  consideration 
with  the  great  majority  of  missionaries,  especially  in  purely  heathen 
countries.  In  Roman  Catholic  lauds,  where  churches  have  sprun«- 
np  in  the  presence  of  a  church  supported  by  the  state  or  by  invested 
endowments,  the  case  may  perhaps  be  different.  The  circulation 
of  the  book  and  the  stress  laid  on  its  principles  by  parties  in  the 
home  lands,  have  led  in  not  a  few  cases  to  the  taking  of  radical 
measures  in  the  direction  of  self-support.  In  some  instances  these 
measures  have  resulted  in  good  to  the  church,  but  in  others  the 
result  has  been  disastrous,  jeopardizing  the  husbandry  of  years. 
Many  cases  also  of  seeming  success,  achieved  by  this  strong  pressure, 
need  a  supplementary  report  two  or  three  years  later  before  a  final 
success  is  assumed.  Some  twenty-five  years  ago  I  assisted  in  putting 
on  this  strong  pressure  to  a  native  church  to  support  a  pastor. 


228  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [May, 

They  assumed  the  responsibility  under  pressure,  and  I  might  then 
have  made  a  very  hopeful  report.  They  did  not,  however,  carry  the 
burden  long,  and  the  final  result  was  worse  than  nothing  to  the 
interests  of  the  church.  Self-support  must  come  as  the  result  of 
training,  and  must  be  urged  with  kindness  and  a  due  consideration 
of  the  circumstances.  Force  will  not  achieve  it.  It  is  perfectly 
natural  that  more  stress  should  be  laid  on  self-support  thau  iu 
former  years.  There  is  gradually  coming  into  existence  a  church 
able  to  support  something.  In  earlier  years  there  was  no  con- 
stituency to  support  anything.  Self-support  implies  a  church  with 
sufficient  members  to  support  something.  In  many  places  the 
effusive  urging  of  self-support  by  secretaries  and  others  is  wholly 
beside  the  mark.  There  must  be  existent  iu  one  place  a  company 
of  believers  sufficient  to  form  a  church  before  self-support  is  a 
pertinent  theme.  Statistics  show  that  in  the  United  States  it  re- 
qaires  on  an  average  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  church  members 
in  good  standing  to  support  a  pastor.  Given  in  China  that  number 
so  situated  that  they  can  attend  one  church,  and  no  difficulti/ 
will  he  experienced  in  getting  them  to  support  a  pastor.  It  is  vain  to 
expect  Chinese  Christians  just  emerging  from  heathenism  to  do 
more  in  this  regard  than  the  long  established  churches  of  Christian 
la  nds. 

Native   Preachers, 

The  sentiment  created  by  the  book,  especially  amongst  the 
newer  missionaries,  has,  without  doubt,  operated  to  a  considerable 
extent  against  the  employment  of  native  preachers.  This  effect  has 
probably  been  less  here  in  Shantung  than  in  most  other  places, 
and  has  often  been  unconscious  to  the  persons  so  aiFected.  Whether 
it  has  been  a  gain  or  a  loss  in  the  work  of  evangelization,  is  a 
serious  question.  For  my  part  I  am  profoundly  convinced  that  it 
has  been  a  loss,  and  in  this  conviction  I  am  supported  by  a  large 
majority  of  the  members  of  the  Presbyterian  Mission  in  this 
province. 

This  is  an  age  that  counts  the  cost  of  things.  The  missionary 
enterprize  is  a  question  of  money  as  well  as  of  men,  and  just  now 
the  men  are  abundant  and  the  money  is  scarce.  Young  men  are 
volunteering  on  every  hand,  bat  there  is  no  money  to  send  them 
out  and  support  them.  What  shall  be  done, — use  all  the  money 
to  send  men  and  women  from  America,  or  use  a  part  of  it 
to  train  and  use  Chinese  ?  Not  long  since  in  addressing  a  meeting 
of  missionaries  in  one  of  the  largest  missionary  centers  in  China,  I 
laid  down  the  proposition  that  in  the  direct  work  of  evangelization  a 
properly  trained  native  was  superior  to  the  average  foreign  mission- 


1900.]  A   REVIEW    OF   "  METHODS  OF  MISSION   WORK."  229 

ary.  This  sentiment  met  with  the  full  approval  of  every  one  of  the 
large  company  of  missionaries  there  present.  The  Chinese  preacher 
has  some  disabilities,  it  is  true,  bnt  they  are  not  as  great  as  those 
of  the  foreigner.  Experience  has  fnlly  shown  that  the  large  majority 
of  converts  are  brought  in  by  the  preaching  and  exhortation  of 
Chinese  helpers,  not  by  that  of  the  foreign  missionary.  Now  after 
making  the  most  liberal  allowauce  for  the  sahiry  of  the  native 
preacher,  it  still  remains  that  the  salary  of  one  foreign  missionary 
will  support  at  least  fifteen  trained  native  evangelists,  while  the 
training  of  these  men  will  not  aggregate  more  than  the  outfit  and 
passage  of  the  missionary  together  with  the  time  spent  in  learning 
the  language  and  in  furloughs.  The  number  of  failures  in  the  case 
of  native  preachers  is  not  greater  in  proportion  to  the  money  ex- 
pended than  it  is  in  the  case  of  missionaries  who  not  un frequently 
fail  and  go  home  or  go  into  secular  pursuits  ;  nor  is  the  harm  done 
in  the  former  case  any  greater,  if  as  great  as  it  is  in  the  latter. 
So  that  from  every  point  of  view  it  is  at  least  fifteen  times  as 
advantageous  to  spend  the  available  money  on  native  preachers  as 
to  spend  it  on  foreign  missionaries.  This  is  said  not  with  reference 
to  stationed  pastors,  but  solely  with  reference  to  those  engaged 
in  aggressive  evangelistic  work.  Moreover,  it  is  of  course  under- 
stood that  there  are  other  things  apart  from  evangelistic  work  for 
which  the  foreign  missionary  alone  is  qualified,  and  in  any  case 
a  certain  proportion  of  missionaries  are  required  in  schools  and 
for  the  teaching  and  training  of  preachers,  as  also  for  the  general 
oversight  and  administration  of  the  whole  work.  This  subject 
merits  the  attention  of  those  who  are  aiming  to  construct  a 
science  of  missions  on  economic  lines. 

Scripture  Argument. 

In  his  closing  remarks  (page  95)  the  author  sums  up  his 
main  contention  as  follows  :  "  I  believe  we  have  not  accomplished 
what  we  might  if  we  had  followed  more  closely  the  teaching  and 
example  given  for  our  guidance  in  the  Scriptures.  I  believe  that 
the  injudicious  use  of  money,  and  agencies  depending  on  money, 
have  retarded  and  crippled  our  work  and  produced  a  less  self- 
reliant  and  stalwart  type  of  Christians  than  we  otherwise  should 
have  had."  Lest,  however,  he  should  be  misunderstood,  and  sup- 
posed to  hold  that  the  use  of  money  in  mission  work  is  not 
legitimate,  he  goes  on  in  the  next  paragraph  to  say  that  "  in  the 
nature  of  things  pecuniary  aid  is  an  absolute  necessity,  not  only 
for  sending  out  and  supporting  well  qualified  and  accredited  mis- 
sionaries, but  also  for  hospital  and  dispensary  work,  for  the  prepara- 
tion and  dissemination  of  a   Christian  literature,  for    establishing 


230  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [May, 

high  institutions  of  learning,  and  for  furnishing,  as  needed,  grants- 
in-aid  for  primary  or  preparatory  Christian  schools."  Thus  it  comes 
out  as  before  that  the  thing  in  which  the  use  of  money  is  injudicious 
is  the  employing  of  native  preachers,  and  Scripture  guidance  is 
once  more  appealed  to  in  support.  If,  however.  Scripture  authority 
on  this  matter  is  good  in  one  point,  it  ought  to  be  equally  good  on  all 
points.  If  Paul  did  not  hire  Timothy  and  Titus  and  Mark  to  preach, 
neither  did  he  himself  get  an  outfit,  and  a  yearly  salary,  and  a 
house  built  for  him  at  Ephesus  or  Corinth,  nor  was  he  supplied  with 
money  to  open  hospitals  and  dispensaries,  nor  to  found  schools, 
either  higher  or  lower.  When  Scripture  is  appealed  to  on  a  given 
subject  it  should  be  allowed  to  bear  on  all  points  alike.  It  loses 
all  its  force  when  brought  to  bear  on  one  point  and  ignored  in 
all  other  matters  of  the  same  kind.  This  Scripture  argument 
from  apostolic  example  needs  to  be  used  with  discrimination.  It 
is  so  easy  to  cite  apostolic  practice  when  it  seems  to  suit  and  pass 
it  by  in  other  cases.  Furthermore,  in  using  this  argument  a  proper 
regard  must  ever  be  had  to  the  changed  circumstances  of  modern 
times.  It  does  not  follow  that  because  the  apostles  did  or  did  not 
do  a  certain  thing  that  we  must  necessarily  be  governed  by  the 
same  rule.  Circumstances  alter  cases.  If  Paul  had  had  a  strong 
and  wealthy  church  behind  him,  he  would  no  doubt  have  done  many 
things  which  he  did  not  do,  for  the  simple  reason  that  it  was  not  in 
his  power.  Dr.  Nevius  has  used  this  argument  from  apostolic 
practice  very  freely,  not  always,  I  fear,  with  sufficient  regard  to 
the  changed  circumstances  of  the  case. 

Final  Summary. 

The  fundamental  fallacy  which  runs  throughout  the  whole 
book,  is  the  apparently  unconscious  assumption  that  the  develop- 
ment of  the  numerous  stations  under  the  author's  care  was  a 
perfectly  normal  process,  in  keeping  with  the  ordinary  conditions  of 
mission  work,  and  as  such  could  legitimately  be  made  the  ground 
of  a  general  argument  on  mission  methods.  On  page  seventy-six 
he  says :  "  It  has  been  proved  that  the  extension  of  country  work 
and  the  establishment  of  new  stations  is  practicable  without  paid 
preachers.  The  more  than  sixty  stations  under  my  care  have  been 
commenced  within  eight  years  almost  exclusively  through  the  volun- 
tary efforts  of  unpaid  church  members.  My  helpers,  who  have 
never  at  any  time  been  more  than  four,  have  only  followed  np, 
fostered,  and  directed  the  work  done  by  unpaid  Christians."  The 
question  is,  was  this  a  normal  cane  which  may  be  fairly  cited  as 
a  precedent  on  which  to  base  a  priuciple  or  a  rule  of  action  ?    To 


1900.]  A    REVIEW  OF   "methods  OP  MISSION  WORK."  231 

show  that  it  was  not  a  normal  case  it  is  only  necessary  to  refer 
to  the  facts  already  cited  in  the  historical  statement,  viz.,  that  Dr. 
Nevins  had  himself,  previous  to  the  eit^ht  years  mentioned,  wrought 
for  seven  years  with  the  same  policy  in  his  mind,  on  a  territory 
immediately  adjoining  that  on  which  the  above  achievement  was 
made,  yet  without  appreciable  result.  Now  which  should  be  re- 
garded as  the  normal  field?  Certainly  the  former,  where  he  was 
dealing  with  the  unmoved  and  unresponsive  masses  of  normal 
heathenism,  rather  than  the  latter,  where  he  was  dealing  with  a 
people  powerfully  impressed  by  a  munificent  charity,  a  charity  which 
had  both  broken  the  spell  of  hereditary  prejudice  and  given 
large  promise  of  more  good  things  to  come.  If  there  had  been  no 
famine,  Dr.  Nevius  would  in  all  human  probability  have  continued 
to  go  over  his  chosen  "  beat "  with  the  patient  persistence  that 
characterized  his  life,  but  no  "  Methods  of  Mission  "Work "  would 
have  been  written,  for  the  sufficient  reason  that  there  would  have 
been  no  text.  I  say  this  with  the  more  confidence,  in  that  I  myself 
wrought  for  more  time  than  Dr.  Nevius'  seven  unfruitful  years  on 
substantially  the  same  lines  with  but  very  meagre  results — certainly 
nothing  that  would  serve  as  an  illustrative  case  on  which  to  base 
a  new  method  of  mission  work.  This  mistaken  idea  colors  the  whole 
book  and  in  large  measure  vitiates  the  force  of  the  entire  argument. 
He  who  reads  the  book  without  a  correct  understanding  of  the 
circumstances  which  gave  occasion  to  it,  will  almost  certainly  be 
misled  by  it. 

Conclusion. 

Although  the  leading  theories  advocated  by  the  author  are 
deemed  partial  and  exaggerated,  as  set  forth  in  the  several  points 
mentioned  above,  yet  incidentally  the  book  contains  many  things 
well  and  wisely  said.  A  man  of  so  much  experience  and  practical 
sense  could  not  write  on  such  a  theme  without  saying  many  excellent 
things.  Even  the  wrong  impressions  made  are  in  a  sense  excusable. 
It  is  a  rare  thing  that  a  man  assails  a  supposed  evil  without  ex- 
aggerating it,  or  proposes  a  remedy  without  overstating  its  impor- 
tance. In  writing  this  review  my  desire  has  been  to  give  a  fair 
statement  of  the  whole  case  in  the  light  of  subsequent  developments, 
so  that  without  detracting  from  the  just  merits  of  the  book,  I 
might  correct  and  oppose  some  of  the  misleading  impressions  it  has 
made  and  is  still  making.  I  am  not  by  any  means  alone  in  my  view 
of  the  character  of  these  impressions.  In  connection  with  the  writ- 
ing of  this  review  I  have  sought  the  opinion  and  advice  of  a  consid. 
erable  number  of  the  leading  missionaries  of  North  China.  Their 
opinions  are  quite  in  accord  with  my  own. 


232  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [May, 

I  sincerely  trust  I  have  done  no  iujnstice  to  the  memory  or  the 
work  of  the  honored  brother  whose  book  I  have  reviewed.  As  his 
own  work  is  prominently  introduced,  being  as  it  were  the  backbone 
of  the  book,  it  was  impossible  to  write  a  satisfactory  review  without 
introducing  a  certain  amount  of  what  might  perhaps  seem  to  be 
personalities,  which,  however,  are  not  in  the  least  intended  as  such. 
I  have  written,  as  stated  at  the  outset,  very  reluctantly,  and  only 
because  I  felt  that  my  obligations  to  the  cause  of  missions  demanded 
that  I  should  write.  I  hereby  commend  what  I  have  written  to 
the  candid  consideration  of  all  missionaries  and  friends  of  missions, 
hoping  that  it  may  contribute  somewhat  to  a  better  understanding 
of  the  problems  involved  in  the  conduct  of  mission  work,  and  that 
the  Head  of  the  church  may  vouchsafe  his  blessing  upon  it. 


Personal  Relations  between  the  Missionary  and  his  Parish. 

BY  REV.    E.   E.   AIKEN. 
(Concluded  froTTi  page  128,  March  number). 

'ET  the  missionary's  time  is  too  precious  to  be  lightly  given  to 
persons  not  ready  to  profit  by  it,  and  those  with  whom  he 
has  much  to  do,  must  early  learn  to  know  its  value.     Nor  is 
it  desirable  that  because  he  may  seem  to  some  of  his  visitors  to  have 
a  large  and  comfortable  establishment  they  should  also  think  of  him 
as  a  gentleman  of  leisure,  with  nothing  in  particular  to  do.     While 
detracting  not  at  all  from  His  pleasure  in  receiving  them  and  giving 
them  all  the  time  that   may  be  necessary,  experie  nee  is  likely  to 
develop  a  pretty  sure  instinct  that  will  tell  him  when,  sometimes  in 
a  few  moments,  sometimes  only  after  a  long  conversation,  he  has  done 
all  he  can  for  them.  Nor  is  there  any  harm  done  if,  besides  understand- 
ing clearly   that  the  missionary  is  glad  to  see  them  and  talk  with 
them,  they  also  understand  that  he  has  important  work  on  hand  ;  and 
if  he  can  make  them  feel  the  importance  of  that  work  on  their  behalf 
and  interest  them  in  it,  he  will  have  achieved  a  crowning  triumph. 

The  prime  necessity  of  acquiring  the  language  of  the  people 
need  not  be  dwelt  upon,  nor  the  obvious  &ct  that  with  increasing 
knowledge  and  use  of  the  colloquial  there  naturally  comes  also  an 
increasing  nearness  to,  and  understanding  of,  those  whom  the  mis- 
sionary seeks  to  reach ;  but  we  may  observe  that  along  with  study 
of  manners  and  customs,  and  ordinary,  social,  and  familiar  intercourse 
with  the  people,  familiarity  with  the  common  spoken  and  written 


1900.]  PERSONAL  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  THE  MISSIONARY  AND  HIS  PARISH.  233 

laiigunge  is  valuable  beyond  all  comparison  for  giving  an  insight  into, 
and  acquaintance  with,  their  mind  and  cliMracter.  "  Knowledge  in 
power  ;"  and  this  particular  kind  of  knowledge  above  all  others  may 
give  the  power  to  fix  in  the  conscience  the  arrow  of  conviction  or  plant 
in  the  heart  the  seed  of  truth  that  may  afterwards  yield  mighty 
results.  It  is  better  to  study  ten  hours  and  then  say  ten  sentences 
that  |hit  the  nail  on  the  head  than  to  sib  around  all  day  with  imper- 
fect knowledge  of  a  visitor's  laiiguane,  still  more  imperfect  knowledgo 
of  his  ideas,  and  finally  not  hit  anything. 

The  Lord  who  came  from  the  light  and  blessedness  of  heaven  to 
the  darkness  and  coldness  of  earth,  to  save  us  who  were  lost,  made 
Himself  one  of  ue  in  order  to  do  so.  He  had  His  home  in  a  despised 
village,  learned  and  practised  the  trade  of  a  carpenter,  lived  and  ate 
and  walked  and  talked  with  us  a!id  as  one  of  ourselves,  and  called 
Himself  the  Son  of  Man.  It  is  one  of  the  highest  privileges  of  the 
missionary  thus  to  identify  himself  also,  in  ways  that  may  be  open 
to  hifn,  with  those  to  whom  he  ministers.  Yet  as  the  Lord  never 
lost  the  dignity  which  belonged  to  Him  as  divine,  and  even  while 
showing  the  most  perfect  humility  said  to  His  disciples  that  they 
rightly  called  Him  Lord  and  Master,  for  such  He  was,  so  the  Lord's 
servant,  while  arrogating  to  himself  nothing  of  lordship  over  God's 
heritage,  should  not,  on  the  other  hand,  lose  anything  of  the  true 
dignity  and  self-respect  which  belongs  to  him  also  as  a  son  of  God  and 
minister  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  may  wear  the  clothes,  eat  tl>e  food, 
and  observe  the  customs  of  the  people  among  whom  he  is;  but  he 
does  not  and  should  not  thereby  lose  his  own  individuality,  nor  should 
he  hesitate  to  insist,  in  many  cases,  on  the  respect  due  to  himself  and 
bis  message,  nor  fail  to  require  from  those  in  different  stations  tlie 
observance  of  the  forms  of  respect  appropriate  to  their  positions.  He 
may  feel  that  his  servant,  for  example,  is  an  earnest  Christian,  and, 
as  such,  is  more  a  friend  than  a  servant  ;  nevertheless,  his  master, 
while  not  forgetting  the  deeper  spiritual  relation  and  taking  pains 
never  to  violate  the  spirit  of  it,  must  yet  insist  thak  his  servant,  while 
he  is  a  servant,  conduct  himself  as  befits  his  position ;  for  instance,  iu 
China  he  must  not  sit  in  his  master's  presence,  nor  appear  before 
him  with  his  queue  coiled  around  his  head,   nor  address  him    as 

Points  like  these,  of  which  there  are  not  a  few,  not  to  mention 
also  such  elementary  virtues  as  promptness,  energy,  and  carefulness, 
derive  a  special  importance  from  the  fact  that  almost  every  mission- 
ary, instead  of  being  connected,  like  the  minister  at  home,  with  a 
svi^tem  already  established  and  in  full  operation,  which  sustains  and 
inspires  him  and  on  which  he  can  rely,  finds  himself  at  the  head  of  a 
more  or  less  considerable  establishment  of  servants,  workmen,  preach- 


234  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [Maj% 

ers,  teachers,  scholars,  church-merabers,  and  others  who  depend  to 
a  great  extent  for  the  spirit  and  morale  of  their  lives,  as  well  as  for 
the  conduct  of  their  work,  upoa  him. 

The  missiouiiry,  indeed,  like  other  Christians,  n:iust  never  forget 
the  "  equal  and  obedient  servantship  of  all  men"  of  which  a  great 
preacher  has  spoken  to  us,  himself  h'avin<^  one  of  the  most  splendid 
examples  of  such  servantship  seen  in  our  generation;  but  it  is  no 
advantage  to  him  or  to  any  one  for  him  to  allow  himself  to  be 
pursued  from  one  end  of  a  street  to  the  other  by  uu  importunate  if 
not  a  howling  begt^ar,  or  to  be  reviled  or  ridiculed  by  small  gamins 
at  every  street  corner,  or  to  be  taken  possession  of,  room,  clothes,  bag, 
and  baggage  by  an  open-mouthed  crowd  at  an  inn.  He  may  not 
easily  acquire  the  well-nigh  inimitable  faculty  possessed  by  some 
natives  of  the  soil  of  rapidly  and  pleasantly  disposing  of  superfluities 
and  nuisances  without  giving  any  offence  ;  but  he  can  generally 
learn  how  to  prevent  a  beggar  from  following  him  ;  the  street  gamins 
can  usually  be  made  respectful  by  an  appeal  to  their  parents  or,  if 
necessary,  to  the  nearest  constable  ;  and  the  crowds  at  the  inns,  though 
it  must  be  admitted  that  they  are  sometimes  more  difficult  to  deal 
■with,  will  often  yield  to  a  request  on  the  missionary's  part,  sometimes 
reinforced  by  an  appeal  to  the  inn-keeper,  for  a  little  time  of  quiet 
and  privacy,  before  receiving  visitors  or  talkino  to  the  crowd. 

The  same  principle  applies  to  reviling  and  insults  generally. 
The  missionary  is  indeed  a  follower  of  Him  "  who,  when  He  was  re- 
viled, reviled  not  again  :  when  He  suffered  (He)  threatened  not;" 
nor  is  he  ever  to  fail  to  practise  and  inculcate  the  perfect  patience 
of  the  Master  as  the  example  for  His  disciples  in  all  ages.  But  perfect 
patience  is  entirely  consistent  with  the  use  of  right  methods  to 
restrain  men  from  doing  things  which  harm  themselves  as  well  as 
every  one  else  ;  the  effort  to  restrain  them  being  made  in  a  spirit  free 
from  all  trace  of  vindictiveness,  malice,  or  revenge,  and  for  the  sake 
of  their  own  good,  besides  that  of  others;  and  reviling  again  is  totally 
different  from  a  use  of  the  properly  appointed  means  to  prevent 
insults  and  annoyances  not  only  unpleasant  in  themselves  but  likely 
to  be  seriously  injurious  in  their  effect;  on  mission  work.  No  church 
in  the  West,  with  rare  exceptions,  perhaps,  would  tolerate  libels  in 
the  public  prints,  accusing  its  preachers  and  members  of  misdemean- 
ors, or  using  the  grossest  language  concerning  them,  which  is  a  fair 
parallel  for  reviling  in  the  East.  One  or  two  visits  from  parties 
commissioned  to  inquire  into  the  matter,  or  an  application  to  the 
magistrate,  if  necessary,  will  often  bring  about  a  retraction  and 
apology  ;  and  a  proclamation  from  the  magistrate,  which  it  is  often 
easy  to  obtain,  may  be  quite  sufficient  to  prevent  any  similar  trouble 
in  future. 


1900.]   PERSONAL  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  THE  MISSIONARY  AND  HIS  PARISH.  235 

Of  tliG  last  importance  to  the  missionary  is  ns  thorough  a 
practical  knowledge  us  it  is  possible  to  get  of  what  his  people  are 
di)iti<^  and  how  they  do  it  in  their  ordinary  life  and  pursuits.  To  be 
able  to  distinguish  the  true  from  the  false,  is  of  the  greatest  value 
also  in  all  practical  dealings.  "  The  missionary  comes  to  save  the 
people,  and  they  regard  him  as  a  playthinsr,"  said  a  native  preacher; 
ImU  t\()thing  will  more  quickly  command  their  respect  than  the 
ability  r,o  see  through  externaliLies  and  falsities.  Nor  is  anything 
more  important  for  them.  That  they  should  be  genuine  in  their 
motives  and  feelings,  true  in  speech,  faithful  in  work,  and  honest  in 
their  dealitigs,  is  a  first  essential ;  and  if  the  missionary  knows  that 
the  cloth  only  cost  110  cash  a  foot  instead  of  120,  as  the  servant 
may  claim  who  has  been  sent  to  buy  it,  or  that  the  proclamation  of  the 
ofiieial  virtually  exonerates  the  wrong-doers  instead  of  threatening 
them  with  the  rigor  of  the  law;  if  the  missionary  knows  these  and 
similar  things,  and  the  tnan  with  whom  he  is  dealing,  from  official  to 
servant,  knows  that  he  knows  them,  he  has  an  inestimable  advantage, 
both  for  the  immediate  purpose  in  hand  and  for  his  greater  ultimate 
purpose  of  rectifying  life  and  character,  so  far  as  he  may  be  able  to 
accomplish  anything  towards  this.  He  must  not,  indeed,  go  from 
unsuspecting  innocence,  not  to  say  credulity,  on  the  one  hand, 
making  him  the  victim  of  designing  persons  who  are  quite  ready  to 
deceive  foreigners  (  ^  ^  ^|>  0  A  )?  to  a  universal  suspiciousness 
that  will  chill  and  alieuate  everybody,  on  the  other  ;  as  usual,  the 
true  path  lies  between  the  extremes,  in  that  open-raindedness  to 
the  truth  on  either  side  which  comes  from  a  thorough  knowledge  of 
one's  ground,  a  knowledge  we  do  not  believe  it  at  all  impossible  to 
obtain. 

The  same  principle  applies  to  the  investigation  of  difficulties  or 
cases  of  one  sort  or  another  that  may  arise.  If,  in  this  connection, 
we  are  met  with  such  appalling  statements  in  regard  to  one  Oriental 
people  as  that  they  are  in  character  "a  bottomless  pit,"  we  may  set 
over  against  this  the  statement  made  with  regard  to  the  same  people, 
that  they  have  "  no  secrets "  among  themselves.  Eiich  of  these 
statements  contains  a  truth  and  an  exaggeration.  We  fully  believe 
that  there  is  a  fundamental  lack  in  any  character  not  based 
on  the  knowledge  and  love  of  God  ;  but  wo  are  also  very  far  from 
believing  the  character  of  those  Oriental  peoples  with  which  we  are 
acquainted  to  be  an  inexplicable  puzzle,  widely  as  it  may  differ  from 
the  Western  type.  On  the  contrary,  we  venture  to  hold  the  opinion 
that  they  show  characteristically  quite  as  well  defined  leading 
motives  and  lines  of  action  as  most  peoples. 

Nor  do  we  believe  that  it  is  impossible  to  get  to  the  bottom  of 
things  in  the  East.     True,  we  have  some  recollections  of  page  after 


236  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [May, 

page  of  evidence  taken  down  carefully  by  a  missionary  from  the  lips 
of  a  supposed  eye-witness  in  a  murder  case,  who,  it  turned  out  after- 
wards, had  not  been  there  at  all,  but  had  "  personated  "  his  brother, 
both  before  the  magistrate  and  again  in  talking  with  the  mission- 
ary ;  the  brother,  who  had  been  the  real  eye-witness  of  the  affair 
being,  it  was  thought,  too  much  afraid  and  too  slow  of  speech  to 
appear  as  an  important  witness  !  But  it  is  by  no  means  easy  always 
to  get  at  the  truth  in  cases  which  occur  in  the  West  ;  and  bearing 
in  mind  the  antecedent  probabilities  of  a  case,  as  they  can  often  to 
a  great  extent  be  known  by  experience,  the  sources  from  which 
evidence  can  be  expected,  and  the  bearings  of  what  is  known  on  the 
probable  facts,  we  believe  that  patient  investigation,  with  a  reason- 
able degree  of  previous  general  knowledge  applicable  to  the  case, 
will  enable  one  to  get  at  the  facts  so  as  to  be  iu  most  cases  quite 
fairly  and  often  absolutely  sure  of  his  ground. 

The  missionary  generally  finds  it  essential  to  the  best,  largest, 
and  most  fruitful  work  that  he  should  by  no  means  himself  undertake 
to  be  the  sole  pastor  and  preacher  for  his  people.  Indeed,  how  can 
he,  when  his  parish  numbers  almost  always  hundreds  of  thousands, 
not  infrequently  millions  of  souls,  living  in  hundreds  if  not  thousands 
of  villages,  towns,  and  cities  ?  Hence  he  soon  finds  it  a  great  and 
important  part  of  his  business  to  associate  with  himself  in  his  work 
others  from  among  the  natives  of  the  soil,  the  choice,  training,  and 
superientendiug  of  whom  is  one  of  his  most  responsible  and  difficult 
duties. 

We  do  not  indorse  or  believe  the  sweeping  statement  sometimes 
made,  that  in  many  places  all  who  gather  around  a  missionary  do  so 
from  desire  for  gain,  or  for  some  material  benefit.  Yet  we  cannot 
forget  how  powerful  and  all-controlling  this  motive  is,  so  that  the 
missionary's  effort  many  times  is  chiefly  to  lift  people  up,  if  God  may 
enable  him  so  to  do,  from  sordid  and  selfish  motives  to  pure  and 
unselfish  ones.  Hence  he  must  constantly  strive  to  distinguish 
between  those  whose  motives  are  unworthy  and  those  who  come  from 
pure  motives  or  at  least  from  motives  among  which,  if  all  are  not 
entirely  pure  or  of  the  highest,  there  is  yet  a  genuine  love  for,  or 
interest  in,  the  gospel  or  the  Christian  life.  How  exceedingly 
important,  all-essential,  indeed,  it  is  for  the  whole  influence  and 
effect  of  his  efforts  that  the  chosen  instruments  and  constant 
associates  of  his  work  should  be  of  the  latter  class  rather  thaa 
of  the  former,  goes  without  saying. 

Oue  of  the  questions  which  often  besets  and  perplexes  the 
missionary  in  relation  to  his  people  is  that  of  the  wisdom  of  giving 
the  help  of  different  kinds  for  which  they  may  ask  him.  He  cannot 
rest  while  some  of  them  may  be  starving  and  freezing  in  times  of 


1 900.]  PERSONAL  RELATIONS  BETWEEN  THE  MISSIONARY  AND  HIS  PARISH.    237 

flood  and  famine,  nor  is  ifc  always  easy  to  refase  the  means  for 
getting  the  seed  to  plant  that  may  insure  life  and  comfort  for  the 
year  to  come,  nor  is  it  easier  sometimes  to  withhold  the  help  he 
might  give  to  prevent  palpable  injustice,  oppression,  or  cruel  treat- 
ment in  a  law-suit.  Generally  speaking  he  should,  of  course,  like 
any  Christian  anywhere,  do  all  h'e  can  to  relieve  the  distress  of  those 
around  him,  particularly  of  those  who  in  a  peculiar  sense  are 
intrusted  to  his  care.  But  he  must  not  forget  that  he  is  in  a 
special  position,  where  the  highest  interests  are  at  stake  and  where 
great  wisdom  is  required  to  know  how  to  proceed  along  this  line 
without  doing  harm  to  his  direct  and  more  important  work.  A  safe, 
practical  rule  that  can  often  be  followed  with  regard  to  giving  help 
is  to  do  little  or  nothing  privately,  thus  avoiding  the  establishing  of 
the  relation  between  the  missionary  and  a  church  member  or  other 
native  of  giving  and  receiving  help  of  these  kinds.  This  leaves  the 
missionary  free  to  act  in  his  true  character  as  pastor  and  teacher, 
adviser  and  guide ;  while,  on  the  other  hand,  much  good  may  also  be 
done  to  the  native  Christians  by  stirring  them  up  to  give  help 
directly  or  through  some  special  committee  or  organization  created 
for  the  purpose,  both  by  administering  funds  received  and  adding 
contributions  of  their  own. 

Another  relation  into  which  he  comes  with  his  people  is  that  of 
the  educator  of  their  children.  To  have  these  intrusted  to  his  care, 
to  be  by  the  slow  processes  of  education  made  clean  in  dress  and 
personal  habits,  sound  in  mind  and  pure  in  heart,  trained  for  the 
duties  of  life,  with  mental  powers  disciplined  to  do  its  work,  and 
moral  faculties  developed  to  meet  its  trials,  brings  him  into  one  of 
the  highest  and  most  significant  relations  towards  them  and  their 
whole  family  life  for  generations  to  come. 

We  have  sought  in  this  essay  to  present  a  picture  of  the  personal 
relations  between  the  missionary  and  what  may  be  called  liis  inner 
and  outer  parish,  not  forgetting  that  vs^hile  the  two  are  widely 
different,  and  he  is  especially  to  shepherd  the  household  of  faith, 
there  are  multitudes  without  of  whom  he  is  still  the  pastor.  It  may 
be  urged  that  in  many  spheres,  like  those  of  medical  work,  education, 
industrial  training,  and  literary  pursuits,  he  is  not  in  the  position  of 
a  pastor,  and  that  even  the  preaching  missionary  becomes  larpely  a 
superintendent  of  native  pastors  and  preachers  and  their  work,  so 
that  he,  too,  is,  to  a  great  extent,  not  in  direct  pastoral  relations  with 
his  people  if  they  can  still  be  called  such.  This  is,  in  one  sense, 
true;  nevertheless  we  hold  that  the  missionary  relation,  however 
widely  varied  its  activities  and  aspects  may  be,  and  they  are  almost 
all-comprehensive,  is  yet  essentially  the  pastoral  relation,  and  that 
this  perhaps  better  than  any  other  expresses  its  spirit,  work,  and 


238  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [May, 

aims.  Moreover,  few  men  are  prepared  to  be  superintendents  at 
once,  however  thorough  and  extensive  their  home  training  may  have 
been.  As  tiie  best  captain  oi  a  ship,  other  things  being  equal,  is  the 
man  who  knows,  largely  from  personal  experience,  the  life  and  work 
of  every  man  on  board,  from  chief  officer  to  fireman,  so  the  best 
pastor  of  pastors  is  the  man  who  has  himself,  in  actual  experience, 
cared  for  the  flock.  Besides,  there  are  few  missionaries  who,  along 
with  their  work  of  superintending  native  assistants,  preachers,  or 
pastors,  are  not  themselves  called  upon  still  to  maintain  in  many 
ways  the  reUitions  discussed  in  this  paper, 

"Personal  relations", — however  far  one's  work  may  seem  to 
be  removed  from  them,  let  no  missionary,  no  Christian,  ever 
forget  them.  They  are  of  the  essence  of  Christianity,  itself  the 
religion  of  a  person.  Our  Lord  came  to  save  the  world  ;  but  He  came 
to  save  the  world  by  saving  you  and  me  and  every  other  man.  He 
called  some  disciples  to  Himself,  and  they  persuaded  others  to  join 
them  in  following  Him;  and  this,  in  its  simplicity  and  its  endless 
joy,  is  the  faith  which  is  going  and  is  to  go  from  heart  to  heart  and 
from  land  to  land  till  every  soul  of  man  under  the  whole  heavens 
knows  the  blessed  shepherding  of  Him  who  is  the  Great  Shepherd 
of  us  all. 


The  Status  of  Missionaries. 

BY  DR.  JOHN  ROSS. 

NE  of  the  profoundest  mistakes  conceivable  by  the  body  of 
Protestant  missionaries  would  be  their  assumption  and 
'^  exercise  of  the  political  status  lately  extorted  from  the 
Chinese  government  in  favour  of  Roman  Catholic  missionaries.  The 
Protestant  missionary  should  make  himself  familiar  with  the  principles 
and  actions  of  Roman  Catholic  missionaries  in  order  to  ascertain  their 
results.  Such  familiarity  will  induce  him  not  to  imitate  but  to  avoid. 
The  promptings  of  a  worldly  ambition  to  attain  some  position  of 
political  influence  and  of  personal  importance  among  one's  fellow-men 
cannot  be  said  to  be  entirely  wrong  ;  for  out  of  it  have  come  and  will 
come  many  benefits  to  matikind.  Human  nature  is  not  radically 
different  in  Roman  Catholic  and  Protestant  individuals.  We  need 
not  be  astonished  if  some  Protestants  should  seek  after  what  the 
Romish  church  in  all  ranks  and  countries  strains  every  effort  to 
secure,  a  predominant  influence  in  shaping  the  politics  of  the  world. 
It  need  not  surprise  ns  if  even  some  Protestants  hankered  after 
that  which  is  practically  far  more  precious  to  the  Roman  Catholic 


1900.]  THE  STATUS  OP  MISSIONARIE&  239 

than  religion — tlint  distinctive  rank  wliicli  to  all  the  world  is  evident 
proof  of  the  possession  of  political  power.  IJut  that  the  possession  and 
especially  the  exercise  of  such  political  power  iu  China,  combined  with 
that  rank,  would  be  destructive  of  the  best  influences  of  Christianity, 
I  have  lono  been  convinced.  I  was  barely  a  year  in  this  land  when 
I  discovered  that  not  the  religion  of  the  foreigner  was  hated,  but  his 
interference  in  civil  affairs;  .sotnetimes  not  impossibly  in  a  just  cause, 
but  not  invariably  so.  Every  year  of  my  life  has  simply  deepened  the 
conviction  then  formed  that  the  greatest  obstacle  to  the  progress  of 
Christianity  in  China  was  the  belief  that  the  missionary  is  a  political 
agent.  Those  who  know  anything  of  the  action  of  missionaries  ia 
China  for  the  last  couple  of  centuries  will  at  once  understand  how 
the  Chinese  were  led  to  this  belief.  At  a  time  when  serious  rioting 
threatened  to  break  out  in  certain  parts  of  Manchuria,  I  endeavoured 
by  means  of  a  pamphlet  to  expose  and  explain  the  mischief  which  had 
been  done.  This  I  did  iti  the  hope  that  the  eyes  of  the  chief  actors 
would  be  opened  and  their  mischievous  policy — though  apparently 
profitable — be  abandoned.  This  latter  hope  has  unfortunately  not 
been  realized.  The  matter  is  referred  to  now  that  it  may  be  seen 
that  my  attention  has  not  been  directed  to  the  question  under  discus- 
sion only  by  recent  events.  As  the  result  of  all  ray  own  varied  expe- 
rience let  me  urge  upon  my  fellow-missionaries  all  over  China  the  ad- 
vice to  abstain,  in  the  interests  of  Christianity,  from  everything  which 
would  lend  colour  to  the  charge  against  us  of  being  political  agents. 
That  we  are  supported  by  funds  from  our  government  is  universally 
believed,  and  no  amount  of  denial  shakes  the  belief  in  the  mind  of  the 
ordinary  Chinaman.  If  we  affect  and  exercise  what  is  really,  or  even 
nominally,  political  rank,  the  belief  that  we  are  indeed  political 
agents  will  receive  potent  evidence  of  so  convincing  a  nature  that 
denial  on  our  part  will  but  strengthen  that  evidence.  Again  I 
repeat  there  is  no  more  serious  obstacle  to  the  propagation  of  our 
religion  in  China  than  this  belief.  It  needs  no  argument  then  to 
convince  the  true  missionary  that  liis  duty  is  to  abstain  from  taking 
any  step  which  would  serve  to  countenance  such  belief. 

For  the  same  reason  it  is  dangerous  for  us  to  demand  always 
what  we  call  'Treaty  Rights' — rights  under  treaties  extorted  from 
China.  Better  to  quietly  endure  many  a  wrong  than  assist  by  ever 
claiming  our  "rights"  to  deepen  the  sense  of  irritation  given  by 
our  presence  in  China.  Where  and  when  this  endurance  should 
end  must  be  left  to  individual  conscience. 

Now  comes  the  crux  of  the  whole  question.  What  are  we  to  do 
in  the  case  of  the  native  Christian?  The  right-hearted  missionary  is 
willing  without  resentment  and  unhesitatingly  to  endure  whatever  of 
difficulty,  danger,  contumely  or  injustice  he  is  called  upuu  to  suffer  iu 


240  THE   CHINESE   EECORDER.  [May, 

the  exercise  of  what  he  knows  to  be  his  duty.  He  is  nofc  so  clear  as 
to  his  duty  in  abandoning  his  converts  to  what  he  knows  to  be  the 
unjust  and  cruel  treatment  which  they  are  sure  to  undergo  at 
the  hands  of  their  unbelieving  countrymen.  But  even  here  the 
majority  of  cases  of  wrong  suffering  can  be  overcome  by  exhorting 
the  Christians  to  endure  what  is  endurable  in  the  certain  assurance 
that  patient  endurance  will  ultimately  overcome  the  opposition  of  his 
neighbours  who  are  inimical  chiefly  because  they  believe  him  able 
and  willing  to  exercise  the  power  for  oppression  over  his  fellows  which 
he  is  believed  to  receive  from  his  connection  with  the  foreigner.  I 
have  known  such  patient  endurance  under  persecution  result  in  a 
great  extension  of  Christianity,  whose  true  nature  became  thus  ap- 
parent. 

There  are  cases,  however,  where  the  enemy  is  not  reconcilable, 
where  matters  go  from  bad  to  worse,  where  reviling  becomes  blows, 
and  where  persecution  ends  or  threatens  to  end  in  death.  In  such 
cases  there  are  three  possible  ways  in  which  the  missionary  may  act. 
He  may  refuse  resolutely  to  have  anything  to  do  with  any  case,  how- 
ever aggravated,  bub  let  all  Chinese  converts  stand  or  fall,  suffer  or 
go  free  according  to  the  action  of  those  who  are  responsible  for  the 
administration  of  the  law  in  China.  They  may  carry  out  the  appeal, 
permissible  by  the  treaties,  to  the  Consul,  who  will  bring  the  power 
of  his  country  to  bear  upon  the  diflSculty ;  or  they  may  lay  the  case 
before  the  local  native  official,  who  is  the  representative  of  Chinese 
law,  and  request  him  to  treat  the  case  according  to  Chinese  law.  The 
first  alternative  is  recommended  by  some  who  think  we  should  do 
nothing  to  interfere  in  behalf  of  a  Chinese  citizen.  Theoretically  it 
is  the  correct  thing  to  do,  practically  it  is  impossible  for  the  man 
who  has  any  fellow-feeling  with  his  converts.  It  is  true  that  Chinese, 
convert  or  non-convert,  should  be  protected  from  wrong  by  the  law 
of  his  land.  We  know  that  the  theory  and  the  application  of  the 
law  in  China  are  distinctly  independent  of  each  other.  That  good 
men  may  be  cruelly  wronged  by  the  administrators  of  law  in  China 
is  known  to  every  one.  That  influence  can  be  brought  to  bear  upon 
the  administrator  of  law,  so  that  he  desists  from  prostituting  his  office 
in  wrong  doing  without  causing  him  to  feel  any  resentment  on 
account  of  the  interference,  is  also  well  known.  The  man  who 
abstains  from  bringing  to  bear  that  influence  which  can  save  life  or 
prevent  very  serious  wrong,  may  be  consistent  with  his  conscientious 
principles,  yet  he  is  scarcely  applying  the  golden  rule.  Our  Saviour 
cared  for  the  bodies  as  well  as  the  souls  of  men.  He  is  no  true 
follower  whose  care  is  confined  solely  to  the  soul  and  who  neglects  all 
interest  in  the  bodies  of  his  converts.  We  must  therefore  reject  as 
virtually  un-Christian  the  absolute  non-interference  theory. 


1900.]  THE  STATUS  OF  MISSIONARIEa  241 

There  is  more  room  for  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  which  of  the 
two  modes  of  useful  interference  should  be  resorted  to.  Should  it 
bo  an  interference  indirectly  through  the  Consul  or  directly  to  the 
native  magistrate?  Technically  there  may  be  thought  to  be  no  al- 
ternative. The  treaties  provide  regulations  aud  Consuls  for  the 
express  purpose  of  acting  in  such  cases.  But  we  must  not  forget 
that  treaties  are  not  voluntary  agreements  made  by  China,  but 
regulations  forcibly  extracted  from  or  thrust  upon  the  Chinese.  We 
have  therefore  to  examine  the  matter  more  fundamentally.  To  the 
Chinese  one  method  is  theoretically  equally  offensive  with  the  other. 
Each  method  is  an  imperium  in  imperio.  You  have  therefore  to 
ascertain  not  what  is  the  most  legal,  but  what  is  the  least  offensive 
to  the  Chinese.  The  contention  that  the  Consular  method  is  the 
only  legal  one  cannot  be  regarded  as  final,  for  the  legal  right  may  be 
real  wrong.  He  who  in  this  world  of  compromise  and  incomplete 
knowledge  insists  on  driving  every  principle  to  its  logical  conclusion 
is  only  a  degree  less  hurtful  than  the  faddist  who  thinks  his  special 
specific  the  only  way  of  converting  the  heathen  or  of  governing  the 
world.  The  missionary  must  discover  then,  what,  to  the  best  of  his 
knowledge,  is  the  way  most  agreeable  to  the  maoistrate  ;  for  the  duty 
of  the  missionary  is  to  gain  the  Chinese  to  Christianity.  This  he  can- 
not do  by  rousing  animosty  but  by  securing  the  goodwill  of  the  in- 
fluential classes  in  China.  How  is  he  to  act  in  delivering  his  people 
from  serious  persecution  so  as  to  allay  animosity  or  to  gain  good- 
will ?  As  to  the  Consuls,  some  have  regarded  a  direct  appeal  to 
the  Chinese  authorities  as  derogatory  to  their  consular  office;  others 
have  treated  it  as  a  good  riddance  of  unpleasant  troubles.  This 
then  cannot  be  thought  a  fundamental  element  in  the  discussion. 
As  to  the  Chinese  themselves,  every  province  has  to  decide  for  itself 
and  possibly  every  magistrate  for  himself.  As  to  the  results,  while 
ever  holding  the  Consul  as  a  final  appeal  it  has  been  found  that 
better  and  more  speedy  results  have  sometimes  followed  a  direct 
appeal  to  the  magistrate  than  an  indirect  one  through  the  Consul. 

We  have  thus,  I  think,  brought  our  consideration  of  this  subject 
down  to  the  one  question.  In  serious  cases  of  persecution  how  is 
the  missionary  to  exert  his  influence  for  their  protection  so  as  to  bo 
most  agreeable  or  least  disagreeable  to  the  Chinese  authorities?  It 
seems  to  me  that  the  best  way  is  to  consult  in  a  friendly  manner  the 
magistrate  himself.  In  Moukden  we  wer«  specially  favoured  by 
having  friendly  officials  almost  from  the  beginning.  These  approached 
the  missionary  with  the  request  that  if  ever  he  had  any  case 
requiring  legal  consideration  that  he  be  good  enough  to  lay  it  direct- 
ly before  the  local  official  and  not  through  his  Consul.  That  sugges- 
tion has  been  for  years  acted  upon  with  the  happiest  results.     It  is 


242  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [May, 

nofc  difficult  to  understand  the  reason  for  this  request.  Communica- 
tions from  the  Consul  come  in  a  formal  manner  and  with  the  air  of 
dictation  which  a  document  must  have  when  representing  a  foreign 
power.  The  private  communication  presents  the  case  not  in  a 
dictatorial  form  demanding  a  certain  judgment,  but  in  a  friendly 
manner  craving  the  goodwill  of  the  official  and  asking  as  a  favour 
that  he  would  investigate  into  the  truth  of  the  alleged  persecution 
and  judge  in  the  matter  as  he  sees  right.  The  power  of  the  foreign- 
er flaunted  in  his  face  whenever  a  Consular  document,  however  care- 
fully worded,  demands  his  attention,  is  irritating  and  the  resulting 
correspondence  and  reports  troublesome.  The  friendly  petition  of 
the  missionary  in  stating  his  case  avoids  that  irritation  and  may 
even  soothe  the  easily  offended  dignity  of  the  magistrate.  The 
highest  officials  in  Manchuria  have  again  and  again  publicly  ex- 
pressed their  gratification  with  the  manner  in  which  the  "Jesus' 
Religion"  deals  with  them.  There  are  three  general  principles 
which  have  ever  distinguished  the  mode  of  appeal  to  the  officials  by 
the  Protestant  missionaries  of  Moukden.  They  never  go  in  person 
to  the  Yamfin  with  their  case  ;  for  such  personal  appeals  are  known 
to  be  most  irritating,  as  they  usually  clash  either  with  the  magis- 
trate's sense  of  dignity  or  his  rules  of  politeness.  In  writing  out 
their  case  the  missionaries  are  careful  to  exclude  any  term  which 
could  seem  objectionable,  and  they  ask  as  a  favour  what  they  could 
demand  as  a  right.  They  never  appeal  in  matters  of  minor  per- 
secution. They  meddle  not  in  matters  of  a  commercial  nature, 
beyond  bailing  a  Christian,  who  the)''  believe  is  seriously  wronged,  to 
appear  on  the  day  appointed  by  the  magistrate  for  trial.  This  bail 
is  to  save  the  Christian  from  the  brutal  treatment  to  which  all 
litigants  are  subjected  by  the  underlings  to  extort  money,  and  ex- 
pressly does  not  in  any  way  interfere  with  the  time  and  mode  of 
trial.  We  have  found  this  method  to  secure  all  we  wish.  The  per- 
sonal dignity  of  the  official  is  conserved,  the  case  is  tried  according  to 
law,  the  goodwill  of  the  magistrate  is  acquired,  and  the  "Jesus'  Re- 
ligion" everywhere  gains  the  reputation  of  being  a  "just"  religion. 
Quite  possibly  other  methods  would  prove  more  suitable  in  other 
places.  But  the  one  point  which  the  missionary  who  must  do  some- 
thing to  save  his  people  from  serious  persecution,  ought  ever  to  keep 
in  view  is  how  to  gain  or  retain  the  goodwill  of  the  officials  who  can 
do  much  privately  to  mar  or  aid  iiis  work.  The  method  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  church,  apparently  general  over  all  China,  is  exactly 
the  way  "  not  to  do  "  this.  Christian  humility  will  ultimately  gain  re- 
spect. Temporary  suffering  will  produce  permanent  advantage;  for  it 
is  ever  wise,  with  the  Apostle  Paul,  to  try  "  all  means  to  save  some," 
and  in  order  to  save  men  you  must  gaiu  their  esteem  and  goodwill. 


1900.1  THE   MAiaiED  VISAGE.  243 

The  Marred  Visage. 


By  Rev.  Wm.  Arthur  Cornaby. 

The  prophet  sat  and  mused  with  awe-filled  face, 

And  eyes  that  pierced  through  mists  of  time,  whose  gloom, 

Else  darkness  gross,  seemed  broke  by  glimm'ring  ray. 

All  wond'ring  as  he  gazed,  he  souf,'lit  liis  pen 

Of  reed  and  ink-liorn,  for  strange  heart-thrills  owned 

A  nearing  revelation. 


"  What  Thy  word, 
O  God  to-day  1 "  he  asked.     And  like  the  child 
To  Eli's  call  submissive,  so  he  urged 
The  prayer,  "  Speak  Lord  !  Thy  servant  waits  Thy  will." 
But  no  voice  answered  him  ;  unstirred  the  air, 
Save  for  the  hum  of  business  in  the  street, 
Where  sellers  sang  the  praises  of  their  wares — 
Not  priceless  wine  and  milk  for  thirsty  souls, 
But  common  viands  of  the  daily  mart. 
No  voice  of  God  as  yet,  but  wid'ning  gleam, 
Whose  message  loomed  uncertain,  myttic,  vast. 


The  prophet  in  bewilderment  gazed  on. 

Till  voice  he  heard  or  seemed  to  hear,  "  Arise 

And  shine,  for  now  thy  light  is  come,  the  Lord 

Of  glory  hasteneth  to  dawn  on  thee." 

Anon  the  gleam  took  shape,  for  He,  adored 

Of  flaming  seraphim  with  wing-veiled  eye. 

Appeared  afar,  seemed  to  forsake  His  throne, 

Doff  robes  of  majesty  supreme,  and  veil 

His  face, — not  with  a  wing  of  glist'ring  light. 

All  iridescent  as  His  star-paved  home. 

But  masking  with  earth-woven  agonies 

His  lineaments  divine. 


Sure  never  sight 
Like  unto  this  were  possible  !    The  seer 
Mistrusted  his  own  vision,  yet  the  form 
Of  heaven's  high  Monarch  held  his  eyes  enchained 
While  heavy-laden  moments  toiled  along. 
He  scarcely  dared  to  gaze,  nor  dared  to  turn 
His  eyes  away.     Then  spake  a  still  small  voice, 
"  Behold  My  Servant,"  adding  deepened  awe 
To  'wilderment,  until  his  spirit  sank 
To  earth  like  unto  trampled  reed. 


244  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [May, 

Anon 
The  Lord  renewed  his  strength,  and  granting  him 
The  eye  of  untired  eagle,  said,  "  What  ne'er 
Hath  yet  been  told,  thou  still  must  see,  and  though 
The  many  heed  not  thy  report,  tliey  too. 
Purblind  of  heart,  must  one  day  understand." 
Thus  spake  the  stilly  voice  unto  the  seer, 
Who,  wond'ring  yet  the  more  what  meant  the  words, 
Saw  now  th'  eternal  King  disguised  in  garb 
Of  menial,  and  His  face  with  anguish  filled. 
Then  scars  appeared  as  though  from  deadly  wounds 
Received  in  war. 

"  Who  are  Thy  foes  1 "  he  cried, 
*'  O  peerless  Lord  of  Hosts?    Whence  are  those  drops 
Of  crimson  on  Thy  vest  ? "     Then  came  the  voice, 
"  Thine  own  transgressions,  the  iniquities 
Untold  of  sinful  men  ;  thence  are  my  wounds 
And  chastisement,  whose  direst  pangs  alone 
Can  bring  forth  new-born  peace  unto  the  world. 
Take  thou  thy  pen  and  write."     But  ever  as 
He  wrote  he  saw  that  visage  cruelly  marred, 
I'hat  form  more  stricken  yet  more  meek  than  sons 
Of  suff'ring  man  :  half  orphaned  stood  the  Maa  ' 

Of  sorrows,  claiming  only  woe-filled  grief 
As  constant  friend,  forsaken  else  and  lon-e. 
Not  now  with  ministry  of  rapt'rous  host, 
.  Of  choral  seraphim  in  antiphon 
Of  "  Holy  is  the  scept'red  Lord,"  but  girt 
With  lowly  ministries,  the  King  forth  stood — - 
A  Victim  ready  shorn  and  dumb,  led  out 
As  Lamb  to  slaughter  :  sinless  One  for  sins 
So  great  that  only  greater  was  the  grace 
That  filled  His  heart,  compassionate  for  aye. 

The  seer  essayed  to  pen  his  tale — as  child 
Might  lift  his  brush  to  paint  the  sunset  sky. 
In  coarse  and  grimy  colours  roughly  daubed.. 

Men's  words  are  only  meet  for  deeds  of  man, 

Nor  seldom  left  behind  ;  hence  melody 

Of  rhymes  that  ring  like  wedded  silver  bells,. 

Or  th'  accordant  lyre  and  harp  and  lute 

Must  lend  their  aid  to  bear  the  burdened  thought  r 

Or  else  in  tearful  silences  our  grief 

Or  ecstasy  of  joy  must  find  its  vent. 

We  thank  our  dearest  with  a  moistenM  eye — 

Our  dearest,  who  the  while  is  man  with  men  ; 

How  then  can  written  scroll  pourtray  the  Lord, 

Or  man's  blurr'd  cyph'ring  count  His  love  divine  I 

Ah  vain  and  vacant  scribblings  of  scribe, 

Till  for  ourselves  our  souls  behold  their  God, 

Their  Saviour  with  the  scarred,  face. 


1900.]  TEE   MARRED   VISAGE.  245 

Yet  now 
In  these  lost  days  we  backward  glance  to  pierce 
Tlie  lucent  air,  and  see  undiinmod — though  hid 
Oftimes  from  human  ken,  not  with  a  wing 
Seraphic  but  opaque  and  hooked  and  clawed 
Of  vampire  liorrible — the  visage  marred 
For  n)an  and  by  man's  crimes  ;  the  fact  once  strange 
Has  grown  too  obvious  now  for  doubt;  alas 
Too  obvious  now  to  move  the  hearc  !     Oh  strange, 
Our  atrophy  of  soul  to  twice-told  tale, — 
The  age  of  miracles  long  dead  and  gone, 
The  age  of  common-places  long  bogun. 
And  like  to  last  till  th'  archangel's  trump 
Shall  rouse  the  ears  more  dead  than  myriads  dead, 
Whose  bleachkl  bones  to  dust  retutned  are  trod 
Beneath  the  boot  in  busy  haunts  of  gain. 

O  dust,  O  stones  of  earth,  lift  up  your  voice, 

Peal  forth  Hosanna  !     For  the  Kingly  face. 

Thorn-crowned,  excites  but  infants'  wonder  now. 

*•  Yet  even  so,  O  Father,"  cries  the  Son, 

"  Proud  hearts  with  prudence  Ijlind  heed  not  the  sight 

To  babes  revealed.     But  child-like  souls  shall  come. 

As  years  of  knowing  ignorance  roll  on. 

To  share  the  easy  yoke  and  find  the  rest  ; 

Out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  Thou  yet  wilt  fill 

The  heav'nly  throne-room  with  Hosannas.     Even  so, 

O  Father,  for  it  seemeth  good  to  Thee." 

And  little  ones  troop  up  to  Jesus  still, 
Tiieir  eyes  all  'wildered  at  His  thorn-scarred  face, 
To  feel  the  gentle  touch  of  nail-pierced  hand. 
And  hear  the  voice  filled  more  than  mother's  tones 
With  penetrating  peace. 

And  in  that  crowd 
Of  babes,  blest  Lord,  am  I ;  O  suffer  me. 
Forbid  me  not,  a  child  indeed  all  fond 
And  foolish,  with  my  hands  begrimed  in  sin. 
With  downcast  head  I  dare  not  meet  Thy  gaze  ; 
Thy  wond'rous  kindliness  so  shames  my  heart. 
It  could  but  break  if  I  beheld  thy  face. 
And  felt  Thine  eyes  look  through  mine  own.     'Twas  I, 
'Twas  I,  accurst,  that  did  the  deed.     Oh  canst 
Thou  know  that  I  am  he  who  wounded  Thee  ? 
Thou  knowest  Lord  my  shameful  past  !     Say  not, 
*'  I  pardon  Thee,"  for  with  the  word,  a  load 
Is  mine  of  ever-weight'uing  debt ! 

Yet  Thou 
Dost  draw  me  to  Thine  arms,  and  breathe  Thy  peace. 
Majestic  love  !     My  crimes  all  blotted  out  1 
But  not  Thy  scars. 


246  THB    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [May, 

And  still  the  prophet  peered, 
Until  in  dazzling;  light  beamed  forth  again 
The  face  of  mystic  woe,  not  woeful  now, 
Though  scarred  still,  but  satisfied  ! 

O  world, 
Soul-satiate  with  self  and  sin's  deceits, 
Canst  thou  the  riddle  solve,  canst  lead  the  blind 
•     To  door  of  credence  1     Nay,  thou  sightless  guide, 
I  trust  thee  not  !     0  ransomed  saints  who  now 
Before  the  throne  as  kings  and  priests  to  God, 
Who  see  the  King-Priest  as  He  is,  explain  ! 

0  ministers  of  flame  who  stand  before 

The  Light  of  Light,  fly  swift  to  me  and  touch 
Mine  eyes,  tear-blinded  with  His  grace  1     O  choir 
Of  saints  and  angels  high,  is  there  not  one 
Mid  all  your  countless  hosts,  ten  thousand  times 
Ten  thousand,  never  one  that  can  expound  ? 

1  can  but  catch  the  echoes  of  your  strain, 
Of  "  Holy,  Holy,  Holy  the  Lord  God, 

Which  was  and  is  and  is  to  come ;  "  nought  else 
Save,  "  Worthy  is  the  Lamb  that  hath  been  slaiu  ! 
All  might  majestic  and  all  praise  be  Thine, 
And  glory  and  dominion  aye  and  aye  !  " 

My  heart  wells  forth  Amen,  Amen ;  yet  know 

I  not  the  secret  of  His  smile,  whose  wounds, 

Still  fresh,  illume  the  heaven  of  heavens  ;  nor  yet 

Shall  know  though  myriad  ages  pass,  though  twice 

Ten  thousand  aeons  strive  in  vain  to  spell 

Eternity,  whose  ev'ry  moment  thrills 

With  thundrous  psalm.     For  this  grand  mystery 

Must  bafile  highest  angel-seer,  and  veil 

Anew  the  rev'rent  eye  of  seraphim. 

Most  rev'rent  when  most  wise,— the  marvel  new 

For  aye,  that  very  God  of  very  God 

Should  mask  His  face  in  earth's  completest  woe. 

And  then,  with  shame  and  spitting  ne'er  forgot. 

The  ever-scarred  visage  still  should  smile 

On  ransomed  rebels  washed  in  His  spilt  blood. 


Yet  know  I  now  the  smile  Divine ;  the  Name 
For  ever  blessed,  written  on  His  brow, 
Deep  writ  in  scars  that  hinder  not  the  glow 
Of  satisfaction.     Lord,  Thy  wondrous  love 
Is  mystery  of  myst'ries,  mystic  most 
When  fullest  told.     My  Lord,  my  God,  imprint 
Thy  name  upon  my  forehead,  let  me  bear. 
As  wound  or  smile,  the  Word  unutt'rable, 
Let  every  moment  of  this  lower  life 
Proclaim  to  all  the  true  report  that  God 
Incarnate,  glorified,  is  Love  of  Love. 


1900.]     FIFTH  ANNUAL  MID-SHANSI  NATIVE  CHRISTIAN  CONFERENCE.  247 

Fifth  Annual  Mid-Shansi  Native  Christian  Conference 
at  Tai-y'iian-fu,  February  8-12. 

F  the  slightly  fewer  nnmbers  assembling  this  year  at  the 
Native  Christian  Conference  at  T'ai-yiian-fn,  owins^  in  part 
to  last  year's  drouofht  and  consequent  hard  times,  many 
greeted  one  another  as  old  friends,  whose  recollections  of  previous 
gatherings  brought  them  back  with  an  assured  hopefulness  to 
participate  in  the  united  meetings,  while  in  the  new  comers  a  spirit 
of  eager  anticipation  was  apparent. 

The  foreign  missionaries  were  more  nnmerons  than  in  1899. 
"We  were  glad  to  welcome  as  many  as  six  members  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F. 
M.  in  Shansi ;  from  other  stations,  there  came  two  members  of  the 
B.  M.  S.,  one  of  the  B.  L.  M.,  three  C.  I.  M.,  two  from  Sheo-yang  ; 
and  with  those  resident  in  the  city,  including  Rev.  A.  Grant,  late 
of  Singapore,  who  was  visiting  his  dan;rhter,  Mrs.  Arnold  Lovitt, 
this  made  a  total  of  twenty-nine.  Some  fifteen  of  these  were  able 
to  meet  for  prayer  on  the  morning  before  the'  Conference  proper 
began,  and  were  thus  able  to  experience  something  of  that  unity  in 
prayer  which  brings  the  Spirit's  power. 

Several  variations  from  the  form  of  last  year's  programme  of 
meetings  had  been  adopted,  most  of  which  have  commended  them- 
selves by  the  result.  Programmes  had  for  the  first  time  been 
printed  in  Chinese  and  with  alternate  blank  pages  for  the  taking 
of  notes.  These  were  sold  at  five  cash  each  ;  or  with  them  could 
be  bought  a  pencil  for  forty  cash. 

The  usual  opening  devotional  and  welcome  meeting  was  on 
Thursday  evening,  led  by  Rev.  G.  W.  Stokes  who,  recalling  the 
motto  of  an  earlier  year :  "To  know  Jesus  better,"  read  Colossians 
i,  1  to  23  and  chose  the  words  "  increasing  in  the  knowledge  of 
God  "  as  the  expression  of  his  desire  and  prayer  for  all  assembling 
in  1900.  The  many,  brief,  earnest  prayers  that  followed  revealed  to 
the  missionaries  who  knew  those  taking  part  that  this  increase  in 
knowledge  had  already  been  going  on,  for  they  could  discern  evident 
signs  of  growth  in  si)iritual  perception. 

The  early  morning  prayer  meetings  were  held  at  7  a.m.  as  in  the 
previous  year;  but  this  time  the  leader  was  always  a  foreigner. 
They  were  well  attended  meetings,  and  the  same  earnest  spirit 
characterized  them  as  had  been  noticed  in  the  opening  meeting.  Of 
each  of  the  other  sessions  the  first  twenty  minutes  were  devoted  to 
praise  and  prayer,  and  this  part  of  the  meetings  was  helpful 
throuo^hout. 


248  THE    CHINESE   RECORDER,  [May, 

Friday  morning  was  given  up  to  the  consideration'of  "  the  Holy 
Spirit  in  the  Work  of  Missions,"  a  subject  arranged  under  three 
heads  for  three  different  speakers.  In  a  clear,  well-planned  address 
Chao  Hsia-ylin,  of  the  B.  M.  S.,  Hsin-chow,  spoke  about  "the  First 
Planting  of  Christianity,"  telling  how  Christ  assembled  His  dis- 
ciples to  prepare  them  for  preaching  ;  how  after  His  ascension  they 
obediently  waited  in  prayer  for  the  coming  of  the  promised  power  ; 
how  the  promise  was  fnlfilled;  how  the  Spirit  was  received;  how 
those  who  received  the  Spirit  preached  in  'Jesus'  Name';  and  how 
signs  followed  the  preaching. 

The  central  thought  was  well  sustained  by  the  two  following 
speakers:  the  Rev.  E,  R,  Atwater,  of  Fen-chow-fa;  and  the  Rev. 
G.  L.  Williams,  of  T'ai-kn,  both  A.  B.  C.  F.  M, :  the  one  giving  some 
account  of  "Modern  Missions"  in  general,  the  other  of  "  Chinese 
Missions "  in  particular  ;  two  addresses,  to  which  the  Chinese 
listened  with  evident  interest.  Rev.  G.  L.  Williams,  although  the 
last  speaker,  commanded  the  attention  of  his  hearers  from  the  first 
by  beginning  with  a  personal  reference  :  "  Last  year  my  grand- 
mother died.  She  was  ninety-six.  When  she  was  born,  there  were 
no  Protestant  Christians  in  China.  When  she  died,  there  were 
one  hundred  thousand;"  after  which  apt  introduction  the  speaker 
sketched  briefly  the  rise  and  growth  of  Protestant  Christianity  in 
China,  concluding  with  certain  specimen  statistics  of  work  in  Fu- 
chow-fu  and  district- 

The  entire  afternoon  session  was  in  the  hands  of  one  speaker, 
the  Rev.  A.  Sowerby,  B.  M.  S.,  Hsin-chow,  who  had  selected  the 
Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  for  a  "  Bible  reading  dealing  with  some  book 
of  the  New  Testament."  With  a  break  for  the  singing  of  a  hymn 
the  hour  and  a  half  was  all  too  short  for  the  subject,  and  the 
interest  of  the  listeners  was  not  less  maintained  than  in  shorter 
addresses.  Mr.  Sowerby,  who  had  prepared  charts  that  the  ear 
might  be  assisted  by  "  eye-gate,"  gave  a  running  analysis  of  the  book 
with  the  gist  of  the  argument  and  the  reasoning,  working  np  to  the 
perfection  of  the  sacrifice  of  Christ  and  the  authority  of  His  eternal 
priesthood  ;  dwelling  also  on  the  exhortations  to  practical  godli- 
ness in  chapters  ten  and  eleven  and  ending  by  quoting  verses 
twenty  and  twenty-one  of  chapter  thirteen,  "  Now  the  God  of  peace 
that  brought  again  from  the  dead  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  great 
shepherd  of  the  sheep,  through  the  blood  of  the  everlasting  cove- 
nant, make  you  perfect  in  every  good  work  to  do  His  will,  working 
in  you  that  which  is  well  pleasing  in  His  sight,  throngh  Jesus 
Christ,  to  whom  be  glory  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen," — as  an 
inscription  and  benediction  most  fittingly  snmming  up  in  so  few 
expressive  words  the  letter  to  the  Hebrew  Christians. 


1900.]      FIFTH  ANNUAL  MID-SHANSI  NATI^'E  CHRISTIAN  CONFERENCE.         24^ 

The  subjects  treated  in  the  evening  were  two,  of  practical 
pnrpose,  which  concerned  all  interested  in  the  devohjpraent  of  Chris- 
tian thought  and  character  in  the  Chinese,  and  were  especially 
addressed  to  Christian  parents.  First,  Lin  Fn-yUon,  of  T'ai-yiian-fn, 
read  a  paper  prepared  by  Miss  Shekleton,  of  T'ai-yiian-fn,  on  "  The 
Dnty  of  Christian  Parents  with  regard  to  the  Betrothal  of  their  Sons 
and  Daughters,"  a  matter  in  whicli  (Christians  should  seek,  as  in 
every  other,  how  they  may  best  glorify  the  Lord.  She  made  the 
following  four  divisions  of  her  subject : — 

1.  Make  no  affinity  with  the  unbelieving. 

2.  Avoid  early  betrothals. 

3.  Do  not  covet  wealth  and  rank  for  yonr  children. 

4.  Do  not  follow  the  world  by  casting  horoscopes  and  selecting 
lucky  days. 

Under  injunctions  two  and  four  Miss  Shekleton  made  quotations 
from  an  essay  written  by  Chang  Fan-s'i,  of  T'uug-chow. 

It  is  intended  to  print  this  paper  for  distribution  among  native 
Christians. 

Second,  Kao  Ta-ling,  of  the  B.  M.  S.,  T'ai-yiian-fn,  spoke  on 
"The  Duty  of  Fathers  respecting  the  Education  of  their  Daughters 
and  Daughters-in-law,  either  in  the  Home  or  at  School."  He 
enumerated  six  heads  and  then  proceeded  to  speak  on  each,  founding 
all  his  principles  on  passages  of  Scripture,  to  which  he  referred.  "  It  is 
not  oar  daughters  may  read,  but  they  ought,  must.  If  they  cannot 
read  they  cannot  search  the  Scriptures;  and  how  are  they  otherwise 
to  know  God's  will  ?  "  His  whole  speech  was  to  the  point  and  full 
of  practical  good  advice.  His  style  was  terse ;  and  only  a  certain 
nervousness  of  manner  and  lowness  of  voice  tended  to  spoil  what 
was  an  excellent  address,  the  first  Kao  Ta-ling  has  given  in 
Conference.     "We  hope  to  hear  him  again  next  year. 

Two  natives  were  prepared  to  discuss  certain  points  after  the 
reading  of  the  papers — Pastor  Ch'ii,  of  Ta-ning-hsien,  dwelling  on 
the  great  importance  of  rightly  considering  marriage;  Yen  Li  p'au, 
of  'I'ai-yiian-fu,  suggesting  three  good  plans  for  effecting  the  so 
desirable  changes  in  present  customs. 

On  Saturday  morning  there  were  two  concurrent  meetings,  one 
for  women,  led  by  Mrs.  Pigott,  of  Sheo-yang,  who  spoke  on  some  of 
God's  great  gifts  to  man.  After  the  address  several  women  re- 
sponded to  an  invitation  to  tell  of  any  special  mercies  daring  the 
past  year,  for  which  they  wished  to  thank  God  ;  responses  for 
which  others,  listening,  thanked  God  too. 

The  meeting  in  the  chapel  was  addressed  by  Rev.  G.  B. 
Farthing,  whose  subject  was,  "  The  Function  and  Order  of  the  Proph- 
ets ;  their  Special    Message,  and  the  Special  Circumstances  which 


250  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER,  [May, 

occasioned  that  Message,"  an  enormons  subject,  to  the  length  of 
time  entailed  in  the  preparation  of  which,  large  charts,  hung 
behind  him  on  the  platform,  can  only  partly  have  testified.  Mr. 
Farthing  showed  how,  after  Adam's  transgression  had  made  imme- 
diate intercourse  with  God  impossible,  the  prophets  were  made 
God's  intermediaries,  bringing  God's  messages  to  men;  and  how  all 
their  messages  were  but  the  expansion  of  the  first  message  given  in 
Eden  that  '  the  seed  of  the  woman  should  bruise  the  head  of  the 
serpent.'  Their  message,  too,  was  a  progressive  one,  revealing  God 
to  men  until  in  the  fulness  of  time  the  Prophet  appeared :  the 
Messenger  of  Jehovah  who  fully  revealed  to  us  the  Father. 

In  the  afternoon  there  was  a  new  departure  for  the  T'ai-yiian- 
fu  Conference.  "  The  Incarnation  of  Christ "  formed  the  subject 
of  an  address  delivered  in  English  by  the  Rev.  A.  Grant  and 
interpreted  to  the  audience  by  Rev.  W.  T.  Beynon,  B.  and  F.  B.  S. 
No  meeting  throughout  was  more  attentive  than  this  one,  and  the 
very  presence  of  the  venerable  missionary  with  his  hoary  head  was 
felt  to  be  a  benediction. 

Still  another  experiment  was  made  on  this  Saturday ;  during 
the  previous  days  the  opportunity  had  been  given  for  questions  on 
any  point  of  difficulty,  doubt,  or  ignorance,  to  be  asked  in  writing, 
and  the  first  part  of  the  evening  session,  under  the  chairmanship 
of  the  Rev.  A.  Sowerby,  was  devoted  to  answering  them.  Eighteen 
or  twenty  such  were  found  in  the  box,  questions  which  showed  the 
Bible  was  read  and  studied  with  thoughtful  and  inquiring  minds,  and 
several  of  them  dealing  with  difficulties  felt  by  scholars  in  Western 
lands.  A  few  of  these  were :  "  What  were  the  date  and  place 
of  writing  of  John's  epistles?"  "Who  were  the  sons  of  God  and 
the  daughters  of  men  mentioned  in  Genesis  ii.  6  ?  "  "  Who  were  the 
spirits  in  prison  to  whom  Christ  preached  ?"  "  What  is  the  diflfer- 
ence  between  trial  and  temptation  ? "  "  Do  our  trials  come  from 
God  or  from  Satan  ? "  "  Why  did  God  give  Job  into  Satan's 
hand  ?"  "  What  is  the  meaning  of  '  I  believe  in  the  communion  of 
Saints?'"  Several  questions  were  based  on  passages  in  the  book  of 
Revelation  and  two  or  three  were  on  the  verses  in  II.  Corinthians 
12,  in  which  Paul  refers  to  a  "  man  in  Christ  ....  who  was  caught 
up  to  the  third  heaven."  The  answering  of  these,  and  others,  left  all 
too  little  time  for  two  "  gospel  addresses  "  given  by  Li  Pai,  known 
as  the  Sheo-yang  shepherd,  and  by  Liu  Fu-yiian.  It  was  striking, 
and  yet  as  it  should  be,  that  both  had  chosen  the  same  passage. 
Li  Pai  read  I.  Corinthians  i.  17  to  ii.  5  and  preached  "Jesus  Christ 
and  Him  crucified."  Liu  Fu-yiian  began,  "Our  scholars  in  ex- 
mination  fear  *  lei-t'ung,'  i.  e.,  being  like  others.  We  do  not  fear 
this.      Li   Pai   and   I   preach  the  same  thing,  '  Christ    crucified ; 


1900.]    Fipre  annoal  mid-shansi  native  christian  conperencb.       251 

Christ  the  Power  of  God  and  the  Wisdom  of  God.'"  The  one  was 
the  conutry  shepherd,  the  other  the  city  scholar,  but  both  were  one 
in  the  faith,  oue  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Next  morning  at  the  11  o'clock  service  Rev.  T.  W.  Pigott,  of 
Sheo-yang,  also  preached  on  "the  Saving  Grace  of  onr  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,"  dwelling  on  (1)  the  work  already  accomplished,  which 
cannot  be  added  to  (2)  the  work  now  being  done :  saving,  sanctifi- 
cation ;  (3)  the  work  yet  to  be  revealed  at  the  appearing  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

An  overflow  meeting  for  women  was  also  found  necessary,  and 
Mrs.  Pigott  again  conducted  this. 

Sunday  afternoon  saw  yet  another  innovation,  one  which  will 
surely  be  repeated  next  year  *  a  native  from  each  station  represented 
had  been  invited  to  prepare  a  report  of  the  work  of  his  station  and 
any  out-stations  connected  with  it;  seven  gave  in  their  names  as 
ready  to  speak.  One  or  two  had  not  sufficiently  understood  what 
was  expected  of  them,  and  inclined  to  relate  incidents  or  tell 
anecdotes  rather  than  confine  themselves  to  those  statistics  which 
are  so  much  more  than  statistics  when  the  speakers  know  the 
places  and  the  people,  and  the  hearers  are  all  praying  and  watching 
for  the  coming  of  the  kingdom,  and  to  that  end  seeking  to  prepare 
the  way  of  the  king.  Oue  very  admirable,  modest  report,  after- 
wards supplemented  by  one  who  often  passes  througli,  was  giveu  by 
Deacon  Ch'eug,  of  Hsu-kou,  a  (1  I.  M.  out-station  and  opium  refuge 
with  no  foreign  missionary  in  residence,  where  are  fourteen  Chris- 
tians, six  inquirers,  several  school-boys,  three  or  four  voluntary 
workers ;  and  where  there  are  not  only  Sunday  services,  but  a 
daily  evening  gathering  for  worship  and  Bible  study.  The  Eev.  J. 
Simpson,  of  T'ai-yiian-fn,  as  chairman,  expressed  the  feelings  of  the 
meeting  when  he  spoke  of  the  joy  the  reports  gave  the  workers  and 
of  the  encouraging  testimony  to  the  power  of  God  given  by  our 
yearly  Conference.  His  word  to  the  workers  was  that  sent  by  Paul 
to  the  workers  of  Corinth,  "  Be  ye  stedfast,  unmovable,  always 
abounding  in  the  work  of  the  Lord,  forasmuch  as  ye  know  that 
your  labour  is  not  in  vain  in  the  Lord." 

In  the  evening  Pastor  Ch'ii,  of  Ta-ning-hsien,  preached  from 
Matthew  vi.  24  and  33,  opening  with  a  pithy  sentence,  "  Ye-su  puh 
p'a  ni  fah  ts'ai,  p'a  ni  sheo  Ma-men  tih  hai."  A  separate  English 
service  was  held  at  this  same  time,  conducted  by  the  Rev.  A.  Grant, 
who  set  forth  the  example  of  Epaphras,  a  servant  of  Christ,  labour- 
ing fervently  in  prayer  (Colossians  iv.  12)  as  oue  to  be  diligently  and 
perseveriugly  emulated  by  the  foreign  missionary  in  a  heathen  land. 

Monday  morning  and  afternoon's  sessions  were  devoted  to  six  ad- 
dresses on  practical  subjects  ;  three  by  natives,  three  by  foreigners. 


252  THE    CHINESE   RECOEDER.  [May, 

The  first  three  were  as  follows  :  "  CleauHuess ;  Inward  and  Oat- 
ward,"  Rev.  A. Hoddle,  of  T'ai-yiian-fu  ;  "Debt  ;  its  Extent  among 
Church  Members,  its  Cause  and  Cure,"  Lei  Fuh-t'ang,  of  Fen-chow- 
fu ;  "  Death  as  part  of  the  Divine  Order — the  Christian  View,"  Yen 
Li-pan.  The  chairman  was  the  Rev.  W.  T.  Beynon.  The  second 
three,  with  the  Rev.  E.  R.  Atwater  as  chairman,  were  :  "Anger, 
Hatred,  and  Self-will  as  Alien  to  the  Spirit  of  Christ,"  the  Rev. 
D.  H.  Clapp,  of  T'ai-ku,  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.;  "  Lying  ;  Direct  and  In- 
direct,"  the  Rev.  A.  P.  Lundgren,  Chie-hsiu,  C.  1.  M.;  "Righteous- 
ness as  between  Man  and  Man  ;  the  Need  of  the  Consideration  of 
Temperament  and  of  Charity  in  the  Judgment  of  Others,"  Liu 
Feng-ch'ih,  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  T'ai-ku. 

The  series  of  meetings  was  brought  to  a  fitting  close  by  a 
united  communion  service.  Rev.  A.  Grant  gave  the  address,  which 
was  interpreted  by  the  Rev.  G.  B.  Farthing,  who  afterwards  pre- 
sided at  the  Lord's  table. 

Ere  we  disbanded  the  Rev.  G.  W.  Stokes  gave  a  message  of 
greeting  from  Dr.  E.  H,  Edwards,  in  England,  on  furlough. 

Increasing  experience,  gained  alike  by  previous  successes  and 
mistakes,  enabled  the  entertainers,  native  and  foreign,  to  more 
carefully  plan  details  of  organization,  and  the  smooth  working  of  the 
arrangements  during  the  Conference  days,  helped  not  a  little  to  the 
peaceful  and  happy  tone  of  the  meetings.  Little  disturbed  such  this 
year;  thanks  for  which  go  largely  to  a  band  of  cheerful,  willing 
native  helpers,  men  and  women. 

A  daily  committee  meeting  was  held  of  the  foreign  missionaries 
present  for  the  united  transaction  of  necessary  business  ;  and  at  one 
of  them  so  many  living  suggestions  were  thrown  out  for  subjects  for 
next  year  that  the  work  of  the  Tai-yiian-fu  community,  in  whose 
hands  the  drawicg  up  of  the  programme  ultimately  rests,  has  been 
made  easier  for  it  than  in  any  previous  year. 

On  the  Tuesday,  at  an  even  earlier  hour  than  that  of  the  7  a.m. 
prayer  meetings,  began  the  scattering  again  to  north,  south,  east, 
and  west — some  to  very  lonely  posts,  some  to  places  of  persecution  ; 
all  to  Christian  service — of  those  who  had  met  and  united  in  such 
blessed  fellowship ;  and  thus  ended  what  those  who  have  attended 
all,  or  some  of  these  still  recently  established  Chinese  gatherings 
for  the  deepening  of  the  spiritual  life,  felt  to  be  "  the  best  one  yet." 
And  still  we  pray  for  one  another  that  we  all  may  grow  in  the  grace 
of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  and  increase  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  God  our  Father ;  and  already  we  look  forward  to  a  still 
better  time  in  1901. 

Edith  A.  Coombs. 


1900.]  TlIE   ATTACK  ON   OUR   TniliKTAN   MISSION.  253 


The  Attack  on  Oar  Thibetan  Mission. 

INCE  last  mail  we  have  had  to  flee;  the  day  after  the  riot 
word  came  from  all  sides  that  they  were  coining  to  take  the 
city  on  the  following  day. 

They  sent  word  that  they  did  not  want  our  things  but  our  lives. 
If  the  few  soldiers  inside  the  wall  (some  two  hundred)  would  give 
us  up  they  would  go  quietly  home,  if  not  they  should  require  the 
lives  of  all  and  that  of  the  landlord  as  well. 

This  they  could  easily  do,  as  the  twelve  tribes,  nnder'one  head, 
among  whom  we  live,  can  easily  turn  out  1,200  soldiers  or  savages. 
Not  caring  to  cause  loss  of  life  among  the  Chinese  and  finding  as 
well  that  some  of  the  merchants  had  removed  their  all  to  secret 
places,  about  eight  p.m.  on  the  second  day  we  decided  to  leave. 
Thus  at  ten  p.m.,  in  company  with  forty  soldiers,  we  started  for 
Hsuin-hua,  a  Chiiig-ting  city,  distant  about  120  li.  The  Chinese 
official  was  kind  enough  to  lend  us  clothes,  and  other  animals  to 
ride  on.  The  journey  was  very  hard  on  Mrs.  Shields,  as  we  dared 
not  stop  on  the  road  for  fear  of  being  found  oat  or  overtaken  and 
perhaps  killed. 

AFTER    REPORTS. 

True  to  their  word  the  Tliibetans  arrived.  The  elders  were 
allowed  in  to  make  their  search,  while  those  outside  went  down  and 
destroyed  the  house,  only  leaving  some  of  the  walls  and  posts.  Our 
landlord  then  had  to  pay  them  forty  taels  fine  for  keeping  ns.  We 
hear  that  another  one  hundred  taels  was  also  given.  Again,  twelve 
men  were  chosen  to  kill  us  on  the  first  day,  while  many  who  fol- 
lowed were  heavily  armed.  The  twelve  tribes  had  decided  to  come 
on  the  twenty-fifth  day  of  the  fifth  moon  and  kill  us.  Two  of  the 
strongest  tribes,  named  La  Pa  and  Long  Kia,  decided  to  have  all 
the  plunder  and  credit  themselves,  thus  came  secretly  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  twenty-third.  They  then  accused  us  to  Hsuin-hua  and 
Si-niug  of  hindering  rain,  causing  village  wars,  drying  up  their 
springs  of  every  valley,  causing  death  among  man  and  beast,  and 
taking  their  Pao-pei  (valuables),  and  koh-ren-sheo-hai  (each  man 
being  injured).  They  also  stated  that  they  had  robbed  us,  driven  us 
out,  and  forbidden  us  to  return.  The  viceroy  has  promised  to  send 
us  back  as  soon  as  possible  and  pay  all  our  losses.  Of  coarse  we 
must  return,  for  to  yield  this  one  point  will  destroy  all  our  work 
along  this  valley.  Things  will  have  taken  more  definite  shape  be- 
fore mail  and  I  will  be  able  to  write  you  better  as  to  a  settlement. 


254  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [May, 

These  officials  are  so  slow  and  so  deep  that  one  is  puzzled  to  know- 
how  to  deal  with  them.  The  struggle  at  last  has  become  a  real  one, 
and  to  confess  the  truth  there  await  greater  things  for  our  missions 
in  this  field.  Our  fight  is  one  unto  blood,  auddo  not  be  surprised  if 
some  time  you  hear  the  sword  has  done  its  work,  perhaps  on  the 
sly  next  time,  or  by  poison.  Their  hellish  yells  and  those  glittering 
swords  often  haunt  us  in  the  night  time.  And  now  to  a  story  more 
sad  than  all,  which  I  must  briefly  tell :  Oar  two  enquirers  had 
applied  for  baptism,  having  passed  through  so  much  persecution, 
and  there  being  no  doubt  that  they  were  really  saved  1  consented, 
after  telling  them  what  it  might  mean.  I  talked  with  the  father  of 
one  of  the  boys  who,  though  not  willing,  yet  said  he  would  make  no 
trouble.  However  the  pressure  of  the  Thibetans  was  too  much. 
Thus  one  evening  while  leaving  the  chapel  the  old  man  pounced 
suddenly  upon  the  boy;  soon  a  large  crowd  gathered,  and  he  was 
carried  off  a  prisoner.  I  immediately  notified  the  official,  but  no 
trace  could  be  found  of  him.  His  father  acted  like  a  demon  possessed 
and  attempted  to  kill  himself.  I  might  here  say  that  not  six 
months  previous  this  same  father  attempted  suicide  because  this 
son  was  so  bad.  All  that  night  he  was  a  prisoner  in  the  hands  of 
wicked  men.  How  they  threatened  and  terrified,  but  with  no  avail. 
However,  his  father  determined  to  make  him  yield  and  if  in  no 
other  way  by  killing  himself.  Of  course  the  boy  could  not  hold  out 
against  this,  and  he  said  that  he  would  wait  until  his  father's 
death  ere  baptism,  but  in  no  way  would  he  deny  Christ.  This 
was  his  testimony,  when  found  next  morning,  before  me  and 
others.  Two  men  were  then  hired  to  watch  and  keep  him 
from  our  house.  As  he  would  not  touch  drink  his  father  said 
that  his  heart  was  not  changed.  Sunday  came,  and  he  refused  to 
work ;  his  father  said  he  must  do  without  eating,  to  which  he 
replied  that  it  did  not  matter  much  for  one  day.  Everybody  had 
their  taunts  and  jeers,  to  all  of  which  he  turned  a  deaf  ear  with  the 
reply  that  one  day  he  would  see  Jesus.  Becoming  impatient  with 
his  guard  he  informed  them  that  unless  they  let  him  alone  he 
should  have  no  further  regard  for  his  father.  He  then  stole  into  the 
house  for  worship  and  for  comfort  as  often  as  he  could.  The  people 
of  the  place  then  got  together  and  decided  to  send  him  from  the  place 
to  another  one  some  190  li  distant.  Ere  he  left  he  proved  to  all 
that  he  had  really  been  converted,  and  some  of  them  confessed  to 
me  how  they  even  tried  main  force  but  with  no  avail.  What  all 
this  meant  to  us  I  can  hardly  tell,  for  three  days  we  neither  cared 
to  eat  or  sleep,  but  just  wait  upon  Q-od  for  this  straggling  soul. 
But  it  meant  more  for  him  ;  his  eyes  became  hollow  and  countenance 
sorrowful,  yet  we  heard  not  one  regret  because  of  his  finding  Jesus. 


1900.]  THE   BOERS  AND  MISSIONS.  265 

His  last  evening  in  the  place  was  spent  with  ns,  and  I  need  not  say 
that  our  parting  was  one  of  tears.  He  himself  was  deeply  moved, 
and  said  that  "  by  the  grace  of  Gi)d  he  would  remain  true."  Since 
then,  two  brethren  of  the  C.  I.  M.  have  also  met  him,  and  he 
remains  the  same. 

The  other  boy  was  baptized;  the  Chinese  of  the  place  then  got 
together  and  threatened  to  fine  anyone  that  came  near  the  place; 
severally  of  course.  The  Thibetans  had  been  doing  this  openly  for 
some  time. 

After  this  we  decided  to  take  a  book  selling  trip  among  the 
Thibetans  ;  thus  we  were  busily  getting  our  tent  ready  when  the 
other  cloud  broke.  Naturally  speaking  if  it  had  not  been  for  the 
boys'  trouble  we  would  all  have  been  killed,  as  previously  we  all 
went  to  the  chapel  every  morning.  If  we  had  been  there,  there 
would  have  been  no  escape.  Thus  yon  can  see  that  it  is  tough 
working  up  here  ;  four  times  since  coming  we  have  faced  death, 
while  twice  the  escapes  were  so  narrow  that  they  were  nothing  less 
than  miracles  ;  bnt  we  have  no  thought  of  turning  back,  for  I  feel  as 
if  my  life  is  blighted  till  that  part  of  Thibet  which  Christ  would 
have  us  conquer,  lies  low  at  His  feet.  You  remember  the  wound 
only  makes  the  true  soldier  more  serviceable  for  the  battle.  We 
need  more  workers  for  Thibet,  but  they  must  be  of  the  real  stuff 
if  they  will  stand.  I  am  thankful  for  a  year  in  Central  China, 
for  it  acted  as  a  bracing  tonic. — Rev.  Geo.  T.  Shields,  in  Tlie 
Christian  and  Missionary  Alliance. 


The  Boers  and  Missions. 

A  letter  in  the  London  Christian,  January  18,  written  in  a  very  kind- 
ly spirit,  and  expressing  deep  sympathy  with  the  present  sufferings  of  the 
Boers,  nevertheless  emphasizes  the  fact  that  the  Boer  government  lias 
never  been  favorable  to  missionaries  ;  that  the  instinct  of  isolation  peculiar 
to  that  people  causes  them  to  repel  the  foreign  element  and  to  make  life 
hard  not  for  natives  only,  but  for  the  missionaries  who  seek  to  uplift  the 
native  population.  The  laws  and  edicts  issued  by  the  Boer  government 
are  cited  as  proving  this  position.  The  writer  (Josephine  E.  Butler) 
acknowledges  Britain's  sins  and  need  of  chastisement,  but  maintains  that 
the  treatment  of  the  oppressed  Africans  and  the  messengers  of  Christ 
among  them,  constitutes  a  graver  challenge  for  divine  judgment.  Christian 
Zulus  in  Natal  ask  to  be  saved  from  Boer  dominion  and  fear  the  loss  of 
British  protection,  as  do  also  the  Christians  of  Basutoland.  Good  King 
Khama,  who  visited  Windsor  to  ask  Victoria  to  take  his  country  under 
her  imperial  wings,  fears  lest  in  tliis  stru;igle  the  Boers  should  win  the 
day.  This  is  an  aspect  of  the  question  which  should  have  its  proper 
weight  in  all  our  consideration  of  the  grave  issues  which  are  to  be  decided 
by  tliis  awful  and  desperate  struggle.  It  seems  to  be  more  the  clash  of  two 
opposing  civilizations  than  of  two  hostile  armies.  Is  it  to  prove  another 
of  the  decisive  battles  of  history  ? — 2'he  Missionary  Review  of  the   World. 


256  THE   CHINESE  RECORDER.  [May, 


Rev.  E.  T.  Williams,  M.A.,  Editor, 

Published  in  the  interests  of  the  "  Educational  Association  of  China." 


Records  of  the  Third  Triennial  Meeting  of  the   • 
Educational  Association. 

ESTERN  civilization  is  doubtless  making  a  deep  impression 
upon  China,  but  China  also  leaves  her  mark  upon  all  who 
dwell  for  any  length  of  time  within  her  borders.  We 
cannof}  explain  in  any  other  way  the  long  delay  in  the  publication 
of  this  interesting  and  valuable  report. 

We  have  all  fallen  under  the  potent  spell  of  the  Orient,  and  the 
*^  man  man  ti'^  of  the  Celestial  has  become  practically  an  all  but 
universal  motto  for  the  resident  Europeans.  Is  it  the  lack  of  ozone  ? 
Is  it  malaria  ?  What  is  it  that  thus  transforms  the  eager,  hurried 
Westerner  into  so  deliberate,  so  procrastinating  a  character  ?  "  Steam 
is  almost  an  Englishman,"  said  Emerson,  but  it  would  take  a  very 
low  pressure  engine  to  typify  properly  the  Englishman  or  Yankee  of 
the  Far  East. 

Perhaps  it  is  better  so ;  all  the  currents  of  life  are  sluggish  in 
this  ancient  empire,  and  it  would  be  useless  for  us  to  fret  ourselves 
trying  to  quicken  them.  In  the  long  run  the  tortoise  beats  the  hare, 
and  as  good  Sir  Thomas  Brown  says:  "  Festination  may  prove  pre- 
cipitation, deliberating  delay  may  be  wise  cunctation,  and  slowness 
no  slothfulness." 

So  while  eleven  months  seem  to  be  a  long  time  to  wait  for  the 
appearance  of  this  report  we  do  not  complain.  We  may  perhaps 
find  some  advantage  in  the  long  delay  ;  the  papers  and  addresses 
seem  almost  new  and  appeal  to  us  with  fresh  power. 

They,  at  any  rate,  are  not  of  the  kind  that  spoil  from  long 
keeping.  They  deal  with  living  problems  that  will  continue  to  be 
pressing  problems  for  many  decades  to  come.  They  are  papers  and 
addresses  that  have  been  prepared  with  great  care  and  are  the 
result  of  years  of  practical  experience  and  reflection. 

The  address  of  the  President,  Rev.  D.  Z.  Sheffield,  D.D.,  on 
"Christian  Education,"  sets  a  lofty  ideal  before  the  Christian 
educator  and  reminds  him  of  the  important  ends  that  are  to  be  kept 
in  view  in  the  instruction  of  the  young,  not  alone  to  give  them  "a 
wide  range  of  knowledge  on   a  variety  of  subjects,   but  also  the 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT.  267 

apprehension  of  the  interdependence,  the  organic  unity  of  snch 
knowledge,"  that  they  may  realize  that  "the  seen  is  under  the 
dominion  of  the  unseen,"  and  that  they  may  learn  "  the  lesson  that 
being  is  for  the  sake  of  other  being  and  life  for  the  sake  of  other  life." 
Rev.  A.  P.  Parker,  D.D.,  in  the  discussion  of  "Some  Edwca- 
tional  Problems,"  says  with  truth:  "  Among  the  many  problems 
that  leaders  of  thought  in  China,  both  foreign  and  native,  have  to 
face,  none  are  more  important,  so  far  as  human  agencies  go,  than 
thosfe  pertaining  to  education." 

Amono  these  he  mentions  the  need  of  changing  the  educational 
system  of  China  ;  "  how  to  secure  and  retain  control  of  the  educa- 
tional movements  that  are  now  being  inaugurated  by  the  people  and 
government  officials ;  "  "how  to  prepare  and  train  the  leaders  for 
the  Chinese  in  the  new  rdijinie  that  is  now  rapidly  coming  into 
being,"  "  how  to  help  to  the  best  advantage  the  reform  movements 
that  have  been  and  are  being  started  in  the  country"  and  other 
equally  important  questionH,  as  female  education  and  self-support. 
llev.  Timothy  Richard,  under  the  same  general  subject,  discusses 
among  other  things  the  subject  matter,  the  aim,  and  the  language 
of  education  and  emphasizes  particularly  the  importance  of  saving 
China  from  the  materialism  of  the  West  and  the  need  of  devising 
some  method  of  more  rapidly  advancing  the  education  of  this  vast 
empire.  His  suirgostion  that  the  Educational  Association  should 
appoint  a  committee  to  join  one  of  the  "Diffusion  Society"  ia 
considering  this  subject  was,  as  we  know,  acted  upon. 

Dr.  Mateer's  vigorous  paper  on  "  Self-support"  is  calculated  to 
correct  some  false  notions  on  this  subject  that  have  considerable 
currency,  iley.  E.  F,  Gedye  makes  valuable  suggestions  on  "Aa 
Examination  Board  for  China,"  which  are  likely  i,o  bear  fruit  in  the 
near  future.  "The  Aim  of  a  Christian  School  in  China"  is  discussed 
by  Revs.  W.  M.  Hayes,  F.  L.  Hawks  Pott,  and  Rev.  S.  Couling. 
F.  C.  Cooper,  Esq.,  treats  of  "Physical  Training"  and  Rev,  J.  C. 
Ferguson  of  "  C'hinese  Studies." 

Among  other  topics  presented  are:  "  Foreij^n  Studies  in  Higher 
Schools,"  by  Rev.  Geo.  Loehr;  "Religious  S'udies  in  Hii^'her 
Schools,"  by  Rev.  J.  Jackson;  "  Government  Educsitioii  in  Japan," 
by  K.  Ibuka  ;  "Science  Teaching  and  Scientific  Training,"  l)y  Rfv.  F, 
D.  Gamewell  and  ^'  Medical  Schools,"  by  J.  G.  Kerr,  M.D.,  LL.D. 

T'he  women  were  repiesented  by  Miss  Laura  H  ivgood  in  "  Social 
Problems  connected  with  Girls'  Higher  Educaiioti;"  Mrs,  Richard 
on  "The  First  Girls'  School  opened  hy  the  Chinese,"  which  has  un- 
fortunately since  been  closed;  Miss  Gertrude  Howe  on  "Teaching 
English;"  Miss  Newton  on  "  Course  of  Study,"  and  others.  All  these 
papers  and  others  not  meatioaed  are  worthy  of  careful  reading  and  will 


258  THE   CHINESE   BECORDER.  [May, 

carry  the  inflaence  of  the  important  meeting  at  which  they  were  read 
to  many  teachers  who  were  not  able  to  be  present  and  will  revive  in 
those  who  were  present  the  enthusiasm  then  awakened. 

The  Educational  Association  has  already  accomplished  much 
in  the  ten  years  of  its  existence,  but  not  so  much,  we  believe,  as  it 
ought  to  have  accomplished. 

It  occupies  a  unique  position  at  the  most  critical  period,  perhaps 
of  China's  educational  history,  and  much  as  the  individual  members 
of  the  Association  are  doing  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  hour  and  shape 
the  course  of  events,  still  more  perhaps  could  be  done  by  a  wise  use 
of  the  power  which  association  gives. 

The  wide  separation  of  individuals  scattered  over  the  Chinese 
empire  makes  closer  co-operation  very  difficult,  to  be  sure,  but  tliere  is 
room  to  doubt  whether  the  best  use  is  being  made  of  available  means. 

The  report  of  the  Executive  Committee  shows  that  little  was  done 
toward  the  production  of  new  text  books  during  the  three  years — 
1896-1899.  We  note,  too,  that  while  the  "  Committee  on  Technical 
and  Scientific  Terms "  reports  a  list  of  chemical  terms  as  almost 
ready  for  printing,  the  list  is  not  given  in  this  volume. 

Altogether  the  "Records"  make  a  good  volume  of  167  pages, 
bound  in  boards  and  issuing  from  the  Presbyterian  Mission  Press. 

We  suggest  tiiat  arrangements  should  be  made  to  obtain 
statistics  of  educational  work  for  the  next  meeting  and  make  their 
publication  a  regular  feature  of  future  reports.  This  will  make  them 
still  more  useful,  though,  as  it  stands,  the  present  volume  will  be 
found  very  helpful  and  suggestive  by  all  who  are  engaged  in  educa- 
tional work  in  China. 


Tour  in  Behalf  of  the  Anti-foot-binding  Society. 

BY  MRS.  ARCHIBALD   LITTLEc 

^HB  tonr  round  the  sonthern  ports  may  be  said  to  have 
opened  with  the  meeting  held  under  the  auspices  of  the 
\^  Odd  Volumes  Society  at  the  City  Hall,  Hongkong,  on 
February  14th.  Lady  Blake  took  the  chair,  and  among  the  audi- 
ence, which  was  so  numerous  that  between  twenty  and  thirty  were 
standing,  were  the  Governor,  Sir  Henry  Blake,  and  his  Aid-de-camp, 
Lord  Luirdale,  Bishop  and  Mrs.  Hoare,  the  wife  of  the  General 
in  command,  and  also  four  of  the  Admirals,  the  Chief  Justice,  Sir 
John  Carrington,  Mr.  Rollock,  late  Acting  Solicitor  General,  besides 
soaae  of  the  leading  Chiuese  and  cue  or  two  Parsees, 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT.  259 

Lady  Blake  said  she  had  been  asked  to  preside  there  that  day  in  order 
to  introduco  to  them  Mrs.  Litth',  though  there  was  litthi  xhhuI  for  her  to  do 
so.  Mrs.  Little  had  alreadly  made  her  name  known  by  her  writin;,'8  and  her 
work,  not  only  in  China  but  in  countries  far  away.  It  was  ahout  a  poi  tion 
of  that  work  that  she  was  gofxl  onougli  to  coiuo  to  ad<hes.s  them  that 
evening,  a  work  in  wliicli  they  could  all  take  an  interest,  inasmuch  as  its 
object  was  to  al)olish  unnecessary  suffering.  The  Chinese  had  a  proverb, 
"  Every  pair  of  golden  lilies  costs  a  jar  of  tears."  They  all  know  how 
dilHoult  it  was  to  change  old  customs,  not  only  in  China  but  elsewhere, 
but  the  Chinese  were  so  logical  and  so  rational  that  there  vvero  those  who 
hoped  that  when  they  gob  convinced  that  nature  was  a  better  judi,'e  of 
what  a  woman's  foot  should  be  than  man  the  great  mass  of  people  in 
China  would  follow  the  example  of  some  of  its  most  distinguished  men 
and  go  in  for  anti-foot-bindiug.     (Applause.) 

After  my  address,  which  was  received  very  sympathetically, 
Mr.  Francis  moved  a  vote  of  thanks,  and  after  Mr.  Pollock  had  done 
the  same  by  Lady  Bluke  for  so  kindly  presiding,  Mr.  Francis  a'^ain 
rose  and  called  for  three  cheor.s,  after  which  the  audience  dispersed, 
carrying  o£E  with  them  quite  a  goodly  number  of  tracts. 

I  was  very  sorry  it  was  not  possible  to  arrange  a  Chinese 
meeting  before  leaving  Hongkong,  but  Mr.  Ho  Fook,  tlie  brother 
of  Dr.  Ho  Tung,  having  undertaken  to  arrange  it,  I  left  the  matter 
in  his  hands  and  arrived  in  Canton  on  Friday  morning,  February 
16th,  the  Hongkoni;,  Canton,  and  Macao  Steamboat  Company 
having  very  kindly  furnished  me  with  a  free  pass  by  their  boats. 
In  the  afternoon  there  was  a  meeting  in  the  theatre  of  the  Club, 
twenty-four  missionaries  and  thirty-six  of  the  community  attending, 
Mr.  B.  C.  J.  Scott,  the  British  Consul,  in  the  chair.  There  was  so 
much  sickness  in  the  place,  the  two  ladies  who  had  kindly  intended  to 
entertain  me  and  several  others,  being  ill  in  bed,  that  it  was  rather 
surprising  so  many  came  out.  Mr.  Lovatt  and  Mr.  Nelson  spoke; 
the  former  with  much  feeling  about  the  sufferings  of  the  little  girls, 
and  the  audience  seemed  decidedly  sympathetic.  Next  day  I  had 
tried  to  invite  some  ladies  to  meet  me  at  the  Hotel  and  plan  work, 
but  as  not  many  came, — there  had  been  a  heavy  thunderstorm  and 
occasional  down-pour, — I  went  out  with  those  who  had  come  to  call 
upon  the  other  missionaries,  and  thus  a  very  efficient  working 
committee  seemed  soon  in  a  fair  way  to  be  formed.  In  the  after- 
noon there  was  a  Chinese  meetini^  at  the  Presbyterian  chapel  at 
Kuhfa.  Miss  Dr.  Fulton  presented  diplomas  to  two  Chinese  young 
ladies,  her  pupils.  Thus  the  meeting  had  a  somewhat  brilliant 
beginning,  and  the  chapel  was  very  elaborately  and  prettily 
decorated  in  Chinese  fashion,  an  effect  which  was  heightened  by 
the  sheets  of  red  paper  on  which  the  hymns  used  were  printed. 
Dr.  Kerr  presided,  and  Captain  Yung,  a  native  Yale  student 
interpreted.     The  position  was  rather  a  peculiarly   trying  one  for 


260  THE   CHINESE   RECORITER.  [May, 

him,  as  I  ohli^yed  him  to  denonuce  bound  feet  under  the  eyes  of  his 
elegantly  dressed  and  superior-looking  wife,  with,  alas  !  the  tiniest 
bonnd  feet  ia  most  pretty  little  shoes.  He  did  not,  however,  lose 
the  point  of  a  single  joke,  and  I  have  never  addressed  an  audience 
that  laughed  so  much  as  that  Cantonese  audience  of  between  500 
and  600.  The  woman's  side  was  very  closely  packed,  and  probably 
they  were  as  much  moved  as  the  men,  but  they  had  no  chance  of 
getting  up  to  the  table  at  all,  as  the  men  croivded  up  to  put  down 
their  names  as  associates  of  the  Tien  Tsu  Hui  as  long  as  the 
supply  of  associates'  cards  held  out.  As  soon  as  that  ceased  they 
streamed  away  to  ask  for  pamphlets  at  the  door.  The  photographs 
of  bound  and  unbound  feet,  under  the  Routgen  rays  by  Dr. 
Thompson,  of  Hankow,  excited  much  interest  and  some  horror,  and 
a  photographer  was  eager  to  be  allowed  to  reproduce  them,  saying 
he  was  sure  copies  would  sell  well  and  spread  the  horror  that 
bound  feet  should  inspire.  An  old  lady,  who  had  unbound  her  feet 
at  seventy,  was  at  the  meeting.  She  said  she  had  suffered  a  good 
deal,  but  God  had  given  her  the  grace  to  bear  it.  Captain  Yuug'a 
daintily-footed  wife  declared  she  was  going  to  unbind,  and  had 
already  loosened  her  feet  a  good  deal;  while  Dr.  Kerr,  the  oldest 
missionary  in  Canton,  who  sees  his  life  work  all  around  hitn, — the 
men's  and  woman's  hospital,  all  built  and  for  so  many  years 
entirely  managed  by  himself,  and  who  is  now  intending  to  add 
to  them  a  lunatic  asylum — told  a  strange  story  of  a  patient  of  his 
twenty  years  before,  both  of  whose  feet  had  dro[)ped  off  through 
mortification,  the  legs  also  mortifying  to  a  certain  extent.  The 
poor  lady  had,  however,  kept  her  feet,  and  she  appeared  bringing 
them  both  to  him,  and  asking  him  if  he  could  not  fasten  them  on 
again  for  her!  He  laughed  as  he  said  he  did  not  think  he  had 
ever  received  such  a  comi)liment  to  his  skill,  as  such  a  task  was 
beyond  him,  and  he  was  obliged  to  tell  her  so.  On  Monday  Dr. 
Fulton  had  prepared  for  a  ladies'  meeting  for  bound-footed  ladies 
only.  But  it  j)roved  so  rainy  only  about  nine  ventured  out.  All 
who  came,  however,  joined  the  Tien  Tsu  Hui.  Mrs.  Wisner,  born  and 
bred  in  China,  interpreted,  and  Mrs.  Lovatt,  of  the  Customs,  made  a 
speech  after  Dr.  Fulton ;  then  1  had  to  hurry  away,  for  the  Viceroy 
Li  Hung-chang  had  ap[)ointed  three  o'clock  to  receive  me  in  response 
to  a  request  written  on  Tien  Tsu  Hui  p:iper  to  Lord  Li  to  arrange 
a  meeting  with  his  father  if  possible.  I  asked  Dr.  Fulton  ta 
accompany  me,  not  liking  to  go  quite  alone,  and  she  was  delighted 
to  do  so,  being  desirous  to  bring  her  new  woman's  hospital  to  his 
notice.  It  poured,  so  that  the  rain  even  came  in  through  the  roof 
of  the  chair.  But  I  quite  forgot  this  when  I  saw  Li  Hung-chang 
standing  at  the  door  of  his  sitting-room  to  receive  as ;  a  most 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT.  261 

improssive  figure  in  his  lono:  ermino-lined  pfown  with  sahlo  capo, 
diiuiiond  ring,  and  diamond  in  his  cap — innprossive  not  only  for  his 
great  height  bnt  for  his  looks  generally  and  qnite  as  much  as 
anything  from  his  air  of  exceeding  agreoability.  He  entertained  ns 
for  about  an  hour,  making  jokes  nearly  all  the  time.  No!  he 
certainly  did  not  like  to  hear  the  little  children  crying  whilst  their 
foet  were  bound,  bnt  tlien  he  never  did  hear  them.  What !  a  prize 
competition  to  decide  what  would  be  the  best  kind  of  shoe  for 
women  to  wear  when  they  had  given  up  binding  1  he  thought  that 
would  be  very  difficult.  As  to  setting  to  work  to  unbind  tlie  feet 
of  the  women  of  China  !  "  No  !  I  really  have  not  sufficient  ability 
for  that."  Theu  he  said  if  he  gave  a  writing  at  all  it  must  be  an 
essay,  which  he  conveyed  by  his  manner  would  be  a  serious  matter 
to  write.  He,  however,  wrote  his  name  and  titles  on  a  form  I  had 
bought  that  morning  for  the  purpose  and  added  that  they  were 
written  for  the  founder  of  Tien  Tsn  Hui,  which  writing,  as  Lord 
Li  hastened  to  point  out,  would  be  of  very  great  use  among  Chinese. 
But  he  seemed  to  think  his  father  miglit  on  after-reflection  give 
more.  Of  course  Li  Hung-chang  said  he  would  be  delighted  to 
contribute  to  a  large  amount  if  we  would  first  get  the  women  of 
Eurojie  to  unbind  their  waists. 

He  said  his  mother  only  unbound  after  she  was  old,  and  did 
not  think  any  woman  of  his  family  had  unbound  feet,  but  Lord  Li 
said  his  little  daughter  had.  As  we  were  coming  away  the  great 
Viceroy  made  Dr.  Fulton  happy  by  a  present  of  100  dollars  for  her 
hospital.  He  was  very  curious  to  discover  who  were  the  leading 
Chinese  on  our  Society,  and  grumbled  out,  "  You  know  if  you  unbind 
the  women  you'll  make  them  and  the  men  so  strong  they  will 
overturn  the  dynasty." 

Next  day  Dr.  Noyes  gathered  together  as  many  of  his  school- 
boys as  had  yet  assembled  together  with  their  teachers  and  a  few 
men  and  women  from  outside  and  interpreted  for  me.  Again  ten  joined 
tiie  Tien  Tsu  Hui,  whilst  the  boys  were  to  be  left  to  think  it  over  for 
a  while  before  being  asked  to  do  so.  That  evening  it  was  very 
cheering  to  have  the  Acting  German  Consul  come  to  call  for  the 
second  time, — I  had  missed  him  the  time  before, — and  saying  he 
would  be  most  ready  to  help  in  any  way.  He  himself  suggested 
sending  specimens  of  our  tracts,  together  with  a  personal  letter  of 
his  own,  to  all  the  officials  and  leading  merchants  that  he  knew. 
This  seemed  capital,  and  has  as  yet,  so  far  as  I  know,  only  been 
done  by  Mr.  Clenuell  at  Hangchow.  If  it  could  be  largely  done  it 
would  probably  have  an  immense  effect 

[To  be  continued.] 


262 


THE   CHINESE   KECORDEB. 


[May, 


Cnrrtsponkira, 


CRITICISMS. 

To  the  Editor  of 

"  The  Chinesb  Recorder." 

I  wish  to  acknowledge,  through 
the  Recorder,  the  receipt  of  criti- 
cisuis  on  the  Mandarin  Translation 
of  the  Acts,  from  the  following 
persons :  Rev.  A.  Sydenstricker, 
Rt.  Rev.  G.  E.  Moule,  D.D.,  Rev. 
H.  P.  Perkins,  Mr.  Geo.  Parker, 
Mr.  Edward  Hunt,  Mr.  W.  W. 
Simpson,  and  two  anonymous  con- 
tributions on  other  parts  of  the 
Bible.  I  wish  liereby  to  thank 
these  gentlemen  for  their  work, 
and  earnestly  request  that  other 
friends  will  carefully  examine  the 
work  already  done  in  Mark,  Jolin, 
and  Acts,  and  send  me  their 
criticisms  to  assist  the  committee 
in  the  revision  of  their  work.  All, 
criticisms  received  will  be  carefully 
preserved  and  taken  to  our  next 
meeting  (some  time  next  autumn  1) 
and  to  each  subsequent  meeting  to 
assist  us,  not  only  in  the  work  of 


revision,  but  also  in  translation  of 
other  books. 

Yours  very  truly, 

Chauncey  Goodrich. 
Tdng-cho,  near  Peking,  China. 


A  CORRECTION. 

To  the  Editor  of 

"The  Chinese  Recorder." 

Dear  Sir  :  Permit  me  to  call  at- 
tention to  an  error  in  your  review 
of  the  Annual  Reports  of  the 
"  Chinese  Tract  Society "  and  the 
"Central  China  Religious  Tract 
Society "  which  appears  in  your 
April  number. 

The  issues  of  the  "  Chinese  Tract 
Society"  are  there  given  as 
5,042,858  pages,  while  those  of  our 
Society  are  put  at  1,206,647  pages 
only.  "  Pages  only "  should  be 
«'  Books  and  Sheet  Tracts."  Turned 
into  pages  our  last  year's  issues 
amount  to  upwards  of  thirteen  and 
and  a  half  millions. 

I  remain,  etc., 

C.  C.  R.  T.  S. 


®m  I00I1  ^Ml 


Official  'Minutes of  the  Eighth  Session  of 
tlie  Malaysia  Mission  Conference  of  the 
M.  E.  Church,  held  in  Singapore, 
February,  1900,  presided  over  by  Bis- 
hop Thoburn. 

This  Conference  comprises  Pe- 
nang,  Singapore,  and  the  Philippine 
Islands. 


The  Friend  of  China,  January,  1900, 
the  organ  of  the  Society  for  the 
Suppression  of  the  Opium  Trade. 
"Righteousness  exalteth  a  nation, 
but  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  people." 

The  frontispiece  is  a  fine  engrav- 
ing of  the  late  Dr.  Chalmers,  of 
Hongkong.  To  Chinese  mission- 
aries Rev,  T.  G.  Selby's  review  of 
"  The  Opinions  of   Over  One  Hun- 


dred Physicians  on  the  Use  of 
Opium  in  China,"  is  the  most  inter- 
esting contribution. 


Report  of  the  Tuv  yJcun  Medical  Missionary 
Hospital  (1899)  in  connexion  with 
the  Rhenish  Missionary  Society,  with 
four  full  page  illustrations  done  in 
Germany. 

New  patients,  5,657 ;  return 
visits,  14,545.  Total,  20,202.  Cata- 
ract cases,  69 ;  malarial  cases,  509. 
Concerning  these  the  doctor  en- 
quired whether  the  patients  had  a 
mosquito  curtain  or  not.  Of  404, 
223  had  none  Seventy-four  cases 
of  leprosy  were  also  treated.  Nine- 
teen cases  of  opium-poisoning  were 
treated. 


1900.] 


OUR   BOOK   TABLR. 


263 


NEW  BOOKS  ISSUED  BY  THE  DIFFUSION 
SOCIETY. 

E9  tfe  ^"S-  Four  Religions  of  the  World. 
FugL-B  114.  Catttlogue  No.  415.  Price  12 
cents, 

Tliis  book  is  a  redaction  as  well 
as  translation  of  a  little  book  by 
Rev.  Gf'orge  M.  Grant,  D.D., 
Principal  of  Queen's  University, 
Canada.  He  was  asked  by  a  com- 
mittee of  tlie  Established  Cbiirch 
in  Scotland  to  prepare  a  book  on 
the  subject  for  use  of  the  Young 
Peoples'  Guilds  in  that  church.  The 
book  in  its  English  dress  has  been 
very  highly  spoken  of. 

Principal  Grant  chose  four  re- 
ligions for  treatment  as  amply  suf- 
ficient, and  of  course  he  chose  the 
four  which  divide  the  world  with 
Christianity  to-day,  viz.,  Moham- 
medanism, Buddhism,  Confucianism, 
and  Hinduism.  The  Chinese  book, 
after  a  brief  introduction,  devotes 
two  chapters  to  each  of  these, 
comparing  them  with  Christianity, 
and,  while  giving  credit  for  the 
good,  shewing  where  they  fail. 
Some  redaction  and  adaptation  were 
necessary  for  two  reasons,  viz.,  Dr. 
Grant's  audience  was  Cliristian,  and 
in  China  we  have  heathen  hearers 
or  readers,  and  there  were  some 
statements  in  the  original  work  to 
which  the  missionary  body  in  China 
could  not  subscribe.  Besides  general 
readervS,  students  in  schools  and 
colleges  will  find  this  book  worth 
study. 


E  tie  ^  *&•  Examination  of  Moham- 
medanism. Pages  28.  Catalogue  No. 
416.  Price  3  cents. 

This  is  a  reprint  of  the  first  two 
chapters  of  tlie  preceding,  dealing 
with  Mohammedanism,  with  a  view 
to  special  use  among  those  of  that 
religion.  The  treatment  is  loyal  to 
its  intended  readers,  and  in  the 
absence  of  effort  and  literature  for 
them  especially  this  book  is  calcula- 
teil  to  do  great  service  among 
Chinese  Moslems, 


E  iS  1^  11.  The  Old  Man'a  Home. 
Pages  -A).  Catalogue  No,  421.  Prioe 
three  cents. 

This  is  one  of  Rev.  William 
Adam's  well  known  allegories,  in 
which  he  tells  the  story  of  an  old 
man  who  was  always  speakin"  of 
his  home,  to  which  he  said  he  was 
going.  He  seemed  to  live  in  the 
unseen  as  others  do  in  the  seen,  on 
account  of  wiiich  most  thought  him 
crazy.  Among  a  people  like  the 
Chinese,  whose  ideas  of  a  future 
world  are  so  unsubstantial,  an 
allegory  of  this  sort  is  well  adapted 
to  stimulate  thought  regarding  the 
future  and  lead  to  further  enquiry. 
Another  of  Adam's  allegories  is 
already  done  into  Chinese  by  Mrs, 
Fitch,  viz.,  ±  i-  f^  6^  ^  f^.  Mes- 
sengers of  the  Great  King  (Chinese 
Tract  Society,  152a).  Anyone  not 
fainiliar  with  the  original  can  have 
no  idea  what  the  Ciiinese  is  about 
from  the  title,  and  as  is  so  common 
with  catalogues  one  of  the  best 
books  On  the  Use  of  Money  {which. 
is  the  subject)  is  buried  under  a 
title  with  no  explanatory  note. 

We  learn  that  the  same  Society 
has  Maclear's  Conversion  of  the 
Celts  in  tlie  press,  to  be  followed 
by  the  other  volumes  of  the  same 
series.  Besides  these,  Andrew 
Murray's  Spirit  of  Christ  and  Rev. 
James  White's  Eighteen  Christian 
Centuries  may  be  expected  out 
this  year. 


AUTHORS,    ATTENTION  ! 

All  who  have  written  cooks  or 
TRACTS  for  the  Chinese  are  here- 
by invited  to  read  the  following 
communication : — 

Missionaries  in  China. 

Dear  Brethren  :  In  view  of  the 
proposed  General  Conference  in 
1901,  to  be  lield  in  Shanghai,  I  have 
been  authorized  to  prepare  a  de- 
scriptive catalogue  of  all  Christian 
literature  for  the  Chinese,  to  be 
ready  before  the  Conference.     Dr. 


264 


THE    CHINESE    RECORDER. 


[May, 


Wylie's  catalogue  is  known  to  older 
missionaries.  Most  of  the  works 
he  describes  are  now  dead.  Mr. 
Kenraure  prepared  a  valuable  de- 
scriptive catalogue  of  Christian 
books  just  after  the  last  General 
Conference,  which  ought  to  be 
better  known  than  it  is.  It,  how- 
ever, only  includes  the  publications 
which  are  described  as  by  the 
Religious  Tract  Society,  London, 
which  aids  Tract  Societies  in  China 
by  a  grant.  I  propose  to  widen 
the  design  to  include  all  Chinese 
Christian  literature  by  Tract 
Societies,  by  the  Diffusion  Society, 
and  by  denominational  Presses  and 
private  publication.  Works  will  be 
classified  according  to  subjects  and 
a  terse  description  given  of  con- 
tents, design,  class  of  readers  for 
whom  meant,  characteristic  differ- 
ences from  other  books  on  same 
subject,  usefulness  or  otherwise, 
etc. 

In  order  to  the  successful  execution 
of  the  design,  I  beg  the  co-operation 
of  authors  and  missionaries.  Most 
of  the  books  are  already  in  hand, 
but  many  must  still  be  n)issing. 
Woidd  authors  kindly  furnish  me 
with  a  copy  of  such  books  as  have 
not  been  published  by  the  Tract 
Societies.  If  those  who  have  writ- 
ten books  would  furnish  me  with 
their  own  ideas  about  their  works 
such  information  will  be  highly 
appreciated.  If  others  can  testify 
to  the  usefulness  of  any  book  their 
testimony  will  be  very  valuable  for 
the  purpose  of  forming  the  estimate 
of  usefulness. 

In  connection  with  this  catalogue 
the  Committee  of  Arrangements 
propose  to  have  at  the  General 
Conference  a  complete  exhibit  of 
EVERY  BOOK  used  in  Chinese 
missionary  work,  arranged  so  that 
its  character,  etc.,  can  be  seen  at  a 
glance.  The  Societies  will  be  asked 
to  furnish  sets  of  their  publications 


for    this   exhibit.     Suggestions    of 
course  will  be  most  welcome. 

Yours  sincerely, 

Donald  MacGillivray. 


There  has  just  been  published  by 
the  Society  for  the'  Diffusion  of 
Christian  Knowledge  a  series  of 
Cluistian  biographies  in  seven 
volumes. 

The  compiler  is  Mrs.  Timothy 
Richard,  and  she  has  done  her  work 
well. 

The  Chinese  is  good  Mandarin, 
suitable  for  all  classes  in  the 
Christian  church  who  can  read  at 
all  well,  and  especially  suitable  as 
a  text  book  in  the  mission  schools 
for  older  scholars. 

The  biographies  number  153  in 
all,  and  carry  the  reader  over  an 
excellent  course  of  church  history. 

We  have  Short  Sketches  of 
Apostles;  Early  Church  Fathers; 
The  Early  Missionaries  to  Germany, 
England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland; 
Mystics;  Christian  Kings  and 
Queens  ;  Reformers  ;  Martyrs  ; 
Popes;  Later  Missionaries  ;  Philan- 
thropists. Besides  being  good  educa- 
tional and  inspiring  reading  for  all 
native  church  workers  the  series 
could  very  profitably  be  used  as 
a  text  book  for  Bible  classes.  Such 
a  book  has  been  very  much  needed 
to  give  such  a  good  outline  of  the 
church  with  its  work  and  workers 
in  success,  persecution,  and  change. 

We  recommend  it  heartily  to  all 
mission  workeis  for  private  reading 
and  for  use  in  the  work. 

We  would  suggest  that  as  Mrs. 
Richard  has  done  this  work  so  well, 
she  issues  another  series,  taking  up 
Old  and  New  Testament  characters 
after  the  style  of  the  Rev.  Dr. 
White,  of  Edinburgh,  with  whose 
splendid  character  sketches  many  of 
us  are  familiar. 

W.  Deans. 


1900. 


EDITORIAL   COMMENT. 


2d6 


^tritnriirl    Comment. 


The  editor  of  the  Rp:corder 
has  received  a  copy  of  the  Feb- 
ruary and  March  numbers  of 
Vol.  I  (1869)  Recorder.  They 
are  ohl — of  course — and  yellow 
and  somewhat  moth-eaten,  but 
are  complete.  Even  parts  of 
Vol.  I  are  very  diflScuU  to  obtain, 
and  these  are  specially  valuable 
to  any  one  wishing  to  complete 
their  numbers.  They  can  be  had 
for  |1.00  each  by  applying  to 
the  Presbyterian  Mission  Press, 
Shanghai. 

At  a  meeting  held  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  month,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Shanghai 
Ladies  Auxiliary,  the  following 
particulars  of  the  work  of  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  So- 
ciety for  the  past  year  were  given 
by  the  agent,  Mr.  Bondfield  : — 

"Editions  of  Scripture  had  been 
printed  in  High  and  Easy  "VV^u-li, 
Mandarin,  in  four  coUoquials, 
and  Tibetan,  making  a  total  of 
1,059,165  volumes,  iucluding 
20,500  complete  Bibles,  50,152 
New  Testaments,  and  988,513 
portions,  the  increase  for  the 
year  being  over  114,000  books. 
There  had  been  issued  from  the 
Society's  depots,  mainly  from 
Shanghai,  1,035,303  volumes,  of 
which  number  942,683  were  sent 
out  for  distribution  in  various 
parts  of  the  Chinese  empire. 
The  actual  sales  reported  were 
4,751  Bibles,  33,362  Testaments, 
and  818,043  portions,  making  a 
total  of  856,1C6,  showing  an  in- 
crease of  no  less  than  127,440 
volumes  for  the  year.  Side  by 
side  with  this  increase  in  numbers 
it  was  stated  that  there  was  not 
only  a  corresponding  increase  in 


the  money  received  but  also  that 
the  prices  charged  for  Testaments 
were  much  higher  than  formerly, 
and  that  the  native  Christians 
had  shown  an  eagerness  to  pur- 
chase durable  rather  than  cheap 
copies  of  the  Word  of  God." 
*  *  * 

The  Foochow  Christian  En- 
deavour Conference. — We  leara 
that  1,150  endeavorers  were 
present,  besides  many  of  the 
sister  organization,  the  Epworth 
League.  Considering  the  diflScul- 
ties  of  travel  in  China,  that  is  a 
surprisingly  large  number  to 
be  got  together  for  such  meet- 
ings and  would  seem  to  show 
that  Christian  Endeavour  has 
well  rooted  itself  in  China, 
with  blessings  for  the  Chinese 
as  for  other  lands.  The  objection 
raised  by  some  to  the  monster 
conventions  of  America  cannot 
at  any  rate  apply  so  far  in 
China.  Ifc  seems  to  us  that  the 
Chinese  who  in  heathen  days 
travelled  far  to  attend  religious 
gatherings  are  just  the  people  by 
and  by  to  congregate  to  Christian 
gatherings  in  most  inspiring 
numbers,  so  that  the  figure  of 
the  prophet  about  "  doves  to 
their  windows  "  will  require  to  be 
changed  to  some  other  suggestive 
of  vaster  numbers.  Meantime  why 
not  have  more  local  conferences  in 
the  provinces  ?  "  Where  there's 
a  will  there's  a  way." 
*        «        » 

As  a  matter  of  fact  over  1,100 
of  the  endeavourers  present  at 
Foochow  were  of  Fuh-kien  prov- 
ince,— the  great  difficulty  of 
dialect  keeping  many  away  who 
would  gladly  have  guue.      Those 


266 


THE   CHINESE  BECOEDEB. 


[May, 


from  other  provinces  who  knew 
no  English,  could  get  very  little 
from  the  meetings,   though   they 
felt  the  spirit  and  enthusiasm  of 
members.     A  recent  local  rally 
of    Christian    Endeavour    Socie- 
ties in  Ningpo    and    Hangchow 
Presbyteries,     at    Yii-yiao,     at- 
tended   by    over    two    hundred 
delegates,    is   reported   as    being 
very  helpful.     Subjects  specially 
considered  were :  the  advantages 
of  the  Christian  Endeavour  So- 
ciety  in    the    way   of  increasing 
reverence  for  the  Bible,  interest 
in   Christian    work,   and    mutual 
love,  and  improving  personal  re- 
ligious and  home  training. 
*         *         * 
The    Spread   of    Morphia. — 
This  is  the  title  of  a  leader  in  the 
North-China   Daily    News.     The 
editorial    is    based  on  the    trade 
reports    of    the    Shanghai     and 
other  Commissioners  of  Customs, 
who  think  that  the  importation 
of  morphia  ought  to  be  specially 
restricted.     It   appears   at  pres- 
ent to  be  free  from   duty.     We 
quote  :     "  There  is  a  probability 
that   the  disastrous  opium  habit 
is   still   increasing  in  a  part  of 
China  where  it  has  existed  for 
about  170  years.     This  is  unhap- 
pily a  picture  of  China  j  the  people 
will,    against  remonstrances,    in- 
jure themselves    by    this    habit. 
They  expend  the  capital  made  by 
their  labor  in  the  purchase  of  a 
distinctly  injurious  article.     This 
prevents   the   use   of    the   same 
capital    in   productive  industries 
This  is  a  very  pernicious  effect  of 
the    opium  habit. . . .  The  opium 
habit,  through  the  misemployment 
of  capital,  has  caused  the  exports 
to  decline  one-half  in  sixteen  years. 


Industry  at  Amoy  is  paralyzed 
by  the  opium  habit."  Thus  far  the 
News.  Facts  are  proving  too  hard 
for  the  defenders  of  the  traffic. 
If  industry  is  paralyzed,  so  will 
thepower  to  buy  imports  decrease, 
and  at  last  it  will  be  seen  that  a 
few  opium  merchants  grow  rich  at 
the  expense  of  all  other  traders. 
Surely  we  are  all  now  prepared  to 
follow  the  ironical  advice  of  the 
pamphleteer:    "  Let  us  all  smoke 

opium  I " 

*  *         * 

• 

Much  Rubbish. — So  thought 
Nehemiah,  and  gave  the  preacher 
a  striking  text  to  young  people. 
Onecannot  but  think,among  other 
places  to  be  cleared  out,  of  China. 
There  is  truly  much  rubbish  to 
be  swept  away  before  the  founda- 
tions are  laid.  Nehemiah  did  his 
cleaning  with  pick  and  shovel 
and  basket.  But,  after  all,  these 
things  could  avail  not  for  the 
work  unless  he  had  put  a  new 
spirit  into  the  people  who  han- 
dled them.  And  so  a  new  spirit 
will  do  the  work  in  China.  Per- 
haps we  are  apt  to  think  that  we 
must  by  prodigious  digging,  delv- 
ing, and  dialectics,  clean  out  this 
Augean  stable.  Is  there  not  an 
ever-flowing  stream  which  it  is 
our  high  privilege  to  let  flow  in  ? 
and  so  the  rubbish  will  glide 
noiselessly  away  and  all  become 
sweet  and  clean. 

*  *         ♦ 

For  the  benefit  of  friends  who 
send  cheques  to  Shanghai,  we 
note  that  the  Hongkong  and 
Shanghai  Bank  now  discounts 
all  cheques  on  Hankow,  Tientsin, 
or  Pekin,  or  elsewhere  than  on 
Shanghai,  unless  "  Shanghai  Cur- 
rency "  is  written  upon  them. 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  NEWS. 


PissbixariT  Ucfos* 


S67 


Mevival  in  Swatow, 

Rev.  J.  M.  Foster  writes  from 
Swatow  :  We  have  just  enjoyed  a 
most  refreshing  week  of  meetings 
with  the  Chinese  native  helpers.  A 
deeper  interest  in  spiritual  things 
Was  nifinifeated  than  I  liave  ever 
seen,  and  they  said  :  "  Never  a  week 
like  this  in  our  history  as  a  church.*' 


Dr.  Goodrich  has  kindly  sent  us 
the  following,  being  a  copy  of  a 
letter  sent  to  their  secretary.  In 
a  private  note  he  adds:  "The 
revival  of  which  it  speaks  has  con- 
tinued and  spread  in  many  places. 
At  the  close  ot  the  special  meetings 
the  college  students  nearly  all  went 
out  to  hold  meetings  in  various 
places  for  one  week,  resulting  in  a 
great  blessing  to  nearly  a  dozen 
churches,  large  and  small." — -Ed. 
Recorder. 

TuNQ-CHO,  Near  Peking,  China,\ 
March  12,  1900.       J 

D BAR  Dr.  Smith.  I  want  to  write 
you  a  bit  of  recent  history.  Two 
weeks  since  Dr.  Ingram  went  to 
Peking  on  business,  and  found 
himself  in  the  midst  of  a  won- 
derful revival  at  the  Methodist 
Mission.  The  business  was  forgot- 
ten, and  our  good  Dr.  was  directly 
plunged  into  personal  work  for 
souls.  The  next  day  he  returned, 
and  in  our  prayer  meeting  told  of 
what  he  had  seen.  Tlie  result  was 
that  I  took  up  the  theological  stu- 
dents, for  whom  we  have  had  a  great 
desire  that  they  might  receive  a 
new  anointing  before  going  out  to 
their  life  work.  Three  or  four 
others  went  also.  It  was  not  very 
long  before  they  were  in  trouble, 
and  the  next  day,  to  my  surprise 
and  my  joy,  they  were  kneeling  at 
the  altar  as  penitents.  I  need  not 
t«ll  you  the  whole  story  of  their 
struggle,    their    consecration,    and 


their  new  joy.  We  came  back  after 
three  days  to  work  for  our  owa 
dear  church  and  college. 

We  commenced  dady  meetings  a 
week  ago  to-day  in  the  city,  and 
almost  immediately  the  presence 
and  power  of  the  Spirit  were  mani- 
fest. At  the  college  it  was  quite 
otherwise.  The  boys  thought  they 
were  in  a  very  religious  state  al- 
ready, and  they  did  not  want  a 
revival.  At  our  Wednesday  prayer 
meeting  we  seemed  .so  strike  a  rock. 
The  boys  sat  like  statues,  and  it 
wa.s  almost  impossible  to  get  any 
response  after  the  opening  of  the 
meeting.  It  seemed  so  strange 
and  So  unlike  our  boys,  most  of 
wliom  are  Christians.  How  little 
prepared  we  were  for  what  soon 
followed.  In  the  evening  we  held 
another  meeting,  led  by  Air.  Tewks- 
bury.  He  made  a  few  excellent 
remarks  on  the  necessity  of  break- 
ing with  sin  and  living  a  new  life. 
Then  a  iiymn  was  sung  very  softly, 
and  the  meeting  was  opened  for 
prayer.  First  there  was  a  single 
voice.  Then  two  voices  joined  in 
together,  and  presently  there  was  a 
hum  of  voice  all  over  the  room.  It 
was  scarcely  a  quarter  of  a  minute 
from  that  time  when  every  one  in 
the  room  seemed  to  be  praying  and 
a  large  majority  weeping.  It  came 
upon  us  like  the  rushing  of  a  mighty 
wind  on  the  day  of  Pentecost. 

It  came  indeed  like  a  Pentecostal 
blessing,  and  was  an  experience 
for  a  life-tiine.  As  the  minutes 
went  on,  the  praying  and  weeping 
became  more  agonizing.  What 
should  be  done  1  Fortunately  the 
students  from  the  seminary  were 
many  of  them  present  with  their 
new  blessing.  We  went  from  one 
to  another  of  the  boys,  kneeling  and 
praying  with  them  and  speaking 
such  words  as  were  given  us  f  or 
them.  Finally  we  asked  them  to 
rise,  and  at  length  succeeded  inget- 


268 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[May, 


ting  them  on  tlieir  seats  again. 
Such  confessions  as  the  boys  made  ! 
A  half  dozen  on  their  feet  at  a  time. 
It  was  almost  impossible  to  close 
the  meeting.  "When  they  were 
finally  told  to  go  quietly  to  their 
rooms  and  try  to  get  some  sleep, 
most  of  them  left  the  room,  but 
not  to  sleep.  Sounds  of  weeping 
and  beseeching  cries  were  heard  all 
over  the  building  during  the  night. 
The  place  was  a  Bochim. 

The  next  night  the  same  scene 
was  repeated.  We  could  not  ask  any 
one  to  lead  in  prayer  without  the 
whole  school  breaking  out  into  an 
agony  of  petition.  We  broke  up 
the  meeting  and  dispersed  them 
into  five  or  six  rooms,  where  they 
fell  down  and  prayed  and  wept  as 
before.  After  a  while  we  succeeded 
in  getting  them  together  again,  but 
not  in  stopping  their  cries.  I  looked 
on  in  a  kind  of  helpless  way  while 
I  prayed  for  the  dear  boys.  But 
my  heart  held  a  great  joy,  and 
almost  involuntarily  my  lips  pro- 
nounced the  blessed  words  of  the 
Creed,  "I  believe  in  the  Holy 
Ghost." 

Holding  classes  and  study  proved 
nearly  impossible,  and  they  were 
given  up.  And  now  for  a  week 
we  have  given  ourselves  wholly  to 
revival  meetings  and  personal  work. 
The  seminary  students  have  had  a 
great  uplifting  and  have  labored 
with  joy  and  earnestness  for  souls. 
The  results  in  the  church  it  is  too 
early  to  state.  But  the  feeling  has 
been  deep  and  general,  and  very 
many  inquirers  have  made  confes- 
sions and  asked  for  prayers. 

We  are  now  chiefly  trying  to 
help  the  students  to  gain  the  best 
blessing  from  this  new  uplifting  by 
making  a  new  consecration  and 
seeking  a  special  anointing  of  grace 
and  power. 

You  will  rejoice  with  us  in  this 
work    and    pray    that    the    results 
may  be  deep  and  permanent. 
Yours  sincerely, 

CiiAUNCBy  Goodrich. 


Anti- Opium  League 
in  China, 

Contributions. 


Previously  reported 
WiW^'U.  Nan-ziDg 

^gijlb  Hoochow 

W"?'M    SoocllONV 

^^^  Nan-zing 


18^^       „  

Wt^'^  Soocbow  

'olS3^         »>  •••         *•• 

Hlg^  Shanjj-suh  

?t^ljt  Soocliow  

?!!«&       »  

jm<x     "  

3IB§^  Nan-zing  

S50^         "  

'^^M         ..  -         •- 

Rev.  A.  D.  Rice,  Tsing-kiang-pu 
Rev.  J.  R.  Giahana,  ,, 

Jas.  B.  Woods,  M.D.,         „ 
Miss  A.  Hunt,  ,, 

Rev.  H.  L.  Ferguson,         ,, 
Miss  E.  Bissett,  Tsing-kiang-pu. 
Rev.  H.  M.Woods,  D.D.,    „ 
Leung  Kwoh-kwong,  ,, 

Post  Master 
C.I.  M.  Training  Home,  Ngan-kin 
Dr.  L.  H.  Hoag,  Chinkiang 
Miss  Belle  Smitli,  Soochow       .• 
Dr.  W.  H.  Park,  „  ^ 

Rev.  J.  W.  Cline,         „ 


$475.02 
5.00 
5.00 
5.00 
5.00 
2.00 
1.00 
3.00 
1.00 
.50 
.50 
.40 
1.00 
.20 
.20 
.20 
.20 
.20 
.20 
.20 
.20 


Miss  M.  Murray, 
„  F.  Cole,         V 
„  M.  King,       J 
Miss  Faith  Box, 
Miss  A.  Henry, 
B.  T.  Crocher, 
W.  E.  Crocher, 
G.  A.  Cox, 
Miss  B.  G.  Forbes, 


Yang-chow 


4.00 
4.00 
5.00 

2.00 
1.00 
1.00 
10,00 

1.00 
6.00 
6.00 
5.00 
6.00 
1.00 

2.50 

1.00 

2.00 

.60 

.60 

1.00 
10.00 


$572.52 
W.  H.  Park,  M.D., 

Treasxirer. 
Soochow,  A^ril  12th,  1900. 


Arima  Christian 
Conference, 

(At  Arima,  near  Kobe,  Japan.) 

The  following  is  the  proposed 
program  for  the  Arima  Christian 
Conference  for  the  coming  season  :- 


1900.] 


DIARY  OF  EVENTS   IN  THE  FAH   EAST. 


2C9 


Sunday,  August  5th,  1900. — Ser- 
mons at  10  a.m.  and  at  7.45  p.m. 

Monday,  August  Gth,  10  a.m. — 
Paper,  "The  Nature,  Powers,  and 
Duties  of  Faith  as  shown  in  the 
Synoptic  Gospels." 

7.45  p.m. — Devotional  service. 
Subject,  "Japan." 

I'uesday,  August  7lh,  10  a.m. — 
Paper,  "The  Self-consciousness  of 
Jesus." 

7.45  p.m. — Devotional  service, 
"China." 

Wednesday,  August  8th,  10  a.m. — 
Paper,  "  The  Temperance  Move- 
ment and  its  Relation  to  Mission- 
ary Work." 

7.35  p.m. — Devotional  service, 
"Temperance." 

Thursday,  August  9th,  10  a.m. — 


Paper,  "The  Importance  of  Cate- 
chizing as  a  Method  of  Christian 
Teaching." 

7.45  p.m. — Devotional  service, 
"  Africa." 

Friday,  August  10th,  10  a.m. — 
Paper,  "  The  Providence  of  God  as 
revealed  in  the  Book  of  Job." 

7.45  p.tn. — Devotional  service, 
"India  and  Mohammedan  Coun- 
tries." 

Saturday,  August  11th,  10  a.m. — 
Paper,  "The  Place  of  Love  in  the 
Pauline  Theology." 

Sunday,  August  12th,  10  a.m. — 
Sermon. 

7.45  p.m. — Adress  by  President. 

J,  H.  Scott, 
Secretary,  Board  of  Managers, 


giariT  jof  (Sbcnls  in  tbc  Jfar  €\\st 


Miirch  ICtli. — The  trial  of  the  nun-- 
(k-rers  of  Rev.  Jlr.  Brooks  wa.scoricludeil. 
Tlietliiif  of  the  munlorfis  was  beliendeil, 
one  nmii  \vft8  stranu'led,  one  sentenced  to 
banishment  for  life,  and  six  others  to 
endure  le.stier  punishments.  Tiie  viHaMIfl 
elders  are  to  put  up  ii  memorial  on  the 
Bcone  (if  the  murder  at  a  cost  of  TIs.  500, 
and  the  Chinese  authorities  have  paid 
T1.X.  7,500  for  a  meniorial  chapel,  with 
6  mow  of  land,  and  TIs.  1,500  for  a 
memorial  in  Caiiterbuiy  CjHege. 

Mikrcli  25th. —  Procslamations  are  posted 
throui;liout  the  Empire,  quoting  an  Iin. 
perial  decree,  denouncinj^  Kang  Yu-wei 
and  Tjianj{Clii-tsiio  as  lehels,  offering  TIs. 
100,000  for  their  bodies,  detul  or  alive, 
and  forbidding  most  stringentlv  the  di.-i- 
semiuation  of  their  literature  or  that  of 
other  reformers. 

At  Wuchang  a  man  was  beheaded  who 
for  a  time  had  impersonateil  the  Emperor 
Kwang-shu,  ititimating  (hat  lie  had 
escapeil  from  the  rigorous  restraint  of 
the  Emprcss.Dowager.  His  story,  and  his 
resemblance  to  tlie  emperor,  imposed  for 
some  time  even  on  high  oflicials;  but 
tliero  is  no  doubt  he  was  an   impostor, 

March  31st.— The  N.  Y.  K.  Tokio  Maru 
was  wrecked  on  Ch'ansi-shan-tao,  near 
Teng-chow.  After  forty  Ijoura  on  the  break- 
ing 8hi[),  the  passengers  were  rescued, 
with  the  exception  of  two  Japanese  and 
two  Chinese.  There  were  seven  European 
passengers  of   whom  three  were  children. 

April  5th. — The  Powers  have  made  a 
joiut  representation  to  the  Chiue^e  Gov- 


ernment, stating  that  if  the  insurgents 
in  Shantung  are  not  suppressed  within  n, 
certain  limit  of  (ime  the  Powers  will  take 
the  mutter  into  their  own  bauds. 

6th-9th. — The  5th  National  Christian 
Endeavor  Convention  met  at  Foocbow, 
atteuiied  by  over  1,500  persons.  Dr.  and 
Mrs.  Clark,  founders  of  the  G,  E. 
Society,  were  present.  The  Poochow 
Society  was  the  first  organized  in  China, 
and  the  first  C,  E.  Society  organiaed 
outside  the  United  States,  being  formed 
March  1885. 

12th. — The  first  part  of  the  translation 
of  Kang  Yn-wei's  latest  work  appears  in 
the  North-China  Daily  Newa,  This  work 
is  a  passionate  appeal  to  the  masses 
of  his  countrymen,  particularly  those 
sojourning  in  foreign  lands,  to  band 
together  to  save  their  country.  He 
denounces  the  Empress-dowager,  as  being 
a  usurper,  and  ruining  the  empire,  and 
calls  on  the  people  to  rouse  as  one  man, 
and  no  lon;,'er  each  selfishly  seek  his 
own  good,  but  seek  the  good  of  all. 

16t,h.  —  During  the  24  hours  ending  at 
8  a.m.  on  Friday  inorning,  there  was  ni)t 
a  single  crime,  offence,  or  accident  re- 
ported at  any  police  station  in  the 
Anglo-American  Settlenient  at  Shanghai, 
This,  in  a  city  of  350,000  inhabitants,  is 
probably  unique,  and  is  u  strong  testi- 
mony to  the  orderliness  of  the  Chinese. 

27th. — As  Liu  Hsio-hsun,  an  emis.sary 
of  the  Einpres.s-dowager,  stepped  ashore 
from  a  steamer  at  Canton,  he  was  shot 
by  an  aasasiii,  who  made  his  escape.   The 


270 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[May,  1900  ] 


sliot  proved  fatal ;  but  it  is  claimed  not 
to  have  political  significance,  tlie  assasiii 
being  said  to  have  lieeii  "fleeced"  by 
Liu  in  certain  lottery  transactions  wliich 
gave  him  a  very  unsavory  reputation  in 
Canton  some  years  a>,'0.  Reformers  how- 
ever feel  that  one  of  their  most  feared 
euemies  is  out  of  the  way. 


29ti).— Tiie  funeral  of  Sir  Nicholas  J, 
Hannen,  chief  justice  of  Shanghai,  who 
died  on  tlie  2Gfli,  aged  58,  was  an  impres- 
sive service.  The  procession,  in  whicli  the 
consular  body,  the  Sliangiiai  volunteers, 
and  many  others  took  part,  was  witnessed 
by  immense  numbers,  all  feeling  the 
great  loss  to  the  community. 


^IbsionciriT  laumaL 


BIRTHS. 

At    Wei-hai-wei,     February    14th,     the 

wife  of  Mr.  J.  W.  WiLSOX,  Shih-tao,  of 

a  daughter. 
At  Ch'u-wang,  Honan,  March   28th,  to 

T)r.  and  Mrs   Menziics,  C.  P.  M.,  a  son 

(William  Sawers). 
At  4   Abbotsford   Crescent,  Edinburgh, 

April     4th,      the     wife     Mr.     .James 

Murray,  N.  B.  S.  S  ,  Chungking,  of  a 

daughter  (Margaret). 
At  Chungking,  April  6th.   the  wife  of 

Leonard   VVioham,   F,   F.  M.  A.,  of  a 

son  (Arnold  Henry). 
At  I-chang,  April  10th,  the  wife  of  the 

Rev.   Wm.   Deans,    C.     I.     M.,    of    a 

daughter. 
At  Hangchow,  April  ISth,  the  wife  of 

the  Rev.  G.  W.  Cocltas,  C.  M.  S  ,  of 

a  son. 
At  Hangchow,  April   18th,  the  wife  of 

Rev.  C.  N.  Caldwell,  S.   P.  M.,  of 

a  daughter. 

MARRIAGES. 
At  P'ing-liang,    February   4th,   Mr.  V. 

Renius,   to   Miss  E.  (tUSTAfson,   both 

of  China  Inland  Mission. 
At  ijin-ch'eng,   February  21st.   Mr.   G. 

A.  Staluammar  to  Miss  J.  Svknsson, 

and  Mr.  L,   H.  E.  Linder  to  Miss  N. 

K.  SjoBicim,  all  of  C.  I.  M. 
At     Shanghai,     March     26th,    Dr.    A. 

Fletcher  Jones,    l.  r.  c.    p.,   of  E. 

M.  M.,    Lao-ling,  and   Miss  Mary  E. 

PoxoN,  of  England. 
At  Soochow,  April  3rd,  Nettie  Lamboth, 

second     daugliter    of      Rev.      H.     C. 

DuBosB,   D.D.,  and  the  Rev.  Wm.  F. 

JUNKIN,  of  the  S.  P.M.,  Suohien,  North 

Kiang-su. 
At   Shanghai,    April   4th,    Mr.   J.     W. 

Wilcox   to    Miss    L.     M.     Pasmore, 

both  of  China  Inland  Mission. 
DEATHS. 
At  Oakland,  California,     March     25th, 

Mr.    Robert   Watt,   of   the    B.    and 

F.  B.  8.,  Shanghai, 
Near  London,  April  15th,   Emma,  wife 

of    Rev.    1).   S.   Murray,   L.    M.   S., 

Ts'angchow,  of  opthalmic  gout. 
Near  Seoul,  Corea   April   lUth,    whilst 

itinerating.    Rev.     D.     L.     Gifford, 

A.  P.  M. 
At    Tientsin,    April     12th,     of    scarlet 

fever,    Ruth    Ella,   aged     12     years, 


eldest  child  and  beloved  daughter   of 

Rev.  Frederick  Brown,  M.  E.  M. 
At  Chinkiang,   April  17th,  Miss  Lottie 

Baller,     daughter    of   Rev.    F.     W. 

Balleb,  China  Inland  Mission. 
At  Peking,  April  23th,  Mr.  J.  L.  Mateer, 

Manager  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  Press. 
At  Shanghai,  April  29th,  Miss  Laura  A. 

Haygood  of  the  M.  E.  S.  M. 

ARRIVALS. 

April  2nd,  Miss  Louie  H.  Cozexs,  C.  I. 

M.,  from  Australia. 
April  4th,  iMr    and  Mrs.  C.  H.  Tjaoer 

and    child,  C.   I.   M.,   returned    from 

America. 
April  9th,    Miss   F.    Hallix,    Mr.    and 

Mrs.  A.  E.  Rydberg  and  two  children, 

returned,    from    Sweden  ;     Mr.    Chr. 

Watsaas,  and  Mr.  ,J.  A  Christenses, 

from  Norway,  all  C.  I.  M. 
April  17th,  Dr.  J.  C.  Gillespie,  l.r  c. P., 

and  wife,  for  I.  P.  M.,  Manchuria. 
April  20th,  Miss  R.  E.  Garriock,  U.  P. 

M.,  for  Mrinchuria. 
April  23rd,  Mr.  W.  S.  Strong,  C.  I.  M., 

returned  from  Australia. 

DEPARTURES. 

From  Amoy,  March  2nd,  Misses  K.  M. 
and  M.  E.  Talmage,  A.  R.  C,  for 
U.  S.  A. ;  Miss  M.  M.  Van'  Beeck- 
Calkoen,  a.  R.  C,  for  Holland. 

From  Amoy,  March  31st,  Airs.  P.  W. 
Pitcher  and  two  children,  A.  R.  C, 
for  United  States. 

From  Shanghai,  March  31st,  Miss  C. 
HoFF,  C.  I.  M.,  for  Germany. 

From  Shanghai,  April  9tli,  Rev.  W. 
C.  Taylor,  and  child,  Messers  W.  T. 
GiLMKR  and  E.  J.  Brewer,  C.  I.  M., 
Miss  Mary  Shekleton,  S.  Y.  M.,  for 
England  ;  Rev.  D.  L.  Andeuson  and 
son,  S.  P.  M.,  Soochow,  for  U.  S.  A.  ; 
Rev.  A.  Sowerby,  E.  B.  M.,  for 
England. 

From  Shanghai,  April  23rd,  Mrs.  G.  B. 
Stott,  for  Australia,  Misses  Mellok 
and  Pickles  for  England,  MIssJanzon 
for  Sweden,  all  of  C,  I.  M.  ;  Mrs.  E. 
Mc)ROAN  and  two  children,  E.  B.  M., 
and  Miss  A.  N.  Bettinson,  Christians 
Mi.ssion,  for  England. 

FxiOM  Shanghai,  April  27th,  Mr.  O. 
Schmidt  and  child,  C.I.M.,  for  Ger- 
many ;  Miss  M.  Vaugh.vn,  C.  M.  S., 
Hangchow,  for  England. 


THE 


CHINESE  RECORDER 


'^^li^^ionar^   ^onxnaL 


Vol.  XXXL  No.  6. 


TTTNTC    iqnrt  C  $3.50  per  annum,  post- 

JUNE,  1900.  I     p^^.j  (Q^jij  ^1  75^ 


FIFTH  NATIONAL  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  CONVENTION. 
Foochow,  China,  April  6-9. 


PAPERS  AND  ADDRESSES. 


World-Wide  Endeavor. 

BY    REV.   FRANCIS    E.    CLARK,    D.D. 

Y  Dear  Friends:  A  man  after  travelling  10,000  miles  13 
'}^^  gl^<i  to  reach  his  destination.  If  that  destination  were  a 
very  unattractive  place,  he  would  be  glad,  but  when  it  is  such 
a  place  as  Foochow  and  such  a  Convention  as  this,  one  is  doubly  glad. 
I  feel  that  nothing  could  be  warmer  than  the  welcome  Foochow  has 
given  us  this  moruinn:.  I  come  bringing  the  greetings  of  many 
brothers  and  sisters.  During  the  last  two  or  three  years  I  have 
shaken  hands  with  100,000  Christian  endeavorers,  but  I  had  to 
shake  hands  with  one  at  a  time  and  never  with  hundreds  all  at  once 
as  I  do  this  morning.*  I  bring  you  the  greeting  and  handshake  and 
hearty  love  of  Christian  friends  all  over  the  world.  I  thank  you  for 
your  kind  words  of  welcome  to  Mrs.  Clark  and  myself,  but  I  take 
them  not  only  for  ourselves  but  for  all  those  whom  we  represent. 

If  you  come  to  see  me  at  Boston,  and  I  invite  you  all  to  come, 
you  will  get  a  hearty  welcome.  You  will  feel  at  home  iu  my  house, 
because  in  tweuty-one  different  languages  over  the  door  is  the  word 
"Welcome  ;"  in  English,  in  Chinese  (and  the  Cliioese  comes  next  to 
the  English),  in  Japanese,  in  the  languages  of  India,  of  Europe,  of 
Asia  Minor,  in  the  languages  of  the  Suuth  Sea  and  Sandwich  Is- 
lands, and  others.    So  you  would  be  welcomed  twenty-oue  times  over  ; 

*  Referriag  to  the  whole  audience  rising  and  greeting  him  with  the  Chinese 
bow  and  extended  bauds. 


272  THE  CHINESE  KECORDER.  [Jane, 

and  this  is  only  a  faint  symbol  of  the  welcome  the  brothers  there 
would  give  you.  But  the  best  part  of  the  welcome  is  that  we  wel- 
come each  other,  because  we  have  welcomed  Christ  into  our  hearts; 
if  we  don't  love  Christ,  we  don't  love  one  another,  but  when  we 
open  our  hearts  to  Him,  then  we  open  our  hearts  to  one  another. 

These  brothers  and  sisters  represent  not  only  different  lands  but 
different  denominations.  One  of  the  happiest  features  of  this  Con- 
vention is  that  we  represent  different  denominations,  but  are  all 
bound  together  in  Christ's  love.  I  am  grateful  to-day  for  the  wel- 
come of  the  Epworth  League  as  well  as  the  Christian  Endeavor,  and 
I  am  glad  that  the  union  of  the  two  societies  is  growing  closer. 
In  Canada  the  Epworth  League  is  called  the  Epworth  League  of 
Christian  Endeavor, 

When  an  army  is  fighting,  and  one  wing  gains  a  victory,  he  is 
a  happy  man  who  brings  the  news  of  victory,  no  matter  who  the 
messenger  is,  however  humble  and  unimportant.  To-day  I  am  that 
ghtd  man  to  bring  you  news  of  victory  and  success  from  other 
wings  of  the  great  army.  I  never  saw  a  time  when  the  movement 
was  growing  so  well  and  so  substantially  in  the  United  States. 
In  Great  Britain  the  movement  is  prospering  everywhere,  and  I 
liear  good  news  elsewhere  of  our  brothers  who  live  under  the 
Union  Jack.  I  am  going  to  a  great  Convention  in  London  in  a  few 
months  ;  there  tens  of  thousands  of  young  people  will  be  gathered 
together  from  all  over  the  world-— some  from  China,  1,000  from 
America — and  I  shall  take  to  them  the  greetings  of  this  Convention 
and  shall  tell  them  of  this  deliohiful  scene  and  your  good  words  for 
Christ  and  the  Church,  and  I  am  sure  it  will  gladden  their  hearts. 

I  have  just  come  from  Japan,  and  there  from  north  to  south  I 
saw  great  companies  of  Christian  endeavorers  ;  they  sent  their  love 
and  greeting  to  you,  and  they  gave  me  a  banner  to  take  home  from 
their  Convention  in  Kobe.  The  banner  has  the  United  States  and 
Japanese  flags  with  the  world  between,  on  which  are  the  letters 
C.  E.,  symbolizing  that  the  world  is  to  be  for  Christ  and  Christ 
for  the  world. 

1  told  you  just  now  of  my  house  where  so  many  "welcomes" 
were  written  on  the  porch  ;  upstairs  in  that  house  there  is  a  room  full 
of  mementos — -flags,  badges,  banners,  mottos  in  different  languages, 
and  diffei-ent  articles  from  many  countries  which  tell  of  Christian 
Endeavor  work.  On  these  mementos  you  find  these  words  :  "For 
Christ  and  the  Church,"  in  the  languages  of  India,  China,  Japan,  and 
many  of -the  languages  of  Europe,  and  these  words  express  the  object 
and  motive  of  Christian  Endeavor,  This  is  what  Christian  Endeavor 
means  in  every  language  and  in  every  land.  It  is  just  the  same  here 
aisin  Boston,  and  all  over  the  world  this  is  our  purpose.     I  like  the 


1900.]  FIFm  NATIONAL  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  CONVENTION.  273 

other  motto  :  "  Look  up,  lift  up,"  and  let  us  always  remember  oar 
purpose  ill  the  world  is  not  to  live  for  self  but  for  Ciiristaud  others. 
If  we  only  live  for  self  we  die  aud  ought  to  die.  If  we  live  for 
Christ  we  shall  live  for  mauy  years  to  come.  Let  us  ask  ourselves, 
"  What  am  I  living  for  ?  aud  hefore  this  Couveution  is  over  let  us 
ask  it  in  the  sight  of  God. 

One  great  object  of  the  Convention  is  to  remind  us  why  we  are  in 
this  world.  Is  it  only  to  make  money,  to  get  pleasure,  to  live  easily, 
simply  to  go  to  school  and  get  wise  in  this  world's  wisdom  ?  Is  it  to 
have  power  and  to  make  friends  ?  No,  for  none  of  these  things  ; 
the  object  of  this  Convention  is  to  make  it  plain  to  us  that  we  musD 
live  for  Christ  and  the  Church  ;  the  object  of  the  Christian  Endeavor 
is  to  set  every  member  at  work  for  Christ  and  the  Church.  The 
ministers,  the  deacons,  the  elders,  the  Sunday  School  superintendents 
ought  not  to  do  all  the  work  ;  the  older  and  wiser  must  not  do 
it  all,  but  there  is  something  for  every  one  to  do — every  young 
man  and  woman,  every  ignorant  as  well  as  every  learned  Christian, 
the  inexperienced  as  well  as  those  who  have  been  long  in  service  ; 
now  the  message  of  the  Cliristian  Endeavor  aud  this  Convention  is, 
"There  is  a  work  for  everyone  and  every  one  for  his  work,  something 
for  Christ  and  the  Church  for  every  one. 

After  all  we  can't  see  the  whole  of  this  Convention  in  this  church. 
As  I  look  out  of  the  windows  and  see  the  beautiful  hills  around 
Foociiow,  I  can  see  much  farther  tiiau  the  end  of  this  church — yes, 
miles  beyond.  So  may  God  open  the  windows  of  our  soul  that  we 
may  see  God,  The  results  will  extend  beyond  Foochow,  beyond  the 
year  1900,  atid  riglit  on  into  the  eternity  of  God.  Once  again  thanking 
you  for  your  kind  greetings,  I  give  you  from  Christian  endeavorers  all 
over  the  world,  their  love  and  hearty  greetings.  God  bless  you  all.'* 

'Sole. — Dr.  Clark  afterwards  stated  that  he  had  forgotten  especial- 
ly to  mention  the  greeting  of  the  Union  Church,  Shanghai,  in  the 
shape  of  a  |100  offering,  which  he  handed  over. 


The  Early  History  of  Christian  Endeavor  in  Eoochow. 

BY    MISS    E.   J.    NEWTON. 

,LL  things  have  their  beginnings,  and  the  beginning  of  great 
movements  is  usnally  in  the  realizing  of  some  great  need. 
In  America  it  was  the  need  of  opportunity  for  natural 
growth  in  those  who  were  just  coming  into  the  chnrch  that  led  to 
the  formation  of  the  first  Society  in  Williston  Church,  Portland, 
Maine.  In  China  it  was  the  slowness  of  growth  and  development  ia 
spiritual  graces  among  those  who  professed  the  Christian  name,  with- 
out regard  to  age  or  position,  which  led  the  leaders  of  this  tuovemeut 


274  THE  CHINESE  EECORDEB.  [Jone, 

to  grasp  at  anything  which  gave  promise  of  help  in  this  direction,  and 
form  the  first  society  in  Foocbow.  At  that  time  the  duty  of  person- 
al consecration  to  active  service  for  others  seldom  came  home  with 
force  to  the  hearts  of  those  outside  mission  employ.  Preaching  the 
gospel  was  supposed  to  be  the  special  work  of  those  employed  for  the 
purpose,  and  prayer  meetings  were  little  more  than  a  repetition  of  long 
prayers,  or  formal  exhortations  to  those  outside  the  church.  The 
young  people  had  never  seen  a  real  revival  ;  how  should  they  know 
what  it  was  like  ?  They  seldom  heard  old  and  experienced  Christians 
tell  of  their  joy  in  communion  with  God,  or  of  their  consciousness  of 
Christ's  presence  with  them  in  their  daily  lives.  They  had  never 
read  snch  a  book  as  "What  would  Jesus  do?",  and  it  had  never 
come  into  their  hearts  to  think  what  wonderful  things  he  would 
do  with  them  if  banded  together  to  do  just  what  he  asked  of  them. 

Sorely  our  hearts  grieved  over  this  state  of  things,  but  the 
remedy  had  not  been  found.  We  had  read  of  the  beginnings  of 
Christian  Endeavor  in  America,  and  wished  we  could  try  something 
of  the  kind  here,  but  none  of  us  had  ever  seen  it,  and  we  knew 
but  little  of  its  working.  Just  then  there  came  to  us  as  a 
new  recruit  Rev.  G.  H.  Hubbard.  He  was  fresh  from  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  work  at  home,  and  had  brought  with  him  the 
Christian  Endeavor  Manual.  Could  we  put  together  the  knowl- 
edge of  those  who  could  not  speak  the  language  and  the  speech 
of  those  who  had  no  knowledge  of.  this  new  work  ?  The  great 
need  pressed  upon  us  so  heavily  that  with  much  prayer  and  plan- 
ning we  determined  to  make  the  attempt.  One  Sabbath  evening  in 
March,  1885,  three  years  after  the  Williston  Society  was  formed,  we 
invited  a  select  company  of  young  people  to  the  missionary  residence 
and  tried  to  give  them  the  idea.  They  listened  and  made  few 
objections,  but  not  one  of  them  would  pledge  himself  to  join  the 
new  Society.  We  went  home  disappointed,  but  not  defeated. 
During  the  week  we  laid  our  plans  deeper.  With  great  care  a  name 
was  chosen  for  the  Society,  and  for  some  of  the  most  important 
offices,  as,  never  having  had  any  such  thing,  there  was  naturally  no 
Chinese  name  to  fit  it.  The  next  Sabbath  evening  we  tried  again, 
having  secured  the  sympathy  and  help  of  a  Mother  in  Israel,  a  pastor's 
wife  from  one  of  the  country  stations,  who  happened  to  be  in  Foocbow. 
The  young  people  listened  to  her,  and  perhaps  we  were  able  to  make 
the  matter  plainer  than  the  week  before.  At  any  rate  our  hearts  were 
gladdened  by  a  few  names  of  those  who,  in  fear  and  trembling,  took 
the  first  step  in  this  new  and  unknown  road.  At  first  we  dared  not 
elect  any  officers,  but  simply  held  prayer  meetings,  encouraging  here 
and  suggesting  there^and  filling  in  ugly  gaps  with  singing,  of  which 
they  were  very  fond.  We  grew  better  acquainted  with  each  other. 
By  and  by  we  had  an  experience  meeting,  and  the  lips  of  the  young 


1900.]  FIFTH  NATIONAL  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  CONVENTION.  275 

people  began  to  be  unsealed.    Gradnally  the  more  important  offices 
were   filled,  but  for   a  lon<i;  time  a  forei<^iier   was  president.     The 
missionary  residence  connected  with  the  girls  school  was  for  many 
months    the   meeting   place   of  the  Society,  the  women  and  girls 
occnpyiiig  one  room  and  the  yonug  men  the  other,  with  open  doors 
between,  and  they  began  to  feel  qnite  at  home  ;  but  it  became  so 
crowded  that  at  last  it  was  necessary  to  remove  to  the  chnrch,  where 
extra  efforts  were  needed  to  preserve  the  social  spirit.     Occat^ioually 
a  magic  lantern  exhibition,  or  a  lawn  party  in  the  missionary  cora- 
ponndon  a  moonlight  evening,  helped  to  draw  us  nearer  together.  In 
the  regnlar  meetings  chain-prayers  became  very  popnlar,  and  some- 
times twenty  or  thirty  would  offer  simple,  pointed  petitions  in  quick 
snccession.     It  was   here  that  the  Christians   forgot   their  formal 
addresses  to  God    and  their  habit  of  embracing  all  the  world  in 
each   prayer,  and  the  change  has  been   marked  ever  since.     Onr 
Christian     endeavorers    know   how    to    pray.     Bibles    were    more 
carefully  studied,  the  joy  of  God  came  into  many  hearts;  those  who  had 
blushed  to  confess  the  name  of  Christ  before  their  heathen  relatives 
were  now  leading  them  to  the  Christian  Endeavor  meetings  and 
pleading  with  them  to  believe  in  the  Savior,  and  we  felt  that  Chris- 
tian   Endeavor  had  come  to  Foochow  to  stay.     The  work   spread 
slowly  during  the  first  few  years.     In  1886  a   Society   was  formed 
in  Foochow  city,  and  two  years  later  one  at  Ha-buo-ga.     From  1890 
to  1893  three  Junior  Societies  were  formed;  the  first  being  in  the 
girls'  school  at  Po-na-sang.     In  1894  the  total  number  of  Societies 
registered,  including  those  in  the  C.  M.  S.  Mission,  was  seven,  and  of 
members  291.     This  was  the  year  of  the  first  National  (convention, 
and  the  Foochow  Societies  raised  the  money  and  sent  their  delegate 
to  Siianiihai,  taking  a  prominent  part  iu  the  discussion  of  the   best 
name  for  the  Society,  as  different  translations  of  the  term  were 
already  in  use  in  different  parts  of  the  country.     Late  one  night  the 
discussion  ended  in  a  compromise,  and  the  present  name,   "  Mieng- 
la-huoi,"  wus  adopted.   The  Fuhkien  Union  was  formed  in  1893,  and 
quarterly  meetings  are  held  iu  different  churches  in  Foochow  city 
and  suburbs. 

Our  first  annual  meetings  were  simply  a  single  service  held  in 
connection  with  the'aunnal  meeting  of  the  American  Board,  and  when 
a  Christian  Eadeavor  rally  was  first  proposed,  surprise  was  expressed 
that  we  should  try  to  fill  a  whole  afternoon  with  Christian  Endeavor. 
At  the  annual  meeting  in  1895  our  young  people  realized  that  the 
church  was  too  small,  and  at  their  suggestion  a  cloth  awning  was 
spread  in  the  Mission  compound,  and  the  young  men  brought  the 
seats  from  the  church  through  the  crowded  streets  to  add  to  the 
accommodations  for  those  who  attended.     It  was  a  novel  gathering. 


276  THE    CHINESE   RECORDER.  [Juiie, 

On  one  side  was  the  heavy  pounding  of  the  pewter-beaters  making 
idol  paper,  while  one  corner  of  the  awning  was  attached  to  the  low 
roof  of  a  temple  on  the  other  side.  On  the  roof  of  this  temple  men 
were  engaged  in  repairs,  and  sometimes  they  stopped  in  amazement 
to  look  on  and  listen  to  the  organs  and  the  loud  chorus  of  voices  singing 
gospel  hymns.  Christian  Endeavor  was  advertised  that  day,  though 
many  of  the  curious  audience  were  not  members,  as  we  only  numbered 
eleven  Societies  and  431  names.  The  next  year  a  huge  matshed 
was  improvised  to  accommodate  the  great  audience,  and  Foochow 
registered  thirty-four  Societies  and  1,377  members,  while  one  Society 
in  Amoy  made  the  total  membership  in  the  province  1,429.  At  the 
consecration  service  122  persons  took  part  in  thirty-five  minutes, 
and  a  generous  collection  was  taken  for  the  Armenian  sufferers. 
The  Conventions  for  1897  and  1893  were  held  in  heathen  temples, 
and  in  1899  simultaneous  meetings  were  held  in  different  churches. 

For  the  past  few  years  the  progress  has  been  rapid,  till  on  this 
onr  fifteenth  anniversary  we  number  51  Societies  and  2,464  mem- 
bers. Many  kinds  of  work  have  been  undertaken,  the  spirit  of  our 
churches  has  been  greatly  changed,  the  great  purpose  of  saving  souls 
has  entered  into  many  hearts,  and  Christian  life  is  broader,  clearer 
and  better  than  fifteen  years  ago.  We  are  not  ignorant  of  the  many 
imperfections  that  still  remain,  of  the  ignorance  that  still  prevails 
in  some  Societies,  of  the  misunderstanding  of  the  spirit  of  the  pledge, 
of  the  selfishness  and  apathy  that  still  exist  in  many  hearts;  but  we 
look  back  over  the  way  God  has  led  us  during  these  years,  and  with 
united  voices  thank  Him  for  the  birth  of  the  Christian  Endeavor 
Society  in  Foochow,  and  we  look  forward  to  the  coming  years  with 
glad  hope  and  strong  faith,  believing  that  this  is  one  of  God's 
appointed  agencies  for  the  salvation  of  China. 


The  Origin  and  Growtti  of  Ctiristian  Endeavor  in  Con  - 
nection  witti  ttie  Fuli-lcien  Anglican  Mission. 

BY   MISS   F.    E.    OATWAY. 

fN  Miss  Newton's  very  interesting  paper  we  have  an  account  of 
the  birth  of  a  Christian  Endeavor  Society  in  Foochow  and  in  the 
Fuhkieii  province  generally  just  fifteen  years  ago.  I  have  been 
asked  to  tell  a  little  about  a  younger  child  of  the  same  family,  which 
has  now  quite  a  numerous  progeny  all  over  this  province.  The  child 
I  refer  to  is  Christian  endeavor  in  the  Anglican  Mission,  which  has 
now  developed  into  a  family  of  ten  or  more,  and  will  probably  here- 
after have  many  additions. 

Mr.  Ho  Hok-sing  must  have  the  credit  of  having  started  the 
first  branch  of  Y.  P.  S.  C.  E.  in  our  English  mission.  He  had 
previously  attended  the  meetings  held  in  the  Tae-biug-ga  Church  of  ttie 


1900.]  FIFTH  NATIONAL  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  CONVENTION.  277 

American  Board  Mission  for  a  year,  and  being  an  earnest  and  zealous 
man  he  was  wise  enough  to  see  bow  such  an  organization  would  not 
only  benefit  the  Christians  themselves,  but  might  be  a  means  of  winning 
many  converts  from  the  heathen,  and  so  fundamentally  strengthening 
the  church  J  and  he  was  the  means  of  establishing  the  first  branch 
of  Christian  Endeavor  in  the  English  mission  at  A'ng-ta6-gio  near 
the  close  of  1886. 

It  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  Christian  Endeavor  movement 
has  extended  so  rapidly  in  all  Christian  countries  because  it  has  met  a 
very  great  need.  Its  elder  brother  and  sister — the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  and 
Y.  W.  C.  A. — have  done  and  are  doing  a  splendid  work,  and  I  feel 
that  I  owe  much  to  the  Y.  W.  C.  A.  But  the  Christian  Endeavor 
Society  can  embrace  much  more.  As  its  name  implies  it  is  a 
Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  but  it  embraces  young 
and  old  and  middle-aged  in  its  ranks,  as  well  as  both  sexes,  and 
herein  lies  its  strength. 

It  also  binds  members  to  their  respective  churches,  as  can  be 
seen  by  the  pledges  ;  and  yet  promotes  a  spirit  of  brotherly  union 
between  all  churches  and  denominations  that  make  use  of  the 
organization.  The  founders  of  Christian  Endeavor  discovered  how  to 
make  Christiana  work,  and  to  work  means  to  be  alive  and  to  be  iu 
touch  with  other  souls,  and  specially  to  seek  after  the  lost. 

I  can  testify  to  the  extreme  value  of  the  Christian  Endeavor 
meetings  in  some  of  our  churches  iu  the  city,  where  a  crowd  of  heathen 
will  stand  for  more  than  an  hour,  listening  attentively  to  earnest 
addresses  by  the  Christians,  and  the  meetings  being  informal,  and 
being  broken  up  into  short  addresses,  interspersed  with  hymns  and 
prayer,  are  much  more  likely  to  help  the  heathen  than  a  regular 
service,  while  the  Christians  are  learning  to  be  evangelists;  and 
I  have  been  led  to  many  new  houses  in  the  city  where  people  had 
never  before  heard  the  Gospel,  all  through  Christian  endeavorers. 

The  Christian  Endeavor  movement  in  Foochow  has  been  helped 
and  strengthened  at  various  times  by  enthusiastic  endeavorers  who 
have  come  from  their  home  lands  with  the  most  progressive  methods 
of  work.  The  formation  of  the  Fuhkieu  Union  of  Christian  Endeavor 
is  an  example  of  this,  as  it  was  formed  in  1893  largely  as  the  result 
of  Miss  Chittendon's  suggestions.  Mr.  Ho  H.6k-siug  assisted  in  the 
starting  of  the  Union,  and  was  president  for  two  years,  and  was  sent 
as  delegate  to  the  last  National  Convention  in  Shanghai.  1897 
marks  another  advance  in  the  history  of  the  Union.  Soon  after 
Miss  Hartwell's  return  to  China  she  was  requested  to  prepare  a 
paper  on  further  organization.  At  the  same  time  the  Union  was 
raising  funds  to  send  the  delegate  to  Shanghai,  so  the  Chinese  felt  it 
necessary  to  appoint  a  treasurer  for   the  Union,  and  they  elected 


278  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [June, 

Miss  Hartwell,  of  A.  B.  M.,  and  Mr.  T'ae  Kien-guon^,  of  0.  M.  S., 
as  associate  treasurers.  Ifc  was  also  decided  to  seud  a  banner  by 
Miss  Newtou,  our  delegate  to  the  International  Convention  in  Saa 
Francisco.  At  that  Convention  it  was  decided  that  this  Foochow 
banner  should  be  awarded  yearly  to  whatever  Society  made  the 
greatest  increase  in  systematic  giving  during  the  year.  It  may 
interest  some  of  you  to  hear  that  the  banner  this  year  hangs  in  the 
church  of  Rev.  Herbert  P.  Woodin,  born  in  Foochow,  son  of  one  of 
the  early  missionaries.  The  same  year,  1897,  the  first  junior  rally 
was  held  in  connection  with  the  annual  meeting.  At  the  suggestion 
of  the  Chinese,  Miss  Chittendon  was  added  to  the  committee  as  its 
first  foreign  secretary,  and  when  she  went  home  on  furloua^h  Miss 
Hartwell  was  elected  to  fill  her  place,  and  Miss  Kingsmill  was 
elected  treasurer;  also  during  the  past  year  the  Rev.  F.  Bland 
has  consented  to  act  on  the  Translation  Committee. 

In  1898  the  Executive  Committee  (»f  the  Union  was  greatly 
enlarged  by  the  appointment  of  a  "  Look-out  Committee,"  consisting 
of  a  foreigner  and  a  native  for  each  outlying  district.  Those  who 
had  previously  formed  societies,  or  who  were  specially  interested  in 
the  Christian  Endeavor,  were  asked  to  act  on  this  committee,  and 
we  feel  this  has  helped  in  the  recent  organization  of  several  branches. 
We  have  reports  from  one  or  two  of  these  new  branches ;  from  others 
we  have  representatives  who  will  speak  for  their  own  branches. 

We  will  now  give  an  extract  from  a  letter  from  Mrs.  Phillips 
about  the  Christian  Endeavor  branch  in  Kien-yang,  the  most  distant 
part  of  our  work  in  this  province. 

Mrs.  Phillips  says :  "The  Christian  Endeavor  was  started  in  Kien- 
yang  about  a  year  and  a  half  ago.  We  have  only  men  members,  as 
the  women's  work  is  still  in  its  infancy,  and  I  have  to  teach  the 
heathen  women.  The  Christian  Endeavor  meetings  are  held  on 
Sunday  afternoons,  and  I  think  there  are  generally  bout  thirty  pres- 
ent. It  is  greatly  appreciated,  and  Mr.  Phillips  feels  that  it  has 
been  a  great  blessing.  We  noticed  especially  as  soon  as  it  was 
started  that  the  Christians  read  their  Bibles  far  more  regularly,  and 
really  tried  to  search  out  the  subjects.  At  that  time  we  had  not 
received  the  list  of  subjects,  and  the  members  took  it  in  turn  to 
choose  the  one  for  the  following  Sunday.  We  have  some  very  earn- 
est members  who  are  being  much  blessed  in  bringing  in  others." 
Mrs.  Phillips  also  adds  that  owing  to  the  scarcity  of  Christian  workers 
in  Kien-ning  and  Kien-yans?,  and  the  distance  being  so  great,  they 
are  unable  to  seud  delegates  from  those  two  places. 

KENG-TAN   CHRISTIAN    ENDEAVOR. 

Miss  M.  de  C.  Boileau  writes  :  "The  Christian  Endeavor  was 
started  December,  1897;  having  heard  of  the  work  at  Foochow,  and 


1900.]  FIFTH  NATIONAL  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  CONVENTION.  279 

attended  some  raeetinfj^s  in  connection  with  it  there,  I  decided  to  try  and 
get  a  hranch  started  at  Keng-tau  ;  accordingly  told  the  catechist  and 
some  of  the  church  members  of  my  wish ;  we  then  called  a  meeting. 
Some  of  the  church  members  were  not  particularly  eager  for  the  move- 
ment, but  one  or  two  with  myself  pressed  it  very  much  ;  we  then  and 
there  started  the  Endeavor.  For  the  first  year  we  certainly  saw  results, 
as  we  had  the  meetings  weekly.  Sunday,  3  p.m.,  was  chosen  as 
the  time.  The  attendance  in  the  afternoons  was  much  larger  than 
formerly;  besides  we  notice  men  speaking  and  praying  at  the  meet- 
ings that  had  not  been  in  the  habit  of  doing  so  publicly.  The  time 
came  round  for  having  a  second  committee  meeting  for  appointing 
^cers.  The  spirit  of  this  meeting  was  quite  different  from  the  first 
one  we  had  ;  every  one  seemed  pleased  to  have  the  Endeavor  Society ; 
the  catechist  was  also  most  desirous  of  doing  all  in  his  power  to 
promote  the  Endeavor.  I  am  most  thankful  to  him  for  the  interest 
he  has  taken.  A  third  committee  meeting. — We  all  realized  that 
the  Endeavor  has  indeed  been  a  great  help  in  getting  the  men  to 
speak  and  pray,  also  encouraging  them  to  search  their  Bibles,  but 
at  the  same  time  we  felt  that  the  progress  that  had  been  made  in  the 
past  year  was  very  little;  what  could  be  done  to  make  every  in- 
dividual member  take  a  share  in  the  meetings,  was  the  question 
generally  asked.  The  Christian  Endeavor  has  also  been  started  at 
Deng-hung  and  Keng-kiang,  places  not  far  from  here;  at  the  latter 
place  there  seem  to  have  been  good  results  from  the  effort. 

"  I  praise  God  for  what  He  has  done  here  at  Keng-tan  through 
the  Christian  Endeavor,  and  look  forward  to  greater  things." 


History  of  Christian  Endeavor  in  Ku-cheng. 

BY   MISS    FLORENCE    CODRINGTON. 

S^f]r  ^  first  introduction  to  the  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor 
was  through  a  paper  in  the  Chinese  Recorder  some  seven 
years  ago,  which  gave  an  account  of  a  branch  recently  start- 
ed among  Chinese  Christians  in  Canton,  and  the  perusal  of  which 
led  me  to  write  and  make  enquiries. 

This  was  early  in  1893,  and  very  soon  after,  in  union  with  Miss 
Hartford,  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Mission,  a  united  Society  was 
started  in  Ku-cheng,  forming  a  happy  bond  between  that  church 
and  our  Church  of  England  Mission.  But  never  having  seen  the 
working  of  the  Society  we  did  not  succeed  in  forming  a  model  con- 
stitution, and  our  natives  were  slow  to  grasp  the  meaning  of  the 
pledge  or  the  necessity  of  fulfilling  it,  so  that  we  could  scarcely  feel 
worthy  of  being  enrolled  as  a  Christian  Endeavor  Society,  properly 
so  called. 


280  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [Juue, 

Shortly  after  this  first  effort  had  been  made  I  was  moved  from 
Ku-cheng  city  to  the  country  station  of  Sa-iong,  and  our  endeavorers 
were  then  left  much  to  themselves  for  leadership  as  far  as  our  Eng- 
lish mission  was  concerned,  though  Mr.  Banister,  and  subsequently 
Mr.  Stewart,  gave  as  much  sympathy  and  help  as  their  constant  itinera- 
tions made  possible.  At  that  time  the  committees  were  formed, 
but  not  kept  up,  so  that  practically  the  Sunday  afternoon  meeting — 
held  separately  by  the  two  Missions  on  three  Sundays  in  the  month, 
but  unitedly  on  the  fourth  Sunday — -and  the  monthly  consecration 
meeting  held  on  the  15th  of  the  month  by  each  Mission  alternately, 
and  at  which  the  united  Society  partook  together  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  were  all  that  remained  of  Christian  Endeavor  in  Ku2 
cheng. 

On  several  occasions  when  I  have  been  in  Ku-cheng  efforts  have 
been  made  to  re-organize  and  get  the  Christian  Endeavor  work  put 
upon  a  proper  basis ;  this  year  these  efforts  have  been  rewarded  with 
Buccess,  and  our  Third-ward  Church  has  a  strong  active  membership; 
all  offices  and  committees  being  filled  by  the  "rank  and  file"  of  the 
Christians  themselves,  not  as  formerly  by  those  already  holding  office 
in  the  church.  We  can  trace  the  present  success  largely  to  the  work 
done  at  Gu-liang,  when  our  teachers,  servants,  and  otiiers  have  an 
opportunity  of  seeing  the  Society's  working  and  of  judging  as  to  its 
helpfulness  to  their  spiritual  life,  and  so  are  stirred  up  to  organize 
in  their  own  churches.  We  have  still  much  to  do  in  Ku-cheng  bo" 
fore  we  attain  perfection,  but  we  do  believe  that  through  the  Holy 
Spirit's  enabling,  new  life  and  blessing  will  result  from  the  Christian 
Endeavor  work,  in  the  first  place  to  our  church  members  them- 
selves, and  then  through  them  to  the  heathen  around, 

At  Sa-iong  the  Society's  working  has  never  been  properly 
carried  out,  but  this  year,  stimulated  by  the  example  of  the  mother 
Society  at  Ku-cheng,  this  daughter  branch  is  also  beginning  to  re- 
organize and  flourish,  and  we  hear  with  joy  of  blessing  through  the 
meetings.  In  our  Christian  girls'  boarding-school  at  Ku-cheng  we 
have  this  term  re-organized  the  Society,  and  the  girls  are  throwing 
themselves  into  the  working  of  it  with  great  earnestness  and  mutual 
profit. 

These  are  very  young  and  rather  weak  shoots  from  the  great 
tree  of  Christian  Endeavor,  but  they  have  promise  of  life  in  them, 
and  will  in  time  be  fruitful,  we  believe,  to  the  glory  of  God  in  China, 
as  long  as  we  endeavorers  remember  that  our  labour  will  be  a  success 
only  in  so  far  as  we  can  say  our  endeavor  is  "  according  to  His  work- 
ing which  worketh  in  me  mightily." 


1900.]  FlPTfl   NATIONAL  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR   CONVENTION.  281 


How  to  Study  the  Bible. 

BY  REV.  D.  WILLARD  LYON. 

HAVE  been  asked  to  speak  ou  "  How  to  Study  the  Bible."  Itl 
so  stating  the  subject  we  take  for  granted  that  every  one 
ought  to  study  the  Bible.  It  is  one  means  of  developing  oat 
spiritual  lives.  We  know  the  Bible  is  the  food  for  our  souls  to 
feed  ou  ;  that  prayer  withoitt  Bible  study  is  lifeless.  Bible  study 
forms  the  basis  by  which  we  are  able  to  pray  in  faith.  It  is  a 
means  of  learning  the  will  of  God,  of  keeping  in  tune  with  the 
divine  harmony.  Dependent  as  we  are  on  the  revealed  will  of  God 
there  is  no  need  to  emphasize  the  duty  of  Bible  study.  Dr.  Clark 
will  talk  to  you  of  the  use  of  Bible  study.  There  is  no  need  of 
emphasizing  the  importance  of  Bible  study. 

Though  our  topic  is  "  How  to  Study  the  Bible  "  I  will  speak  a 
few  minutes  ou  "How  not  to  study  the  Bible,"  Some  study  to 
refute  it.  If  we  study  it  to  discover  mistakes  We  can  get  no 
spiritual  help  from  it.  In  John's  Gospel,  Jesus  says  if  we  are  will* 
iug  to  do  the  will  of  God  then  we  can  know  it. 

The  first  way  not  to  study  is  rebelliously.  Ouf  lives  must  be 
shaped  by  it<  The  second  way  not  to  study  is  intermittently.  la 
Northern  China  there  are  many  camels  which  have  great  humps  on 
their  back,  in  which  is  stored  nourishment  sufficient  to  last  several 
days.  Now  many  people  think  they  are  spiritually  like  camels, 
that  they  can  store  up  sufficient  spirituality  on  Sunday  to  last  aU 
the  week.  This  is  a  great  mistake.  Every  day  we  must  get  the 
spiritual  food  for  our  souls.  We  recognize  when  we  cease  eating 
food  that  our  bodies  are  in  disorder.  So  when  we  have  no  appetite 
for  God's  Word  something  in  our  spiritual  lives  is  wrorig. 

I  repeat,  the  second  mistake  of  Bible  study  is  this  intermittent 
method. 

The  third  mistake  is  studying  too  hastily.  I  know  some 
young  men  who  observe  the  Morning  Watch,  lyut  rush  through  their 
devotions  so  ha-tily  that  they  get  no  benefit.  Most  of  you  are 
students  and  know  that  if  you  eat  too  rapidly  you  fail  to  assimilate 
your  food  ;  just  so  in  the  spiritual  life,  if  food  is  taken  too  hurriedly 
it  will  not  assimilate. 

The  fourth  mistake  is  to  study  simply  from  habit.  When 
Bible  study  becomes  merely  a  habit  it  loses  its  life  and  purpose. 
We  must  keep  it  fresh  and  not  degrade  it  to  habit  only. 

The  fifth  mistake  is  to  study  at  random.  Some  read  where  the 
Bible  falls  open,  then  think  their  duty  done.  If  you  studied  your 
astronomy  or  algebra  that  way  you  would  not  grow.     You  must 


282  THE    CHINESE   RECORDER.  [JlinC, 

have  a  regular  method  of  stndy  to  improve  in  Bible  as  in  other 
studies.  I  do  not  say  we  should  never  read  at  random,  but  I  do 
say  this  ought  not  to  be  our  customary  way  of  reading.  There  are 
many  more  mistakes  in  Bible  study  that  I  shall  not  mention.  We 
all  know  the  dangers  and  perils  in  Bible  study. 

I  would  like  to  mention  three  fundamental  principles  on  which 
Bible  study  is  based.  First,  Bible  study  is  the  highest  form  of 
study  in  which  we  can  engage  and  ought  to  receive  our  highest 
attention.  Nothing  should  receive  more  careful  study  than  this 
study.  Let  me  ask,  Is  it  right  to  give  the  time  of  day  to  Bible 
study  when  we  are  tired  and  listless,  or  should  it  rather  be  when 
our  minds  are  fresh  and  alert?  Many  know  that  the  best  time  is 
in  the  morning  hours,  when  the  cares  of  the  day  have  not  begun. 
Morning,  then,  is  the  best  time  to  meet  God. 

The  second  great  principle  of  Bible  study  is  that  its  chief 
object  is  to  draw  nearer  to  God.  The  chief  object  is  not  to  learn 
what  the  Bible  says  and  glean  its  historical  facts,  though  these  may 
be  important,  nor  is  it  to  fill  our  minds  with  scriptural  thought  for 
the  spiritual  benefit  of  others,  though  that  may  be  important. 
The  chief  object  is  to  get  our  souls  in  harmony  with  God  and 
to  feel  that  He  is  our  friend.  Therefore  it  is  necessary  to  have  an 
attentive  ear  and  listen  for  the  least  commands  revealed  in  His 
Word.  It  is  necessary  to  have  a  heart  willing  to  do  what  God 
would  have  us  do. 

The  third  principle  is  that  no  study  can  take  the  place  of  study 
for  the  growth  of  your  individual  soul.  Many  of  you  are  preachers 
and  feel  that  you  cannot  study  for  yourselves,  but  must  study  to 
obtain  lessons  to  impart  to  others.  Let  me  warn  you  that  this 
alone  is  not  best  for  your  life  ;  it  cannot  bring  the  most  benefit  to 
you.  Yon  are  seeking  lessons  to  fit  some  one  else,  and  do  not  feed 
your  own  soul.  What  do  you  think  of  a  barber  who  never  shaves 
himself,  a  shoemaker  who  never  has  shoes  for  himself?  Preachers 
must  take  care  to  get  food  from  God  to  feed  their  own  souls. 

Some  people,  like  students,  say  :  "  We  study  the  Bible  every 
day  in  school.  Is  it  not  enough  ?  "  Very  likely  you  obtain  great 
good  in  that  way,  but  you  are  more  likely  to  get  mainly  facts  aud 
little  spiritual  truth.  That  method  alone  deprives  one  of  much 
spiritual  benefit.  No  matter  how  much  study  you  may  get  in 
college  (I  speak  from  experience)  it  is  necessary  to  study  the 
Bible  by  yourself.  Let  me  repeat  these  three  principles  :  First. 
Bible  study  is  most  important.  Give  your  mind  and  heart  to  it. 
The  second  point  is.  Remember  the  chief  object  is  to  draw  nearer 
to  God.  Third :  No  other  kind  of  study  can  take  the  place  of  Bible 
study  for  your  own  souls. 


1900.]  FIFTH  NATIONAL  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  CONVENTION.  283 

Now  let  me  dwell  a  few  minutes  on  methods  of  Bible  stndy. 
There  are  many  methods,  most  of  them  good  methods.  Bat  none 
of  us  can  follow  one  method  all  the  time.  We  must  change 
occasionally. 

Moreover,  peoples'  minds  work  differentl}'.  What  may  please 
one  person  would  not  satisfy  another. 

Perhaps  the  most  common  method  of  study  is  to  read  the  Bible 
through  in  order.  Very  good,  providing  we  guard  against  too  much 
or  too  careless  reading.  All  should  do  consecutive  reading  to  get  a 
birdseye  view,  a  general  view  of  the  landscape.  But  do  not  stop 
with  this  method  alone.  Others  are  important.  Another  method 
of  Bible  study  is  by  subjects  ;  for  example,  the  "  Holy  Spirit."  Find 
all  you  can  on  this  subject. 

Another  way  is  to  take  one  book  for  study  and  find  all  you 
can  about  it.  Then  occasionally  do  what  might  be  called  micros- 
copic work.  Make  a  careful  study  of  a  small  portion.  By  this 
method  we  get  deeper  into  spiritual  truth.  Some  time  ago  a  young 
man  said  to  me  :  "  All  methods  are  good,  but  I  can't  understand  the 
Bible,  and  I  haven't  money  to  boy  a  commentary."  The  best  com- 
mentary on  the  Bible  is  the  Bible  itself.  Where  did  the  great 
commentators  learn  P  From  the  study  of  the  Bible  by  putting  one 
Scripture  with  another  ;  by  comparison  you  and  I  have  the  privilege 
of  becoming  commentators  ourselves.  No  matter  how  humble  or 
ignorant  we  may  be,  God  will  reveal  His  truth  if  we  seek  it,  and 
in  order  to  encourage  your  hearts  and  minds  I  will  give  yon  a  plan 
of  self-study  to  enable  yon  to  understand  the  Scriptures. 

Suppose  I  turn  to  Mark,  first  chapter  ;  for  illustration,  I  begin 
by  reading  the  first  three  characters.  They  tell  rae  Jesus  was  the 
Son  of  God.  Take  your  pen  and  write,  "  Jesus  was  the  Son  of  God, 
Mark  says  so."  There  you  have  one  great  truth  already  in  your 
note  book.  Read  the  second  verse  ;  Mark  quotes  Old  Testament 
prophecy.  Write  that  in  your  book.  He  quotes  from  Malachi,  also 
Isaiah.  Next  put  down  the  place.  Read  on.  Much  is  told  of 
John  the  Baptist.  I  analyze  what  is  said  about  John  and  find  it 
describes  the  work  he  did  and  the  place  of  his  work.  Find  also  in 
verses  four,  seven,  eight,  his  gospel  is  spoken  of:  in  five,  the  result 
of  his  work  ;  sixth,  the  way  he  lived  ;  seventh  and  eighth,  his 
thought  of  Christ.  Put  all  these  facts  in  a  note  book  as  soon  as 
found.  After  studying  one  chapter  look  over  your  notes  and  see  if 
any  two  are  on  the  same  subject.  Yon  may  find  four  or  five  places  on 
the  Holy  Spirit,  Put  them  together  and  say  Mark  teaches  this 
about  the  Holy  Spirit.  Then  meditate  on  these  facts.  Ask  yourself, 
"  Have  I  received  these  in  my  heart  ?"  And  so  on  with  all  the  subjects. 
IfyoQ  do  this  you  will  be  surprised  at  the  number  of  subjects. 


284  THE   CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Jline 

Take  Mark,  first  chapter  for  instance.  There  are  at  least  twenty-five 
distinct  teachings.  Suppose  yon  go  through  the  whole  of  Mark  that 
way,  you  will  then  know  more  than  if  you  studied  a  commentary  for 
a  year,  and  besides  feel  that  these  truths  are  your  own,  and  you  have 
a  power  you  could  not  get  from  a  commentary.  This  is  not  a  hard 
method,  but  one  adapted  to  all  lines  of  study. 

I  have  a  friend  who  is  a  specialist  on  birds.  His  wide  knowledge 
on  that  subject  was  obtained  by  classifying  small  facts.  Apply  the 
same  indefatigability  to  the  Bible  and  we  will  be  masters  of  it. 
I  covet  for  you  the  spirit  of  investigation — of  research. 

I  trust  that  we  may  become  such  men  as  miners.  They  go  into 
the  earth  and  bring  up  untold  treasures.  May  you  search  God's 
Word  and  get  untold  treasures  never  before  seen  by  man.  God  make 
yon  all  able  to  handle  the  word  of  truth  rightly. 


The  Quiet  Hour  with  Ood. 

KEV.    P.    E.    CLARE,    D.D. 

tHE  quiet  tour  means  just  this  :  In  it  we  give  God  a  chanc6 
to  get  at  us.  We  give  everything — ^^bnsiness,  pleasures,  cares 
of  every  kind — a  chance  at  us,  everything  but  God.  We 
set  apart  regular  times  for  all  these  things.  We  have  regular  times 
for  our  meals,  and  we  very  seldom  forget  them.  We  give  all  these 
things  a  stated  time  and  never  forget,  but  we  often  forget  to  talk 
with  God.  The  quiet  hour  means  also  to  have  a  'particular  time 
every  day  in  which  to  talk  with  God.  First  go  back  and  get  the 
idea  that  we  can  talk  with  God.  The  most  profound  truth  in  the 
Bible  is  that  he,  who  commits  himself  to  God,  mtist  believe 
God  is. 

This  thought  must  possess  us.  We  must  also  believe  that 
we  can  see  and  talk  with  Him  as  friend.  We  must  believe  it  is 
possible  for  us  to  talk  with  God.  That  it  is  not  a  privilege  granted 
to  the  wise  and  learned,  or  to  saints  alone,  but  to  us  also.  This 
great  honor  God  has  given  us. 

Many  a  beast  is  stronger  than  we.  Many  a  bird  bnilds  its 
nest  as  skillfully  as  we  build  houses,  but  no  bird  or  beast  can 
know  God  and  talk  with  Him.  It  is  our  great  privilege,  which  we 
forget  to  receive  as  such. 

Then  let  us  have  as  a  basis  of  thought,  "  It  is  possible  to 
know  Him  and  talk  with  Him."  But  better  still  is  it  to  hear 
Him  talk  to  us.  It  is  a  mistake  to  spend  all  the  time  in  talking 
with  God.  We  want  so  many  things — money,  help,  and  so  many 
little  things — that  we  spend  our  time  in  teasing  God  and  forget 


1900.]  FJFTH   NATIONAL  CHRISTIAN   ENDEAVOR   CONVENTION.  285 

the  still  small  voice.    The  quiet  hour  means  to  listen,  as  well  as 
speak,  and  hear  God. 

But  you  may  say:  "Why  call  it  'the  quiet  hour'"?  Why 
distinguish  it  by  that  name  when  it  means  meditation  ?  Just  to 
make  it  definite  and  concrete.  Tiiis  church,  for  example,  means 
God's  house.  It  represents  God,  and  means  that  He  dwells  here. 
He  would  be  here  any  way,  but  it  makes  His  presence  real  for  us 
to  see  this  house.  Look  at  the  mottoes  above  you,  see  tlie  one 
above  you  which  says  :  "  One  is  your  master,  even  Christ."  How 
real,  how  definite  His  existence  becomes.  The  quiet  hour  makes 
the  thought  definite.  The  quiet  hour  must  come  into  every  soul  if 
you  would  grow  in  grace.  The  time  may  come  when  we  shall  be  so 
perfect  that  we  shall  alway  be  in  comrauoiou  with  God;  but  now 
when  imperfect  we  must  have  a  definite  time  to  talk  with  God. 

The  comrades  of  the  quiet  hour  promise  to  set  apart  fifteen 
minutes  a  day,  in  the  morning,  for  commuuion  with  God.  There  is 
no  magic  in  the  time,  but  in  the  idea  underlying  it — to  have  some 
definite  time  to  oommune  with  the  Father.  We  need  so  much  in  this 
busy,  rushing  world,  to  have  this  quiet  time.  I  thought  that  Ameri- 
cans were  the  busiest  people  in  the  world,  but  I  see  the  Chinese  are 
just  as  busy.  As  I  pass  through  your  streets  morning  and  night 
I  find  your  people  busy  all  the  time — busy  about  goods,  about  every- 
thing— too  busy  for  heavenly  things.  Even  we  Christians  are  so 
busy  with  making  a  living  that  unless  we  are  careful  we  let  weeks 
and  days  slip  by  without  communing  with  God.  In  olden  times 
saints  went  off"  by  themselves  in  mountain  caves  or  cells.  Sometimes, 
mounted  on  a  height,  where  they  might  be  seen,  they  held  aloft 
an  arm  until  it  became  stiif,  thinking  by  such  means  to  please  God. 
We  believe  that  is  a  great  mistake  ;  that  men  should  live  among 
others  to  do  them  good  ;  that  it  would  be  a  great  mistake  in  these 
days  to  seek  the  wilderness  for  spiritual  growth  as  they  of  old  did. 
Yet  we  do  need  as  much  as  they  a  season  of  communion  with  God. 
Though  not  in  cloister  or  cell  we  need  to  take  some  time  with  God. 

There  is  no  time  so  good  as  the  morning  hours,  when  we  are 
fresh  and  strong,  to  spend  with  the  Father  in  heaven.  I  know  it  is 
not  easy,  but  if  we  are  as  determined  to  get  it  as  to  get  our  breakfast 
we  will  get  it.  I  believe  in  praying  for  the  least  things  of  life,  but 
wheu  you  come  to  this  time  do  not  spend  all  the  time  in  prayer  for 
self;  nor  should  you  spend  all  the  time  with  the  blessed  Book. 
God  is  there,  but  also  elsewhere  in  the  still  small  voice.  Begin  by 
reading  the  Bible,  then  look  into  His  face  and  hear  the  direct  mes- 
sage. The  Bible  then  becomes  a  message  interpreted  by  God.  When 
prayer  and  reading  are  finished  then  listen, — "Speak  Lord,  for  thy 
servant  heareth." 


286  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Jane, 

Old  writers  call  it  "  practicing  the  presence  of  God."  I  believe  it 
is  possible  to  "  practice  the  real  presence  of  God  "  every  day.  I 
have  many  letters  at  home  from  those  who  observe  the  quiet  hour, 
everyone  testifying  to  the  blessing  it  brings. 

I  remember  a  yoiing  lady  in  Berlin  who  had  gone  there  from 
America.  She  was  a  worldly  young  woman,  bnt  was  attracted  to  the 
American  church,  and  later  joined  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society. 
Then  she  heard  of  the  quiet  hour  and  wanted  to  keep  it.  It  was 
hard  at  first,  accustomed  as  she  was  to  sit  up  late,  to  rise  and  give 
fifteen  minutes  of  the  early  morning  to  God.  She  at  first  overslept. 
But  at  last  she  prayed,  "Lord,  wake  me  to  keep  my  appoint- 
ment with  Thee."  Then  in  the  morning  she  seemed  to  hear  a  voice 
saying:  "My  daughter,  my  daughter,  awake  for  an  appointment  with 
God."  She  at  once  arose,  and  there  was  no  more  trouble  in  awaking. 
She  expected  to  meet  God  every  morning  just  as  she  would  a  friend. 
She  says  the  difference  in  her  life  is  beyond  all  belief ;  it  is  so 
radiant,  so  glad.     And  this  is  the  experience  of  many  others. 

In  my  office  at  home  are  many  cards  with  names  of  those  who 
have  promised  to  keep  the  quiet  hour.  I  shall  be  glad  to  put  yours 
in  the  same  place.  Cards  will  be  given  you  to  sign,  containing  the 
promise,  "  Trusting  in  the  Lord  Jesus  I  promise  to  spend  fifteen 
minutes  a  day  in  communion  with  God."  May  we  all  know  the 
blessedness  of  the  quiet  hour.  Before  we  close  let  us  hear  the  testi- 
mony of  those  who  have  kept  the  quiet  hour  for  years  perhaps. 
The  best  hours  of  my  life  are  those  spent  with  God.  I  would  not 
exchange  the  days  begun  with  God  for  all  the  others.  Some  of  you 
doubtless  will  speak  from  a  larger  experience  than  L  I  would  that 
I  had  a  larger,  richer  experience.  Tell  how  God  has  appeared  to 
you  and  blessed  you  through  this  quiet  hour.  First  of  all  let  us  bow 
in  silent  communion  with  God.  "  Lord,  speak  to  us  this  morning. 
May  we  forget  the  great  babel  of  voices  outside  and  remember  we 
are  alone  with  Thee  ;  and  let  Thy  voice  speak  to  us  and  we  hear  Thee 
alone.     In  the  name  of  Thy  Blessed  Son,  Jesus  Christ." 

Many  testimonies  were  given  by  native  men  and  women  of  the 
blessedness  of  the  quiet  hour. 


Junior  Rally. 

REPORTED  BY  MISS  GLENCK,  M.  E.  M. 

T  two  o'clock  p.m.,  April  7th,  a  large  audience  of  about  two 
thousand  assembled  at  the  M.  E.  Church.  The  Rev.  P.  E. 
Bland  (C.  M.  S  )  conducted  the  opening  exercises.     A  very 

interesting  program  had  been  arranged  for  the  occasion,  in  which  the 

children  of  the  various  churches  participated. 


1900.]  FIFTH  NATIONAL  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  CONVENTION.  287 

Several  selections  were  given  by  the  American  Board  kinder- 
garten juniors  which  impressed  all  with  the  value  of  kindergarten 
training  and  its  peculiar  adaptation  to  the  Cliinese. 

The  little  ones  of  the  Methodist  orphanage  won  the  applause  of 
the  audience  by  the  sweet  way  in  which  they  rendered  their  little 
motion  song.  The  selections  given  by  the  larger  boys  and  girls 
were  also  greatly  enjoyed. 

At  this  point  the  students  of  the  Foochow  College  Intermediate 
Christian  Endeavor  Society  presented  Dr.  Clark  with  a  beautiful 
banner  to  be  used  in  the  interests  of  Christian  Endeavor.  Dr.  Clark 
in  his  response  said  that  the  State  or  province  which  made  the 
greatest  increase  in  intermediate  societies  within  the  coming  year, 
should  hold  the  banner  for  a  year  and  so  on  successively. 

After  this  Rev.  G.  H.  Hubbard  presented  Dr.  Clark  with  a 
drum  and  gavel.  The  gavel  was  made  from  a  piece  of  wood  taken 
from  the  house  in  which  was  organized  the  first  Christian  Endeavor 
Society  in  China.  The  drum  signified  the  "Rouse-up  Society," 
which  is  the  literal  Chinese  translation  of  the  Christian  Endeavor 
Society's  name.  ' 

Following  this  we  were  favored  with  a  most  interesting  address 
by  Miss  Louisa  M.  Hodgkins,  editor  of  The  Wonuin^s  Missionary 
Friend,  Boston. 

In  referring  to  the  banner  presented  to  Dr.  Clark,  which  repre- 
sented five  men  standing  before  the  cross,  she  said:  "As  I  was 
looking  at  this  beautiful  banner,  it  occurred  to  me  that  there  was  a 
time  when  there  were  just  as  many  disciples  as  there  are  here. 
I  like  to  think,  as  we  now  number  one  million,  we  once  were  five; 
and  I  think  those  five  embraced  the  characteristics  we  ought  to  have 
to-day.  The  first  was  Andrew.  He  first  went  and  found  his  brother 
Simon.  If  you  look  through  the  gospels  you  will  find  Andrew 
was  always  looking  for  somebody.  He  was  the  one  who  found  the 
little  lad  with  the  five  fishes,  and  the  last  time  we  read  of  him, 
he  was  still  looking  for  somebody.  The  first  one  that  Jesus  called 
was  seeking  for  souls. 

"  The  next  one  was  Simon.  He  always  had  great  energy.  It  was 
Simon  Peter  who  was  at  the  transfiguration.  Remember  he  had  to 
be  rebuked  very  often;  and  he  was  always  rebuking  others. 

"Then  there  was  John  the  sympalhetie ;  John,  who  was  always 
the  kindly,  brotherly  man. 

"  Next  to  be  called  was  Philip.  Christ  Himself  found  Philip. 
Now  we  have  two  whom  Christ  found.  Philip  was  a  man  of  great 
common  sense;  he  did  not  make  blunders  as  Peter  did.  It  was 
Philip  who  at  the  miracle  of  the  five  thousand  said:  'It  would 
take  tv^o  hundred  penny  worth.'    He  always  wanted  good  reasons 


888  THE  CHINESE  BECORDER.  [June, 

for  things.    Now  it  is  the  Philips  in  the  church  who  keep  ua  out 
of  debts  and  who  are  always  looking  out  how  to  raise  money. 

"  Nathaniel,  without  guile,  the  pure  in  heart,  who  could  not  be 
bribed.  Do  you  remember  what  our  Lord  said  of  him  ?  '  An 
Israelite,  in  whom  is  no  guile.'  Nathaniel,  the  man  of  innocence, 
guileless.  The  characteristics  of  these  disciples  are  those  we  want 
to-day.  Are  you  an  Andrew  seeking  for  souls  ?  Are  you  a  Simon 
Peter  full  of  energy,  willing  to  work  hard  ?  Are  you  Philip  full  of 
good  common  sense?  Are  you  a  John  full  of  love  and  brotherly 
sympathy  for  others  ?     Are  you  a  Nathaniel  with  a  pure  heart  ?  " 

The  audience  was  then  addressed  by  Mrs.  F.  E.  Clark.  In  her 
address  Mrs.  Clark  used  the  illustration  of  the  joy  of  her  older 
children  of  a  present  of  a  new  baby  boy  to  show  what  our  joy  should 
be  because  of  the  many  brothers  we  have  in  the  world,  scattered 
in  various  countries,  speaking  different  languages,  but  all  doing 
the  same  thing,  all  working  for  the  one  object.  She  said  that  the 
largest  Junior  Endeavor  Society  was  the  "Giant  Society"  in 
Australia,  consisting  of  one  thousand  members.  The  smallest  she 
described  as  consisting  of  but  two — an  American  and  an  Armenian. 
These  two  boys  met  every  week  in  the  American  boy's  room.  To 
be  out  of  the  ordinary  they  held  their  meetings  in  one  corner  of 
a  shelf  called  the  "  Prayer  Shelf."  There  they  read  their  Bible, 
prayed,  took  a  collection,  and  then  went  out  to  work.  There  was 
one  time  they  were  three;  but  the  third  one  did  not  keep  the 
pledge,  so  the  two  voted  him  out.  They  tried  hard  to  get  the  boy 
to  do  better. 

To  represent  the  growth  and  development  of  the  Christian 
Endeavor  Society,  Mrs.  Clark  called  several  children  on  the  plat- 
form, arranging  them  in  an  ascending  scale,  from  the  smallest 
to  the  largest. 

With  reference  to  the  beginning  of  the  Society  she  said: 
Nineteen  years  ago  there  was  only  one  Christian  Endeavor  Society 
in  the  world.  It  was  like  a  little  seed  planted.  The  object  of  this 
first  society  was  to  make  its  members  better  and  more  earnest  in  the 
service  of  God.  And  so  because  they  were  earnest  and  faithful  it 
spread.  After  two  or  three  years  it  was  still  small,  but  it  had  grown, 
and  was  doing  more  to  make  the  world  better.  It  spread  in  America 
and  to  Canada,  then  to  China.  This  convention  is  showing  a  little 
of  what  Christian  Endeavor  is  accomplishing.  It  spread  to  Hawaii 
and  Ceylon.  Here  we  found  some  of  the  most  faithful  workers. 
They  marked  out  every  tenth  cocoanut  tree  for  the  Lord. 

In  Mexico  some  little  boys  wanted  to  join  the  Christian  En- 
deavor Society  but  the  old  people  thought  they  did  not  know 
enough ;  so  they  formed  one  of  their  own. 


1900.]  PIPTH  NATIONAL  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  CONX'ENTION.  889 

The  Christian  Endeavor  Society  later  spread  into  Europe. 
There  is  a  girls  school  in  Spain  which  has  two  societies— a  senior 
and  a  janior.  They  worked  hard  and  earnestly,  until  now  there 
are  fifteen  or  twenty  other  societies  born  from  this  girls  school.  I 
remember  in  Turkey  they  brought  in  a  flag  and  the  Society  banner. 
I  never  before  saw  the  two  waved  together.  But  as  they  were 
waved  that  day  I  realized  what   Christian   Endeavor  was  doing. 

Best  of  all  the  Christian  Endeavor  has  grown  in  goodness. 
Its  members  have  united  with  the  church  and  have  become  earnest 
Christians.  Now  I  want  yon  boys  and  girls  to  reach  out  and  help 
as  many  as  you  can.  All  around  the  world  to-day  there  are  over 
500,000  boys  and  girls  pledged  to  do  all  they  can  to  win  the  world 
for  Christ.  And  when  we  add  3,000,000  young  people,  we're  a 
large  host  marching  on  to  victory. 

We  can't  shake  hands  with  all  these;  but  we  can  all  help 
each  other. 

After  singing,  "  Blest  be  the  tie  that  binds,"  the  service  closed 
with  the  benediction. 


Good   Citizenship: — Wliat   ought    it  to    mean  to  the  Chinese 

Christian  ? 

BY   REV.    J.    W.    HEYWOOD. 

fHE  subject  which  has  been  assigned  to  me,  "  Good  Citizenship  ; 
what  ought  it  to  mean  to  the  Chinese  Christian  ?  "  is  one  of 
great  importance,  deserving  the  prayerful  thought  and  study 
of  all  sincere  Christian  Endeavorers. 

China  at  the  present  time  is  passing  through  a  grave  crisis,  the 
outcome  of  which,  if  it  is  to  be  for  the  true  welfare  of  the  nation, 
will  largely  depend  upon  the  good  citizenship  manifested  by  officials 
and  people.  We  should  therefore  carefully  consider  what  good 
citizenship  means  to  followers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 

That  it  is  the  duty  of  every  Christian  to  pray  that  God  would 
overrule  all  things  for  the  glory  of  His  name  is,  I  am  sure,  the 
conviction  and  practice  of  every  Christian  Chinese. 

We  are  exhorted  in  the  New  Testament  to  make  supplications, 
prayers,  and  intercessions  for  kings  and  for  all  that  are  in  author- 
ity, that  we  may  lead  a  quiet  and  peaceable  life  in  all  godliness  and 
honesty.  (I.  Tim.  i.  2.)  With  all  earnestness  we  would  plead  with 
you  to  constantly  give  heed  unto  this  duty. 

With  like  earnestness  we  would  plead  with  all  Christians  to 
be  subject  unto  the  higher  powers,  rendering  to  all  their  dues  : 
tribute  to  whom  tribute  is  due,  custom  to  whom  custom,  fear  to 
whom  fear,  honour  to  whom  honour.    (Romans  13.) 


290  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [June, 

Christianity  does  not  teach  that  its  believers  should  be  asso- 
ciated with  secret  societies  which  claim  to  have  for  their  object 
the  welfare  of  the  people.  The  foreign  pastors  have  not  crossed  the 
ocean  teas  of  thousands  of  li  for  the  purpose  of  teaching  the  Chinese 
to  become  in  every  particular  like  the  foreigner.  No  !  Jesus 
teaches  that  there  are  no  distinctions  of  race  in  God's  sight ;  that 
"one  is  your  Master,  even  Christ,  and  ye  are  all  brethren." 

Jesns  has  taught  that  all  men,  all  races,  can  attain  a  higher 
and  holier  life  through  faith  in  Him.  This  is  why  Christianity  is 
suitable  for  all  the  world.  "  It  does  not  destroy  nationality,  nor 
lead  an  attack  on  outward  forms,  where  these  do  not  subvert 
fundamental  conditions  of  moral  life." 

It  is  necessary  to  emphasize  this,  as  much  of  the  hostility  and 
persecutions  which  are  the  Chinese  Christian's  lot  have  their  origin 
in  ignorance  of  these  facts. 

Now,  Christian  Endeavor  is  emphasized  as  being  undenomi~ 
national;  a  great  characteristic  being  that  it  is  interdenominational. 
We  would  also  emphasize  the  fact  that  it  is  non-national  while 
being  in  the  truest  sense  international.  The  Christian  Endeavor 
Society  would  help  you  to  consider  what  an  ancient  and  great 
empire  you  belong  to,  so  that  you  may  have  a  reasonable  pride  in 
being  Chinese ;  but  the  great  lesson  which  the  Christian  Endeavor 
Society  teaches  is,  "  that  righteousness  exalteth  a  nation  ;  but  sin 
is  a  reproach  to  any  people."     (Proverbs  xiv.  34.) 

Thus  we  find  in  the  books  published  in  America  for  the  pur- 
pose of  informing  people  what  the  Christian  Endeavor  Society  is, 
that  it  is  stated  *''  Christian  Endeavor  stands  always  and  everywhere 
for  Christian  citizenship" 

Now  we  would  assert  that  good  citizenship  is  impossible 
unless  it  be  such  as  is  described  by  the  Christian  Endeavor  So- 
ciety— "  Christian  citizenship" —  and  it  is  of  Christian  citizenship 
that  I  would  speak. 

What  is  meant  by  the  term  citizenship  ?  It  means  more  than 
fulfilling  our  duty  to  father  and  mother  ;  for  Confucius  has  said : 
"  A  young  man,  when  at  home,  should  be  a  good  son  j  when  out  in 
the  world,  a  good  citizen." 

Citizenship  means  more  than  fulfilling  our  duty  to  our  wives, 
our  children,  or  our  relatives.  It  means  more  than  what  is  involved 
in  being  a  member  of  a  clan.  Citizenship  means  that  a  man  seeks 
not  his  own  selfish  benefit,  but  finds  his  own  highest  welfare  in  ends 
which  include  the  welfare  of  others  also.  Its  truest  meaning  is 
found  in  the  fulfilment  of  the  second  great  commandment  given  by 
Christ,  "  Thou  sbalt  love  thy  neighbour  as  thyself."  Christianity 
teaches  emphatically  that    "no  man  liveth  unto  himself;"  that 


1900.]  FIFTH  NATIONAL  CHRISTIAN   ENDEAVOR   CONVENTION.  291 

man  cannot  properly  be  considered  merely  an  individual.  He  mnst 
be  considered  in  his  relation  to  his  fellows,  liviuf^  amongst  them, 
inflnenciug  them  either  for  good  or  evil.  Thus  it  is  possible  for 
"what  may  be  called  "  public  conscience  " — the  conscience  not  merely 
of  this  man  or  that,  but  of  a  body  of  men  living  together — to 
influence  a  whole  community  towards  right  living  when  perhaps 
the  laws  of  the  country  have  failed  to  check  great  evils. 

The  great  bane  of  all  national  life  and  progress  is  ignorance. 
Where  ignorance  holds  a  person  in  its  toils,  he  cannot  by  any 
possibility  be  a  good  citizen. 

"  Good  citizenship  "  therefore  means  antagonism  to  ignorance. 
This  leads  me  to  ray  first  main  point,  viz.,  a  good  citizen  will  seek 
after  knowledge.  He  will  ever  strive  to  obtain  more  light  upon  all 
that  affects  tiie  best  welfare  of  man. 

To  the  Chinese  Christian  this  should  mean  the  search  for  three 
kinds  of  knowledge:  first,  spiritual  knowledge;  second,  mental 
knowledge;  and  third,  self-knowledge. 

As  a  man  grows  in  spiritual  grace  and  knowledge,  so  will  his 
"  manner  of  life  be  worthy  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,"  or,  as  it  is  in 
the  Greek,  he  will  "behave  as  a  citizen  worthily."  (Phil.  i.  27.) 
We  are  exhorted  to  "grow  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ."     (2  Peter  iii.18.) 

Education,  it  need  hardly  be  mentioned,  is  to  be  sought  after 
by  the  true  citizen. 

Many  are  the  opportunities  provided  at  the  present  time  to 
secure  knowledge.  Schools,  colleges,  translated  books  on  numerous 
sciences,  etc.,  all  are  at  the  service  of  the  student.  In  the  Old 
Testament  we  are  told,  "A  man  of  knowledge  increaseth  strength." 
We  foreigners  have  a  saying,  "  Knowledge  is  power."  The  good 
citizen  ought,  therefore,  to  seek  in  every  way  to  become  a  wiser 
man,  and  with  all  his  mind  love  God  and  his  fellow-men. 

Self-knowledge  is  that  attained  by  searching  into  one's  own  life 
for  failings  which  may  be  hidden  from  those  around  us.  These 
may  stunt  our  spiritual  growth  and  weaken  our  influence  for  good 
unless  we  detect  them  and,  conscious  of  our  own  weakness,  seek  by 
the  strength  of  God's  Holy  Spirit  to  overcome  them.  A  disciple  of 
Confucius  remarked,  "  I  daily  examine  into  my  personal  conduct  on 
three  points :  First,  whether  in  carrying  out  the  duties  entrusted 
to  me  by  others,  I  have  not  failed  in  conscientiousness  ;  second, 
whether  in  intercourse  with  friends  I  have  not  failed  in  sincerity 
and  trustworthiness  ;  third,  whether  I  have  not  failed  to  practice 
what  I  profess  in  my  teaching." 

We  would  exhort  every  Christian  Endeavorer  who  has  an 
ambition  to  be  a  good  citizen  to  observe  the  '*  Quiet  Hour,"  so  that 


292  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Jone, 

in  medifation  and  prayer,  strength  may  be  obtained  to  fulfil  the 
duties  of  every-day  life.  Another  thing  essential  to  good  citizen- 
ship is,  "  self-sacrifice."  Next  to  ignorance,  selfishness  is  the 
greatest  curse  of  any  people.  A  good  citizen  will  take  it  as  a  rule 
of  his  life  that  anything  which  he  does,  whilst  being  perfectly 
lawful,  yet  causes  a  weaker  citizen  to  sin,  ought  not  to  be  indulged 
by  him.  We  must  deny  ourselves,  "  lest,"  as  Paul  says,  "  I  make 
my  brother  to  ofi'end." 

Again,  a  Christian  citizen  will  have  consideration  for  un- 
believers. He  will  recognize  whatever  there  is  of  good  in  the 
non-Christian  and  seek  to  co-operate  with  him  in  anything  which 
will  lessen  evil  in  any  form.  As  Christians  we  need  to  have 
a  broad  and  great  charity  toward  non-Christians,  "  lest  ye 
offend." 

Again,  good  citizen  will  be  independent  of  all  charity, 
whilst  in  all  truly  necessitous  cases  he  will  be  ready  to  extend  help 
to  others.  I  want  here  to  emphasize  that  all  honest  labour  is 
honourable.  A  coolie  can  be  as  good  a  citizen  as  the  merchant  or 
the  scholar.  So  do  not  put  any  blame  on  your  calling,  but  seek  to 
make  it  a  means  of  making  you  independent  of  all  charity  which, 
as  I  have  already  said,  is  a  necessary  characteristic  of  a  good 
citizen. 

Again,  good  citizenship  to  the  Chinese  Christian  ought  to 
mean  a  clean,  healthy  body.  Cleanliness  of  body  and  dress  ought 
to  be  part  of  his  social  religion.  This  I  need  but  mention  without 
going  into  the  many  reasons  why  it  should  claim  our  attention  when 
speaking  of  good  citizenship. 

I  need  only  mention  one  other  duty  of  a  good  citizen,  and  that 
is  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  lessen  the  evils  around  him.  China  is 
cursed  with  three  great  evils :  opium-smoking  and  eating,  gam- 
bling, and  concupiscence. 

The  suppression  or  control  of  these  and  other  evils  must  lie  in 
the  last  resort  with  the  conscience  of  the  community. 

It  is  the  duty  of  every  Chinese  Christian  whose  conscience  has 
been  enlightened  and  quickened  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  elevate 
the  standard  of  right-living  in  the  community  amongst  which  he 
may  be  living.  This  means  a  faithful  testimony  against  moral  evil, 
which  will  often  be  rewarded  with  rebuff,  and  scorn,  and  per- 
secution. "  For  unto  you  it  is  given  in  the  behalf  of  Christ, 
not  only  to  believe  on  Him,  bub  also  to  suffer  for  His  sake." 
(Phil.  i.  29.) 

To  be  silent  in  the  presence  of  moral  wrong  would  mean  that 
our  own  moral  judgment  would  be  weakened  and  an  injury  done 
to  the  cause  of  righteousness.    The  path  of  duty  is  plain,  and  must 


1900.]  FIFTH  NATIONAL  CHBISTIAN  ENDEAVOR   CONVENTION.  293 

be  trodden  by  all  who  will  be  trne  to  God  and  His  light.  Those 
who  are  persecnted  for  righteonsness  sake  are,  in  a  more  profound 
sense  than  that  in  which  the  phrase  is  applied  to  political  leaders, 
"the  Saviors  of  their  country."  With  yoar  "works"  let  there 
be  prayer  on  behalf  of  your  country  and  God  will  hear  yon  ; 
and  even  for  your  sakes  China  will  have  the  day  of  grace 
lengthened  out. 


Systematic    Giving. 

BY  REV.    F.   E.    CLARK,    D.D. 

MAN  is  not  thoroughly  converted  until  his  pocket  book  is 
converted ;  a  Christian  is  not  thoroughly  consecrated  until 
all  bank  accounts  are  consecrated. 

This  applies  to  the  poorest  Christian  with  no  bank  account,  bub 
only  a  string  of  cash,  as  well  as  to  the  wealthy  man. 

This  principle  underlies  our  subject  this  morning — "  Systematic 
Giving." 

I  am  glad  to  report  that  I  have  seen  a  great  evolution  in  the 
matter  of  giving  in  the  last  few  years.  This  idea  of  giving  has  grown 
with  the  world,  and  as  the  young  people  have  come  to  realize  that 
they  have  brothers  and  sisters  iu  all  parts  of  the  world,  they  have 
come  to  give  more  freely. 

I  have  noticed  a  change  in  the  mottoes  which  I  have  seen  hang- 
ing in  the  churches.  In  the  early  days  1  used  to  see  "  our  city  for 
Christ,"  "  our  state  for  Christ,"  "  our  church  for  Christ."  After  a 
few  years  I  saw  this  motto  enlarged,  until  it  read  "  our  whole 
country  for  Christ."  I  am  glad  to  see,  over  the  dragon,  this  morn- 
ing the  words  "  China  for  Christ."  That  surely  is  a  great  object  to 
have  in  view  to  work  for,  this  great  empire  for  Christ,  but  there  is  a 
still  greater  object  that  rises  before  us;  it  is,  "this  world  for 
Christ." 

And  so  when  this  thought  was  impressed  on  the  heart  of  the 
young  they  came  to  see  that  they  had  a  part  in  this  great  work  of 
spreading  the  gospel  and  were  ready  to  do  their  part. 

So  this  principle  of  systematic  giving  has  come  to  be  a  necessity 
to  a  movement  like  this. 

I  am  very  glad  to  see  the  missionary  spirit  growing  in  the 
hearts  of  the  young  people.  Most  of  them  are  not  rich  ;  they  are  just 
beginning  to  make  a  way  in  the  world  for  themselves,  and  yet  they 
are  willing  to  give  of  their  goods  as  God  shall  prosper  them. 

Christian  Endeavor  teaches  us  not  only  to  give  for  our  owa 
needs,  but  to  carry  the  gospel  into  all  lands.  These  teachings  have 
already  materialized  into  much  hard  cash.    Last  year  the  Christiaa 


294  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [Jline, 

Endeavor  Society  raised  $1,590,000  cash  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel 
in  their  own  and  other  lands. 

This  was  only  a  part  of  what  they  gave,  as  they  gave,  not  only 
for  missions,  but  gave  through  the  regular  channels  of  the  church 
for  the  support  of  all  branches  of  the  work. 

In  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  the  United  States  eighty 
missionaries  are  now  supported  in  whole  or  in  part  by  the  Christian 
Endeavor  Societies  of  that  denomination. 

But  the  greatest  advantage  in  this  is  not  that  more  money  is 
raised,  but  that  more  interest  is  aroused  in  the  hearts  of  the  young 
people  and  more  prayers  ascend  from  them  for  the  work  and  the 
worker  whom  they  thus  help. 

The  birthday  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  is  always  celebrated  on 
the  4th  of  February ;  a  few  weeks  ago  we  celebrated  its  nineteenth 
birthday,  and  one  part  of  that  celebration  is  a  thank  offering  for 
missions. 

This  money  is  not  given  to  the  local  society,  nor  to  a  central 
society,  but  through  the  church  for  the  spread  of  the  gospel. 

I  merely  speak  of  this  to  show  that  this  principle  of  giving  is 
firmly  fixed  in  the  heart  of  the  Society. 

A  few  years  ago  it  was  proposed  to  form  the  tenth  legion  in 
the  Society.  The  name  was  not  fanciful,  but  was  derived  from  that 
famous  tenth  legion  upon  which  Caesar  depended  so  much  when  he 
was  in  need  of  loyal  support  in  war.  The  idea  is  that  if  the  hosts 
of  God  will  enter  into  an  agreement  with  God  and  with  themselves 
to  give  a  tenth  of  their  income  to  the  service  of  God,  the  Captain  of 
our  salvation  will  have  a  mighty  host  upon  whom    He  can  depend. 

Already  many  thousands  have  entered  this  agreement  to  give 
one-tenth  to  the  extension  of  the  kingdom,  but  the  idea  has  gone 
much  farther  than  simply  those  whose  names  are  enrolled  ;  it  has 
permeated  the  ranks  with  the  thought. 

Very  much  can  be  said  in  favor  of  giving  a  definite  portion  of 
what  we  receive  to  God.  When  we  have  no  rule  we  give  much  less 
than  we  think.  We  give  a  dollar  to-day  for  some  good  cause,  and  it 
looks  big  to  us  at  the  time,  and  we  remember  it  for  the  year  to  come, 
and  our  consciences  are  kept  quiet  by  the  thought  of  what  we  have 
given,  when  a  regular  account  would  show  a  sadly  disproportionate 
amount  given  to  God  when  compared  with  what  we  spend  on 
ourselves. 

I  think  it  is  very  important  that  we  be  regular  and  systematic 
in  this  as  well  as  in  other  things.  It  does  not  do  to  pray  only  when 
we  feel  like  it,  or  to  go  to  church  when  we  have  nowhere  else  to  go, 
or  feel  just  like  it,  or  to  do  good  just  when  we  feel  right ;  it  is  our 
duty  to  do  these  things  regularly.     So  it  will  not  do  for  us  to  give 


1900.]  FIFTH  NATIONAL  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR   CONVENTION.  295 

only  as  we  feel  like  ib ;  it  is  our  duty  to  be  regular  in  this  as  well  as 
in  other  things.  Some  people  say  that  it  is  a  very  narrow,  Jewish 
idea  to  give  the  tenth ;  all  we  have  is  God's,  and  we  ought  nob  to 
make  any  distinction.  Bat  I  have  never  noticed  that  these  people 
were  more  generous  than  those  who  had  a  principle  and  gave  a  fixed 
proportion. 

It  is  all  God's  to  be  sure,  and  we  should  spend  it  all  for  the  right, 
bub  we  should  set  apart  some  part  of  ib  to  be  spent  in  His  service 
especially. 

The  history  of  all  benevolence  shows  this  principle  to  be  neces- 
sary. We  should  plan  to  give.  Christ  did  not  in  any  way  set  aside 
this  law,  and  we  ought  surely  to  be  willing  to  give  at  least  as  much  as 
the  old  Jew  gave.  I  do  not  say  how  much  you  should  give,  and  you 
cannot  say  how  much  I  ought  to  give,  but  we  should  all  give  at  least 
the  tenth. 

This  applies  to  the  poorest  as  well  as  to  the  richest.  There  may 
be  boys  here  who  only  receive  ten  cash  a  week,  bub  one  of  those  tea 
ought  to  be  given  to  God,  and  he  will  receive  as  great  a  blessing  as 
though  it  were  a  million  dollars. 

Ib  seems  to  me  that  the  next  great  revival  needed  is  a  revival 
in  benevolence,  in  generosity.  How  parsimonious  we  are  toward  God 
and  generous  toward  ourselves.  One  warship  represents  more  money 
than  some  Christian  nations  give  in  a  whole  year  for  the  spreading 
of  the  gospel  in  the  world.  That  is  only  an  example  of  how  Chris- 
tians have  failed  to  see  their  duty  to  Christ  and  to  realize  that  all 
things  else  are  but  secondary. 

As  I  close  I  want  to  appeal  to  those  gathered  here  to  enter  the 
spirit  of  systematic  giving  to  God,  not  only  because  of  the  help  ib 
■would  be  to  the  different  causes  of  the  church,  but  for  their  own 
sakes  ;  that  they  may  grow.  No  stingy  Christian  can  be  a  growing 
Christian. 

Many  Christians  have  dwarfed  and  stunted  their  growth  by 
shutting  their  pockets  to  God. 

While  I  was  in  Japan  I  saw  many  stunted  pines,  many  of  them 
no  larger  than  these  geraniums  before  me,  while  some  of  them  were 
twenty  years  old  and  still  not  too  big  to  go  into  a  lady's  thimble.  I 
do  not  know  how  they  manage  to  stunt  these  trees,  but  I  do  know 
how  Christians  are  stunted,  and  that  is  by  not  consecrating  their 
souls  to  God  and  giving  of  their  means  as  God  has  prospered  them. 
Have  you  a  longing  for  a  happy  Christian  life  ?  Lot  me  urge  upon 
you  systematic  giving.  I  have  many  letters  from  young  people 
who  tell  me  of  their  great  joy  since  they  have  begun  systematic 
giving  to  God.  They  have  found  a  great  and  blesssed  reason  for 
making  money  when  they  give  it  to  God. 


29  6  THE   CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Jnne, 

This  most  sordid  of  all  passions — money  getting — becomes 
transformed  when  our  desire  is  to  give  to  God.  The  love  of  money 
is  the  root  of  all  evil,  but  when  we  give  systematically  to  God  we 
strike  at  the  root  and  destroy  the  evil  plant. 

I  have  been  told  by  many  that  they  make  more  money  when 
they  thus  give,  but  this  is  an  unworthy  motive.  We  should  give  to 
God,  not  that  we  may  make  more,  but  because  we  love  Him  who  so 
greatly  loves  us. 

If  one  does  you  a  great  favor,  you  do  not  think  that  a  few  cash, 
or  dollars,  are  too  much  to  give  him  in  return  ;  if  he  rescues  you  from 
death  by  his  own  life,  nothing  would  be  too  great  for  you  to  give 
that  you  might  show  your  love;  you  could  not  measure  gratitude  in 
money,  even  by  your  whole  fortune,  if  he  desired  it. 

Our  Lord  has  greatly  blessed  and  honored  you  by  saying:  **  You 
can  give  of  your  money  for  the  spread  of  My  gospel  in  other  lands. 
Feed  My  sheep,  feed  My  lambs,  and  advance  My  kingdom,  and  thus 
show  your  love  for  Me."  How  grateful  we  should  be  that  in  cash  and 
dollars  the  Lord  allows  us  to  show  our  love  for  Him.  Instead  of  con- 
sidering it  a  duty,  task,  and  hardship  to  give  to  His  cause,  let  us  con- 
eider  it  a  privilege.  Freely  ye  have  received,  freely  give.  Remember 
the  words  of  our  Lord,  "  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." 


The  Christian  Endeavor  Pledge. 

REV,    FRANCIS    E.    CLARK,    D.D. 

There  are  very  few  essential  requisites  in  a  Christian  Endeavor 
Society.  It  can  be  large  or  small,  in  city  or  country,  among  ignorant 
people  or  the  well-educated,  but  it  cannot  be  a  genuine  society 
of  Christian  Endeavor  without  a  covenant  pledge  of  confession  and 
service. 

I  do  not  say  that  all  societies  must  have  a  pledge  worded  in 
jnst  the  same  way,  but  the  fundamental  ideas  will  be  the  same 
the  world  around. 

We  do  not  worship  the  pledge.  It  is  no  sleight  of  hand 
method  of  making  Christians.  It  is  simply  a  principle  which  God 
has  blessed  and  has  shown  by  all  the  history  of  Christian  Endeavor 
to  be  indispensable. 

Let  me  make  three  points.  The  pledge  is  scriptural,  reason- 
ble,  necessary.  First  it  is  scriptural.  Our  pledge  is  simply  the 
covenant  which  we  make  with  God  to  perform  certain  duties  that 
are  necessary  to  growth  in  grace.  It  is  not  a  promise  that  we  make 
to  each  other,  or  to  the  society,  but  a  covenant  that  we  make  with 
God.     Oar  Scotch  friends  prefer  to  call  it  the  Christian  Endeavor 


1900.]  FIFTH  NATIONAL  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  CONVENTION.  297 

covenant  rnther  than  the  Christian  Endeavor  pledge,  and  for  many 
reasons  I  like  the  former  word  better. 

The  Bible  is  full  of  covenants  with  Abraham,  Isaac,  and  Jacob, 
God  confirmed  His  covenants,  and  the  psalmists  were  never  weary 
with  dwelling  upon  the  blessedness  of  the  covenant  with  God. 

In  the  second  place  our  covenant  is  reasonable.  There  is 
nothing  involved  in  it  which  does  not  belong  among  the  essentials 
of  the  Christian  life.  It  requires  us  to  pray  and  to  read  the  Bible, 
to  be  loyal  to  our  own  church,  and  to  attend  the  weekly  meetings  of 
the  society  and  to  take  some  part  in  them.  This  last  promise  is  the 
one  which  has  usually  drawn  the  fire  of  objections,  but  largely 
because  it  is  misunderstood. 

Our  promise  does  not  require  us  to  preach  a  sermon,  or  to  offer 
a  long  prayer,  or  to  make  an  eloquent  speech,  but  simply  to  confess 
our  love  for  Christ  before  others,  perhaps  by  simply  repeating  a 
verse  of  Scripture,  or  offering  a  sentence  of  prayer,  or  by  presenting 
some  brief  quotation  from  a  religious  author.  Nothing  forced  or 
unnatural  is  expected,  but  the  simplest  expression  of  love  and 
reverence.  Moreover,  there  is  a  clause  in  the  pledge  which  absolves 
us  from  our  duty,  if  Christ  absolves  us.  We  promise  to  do  these 
things  "  unless  prevented  by  a  reason  which  we  can  conscientiously 
give  to  our  Lord  and  Master."  If  we  have  such  a  reason,  we  have 
a  full  and  abundant  excuse.  If  we  have  no  such  reason,  we  have  no 
excuse  which  wo  should  not  be  ashamed  to  give  to  God  or  man. 
The  youngest,  the  humblest,  the  most  ignorant  can  thus  appropriate- 
ly express  his  devotion  to  his  Lord.  And  this  frequent  expression, 
combined  with  the  frequent  service  for  which  the  society  also  provides, 
will  make  up  the  well-rounded,  symmetrical  Christian  life. 

But  the  pledge  is  not  only  scriptural  and  reasonable;  it  is 
necessary  to  the  welfare  of  a  true  Christian  Endeavor  Society.  I 
am  not  speaking  at  random,  or  from  a  limited  experience,  but  I  can 
honestly  say  that  during  the  nearly  twenty  years  of  the  history  of 
the  Endeavor  movement  I  have  never  known  a  society  to  fail  to  do 
a  conspicuously  good  work  that  adhered  faithfully  and  intelligently 
to  the  Christian  Endeavor  covenant. 

This  is  what  has  given  a  staying  power  to  the  movement.  This 
is  what  has  given  Christian  Endeavor  its  unique  place  among  the 
societies  of  the  world.  This  is  the  secret  of  its  power.  It  gave  to 
the  first  society  its  strength  and  vigor,  and  it  has  been  the  main-stay, 
the  sheet  anchor,  the  backbone  (use  whatever  figure  you  will  to 
express  stability  and  strength),  of  the  movement  ever  since,  A 
society  of  half  a  dozen  members  who  keep  the  covenant  and  live  up 
to  it,  is  better  than  one  of  six  hundred  half-hearted  Cliristians  who 
are  not  willing  to  promise  because  they  are  not  willing  to  serve. 


298  THE   CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Juue, 

But  some  one  will  say  :  All  these  provisions  of  the  pledge  are  in 
the  church  covenant ;  why  should  we  take  another?  True,  they  are 
in  the  church  covenant,  and  very  much  more  than  this,  for  the 
Christian  Endeavor  Society  can  never  demand  more  of  its  members 
than  the  church  itself  demands  of  them.  But  the  promises  of  the 
church  covenant  must  necessarily  be  more  or  less  general  and  in- 
definite because  they  apply  to  all  ages  and  all  conditions  of  men. 

The  Christian  Endeavor  covenant  picks  out  a  few  of  these 
duties  to  which  every  Christian  pledges  himself  in  joining  the 
church  and  makes  them  so  definite  and  plain  that  he  cannot  mis- 
take them  or  their  application  to  his  own  religious  life.  It  is  the 
application  of  the  church  covenant  to  the  daily  life.  This  makes  the 
Christian  Endeavor  pledge  so  important  and  valuable. 

I  would  even  go  further  and  say  that  the  Christian  Endeavor 
pledge  is  bub  the  expression  of  the  promise  we  make  when  first  we 
give  our  hearts  to  Christ.  We  cannot  become  Christians  without 
saying  :  I  will  strive  to  do  whatever  Jesus  would  like  to  have  me  do  , 
and  that  is  the  very  first  sentence  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  pledge. 
**  Trusting  in  the  Lord  Jesiis  Christ  for  strength  I  promise  Him  that 
I  will  strive  to  do  whatever  He  would  like  to  have  me  do"  Under 
this  clause  comes  all  the  rest  of  the  pledge.  It  relates  to  the  very 
fundamental  idea  of  the  Christian  life,  lb  is  scriptural,  reasonable, 
necessary,  and  lays  hold  of  the  essential  things  of  religion.  For  this 
reason  the  Christian  Endeavor  covenant  pledge  is  necessary  to  the 
growth  and  stability  of  every  Christian  Endeavor  Society  the  world 
around. 


The  Work  of  the  Committees, 

REV.   F.   E.  CLARK,  D.D. 


G^ 


WANT  to  speak  of  two  great  divisions  in  which  Christian  En- 
PIT  deavor  may  be  divided ;  but  first  of  all  I  want  to  say  how 
thankful  I  ought  to  be — that  we  all  ought  to  be — for  the 
success  of  this  convention.  We  ought  to  be  thankful  for  the  beauti- 
ful weather,  for  the  spirit  of  fellowship  and  hearty  brotherhood  ; 
but  above  all  for  the  presence  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  Let  us  pray  that 
the  result  of  this  meeting  may  extend  throughout  this  great  empire 
of  China.     This  depends  largely  on  us. 

We  cannot  do  our  best  unless  very  close  to  God  in  prayer.  So 
now  we  come  to  our  two  great  divisions  of  Christian  Endeavor 
work.  First  let  us  speak  of  the  weekly  prayer  meetings.  There 
can  be  no  good  society  without  a  weekly  meeting  for  prayer.  The 
object  of  the  weekly  prayer  meeting  is  not  to  hear  each  other  talk, 
to  pray  to  be  heard  of  men,  or  to  make  long  speeches.    The  object 


1900.]  FIFTH  NATIONAL  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  CONVENTION.  299 

is  to  confess  Christ  week  by  week.  This  is  important,  for  by  so 
doing  Christians  let  the  world  know  where  they  stand.  How  do 
we  know  that  a  tree  is  alive?  Because  it  puts  forth  leaves  and 
twigs.  How  do  we  know  that  these  flowers  are  alive  ?  Because 
they  blossom,  simply.  How  do  we  know  the  bird  is  alive  ?  Because 
we  can  hear  his  song  in  the  morning  hours.  How  do  we  know  that 
Christians  are  alive?  They  let  others  know  about  God.  So  weekly 
meetings  cannot  be  overestimated.  They  give  opportunity  to  express 
the  love  we  feel  in  onr  hearts  for  God.  "  Ye  are  the  light  of  the 
world,"  said  Christ.  Give  your  light  an  opportunity  to  shine.  "  A  city 
set  on  a  hill  cannot  be  hid."  Christians  are  like  these  cities,  seen  and 
heard  of  all.  But  be  careful  not  to  speak  to  be  heard  of  men,  but 
be  humble.  I  have  always  found  those  Christians  growing  in  grace 
who  are  ready  to  express  their  love  to  God.  Often  they  are  most 
modest  and  humble  and  simply  wish  to  show  that  they  are  Christ's. 

Once  each  month  we  have  our  consecration  meetings  ;  our 
names  are  called,  and  we  respond  and  declare  our  desire  to  serve 
Him.  This  is  a  most  solemn  and  serious  thing.  Remember  that 
our  ^names  are  written  in  the  "  Lamb's  Book  of  Life,"  and  by  and 
by  our  names  will  be  called  and  we  shall  have  to  answer  for  the 
deeds  done  in  the  body.  The  weekly  prayer  meeting  is  the  very 
heart  of  the  society.  As  a  man  cannot  live  without  a  heart  so  a 
society  cannot  be  strong  and  vigorous  without  a  weekly  prayer 
meeting. 

We  often  hear  of  heart  failure  causing  death.  Just  so  societies 
die  when  they  neglect  the  weekly  prayer  meeting.  A  prayer  meeting 
that  is  strong  and  healthy  sends  life  into  all  Christian  work,  just  as 
the  human  heart  sends  life  to  all  parts  of  the  body.  I  shall  not  tell 
the  kind  of  meeting  to  be  held.  That  is  for  the  pastor  and  church 
to  decide.  But  there  is  one  thing  essential  to  all  meetings,  and  that 
is  that  each  member  shall  confess  the  Lord,  who  died  for  them. 
As  I  have  already  said,  have  the  kind  of  meeting  the  church  to 
which  you  belong  would  have.  I  mean  that  the  society  is  the  in- 
strument of  the  church,  for  the  church  to  use.  It  is  not  a  separate 
organization,  but  the  church  at  work  in  certain  lines.  It  is  the 
instrument  of  the  church  to  work  in  certain  directions.  A  mistake 
many  people  make  is  that  the  society  is  outside,  something  separate. 
It  is  merely  a  tool  for  the  church  to  work  with.  One  principle 
from  the  beginning  has  been  loyalty  to  the  church  with  which  it 
was  connected.  Its  motto  has  been,  "For  Christ  and  the  Church," 
meaning  the  local  church.  The  two  watchwords  have  always  been 
fidelity  and  loyalty — fidelity  to  Christ,  loyalty  to  the  church.  If 
a  society  is  loyal  and  true  and  warm-hearted  in  its  weekly  meeting, 
I  have  uo  fears  of  its  success. 


300  THE   CHINESE  RECORDEB.  [Jnne, 

And  so  I  would  say  there  is  not  only  a  heart  in  the  body  but 
there  are  also  arms,  head,  feet,  and  many  other  parts.  There  are 
some  things  for  a  society  to  do. 

Do  not  think  that  only  the  prayer  meeting  deserves  the  best 
kind  of  life.  Work  for  Christians  goes  hand  in  hand  with  confes- 
sion. Confession  and  service,  service  and  confession,  build  up  a 
beautiful  and  symmetrical  Christian  character.  But  let  us  change 
the  figure  and  compare  the  committees  to  the  difierent  parts  of  the 
body.  The  Lookout  Committee  is  the  eye  of  the  society,  always  on 
the  lookout  for  means  to  make  the  society  more  effective.  It  looks 
after  those  who  come  into  the  society  and  sees  if  they  are  ready  to 
become  active  members.  It  is  not  anxious  to  have  a  large  society, 
to  take  in  every  one.  It  sees  whether  the  members  live  up  to  the 
pledge  or  not.  It  says  the  pledge  is  a  serious,  sacred  step,  and  it 
must  see  to  it  that  the  members  live  up  to  it  when  it  is  taken. 
After  they  become  members  it  must  be  seen  that  they  do  their  duty. 
This  is  a  part  of  the  work  of  the  eyes  of  the  society.  It  does  not 
pry,  or  try  to  spy  out  faults  of  others,  but  lovingly  tries  to  bring  back 
the  wavering  ones  into  the  society. 

If  any  one  is  absent  for  three  consecutive  meetings  it  is  a  sign 
he  has  lost  his  interest.  The  society  does  not  drop  him  ;  he  drops 
himself.  So  the  society  is  kept  pure  by  the  work  of  the  Lookout 
Committee. 

If  the  Lookout  Committee  is  the  eye  of  the  society,  the  Prayer 
Meeting  Committee  is  the  tongue  of  the  society.  And  it  is  just  as 
important.  It  provides  topics  and  leaders  and  all  things  needful 
for  spiritual  meetings.  The  prayer  meeting  tongue  gives  a  voice  to 
the  society  and  provides  a  way  to  express  the  love  of  God.  I  am 
often  asked  what  are  the  duties  of  the  Prayer  Meeting  Committee, 
and  the  answer  is,  provide  the  best  possible  meetings  with  the  help 
of  the  Holy  Spirit.     That  is  its  duty. 

If  the  Lookout  Committee  is  the  eye,  the  Prayer  Meeting  Com- 
mittee the  tongue,  then  the  Missionary  Committee  is  the  feet  of  the 
society.  The  Lord  said  :  "  Go  ye  into  all  the  world.'*  How  will  you 
go  without  feet  ?  The  Missionary  Committee  provides  feet.  It  uses 
various  ways  and  different  kinds  of  feet — sometimes  dollars,  or 
prayers,  or  ourselves.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  committee  to  stir  up 
interest,  and  so  have  feet  for  carrying  the  gospel.  A  society  cannot 
accomplish  the  best  work  in  the  world  without  a  missionary  spirit. 
Even  here  in  Foochow  you  must  have  a  missionary  spirit  to  accom- 
plish your  best.  Most  societies  in  England  and  America  have 
missionary  meetings  once  a  month,  in  which  they  consider  how  to 
carry  the  gospel  and  spread  the  glad  news  of  salvation. 


1900.]  FIFTH   NATIONAL   CIIRISTUN  ENDEAVOR   CONVENTION.  301 

If  the  Lookout  Committee  is  the  eyes  of  the  society,  the  Prayer 
Meeting  Committee  the  tongue  of  the  society,  and  the  Missionary 
Committee  the  feet  of  the  society,  the  Relief  or  Sick  Committee  is 
the  hands  of  the  society.  It  visits  those  in  distress,  and  if  it  carries 
only  a  flower  in  the  name  of  Christ,  it  is  a  blessed  service.  And  to 
carry  we  must  use  our  hands,  so  the  Relief  Committee  becomes  the 
hands  of  the  society.  It  is  a  blessed  saying  of  our  Lord,  "  Whosoever 
giveth  a  cup  of  cold  water  in  My  name  shall  not  lose  his  reward." 

If  only  we  take  ourselves  and  a  word  of  cheer  in  His  name  we 
have  carried  a  cup  of  cold  water.  Many  societies  in  America  take 
flowers  to  each  inmate  of  a  hospital,  and  readin";  and  a  word  of  cheer 
to  those  in  prison.  Perhaps  there  is  nothing  of  the  kind  to  do  hero, 
but  surely  there  is  some  one  to  help  and  to  show  the  love  of  God. 

It  is  a  blessed  thought  that  Christ  lets  us  be  His  eyes,  tongue, 
feet,  and  hands,  and  lots  us  do  llis  work  for  Him. 

There  are  many  other  committees ;  but  find  out  which  your 
church  needs  and  be  guided  by  your  pastor  and  the  need  of  the 
church.  One  society  I  know  has  twenty-two  committees.  Have  as 
many  as  you  need;  no  more,  no  less.  Have  enough  to  do  the  work 
of  the  church  and  give  each  member  something  to  do.  It  is  a  train- 
ing school  for  the  church,  training  the  young  people  in  lines  of 
Christian  work.  As  I  came  to-night  I  saw  your  people  at  work 
making  shoes,  cloth,  kettles,  and  many  young  boys  were  at  work, 
learning  to  work  by  working.  So  the  Christian  Endeavor  committees 
train  to  church  work  by  giving  work  to  do.  One  more  thing — all 
tcorh  must  he  inspired  by  one  motive  ;  love  to  Him  who  died  for  us. 

In  all  work  do  nothing  that  Christ  would  not  have  you  do,  and 
do  what  He  would  have  you  do.  That  is  the  motto  of  Christian 
Endeavor  the  world  around. 

When  I  was  in  India  a  few  years  ago  I  remember  hearing  of 
William  Carey,  a  pioneer  missionary.  In  a  college  near  Calcutta 
were  Bibles  in  forty  different  languages — his  work.  He  was  one  of 
the  greatest  scholars  as  well  as  Christians  that  ever  lived.  This  great 
scholar  and  Ciiristian  died  one  hundred  years  ago  and  a  clergyman  in 
England  preached  a  funeral  sermon,  in  which  he  said  this  man  had 
one  glaring  defect  which  he  himself  admitted.  He  could  never  say 
no.  It  was  this  that  took  him  from  his  shoemaker's  bench — from 
many  employments — he  could  not  say  no. 

Ah  yes,  bat  it  was  that  he  could  not  say  no  to  God.  Let  me 
leave  that  thought.  Never  say  no  to  God.  In  coming  weeks  listen 
to  God.  Make  His  will  the  rule  of  your  life.  Never,  never  say  no 
to  God. 

A  season  of  prayer  followed  Dr.  Clark's  address,  after  which  the 
meeting  closed  with  hymn  No.  95. 


302  THE   CHINESE    RECORDER.  [Juue, 

Women's  Consecration  Service. 

REPORTED  BY  MISS  KIRKBY. 

T  this  the  dosing-  meeting  of  the  Christian  Endeavor  Conven- 
tion Mrs.  Geo.  Hubbard,  of  the  American  Board  Mission, 
and  Mrs.  Chit  Nio-ling,  of  the  Church  of  England  Mission, 
presided. 

The  opening  hymn,  "  We  praise  Thee  O  God  !"  which  proved  to 
be  the  key-note  of  the  whole  meeting,  was  followed  by  a  few  verses  of 
Scripture  taken  from  Colossians  iii.  1-4,  12-17,  and  were  briefly  com- 
mented upon  by  Mrs.  Ling.  Mrs.  Sie  then  led  in  prayer.  After 
another  hymn  Mrs.  Clark  spoke  very  simply  and  sweetly  to  the 
many  women  and  girls  gathered  together,  Mrs.  Hubbard  interpreting 
in  her  bright  way,  so  that  nothing  was  lost  in  being  repeated. 

Mrs.  Clark  said:  "I  suppose  many  of  us  gathered  together  this 
afternoon  have  already  given  ourselves  to  God,  but  we  have  come  to- 
day to  say  we  are  His  and  to  give  ourselves  again  to  His  service. 
I  hope  this  is  what  your  response  to  the  roll  call  will  mean  this 
afternoon. 

When  Christ  was  here  on  earth  there  was  a  woman  who  loved 
Him  very  much.  She  felt  she  must  show  Him  her  love.  She  was 
not  very  rich,  nor  great,  and  was  conscious  that  she  could  do  little 
for  Him,  but  she  longed  to  show  her  love  in  some  way.  She  could 
only  buy  a  very  little  box  of  precious  ointment,  and  I  think  it  prob- 
ably cost  her  all  she  had  to  buy  it.  She  took  that  little  box  to  a 
house  where  He  was  dining  with  some  friends  and  poured  it  on  His 
head,  "and  the  house  was  filled  with  the  odour  of  the  ointment."  Do 
you  think  that  was  an  easy  thing  to  do  ?  I  think  a  very  hard  one.  I 
can  imagine  her  doubts  and  misgivings  as  she  went  on  her  way.  She 
would  say  :  "  This  is  a  very  strange  thing  for  me  to  do  ;  what  will 
people  think  of  me  for  doing  it  ?"  Then  she  would  say  :  "  But  I  love 
Him  so  ;  my  Lord  has  done  so  much  for  me  I  must  do  something  for 
Him."  And  then  perhaps  the  doubts  would  come  again.  "Perhaps 
they  won't  let  me  in,  or  will  say  unkind  things  of  me,"  and  again  she 
would  say  :  "But  1  love  Him.  I  must  let  Him  see  I  am  grateful;" 
and  so  her  love  was  stronger  than  her  fears,  and  she  gave  Him  the 
offering.  All  she  dreaded  came  true.  They  said  unkind  things  and 
criticized  her,  "  that  she  should  not  have  come  to  such  a  place." 
"  Why  waste  so  much  money."  Ah !  Now  she  did  not  care  what 
they  thought,  for  the  Master  was  pleased,  and  said:  "Let  her  alone; 
why  trouble  ye  her,  she  hath  wrought  a  good  work  on  me  ;  she  hath 
done  what  she  could.     Wheresoever  this  gospel  is  preached  through- 


1900.]  FIFTH  NATIONAL  CHRLSTUN  ENDEAVOR  CONVENTION.  303 

out  the  whole  world  this  also  that  she  hath  done  shall  be  spoken  of 
for  a  memorial  of  her."  And  the  Muster's  words  came  true,  for 
though  1,900  years  have  rolled  away,  her  story  is  known  the  whole 
world  over. 

Why  did  the  Lord  praise  her  so  P  Not  because  she  did  some 
great  thinpf,  but  because  she  did  what  she  could.  No«e  that  is  what 
He  wants  every  one  of  us  to  do  to-day  for  Him.  If  we  love  Him,  let 
us  do  what  we  can  to  show  it.  I  feel  sure  real  love  will  always  find 
expression  in  some  way.  If  we  only  love  Hiin  we  shall  find  a  way 
to  do  something  for  Hiui. 

My  little  boy  loves  his  mother,  and  many  times  a  day  he  comes 
and  throws  his  arms  around  my  neck  and  says  :  "  I  love  you  Mamma." 
Don't  you  think  I  like  to  hear  him  say  it?  But  if  he  goes  away  and 
does  something  I  don't  like,  am  I  pleased?  No,  it  is  when  he  does 
hard  things  for  ray  sake  that  I  believe  he  loves  me.  So  God  loves  to 
have  us  tell  Him  of  our  love,  but  we  must  also  do  the  things  that 
please  Him  to  prove  it. 

The  Bible  is  full  of  stories  about  women  who  have  done  much 
for  Christ.  Have  you  read  of  the  one  who  broui^ht  a  whole  city  to 
Christ?  She  was  not  a  CLirislian,  not  even  a  good  woman,  neither 
rich  nor  great,  but  one  doing  her  daily  work — drawing  water.  It  was 
because  she  was  quick  to  see  and  use  her  opportunity  that  she  was  able 
to  do  a  great  work  for  Him.  While  at  the  well  a  man  came  by  who 
asked  for  a  drink.  She  did  not  even  know  it  was  the  Lord,  but  ia 
talking  with  Him  she  found  out  that  He  could  give  her  living  water 
which  would  always  satisfy,  and  before  long  she  asked  Him  for  it. 
Then  she  realized  He  was  her  Saviour,  and  immediately  wished  to  do 
something  for  Him.  Leaving  her  water  pot  she  ran  back  to  the  city 
and  quickly  called  others  to  come.  Going  from  one  to  the  other  sayino-: 
"I  have  seen  a  wonderful  man.  I  think  He  is  the  Christ;  won't 
you  come  and  see  Him  ? "  If  yoxi  had  been  standing  there  you 
would  have  seen  crowds  hurrying  towards  the  well  sayin", 
"Where  is  He?"  The  people  of  the  city  besought  Him  to  remain 
with  them,  and  many  believed  on  Him  there.  Is  there  not  some- 
thing in  these  two  examples  that  we  can  follow  ?  Both  gave  proof  of 
love.  The  second  showed  it  by  leading  others  to  Him.  Cannot  we 
do  the  same  ? 

Once  Mr.  Moody,  in  talking  about  David  and  Goliath,  said  : 
There  was  no  man  in  all  Saul's  army  who  did  not  believe  God  could 
use  him,  but  there  was  only  one  man  who  believed  God  would,  and  that 
was  David,  and  he  went  out  strong  in  the  strength  of  the  Lord.  Attd 
what  an  insignificant  thing  David  used  to  fii,'lit  with  !  Only  a  slinc^ 
and  five  smooth  stones,  but  he  had  all  power,  for  he  had  God  on  His 
side.    I  think  it  will  be  just  so  with  us  if  we  go  out  with  God.     Let 


304  THE  CHINESE  RECORDEE.  [JODe, 

US  take  wliat  we  have  got,  not  what  some  one  else  has,  and  go  and 
work  for  Him.  Now  what  have  we  that  we  can  take  out.  Our 
handfi  we  can  hold  up  and  say:  "  These  can  be  used  in  thy  service, 
to  do  nothing  but  what  will  please  Thee.  Our  feet  only  for  His 
errands,  to  go  nowhere  He  would  not  have  us  go.  Our  lips  to 
speak  for  Him  and  to  say  nothing  that  would  grieve  Him.  Ourselves 
to  be  wholly  in  His  service." 

Dear  friends,  does  our  consecration  mean  all  this  to  us  to-day  ? 
Giving  all  to  our  Lord,  all  our  powers  to  use  for  Himself? 

Now,  what  will  it  mean  to  us  if  we  thus  consecrate  ourselves  to 
Him  ?  I  think  it  will  mean  more  cheery,  consistent  Christian  lives 
in  our  own  homes.  It  will  mean  more  faithful  study  of  God's  word 
that  we  may  know  what  He  wants  us  to  do;  more  earnest  prayer 
that  He  will  help  us  to  do  His  will,  and  it  will  mean  that  we  shall 
try  to  bring  others  to  Christ. 

I  read  once  of  a  man  who  had  lately  learned  to  love  the  Saviour, 
and  he  was  asked  how  many  he  had  brought  to  Christ.  "None,"  he 
answered.  "I  am  only  a  beginner."  This  friend  then  said  :  "  When 
does  a  candle  begin  to  shine — when  first  lighted,  or  when  half  burnt?" 
He  answered:  "When  first  lit."  This  man  learned  the  lesson  of  the 
candles,  and  he  began  to  let  his  light  shine  at  home,  in  the  street,  and 
into  the  village,  till  many  had  been  won  for  Christ. 

I  wish  this  would  remind  all  of  us  here  when  at  home,  and 
some  one  says  "light  a  lamp"  to  ask  "could  not  we  kindle  up  our 
love  for  Christ  and  go  and  shine  for  Him  ?  "  and  hear  Him  say  : 
"  Won't  you  let  the  lamp  of  love  shine  a  little  brighter  ?  " 

It  has  happened  that  I  have  been  riding  in  a  sedan  chair  quite 
late  at  night  during  the  last  few  days,  and  I  have  looked  up  and 
seen  the  tiny  stars.  Those  are  wonderful  worlds  of  light  above,  and 
yet  one  night  the  coolies  stopped  as  they  were  carrying  me,  because 
they  could  not  see  the  way.  Soon  a  man  came  with  a  lantern,  and 
we  were  able  to  go  on.  So  I  thought  a  little  lantern  in  the  hand  was 
better  in  difficult  places  than  all  the  great  worlds  of  light  so  far  away. 
We  cannot  be  stars,  but  we  can  all  be  lanterns.  I  am  going  to  leave 
this  thought  with  you,  hoping  that  the  caudles  and  lamps  will  teach 
you  a  lesson.  Will  you  kindly  turn  to  Phil.  ii.  15  ;  the  last  clause 
says  :  *^'  Shine  as  lights  in  the  world."  These  words  were  spoken  to 
Christians  many  years  ago,  and  I  want  all  to  say  them  together  now. 
Those  who  speak  English  to  say  it  with  me  and  my  Chinese  sisters 
with  Mrs.  Hubbard  in  their  native  tongue.  "  Shine  as  lights  in  the 
world."  Chinese  Foochow  version  :  "  Nu  loh  i  diing-gang,  se  chiong 
giiong  cieu  dioh  sie-gS,ug. 

Ah  !  It  is  a  good  deal  shorter  to  say  it  in  English,  but  it  is 
equally  hard  to  do  in  both  languages. 


1900.]  FIPTH  NATIONAL  CHRIOTIAN  ENDEAVOR  CONVENTION.  805 

"Jesus  bids  us  shine"  was  sung,  and  Miss  Kingsmill,  of  the 
Zenana  Mission,  then  opened  the  consecration  service  by  a  few 
solemn  words  on  Phil.  iii.  13,14.  Then  two  verses  of  "Come,  Holy 
Spirit,  come  !  "  were  sung,  and  after  prayer  Miss  Kingsmill  read,  "I 
gave  my  life  for  thee,"  after  which  the  different  groups  of  delegates 
were  called  upon.  Each  group  standing  either  repeated  a  verse 
together,  or  the  one  spoke  for  all.  In  the  intervals  a  verse  of  the 
hymn,  "  I  belong  to  Jesus,"  was  solemnly  sung.  After  a  number  of 
short  prayers  the  meeting  adjourned. 


General  Secretary's  Report. 

SUSIE  M.   BURDICK,   GENERAL   SEC'y. 

E  come  to  this,  the  fifth  General  Convention  of  the  United 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor  for  China,  confident  that 
such  a  meeting  is  needed  at  this  stage  of  the  movement  in 
China  and  that  its  influence  will  be  widely  felt.  We  are  grateful 
that  God  has  enabled  President  and  Mrs.  Clark  to  be  with  us,  and 
glad,  too,  that  we  can  bring  a  report  of  progress. 

One  of  our  by-laws  provides  for  an  annual  meeting  of  this 
Society.  For  four  years  after  its  organization  this  order  was  followed  ; 
the  last  Convention  meeting  in  Shanghai  in  June,  1897.  During  the 
intervening  three  years  many  changes  have  taken  place,  the  saddest 
for  the  Society  being  the  death  of  the  honored  president,  the 
Kev.  Y.  K.  Yen. 

Mr.  Yen  had  been  connected  with  the  Society  since  its  first 
meeting  in  Shanghai,  and  was  deeply  interested  in  iis  progress. 
Understanding  his  own  countrymen  and  eager  for  their  advancement, 
he  was  wise  in  counsel  and  hopeful  that  the  Society  would  not,  to 
quote  from  one  of  his  own  addresses,  "  end  in  mere  speaking  and 
hearing  but  be  fruitful  of  works."  He  entered  into  rest  June,  1898. 
In  May,  1899,  the  Rev.  Dr.  A.  P.  Parker  was  elected  president. 
There  have  also  been  many  changes  in  the  secretariat. 

Several  societies  which  were  reported  formerly  have  dropped 
from  the  Christian  Endeavor  list.  We  regret  the  loss  from  our 
ranks,  but  rejoice  that  they  are  carrying  on  the  same  line  of  work, 
although  under  a  different  name ;  in  some  cases  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  in 
others  Epworth  League. 

It  speaks  much  for  Christian  Endeavor  that,  notwithstanding 
all  these  changes,  individual  societies  have  grown  in  usefulness,  and 
there  has  also  been  gain  in  the  sum  total  of  societies  and  membership. 

From  Shansi  we  hear  of  a  society  of  twenty-two  members,  which 
reports  that  they  are  "able  from  the  spiritual  side  and  the  training 


306  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [Jnne, 

side  to  justif}'  their  existence."  Shensi  has  a  society  of  one  hundred 
and  two  members,  which  has  sent  help  to  the  Indian  famine  sufferers, 
the  poor  Americans,  and  to  Dr.  Barnardo's  homes.  From  Western 
Shantung  the  English  Baptists  report  thirteen  societies  with  three 
hundred  members.  Fukien  and  Ninopo  have  made  good  progress. 
Canton  and  Fukien  have  provincal  unions,  with  meetings  at  least 
once  a  year. 

A  growing  union  with  the  Epworth  League  is  mentioned  by 
some.  From  Chiukiang  comes  the  assurance  that  about  forty 
Epworth  League  members  are  willing  and  anxious  to  be  counted  with 
us  in  Christian  Endeavor.  In  Kaung-soo  there  are  seventeen 
leagues  with  five  hundred  and  eighty-two  members.  They  send 
this  message  to  us  :  "The  Epworth  Leaguers  send  hearty  Christian 
greetings  to  the  Christian  Endeavorers  and  bid  them  Godspeed  iu 
their  noble  and  Christ-like  work.  "We  pray  God's  richest  blessing 
upon  you  at  this  time  and  hope  that  your  meeting  may  result  in 
great  spiritual  good  to  all  who  have  the  glorious  opportunity  of 
being  present." 

All  societies  maintain  regular  weekly  prayer-meetings.  Various 
lines  of  activity  are  also  reported.  Several  societies  pay  the  rent  of 
city  chapels  or  country  preaching  place;  the  members  often  going  to 
lielp  in  the  work.  Some  buy  and  distribute  Christian  literature. 
One  Society,  beside  other  work,  is  laying  up  money  for  pastor's 
endowment  fund  ;  another  holds  a  social  every  quarter,  when  they 
either  have  singing  or  the  magic-lantern  with  a  lecture,  and  find  it  a 
help  in  making  members  and  missionaries  better  acquainted.  The 
social  committee  iu  one  society,  besides  arranging  for  socials,  now 
and  again  receives  the  heathen  women  who  come  iu  to  visit  the 
school.  The  same  society  has  a  flower  committee  which  has 
planted  trees  and  flowers  and  in  other  ways  improved  the  Christian 
burying-ground.  One  society  reports  that  Christian  Endeavor  has 
been  a  help  in  furthering  Bible  study,  and  doubtless  many  could  add 
their  testimony  in  the  same  direction. 

The  society  connected  with  the  First  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Canton  maintains  a  reading-room  ;  a  collection  being  taken  every 
week  to  meet  expenses. 

Dr.  Fulton,  of  the  same  Church,  writes  : — 

" Theie  is  one  particular  point  which  I  would  emphasize  as  having 
been  found  fruitful  here,  and  that  is  the  value  of  receiving  inquirers  into 
the  societies  as  associate  members  and  then  working  personally  for  their 
full  acceptance  of  Christianity.  Last  year  seventy-two  members  united 
with  the  First  Presbyterian  Church,  of  which  I  am  pastor.  Almost  the 
entire  number  first  united  with  the  Cliristiaa  Endeavor  Society  and  then 
gradually  became  instructed  more  fully  in  doctrine.  We  have  our 
Christian  Endeavor  meeting  immediately  after  the  morning  service,  as  the 


1900.]  FIFTH  KATIONAL  CHRISTIAN   ENDEAVOR  CONVENTION.  307 

members  are  then  all  out  and  it  is  more  diflicult  to  get  them  together  for 
a  second  service.  I  tliink  tin;  Cliristian  Endeavor  agency  ia  finely  adapted 
to  teach  the  members  the  duty  of  active  participation  in  prayer  and  in 
voluntary  exercises.  For  this  reason  it  may  be  used  in  out-stations,  and 
the  ten  or  more  members  in  out-of-the-way  places  can  easily  resolve 
themselves  into  a  small  society  and  be  greatly  benefited,  even  if  no  native 
helper  or  preaclier  is  there. 

"  In  such  cases  it  would  be  well  to  retain  only  the  essentials  of  Chris- 
tian Endeavor  and  not  attempt  to  appoint  committees  at  first,  but  meet 
for  prayer  and  Bible  study,  and  with  increase  of  members  the  other 
desirable  features  may  be  attended  to. 

"  In  larger  societies  I  think  the  appointment  of  a  wise  Lookout 
Committee  very  helpful.  We  know  how  much  more  fruitful  all  church 
■work  is  when  carefully  fostered,  and  the  Chinese  will  be  more  careful  if 
they  know  we  are  personally  interested  in  them.  If  any  are  not  present 
who  are  not  shut  out  by  long  distances  they  should  be  sought  out  the 
next  week  and  a  report  be  made.  Especially  should  it  be  made  important 
that  they  attend  the  regular  Sabbath  services.  Too  much  attention  to 
such  details  as  may  be  necessary  in  strong  societies  in  Christian  lands  is 
not  wise  here.  These  converts  are  like  children,  and  we  shall  make  fine 
progress  if  we  can  get  them  out  to  Sabbath  service  and  to  Christian 
Endeavor  meeting  and  can  teach  them  to  take  some  part  in  prayer  and  to 
read  their  Bibles.  Other  things  will  come  with  increase  of  membership, 
and  we  must  move  along  safe  and  wise  lines." 

Experience  has  proven  some  things  desirable  for  the  Christian 
Endeavor  Society  in  China. 

(1).  A  general  secretary  who  can  devote  his  best  energy  and 
his  time  to  the  advancement  of  Christian  Endeavor  in  this  empire. 

(2).  There  has  been  a  call  for  literature,  and  bnt  little  is  avail- 
able with  which  to  supply  the  demand.  Each  year  the  prayer- 
meeting  topics  have  been  translated,  but  arrangements  should  be 
made  for  much  more  than  that. 

(3).  In  January,  1898,  there  was  a  meeting  of  the  Executive 
Committee  at  Shanghai,  at  which  the  following  action  was  taken  : 
"As  several  non-resident  members  of  the  Oliristian  Endeavor  have 
objected  to  holding  the  united  convention  always  at  Shanghai  ;  and 
further  as  it  was  agreed  that  an  annual  united  convention  is  an 
impossibility,  after  discussion  it  was  voted  that  the  chairman  and 
secretary  draw  up  a  circular  letter  to  be  sent  through  the  Corres- 
ponding Secretaries  to  each  society  as  follows : — 

(1).  Recommending  that  the  various  districts  hold  annual  local 
conventions. 

(2),  Asking  for  a  definite  expression  of  opinion  as  to 

(a).  "Whether  the  general  convention  should  be  an  annual 

one,  or  if  not  how  often  should  it  be  held. 
(h).  Whether  such    convention    should    always    be    held 
in   Shanghai  as    the  centre  having  the  executive,  or 
whether  it  should  be  held  each  year  in  a  new  district." 


308 


THE   CHINESE  RECOBDER. 


[Jane, 


The  secretary,  at  that  time  the  Rev,  Mr.  Ware,  attended  to  the 
matter  faithfally,  and  Foochow  alone  has  the  honor  of  having 
replied.  These  questions  should  come  before  the  delegates  here  for 
consideration. 

We  say  we  are  glad  we  can  report  progress,  but  we  regret 
that  we  cannot  tell  you  of  much  greater  growth.  Christian  En- 
deavor has  hardly  begun  to  do  in  China  what  is  possible  for  it  to  do. 
The  weak  societies  are  to  be  built  up.  We  want  to  see  the  stronger 
societies  sending  out  members  who  shall  start  other  societies  in 
new  localities.  Let  us  remember  always  that  the  society  is  in  no 
way  different  from  the  church.  It  is  for  "  Christ  and  the  Church." 
It  is  simply  a  training-school  in  the  church  ;  one  of  the  means 
which  God  has  used  in  other  countries  to  stir  up  those  who  have 
been  redeemed  by  the  precious  blood  of  our  Lord  to  more  consecrat- 
ed, intelligent  effort  for  the  advancement  of  His  kingdom.  There 
is  a  wide  field  and  a  deep  need  of  just  such  training  in  China.  May 
God  bless  us  mightily  during  this  convention  and  during  the  years 
which  are  to  follow. 

Reports  as  received  are  as  follows  : — 

Canton... 
Fu-kien 
Chekiang 
Kiang-su 

Sheusi 

Shansi  ... 
Shantung 
Chi-li 


Societies. 

Membership 

11         ... 

360 

51      ... 

2,464 

33      ... 

728 

19      ... 

518 

1      ... 

102 

2      ... 

33 

15      ... 

385 

10       ... 

233 

Total,    142 

4,823 

New  Officers  and  Committees. 

At  a  business  meeting,  April  7th,  the  following  officers  were 
elected  : — 


President,     

Vice-President, 
General  Secretary ,  ... 
Editorial  Secretary, 
Sivpt.  of  Junior  Endeavor. 
Treasurer     ... 
Cor.  Sec,   North-China     . 

Do.        Central     „ 

Do.        South 


Rev.  G.H.Hubbard, Pagoda  Anchorage. 

„     G.  F.  Fitch,  Shanghai. 
Miss  Susie  M.  Burdick,  Shanghai. 

„    E.  S.  Hartwell,  Foochow. 

„    Mary  A.  Posey,  Shanghai. 

„    E.-P.  KiNQSMiLL,  Foochow. 

„    F.   B.  Patterson,  Tientsin. 
Rev.  J.  E.   Shoemaker,  Ningpo. 

„    H.  V.  NoYES,  D.D.,  Canton. 


1900.]        FiFrn  national  christun  endeavor  convention. 


309 


translation  committee. 

Rev.  D.  W.  Lyon,  Peking?,  Chairman;  Rev.  D.  MaoGillivraf, 
Shanghai;  Rev.  G.  D.  Wilder,  Tniig-cho,  near  Pekin-,' ;  Rev.  Ll. 
Lloyd,  Foochow  ;  Rev.  J.  Walker,  Foochow  ;  Rev.  Wm.  Bannister, 
Hougkoug. 

lookout  COMMITIEE. 

Rev.  D.  W.  Lyon,  Pekiaj^;  Rev.  F.  E.  Bland,  Foochow ;  Rev. 
J.  E.  Shoemaker,  Rev.  J.  W.  IIeywood,  Miss  K.  Goddard,  Mr.  Dzinq 
Kyinc-yoJig,  Ningpo;  Rev.  H.  G.  0.  Hallock,  Mr.  Tse  Me-konq, 
Hangchow;  Rev.  W.  S.  Ament,  Peking;  Mr.  Cii'en  Chai-tan,  Araoy. 

It  is  hoped  that  daring  the  year  many  names  will  be  added  to 
the  Lookout  Committee. 


Resolutions. 

Be  it  resolved,  that  we  the  delegates  of  the  Christian  Endeavor 
Societies  of  China  now  assembled  in  National  Convention  at  Foochow  do 
•with  deep  pleasure  express  our  hearty  thanks  for  good  things  here  given 
and  received. 

And  Jirst  we  are  most  grateful  to  God  that  the  boundless  love  of  the 
Father,  the  abiding  presence  of  Christ,  and  the  indwelling  power  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  have  been  so  richly  manifested  during  these  closing 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century  in  this  wonderful  movement  which  has 
brought  us  together  at  this  time.  His  mercy  endureth  forever,  and  His 
faithfulness  unto  all  generations. 

Second,  We  are  very  thankful  to  be  permitted  to  see  the  face  and 
hear  the  voice  of  the  man  who  was  chosen  of  God  to  originate  this 
movement  so  fraught  with  blessing  to  many  peoples  in  many  lands ;  and  to 
Dr.  Clark,  and  to  the  worthy  companionof  his  long  journeys,  and  his  help- 
meet in  all  his  plans  and  labors,  we  express  our  special  thanks  for  the 
unusual  pains  at  which  they  have  been  to  be  with  us  at  this  time  and  for 
their  abundant  labors  during  this  convention. 

Third,  We  express  our  grateful  appreciation  for  the  presence  and 
co-operation  of  the  officers  and  members  of  the  Epworth  Leagues  who 
have  been  one  with  us  ia  these  meetings  and  our  thanks  for  the  free 
use  of  the  T'ieng-ang-tong  and  Ching-sing-tong. 

Fourth,  We  request  H.  B.  M.'s  Consul  Playfair  and  U.  S.  Consul 
S.  L.  Gracey  to  accept  our  thanks  for  loan  of  flags  for  adorning  the  rooms 
in  which  we  have  met,  and  also  express  our  indebtedness  to  Consul  Gracey 
for  his  address  of  welcome  and  for  his  warm  and  helpful  interest  in  the 
convention. 

Also,  we  express  our  thanks  to  Consul-General  Goodnow  for  his 
letter  expressing  interest  in  this  convention  and  his  regret  tjjat  illness 
prevented  his  attendance. 

Fifth,  We  gladly  acknovvl^dgo  our  great  obligations  to  the  officers 
and  committees  of  this  convention,  whose  patient  planning  and  tireless 
labors  have  contributed  so  materially  to  the  success  of  these  meetings ; 
also  our  indebtedness  to  the  presiding  officers  and  those  who  have  led 
the  singing  with  organ  and  cornets. 


310  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Jone, 

Sixth,  "We  tender  our  hearty  thanks  to  the  speakers  and  the  inter- 
preters who  have  borne  the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day,  especially  those 
who  have  come  from  far  ;  and  we  trust  that  they  have  been  as  blest  in 
giving  as  we  have  in  receiving. 

Seventh,  We  gratefully  appreciate  the  labors  of  those  whose  helpful 
hospitality  has  been  so  generous  and  so  acceptable  to  the  many  hundreds 
in  attendance,  nor  would  we  forget  the  Cliinese  help  who  have  enabled 
our  hostesses  to  perform  the  part  of  Martha  witliout  losing  the  blessing 
of  Mary. 

Eighth,  Resolved,  that  this  convention  express  its  full  sympathy 
with  the  aims  of  the  Chinese  National  Anti-Opium  League  and  pledges 
itself  to  endeavor  in  every  way  to  lessen  the  great  national  evil  of 
opium  smoking  and  opium  eating. 

Ninth,  Wliereas  we  believe  that  foot-binding  is  one  of  the  greatest 
hindrances  to  the  true  advance  of  this  country,  we  therefore  earnestly 
entreat  all  to  do  their  utmost  to  do  away  with  this  custom. 

Tenth,  That  in  view  of  the  general  prevalence  of  a  mercenary 
spirit  and  mercenary  practices,  both  in  private  and  in  public  life,  we  urge 
that  all  Christian  Endeavorers  should  carry  the  Spirit  of  Christ  into  all 
their  affairs,  be  known  as  unselfish  and  incorruptible  in  every  relation  of 
life,  the  friends  of  everything  good  and  the  opponents  of  every  evil  practice 
in  every  station  to  which  God  may  call  them. 

Eleventh,  We  think  that  it  is  practicable  to  organize  societies  in 
the  villages  in  a  simple  form,  with  the  pledge,  the  union  topics  for  the 
prayer  meetings,  and  the  essential  features  of  this  movement,  which  will 
be  an  inestimable  help  to  the  development  of  Christian  life  in  our  village 
churches. 

We  recommend  that  all  the  missionaries  and  native  pastors  organize 
societies  in  their  charges  as  soon  as  possible  and  carry  into  them  the  spirit 
of  this  great  movement  of  the  young  people  for  bringing  the  world  to  Christ. 


Notes  and  Comments, 

At  the  opening  meeting  of  the  Convention,  Friday  morning,  cordial 
addresses  of  welcome  were  given  by  Mr.  Ding  Kai-ceng,  President  of 
the  Fuh-kien  Christian  Endeavor  Union,  and  Mr.  Hu  Sie-guong,  Secretary 
of  the  Foochow  Epworth  League.  Dr.  S.  L.  Gracey,  XJ.  S.  Consul, 
Foochow,  spoke  for  China.    Dr.  Clark  gave  a  very  happy  response. 

While  Rev.  Mr.  Heywood  was  delivering  his  address  on  Good 
Citizenship,  which  is  published  in  the  current  number,  in  the  men's 
meeting,  Rev.  Mr.  Haltock,  of  Hangchow,  spoke  on  the  same  subject  to 
the  women  and  girls  gathered  in  a  neighboring  church. 

After  the  address  by  Dr.  Clark  at  the  men's  consecration  meeting, 
which  was  listened  to  with  deep  interest,  tlie  Chinese  presiding  officer, 
Rev.  Mr.  Hok  Sing,  spoke  with  great  earestness  and  said  :  "  There  are 
times  when  we  are  conscious  of  having  our  hearts  moved  greatly  and  being 
brought  near  to  God.  Thus  has  it  been  during  this  address,  we  have  been 
carried  from  height  to  height.  We  should  always  live  as  if  we  could  see 
Christ  nailed  to  the  cross.  And  why  was  He  nailed  there?  That  He 
might  redeem  us  to  such  privileges  as  have  been  set  before  us  to-day. 


1900.]  FIFTH  NATIONAL  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  CONVENTION.  311 

Such  love  must  constrain  us  and  make  us  fight  the  lusts  and  the  bad 
customs.  Thus  we  shall  not  go  half  way  and  give  out."  We  gatlier  the 
following  from  remarks  made  liy  the  Chinese  :  "The  crucifixion  moves 
int)  greatly.  Tims  sliould  we  off<ir  up  the  body  to  Chiist."  .  .  .  "Our  hearts 
were  spoilt;  but  it  is  our  privilege  to  have  them  repaired  and  given  to 
Christ.  Our  hearts  are  the  one  precious  thing  which  we  have  to  present 
to  Christ."  ..."  Our  bodies  have  been  redeemed  by  Christ.  As  in  the 
body  each  member  has  its  duty,  so  we  all  have  our  duties  in  Christ's  body. 
Let  us  each  fill  his  place."  ..."  Christ  is  the  vine,  we  the  branches,  but 
something  attracts  us  and  we  covet  it  and  neglect  Christ.  Some  men 
have  *  wine  friends'  or  'card  friends,'  and  are  so  taken  up  with  these  that 
they  have  no  time  for  anything  else.  No  time !  VVe  have  time  enough 
if  our  hearts  are  set  on  it."  ..."  God  sa'd  to  Israel  :  Your  mouth  is  near, 
but  your  heart  is  far.  So  with  some,  the  mouth  says  Christ  is  my  Master, 
but  ti»e  conduct  denies  Him."  .  .  .  "  I  ask  my  heart.  Do  I  reject  Christ? 
He  came  to  be  our  example  ;  do  we  accept  Him  as  such  1  If  not  we  are 
rejecting  Him."  .  .  .  "There  is  such  a  thing  as  unpremeditated  rejection 
of  Christ.  The  watching  disciples  did  not  intend  to  neglect  Him  ;  but 
they  dropped  asleep,  and  so  took  no  care  for  Him.  So  covetousness  may 
put  us  to  sleep."  ..."  We  all  love  Christ.  Why  do  we  prize  Him  ?  For 
the  good  we  anticipate  to  onr  bodies  or  to  our  souls,  temporal  advantages 
or  an  eternal  good  ? "  .  .  .  "  If  we  reject  His  we  reject  Him."  ..."  Obeying 
His  commands  is  following  Him ;  but  there  may  be  a  general  purpose  to 
follow  Him,  and  5'^et  a  rejection  of  Him  in  particular  things."  .  .  .  "The 
prophet  asked.  Who  hath  believed  our  report?  So  men  disbelieve,  and 
hence  see  no  value  in  Christ.  In  the  Holy  Word  He  is  set  before  us  ; 
and  we  must  never  leave  this  Holy  Word." 

Tiong,  of  Shao-wu,  said  :  "  The  man  now  pastor  at  Shao-wu  and  others 
saw  the  Christian  Endeavor  here  and  were  pleased  with  it,  but  feared 
that  we  could  not  do  so  at  Shao-wu.  I  said  we  can  ;  and  we  organized 
with  great  success.  Other  chuiclies  followed  us,  till  now  we  have  a  num- 
ber of  societies  with  over  three  hundred  members." 

Mr.  Lau  took  two  verses  as  a  text,  "  Pi'ay  to  thy  Father  in  secret," 
and  "  Pray  without  ceasing."  He  said  :  "  There  are  various  things  per- 
taining to  prayer,  but  the  main  thing  is  to  so  pray  as  to  be  answered. 
All  sorts  of  classes  and  conditions  of  men  came  to  Clwist ;  but  all  these 
things  did  not  matter  so  long  as  they  fulfilled  the  one  condition  which 
Christ  imposed.  Lukewarmness  and  love  of  the  world  are  two  great 
hindrances  to  prayer,  while  persistence  and  privacy  are  two  great  helps. 
They  have  now  a  boat  which  can  travel  under  water,  because  it  is  every- 
where air  tight,  and  there  are  no  openings  through  which  water  can 
enter.  So  should  it  be  with  the  mind  in  prajer ;  there  should  be  no 
openings  for  any  thing  sensual,  worldly,  or  selfish  to  enter.  The  Pharisee's 
lieart  was  very  leaky.  The  psalmist  said  :  '  If  I  regard  iniquity  in  my 
heart  the  Lord  will  not  hear  my  prayer.'  It  is  not  enough  to  go  through 
the  mere  form  of  going  into  a<;hamber;  our  Savior's  thought  was  deeper 
than  this.  In  a  secret  chamber  you  can  make  your  voice  heard  outside  ; 
and  Satan  is  always  ready  to  come  inside  with  you.  The  prayer  of 
Moses  before  God  is  a  model  for  us." 

Mr.  Ding  Ming-wong  spoke  on  "  Hidden  Prayer,"  or  "  Alone 
^Prayer."  He  said:  "This  is  a  wide  subject;  I  wish  to  speak  on  three 
things  pertaining  to  it :  (1)  Before  prayer ;  \(2.)  3>uring  prayer ;  (3)  After 


312  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [June, 

prayer,     (1).  Before  Trayer. — A  big  bell  is  hard   to    mount,  but   once 
mounted  the  ringing  of  it  is  easy.     So  the  getting  ready  for  "  Heart 
Prayer  "  may  be  difficult.     The  securing  of  a  suitable  place  for  prayer  is 
not  the  greatest  difficulty ;  in  a  crowded  place  the  heart  may  be  quiet 
and  in  a  quiet  place  the  heart  may  be  unquiet.     To  the  quiet  place  must 
be  added  the  quiet  heart.     Think  to  yourself  God  is  here.     Make  it  real 
to  yourself  that   God   is   meeting  you,     Tlie  idolater  prays  to  wood  or 
clay,  and  we  think  him  very  stupid.     But  at    least    he  has    something 
before  him  on  which  his  attention  is  fastened.    If  we  pray  witfi  no  sense 
of  God's  presence  we  have  nothing  before  us,  and  are  more  stupid  than 
the  idolater,     (2).  During  Prayer. — We  should  use  the  voice;  thus  doing 
■we  shall   be  safer    from    intrusion    and    interruption.       When  Hannah 
prayed,  her  lips  moved,  but  did  not  utter  any  sound,  and  Eli  thought 
she  was  drunk,   and   interrupted   her.     David  used  his  voice  in  prayer. 
The  position,  whether  sitting,  standing,  or  kneeling,  is  not  essential.     The 
Jieart's  attitude  is  essential ;  it  should  be  humble  before  God,  whether  the 
body  kneels,  or  stands,  or  sits.     The  time   may  be  long  or  short  as  the 
occasion   befits.       God   does  not  put  men   under  constraint.      Seek  first 
the  kingdom    of  God,   and   all   these   things    shall    be  added    unto  you. 
Forgive  those  who  may  have  offended  you.     In  heaven  there  never   will 
be   two  men  who  won't  speak  to  each  other,     (3).  After    Prayer. — We 
must  carry  with  us  the  faith  of  our  prayer."   At  the  junior  rally,  Saturday 
afternoon,   ten   girls  with  ten  links  of  a  paper  chain  recited  Ten  Para- 
bles on  Unity  :  (1)  The  Body;  (2)  Boat  with  united  Crew;  (3)  All  in  a 
Company,    safe  from  a  bird    monster  that  would    have   carried  ofi"    one 
alone ;     (4)  Drops  of   Water  uniting  in   a  Shower ;     (5)    We  are  God's 
Field ;    (6)  The  Four  Sons  and  the  Bundle  of  Sticks  ;    (7)  The  Ants  ; 
(8)  The  Mother  Hen    and  her  Chicks ;    (9)  The  Mosquito  Curtain  ;  (10) 
The  Christian  Endeavor  united  by  the  Chain  of  Christian  Virtues,  Love, 
Truth,  Light,  Right,  Good  Teaching,  etc. 

On  "  Rejecting  Christ "  one  brother  said  :  '*  It  only  harms  one  to 
climb  half  way  up  a  ladder  and  tumble  off."  Another  said  :  "  We  are 
eager  for  some  fancy  article,  and  then  quickly  tire  of  it ;  but  common 
needful  things  we  never  tire  of.  Christ  is  not  a  fancy  article  to  be  thus 
pleased  with  and  then  tired  of,  but  the  needful  thing  of  our  daily  life." 

This  convention  will  result,  we  expect,  in  three  important  moves  :  (1) 
The  formation  of  provincial  unions  similar  to  tliose  already  organized  in 
Fuhkien  and  Canton  ;  (2)  The  development  of  a  distinctively  Christian 
Endeavor  literature  in  Chinese ;  (3)  The  appointment  of  a  general 
Christian  Endeavor  secretary  for  China,  Dr.  Clark,  as  the  result  of  his 
own  observations,  emphasized  the  need  of  these  things  ;  and  the  convention 
was  strongly  of  the  same  mind.  Especially  do  we  welcome  the  proposal 
to  provide  a  general  secretary,  for  which  we  must  look  to  the  generosity 
and  goodwill  of  friends  at  home. 

Dr.  Clark  has  had  something  more  than  two  weeks'  work  in  North 
China.  A  representative  meeting  was  held  at  Tientsin,  May  4th-6th. 
Under  date  of  May  15th  Dr.  Clark  writes  that  the  meetings  were 
"thoroughly  lielpful  and  blessed  of  God."  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Clark,  with  their 
son  Harold,  were  just  leaving  for  Vladivostock.  Many  will  follow 
them  with  prayerful  intex'est  we  arc  sure  on  their  long  journey  across 
Siberia. 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL   DErAKTMENT.  313 

Hkv.  E.  T.  Williams,  M.A.,  Editor. 
Published  io  the  interests  of  the  "  Educational  Association  of  China." 


Tour  in  Behalf  of  the  Anti -foot-binding  Society. 

BY   MRS.    ARCHIBALD    LITTI^. 

(Concluded  from  p.  261,  May  No.) 

February  21th. 

HAD  been  planning  to  go  to  Wn-chow  Fn,  but  it  seemed  so 
doubtful  wlietlier  there  would  be  enou«j^h  time  fur  a  meetiug 
there,  as  also  as  to  whether  I  should  arrive  iu  Macao  in  time 
for  the  proposed  meetings,  that  I  changed  and  arranged  to  leave 
next  morning,  the  21st,  for  Macao,  and  [  was  very  glad  I  had,  for 
I  received  a  letter  from  the  governor,  to  whom  I  had  obtained  an 
introduction  from  the  Portuguese  Cousul-G-eneral  at  Shanghai,  say- 
ing that  most  unfortunately  the  following  Saturday  and  Sunday  were 
the  first  days  of  the  carnival,  when  consequently  it  would  be  impossi- 
ble to  get  any  Portuguese  to  think  of  anything  serious  ;  the  Club, 
moreover,  would  be  engaged  by  a  dance  and  a  comedy.  Thus  I  was 
glad  to  arrive  on  Wednesday  afternoon,  and  the  more  so  when  I  found 
at  Macao  that  no  notices  of  meetings  had  yet  been  issued.  This  was 
then  promptly  done  by  the  president  for  a  meeting  in  the  Portuguese 
Club  at  half-past  eight  on  the  Friday  and  for  a  Chinese  meeting  on 
the  Saturday,  at  one  o'clock,  in  the  Toong  Hsin  Tang,  the  only 
hall  apparently  available,  if  the  beautiful  one  at  the  big  Ciiiuese 
hospital  be  left  out,  and  that  we  thought  would  be  too  far  away. 

Sr.  d'Assurap^ao,  the  president,  took  infinite  pains  to  make 
the  meeting  at  the  Uuiao  Club  a  success.  The  drawing-room  iu 
which  it  was  held  was  a  tine  one,  and  many  pots  of  flowers  were 
brought  in  ;  but  the  language  difficulty  could  not  be  got  over.  It  was 
announced  to  be  for  English-speaking  people,  and  the  dozen  Chinese 
who  came,  apparently  understood,  but  a  great  many  of  the  Portu- 
guese who  came  at  the  beginning  soon  withdrew,  leaving  between 
fifty  and  sixty,  of  whom  some  fifteen  or  so  became  at  once  members 
of  the  Tien  Tsu  Hui.  The  next  day  the  Chinese  meeting,  held  in  a  hall 
opening  directly  on  to  a  main  thoroughfare,  and  with  a  gallery 
running  right  round  rather  beyond  the  voice-power  of  my  inter- 
preter, Mr.  Jong,  was  again  somewhat  unruly.  Mr.  Ho  Sui-tiu,  one 
of  the  richest  Chinese  in  Macao,  introduced  me  to  the  audience,  which 
was  certainly  numerous  enough,  and  after  it  was  over  took  us 
back  to  tea  with  his  daughters.     It  was  rather  a  shock  to  find  them 


314  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Jane, 

with  bound  feet,  and  a  little  girl  of  ei«:ht,  whose  feet  were,  her 
father  said,  to  be  unbound,  declared  it  did  not  hurt.  It  was  also 
rather  a  surprise  to  find  a  fine  billiard  table,. on  which  the  young 
ladies  declared  they  played.  The  house  was  very  richly  decorated 
with  beautiful  carving,  and  the  reception  room  where  we  had  tea 
quite  carried  out  old  ideas  of  Oriental  magnificence.  Mr.  Ho  Sui- 
tin  presented  me  with  a  photograph  of  himself  in  Mandarin  dress, 
wearing  five  Portuguese  decorations.  But  he  did  not  oifer  to  join  the 
Tien  Tsu  Hui.  He  is,  however,  I  believe,  a  member  of  the  Macao 
society  which  three  years  ago  was  very  active.  So  were  the  owners 
of  a  large  house  on  the  sea  front  with  very  heavily-gilded  railings. 
But  there  all  the  little  girls  were  unbound. 

Next  day  there  was  a  gathering  at  the  English  chapel, 
which  the  missionaries  kindly  allowed  me  to  address,  and  an 
evidently  very  earnest  member  of  the  local  society  interpreted 
for  me,  doing  so  with  real  fervour.  The  sympathetically  attentive 
audience  was  a  great  relief  after  the  last  two  restless  ones,  and 
at  the  end  nearly  all  the  men  and  seven  women  came  for- 
ward to  be  associates.  Among  the  first,  a  lady  with  tiny  feet, 
laughingly  pointing  to  the  interpereter  her  husband  as  her  reason 
for  being  there.  But  she  also  announced  that  she  intended  to 
unbind !  There  is  less  binding  apparently  at  Macao  than  any- 
where I  have  yet  visited.  Very  few  of  the  Roman  Catholics  bind,  and 
they  consider  that  the  custom  is  fast  dying  out.  Several  of  the 
wealthy  families  do  not  bind.  And  what  with  intercourse  for  so 
many  centuries  with  Portuguese,  and  so  many  of  late  years  being 
educated  or  making  their  fortunes  in  America  it  is  perhaps  rather 
remarkable  that  any  yet  do  bind.  1  was  distressed  though  to  meet  so 
many  of  the  countrywomen  coming  in  to  market  hobbling  painfully 
along  supported  by  some  stout-footed  maid  servant.  This  is,  however, 
obviously  a  fashion  that  will  die  at  first  among  the  richer  and  more 
cultured  classes.  I  was  also  told  that  at  Heuiig-shan  there  were  far 
more  natural-footed  women  than  at  Macao,  where,  however,  even 
as  it  is,  bound  feet  are  distinctly  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule. 

It  is  a  surprise  to  me  to  find  how  much  less  missionaries  have 
striven  against  binding  in  these  southern  ports  than  in  the  West, 
where  missionary  effort  is  comparatively  so  much  more  recent.  I 
cannot  understand  any  Christian  congregation  sitting  down  content 
with  such  a  cruel  practice  in  its  midst. 

The  meeting  at  the  Chinese  Club,  Hongkong,  on  February  26th, 
was  the  crowning  success  of  the  series.  Mr.  Ho  Tung  and  his 
brother,  Mr.  Ho  Pook,  Jardine's  cotnpradores,  had  arranged  it.  The 
Chinese  Club,  only  started  a  year  ago,  numbers  some  200  members, 
and  combines  the  comforts  of  Europe  with  the  elegances  of  China — 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMEKT.  315 

stuffed  arm  chairs  and  carved  black  wood.  The  whole  committee 
cftine  to  the  outside  door  and  lined  the  passage  way  to  receive  Lady 
and  Miss  Blake,  who  kindly  accompanied  me.  There  were  at 
least  loO  Chinese,  mostly  leadinji;  merchants,  present;  they  were 
sitting  out  into  the  balconies,  besides  filling  the  two  rooms  thrown 
open.  All  stood  up  and  bowed  as  we  entered.  Mr.  Ho  Tung  presided, 
and  after  the  speeches  iind  two  votes  of  thanks  the  proceedings  con- 
cluded with  three  cheers  and  a  tiger,  given  quite  in  the  English  fashion. 
I  never  thought  to  live  to  see  at)d  hear  the  like  from  an  assemblage  of 
Chinese  men.  We  adjourned  to  the  tnost  elegant  refection  of  tea  and 
cakes  upstairs,  at  which  only  the  favoured  few  among  the  (/liinese 
gentlemen  assisted,  and  discussed  how  to  form  a  good  Chinese 
working  committee,  also  what  arrangements  should  be  made  for 
Lady  Blake's  tea  party  for  Chinese  ladies  next  Thursday.  It  was 
decided  that  both  bound-  and  unbound-footed  ladies  should  be 
asked,  that  their  husbands  should  be  invited  to  bring  them  and 
then  be  entertained  in  one  room  whilst  the  ladies  should  be  in 
another,  that  it  should  be  by  invitation,  and  that  a  missionary  lady 
should  be  asked  to  interpret;  this  last  at  the  special  request  of  a 
Chinese  gentleman. 

To-day  by  Dr.  Wright's  kindness  there  is  to  be  a  meeting  at 
Queen's  College  of  about  700  Chinese  young  men  ;  the  Bishop  of 
Victoria  and  Mr.  Pearce,  of  the  Londou  Mission,  each  bringing  a 
contingent,  and  the  latter  very  kindly  interpreting.  Thus  the  work 
goes  on  ;  on  all  sides  we  hear  of  feet  being  unbound,  and  we  cannot 
help  hopiug  that  soon  there  will  not  be  a  bound  foot  left  in  Victoria* 

March  10th. 
On  March  1st,  by  the  invitation  of  Lady  Blake,  for  the  first 
time  in  the  annals  of  government  house,  Hongkong,  its  portals 
were  thrown  open  to  Chinese  ladies,  and  towards  four  o'clock  little 
groups  were  to  be  seen  at  the  various  entrances  "  hobbling  painfully 
onwards"  to  the  great  ball-room.  There  it  was  the  audience  itself 
that,  on  seeing  the  crowd,  requested  amahs  all  to  stand  up,  and 
presently  all  seats  were  occupied  as  well  as  fifty  additional  chairs 
brought  in,  whilst  about  seventy  were  standing  down  either  side  of 
the  room,  and  some  200  school  girls  only  found  place  on  the  floor. 
Mrs.  Ho  Tung,  wife  of  Jardine's  compradore,  read  aloud  the  words 
on  the  card  of  Association,  and  then  Mrs.  Lieung,  Australian  bred, 
interpreted  as  Lady  Blake  said  how  glad  she  was  to  see  Chinese 
ladies  there,  and  how  much  she  wished  to  see  them  again.  She  also 
interpreted  for  me  as  I  addressed  the  meeting;  only  once  breaking 
off  to  apostrophise,  on  her  own  account,  two  ladies  sitting  towards 
the  front  and  displaying  very  prominently  their  small  bound  feet. 
One  of  them  pleaded  that  she  was  too  old  to  unbind,  and  the  address 


316  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [JllUe, 

went  on.  After  it  was  over  forty-seven  ladies  and  little  girls  gave  ia 
their  names  as  joining  the  Societj'.  It  was  impossible  to  refuse  the 
latter  when  without  anyone  prompting  them  they  held  out  their 
money  and  wrote  down  their  own  names,  for  amongst  them  were  some 
four  or  five  with  already  cramped  feet,  so  that  it  was  abundantly 
clear  the  little  girls  knew  what  they  were  about.  Although  very 
many  went  away  without  attempting  to  get  tea  in  the  drawing-room, 
that  again  was  so  crowded  that  all  the  European  ladies  had  to  stand. 
It  was  somewhat  pitiful  to  see  the  rows  of  amahs  waiting  meanwhile 
in  the  hall  to  support  their  totterinw  mistresses  to  their  chairs. 

Since  then  there  have  been  three  meetings  in  Swatow — one 
European,  two  Chinese — but  the  event'  has  been  a  visit  with  Mrs. 
Foster,  of  the  American  B-iptist  Mission  there  toKit-yaug,  five  hours 
by  steam-launch  up  the  river.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Speicher  had  thought  it 
impossible  to  convene  a  meeting,  but  arranged  to  pay  calls  on 
six  of  the  principal  families,  with  whom  they  appeared  to  be  on  excep- 
tionally friendly  terms.  In  all  «»bindiug  was  the  order  of  the  day; 
in  one  the  lady  of  the  house  said  she  had  unbound  three  years  before, 
and  her  feet  had  quite  regained  their  natural  shape.  Bound  at  eight, 
unbound  at  twenty-one,  seemed  to  be  the  record  of  her  life.  In  another 
house  two  toes  were  refractory,  and  would  not  come  up.  In  another 
one  lady  of  the  house  had  natural  feet,  another  was  unbinding,  and 
a  third  said  she  intended  to  do  so.  One  family,  where  one  son  was 
a  Chti-jen,  two  Hsiu-tsais,  and  the  other  the  head  of  the  Hsiu-tsais, 
just  invited  to  Peking  to  instruct  the  Manchus  there,  had  politely 
laid  open  upon  the  table  the  number  of  the  Wan  Kwoh  Kung  Pao 
with  my  portrait  in  it.  There  was  no  Chinese  society  against 
binding  as  in  Swatow  itself,  but  to  judge  by  those  six  leading  families 
the  movement  must  be  widespread  and  deeply  rooted. 

They  bind  late  in  those  parts  ;  often  at  twelve  and  even  thirteen, 
when  the  child  seems  to  suffer  more,  but  she  is  thus  able  to  do  a 
certain  amount  of  field  work  first.  There  is  no  cleft  between  the  heel 
and  fleshy  forepart  of  the  foot,  which  is  thus  only  narrowed,  but  such 
an  abnormally  high  heel  is  worn,  as  gives  the  foot,  placed  slanting 
in  it,  the  appearance  of  being  very  short.  The  only  part  of  the  shoe 
that  touches  the  ground  is,  in  most  cases,  this  extraordinarily  high 
heel.  Thus  the  women  of  Swatow  and  the  neighbourhood  decidedly  do 
not  walk  on  tip  toe.  There  is,  however,  often  a  little  round  hole  at  the 
tip  of  the  shoe  through  which  the  toe  can  be  seen,  bandagedof  course. 

It  only  remains  to  add  that  in  Swatow  all  was  planned  and 
arranged  for  by  missionaries,  except  one  meeting  held  at  the 
Commissioner's  house  by  the  kindness  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Boyd  Bredon. 

Mr.  Bredon's  sudden  death  shortly  afterwards  made  this  meet- 
ing over  which  he  so  genially  presided  the  more  memorable. 


1900.] 


OUR    BOOK    TABLR. 


317 


©xir  '^i00k  ©abk. 


We  have  received  Traiisaclions  of 
the  Asiatiu  Society  of  Japan,  also 
The  Modern  Newspaper,  being  a 
paper  read  before  a  local  society 
by  Professor  Leavenworth,  of  the 
Nan-yanj?  College.  To  be  had  for 
fifty  cents  at  the  Mercury  Oliice. 


Tht,  China  lieview  or  Notes  and  Queries 
on  the  Far  East,  February  and  March, 
1901). 

Interesting  articles  are  :  "  The 
Present  Dynasty  and  Heaven's 
Decree,"  by  Arthur  H.  Smith,  of 
P'ang-chuang,  and  Dr.  E.  Von 
Lach's  Additions  and  Corrections 
to  Giles'  Dictionary. 


'S  W  Jl^  S{i  Iwi  ^■-     An  Elementary  Zo- 
ology, by  Dr.  J.  M.  VV.  Fiunliam. 

Here  we  have  not  pictures  of 
laniellibranchiate,  icthyosauri,  ver- 
tebrata,  and  other  dry  articles, 
but  entertaining  anecdotes  of 
living  animals,  domestic  and  other- 
wise. The  compiler,  having  the 
needs  of  the  family  in  his  eye, 
has  wisely  confined  himself  to 
quadrupeds.  The  illustrations  are 
delightfully  clear.  We  notice  that 
a  donkey,  however,  is  called  |^^  by 
misplacement. 

D.  MacG. 


Seventh  Annual  Report  and  Catalogue  of 
the  North  Fuhkieii  Religious  Tract 
Society  for  1699.  Head-quarters  Foo- 
chow. 

This  Society  has  printed  during 
the  year  70,000  volumes  of  books, 
being  an  increase  over  1898  of 
32,500  volumes.  No  sheet  tracts 
have  been  printed  this  year ;  but 
84,100  Sabbath  calendars  \r.\.ve  been 
issued  as  compared  with  55,000  sheet 
tracts  and  25,000  calendars  in  1898. 
The  number  of  books  purchased  from 
outports  shows  an  increase  of  about 
1,000  copies ;  and  an  increase  of  400 


copies  is  seen  in  the  issues  of  the 
Romanized  newspaper. 

The  Commentary  on  the  Pen- 
tateuch and  the  Commentary  on  the 
New  Testament  have  had  large 
sales.  Of  forthcoming  works — 
some  in  Wen-li,  some  in  J'oochow 
Colloquial — we  are  glad  to  note 
"An  Exposition  of  the  Sheplierd 
Psalm,"  "The  Christian's  Secret  of 
a  Happy  Life,"  Andrew  Murray 
on  "Humility,"  and  Drummond's 
"  Greatest  Thing  in  the  World." 


The  Now  Testament,  in  plain  Wen-li ; 
translated  by  the  lit.  llev.  J.  I,  S. 
Schereschewsky,  formerly  missionary 
Bishop  in  iShaughui  of  the  Auicricaa 
Epibcopiil  Church.  Printed  at  Shuei- 
sha,  Tokio,  .Tapan,  1898. 

A  translator  of  the  Bible  into 
Wen-li,  be  it  deep  or  easy  Wen, 
has  before  him  a  difficult  if  not  an 
impossible  task.  It  is  not  that  the 
Chinese  language,  like  some  of  the 
African  dialects,  or  like  some  of 
the  languages  of  the  South  Pacific 
islands,  is  deficient  in  vocabulary 
or  in  verbiage.  Nor  is  it  because 
the  meanings  of  the  numerous 
Chinese  monograms  are  too  cir- 
cumscribed to  be  incapable  of  con- 
veying the  meanings  of  the  words 
used  in  the  Bible.  The  difficulty 
lies  in  the  difference  of  style  and  in 
the  fixedness  of  the  Chinese  W6n-li 
style.  It  would  not  be  easy  to  find 
two  kinds  of  composition  in  liter- 
ature that  differ  more  radically 
in  style  than  do  the  Bible,  both  in 
the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  and 
the  literary  style  of  the  Chinese. 

The  style  of  the  Scriptures  is 
very  perspicuous,  very  exact,  and 
abounds  in  personal  pronouns. 
Wen-li  lacks  all  of  these.  It  is 
vague,  it  is  inexact,  and  it  is  pain- 
fully destitute  of  pronouns,  especial- 
ly the  personal. 

Another  wide  difference,  which 
creates  also  another  great  difficulty, 


318 


THE   CHINESE    RECORDER. 


[June, 


is  that  Wen-li  has  a  fixed  style 
that  will  not  bend  to  the  needs  of 
the  translator.  Chinese  Wen-li  is 
a  dead  language — not  spoken,  only 
used  in  books  as  Latin  was  used  a 
few  hundred  years  ai^o  in  Europe. 
It  is  fossilized  and  tixed,  and  any 
tampering  with  its  style,  destroys 
it  as  one  would  destroy  a  skeleton 
by  attempting  to  rearrange  the 
bones.  He  would  find  himself  in 
possession  of  a  pile  of  bones  and 
not  of  an  organized  skeleton. 

The  work  that  the  translator  has 
before  him  is  to  give  a  faithful  and 
accurate  rendering  of  the  Bible 
with  its  clear  style  and  exact 
language,  abounding  with  personal 
pronouns,  into  a  language  wliose 
style  is  already  fixed  and  does  not 
admit  of  change  or  improvement, 
which  to  tamper  with  is  to  destroy 
a  style  that  is  inexact  and  that  is 
notoriously  destitute  of  the  pro- 
nouns that  mean  so  much  in  Bible 
language  and  style. 

Some  versions  err  in  being 
slavishly  literal,  and  while  they 
stick  close  to  the  original,  produce 
a  style  which  repels  the  very  class 
of  Chinese  for  whom  the  task  of 
translating  was  undertaken,  the 
literati ;  other  versions  err  in  the 
opposite  direction,  while  being 
anxious  to  please  the  taste  of  the 
native  scholar,  they  do  not  stick  to 


the  text  and  the  translation  be- 
comes a  misty  paraphrase. 

If  it  is  possible  to  translate 
the  Bible  into  Chinese  Wen-li  at 
all  and  liave  passably  good  Wen-li 
while  remaining  faithful  to  the 
meaning  of  the  original,  as  the 
translator  understands  it,  it  seems 
to  us  that  Dr.  Schereschewsky  has 
come  nearer  doing  so  than  anyone 
else  who  has  yet  undertaken  the 
task.  His  Wen-li  is  easy — very 
easy — and  his  style  is  certainly  very 
clear  and  perspicuous.  He  manages 
the  pronouns  perhaps  better  than 
anyone  else  has  succeeded  in  doing. 
While  he  is  not  so  anxious  to  re- 
produce the  ipsissima  verba  of  the 
original  he  is  faithful  in  rendering 
the  meaning  of  the  text,  which  is 
after  all  the  item  of  greatest  im- 
portance. There  is  no  attempt  to 
reproduce  in  any  degree  the  Greek 
idiom  in  the  Chinese.  The  style  is 
very  readable ;  in  fact  one  feels 
that  tlie  translator  certainly  knows 
his  art  and  that  the  book  is  by  no 
means  a  failure. 

So  far  as  the  need  for  a  new 
Wen-li  version  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment is  concerned,  it  certainly 
seems  that  this  one  by  Dr.  Schere- 
schewsky leaves  very  little  else  in 
this  line  to  be  desired. 

A.  Sydenstricker  . 


^tritorhil    Comment. 


We  believe  that  no  apology 
is  needed  for  our  devoting  the 
main  portion  of  this  number  of 
the  Eecorder  to  the  Christian 
Endeavor  Convention  atFoochow. 
While  in  a  sense  the  convention 
was  not  representative  ;  there 
being  less  than  a  dozen  delejyates 
from  provinces  north  of  Fuhkien, 
yet  in  another  sense  it  was  repre- 
sentative. While  Christian  En- 
deavor has  flourished  in  Fuhkien 


more  than  in  other  provinces,  the 
value  of  the  movement  in  other 
quarters  has  been  great,  and  only 
the  diflBculty  of  dialects  prevented 
this  convention  from  being  rep- 
resentative in  every  sense  of 
the  word. 

We  therefore  bespeak  for  our 
readers  who  have  nob  tested  or 
used  Christian  Endeavor  methods 
a  careful  reading  of  tiio  report  of 
this  coavention,  feeling  sure  that 


1900.] 


EDITORIAL   COMMENT. 


319 


it  will  be  suggestive  and  helpful. 
Cbristian  Endeavor  workers  will 
need  no  urging. 

•         *         • 

Dr.  and  Mils.  Clark  left  Tien- 
tsin for  Viadivostock  May  16th, 
purposing  to  cross  Asia  by  the 
new  Russian  route.  Before  tliey 
left,  a  North  China  Union  of 
Christian  Endeavor  was  formed, 
with  Dr.  Anient  for  president; 
and  the  outlook  for  the  growth 
of  this  union  is  good. 

One  of  Dr.  Clark's  parting 
suggestions  to  Christian  Endeavor 
workers  related  to  the  great  need 
of  Christian  Endeavor  literature 
in  Mandarin.  It  is  greatly  to  be 
hoped  that  those  interested  in 
this  movement  will  put  their 
"shoulders  to  the  wheel"  and 
give  both  breadth  and  depth  to 
the  thinking  of  our  converts  by 
lielpt'ul  literature  in  the  way  of 
biographies,  etc.,  in  the  Mandarin. 
If  it  is  true  that  Christian  En- 
deavor fills  a  need  in  China  it  is 
in  the  line  of  training  converts 
to  study  the  Bible  and  to  work 
for  Clirist.  Bright,  wholesome, 
thoughtful  literature  goes  far  to 
aid  in  both  these  directions. 

We  presume  that  the  Transla- 
tion Committee  appointed  at 
Foochow  finds  its  raison  d'Stre  in 
this  very  need  for  literature,  and 
trust  we  shall  soon  hear  from  the 
committee. 

«         •         « 

Our  indefatigable  friend,  Mr. 
Alex.  Don,  who  works  so  en- 
thusiastically over  the  scattered 
Chinese  sheep  in  New  Zealajid, 
sends  us  a  thin  pamphlet  with 
graphic  descriptions  of  the  joys 
of  a  winter  tour  "  mid  snow  and 
ice"  to  give  lantern  pictures  to 
the  little  handfuls  of  miners  and 
ranchers  spread  over  a  wide  area, 


and  all  of  them  apparently  as 
nearly  as  possible  inaccessible. 
Such  perseverance  cannot  fail 
to  be  rewarded.  There  ought  to 
be  an  army  of  Chinese  work- 
era  traversing  the  vast  plains  of 
China  as  well  as  its  innumerable 
valleys  on  similar  errands.  Some 
day  there  will  be,  but  by  that 
time  it  will  be  too  late  to  reach 
some  who  are  now  accessible. 


When  the  student  of  Chinese 
comes  to  a  particularly  difficult 
phrase  or  word  either  in  his  own 
language  or  in  Chinese  it  is  a 
good  plan  to  give  it  no  rest  until 
some  way  has  been  found  of 
transferring  the  idea.  One  of 
the  toughest  of  the  many  knots 
perpetually  presenting  themselves 
to  those  who  have  occasion  ac- 
curately to  render  English  terms 
into  Chinese,  is  the  group  of 
words  "  condition,"  "  on  condition 
that," "conditionally," etc.  When 
we  meet  them  we  generally  look 
them  squarely  in  the  face  and 
then  "go  around  them,"  rightly 
judging  that  they  simply  cannot 
be  trauferred  into  Chinese  (al- 
though they  can  be). 

This  was  the  experience  of  an 
officer  in  the  British  Consular 
service.  Having  to  conduct  some 
delicate  negotiations,  in  the  course 
of  which  it  was  found  (or  im- 
agined) that  the  high  Chinese 
official  concerned  was  likely  to 
be  influenced  by  the  almost  un- 
ceasing stream  of  telegrams  de- 
tailing the  successes  of  the  Boers, 
on  receipt  of  an  important  mes- 
sage giving  a  different  turn  to 
to  South  African  events  it  seemed 
desirable  to  let  the  Chinese 
know  that  General  Cronje  had 
"  surrendered  unconditional!}'." 
In  order  to  avoid  the  embarrass- 


320 


THE   CHINESE   TIECOIIDER. 


[JllDft, 


meBt  of  turning  this  into  Chinese 
the  telegram  was  shown  to  the 
oflBcial  interpreter  (a  graduate  of 
the  T'ung  Wen  Kuan  in  Peking) 
with  a  request  to  pass  it  on  in 
Chinese,  which  he  did.  The 
next  day  he  was  asked  how  he 
had  rendered  the  word  "  uncon- 


ditionally," and  the  British  offi- 
cer was  greatly  edified  to  learn 
that  'the  Great  Man  had  been 
told  that  General  Cronje  had  sur- 
rendered "  wu  yuan  wu  hi  ti" — 
in  other  words,  '  for  no  reason 
whatever  !  " 


ffixssionarn  Dittos. 


Anti-Opium  League 

in  China, 

Contributions. 

Previously  reported 

...  $572.52 

Rev.  G.  ReuRch,   Hongkong 

2.00 

,,      F.  Kircher             „ 

2.00 

,,      M.   Schaub,  Li-long 

1.00 

„      G.   Fiegler,           „ 

1.00 

,,      H.  Wintergerst  ,, 

1.00 

„      C.  Miller 

1.00 

„      I.  G.  Loercher,  Long-heu 

2.00 

A  Wellwisher        

5.00 

Rev.  F.  Brown,  Tientsin 

5.00 

„      T.  B.  Owen,  Foochow 

...      10.00 

Mr.  Tung,  of  Chinkiang,  per 

Miss  Mary  Robinson 

3.00 

^  Si  ^            Soochow  ... 

5.00 

fK^                        „         ... 

1.00 

^^^                   „         ... 

1.00 

m^^          

1.00 

tc  1^  m          „ 

.20 

mm^         

.20 

<nl^^                   » 

.50 

^M.m          .»     - 

.30 

y^^rM                           »> 

2.00 

mnm          »     - 

2.00 

^m^^mnmm » 

1.47 

$620.19 

W.  H.  Park, 

M.D., 

Treasurer. 

Soochow,  May  11th,  1900. 

A»-0,  League  Notes. 

Steps  were  taken  at  a  recent 
meeting  of  the  Executive  Committee 
to  arrange  with  the  printing  presses 
in  China  to  prepare  and  keep  in 
stock  the  League's  literature. 

Dr.  Christie  has  agreed  to  act  as 
vice-president  for  Manchuria,  and 
Rev.  Arnold  Foster  has  accepted 
the  same  position  for  Hankow. 


The  subject  of  instituting  plans 
for  preventing  so  many  suicides  by 
opium,  is  now  under  consideration 
by  the  Executive  Committee,  and  it 
is  earnestly  hoped  that  something 
may  be  done  soon  for  the  lessening 
of  this  monster  evil. 

A  tract  by  the  venerable  Dr. 
Kerr,  of  Canton,  and  also  one  by 
the  president  of  the  League,  are  to 
be  published  as  soon  as  funds  will 
justify. 

T.  C.  Britton, 

Secretary. 


A  Recent  Missionary 
Journey. 

Seldom  have  I  enjoyed  a  tour  of 
visitation  among  the  churches  more 
than  the  one  just  completed. 
Within  a  fortnight  after  my  return 
to  Amoy  from  my  first  furlough  in 
England  I  started  with  Dr.  E.  S. 
Dukes,  the  new  doctor  for  our 
furthermost  station  of  Tiiig-chow- 
fu,  about  230  miles  N.  W.  of 
Amoy,  in  which  city  we  are  start- 
ing a  foreign  hospital.  Leaving 
the  doctor  in  the  care  of  our 
native  pastor  I  visited  all 
churches  in  the  Ting-chow 
north  river  districts, 
only  recently  opened.  I  was  away 
from  Amoy  about  seven  weeks,  and 
the  whole  journey  to  and  fro  cov- 
ered about  540  miles,  partly  by  boat, 
partly  in  sedan  chair  or  on  foot. 

I  am  thankful  to  say  that  every- 
where I  was  very  heartily  welcomed 


the 
and 
save   one 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  NEWS. 


321 


by  the  native  Christians,  besides 
liavin^'  many  excoUent  opportuni- 
ties of  preaching  the  gospel,  as  well 
H3  interesting  talks  with  scores  of 
individuals  on  tlie  truths  of  salva- 
tion. I  baptized  15  men,  9  women, 
and  15  children,  making  a  total  of 
39  persons  received  into  the  king- 
dom of  Christ.  Moreover,  at  nearly 
every  place  there  are  large  num- 
bers of  hearers  coining  regularly 
to  -worship  and  being  prepared 
by  the  preachers  for  future  bap- 
tism. 

One  special  note  of  deep  interest 
is  the  fact  that  the  first  foundations 
of  a  Ciiri.stian  church  have  been 
laid  in  tiie  prefectural  city  of  Ting- 
chow,  the  last  city  iu  the  Fukien 
province  to  receive  the  gospel  and 
thus  to  be  claimed  for  Christ.  On 
Easter  Sunday — the  day  chosen  by 
the  early  cluirch  for  many  cen- 
turies on  which  to  receive  new  con- 
verts— I  baptized  one  man  and  two 
women  and  received  another  man 
by  transfer  from  the  Salvation 
Army,  the  first  fruits  of  our  work 
in  this  city  and  the  nucleus  of  the 
fiist  Christian  church  in  this  im- 
portant centre.  Tlie  man  accepted 
by  transfer  is  a  native  of  a  country 
town  not  far  away  who  had  been 
abroad  and  was  converted  by  the 
instrumentality  of  the  Salvation 
Army.  His  wife,  who  had  not 
been  abroad  and  is  much  younger 
than  he  is,  was  baptized  at  the 
same  time  and  is  an  intelligent  and 
eai'nest  Christian. 

In  the  afternoon  of  the  same 
Sunday  our  native  pastor  and  I 
celebrated  the  Lord's  Supper  with 
the  new  Christians  and  several 
Christian  workers  present — a  spe- 
cially solemn  and  soul-stirring  occa- 
sion— all  the  more  so  when  we 
remember  that  it  was  the  first  time 
in  the  long  history  of  the  city  that 
the  Christian  rites  of  baptism  and 
the  Lord's  Supper  have  ever  been 
administered  there.     May  we  not 


hope  that  the  fire  now  kindled 
upon  the  altar  may  nevermore  be 
extinguished  until  Christ  comes  to 
claim  His  own. 

One  other  point  is  worth  noting 
in  the  present  most  unsettled  con- 
dition of  some  parts  of  China — that 
all  the  Mandarins  of  the  city  are 
friendly  to  us.  The  prefect  of  the 
city — head  of  them  all — is  unusual- 
ly gracious  and  genial.  He  in- 
vited Dr.  Dukes  and  myself,  to- 
getlier  with  Pastor  Chiu  and  our 
native  doctor,  to  a  feast  and  then 
presented  us  each  with  a  fan  in- 
scribed with  Chinese  characters, 
most  beautifully  written  in  his  own 
handwriting,  a  very  high  mark  of 
respect  and  kindliness. 

There  is  every  hope  that  as  soon 
as  the  contemplated  hospital  i3 
opened,  the  work  of  God  will 
abundantly  prosper,  both  in  the 
city  and  in  the  surrounding  dis- 
trict. 

In  the  older  north  river  dis- 
trict tliere  are  signs  of  much  activ- 
ity and  progress  in  nearly  all  the 
churches,  and  here  as  elsewhere 
we  are  only  hindered  from  extend- 
ing our  borders  by  the  lack  of  men 
and  means. 

Pray  therefore  that  God  may 
richly  bless  the  labours  of  His 
servants,  native  and  foreign  alike, 
in  the  conversion  of  precious  souls 
and  in  the  building  up  of  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  in  the  Fukien 
province. 

Frank  P.  Josbland. 

London  Mission,  Amo^. 


The  JEcumenical 
Conference. 

As  we  go  to  press,  the  first  echoes 
from  the  Ecumenical  Conference 
reach  us.  The  2,000  or  more  dele- 
gates present  contain  a  fair  sprink- 


322 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[Jnne, 


ling  of  China  missionaries.  The 
report  of  tlie  Committee  of  Stat- 
istics, James  S.  Dennis,  chairman, 
which  has  just  reached  us,  is  a  book 
in  itself,  multurn  in  parvo,  and 
requires  careful  study. 

We  are  first  made  ashamed  for 
thinking  missionary  statistics  "di-y." 
"  If  as  patriots  we  are  called  upon 
to  confront  an  alert  and  powerful 
foe,  is  it  a  dull  fact  that,  soldier  for 
soldier,  our  forces  equal  or  out- 
number his?  If  as  citizens  we 
watch  for  the  returns  of  an  impor- 
tant election,  is  it  wearisome  to  have 
the  votes  counted  in  long  columns 
of  tigures  in  favor  of  our  candidate  1 
If  individual  wealth  is  reckoned  by 
thousands,  rather  than  by  hun- 
dreds, does  this  awaken  any  par- 
ticular detestation  of  numbers  in 
significant  array  1 " 

The  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
classifying  statistics  from  all  over 
the  world,  and  rendering  them 
harmonious  and  accurate,  are  phe- 
nomenal. The  "  Centennial  Sta- 
tistics," as  this  report  is  called,  have 
brought  order  out  of  what  must  at 
first  have  seemed  hopeless  chaos. 
Societies  and  missions  at  work 
in  foreign  fields  are  most 
luminously  classified  under  three 
heads  : — 

I.  Societies  directly  engaged  in 
conducting  foreign  missions. 

II.  Societies  indirectly  co-operat- 
ing or  aiding  in  foreign  missions. 

III.  Societies  or  institutions  in- 
dependently engaged  in  specialized 
efifort  in  various  departments  of 
foreign  missions. 

Other  subjects  touched  upon  by 
way  of  introduction  in  this  report, 
are  :  the  propriety  of  including 
missionaries'  wives  as  full  mission- 
aries, which  is  objected  to  bj'  a  few 
societies,   but  which  the  committee 


upholds  ;  and  the  proper  name  by 
which  to  indicate  the  "adher- 
ents "  or  nominal  but  non-com- 
municant Christians.  The  phrase 
used  is,  "native  Christian  com- 
munity." 

After  four  pages  of  introduction, 
follow  twenty-one  pages  of  sta- 
tistics, giving  in  various  forms  a 
world-view  of  the  societies  engaged 
in  foreign  missions,  their  incomes, 
staff",  evangelistic  returns,  fields, 
kinds  and  methods  of  work,  etc. 
We  can  only  give  a  glimpse  here  of 
certain  totals  achieved.  Thank 
God  for  a  century  of  mis.sions,  for 
a  church  awakening,  and  for  the 
Holy  Spirit,  who  is  showing  His 
power  and  purpose  to  save  the 
world  1 


Totals 

for  the          449 

world 

O 
p 

X 

C 
w 

h-l 
(D 

05 

"to 

05 
hS 

02 

O 
to 

CO 

Societies. 

Number  of  Societies. 

JO 

to 

Oi 

o 

S2 

"to 
-J 

O 

1 

Income  from  home  and 
foreign  sources. 

o 
o 

Total  foreign  mission- 
aries. 

CO 

to! 
o 

-J 

2 

Total  native  helpers,  or- 
dained and  lay. 

OS 
cs 

00 

JO 

00 

en 

00 

Total  uumber  of  com- 
municants. 

CO 

00 

o 

to 
w 

4- 

05 

-1 

00 

OS 

00 

<£> 
VX 

Additions  during  last 
year. 

<3i 

05 

to 

en 

-1 

ov 

05 
00 

OS 

"T>s 
CO 

09 

Total  native  Christian 
community. 

1900.] 


DIARY   OF   EXENTS   IN   TIIK   FAR   EAST. 


323 


gutnj  0f  (Bbmt$  in  tijc  Jfiir  €nd. 


April  25th. — A  serious  figlit  between 
Boxers  and  Roman  Catholic  Christians 
60  li  Houtli  of  Pao-tiiij^-fu,  near  a  place 
called  Ciiiang-chin-cliuanjr.  Two  thou- 
sand Boxers  attacked  a  Roman  Catiiolic 
villnpe,  and  tiio  villa>,'er8  haviiij?  antici- 
pated the  attack,  wt;re  wtdi  armed  with 
firearms.     The  Boxers  finally  retreated. 

26th.  —  Li,  tho  Empross-Dowagor's 
favorite  (so-called)  eunuch,  died  sud- 
denly at  Peking.  It  is  widely  believed 
he  was  poisoned.  He  left  an  estate  of 
38  millions  of  taela,  of  which  a  third  is 
said  to  be  in  hard  cash  ;  this  wealth  he 
obtained  through  bribes  and  "  presents" 
from  high  officials  desirous  of  place  and 
power. 

Viceroy  Chang  Chih-tung  held  a  grand 
review  of  the  troops  under  him  outside 
Wu-chang  ;  there  being  no  less  tiian  StJ 
battalions  of  all  arms,  numbering  18,000 
rank  and  file  present.  The  men  were 
all  organized,  drilled,  and  armed  after 
the  German  model,  and  made  a  very 
favourable  appearance. 

April. — The  title  deeds  of  the  land 
acquired  by  Russia  at  Masampho,  have 
been  duly  handed  over.  The  land  will 
l)e  applied  to  the  use  of  the  volunteer 
fleet.  In  other  words,  it  will  be  a  coal- 
ing station,  much  after  tbe  fashion  of 
Inusa  at  Nagasaki, 

5th. — Three  hundred  natives  attacked 
Major  Penrose,  R.E.,  and  six  soldiers 
at  Kiao-tou  while  engaged  in  the  de- 
limitationof  Wei-hai-wei.  Major  Penrose 
was  severely  injured.  Colonel  Bower,  of 
the  first  Chinese  regiment,  with  his 
escort,  came  to  their  rescue ;  sixteen 
natives  being  killed.  On  the  6th  two 
thousand  natives  attacked  the  first 
Chinese  regiment  at  Tsao-miao-tze,  and 
were  repulsed  with  the  loss  of  ten 
killed.  The  Ciiinese  commissioners 
are  being  held  by  the  villagers. 

6th. — The  foundation  stone  of  the  new 
German   church  was  laid   in  Shanghai. 

The  British  gunboats  Woodcock  and 
Woodlark,  having  surmounted  all  the 
rapids  on  the  Upper  Yangtze,  between 
Icliang  and  Chungking,  have  arrived 
safely  at  Chungking. 

9th. — At  the  request  of  H.  E.  Yuan 
Shih-kai,  Governor  of  Shantung,  the 
British  relieved  tlie  Chinese  Boundary 
Commissioners  unopposed. 


10th.— Tho  C  M.  S.  buildings  at 
Tsing-yung-t'u,  near  Taichow,  looted 
and  in  large  part  destroyed  by  fire. 
The  marauders  sought  for  the  native 
pastor,  purposing  to  kill  him.  The 
officials  are  doing  all  in  their  power  to 
make  reparation. 

1.3th. — Li  Ping-h6ng,  Imperial  Com- 
missioner  of  Investigation  of  the  Yang- 
tze Valley,  is  to  arrive  at  Nanking.  His 
errand  is  ostensibly  to  inspect  tho 
forts  and  troops  at  Chinkiang,  etc.  ;  bub 
he  ia  actually  engaged  in  finding  out  the 
strength  and  influence  of  foreign  na- 
tions in  tho  Yangtze  Valley  ;  and  upon 
his  confidential  report  thereon  will  rest 
the  future  policy  of  the  Peking  govern- 
ment vis  d  vis  foreign  nations. 

18th,  —  An  attack  on  the  Border 
Commission,  appointed  to  settle  tlio 
boundary  between  Burmah  and  Yunnan, 
is  reported.  Two  of  the  British  mem- 
bers have  been  killed  and  Consul  Littou 
has  been  injured. 

A  mob  of  malcontents  in  Li-ctman 
district,  Hupeh,  attacked  a  number  of 
Christian  villagers  and  killed  some, 
destroying  two  villages.  A  strong  body 
of  yanien  runners,  sent  by  the  magistrate 
of  Jii-chuan,  increased  the  wrath  of  the 
malcontents,  who  killed  five  of  tho 
runners  and  chased  the  remainder  into 
Li-chuan,  the  gates  of  which  were  then 
shut. 

19th.— The  Boxers  in  Chih-li  have 
again  been  violently  attacking  the 
Christians  between  Peking  and  Pao-ting 
Fu,  It  ia  reported  that  some  sixty 
Christian  converts  have  been  killed, 
some  of  them  being  burnt  alive, 

22nd. — Dispatches  received  from  re- 
liable quarters  at  Peking  state  that  many 
scions  of  the  Manchu  nobility  have 
joined  the  Boxer  Association,  and  that 
several  princes  and  dukes  have  given 
their  consent  to  act  as  patrons  of  that 
Society,  although  the  walls  of  Peking 
have  recently  been  placarded  with  Im- 
perial proclamations  denouncing  tho 
Boxers  as  outlaws,  and  therefore  liable 
to  be  executed  according  to  the  laws. 

26th. — News  of  the  burning  of  the 
C.  M.  S.  church  in  Fungan  city,  Fuh- 
kien,  by  iuccudiarios. 


324 


THE    CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[June,  1900. 


28th. — It  is  reported  that  the  Chinese 
government  will  make  Chin-wang-tao, 
near  Pci-tai-ho,  a  naval  station  for  the 
Pei-yang  squadron,  in  addition  to  a 
commercial  port.  It  is  intended  to  con- 
struct there  graving  docks,  machine 
shops,  etc.,  the  whole  to  cost  something 
between  six  and  seven  million  taels. 
The  contract  for  the  works  will  go  to  a 
German  syndicate,  headed  by  Herr 
Krupp. 

29th. — A  serious  outbreak  of  the 
Boxers  occurred  between  Tientsin  and 


Peking.  The  rioters  have  gone  on  to 
Peking  and  have  torn  up  the  railway  to 
prevent  pursuit.  The  foreign  men-of- 
war  at  Taku  are  landing  men,  but  Tien- 
tsin itself  is  quiet.  The  gravity  of  the 
situation  lies  in  the  evident  belief  of  the 
Manchus,  including  the  Empress-Dow- 
ager, that  they  would  be  able,  by  con- 
certed action,  to  drive  all  foreigners  out 
of  North  China.  The  Boxer  troubles 
have,  without  doubt,  been  secretly 
fomented  by  the  Empress-Dowager 
and  the  Manchus. 


Jissbniiru  Inurnal 


BIRTHS. 

At  K'ai-yuan,   Manchuria,  April  27th, 

the  Avife   of  Rev.  James  Stobie,  U.  P. 

C.  S.,  of  a  son. 
At    Chinkiang,   May  13th,  the  wife  of 

Rev.  S.  I.  WOODBRIDGE,  S.  P.  M.,  of  a 

daughter  (Jean  Margaret). 

DEATHS. 

At  Chambersburg,  Pa.,  March  31st, 
Robert  Adair,  son  of  Rev.  R.  M.  and 
Madge  D.  Mateer,  A.  P.  M.,  aged 
fourteen  months  and  twenty-one  days. 

At  Nagasaki,  Japan,  May  22nd,  Alice 
K.  Marston,  L.R.C.P.,  of  S.  P.  G., 
Peking,  through  bursting  of  blood 
vessel  in  the  brain. 

MARRIAGES. 

At  Tientsin,  May  11th,  by  H.  B.  M. 
Consul  and  Rev.  J.  H.  Pyke,  Dr. 
Jennie  M.  Hill,  A.  P.  M.,  and  Rev. 
Robert  A.  Mitchell,  C.  P.  M., 
Honan. 

At  Shanghai,  May  16th,  Albert  Biggs 
and  Miss  Emma  L.  Randall,  C.  I.  M. 

ARRIVALS. 

At  Shanghai,  May  3rd,  Mrs.  M.  B. 
Grier  and  child,  from  U.  S.  A. 
C returned),  S.  P.  M. ;  Rev.  W.  F. 
Walker,  wife,  and  daughter,  from 
U.  S.  A.  (returned),  M.  E.  M. ;  Miss 
Martin  and  Miss  Martin,  M.D.,  for 
Peking,  Mr.  J.  F.  Martin,  for  Tien- 
tsin, from  U.  S.  A.,  M.  E.  M. 

At  Shanghai,  May  5th,  Miss  Baumer, 
from  Germany,  Misses Basnktt,Slater, 
F.M.  MacDonald,  andFR.  Dieterle, 


from  England,  C.  I.  M. ;  Miss  Amy 
Crocker,  from  England  (returned), 
C.  M.  S.,  Ningpo;  Miss  Mary  I. 
Prindivellje,  from  England  for  An- 
glican N.  C.  M.,  Tientsin. 

At  Shanghai,  May  29th,  Miss  G.  M. 
Hill,  from  Ireland,  for  Meth.  Protest, 
ant ;  Rev.  CiiAS.  Cheesman,  from 
London,  for  Mission  to  the  Blind, 
Pekingf. 

DEPARTURES. 

From  Shangliai,  May  6th,  Rev.  C.  A. 
Nelson  and  family,  A.  B.  C.  F.  M., 
Canton,  for  U.  S.  A. 

From  Shanghai,  May  7th,  Misses  F. 
Cole  and  A,  M.  Simpson,  C.  I.  M.,  for 
England. 

From  Shanghai,  l\Iay  12th,  Mrs.  Fishg 
and  daughter  and  Miss  Maechbank, 
C.  I.  M.,  for  England  ;  W.  C.  Hooker, 
C.  I.  M.,  for  America  via  England. 

From  Shanghai,  May  19th,  Misses 
Mabel  Allen,  Ruby  Sia,  Mary  Hu, 
M.  B.  M.,  Foochow,  for  U.  S.  A.  ; 
Mrs.  A.  Sykes  and  daughter,  S.  P.  M., 
Kiang-yin,  for  U.  S.  A.  ;  Rev  Laot  L. 
Little,  S.  P.  M.,  Kiang-yin,  for  U. 
S.  A. ;  Mrs.  R.  E.  Abbey,  A.  P.  M., 
Nankin,  for  U.  S.  A. 

From  Shanghai,  May  18th,  Mr.  J. 
Woopberry,  Dr.  B.  Y.  Wong,  Beulah 
Chapel,  Tientsin,  C.  and  M.  A.,  for 
U.  S.  A. 

From  Shanghai,  May  21st,  J.  Graham, 
wife  and  child  and  Miss  Cheam, 
C.  I.  M.,  for  England ;  Miss  Wallace, 
C.  I.  M.,  for  Australia. 


THE 


CHINESE  RECORDER 


AND 


■^SlijSjoionar^   |iournaC. 


,^„,,^    „     „  _^_^„    ,»„-  (  $3.50  per  annum,  poet' 

Vol,  XXXI.  No.  7.  JULY,  1000.  [^  paid  (Gold  .^1.7.^.) 

Christimity  and  the  Worlds  Power  in  China, 

BY  REV,    WM.   UPCBAFT, 

tHE  future  lustorian  of  events  now  current  in  China  will  probably 
give  a  larger  place  relatively  to  the  moral  forces  in  the  im- 
pelling chancre  passing  over  this  empire  than  we  are  apt  to 
assign  to  them.  We  are  much  taken  up— and  necessarily  so — with  the 
diplomatic  and  commercial  aspect  of  things,  the  material  side  if  one 
may  thus  use  the  terra,  and  fail  to  set  in  their  right  proportion  the 
forces  that  behind  these  obvious  changes  are  shaping  the  future. 

That  already  a  large  place  in  the  estimation  of  thinking  men  is 
being  given  to  these  inner  aspects  is  apparent  in  some  directions. 

The  change  that  has  passed  upon  the  spirit  and  expression  of  a 
section  of  the  public  press  in  Shanghai  and  elsewhere  in  reference 
to  this  subject  is  an  example  of  both  cheer  and  help.  We  miss 
•with  much  pleasure  the  old  time  innuendo  and  sometimes  scoroful 
caricature  in  referenee  to  matters  and  men  not  lying  immediately 
within  the  commercial  sphere  ;  and  a  very  ample  service  is  now 
being  given  by  sympathetic  and  extended  notices  of  such  auxiliary 
forces  as  the  anti^foot-binding  and  anti-opium  societies,  which  are 
powerful  aids  to  the  direct  work  of  the  church  of  Christ  in  China, 
Such  help  on  the  part  of  the  press  is  both  au  encouragement  and  a 
prophecy. 

In  our  estimate  of  the  history  now  making  we  stand  too  near  to 
judge  proportionately.  Our  blame  is  too  harsh  and  often  misplaced  ; 
our  praise  too  ferveat  and  often  ill  directed.  We  mistake  instru- 
ments for  agents  and  means  for  ends,  but  there  are  some  salient 
features  that  cannot  be  mistaken. 

The  conflict  of  Christianity  with   the  aggregation  of  opposing 
forces,  such  as  we  find  in  China,  is  but  a  repetition  on  a  differeut  stage 


826  THE    CHINESE    RECOKDER.  [July, 

of  the  battle  fought  out  between  the  Roman  Caesars  and  theit* 
empire  and  the  new  and  aggressive  faith  of  "one  Jesus";  and  the 
issue  will  also  not  fail  of  being  repeated. 

The  world-power  thus  embraces  every  form  of  opposition  arising 
among  both  officials  and  people — the  blind  antagonism  to  the  good, 
because  it  comes  from  an  outside  source. 

To  the  Chinese  mind  the  term  Christianity  connotes  everything 
of  foreign  origin  that  is  seeking  to   influence  and   modify  Chinese/ 
character  and  institutions.     Discrimination  is  not  yet  a  part  of  the 
Chinese  mental  habit  towards  things  that  are  foreign. 

From  a  certain  point  of  view  this  grouping  of  Westerners  into 
one  whole  is  the  correct  one.  Every  man  does  stand  second  to  his 
fellow-man  in  the  concrete  interests  of  the  foreign  community  in  a 
strange  land. 

Thus  the  question  of  the  Church  becomes  the  concern  of  the 
nations;  and  those  who  come  at  first  with  the  single  object  of  doing 
a  spiritual  work  for  other  worlds,  recruiting  for  the  kingdom  of  God, 
find  a  window  opened  into  the  affairs  of  this  life  in  a  wider  and  more 
potent  sense  than  they  ever  imagined. 

A  village  clique,  encouraged  by  truculent  officials,  kill  an  un- 
offending Scotch  laddie  down  in  Kuei-chow.  The  mission  learns 
of  it,  deplores  it,  prays  for  the  stricken  relatives,  grieves  over  the 
loss  to  its  work,  and  resolves  to  supply  the  worker's  place  as  soon  as 
possible. 

But  other  phases  of  the  crime  lie  outside  the  control  of  the  mis- 
sion iind  rightly  so.  The  case  becomes  a  diplomatic  one,  and  is 
carried  up  to  Peking.  The  murderous  shouts  and  the  clash  of  knives 
on  that  lonely  Kuei-chow  road  are  heard  in  London,  are  echoed 
back   to  Peking,  and  finally  made  the  basis  of  certain  demands. 

It  is  this  composite  relation  that  Christianity  in  the  person  of 
its  agents  sustains  to  the  wider  questions  of  the  day,  that  brings  it 
so  often  into  conflict  with  the  world-power. 

Christianity  is  thus  seen  to  be  ampler  than  the  circle  of  any 
church  or  indeed  of  all  the  churches,  and  comprises  every  form  of 
influence  that  is  being  wielded  against  the  exclusiveness  and  bigoted 
self-complacency  of  the  Chinese  system  perpetuated  in  the  line  of  its 
teaching  and  tradition. 

To  the  Chinese  people  these  aggressive  Western  forces  will,  in 
a  large  measure,  be  interpreted  and  exemplified  in  the  character  and 
work  of  missions.  For  this  reason  the  mission  circle  has  often  been 
assailed  from  both  sides,  and  always  through  a  clouded  apprehensiou 
spurred  on  by  a  ti.uch  of  malice  from  baser  minds. 

The  man  who  watches  the  Chinese  from  the  outside,  as  a  physi- 
cian does  a  '  case '  where  the  analytic  faculty  is  stronger  than  the 


1900.]  CHRISTIANITY   AND  THE  WORLD-POWER   IN   CHINA.  327 

sympatlietic  nerves,  may  reasonably  conclude  that  Christian  work  for 
"such  a  people"  is  eirlier  needless  or  hopeless;  while  the  Chinese 
look  upon  "  the  foreign  teacher  "  as  one  of  the  invading  host — the 
vanf][uard  indeed,  with  tjelfish  designs  masked  behind  a  benevolent 
mission. 

Leaving  the  case  of  the  foreign  criticism  on  missions  as 
beyond  our  present  scope,  a  certain  line  of  defence  might  be  urged 
for  the  position  of  the  intelligent  Ciiinese  if  a  correct  motive  were 
discoverable  among  them.  If  indeed  one  could  suppose  that  the 
Chinese  opposition  to  Christianity  arises  from  an  enlightened 
appreciation  of  the  ultimate  result  of  that  work  then  his  position 
would  command  respect. 

The  natural  result  of  the  impact  of  Christian  forces  upon  an 
age-worn  and  idolatrous  system  has  so  far  been  to  supplant  the  older 
order  by  introducing  a  new  one. 

True  as  it  is  of  the  individual  experience  that  in  its  contact  with 
the  ever-living  Christ  "  old  things  pass  away  and  all  things  become 
new",  the  same  law  is  just  as  true  and  radical  when  applied  to 
nations.  Nay,  indeed,  working  throuoh  the  individual  change  in 
both  character  and  aspiiation  the  national  change  is  inevitable.  In 
this  change  the  doom  of  the  old  order  is  involved. 

If  among  the  Chinese  student  and  oflEicial  classes  this  issue  were 
clearly  understood  and  their  opposition  based  on  their  understanding, 
the  national  and  stubborn  repugnance  expressed  towards  all  the 
agents  of  the  impending  change  would  be  rational  and  from  some 
points  even  commendable.  But  we  fail  to  find  any  widespread 
indication  of  such  understanding. 

To  appreciate  the  present  attitude  of  enmity  on  their  part  one 
must  take  account  of  the  Chinese  character. 

By  heredity,  education,  and  interest  the  people  are  strongly 
utilitarian  and  opportunist.  In  this  they  are  admirably  coached 
by  the  scholars  and  officials. 

The  present,  with  its  outlook  upon 

"  The  eternal  landscape  of  the  past," 

confines  both  their  hopes  and  energies  upon  its  narrow  compass. 

To  secure  a  present  comfort  at  a  future  loss  of  happiness, 
provided  the  loss  falls  upon  another,  is  not  repugnant  to  such  a  spirit. 

The  solidarity  of  the  Chinese  people  in  relation  to  outsiders 
notwithstanding,  China  is  an  aggregation  of  units  with  all  the 
idiosyncrasies  and  weaknesses  of  a  such  a  loose  construction.  To 
expect  such  a  mass  on  altruistic  grounds  to  suffer  a  present  personal 
loss  for  the  ultimate  good  of  the  whole  is  to  court  a  disappointment. 
They  have  not  yet  learned 


328  .  THE   CHINESE  liECOlttJEB,  [July, 

'*  to  so  fot-ecast  the  years 
To  find  in  loss  a  gain  to  matchj 
And  stretch  a  hand  throtigh  tittle  to  catch 
The  far  off  interest  of  tears.*' 

Such   a  spirit  is  born,  not   made    of    casual    extracts  from   dead 
authors^  however  elegant  the  literary  finish. 

It  isj  however^  not  difficult  to  suppose  that  were  we  to  change 
places  with  the  Chinese  we  should  find  ourselves  repeating  his  acta. 
Oppose  this  Christian  advance  and  avert  the  dangers  to  the  power 
and  profit  of  our  order,  is  a  doctrine  easy  of  advocacy  when  personal 
interest  is  the  mainspring  of  action. 

Ou  the  other  hand,  the  method  of  their  opposition  has  only 
served  to  intensify  the  ardor  of  the  new  order.  To  kill  off  a  man 
here  and  there,  burn  houses,  and  harry  defenceless  men  and  women, 
is  an  edition  in  Chinese  guise  of  Mrs.  Partington's  fell  design  on  the 
Atlantic  Ocean.  A  broom  is  an  excellent  utensil,  but  not  to  control 
the  tide  with.     So  with  this  opposition. 

While  this  is  evident,  growingly  so  even  to  the  Chinese  mind, 
the  later  move,  admitting  a  foreign  hierarchy  to  official  status,  is  a 
danger  ten*fold  greater--^a  danger  not  to  the  Chinese  alone. 

The  priest  as  a  national  adviser,  and  that  priest  a  foreigner, 
may  always  be  relied  on  to  put  the  interests  of  his  church  first,  and 
in  his  conception  of  his  office  he  would  be  recreant  to  his  vows  if  he 
did  not  so  place  them. 

The  chaos  in  Chinese  councils  and  the  impotence  of  her  execu- 
tive give  the  fullest  scope  to  an  ardent  ambition  trained  to  work  for 
and  expect  the  supremacy  of  the  church* 

That  the  Chinese  world-power  should  concede  so  much  is  a  con- 
fession of  weakness  and  a  short-sighted  attempt  to  save  themselves 
the  trouble  of  dealing  with  an  ambitious  society,  careless  of  the 
dangers  this  concession  may  bring  in  the  future. 

The  Chinese  are  cornered,  and  no  one  in  a  corner  ever  made 
concession  graciously  or  took  enforced  reformation  candidly.  This  is 
but  an  evasion  of  the  difficulty,  and  such  evasion  is  an  added  trouble. 
The  great  need  on  the  part  of  Christian  forces  now,  is  time — 
adequate  time*  No  process  has  been  discovered  by  which  the 
natural  order  of  things  may  be  hurried. 

"  Leaves  haVe  their  time  to  fall, 
And  flowers  to  wither  at  the  north  wind's  breath," 

though  we  who  live  beneath  the  eaves  of  the  tropics,  may  some- 
times forget  the  fact.  And  in  this  higher  realm  time  is  needed  for 
causes  to  work  to  their  full  consummation. 

All  life  would  be  as  a  broken  mirror,  all  history  a  hopeless 
chaos,  if  such  a  change,  as  is  now  working,  could  be  produced  at  will 


1900.]  CHRISTIANITY   AND   THE    WORLD-POWER   IN   CHINA,  320 

and  at  once.     Childhood,  youth,  maturity,  are  in  the  same  relative 
position  still. 

Sow  your  seed,  and  that  which  falls  into  good  ground  will  need 
time  to  germinate  and  put  fcirth — "  first  the  blade,  then  the  ear,  then 
the  full  corn  in  the  ear."  As  you  broaden  the  scope  and  deepnu  the 
import  of  the  work  to  be  done,  so  do  you  make  a  larger  demand  upon 
time  in  order  to  a  full  issue.  The  effect  of  leaven  on  meal  is  not  a 
fortuitous  concurrence  of  lucky  chances,  but  a  well  ordered  working 
of  recognized  forces  to  a  given  end.  So  with  the  working  of  the  new 
force  in  the  heart  of  Chinese  society.  And  just  here  is  our  point 
of  greatest  solicitude.  The  present  forecast  is  that  the  necessary 
time  for  our  purpose  will  be  difficult  to  get.  On  every  side  some 
Christian   interest  is  menaced  and    some  Christian  power  involved. 

North  and  west  is  Russia,  south  is  France,  east  is  Germany, 
at  many  a  point  England  ;  and  Japan  newly  rigged  in  tl»e  habiliments 
of  a  Christian  nation  is  not  absent.  How  all  this  affects  the  spirit 
of  the  Chinese  in  power  is  not  difficult  to  conceive,  and  by  so  much 
it  adds  to  the  difficulties  of  Christian  work. 

But  the  battle  is  joined  and  the  issue  is  not  in  doubt.  Those 
who  are  solicitous  for  the  greatest  good  to  the  Chinese  people,  with 
the  minimum  amount  of  sufFerinj?  in  the  process  involved,  can  only 
work  on  hoping  for  such  freedom  of  action  and  extension  of  time  as 
shall  most  easily  conduce  to  this  end. 

Meanwhile  in  the  sphere  of  the  world-power — that  of  national 
good — some  indications  of  gain  are  already  apparent. 

In  the  first  place  is  the  genesis  of  a  national  feeling  as  opposed 
to  provincial  clannishness.  The  Chinese  mind  is  a  thing  of  shreds 
and  patches.  It  thinks  in  bits.  The  local  patois  (*  t'u  hua')  is  not 
more  characteristic  of  Chinese  speech  than  local  narrowness 
is  characteristic  of  their  feeling.  Their  very  gods  are  mainly 
provincial  ;  the  national  ones   are  imported  articles. 

Our  country  as  being  larger  than  my  province,  the  province  as 
something  more  important  than  my  district,  are  discoveries  made 
through  a  foreign  lens. 

In  the  second  place,  the  basis  of  a  true  patriotism  is  being  laid 
and  builded  on.  Patriotism  in  its  Western  sense  is  conspicuous 
here  by  its  absence.  Viewing  himself  as  one  among  many  others,  and 
not  one  of  them,  the  individual  Chinese  lacks  the  patriotic  incentive 
and  passion.  By  the  disclosure  and  impartation  of  a  common  impulse, 
living  alike  in  the  man  from  Szchuan,  Chihli,  Kwangtung,  and  else- 
where, the  basis  of  a  new  and  intelligent  patriotism  is  laid,  and  those 
who  "dwell  deep"  among  the  people  see  the  beginning  of  the 
superstructure  rising  in  obedience  to  the  Scripture  command  that 
prayer  should  be  made  for  kings  and  all  in  authority. 


330  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [Jllly, 

Ifc  was  reserved  for  Christianity  to  give  China  the  first  strains 
of  a  national  anthem;  it  is  the  work  of  Christianity  now  to  make 
that  anthem  live  in  the  hearts  of  the  people. 

As  a  further  point  may  we  not  note  the  discovery  of  their 
fellow-men  in  countries  beyond  the  sea  ?  The  old  terminology  used 
in  describing  other  peoples  is  being  modified  in  practice,  and  we  may 
hope  being  repealed  in  Chinese  thinking.  "  Under  Heaven  "  (t'iea 
hsia)  connotes  more  than  it  previously  did.  The  world  contains 
something  else  now  beside  Chinese  and  Barbarians.  There  are  other 
men  at  least,  even  though  they  be  "outside  men." 

All  this  is  a  gain  in  manifold  ways.  The  lesson  has  been  pain- 
ful, and  all  the  pain  is  not  yet  in  the  past.  New  chapters  of  ex- 
perience are  in  reserve. 

If  there  be  any  truth  in  the  assertion  that  "truth  enters  in  at 
lowly  doors"  the  height  of  some  Chinese  lintels  must  yet  be  con- 
siderably reduced  before  there  is  any  cordial  "  coming  and  going" 
between  truth  and  themselves  ;  nevertheless  an  acquaintance  has 
been  made,  and  by  careful  conduct  it  may  be  much  enlarged  in  the 
near  future. 

As  in  the  past,  the  work  has  not  been  done  by  one  section  of 
men  only,  but  all  have  had  a  share — the  wise  diplomat  and  the 
skilful  Consul,  the  publicity  of  the  journalist  and  the  just  dealing  of 
the  merchant,  combining  with  the  unwearied  manifold  labors  of  the 
educationist,  the  doctor  and  the  preacher,  have  brought  the  work 
to  its  present  point  of  achievement ;  so  the  future  holds  its  work  for 
all  in  an  ampler  measure. 

Those  who  have  the  ear  of  China's  rulers,  may  prepare  them  for 
the  change  that  must  come  ;  those  who  labor  in  lowlier  haunts  where 
the  people  flock,  may  do  much  to  undermine  the  opposition  of  th* 
world-power  there  and  inaugurate  the  reign  of  the  kingdom  of 
God. 

The  use  of  every  agency,  the  appreciation  of  every  form  of 
work,  confidence  that  begets  co-operation,  are  the  necessary  bases 
of  a  successful  contest  with  the  forces  arrayed  against  us. 

"  Go  on  with  your  work  and  be  strong, 
Halting  nob  in  your  ways, 
Balking  the  end  half  won 

For  an  instant  dole  of  praise." 

The  end  will  justify  the  work  and  crown  the  workers. 


1900.]  THE   STYLE  OF  THE   MANDARIN   BIBLE.  331 

The  Style  of  the  Mandarin  Bible. 

BY    C.    W.    M. 

fHE  Mandarin  of  the  Bible,  in  order  to  fulfil  its  purpose,  should 
be  sucli  as  can  be  readily  understood  by  nlL  wlien  heard  as 
read  aloud  by  another.  The  fundamental  distinction  between 
WSn-li  and  Mandarin  is  that  the  fornaer  is  addressed  to  the  eye, 
the  latter  to  the  car.  In  all  Protestant  churches  the  readinj^  of  the 
Scriptures  has,  from  the  first,  constituted  an  important  part  of  public 
worship.  In  order  that  this  reading  may  serve  the  purpose  intend- 
ed the  Scripture  must  be  so  translated  as  to  be  intelii«^ible  to  the 
common  people.  Only  thus  will  they  hear  it,  as  they  did  its  author, 
"gladly."  It  is  not  enough  that  those  who  "know  characters" 
should  be  able  to  read  it  intelligently,  but  rather  that  those  who  do 
not  "know  characters"  (who  in  fact  constitute  by  far  the  greater 
part  of  the  Chinese  people)  should  be  able  to  understand  it  when 
it  is  read  to  them-  Here  then  is  the  standard  to  be  aimed  at, — a 
version  that  represents  the  Chinese  language  as  it  is  spoken  and 
addresses  itself  to  the  ear  rather  than  to  the  eye. 

Just  after  the  conference  of  1890  I  asked  Dr.  Wright  what 
was  the  experience  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  in  regard 
to  the  style  of  versions  of  the  Bible.  Ho  answered  very  promptly 
and  with  some  warmth  that  high  style  had  been  the  bane  of 
translations;  that  the  universal  experience  of  the  Society  had  been 
that  first  versions  were  too  high  in  style  and  that  it  generally  took 
two  or  three  retranslations  or  revisioris  to  bring  the  Bible  within  the 
reach  of  the  common  people,  and  added  that  many  thousands  of 
pounds  had  been  wasted  in  making  trauslations  that  were  too  high 
in  style. 

The  reason  of  this  tendency  to  high  style  is  two-fold.  First,  in 
non-Christian  countries  the  knowledge  of  written  language  is,  for  the 
most  part,  confined  to  a  few,  and  there  is  connected  with  it  an  intense 
literary  pride  which  stoutly  resists  the  lowering  of  the  style  to  the 
level  of  ordinary  speech.  Such  writing  is  disdainfully  characterized 
as  vulgar.  Translators  are  generally  dependent  on  this  class  of  men 
for  assistance,  and  inclined  to  defer  to  their  ideas  of  style.  Second, 
the  translators  themselves  are  literary  men  who  have  often  paid 
much  attention  to  the  elegancies  of  style,  so  that  their  tastes  also 
incline  them  to  use  the  more  elegant  forms  found  in  books  rather 
than  the  plainer  language  of  common  life.  It  is  very  important  that 
the  forthcoming  Mandarin  version  of  the  Bible  should  avoid  this 
great  error. 


832  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [Jnly, 

Miindfirin   is   preeminently    a    spoken    language.     Its  model  is 
the  speech  o£  the  people.     Its  style  is  not  to  be  judged  by  the  same 
standard   as   the   style   of  the  books.     Its  rhythm  is  the  rhythm  of 
speech,  not  of  writing.     To  introduce  into  it  the  style  of  books  is  to 
make  it  pedantic.     The  Chinese  have  hitherto  written  very  little  pure 
Mfindarin.     Their  so-called  Mandarin  books  nearly  all  contain  more 
or  less  of  iVen  expressions   and  style.     The  writers  of  their  novels, 
though  intending  to  write  Mandarin,  could  not  resist  the  temptation 
to  set  off  their  style  and  display   their  learning  by  the  frequent  use 
of  book    language.     Even    the    Sacred    Edict,    though    making    a 
vigorous  effort  to  be  colloquial,  is  not  real  Mandarin.     Its  simplicity 
is  afJected  and  pedantic  to  a  degree.    It  sounds  like  the  effort  of  Dr. 
Johnston   to  write  the  language  of  children.     Most  of   the  Mandarin 
found  in  Chinese  bocjks  is  like  the  English  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury,   which    was    abundantly   interlarded    with    Latin    words    and 
phrases.     His  style  was  the  best  who   could   weave  the  most  Latin 
into  his  writing.     Happily   English  presently  threw  off  this  pedantic 
aping  of    Latin  and  asserted  its  right  to  be  written  as  it  was  spoken. 
This  of  course  gave  rise  to   the  desire  and   the   effort   to   speak  in 
accordance   with   the   requirements   of   writing.     In  the  carrying  on 
of  this  process  Christian  books  and    the   English  Bible  were  largely 
instrumental.     The    same    thing    will    probably    take    place,    in    a 
measure,  in  China.    Christian  writers  will  write  Mandarin,  and  they 
will  write   it   better   than   it   has    yet   been    written,  freer  from  the 
pedantry  of  book  style    and    also    from    the    localisms   of   particular 
dialects.     It  will  gradually  come  to  be  the  language  of  letter  writing, 
of  periodical  literature  of  Christian  books,  and  of  Western  sciences. 
At    the    same    time    the   art  of    speaking    will    be   cultivated   and 
the   spoken    language    will    be    purged    by   the    dropping   of    many 
unwritable    'localisms     and    enriched     by     many    new    words     and 
phrases  from  the   books.       In    the   meantime   the   Mandarin    Bible 
should    be    made    to    forward    this    result    by   its  pure  and   simple 
colloquial  style. 

The  chief  characteristics  of  such  a  style  may  be  summed  up 
under  the  following  heads  : — • 

I.  The  uvrds  should  be  such  as  the  people  who  speak  Mandarin 
commonly  use  and  understand.  As  far  as  possible  both  book  words 
and  words  which  are  not  j^  ^y  (widely  current)  should  be  avoided. 
I  say  as  far  as  possible,  for  it  is  not  possible  entirely  to  avoid  either 
of  these  classes  of  words.  On  the  one  hand,  thoughts  and  ideas  not 
current  in  speech  will  sometimes  compel  the  use  of  words  taken  from 
the  richer  stores  of  the  book  language.  It  will  bo  necessary,  however, 
to  take  care  that  this  necessity  be  not  made  the  occasion  of  substitut- 
ing book  words  and  phrases  for  existing  Mandarin  forms,  merely 


1900.]  THE  STYLE  OP  THE  MANDARIN  BIBLE.  333 

because  from  the  literary  standpoint  they  are  considered  more 
terse  and  elegant.  The  authorized  version  of  the  English  Bible  is 
conspicuous  for  its  use  of  plain  common  Anglo-Saxon  words  rather 
than  the  more  elegant  and  grandiose  Latin  words.  There  is  in  it 
no  pedantry  or  affectation  of  style.  It  says  "a  little  while,"  not  '•  a 
brief  period;"  "lift  up  your  eyes,"  not  "elevate  your  visual  organs." 
It  says  "  belly;"  not  "  abdomen ;"  "  beware  of  dogs,"  not  "  beware  of 
the  canine  species;"  "  give  suck,"  not "  nourish  an  infant,"  etc.  Let  the 
Chinese  follow  its  example  and  use  book  words  only  where  the 
manifest  deficiency  of  the  Mandarin  compels  it.  On  the  other  hand, 
to  reject  entirely  all  words  that  are  not  absolutely  3^  fx,  would  limit 
the  range  of  the  Mandarin  quite  too  much.  For  example,  neither  IS 
nor  H  are  in  use  in  a  considerable  portion  of  Mandarin-speaking 
China,  yet  they  cannot  be  discarded,  seeing  they  are  definitely  recog- 
nized as  Mandarin  and  will  certainly  prevail  more  and  more.  It 
should  also  be  observed  that  many  words  and  phrases  not  commonly 
seen  in  books  are  nevertheless  quite  5,^  fj.  In  the  case  of  two 
words  or  phrases  of  similar  import,  which  are  widely  but  not  univers- 
ally used,  that  should  be  chosen  which  has  the  widest  prevalence 
and  conforms  most  closely  to  the  normal  use  of  the  characters.  No 
one  place  or  section  has  the  pre-eminent  right  to  determine  what  shall 
be  called  Mandarin.  The  majority  of  the  people  should  not  be 
required  to  adopt  the  term  used  by  the  minority/  unless  for  very 
special  reasons.  Vulgarisms  should  of  course  be  avoided  and  a 
certain  amount  of  dignity  preserved,  such  as  every  good  speaker 
maintains  when  he  preaches.  This  does  not  mean,  however,  that  all 
words  not  usually  found  in  Chinese  books,  or  such  as  are  written 
with  characters  which  have  come  into  use  since  Kanghi's  dictionary 
was  made,  are  to  be  tabooed  as  vulgar.  Vulgarisms,  properly 
so-called,  consist  of  tautological  or  superfluous  verbiage,  of  slovenly 
contractions,  of  witty  substitution  or  inversion  of  words,  or  of 
uncouth  forms  or  idioms  that  are  out  of  harmony  with  the  genius 
of  the  language.  Chinese  teachers  are  often  ready  to  characterize  as 
^  many  words  and  phrases  which  are  really  excellent  5J  fy 
Mandarin. 

11.  The  structure  of  the  sentences  should  conform  to  the  model  of 
the  spoken  language.  Chinese  literary  men  do  not  write  Mandarin. 
They  have  to  acquire  the  art  by  special  practice  and  train- 
ing. It  is  often  a  great  trial  to  a  Chinese  teacher  to  write  genuine 
Mandarin.  The  rythmic  flow  of  the  Wen-chang  is  his  ideal,  and  the 
moment  he  takes  up  a  pen  to  write,  his  ideas  incline  to  take  this  mould. 
It  is  what  he  has  learned,  and  he  has  learned  nothing  else.  Before 
he  can  write  Mandarin  he  has  to  adopt  a  new  standard  of  style.  This 
he  generally  does  but  slowly  and  imperfectly,  having  a  constant  ten- 


334  THE    CHINESE   RECORDER.  [Jnly, 

dency  to  revert  to  his  first  love — the  book  style,  thus  making  what  he 
vsrrites  (he  is  quite  unable  to  talk  the  same  style)  a  patchwork  that 
is  neither  the  one  thing  nor  the  other,  only  intelligible  to  the  educat- 
ed and  insufferably  pedantic.  Foreigners  are  not,  by  any  means, 
free  from  the  same  fault,  especially  those  with  decided  literary 
tastes.  A  neat  and  elegant  book  phrase,  which  seems  to  fit  the 
desired  meaning,  has  an  irresistible  attraction.  The  desire  to  use 
it  is  as  strong  as  that  of  a  gay  girl  to  put  an  ostrich  feather  in  her  hat. 

In  regard  to  the  particles  and  connectives  on  which  the  struct- 
ure turns,  the  Mandarin  has  a  good  supply  ;  nevertheless  it  ia 
sometimes  necessary  to  introduce  book  terms  to  supplement  the 
deficiencies  of  spoken  Mandarin.  This  is  especially  true  in  the 
expression  of  involved  argument  or  description.  Such  terms  as  f^ 
ifOj  M  B.'  i^  ^'  ^^^'i  though  primarily  w^n.,  will  pass  into  and 
enrich  the  Mandarin,  taking  the  place  of  its  more  cumbrous  circum- 
locutions. It  still  remains,  however,  that  Mandarin  sentences  should 
be  constructed  on  the  model  of  the  spoken  language,  using  its  particles 
and  conforming  to  its  syntax  and  rhythm. 

III.  The  style  should  be  clear  and  simple.  In  all  writing 
perspicuity  is  a  capital  excellence,  albeit  it  is  one  which  is  frequent- 
ly wanting  in  Chinese  books.  The  very  reverse  seems  often  to  be 
aimed  at.  To  make  a  thing  so  plain  that  everybody  can  under- 
stand it,  is  regarded  as  a  defect  rather  than  an  excellence.  A  special 
effort  should  be  made  to  make  the  Mandarin  of  the  Bible  plain 
and  clear.     To  secure  this,  will  require  attention  to  several  things. 

First,  the  sentences  should  be  short,  shorter  than  is  common  in 
Western  languages.  The  resources  of  Chinese  syntax  are  limited, 
and  in  order  to  perspicuity  short  sentences  are  a  necessity.  It  is 
generally  (though  not  always)  possible  to  break  up  the  long  sen- 
tences into  shorter  ones,  and  this,  when  judiciously  done,  should  not 
be  regarded  as  a  defect  in  translation  as  it  is  apt  to  be  by  those  who 
are  wanting  in  experience. 

Second,  the  order  of  the  words  and  clauses  should  have  especial 
care.  The  importance  of  this  point  is  emphasized  by  the  fact  that 
Chinese  depends  for  its  grammar  largely  on  the  order  of  the  words 
and  clauses.  A  transposition  of  the  original  order  will  often  be 
required,  and  this  should  be  regarded  as  a  perfectly  legitimate  course 
of  translation  into  Chinese.  That  is  a  poor  translation  which  sacrifices 
clearness  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  original  order.  The 
meaning,  clearly  and  accurately  expressed,  is  what  is  required.  The 
mere  order  of  the  clauses  is  secondary.  A  literal  adherence  to  the 
very  form  and  words  of  the  original,  though  in  itself  a  desirable 
thing,  is  not  by  any  means  so  important  as  it  is  to  convey  the 
meaning  in  perspicuous  and  idiomatic  Chinese. 


1900.]  THE  STYLE  OP  THE  MANDARIN  BIBLE.  335 

Third,  clearness  depends  very  much  on  the  judicious  use  of 
connective  particles.  The  Peking  version  is  distinctly  defective  in 
this  respect.  It  discards  Greek  connectives  by  the  wholesale. 
Chinese  teachers  have  several  tiroes  said  to  me  that  the  Mandaria 
New  Testament  reads  like  a  disjointed  collection  of  odds  and  ends, 
and  that  to  pat  them  properly  together  required  no  small  study  and 
previous  knowledge  of  the  subject.  Mandarin  particles  are  all 
important  to  a  clear  and  easy  style,  and  their  skilful  use  generally 
gauges  the  quality  of  the  Mandarin  which  a  man  speaks  or  writes. 

A  fourth  point  is  that  each  sentence  should  be  so  constructed  as 
to  indicate  to  the  reader  the  turn  the  thought  is  going  to  take. 
Only  in  this  way  is  the  reader  able  to  give  the  correct  accent  and 
intonation.  That  is  a  badly  constructed  sentence  in  which  the 
reader  is  brout^ht  up  midway  by  an  unexpected  turn  in  the  con- 
struction, so  that  to  read  the  sentence  properly  he  is  compelled  to 
go  back  and  begin  again.  It  is  generally  quite  possible  to  avoid 
snch  faulty  constructions  by  the  wise  use  of  suitable  particles  and 
the  careful  arrangement  of  the  clauses. 

IV".  The  style  should  be  truly  Chinese.  lb  often  happens 
that  Mandarin  written  by  or  under  the  supervision  of  foreign- 
ers has,  both  in  its  words  and  idioms,  more  or  less  of  a  foreign 
savor.  It  is  not  true  to  the  Chinese  model.  This  is  a  defect, 
of  which  there  is  great  danger  in  a  translation  made  by  foreign- 
ers into  Chinese.  It  shows  the  need  of  having  translators  to 
whom  the  use  of  the  Chinese  language  has  become  a  second  nature 
and  points  to  the  necessity  of  giving  to  competent  Chinese  assistants 
a  controlling  voice  in  settling  the  idiomatic  use  of  words  and  phrases. 
It  is  not  enough  that  a  certain  word  or  phrase  means  the  right  thing 
as  defined  in  the  dictionary.  It  is  equally  important  that  the  usage 
which  it  has  established  for  itself  be  not  violated.  The  ideal  style 
is  that  in  which  the  Chinese  reader  does  not  realize  that  what  he  is 
reading  is  the  work  of  a  foreigner.  It  is  more  difficult  of  course  to 
attain  this  ideal  in  a  translation  than  in  an  original  composition. 
There  is  danger  also  that  the  desire  to  give  a  perfectly  literal  and 
accurate  translation  will  lead  the  translator  to  say  things  in  a  style 
that  savors  rather  of  Greek  or  English  than  of  Cliinese.  That,  how- 
ever, is  a  false  standard  of  translation  which  supposes  it  necessary  to 
sacrifice  the  idiomatic  forms  of  the  Chinese  language  in  order  to 
express  the  ideas  of  the  Bible.  Any  translator  who  does  this,  either 
consciously  or  otherwise,  shows  himself  unfit  for  the  work  he  has 
undertaken.  The  one  exception  to  the  general  principle  is  in  the 
case  of  special  forms  of  speech  expressive  of  new  ideas  which  are 
peculiar  to  Christianity,  such  for  example  as  the  terms  grace, 
justification^  etc.,  or  the  phrases  in  Christ,  horn  of  the  S2)irit,  etc.   The 


S36  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Jnlv, 

most  conspicuous  defect  of  the  new  English  version  is  its  unnecessary 
conformity  to  Greek  idioms  at  the  expense  of  perspicuity  as  well  as 
elegance.  This  fault  of  using  Greek  idioms  is  apt  to  be  much  greater 
in  Chinese  than  in  English,  seeing  the  idioms  of  Greek  are  so  much 
more  widely  removed  from  Chinese  than  they  are  from  English. 

The  above  poi  nts,  though  not  exhaustive,  embrace  the  most 
important  ideas  in  an  ideal  style  for  the  Mandarin  Bible.  The  perfect 
attainment  of  such  a  style  is  too  much  to  demand  of  any  company 
of  fallible  translators.  Neverthless  it  is  very  important,  in  order  to 
the  highest  excellence,  to  have  a  correct  ideal.  My  object  in  writing 
this  paper  is  to  forward  such  an  attainment  by  holding  up  the  ideal, 
both  to  translators  and  to  those  who  shall  after  judge  of  their 
performance. 


The  Rationale  of  Revivals. 

BY  REV.  WM.  ARTHUR  CORNABY. 

fHE  word  revival  has  been  in  the  mouths  and  in  the  prayers  of 
the  God-fearing  ever  since  the  days  of  Habakkuk  the  prophet. 
It  is  used  to-day  by  Protestant  Christians  of  all  kinds, 
perhaps  by  Roman  Catholics.  It  fits  the  month  of  one  to  whose 
valuable  booklets  many  of  us  owe  so  much — Rev.  H.  G.  C.  Monle — 
as  well  as  of  Hallelnjah  lasses  in  the  Salvation  Army,  or  of  on- 
denominational  workers  in  the  mission  field  everywhere. 

As  Christians  we  are  apt  to  define  and  partly  explain  the  term 
by  that  other  term  pentecost.  A  pentecostal  movement  is  always 
a  revival  movement,  and  it  is  assumed  that  every  Christian  revival 
is  pentecostal. 

In  an  inquiry  into  its  rationale,  then,  we  may  best  endeavour  to 
analyze  the  general  term  pentecost.  What  was,  what  is  pentecost? 
Is  it  not  a  divine  response  to  united  receptivity  ? 

There  is  a  union  of  persons  in  the  God-head ;  the  final  destiny 
of  the  chnrch  is  to  be  the  unified  "  Bride  of  the  Lamb,"— of  the 
Lamb,  as  our  Lord  is  God  manifest  on  earth  in  a  human  life  and 
retaining  ever  a  human  personality,  though  fully  identified  with 
God.  The  bride  of  God  will  be,  as  far  as  is  possible,  one  after  His 
image  and  likeness — a  unit  composed  of  various  personalities.  And 
whenever  those  conditions  are  fulfilled,  whenever  (shall  we  say  ?) 
there  is  the  formation  of  the  Bride  in  molecule,  nothing  can  stop 
the  divine  incoming.  It  is  no  question  of  times  and  seasons.  There 
is  a  divine  necessity  in  the  matter.  It  lies  in  the  direction  of  ever- 
abiding  law  (^), 


1900.]  THE  RATIONALE  OF  REVIVALS.  337 

By  the  formation  of  the  Bride  in  molecule  I  mean  the 
"gathering  together  of  two  or  three,"  thongh  perhaps  a  thousand 
miles  apart,  for  geographical  distance  counts  little  "in  the  name  of 
Jesus" — that  hieroglyph  for  love  embodied  in  a  human  heart  and 
life  by  the  personal  Spirit  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Such  a  human  home 
for  the  divine  cannot  remain  unfilled.  Behold  the  Bridegroom 
cometh.     God  enters  and  fills  the  multiple  heart. 

Even  the  Jewish  scribes  saw  this  in  their  visions  afar.  Rabbi 
Chananiah  ben  Thradyon  said :  "  Two  that  sit  together  and  are 
occupied  in  words  of  Thorah,  have  the  shekinah  among  them  ; " 
a  deduction  from  Maluchi  iv.  16-17.  And  "  where  there  are  three 
there  is  the  church"  (Ubi  tres,  ibi  Ecclesia),  was  a  saying  of  the 
Christian  fathers.  And  to  come  to  the  latest  normal  revival  in 
England,  where  ministers  and  people  of  about  fifty  congregationa 
in  a  certain  district,  have  banded  themselves  together  to  invite  the 
presence  and  energy  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  a  writer  of  a  letter  to  the  little 
paper  started  to  assist  the  movement,  says :  "  We  have  learned  to 
claim  the  promise,  '  Where  two  of  you  shall  agree  on  earth  as 
touching  anything  that  they  shall  ask,  it  shall  be  done  for  them  of  my 
Father  which  is  in  heaven;'  words  which,  as  I  need  not  remind  you, 
immediately  precede  the  promise-law  with  regard  to  the  '  two  or 
three '  and  which  immediately  follow  the  promise-law  with  regard 
to  *  binding  and  loosing.'  " 

Has  there  ever  been  a  revival  and  "  two  or  three  "  not  been 
the  basis  of  it  ?  Has  there  ever  been  a  church  and  "  two  or  three  " 
not  been  the  nucleus  or  molecule  of  it  ? 

On  the  latter  point,  it  is  not  forgotten  that  in  this  same  passage 
our  Lord  uses  the  word  "  church "  in  an  apparently  wider  sense. 
But  may  not  His  words  concerning  "  two  agreeing,"  concerning 
"  two  or  three  met  in  His  name,"  be  indeed  His  definition  of  the 
church  in  essence  ?  May  not  the  term  church  belong  to  larger 
bodies  just  so  far  as  they  resemble  the  twos  and  threes  with  Him  in 
their  midst  P  May  not  the  term  mission,  based  on  the  formation  of 
the  church,  the  mission  to  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations  (only  after 
Pentecostal  relations  had  been  established),  belong  to  a  body  of  men 
and  women  just  so  far  as  they  resemble  the  twos  and  threes  which 
are  one  in  heart,  with  God  (love)  filling  the  multiple  heart  ?  May 
not  some  other  applications  of  the  terms  church  and  Tnission  be 
mere  matters  of  earthly  convenience  like  the  sign-boards  of  China, 
where  we  may  have  a  "  united  benevolence  "  benevolent  institution, 
a  "  united  benevolence  "  drug-shop,  and  a  "  united  benevolence " 
opium  shop  ? 

Our  Lord's  final  words  to  His  disciples  might  be  rendered,  "  Go 
not,  attempt  not  to  make  disciples  either  in  your  native  laud  or 


338  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER,  [Jnly, 

among  the  nations  until  you  form  a  unity  with  each  other  and  with 
God,  like  unto  that  I  meant  when  I  spoke  of  two  or  three 
gathered  together  in  my  name." 

His  task  was  indeed  no  easy  one.  There  is  a  proverbial 
diflSculty  io  finding  two  whose  hearts  are  fused  in  one  unless  they 
be  a  pair  of  betrothed  Christian  lovers.  And  to  get  eleven,  or  a 
hundred  and  twenty  into  that  condition  of  united  receptivity  for  the 
Holy  One,  was  indeed  a  problem.  Yet  there  was  to  be  no  going 
forth  and  making  disciples  of  the  nations  till  that  problem  was 
practically  solved.  Our  Lord's  words  are  most  definite.  And  do 
they  not  abide  for  ever  ?  Is  there,  can  there  be  any  present-day 
mission  upon  earth,  apart  from  a  present-day  pentecostal  union  of 
human  hearts  one  with  another  and  with  the  Lord  ?  Is  not  this 
condition  a  perpetual  law  or  rationale,  or  raison  d'etre  of  both 
church  and  mission  alike  ?  Is  not  all  else  comparable  to  sign- 
board euphemisms  ? 

As  "  children  of  Abraham  "  and  "  sons  of  the  prophets "  we 
must  be  partakers  of  the  spirit  of  our  "  ancestors  "  in  order  to  be 
their  spiritual  descendants.  And  so  we  may  study  the  process  by 
which  they  were  made  recipients  of  the  commission  to  make 
disciples  of  all  the  nations.  If  that  commission  involved  a  pre- 
paratory process  in  their  case  we  are  exalting  ourselves  above  the 
apostles  if  we  imagine  that  it  does  not  in  ours. 

To  refer  to  their  history  we  find  that  the  eleven,  though  prone 
to  mutual  jealousies  and  disagreements,  were  shaken  and  stirred  by 
the  strongest  possible  common  emotions  (following  the  crucifixion 
and  resurrection)  and  were  all  reduced  (or  rather  raised)  to  a  state 
of  humility,  the  only  state  which  God  considers  a  workable  condi- 
tion of  heart  for  either  the  process  of  conversion  or  sanctification,  or 
united  receptivity  for  aggressive  work  around  or  afar.  Then,-  filled 
.as  they  were  with  humility,  with  common  sympathy,  exposed  to 
common  dangers  from  the  enemies  of  Christ  and  the  recipients  of  a 
common  command,  they  were  subjected  to  the  unifying  influences  of 
ten  days  of  united  prayer.  Their  hearts  approached,  then  finally 
touched  and  fused  in  one.  The  church  was  formed.  God  rushed 
in.     The  world  was  shaken. 

All  this,  let  us  remind  ourselves  again,  belongs  not  to  certain 
times  and  epochs,  but  rather  to  the  region  of  eternal  law  (^),  a 
law  at  the  basis  of  the  gospel  commandments  of  love  to  God  and 
to  one  another,  a  law  toward  which  the  whole  revelation  points, 
the  law  of  the  church's  present  and  final  destiny  as  the  bride  of 
the  Lord  God  Almighty,  through  His  Son  Jesus  Christ  by  the 
operation  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  I  say  present  destiny,  for  the  birth 
of  the  church  being  on  that  wise,  and  the  final  state  of  the  church 


1900.]  THE   RATIONAL*   OF  KEVIVAL8.  339 

triumphant  also  on  that  wise,  we  can  imagine  no  contradiction  of 
the  law  in  regard  to  the  chnrch  militant  here  on  earth. 

This  being  the  rationale  of  church  and  mission,  whether  we 
confess  to  the  sin  of  not  having  preserved  an  ontward  and  visible 
nnity  or  not,  it  follows  that  we  must  lay  these  first  principles  at 
heart*  and  strive  in  prayerful  love  to  form  a  "  two  or  three  "  band 
among  our  personal  friends  in  Christ  Jesns.  And  I  think  it  will  be 
found  that  denominations  count  nothing  in  this  task,  that  probably 
"  a  Baptist  and  a  Methodist  and  an  Episcopalian  "  may  sometimes 
form  quite  as  real  a  heart-combination  as  two  or  three  folks  in  the 
same  "chnrch"  or  "mission,"  that  heart-barriers  are  not  de- 
nominational ones,  that  were  two  incompatibles  in  contrasting 
"churches"  to  join  the  same  "church"  it  would  hardly  affect  the 
matter  one  whit.  And  that,  as  incompatibles  are,  happily,  so 
comparatively  few  the  way  is  open  for  the  formation  of  the  "  two 
or  three"  church  molecules  everywhere. 

Where  there  are  these  "  two  or  three "  there  must  be  the 
shekinah,  there  must  be  pentecost,  there  must  be  revival.  As  we 
are  not  warranted  to  regard  church  and  mission  apart  from 
pentecost  so,  thank  God,  we  need  never  contemplate  an  actual 
church  or  mission  which  shall  not  be  flooded  with  revival  power 
divine. 

And  now  if  the  above  conclusions  be  warranted  (and  wherever 
the  above  conditions  have  been  Tnet  there  has  been  a  revival)  we 
may  see  why  Satan's  efforts  are  directed  toward  keeping  us  in  a 
state  of  isolated  units.  He  does  not  tempt  ns  toward  grosser  sins 
much,  but  to  little  jealousies,  little  uncharities,  to  what  has  been 
called  stand-off-ishness,  till,  as  Browning  has  it, 

Nothings  become  something  which  quietly  closes 
Heaven's  earnest  eye. 

May  we  catch  heaven's  earnestness,  the  earnestness  of  our 
dying,  risen,  ascended  Lord,  do  away  with  our  "  nothings,"  combine 
wherever  combination  is  possible,  making  it  our  most  constant 
effort  to  gain  and  to  keep  the  unity  of  the  Spirit  in  the  bond  of 
peace,  drawing  nearer  and  nearer  to  each  other  and  the  Lord,  giving 
ourselves  more  to  instant  demanding  and  constant  communion  with 
the  Holy  One,  thus  securing  a  perpetual  pentecost  and  a  continuous 
revival  of  the  work  of  our  Fellow- Worker — God. 


*  Says  the  Archbishop  of  Armagh  (Bampton  Lectures,  1876,  p.  185)  :  "  We  pro- 
nounce ourselves,  we  vaunt  ourselves  to  be  sectarians.  We  Baptists  are  Baptist) 
we  Methodists  are  Methodist,  we  Episcopalians  Episcopal,  sectarians," 


340  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [July, 

Bible  Societies  and  Colportage. 

BY  EEV.    W.   REMFRY  HUNT. 

fHERE  is  a  whole  volume  of  truth  embodied  in  a  statement 
made  by  one  of  the  speakers  at  the  seventh  Conference  of 
Foreign  Mission  Boards  and  Societies,  held  in  New  York  city 
a  year  since.  After  enumerating  some  of  the  excellent  suggestions, 
criticisms,  testimony,  and  much  et  cetera  of  the  Conference  and  its 
reports,  the  Rev.  J.  Fox  said  :  '*  The  difficulty  is  that  missions  is 
not  yet  a  finished  science."  As  long  as  missions  live,  and  they 
live  only  as  they  grow,  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  questions 
which  arise  in  the  varied  departments  of  missionary  knowledge  and 
activity,  will  have  to  be  weighed  and  decided  with  reference  to 
the  principle  which  underlies  it.  The  work,  therefore,  of  the  publish- 
ing and  circulation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  must,  along  these  lines, 
ever  occupy  a  pre-eminent  place  in  the  means  employed  in  the 
evangelization  of  China. 

That  missions  are  growing  in  experience  and  advancing  in 
nnity  of  purpose  in  respect  to  the  essential  aim  of  discipling  the 
nations,  is  at  once  encouraging  to  the  mission  boards  and  a  source 
of  inspiration  to  the  home  churches.  There  is  a  menace,  however, 
that  the  primary  means  to  evangelization,  as  '  furnished '  by  that 
branch  of  missionary  work  known  as  "  Bible  Society  "  work — though 
it  supplies  the  seed-life  which  is  scattered  broadcast  over  the  great 
mission  fields — should  be  relegated  to  a  secondary  place  in  the 
science  of  missions.  It  is  the  fascinating  spell  of  the  new  regime 
of  civilization  and  the  consequent  temptation  to  magnify  the 
material  and  minimize  the  spiritual  which  is  placing  on  the  throne 
of  learning  other  than  the  sacred  chart  and  compass  of  our 
commission. 

The  value  of  the  services  which  the  Bible  Societies  have  rendered 
to  the  whole  realm  of  missionary  enterprize  is  also  incalculable. 
Indeed  it  is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  translation,  revision, 
publishing,  and  circulation  of  the  Scriptures  aid  the  vital 
action  and  articulates  the  fundamental  principle  of  all  evangelistic 
effort.  It  is  the  business  of  the  Bible  Societies  to  serve  in  this 
realm.  Considering  then  the  paramount  urgency  of  Bible  Society 
work  in  all  its  varied  departments,  it  behoves  the  missions  not  only 
to  assume  a  right  attitude  towards  these  societies,  but  also  to  aid 


1900.]  BlULE   SOCIETIES  AND  COLPORTAGE.  341 

them  in  spirit  and  purpose  in  tlieir  far-reaching  and  wide-range 
sowing  of  the  precious  seed  of  the  kingdom. 

In  a  careful  survey  of  the  history  and  action  of  Bible  transla- 
tion in  China  (though  comparatively  recent)  the  student  is  amazed 
to  find  the  field  already  so  richly  monumental  in  its  witness  to  the 
devotion  of  its  scholars,  the  erudition  of  its  authors,  and  the 
persistency  of  its  consecration  to  the  huge  work  of  giving  to 
the  Chinese  in  their  own  vernacular  the  revelation  of  God  to 
mankind. 

From  the  earliest  days  of  Chinese  Bible  translation,  when 
from  the  press  at  Serampore  in  India  in  1820  the  first  complete 
Chinese  Bible  was  issued,  and  passing  on  to  the  lavished  labours 
in  revisions,  emendations,  and  adaptations  of  Morrison,  Marsh  man, 
Bridgeman,  Milne,  Medhurst,  Gutzlaff,  and  the  Delegates'  Version, 
the  successive  progress  and  faithful  services  rendered  are  truly 
worthy  of  the  great  end  and  aims  of  the  leading  societies.  In  their 
endeavors  to  make  the  Bible  a  household  book  in  the  homes  of  the 
densely  populated  cities  of  China  the  Societies  are  accommodating 
themselves  to  this  purpose  in  the  use  of  notes,  references,  and  aids 
to  the  understanding  of  the  Scriptures,  and  are  thus  serving  the 
united  interests  of  missionary  work  in  making  Biblical  teaching  the 
basis  of  the  conversion  of  the  nation. 

There  is  no  claim  laid  down  that  the  Bible  Societies  have  done 
all.  Nor  has  the  missionary  body  any  intimation  of  their  retire- 
ment. The  vast  machinery  and  plant  is  ever  active.  In  regard 
to  the  versions  already  submitted  and  issued  there  has  always  been 
eqnanimity.  The  relationship  of  the  Societies  to  the  missionary 
body  is  that  of  an  anxiliary  working  for  and  in  concert  with  them. 
They  serve  the  missionaries  and  conserve  the  truth,  while  each  in 
their  own  sphere  of  action  serves  the  Lord  Christ. 

While  the  Bible  Societies,  therefore,  are  testing  methods, 
weighing  opinions,  considering  plans,  and  gathering  np  information 
they  are  also  adjusting  ideas  to  new  applications,  and  in  so  doing 
are  provino  the  reasonableness  of  their  existence  and  their  fitness 
to  supply  the  needs  of  the  times.  In  the  straight  line  of  this  intent 
is  also  their  ready  and  careful  appropriation  of  the  ripest  and  latest 
scholarship  and  most  recent  discovery  in  fields  of  Biblical  research 
and  that  with  a  view  to  befit  the  same  to  the  native  culture. 
Meantime  it  is  encouraging  to  know  that  the  sacred  page  is  filter- 
ing through  the  empire,  securing  attention  and  arousing  inquiry 
in  the  minds  of  the  already  awakened  Chinese. 

The  business  of  Bible  distribution  is  per  se  universally  acknowl- 
edged  in  its  methods  and  results  to  be  one  of  supreme  importance. 
There  are  no  longer  barriers,  in  the  way  of  closed  provinces.     The 


342  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [Jnly, 

facilities  for  travel  are  rapidly  improvinjr.  Hostility  is  giviug  place 
to  an  acquiescent  toleration,  and  both  officials  and  people  are  more 
thao  ever  before  ready  to  consider  the  real  meaning  of  the  mission- 
ary propaganda.  In  the  light  of  these  facts,  and  with  the  increased 
responsibilities  which  come  with  the  wider  range  of  opportunities, 
the  cause  demands  increasingly  the  culture,  consecration,  and  com- 
mon sense  of  its  native  agents. 

Experience  teaches  that  colporteurs,  not  less  than  mission 
station  evangelists,  should  be  trained  men.  It  should  be  a  strong 
argument  that  Christian  warfare  must  not  yield  the  scientific 
strategy  over  to  carnal  battle  fields.  The  colporteurs  are  the  out- 
posts of  the  new  evangel.  Their  itinerary  is  skirmishing,  mapping 
out  the  field,  picket  work,  and  often  they  are  the  very  sentinels 
communicating  news  of  the  enemy's  position,  strength,  and 
plans. 

Experience  also  urges  that  no  novice  should  be  appointed  to 
this  work.  Often  more  than  the  foreign  missionary  he  is  called 
npon  to  explain  and  defend  the  doctrines  and  facts  contained  in  the 
Scriptures.  Should  he,  by  lack  of  training,  or  want  of  natural  ability 
or  spiritual  insight,  be  unable  to  do  this,  he  is  liable  to  be  put 
to  shame,  and  the  cause  is  thereby  misunderstood  and  often  serious- 
ly misrepresented.  Admitting  that  the  colporteur  is  often  accom- 
panied by  the  missionary  and  the  risks  above  referred  to  sometimes 
avoided,  still  it  is  true  that  nine-tenths  of  this  work  is  done  either 
alone,  or  in  partnership  with  a  yoke-fellow  often  even  less  experi- 
enced tban  himself. 

'J'here  is,  moreover,  along  the  present  lines  of  colportage  work 
much  that  is  hazardous  in  the  general  distribution  of  Scriptures 
and  disbursement  of  funds  to  the  native  agents.  It  is  along  these 
lines  that  the  greatest  care  and  discrimination  is  required.  More 
especially  is  the  peril  magnified  when  the  colporteurs  are  (be  it 
de[)loied)  new  converts.  The  demand  for  large  sales,  the  eagerness 
to  present  a  good  report,  the  temptation  to  "  give  away  "  Scriptures 
and  portions,  especially  in  cases  where  books  sold  count  on  the 
blanks  supplied  as  travelling  expenses,  are  all  perils.  While  the 
wisest  discretion  is  demanded,  the  most  liberal  allowances  should 
also  be  made  ;  for  surely  no  other  department  calls  for  more  guid- 
ance and  prayerful  sympathy  with  its  workers  than  does  the  arduous 
work  of  the  "«ia<  shu  till." 

This  special  department,  like  all  other  departments,  calls  for 
the  work  to  be  done  by  the  natives  in  direct  touch  with,  and  under 
the  personal  oversight  of,  the  foreign  missionary.  Always  sent  out 
two  and  two,  the  men  should  work  the  cities,  towns,  villages,  and 
hamlets    systematically.      The  consequent  larger   sales    and    the 


1900.]  BIBLE  SOCIETIES   AND  OOLPORTAQE.  343 

spiritual  eoconragement  given  to  the  men  by  the  foreign  mis-^iouary 
will  he  due  comi)en.sat,ion  in  the  euconriigemeut  thus  afforded.  By 
this  means,  also,  the  opportunity  will  be  presented  to  the  mission- 
ary to  expound  the  Scriptures  to  those  who  "  look  and  yet  see  not" 
and  "  hear  and  yet  do  not  understand,"  and  also  give  him  at  once 
the  means  of  estimating  the  real  value  and  character  of  this  es- 
sentially preparatory  work. 

More  than  anything  else  the  evangelistic  character  of  col  portage 
work  should  be  a  convincing  argument  in  favor  of  each  mixmon 
station  having  its  colportage  work.  This  can  always  be  worked 
under  the  superintendence  of  one  of  the  leading  Bible  Societies. 
Not  only  would  it  strengthen  the  station  itself,  but  it  would  extend 
its  iuflnence  and  enlarge  its  borders.  Instances  may  be  cited 
where  churches  have  been  founded,  distant  regions  opened,  cities 
evangelized,  individuals  led  to  Christ,  often  through  the  reading  of 
a  gospel  portion  left  by  some  earnest,  hard-working  colporteur,  who 
became  almost  disconsolate  because  no  results  seemed  to  accrue  to 
his  arduous  ministry. 

Throughout  the  whole  of  Central  China  the  provinces  have 
been  and  are  now  being  sown  broadcast  with  the  precious  seed-corn 
of  the  kingdom.  It:  is  also  encouraging  to  know  that  these 
millions  of  people,  devoted  to  learning  and  aided  by  the  wonderful 
means  of  communication  in  unity  of  language,  even  though 
bewildered  by  the  confused  mythic  meanings  of  Buddhistic,  Con- 
fucianistic,  and  Taoistic  imaginations,  are  more  ready  than  ever  to 
search  our  "  classics  "  if  haply  they  might  find  the  truth. 

In  this  as  in  all  other  non-Christian  lands,  the  best  religion 
will  come  to  the  front.  The  experience  and  work  of  missions 
demonstrate  this.  In  giving  to  the  world  a  universal  religion 
Christianity  has  supplied  a  universal  book.  In  the  presence  of  this 
Word  there  cannot  be  in  any  nation  or  among  any  people  sanction 
for  any  sectarian  coterie,  whether  the  circle  be  literary,  political, 
scientific,  or  religious.  With  the  living  commentary  of  the  illuminat- 
ing word  in  our  lives,  and  its  rightful  division  and  application  to  the 
minds  of  the  new  converts  (even  with  their  devotion  to  literature), 
there  need  be  no  danger  in  China  of  bibliolatry. 

It  is  already  evident  that  in  China  the  twilight  is  giving  place 
to  a  new  dawn.  It  is  the  entrance  of  the  word  which  has  given 
light  and  hope.  If,  in  these  early  days,  the  diffusive  rays  of  troth, 
revealing  to  millions  of  opened  minds,  forgiveness,  reconciliation,  and 
translation  into  a  new  state,  are  so  sublime,  what  shall  we  not  hope 
to  see  when  the  word  of  God,  like  the  sun  in  its  splendour,  shall 
touch  with  the  glow  of  its  glory  the  hills  and  valleys,  {)lains  and 
cities  of  the   mighty   Chinese  empire  ?       In  the   present  rarefied 


344  THE   CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Jnly, 

atmosphere  onr  observations  mast  be  accurate.  The  signs  of  the 
times  and  the  indications  for  the  future  lead  as  to  the  analogy  that, 
sure  as  the  shadow  of  the  Asian  night  was  the  prediction  and 
promise  of  a  fairer  morn,  so  certainly  do  the  creative  and 
formative  functions  of  the  divine  word  guarantee  animation  to, 
and  accelerate  the  regeneration  of,  one  of  the  greatest  nations  of 
antiquity. 


Mission  Problems  in  Manchum* 

BY  REV.  JOHN  MACINTYRE. 

fHE  work  in  Manchuria  may  be  said  to  have  begun  with  Dr. 
Williamson,  and  is  therefore  the  result  of  Bible  Society  zeal. 
From  what  I  have  heard  from  the  Doctor  himself  I  have 
always  believed  him  to  have  been  the  main  instrument  in  bringing 
Mr,  Burns  to  the  field.  And  Burns  may  be  said,  though  in  another 
sense,  to  have  brought  the  Irish  mission.  Our  own  coming  was  one 
of  those  uncalculated  and  unlocked  for  events  which  are  sometimes 
fraught  with  untold  consequences.  I  can  recall  Dr.  Williamson's 
face  and  manner  as  he  suggested  to  me  that  Mr.  Ross,  having  come 
out  married,  would  be  more  conveniently  placed  in  Newchwang 
than,  as  had  been  contemplated,  in  the  heart  of  Shantung  province, 
or  in  one  of  a  line  of  stations  stretching  from  Chefoo  to  Peking, 
which  was  then  Dr.  Williamson's  pet  ambition.  I  was  the  bearer  of 
the  suggestion  to  Mr.  Ross,  and  it  struck  me  as  remarkable  at  the 
time  that  though  he  had  only  been  a  few  weeks  with  us  in  Chefoo  he 
eagerly  embraced  the  opportunity.  He  had  already  grasped  the 
situation — Shantung  and  the  proposed  line  of  stations  able  to  be 
fully  supplied  by  powerful  societies  already  in  the  field,  and  Man- 
churia, in  the  perils  of  its  first  beginnings,  with  Dr.  Hunter,  a  new- 
comer, robbed  of  his  clerical  colleague,  Mr.  Waddell.  None  of  us 
divined  the  consequences  of  that  move  unless  Mr.  Ross  did.  Bub 
within  two  years  of  that  date  I  was  informed  by  our  home  secretary 
that  as  Ross  was  extending  in  Manchuria  and  Williamson  in  Chefoo 
I  could  not  be  allowed  to  extend  in  Wei-hsien  as  I  proposed,  and 
must  make  up  my  mind  to  join  one  or  other  of  these  brethren  to  re- 
lieve the  pressure.  I  chose  Manchuria,  as  I  objected  to  being  tied  up 
in  Chefoo,  already  oversupplied,  as  I  maintained,  alike  with  societies 
and  missionaries.  I  did  not  myself  see  then  that  this  meant  ulti- 
mately the  transference  of  the  whole  TJ.  P.  Mission  to  Manchuria. 
*  Read  before  the  Couference  of  the  Scotch  and  Irish  Mission. 


1900.]  MISSION   PROBLEMS   IN  MANCHURIA.  345 

The  two  missions  were  guided  to  the  field  by  different  paths,  bnt  I 
feel  that  on  both  sides  of  the  house  we  have  the  supreme  satisfaction 
that  the  leadership  was  of  God.  One  sees  this  in  the  spirit  of  union 
which  has  prevailed  from  the  first,  and  which  in  its  present  state  of 
perfect  consummation  stamps  the  mission  as  an  ideal  one.  One 
sees  it  in  the  methods  followed.  The  mission  began  with  the  Bible 
Society.  The  first  foreign  agents  were  distinctively  Bible  sellers. 
Then  a  third  power  was  added  to  the  field  by  the  generous  resolu- 
tiou  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  to  maintain  a  perma- 
nent foreign  agent  amongst  us.  And  one  of  our  most  heartfelt  songs 
of  praise  as  workers  this  day  is  doubtless  owing  to  this  incorporating 
union  with  us  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society.  From  the 
first  also  the  mission  has  stood  upon  the  two  elements  of  our  Lord's 
commission — the  'healing',  and  'teaching'  or  'preaching.'  There 
lias  likewise  been  a  true  conception  of  the  position  and  inflaence  of 
woman  in  the  evangelization  of  the  heathen,  and  there  also  the 
work  is  running  on  the  triple  lines  of  healing  and  preaching  and  Bible 
sale.  Indeed,  we  have  now  reached  a  period  when  the  main  work  will 
devolve  on  women,  as  the  biggest  problem  before  us  at  this  moment 
is  the  christianizing  of  our  converts  in  their  own  homes.  The  ideal, 
then,  has  been  to  let  Christ  be  seen  and  heard.  Hence  each  mission 
began  with  its  street  chapel  in  the  port,  its  street-preaching  and 
visitation  of  the  large  inns  there,  its  itinerary  journeys  along  the 
great  roads  into  the  far  interior;  always  the  Bible  in  the  hand,  always 
the  belief  that  the  spirit  accompanies  the  word  by  a  promise  which 
cannot  be  broken.  If  medicine  was  given  it  was  in  the  name  of  the 
great  healer  of  the  soul's  sickness.  If  schools  were  opened  it  was  as 
evangelizing  agencies.  And  in  this  connection  let  me  say,  nothing 
has  struck  me  so  much  in  the  history  of  this  mission  as  the  boldness 
of  the  ambition  it  has  displayed  from  the  outset  to  possess  these  three 
provinces  for  Christ.  I  speak  freely,  as  I  was  not  present  at  the  start, 
and  from  my  position  in  the  south  have  had  no  hand  in  the  recent 
movements  north  and  east  and  west  which  have  attracted  so  much 
outside  attention.  But  from  the  first  there  has  been  a  deliberate 
plan  of  campaign,  and  I  suppose  I  could  prove  from  letters  addressed 
to  me  at  Wei-hsien  that  we  have  not  made  a  move  in  these  days,  nor 
covered  a  single  district  which  was  not  included  in  the  first  rough 
draught. 

I  have  dwelt  thus  on  the  beginning  and  principle  of  the  mission, 
lest  we  should  feel  unduly  weighted  by  the  responsibilities  of  our 
present  position.  Here  are  we  a  mere  handful  of  workers  with  20,000 
converts  on  our  hands,  scattered  over  an  immense  area.  These  hnve 
made  but  a  stammering  confesdicm  of  Christ  with  promise  to  follow 
Him.     The  temptations   of   the  past  are  still  with  them,  and  the 


346  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [July, 

prompting's  of  Christian  love  to  witness  for  the  Master  are  everywhere 
held  in  check  by  an  overwlielraing  mass  of  unbelieving  and  hostile 
countrymen.  Are  we  to  be  afraid  of  our  success,  or  are  we  to  grapple 
with  it  as  the  starting  point  of  a  new  move  which  will  be  crowned 
with  the  ripe  fruits  of  the  spirit,  as  this  first  move  has  been  blessed 
by  an  enthusisatic  enlistment  (true  motives  or  false)  under  the 
banner  of  Christ?  For  this,  I  respectfully  suggest,  is  where  we 
stand  :  (1).  We  have  converted  people  among  us,  but  we  have  also  a 
vast  number  who,  in  the  words  of  James,  are  driven  by  the  wind  and 
tossed.  (2).  We  have  come,  humanly  speaking,  to  the  usual  period 
of  reaction  in  such  movements,  and  must  be  prepared  for  a  consider- 
able falling  away.  What  is  not  of  the  spirit  will  now  manifest 
itself  and  return  to  the  world,  possibly  more  friendly  to  us 
because  of  the  temporary  contact,  but  possibly  also  as  enemies 
who  will  know  our  weakness  and  be  able  to  exercise  a  very  chilling 
and  deterrent  influence  on  our  converts.  (3).  We  have  ourselves 
as  teachers  been  very  earnestly  at  school  among  this  mass  of  confess- 
ing Christians,  and  we  have  doubtless  most  of  us  formed  new  and 
perhaps  pretty  stiff  conclusions  as  to  certain  pronounced  measures 
which  must  be  taken  immediately  if  the  Spirit  of  God  is  to  continue 
His  work  and   sift   out  a  people  for  the  Saviour. 

I  suggest  therefore  the  following  queries : — 

(1).  Whether  we  are  doing  sufficient  in  the  way  of  pressing 
upon  the  members  the  duty  of  educating  their  children?  I  take  it 
for  granted  that  primary  education  is  at  a  very  low  ebb  amongst  us, 
and  will  not  be  much  affected  in  the  next  generation  by  the  sporadic 
efforts  we  are  making  through  our  village  schools.  I  know  the 
objection  our  members  have  to  sending  their  children  to  heathen 
scliools.  But  in  many  cases  it  is  a  mere  blind,  and  covers  indiffer- 
ence to  education  itself.  Besides,  it  is  time  they  were  asserting  them- 
selves in  their  villages.  I  am  prepared  to  believe  that  the  happiest 
results  would  flow  from  a  combined  effort  all  over  the  field  to  open  the 
heathen  schools  to  the  children  of  our  members.  A  not  remote 
result  would  be  the  opening  of  the  profession  to  Christian  teachers. 
And  I  am  convinced  the  backbone  of  the  church  would  be  improved 
if  we  could  thus  begin  with  the  children  and  train  them  to  meet  the 
particular  forms  of  persecution  to  which  they  will  be  exposed.  But 
I  would  not  pauperise  by  further  extension  of  foreign  grants-in-aid. 

As  regards  secondary  education  1  fear  we  are  in  danger  of 
going  back  on  earlier  promises.  It  would  be  essential  to  support 
some  adjunct  of  our  theological  hall,  as  we  could  not  without 
foreign  funds  retain  worthy  students  of  humble  means.  Such  a 
proposal  will  come  before  us,  and  it  cannot  be  too  speedily  dealt 
with  if  we  are  to  have    an    eflBcient,   ie.,   an    educated  ministry. 


1900.]  MISSION  PROBI^MS   IN   MANCHURIA.  347 

(2).  Wlietlier  we  are  sufficiently  pressing  the  duty  of  systematic 
givinn;  ?  To  some  this  query  miiy  seem  uuuecvssary.  But  I  am 
looking  at  the  danger  ahead  now  that  the  first  flush  of  enthusiasm 
is  over.  Money  and  buildint^s  have  been  thrown  at  us.  But  there 
has  been  a  certain  giff-^aff  about  that  which  our  maturer  conscieuce 
will  now  repudiHte  ;  and  we  shall  be  dependent  upon  the  Christian 
liberality  of  the  people,  the  flow  of  which  will  be  measured  by  their 
love  of  Christ,  and  that  again  by  their  amount  of  personal  contact 
with  Him.  It  is  here  especially  we  are  made  to  see  how  the  educa- 
tion of  the  years  "since  the  war,"  has  thrown  us  back  upon  Ciirist 
and  first  principles. 

(3).  Whether  we  have  done  justice  to  the  Sabbath  question? 
I  have  myself  proceeded  on  the  principle  of  development,  as 
I  believe  was  the  case  in  the  early  apostolic  church.  And  yet 
by  that  very  teaching  and  history  a  church  which  does  not  as- 
semble on  the  first  day  of  the  week  to  meet  with  its  risen  Lord,  is 
to  me  inconceivable.  If  that  meeting  should  be  in  a  shanty  in  a 
remote  village  I  hold  it  be  so  far  a  fulfilment  of  the  Christian  law.  lb 
may  be  held  secretly  for  fear  of  the  Jews,  but  it  must  be  held  so 
as  Christ  Himself  shall  see  Himself  appealed  to  on  the  ground 
of  His  gracious  promise.  I  don't  think  we  have  succeeded  suffici- 
ently in  evoking  this  feeling.  It  was  a  common  complaint  during 
the  'big  rush'  that  enquirers  made  the  best  show,  and  these 
again  attended  most  diligently  when  they  had  political  irons 
in    the  fire. 

(4).  Whether  we  have  duly  grappled  with  the  moral  defects  in 
the  character  of  our  converts  so  as  to  make  them  stand  out  in  their 
old  surroundings  as  new  creations  of  God  by  the  faith  of  His  Son  ? 
I  am  not  an  unfriendly  critic  of  the  Chinese  character.  In  my  street 
chapel  preaching  I  might  be  accused  of  overhopefulness  because  of 
the  view  I  conscientiously  hold  as  to  God's  gifts  to  this  people  and 
His  work  by  them  as  a  nation.  I  feel  as  if  I  had  unrestrained 
freedom  of  rebuke  in  my  street  preaching,  because  I  speak  for  the 
preservation  and  proper  use  of  a  great  gift  of  God.  And  yet  I 
frankly  tell  our  Christians  they  have  not,  as  far  as  1  can  see,  stood 
out  in  any  redeemit)g  way  from  the  vices  and  defects  of  character 
revealed  during  the  Japanese  war.  They  had  no  more  courHge  than 
their  countrymen,  no  more  initiative,  no  more  patriotism.  There 
was  no  leadership  in  them.  They  were  like  the  first  generation 
in  the  wilderness  without  Joshua  and  Caleb.  Nay,  they  were  every- 
where as  ready  to  exploit  the  situation  to  their  own  worldly  profit 
as  the  heathen.  It  is  a  relief  to  my  mind  to  say,  however,  that  they 
respected  the  Japanese  and  saw  their  own  highest  ideals  of  govern- 
ment realized  in  the  beneficent  rule  under  which  the  Japanese  held 


348  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [Jl^ly, 

them.  I  know  this  and  make  all  due  allowance  for  if,  but  all  the 
same  our  cotiverls  have  lost  in  character  b)'  the  war.  And  having 
seen  this  we  have  now  to  address  ourselves  to  the  grounding  of  our 
members  in  the  Christian  life,  so  that  with  or  without  such  an 
opportunity  as  that  just  lost,  the  Christian  church  may  become  the 
salvation  of  the  nation.  Perhaps  I  ought  not  to  descend  into  pettiness, 
but  the  extent  to  whicli  our  average  Christian  conforms  to  the 
heathen  standard  in  business  transactions,  even  with  his  foreign 
instructors,  and  the  amount  of  swearing  of  a  milder  sort  indulged  in 
towards    man  and   beast,    are  to   me  a   cause  of   constant   anxiety. 

(5).  Whether  we  can  make  an  advance  in  our  present  position 
as  regards  the  treatment  of  Yamen  cases?  As  I  understand  we 
have  taken  such  matters  out  of  the  hands  of  the  deacons  and  have 
put  them  under  the  sessions,  and  in  such  wise  that  there  can  be  no 
possible  contact  with  the  magistrate  in  the  name  of  the  church,  save 
through  the  foreigner.  It  is  assumed  that  we  ought  to  have  nothing 
to  do  with  the  magistrate,  save  where  there  is  some  show  of  persecu- 
tion. But  if  I  am  correct  a  concession  has  been  made  in  a  dangerous 
direction.  We  may  be  asked  to  bail  a  member  who  is  a  stranger,  or 
has  no  other  means  of  securing  bail  ;  and  this  is  in  the  name  of  the 
Bession  or  church  and  in  regard  to  purely  civil  law-suits.  It  would 
be  well  to  remove  this  source  of  misunderstanding  if  it  exists  generally 
(as  I  fear  it  does)  and  to  take  up  the  stand  for  the  native  church 
which  we  foreign  missionaries  have  unanimously  accepted  as  the 
proper   one   for   ourselves. 

(6).  Whether  we  may  be  said  to  have  touched  the  home  life 
of  the  people.  I  do  not  imply  blame  or  failure  when  I  sug- 
gest a  negative  answer.  We  have  undoubtedly,  as  a  mission, 
held  it  as  a  primary  belief  that  until  we  are  installed  in  the  homes  of 
the  people  we  have  not  gained  any  lasting  foothold  for  Christ.  But 
the  situation  is  against  us.  How  are  we  to  influence  homes  so 
scattered  ?  How  is  Christ  to  rule  in  homes  which  are  so  many 
independent  republics  where  we  have  not  a  majority  of  votes,  and 
where,  as  a  rule,  we  have  not  yet  got  the  women  on  our  side  ?  But 
there  can  be  no  true  access  to  the  homes  save  through  the  women.  It 
is  ludicrous  to  hear  some  of  the  stories  told  even  by  old  men  to  show 
the  impossibility  of  hojne  evangelization  by  men  during  the  busy 
agricultural  season.  Therefore  we  want  at  this  stage  a  whole  army 
of  Bible-women  and  home  visitors  if  we  would  have  the  women 
interested,  the  children  made  part  of  our  church  system,  and  such 
a  union  of  husband  and  wife  as  shall  make  family  worship  possible. 
Perhaps  1  am  apt  to  take  too  dark  a  view  of  the  situation;  but  my 
spirit  is  overwhelmed  within  me  as  I  think  of  the  heathenism  of  our 
average  Onristiau  homeS;  as  forced   upon  my   attention  by   intimate 


1900.]  VILLAGE  EVANGELIZATION   AND   A    NATIONAL  CHURCH.  349 

intercourse  with  them,  and  this  especially  as  regards  the  children. 
With  all  our  class  work,  therefore,  aud  college  work,  let  us  not  for- 
get the  women.  I  only  wish  we  had  ten  female  agents  for  every 
male  agent  we  have.  A  crisis  such  as  is  now  approaching, 
demands  powerful  measures,  and  I  am  sure  the  home  churches,  to 
whose  generosity  and  large-minded  Ciuistianity  we  owe  our  success 
hitherto,  will  not  fail  us  in  such  a  season.  Only  the  measures  must 
be  the  fruit  of  womanly  intuition  and  experience,  and  in  their 
practical  execution  it  must  be  women  who  shall  lead.  To  me  it  will 
mean  the  salvation  of  the  mission  in  a  crisis  of  its  history  if  the 
ladies  of  tho  mission  are  prepared  to  take  up  this  work  which  is 
here  waiting  them  and  to  organize  and  educate  and  oversee  such  a 
staff  as  shall  fill  the  homes  with  Christian  joy,  till  the  pulsations  of 
the  home  shall  be  felt  iu  every  place  of  prayer  and  in  every  Sabbath 
assembly. 


Village  Evangelization  and  a  National  Church, 

BY  REV,    ARTHUR   SOWERBY. 

tllERE  is  sometimes  a  little  danger  of  forgetting  that  "  God 
makes  haste  slowly."  What  we  would  accomplish  by  rapid 
measures  and  short  cuts  He  performs  by  a  steady  persistency 
in  that  direction,  which  may  not  commend  itself  to  our  feelings,  but 
does  to  His  judgment  It  is  well  to  remember  this  when  discussing 
our  aim — the  Christianization  of  China  and  the  methods  we  adopt 
to  attain  it. 

It  is  also  occasionally  assumed  that  the  evangelization  of  the 
country  folk  and  the  creation  of  small  churches  here,  there,  and 
everywhere,  considering  that  the  people  are  merely  villagers  and 
the  churches  often  weak  in  numbers,  with  a  somewhat  rudimentary 
Christianity,  is  a  method  of  small  value  in  bringing  the  country  as  a 
nation  to  Christ. 

It  is  true  that  by  far  the  larger  number  of  missionaries  have 
been  and  are  engaged  in  this  branch  of  the  work  ;  but  it  is  apt  to 
be  taken  for  granted  that  the  ordinary  missionary  is  a  person  of 
somewhat  limited  views,  possibly  a  little  obtuse-headed  aud  given  to 
grub  away  at  what  he  deems  his  appointed  task  with  all  the  persist- 
ency of  a  mole  and  with  scarcely  superior  powers  of  vision.  It  must 
be  admitted  that  he  is  working  low  down,  aud  often  very  much  in 
the  dark  ;  yet  he  continues  his  toilsome  aqd  difficult  labours  with 
the  conviction  that  after  all  his  work  does  not  end  with  the  few 
peasants  he  may  convert  to  Christ,  but  that  he  is  following  the 
method  most  certain  to  bring  Christ  to  China  and  Chida  to  Christ. 


350  THE   CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Julj, 

Our  veteran  missionaries  tell  us  that  during  their  life-tinae  the 
converts  to  Protestant  Christianity  have  increased  from  ten  to  one 
hundred  thousand.  Is  it  a  rash  guess  to  assume  that  a  very  large 
majority  of  these  will  be  found  in  the  village  churches?  If  this  is 
true  the  evangelistic  missionary  may  prove  to  be  a  very  useful  agent 
after  all,  and  none  the  less  so  because  his  name  is  legion  and  his 
station  ubiquity. 

Still,  although  there  are  tens  of  thousands  in  the  village 
churches,  some  incline  to  think  that  their  conversion  is  but  the 
creation  of  another  sect,  or  an  aggregation  of  sects ;  and  large 
as  the  number  may  be  from  one  aspect,  yet  it  is  so  small  compared 
with  the  vast  population  of  China  that  these  churches  cannot  touch 
the  national  life,  which  can  only  be  accomplished  if  we  can  win  such 
dignitaries  as  the  Empress-Dowager,  the  members  of  the  Grand 
Council,  and  the  alumni  of  the  Haulin  College. 

Let  us,  however,  be  sure  of  our  ground.  Will  our  goal,  the 
conversion  of  the  Chinese  people  to  Christ,  be  attained  by  the 
implanting  of  a  vigorous  Christianity  among  the  people,  the  Chinese 
government,  and  the  upper  classes  generally  remaining  unchanged  ? 
Or,  by  the  enlightenment  and  subsequent  conversion  of  China's 
rulers,  will  idolatry  disappear  among  the  masses  and  be  supplanted 
by  the  reception  of  Christian  truth  ?  Or,  may  it  not  be  in  the  divine 
plan  that  each  section  of  the  Chinese  social  life  should  be  approached, 
and  that  by  the  correlative  labours  of  different  missionaries,  work- 
ing at  the  opposite  poles  of  the  Chinese  nation,  the  end  may  be 
attained  more  securely  and  more  rapidly  ?  Surely  the  latter  position 
will  be  carried  with  acclamation  by  a  large  show  of  hands. 

We  can  then  cordially  appreciate  and  gratefully  acknowledge 
the  work  done  by  the  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Christian  and 
General  Knowledge,  and  wish  God  speed  to  the  Rev.  T.  Richard 
and  bis  able  and  devoted  colleagues,  while  we  need  not  be  disturbed 
if  for  every  missionary  engaged  in  literary  work  a  hundred  may  be 
found  plodding  amongst  the  masses.  A  few  capable  men  can 
prepare  a  larger  number  of  valuable  works  in  one  year  than  can  be 
advantageously  placed  before  the  people  in  five  ;  while  evangelistic 
work  demands  a  great  army  of  missionaries  to  knock  at  each  par- 
ticular door  and  convert  each  individual  heart.  A  little  adjustment 
and  some  slight  correction  of  proportions  may  be  necessary,  but  we 
may  confidently  believe  that  He,  who  is  "Head  of  the  Church  and 
Lord  of  all,"  does  not  err  in  commissioning  a  large  number  of  evangel- 
istic missionaries  for  China,  and  that  when  He  requires  a  missionary 
of  different  gifts  for  literary  work  He  knows  how  to  equip  him  and 
where  to  place  him. 


1900.]  VILLAGE  EVANGELIZATION  AND  A  NATIONAL  CHURCH.  351 

It  may  be  well  to  more  folly  appreciate  the  true  value  of  the 
conversion  of  the  villagers,  and  there  is  evidently  room  for  some 
discussion  as  to  the  method  to  be  followed  in  gathering  in  such 
converts.  Are  we  to  continue  in  what  "  was  our  aim,"  namely, 
"  to  lend  men  one  by  one  to  the  Lord  and  to  unite  them  to  small 
communities  of  believing  Christians?"  Or,  slinll  we  dismiss  from 
our  minds  as  a  "fanciful  picture"  the  idea  of  "  a  pure  and  spiritual 
church,"  and  endeavour  to  create  a  national  church,  consisting 
of  baptized  Cliristians,  in  which  the  Holy  Ghost  Himself  gradually 
gathers  the  members  to  the  community  of  believers?" 

The  latter  view  has  boou  advocated  by  the  Rev.  Imanuel 
Geniihr  in  the  March  number  of  the  RECORDER.  With  much  of 
what  Mr.  Geniihr  has  written  I  find  myself  in  cordial  sympathy,  and 
I  fully  appreciate  the  devout  spirit  of  his  article,  but,  he  appears  to 
me  to  undervalue  the  evangelization  of  the  villages  and  to  advocate 
an  erroneous  method  of  work. 

I.  In  defence  of  evangelizing  the  villages,  in  the  spirit  in  which 
that  work  has  hitherto  been  conducted,  allow  me  to  call  attention 
to  a  few  facts  concerning  the  villages  and  to  state  some  reasons 
why  I  dissent  from  Mr.  Genahr's  opinion. 

With  regard  to  the  villages  themselves  not  much  need  be  said,  as 
we  now  possess  such  a  faithful  and  accurate  delineation  of  them 
from  the  able  and  graphic  pen  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Arthur  H.  Smith.* 

The  village  is  the  true  unit  of  Chinese  life. 
The  family  is  the  true  unit  of  society.  The  Chinese  village 
is  little  more  than  an  enlarged  Chinese  family.  Not  unfrequeutly  in 
a  village  nearly  all  the  inhabitants  have  the  same  name,  and  are 
closely  and  intricately  related.  The  Chinese  villawe  is  also  a  Chinese 
microcosm,  as  a  little  observation  shows  us.  Its  notes  of  squalor 
and  filth  are  abundantly  reproduced  in  every  portion  of  the  empire, 
as  is  much  else  inseparable  from  the  Chinese  people.  The  strag- 
gling village  street  has  its  temple  at  one  end  and  its  theatrical  stage 
at  the  other,  standing  for  the  reliii^ion  and  the  amusement  of  the 
people.  The  village  shop  is  a  miscellany,  and  contains  just  those 
things  indispensable  in  every  home.  The  village  fair  is  a 
counterpart  on  as  large  or  perhaps  a  larger  scale  of  that  held  iu  the 
town,  and  has  exactly  the  same  kind  of  commodities  exposed  for  sale. 
The  school  is  in  every  or  nearly  every  village,  and  in  town  and 
country  the  course  of  study  and  method  of  instruction  differs 
not  at  all. 

The  market  town  is  but  an  enlarged   village ;  the   hsien  chow 
and  fu  cities   are   only  agglomerations  of    marketi  towns.     And  iu 

•  Village  Life  in  China,  by  Dr.  A.  H.  Smith.    Revell  &  Co.,  Chicago, 


352  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [July, 

these  cities  the  yameu,  with  its  staff  of  officials  and  underlings,  is 
always,  more  or  less,  a  foreign  encumbrance.  The  mandarin  and 
his  family  and  many  members  of  his  staff  have  only  a  temporary 
interest  in  the  place;  and  this  foreign  element  and  the  increase  in 
the  number  and  diversity  of  shops  are,  except  in  point  of  size,  the 
chief  differences  between  village  and  city. 

The  Chinese  village  is  the  true  foundation  of 
Chinese  social  life. 

Here  in  the  villages  are  to  be  found  the  homes  of  the  people. 
To  describe  the  villages  as  collections  of  hovels,  would  be  incorrect 
as  regards  many  if  not  most  of  them.  There  are  in  many  villages 
large  and  beautiful  dwellings,  and  these  are  the  true  homes  of  much 
of  the  populace  to  be  found  crowding  in  the  towns.  The  students, 
the  capitalists,  the  soldiers,  as  well  as  the  vast  army  of  managers 
and  assistants  in  the  shops,  have  nearly  all  of  them  some  village 
home.  Even  in  the  smaller  market  towns  the  shopkeepers  will 
come  from  a  far  distant  village  in  some  other  district,  or  even 
province.  The  Chinaman  will  go  anywhere  to  get  a  living;  but  his 
wife,  his  children,  and  most  of  his  kith  and  kin  are  in  the  old 
village  homestead,  near  which  are  the  graves  of  his  ancestors,  and 
where  he  hopes  ultimately  to  repose,  elegantly  dressed  and  in  a  beau- 
tiful coffin.  Many  large  businesses  have  their  centres  in  the  villages, 
not  in  the  towns.  Chiao-cheng  Hsien,  Shan-si,  has  a  great  reputation 
at  the  coast  for  the  large  consignment  of  skins  sent  for  exportation; 
but  the  city  is  a  miserable,  dirty,  third-rate  place,  and  the  merchants 
"who  conduct  the  trade  are  villagers. 

There  is  a  constant  stream  of  emigration  from  the  villages,  of 
men  and  boys,  and  a  much  smaller  number  of  females,  to  the  towns 
in  various  parts  of  the  country.  Shan-si  merchants  and  account- 
ants are  in  Peking,  Tientsin,  and  many  other  places  in  Chih-li,  and 
Chih-li  merchants  are  in  many  of  the  cities  in  Shan-si.  And  this 
is  equally  true  of  other  places.  The  fount  of  emigration  is  in  the 
villages,  and  whoever  can  touch  that  fount  at  its  source  will  affect 
the  whole  empire. 

Further,  these  villagers  can  and  do  unite,  not  only  for  the 
election  of  village  elders  and  local  business  of  that  kind,  but  ia 
protection  of  their  own  interests;  and  here  you  come  on  the  solid 
strength  of  the  Chinese  masses.  There  is  a  bed  rock  here  on  which 
the  Chinese  social  structure  rests  ;  and  in  the  cohesion  of  the  Chinese 
villagers,  and  their  united  acceptance  of,  and  adherence  to,  certain 
recognized  social  principles,  we  find  the  reason  for  that  permanency  of 
China  as  a  nation  which  is  so  often  the  occasion  of  surprised  re- 
mark.    Wliere  in  China  can  we  find  a  more  promising  site  for  the 


1900.]  VILIAGE  EVANQELIZATION  AND  A  NATIONAL  CHURCH.  353 

planting  of  the  foundation  of  the  Christian  church   than   in   these 
villages  ? 

The  Chinese  village  contains  the  best  moral  elements 
OF  Chinese  life. 

Where  the  inhabitants  of  a  district  are  wholly  agricultural 
there  is  a  tendency  for  the  people  to  become  dull,  brutalized,  degrad- 
ed. The  country  bumpkin  is  realized — the  man  of  clownish  aspect 
and  deadened  intellect,  in  whose  construction  the  brute  and  the  fool 
predominate.  From  this  degradation,  that  is  "of  the  earth,  earthy," 
and  smells  of  the  mould,  the  Chinese  has,  to  some  extent,  escaped. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  better  qualities  of  the  Chinese  are  more  free 
of  development  and  the  temptations  to  vice  less  keen  and  less 
numerous  in  the  villages  than  in  the  towns. 

The  villager  may  not  be  so  cunning  as  the  townsman  ;  he  is 
certainly  less  vicious,  and  in  the  villages  the  homes  are  purer, 
friendships  truer,  and  family  life  generally  more  elevated  and  more 
noble  in  character.  Here  also  the  women  appear  in  a  more  favour- 
able light,  and  doubtless  many  of  them  win  and  deserve  respect  as 
wives  and  matrons.  Corrupt  tiie  mothers  of  a  country  and  yoa 
demoralize  the  nation.  Probably  (/hina  could  not  produce  so  many 
healthy,  capable,  vigorous  men  with  their  persistent  vitality  if  it 
were  not  that  a  laroe  proportion  of  the  mothers  of  China  live 
a  fairly  healthy  life,  freed  from  much  of  the  confinement  and 
from  many  of  the  debasing  customs  and  usages  prevalent  in  the 
cities. 

I  do  not  deny  that  there  are  dark  and  terrible  shadows  among 
the  village  communities.  Gambling,  opium-smoking,  suicides, 
infanticide,  sexual  immoralities,  are  there  as  in  the  cities,  but  crimes 
are  less  frequent ;  the  shadows  are  not  so  deep,  nor  are  the  better 
elements  so  wholly  submerged.  As  for  religion  in  the  villages,  that 
is  best  typified  by  the  Tu-ti  (i  j;^)  sitting  in  its  diminutive  shrine 
by  the  roadside.  It  is  religion  down  in  the  dirt ;  that  is  all.  Can 
we  do  a  better  service  to  China,  or  do  more  to  elevate  and  purify 
its  national  life  than  by  planting  a  pure  and  spiritual  Christianity 
in  its  innumerable  villages  ? 

II.  How  are  we  to  attain  our  aim  in  the  evangelization  of 
these  villages? 

The  principle  that  has  obtained  hitherto  in  the  evangelistic 
work  carried  on  among  the  villagers  has  been  stated  with  admirable 
succinctness  by  Mr.  Genahr.  "One  by  one"  converts  have  been 
gathered  in  and  little  communities  of  believers  have  been  formed. 
The  colporteur,  the  native  evangelist,  a  Christian  from  some  neigh- 
bouring village,  have  usually   been,  one  or  other  of  them,  the  first 


354  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [JuIy, 

to  bring  the  light.  The  influence  of  the  foreign  missionary  has 
come  later.  Ultimately  regular  Sunday  worship  is  arranged  and 
a  church  is  formed. 

AVliat  is  the  value  of  such  a  church  ?  Much,  of  course,  depends 
oathe  spiritual  gifts  of  those  who  by  their  earlier  reception  of  the 
truth,  by  force  of  character,  or  by  social  position,  take  a  leading  place 
among  the  converts.  Where  these  men  are  also  more  spiritually 
minded  than  the  rest,  and  the  church  is  therefore  in  a  more  normal 
condition,  then  it  advances  to  a  condition  of  higher  spiritual  value. 
Much  depends  on  the  amount  of  training,  not  only  in  scriptural 
knowledge,  but  in  organization  and  discipline,  that  the  missionary 
and  his  native  assistants  can  give.  Doubtless  the  spiritual  condition 
of  the  church  differs  greatly  in  many  places;  but  to  most  of  these 
small  Cliristian  bodies  ^he  Saviour's  words  are  distinctly  applicable, 
"Ye  are' the  salt  of  the  earth,  ye  are  the  light  of  the  world" 
(Matt,  V.  13,  14).  Salt  and  light  both  possess  a  penetrative  power, 
a  diffusive,  and  a  purifying  influence.  Similarly  these  Christian 
communities  have  not  only  a  tendency  to  increase-  and  to  multiply 
in  the  districts  surrounding  them,  but  they  also  tend  to  enlighten 
the  spiritual  darkness  of  those  ignorant  of  divine  truth  and  to 
create  a  purer  moral  atmosphere. 

Being  vitally  connected  with  the  great  Head  of  the  Church, 
these  believers  are  kept  by  the  Holy  Spirit  in  union  with  Him,  and 
so  not  only  do  the  operations  of  His  grace  animate  them  with 
spiritual  life  and  sanctify  them,  but  they  are  the  channel  through 
which  His  love  and  power  go  forth  with  saving  efficacy  to  the 
unconverted  heathen. 

The  difficulties  that  have  to  be  surmounted  before  the  village 
church  can  become  a  healthy  and  vigorous  branch  of  the  true  Vine 
are  enormous  ;  but  those  which  arise  within  the  church  from  the 
imperfect  characters  and  grievous  falls  of  the  members,  are  far  more 
serious  than  any  hindrance  that  comes  from  without.  On  this 
account  it  becomes  a  matter  of  supreme  importance  to  guard  with 
jealous  care  the  entrance  to  the  church,  and  to  admit  none  who  do 
not  afford  reasonable  evidence  that  they  are  inwardly  convicted  of 
the  truth  of  the  gospel,  and  give  in  the  goodness  and  sincerity 
of  their  lives  some  proof  that  they  have  experienced  its  regenerative 
power. 

Mr.  Genahr's  aim  is  that  of  a  "  national  church,"  in  which 
baptized  Christians,  who  have  been  "made"  such  by  the  adminis- 
tration of  a  rite,  are  differentiated  from  the  "  community  of  believers." 
I  shall  not  dispute  Mr.  Genahr's  statement.  In  fact  I  am  inclined 
to  think  this  a  remarkably  accurate  description  ;  and  in  a  "  national  " 
church  of  baptized  Christiaus,  who  have  come  in  the  first  instance 


1900.]  VILLAGE  EVANGELIZATION  AND  A   NATIONAL  CBURCfH.  355 

from  impure  motives,  and  who  apparently  are  neither  "awakened" 
nor  "  convened,"  but  only  instructed,  the  difference  will  be  very 
marked.  That  is  generally  a  charucteristic  of  "  national  "  churches, 
namely,  the  extraordinary  difference  there  is  between  its  "  baptized 
Christians  "  and  those  who  really  believe  and  have  been  influenced 
by  the  Spirit.  But  I  thought  this  was  usually  considered  a  matter  of 
reproach.  It  is  ceriainly  diflBcult  to  persuade  oneself  that  the  "pure 
and  spiritual"  Church  of  Jesus  Christ,  composed  of  "believers," 
"awakened,"  "converted,"  and  led  "one  by  one  to  Him,"  is  a 
"  fanciful  dream,"  and  that  the  Father  would  prefer  for  His 
spiritual  children  a  number  of  people  influenced  mainly  by  socio- 
political motives,  whose  Christianity  has  been  conferred  by  a  rite, 
but  who  do  not  possess  the  qualities  we  had  ignorantly  thought  He 
deemed  essential. 

The  ideal  held  out  in  the  article  referred  to  is  not  sufficiently 
attractive.  The  constaiit  remark  of  unsympathetic  critics  that  our 
converts  are  not  genuine  has  an  unpleasant  sting  in  it,  because 
we  are  aware  that,  exercise  what  care  we  may,  there  is  always  in  the 
church  a  certain  proportion  of  members  to  whom  the  criticism  strict- 
ly applies.  It  is  these  unworthy  disciples  who  are  the  source  of 
constant  trouble  in  the  church  and  of  much  grief  and  disappoint- 
ment to  the  missionary.  But  the  fact  that  the  large  majority  of  our 
converts  stand,  enables  us  to  hold  on  in  spite  of  the  failure  of  the 
few.  To  increase  our  church  roll  by  the  "  national"  method,  will 
be  to  decrease  the  proportion  between  genuine  converts  and  mere 
professors,  and  this  will  not  only  have  a  deteriorating  influence  on 
the  church  itself  but  leave  us  with  the  unpleasant  conviction  that 
most  of  our  "  baptized  Christians  "  are  unworthy  of  the  name. 

The  slow  but  steady  mnltiplicatiou  of  genuine  churches  amongst 
the  village  population  of  China  may  demand  much  of  patient  faith 
and  arduous,  self-denying,  humble  toil ;  but  if  not  so  striking  and 
impressive  as  the  attempt  to  reach  the  intellectual  forces  of  China,  it 
may  none  the  less  be  the  divinest  method.  Paul  would  have  us 
"captivated  by  things  of  low  estate"  ("rotS  TaireivolS  avvairayoiLiivot)" 
1  Horn.  xii.  16;  and  wo  can  never  forget  that  our  Master  and  His 
apostles  were  at  one  time  a  band  of  village  evangelists,  composed 
mostly  of  fishermen  and  headed  by  a  carpenter. 

This  I  hope  and  trust  is  the  feeling  common  to  most  mission- 
aries ;  at  any  rate,  I,  for  one,  am  by  no  means  distrustful  of  our 
methods  or  disappointed  with  the  results.  The  missionaries  are 
already  gathering  in  the  first  fruits  of  a  great  harvest,  and  the 
results  we  can  show,  encourage  us  to  go  on  with  our  work  in  the 
same  direction,  feeling  assured  that  at  the  last  we  shall  bring  home 
sheaves  of  ripened  grain  and  not  countless  bandfuls  of  worthless  chaff. 


356  THE    CHINESE    EECOEDKB.  [Jnly> 

/  Cling  To  Thee. 

BY  T.    P.   CRAWFORD,   D.D. 

Dear  Jesus,  Friend  above, 
On  Thy  strong  arm  I  lean  ; 
In  every  trying  scene 
I  cling  to  Thee. 

To  Thee,  to  Thee— 

In  ev'ry  trying  scene 

I  cling  to  Thee. 

When  earthly  hopes  depart,  - 
And  friends  deceitful  prove ; 
With  unabating  love 
I  cling  to  Thee. 

To  Thee,  to  Thee— 

With  unabatiug  love 

I  cling  to  Thee. 

When  darkness  shrouds  the  sky, 
And  dangers  thick  unfold ; 
With  faith's  unwav'ring  hold 
I  cling  to  Thee. 

To  Thee,  to  Thee— 

With  faith's  unwav'ring  hold 

I  cling  to  Thee. 

When  death  shall  seize  my  frame, 
And  all  around  give  way  ; 
My  ransomed  soul  shall  say 
I  cling  to  Thee. 

To  Thee,  to  Thee— 

My  ransomed  soul  shall  say 

I  cling  to  Thee. 

Dear  Jesus,  Lord  above, 
Redeemer  of  my  soul ; 
While  ceaseless  ages  roll 
I'll  cling  to  Thee. 

To  Thee,  to  Thee— 

While  ceaseless  ages  roll 

I'll  cling  to  Thee. 


1900.]  IN  MEMOMAM. 


Hidden.  Purposes. 

What  human  niind  can  fathom  Love  Divine'? 
Or  who  on  earth  can  trace  God's  deep  design  t 
As  heaven,  the  work  of  His  creative  mind, 
Is  far  above  the  frail  works  of  mankind. 
So  are  His  thoughts  beyond  the  mind  of  men, 
His  priceless  love  beyond  all  human  ken. 

O,  God,  to  me  how  blest  are  all  Thy  ways. 
How  sweet  Thy  love,  surpassini;  all  the  praise 
My  finite  heart  would  bring.     Tho'  oft  beneath 
A  frown  Thy  love  is  hid ;  at  times  a  wreath 
Of  Justice  crowns  Thy  grace,  yet  do  I  see, 
Beneath  it  all.  Love  shining  through  to  me. 

But,  Lord,  at  times  Thy  stroke  seems  hard  to  bear ; 
Wearied  and  burdened  oft  I  am  with  care ; 
Afflictions  try  my  heart ;  my  mind  is  fraught 
With  many  a  checquered,  disappointing  thought. 
And  tearfully  I  wonder  why  on  me 
Such  overwhelming  trials  poured  should  be : 
Then  comes  the  answer  from  the  heart  that  plann'd 
*Not  now,  but  sometime  thou  slialt  understand.' 

Charles  G.  Roberts. 


357 


3n  fIDemorfam. 

Mr.    JOHN     L.     MATEER. 

1848-1900, 

On  the  morning  of  April  2.3rd  there  passed  away,  in  Peking,  Mr. 
J.  L.  Mateer  after  an  illness  of  five  weeks'  duration.  He  succumbed  to 
an  acute  attack  of  Blight's  disease.  He  bore  his  sufferings  with  true 
Christian  fortitude  and  patience  and  proved  the  sustaining  power  of  the 
Cliristian  faith.  Mr.  Mateer's  career  in  Ciiina  was  divided  into  two 
parts.  Thirty  years  a<j;o  he  came  to  Shanghai  as  superintendent  of  the 
Presbyterian  Mission  Press.  He  found  it  in  narrow  quarters  near  the 
East  Gate  of  the  city,  but  secured  its  transference  to  its  present  more 
suitable  location.  Through  his  energy  and  zeal  the  whole  enter- 
prize  received  a  great  impulse  forward,  but  he  was  not  able  to  endure 
the  climate  of  Shanghai;  his  health  oeing  seriously  imp:iired,  he 
retired  after  a  service  of  five  years.     After  twenty  years'  residence  in  the 


358  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Jnlj, 

United  States,  engaged  in  business,  Mr,  Mateer  was  invited  by  the 
American  Board  to  take  charge  of  its  press  in  Peking.  He  reached 
Peking  in  the  autumn  of  1894  and  began  his  incumbency  with  great 
eneigy  and  prudence.  He  gradually  worked  a  complebe  regeneration  in 
the  whole  affair.  Incompetent  men  were  dismissed,  and  good  men  took 
their  places.  He  seemed  to  have  an  unerring  instinct  in  the  choice  of 
men  ;  and  when  one  passed  his  scrutiny  successfully,  he  usually  proved  to 
be  the  right  man  in  the  right  place.  The  whole  force,  with  one  or  two 
exceptions,  has  been  changed,  and  now  there  is  as  an  able,  harmonious, 
Christian  set  of  men  who  love  their  work  and  perform  it  faithfully, 
Mr.  Mateer's  discipline  may  have  seemed  a  little  rigorous  at  first  to  some 
of  the  men,  but  they  soon  learned  his  absolute  justice  and  fearlessness  in 
execution,  also  his  deep  interest  in  their  welfare.  They  soon  came  to 
re'^ai'd  his  decisions  as  final  in  truth  and  right.  New  fonts  of  type  were 
purchased,  and  one  new  press.  One  large  power  press  was  put  in  order 
and  utilized  when  large  editions  were  to  be  printed.  The  output  of  the 
press  has  been  largely  increased  and  the  concern  has  been  placed  on  a 
sound  financial  basis.  The  men  are  loyal  to  the  press,  as  they  were 
enthusiastic  supporbers  of  their  superintendent.  They  learned  from  him 
the  true  secret  of  being  valuable  workmen.  The  head-man  especially 
will  be  able  to  carry  out  Mr.  Mateer's  ideas  in  his  future  work  and 
management  of  the  press. 

Mr.  Mateer's  nature  was  intensely  religious.  By  early  training  as  well 
as  by  intelligent  choice  he  accepted  the  great  truths  of  Ciiristianity,  and 
had  thought  long  and  deeply  on  the  great  problems  of  life  and  destiny. 
He  possessed  the  genuine  missionary  spirit,  and,  though  deficient  in  the 
use  of  the  language,  he  has  left  his  mark  on  the  spiritual  life  of  the  men 
in  his  employ.  His  nature  ripened  under  his  weakness  and  sufferings 
and  he  left  behind  him  in  Peking  the  fragrance  of  a  life  that  knew  the 
inner  secrets  of  the  Christian's  hope.  His  men  bore  the  coffin  of  their 
loved  superintendent  to  the  church,  where  remarks  were  made  by  Drs. 
Martin  and  Wherry  and  Mr,  W.  S.  Ament.  Tiie  men  also  accompanied 
the  bier  to  the  foreign  cemetery,  outside  the  West  Gate  of  Peking,  and 
lovingly  performed  the  last  rites,  singing  together  one  of  Mr.  Mateer's 
favorite  hymns.  He  rests  near  Mr.  Hunt,  a  former  superintendent  of 
the  same  press,  and  by  the  side  of  Mr.  Morrison,  formerly  a  Presbyterian 
missionary  in  Peking. 

Mr.  Mateer  was  twice  married.  Mrs.  La  Rhue  Mateer  survives 
him  and  continues  her  residence  and  work  in  Peking, 

"Thou  hast  gone  on,  beloved, 
And  we  were  vain  to  weep, 
Tliiit  thou  hast  left  life's  shallows, 
And  dost  possess  the  deep." 


W.  S.  Ament. 


Peking,  May,  22nd. 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT.  859 

dStrucittiaixal    department 


Rkv.  E.  T.  Williams,  M.A.,  Editor, 

Published  in  the  interests  of  the  '*  Educational  Association  of  China." 


Science  Study  smd  National  Character. 

The  May  number  of  the  Popular  Science  Monthly  gives,  under 
the  above  headitijr,  a  most  suggestive  article  from  tlie  pen  of  Albert 
B.  Crowe,  in  which  he  laments  the  instability  of  the  American 
character,  the  readiness  of  her  people  to  form  judgments  on  insuf- 
ficient evidence  and  as  quickly  to  reverse  them  for  reasons  as  unsatis- 
factory ;  in  short  the  proneness  of  the  American  in  general  to  be 
guided  by  feeling  rather  than  by  uuimpassioned  judgment. 

While  the  justice  of  this  arraignment  of  American  national 
character  will  be  admitted  or  denied  by  most,  according  to  their 
political  bias,  the  remedy  which  he  offers  for  such  a  state  of  affairs, 
granting  its  existence,  gives  food  for  earnest  thought;  and  those 
engaged  in  educational  work  in  China  can  hardly  fail  to  remark  its 
application  to  the  problems  which  confront  us  here.  "Every  perilous 
tendency  which  I  have  mentioned,"  says  Mr.  Crowe,  "  has  its  life  in 
direct  violation  of  the  essential  principles  of  science  study,  and  may 
be  restrained  by  extending  the  knowledge  and  habitual  use  of  those 
principles." 

We  are  all  quite  ready  to  admit  that  the  Chinese  character  is 
unstable.  We  know  that  the  lightest  rumors  are  sufficient  to  set  the 
populace  in  a  ferment,  and  that  the  training  of  the  average  Chinese 
disqualifies  him  for  the  sober  investigation  of  such  rumors,  even 
should  the  propriety  of  such  investigation  occur  to  him.  Any  one 
who  has  had  experience  in  addressing  Chinese  audiences  knows  that 
an  apt  illustration  has  with  them  all  the  force  of  conclusive 
demonstration,  and  he  who  is  able  to  handle  skillfully  such  illustra- 
tioiis,  particularly  if  drawn  from  their  own  annals,  may  carry  his 
audience  with  him  where  he  will.  Indeed,,  is  it  not  matter  of  oora- 
mon  experience  that  the  time  spent  in  labored  demonstration  is 
mostly  wasted;  the  audience  having  neither  inclination  uor  ability  to 
follow  it  ?  Chinese  audiences  are  not  alone  in  this  respect,  to  be 
sure,  but  with  them  this  particular  mental  defect  is  certainly 
accentuated. 


330  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [Jlllv, 

This  hazy  mental  atmosphere  is  only  another  instance  of  the 
unvarying  law  that  like  causes  produce  like  effects.  From  the  be- 
ginning to  the  end  of  his  curriculum  the  Chinese  student,  is  given 
no  hint  of  the  fact  that  he  is  living  in  a  universe  of  lav?s,  laws  which 
may  be  implicitly  trusted  and  which  may  not  with  impunity  be 
disobeyed,  laws  which  the  author  of  the  universe  Himself  may 
never  break;  they  being  not  His  creation  but  the  emanation  of  His 
own  being.  The  great  sage  of  China  uttered  many  eternal  truths, 
and  they  have  had  their  due  force  in  shaping  the  character  of  his 
followers;  but  he  had  the  limitations  of  his  contemporaries,  and  had 
not  learned  the  a,  b,  c  of  natural  law.  Small  blame  to  him  that  at 
the  end  of  his  life  we  find  him  lamenting  that  "  the  Phoenix  does 
not  arrive  and  the  river  sends  forth  no  map,"  and  regretting  that  he 
had  not  spent  fifty  years  of  his  life  in  the  study  of  the  Yih  King. 
It  is  well  that  he  could  not  foresee  the  awful  waste  of  energy  which 
was  to  follow  on  that  mistaken  utterance  for  many  succeeding 
generations. 

Educators  all  realize  the  tremendous  material  benefits  which 
cannot  fail  to  follow  close  upon  the  heels  of  scientific  instruction  in 
China.  "We  know  how  the  treasures  buried  in  the  hills  lie 
undisturbed  by  a  people  not  wholly  ignorant  of  their  existence, 
because  forsooth,  "  The  vein  of  the  dragon  must  not  be  severed  " 
and  "  over  the  head  of  Tai  Sui  the  earth  must  not  be  disturbed." 
We  know  how  the  people  shut  themselves  away  from  air  and  sun- 
light behind  windowless  walls,  through  the  fear  of  malignant 
demons  supposed  to  be  flying  about  at  random,  and  who,  by  the 
way,  are  not  credited  with  sufficient  sense  to  guide  them  in  turnintj 
a  corner.  We  know  the  evils  that  have  fallen  on  the  land  through 
the  wholesale  destruction  of  forests,  and  the  sad  waste  of  human 
energy  and  human  life  due  to  the  lack  of  application  of  steam  power 
and  of  electricity.  The  men  now  spreading  desolation  over  the 
country  claim  that  through  certain  incantations  they  have  made 
themselves  impervious  to  bullets  and  to  tempered  steel.  Perhaps 
some  of  them  actually  believe  this,  and  it  is  certain  that  many 
peaceable  people  are  deceived. 

It  is  the  province  of  scientific  education  to  remedy  all  these 
evils,  but  has  it  not  a  higher  mission  still  in  the  formation  of  a  true 
afid  solid  national  character  ?  Next  to  that  righteousness,  which 
alone  exalteth  a  nation,  China's  greatest  need  to-day  is  a  knowledge 
of  nature's  laws.  May  we  not  even  go  farther  in  claiming  that  such 
knowledge  is  a  part  of  righteousness  itself?  For  to  do  right  we 
must  know  the  truth,  and  "  the  love  of  truth  and  appeal  to  reason 
are  the  very  grain  of  the  scientific  mind  and  heart."  Clear  judgment, 
as  well  as  a  quickened  conscience,  is  essential   to   right  action;  and 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL   DEPARTMENT.  361 

some  of  the  greatest  atrocities  the  world  has  ever  witnessed  have 
been  the  result  of  tender  consciences  workin<»  in  the  dark.  Who 
shall  say  that  even  the  Buxere,  some  of  them  at  least,  are  not 
conscientious  ? 

The  faithful  student  of  science  acquires  soberness,  stability,  a 
love  of  truth,  and  a  confidence  in  the  things  that  are  changeless. 
Galileo  in  the  hour  of  his  humiliation  could  still  mutter  under  his 
breath,  "  It  does  move  for  all  that,"  and  rejoice  in  the  knowledge 
that,  the  power  which  crushed  him  could  never  stop  that  motion,  nor 
prevent  the  rest  of  the  world  from  finding  it  out.  We  believe  that 
the  patient,  plodding  Chinese  intellect  is  peculiarly  adapted  to  the 
investigation  of  scientific  truth  if  once  directed  into  the  proper 
channels.  With  the  rising  generation  this  may  be  easily  done,  and 
educators  should  make  the  most  of  their  opportunities.  For  the 
sake  of  the  material  benefits  offered,  the  nation  stands  ready  to 
accept  the  results  of  Western  scientific  research.  Upon  the  earnest- 
ness of  her  instructors  rests  the  hope  that  in  striving  for  the  lesser 
good  they  may  gain  the  higher  benefits  as  well. 

R.  S.  W. 


Elementary  Zoology. 

We  take  pleasure  in  calling  special  attention  to  the  "  Element- 
ary Zoology "  prepared  by  Rev.  J.  M.  W.  Faruham,  D.D.,  and 
published  by  the  Presbyterian  Mission  Press,  Shanghai. 

The  work  contains  some  ninety  pages,  divided  into  ten  chapters, 
and  gives  entertaining  and  instructive  descriptions  of  the  chief 
representatives  of  the  mammalia.  There  are  numerous  anecdotes 
and  incidents  to  illustrate  their  habits,  and  the  style,  which  is  an 
easy  IVSn-li,  is  very  attractive.  We  commend  the  book  as  well 
suited  for  home  reading  or  for  use  in  the  school-room.  It  is  well 
bound,  beautifully  illustrated  and  sold  at  a  very  reasonable  price. 


Story  by  Ean  Yii,  a  Chinese  Philosopher. 

TRANSLATED   BY  J.   EDBINS,   D.D. 

Han  Wen-kung  of  the  Tang  dynasty,  was  a  contemporary  of 
King  Alfred  and  one  of  the  first  rank  among  the  Chinese  literati. 
He  undertook  on  one  occasion  to  write  the  biography  of  Wang 
Gh'eng-fu,  a  bricklayer.     Here  follows  a  translation  of  it : — 


362  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [J^^y, 

The  bricklayer's  craft  is  low  ia  estimation  and  exceptionally 
laborious.  I  knew  one  who  was  as  his  face  proved  very  contented 
with  his  lot.  His  speech  was  brief,  decided,  and  conclusive.  I 
asked  hina  his  surname.  Wang,  he  replied.'  His  proper  name  ? 
It  was  Uh'eng  Fu — receiving  happiness.  He  belonged,  by  hereditary 
descent,  to  the  farm  labourers  of  the  capital — Chang-an. 

When  a  rebellion  broke  out  in  the  reign  of  Tien  Pan  he  went 
as  a  soldier  and  carried  the  bow  and  arrow  for  thirteen  years. 
Obtaining  promotion  and  distinction  he  left  the  camp  very  willingly 
and  returned  home.  His  land  was  lost,  and  he  took  to  the  brick- 
layer's trowel  to  earn  food  and  clothing.  He  spent  more  than  thirty 
years  in  this  way,  lodging  in  the  house  of  a  man  who  let  rooms 
adjoining  a  market,  and  whom  he  paid  regularly  for  his  rent  and 
board.  He  lowered  or  raised  the  price  of  his  labour  as  a  bricklayer, 
so  as  to  meet  the  occasional  rise  and  fall  of  the  charges  for  rent 
and  board.  What  he  had  over  he  gave  to  the  sick,  the  maimed, 
and  the  hungry  whom  he  met  on  the  road. 

He  conversed  about  his  condition  in  the  following  manner  : 
"Grain  has  but  to  be  sown,  and  it  springs  up  of  itself.  For  cloth 
the  silk-worm  provides  the  thread,  and  the  loom  weaves  it.  As  to 
other  things  necessary  to  human  life,  they  are  all  attainable  by 
human  labour.  I  rely  on  these  to  live,  but  one  man  cannot  accom- 
plish everything.  Each  man  should  do  his  best  to  support  his  own 
life  and  that  of  others'.  The  sovereign  rules  over  those. things 
which  support  my  life.  From  him  the  hundred  officers  receive  their 
orders.  As  to  the  {)eop]e,  they  work  as  best  they  can.  They  obtain 
better  or  worse  food  according  to  their  capabilities  as  workmen. 
Bat  if  they  neglect  work  they  are  sure  to  meet  with  punishment 
from  heaven. 

"  On  this  account  I  cannot  even  for  a  day  lay  aside  my  trowel 
in  order  to  take  my  pleasure.  For  to  use  the  trowel  is  an  easy  way 
of  using  strength.  Its  work  is  real.  When  I  take  my  wages, 
although  I  have  wearied  myself,  I  feel  no  shame.  My  mind  is  at 
rest.  It  is  not  difficult  to  gain  results  by  the  exercise  of  physical 
strength,  but  it  is  hard  to  gain  wisdom  by  the  labour  of  the 
mind.  In  physical  exertion  I  am  the  servant  of  men.  In  mental 
labour  men  serve  me.  This  is  as  it  should  be.  I  purposely  choose 
that  which  is  easy  and  which  brings  me  no  shame. 

"  Ah  !  I  have  gone  into  rich  men's  houses  to  work  with  my 
trowel  for  these  many  years.  Take  one  of  them  as  an  example.  I 
have  just  gone  to  visit  it  again.  It  was  a  heap  of  ruins.  Take  a 
second  and  a  third.  I  have  gone  to  look  at  them  and  found  them 
also  to  be  each  a  heap  of  ruins.  I  asked  the  neighbours  the  cause. 
Oh !    said  they,  this  man  was   publicly  executed ;    and  this  man 


J  900.]  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMEKT.  363 

(Jied,  leaving  no  sons  or  grandsons  to  inherit  his  property  ;  and  this 
one's  property  on  his  death  reverted  to  the  governnj,ent. 

"  Looking  at  tliese  facts  I  asked  myself,  Is  not  this  what  I 
jnst  said — men  who  have  to  be  fed  by  others  neglect  to  work  and 
draw  down  on  themselves  calamities  from  heaven  P  Is  this  not  to 
force  the  mental  faculties  in  order  that  men  m«y  gain  wisdom  and 
yet  they  may  not  have  sense  enough  to  secure  them  from  failing  to 
underfake  what  they  are  competent  to  perform  ?  A  man  may  be 
seen  aiming  at  what  his  abilities  are  not  equal  to  and  which  he 
yet  longs  for.  Is  this  not  to  do  what  a  man  ought  to  be  ashamed 
of  doing  ?  While  he  knows  it  is  wrong  to  do  it  he  yet  jierversely 
insists  on  doing  it.  Of  these  three  things  which  is  better  ?  To  be 
rich  and  noble  when  it  is  very  difficult  to  contiime  so?  or  secondly, 
to  do  little  work  and  have  very  large  payment  for  it  ?  or  thirdly, 
to  have  abundance  and  poverty  coming  by  turns  without  any  fixed 
rule  ?     I  wish  none  of  these  for  myself. 

"Pitying  those  who  are  brought  to  such  misfortunes  I  pur- 
posely choose  the  sort  of  work  which  is  adapted  to  my  strength 
and  bend  my  energies  to  that.  As  to  liking  riches  and  honour 
and  disliking  poverty  and  lowness  of  position  I  am  not  different 
from  other  people.  But  I  know  well  my  own  want  of  strength  and 
do  not  attempt  what  is  beyond  me." 

He  further  said:  "Men  whose  toil  produces  a  large  result 
have  much  to  use  for  their  own  enjoyment.  Wife  and  children  can 
by  such  persons  be  supported.  My  powers  are  limited  and  the 
results  they  produce  are  small.  I  can  do  without  wife  and 
children. 

"  Then  as  to  expending  my  strength  it  comes  to  this  :  if  I 
marry  and  have  a  fomily  to  support,  my  strength  not  being  equal 
to  it,  my  mind  becomes  a  prey  to  anxiety^  Thus  I  should  have  a 
double  burden  to  bear.  Even  if  a  man  were  a  sage  he  should  not 
attempt  it." 

When  I  first  heard  this  reasoning  1  felt  uncertain  respecting 
it.  I  then  meditated  on  it  carefully  and  concluded  that  the  speaker 
is,  without  doubt,  a  philosopher,  and  as  a  man  should  do,  takes 
special  care  of  himself.  But  there  are  faults  that  I  find  in  him. 
He  does  too  much  for  his  own  happiness  and  too  little  for  others. 
Has  he  not  learned  the  doctrine  of  Yang  Chn  ?  Yang  Chu,  as  stated 
in  Mencius,  said  that  he  would  not  pluck  a  hair  from  his  body  if  it 
were  to  benefit  the  whole  world.  Shall  a  man  be  unwilling  to 
suffer  the  least  pang  of  mental  anxiety  for  the  sake  of  supporting 
wife  and  children,  and  would  he  be  willing  to  do  so  for  others  ? 

Yet  his  philosophy  is  much  better  ithan  the  state  of  mind  of 
those  men  too  often  met  with  in  this  world  who  grieve  for  what 


864 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[Jaly, 


they  cannot  attain  and  deeply  regret  losing  it  when  attained. 
They  only  gratify  the  natural  desires,  and  by  their  depraved  in- 
clinations and  neglect  of  reason  and  duty  bring  themselves  to 
ruin. 

Finding  that  there  was  that  in  his  words  which  might  serve  as 
a  warning  to  myself,  I  have  written  this  his"tory  to  serve  as  a 
record  of  him  and  a  memento  to  myself. 

Notes. — A  bricklayer's  trowel  is  man,  a  word  still  nsed  in 
Peking  in  the  sense  of  laying  on  plaister.  The  idea  is  that  of 
covering ;  the  same  root  being  used  for  a  curtain  as  that  which 
conceals. 

The  paradoxical  act  to  which  attention  is  here  drawn  is  the 
abandonment  of  rank  and  fame  for  the  humble  life  of  a  bricklayer, 
an  act  which  common  men  find  it  hard  to  explain.  The  cause  of 
this  perplexity  is  stated  farther  on  by  Han  Yti  in  the  same  book 
from  which  this  account  is  translated. 


Corr^spanknr^, 


THE  CONFERENCE  OF  1901. 

To  the  Editor  of 

"  The  Chinese  Recorder." 

Dear  Sir  :  The  committee  who 
have  in  charge  the  preparations  for 
the  next  General  Conference  of 
China  Missionaries,  1901,  have, 
through  the  undersigned,  sent  out 
blanks  for  pastoral  and  evangelistic 
statistics  for  1900  (other  blanks 
for  other  statistics  to  follow).  It 
is  stated  at  the  head  of  the  blanks 
that  the  tigures  are  for  1900.  As 
some  enquiries  have  come  as  to 
when  these  blanks  should  be  re- 
turned I  may  say  not  later  than 
January  1st,  1901.  Blanks  have  been 
sent  to  thirty-six  different  societies, 
which  for  the  purpose  of  this  collec- 
tion were  divided  according  to  the 
China  Mission  Hand-book,  so  that 
no  one  is  asked  to  report  for  any 
save  the  province  or  branch  specified 
in  the  letter  accompanying  the 
blank. 

Is  it  possible  that  there  are  some 


recent  societies  in  China  which 
have  been  overlooked?  If  so,  will 
their  representatives  please  com- 
municate with  the  undersigned? 
Blanks  have  also  been  sent  to  some 
independent  workers,  but  naturally 
there  are  omissions.  Will  such 
brethr'en  therefore  drop  me  a  line 
that  their  wants  may  be  supplied? 

Yours  sincerely, 

Donald  MacGillivray, 
Convener  of  Statistical  Committee. 
380  Honan  Road,  Shanghai. 


A  retraction. 

To  the  Editor  of 

"  The  Chinese  Recorder." 

Dear  Sir:  Two  days  ago  I 
came  across  an  article  published 
in  the  February  and  March  num- 
bers of  the  Recorder  by  the  Rev. 
Iraanuel  Genahr  on  "  Different 
Ways  leading  to  the  Goal  of  Chris- 
tianity in  China." 


1900.] 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


365 


For  some  months  past  I  have 
seen  that  thw  position  which  I  took 
in  that  letter  to  the  Rev.  Hudson 
Taylor,  of  oppositioQ  to  medical 
missions,  was  a  wron'4  one.  And  I 
cannot  let  this  opportunity  go  by 
without,  by  your  courtesy,  making 
a  heartfelt  apology  through  your 
columns  for  those  misguided  and 
offensive  sentiments.  Knowing  as  I 
do  the  self-denial,  labour  and  devo- 
tion of  medical  missionaries,  it  is  a 
matter  of  most  poignant  grief  to  me 
that  I  could  ever  have  written  of 
them  in  a  disparaging  way.  Thouf,'h 
I  look  for  increasing  exhibition  of 
the  "gifts  of  the  Spirit"  in  the  wiiole 
churei),  yet  still  I  wish  to  retract 
all  I  have  said  in  that  letter  about 
doctors,  drugs,  and  medical  missions 
— all  wants  re-stating.  My  treatment 
of  the  word  "  pliarnial<eia"  I  now 
see  to  be  most  erroneous.  The  word 
occurs  in  Gal.  v.  20  ;  Rev.  ix.  21  and 
xviii.  23  ;  its  cognate  "  pharmakeus" 
in  Rev.  xxi.  8  and  xxii.  15.  Though 
it  is  a  fact  that  "  pliarmakeia" 
means  "  the  use  of  any  kind  of 
drugs,  potions,  or  spells,"  yet,  with- 
out doubt,  the  mind  of  the  Spirit  is 
on  the  "spells." 

1st.  Because  if  referred  to  drugs 
it  leads  to  the  outrageous  con- 
clusion that  all  chemists  and  doc- 
tors, not  to  speak  of  the  untold 
numbers  who  doctnr  themselves,  are 
doomed  to  perdition,  on  the  sole 
ground  of  having  had  to  do  with 
medicine-  "  What  proves  too  much 
proves  nothing." 

2ndly.  Sound  scholarship  has 
decided  it  so.  Grimm  says  as  to 
the  meaning  of  "  pharmakeia"  : — 
"(1)  The  use  or  administering  of 
druys  ;  Xeuophon  Mem.  4,  2,  17;  (2) 
poisoning,  Rev.  ix.  21 ;  (.3)  sorcery, 
maiiical  arts,  often  found  in  con- 
nexion with  idolatry  and  fostered  by 
it,  Gal  V,  20;"  he  then  adds  that  Is. 
xlvii.  9;  Ex.  vii.  22  ;  viii,  18  ;  and 
vii.  11,  are  instances  where  in  the 
Septuagint  "  pharmakeia"  is  trans- 
lated   by  "sorcery"   or   "enchant- 


ments"; "tropically"  (i.e.,  figura- 
tively) "  of  tho  deceptions  and 
seductions  of  idolatry,"  Rev.  xviii. 
23.  "  Pharmakeus"  Grimm  trans- 
lates as  "one  who  prepai'es  or  uses 
magical  remedies,  a  sorcerer,"  Rev. 
xxi.  8;  Septuagint  Ex.  vii.  11, 
"  sorcerers."  Here  then  is  the 
Scriptural  key  to  the  meaning  of 
the  words.  The  Rev.  I.  Genjihr 
in  his  very  lenient  criticism  of  me 
gives  the  impression  in  his  foot  note 
on  page  71  that  unless  Dr.  Hudson 
Taylor  accepted  my  extreme  views 
on  the  non-use  of  medicines  I  had 
taken  it  on  myself  to  warn  hira  that 
he  would  have  cause  for  regret  be- 
fore the  judgment  seat  of  Christ. 
This  is  a  mistake..  That  remark 
was  made  on  the  subject  of  com- 
pulsory vaccination. 

I  regretted  that,  to  my  certain 
knowledge,  spiritually-minded  work- 
ers had  been  kept  out  of  the  C.  I. 
M.  solely  on  the  ground  of  having 
conscientious  objections  to  vaccina- 
tion. What  I  urged  was,  that  their 
scruples  should  be  respected,  that 
vaccination  should  be  optional  and 
not  compulsory.  Mr  Genahr  .sees  in 
this  an  instance  of  my  self-conceit. 
Be  it  so.  It  would  never  be  safe  to 
deny  the  charge  when  that  odious 
form  of  the  self-life  is  usually  seen 
by  others  quicker  and  more  truly 
than  by  the  one  who  is  its  possessor  ; 
and  to  Mr.  Genahr  this  sin  lies  pa- 
tent on  the  face  of  my  letter.  I  am 
sorry  I  did  not  use  more  careful 
expre&sions  in  writing  to  one  so  far 
my  superior  in  grace  and  years  as 
Mr.  Hudson  Taylor,  but  there  is  a 
fact  which  I  venture  to  make 
known,  that  the  letter  in  question 
was  a  private  one,  and  never 
intended  for  publication.  Trusting 
I  have  not  trespassed  too  much  on 
your  space  for  correspondence. 

Yours  faithfully, 

Stanley  P.  Smith. 

Elmdon  Vicarage, 

Saflfron  Walden,  Essex,  England, 

April  17  th,  1900. 


366 


THE  CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[Jnly, 


©m"  100k  ^Khlt. 


We  have  received  a  copy  of  "  A 
Short  Commentary  on  the  Messianic 
Psalms,"  by  Rev.  W.  S.  Moule, 
Ningpo,  which  we  reserve  for  fuller 
review  at  another  time.  Works 
like  this,  which  will  unfold  to  the 
Chinese  brethren  the  treasures  of 
the  Psalter,  are  greatly  needed. 
These  precious  hymns,  prayers, 
cries  of  the  soul,  which  fit  every 
need  of  the  Christian,  are  a  sealed 
book  to  most  of  the  Christians,  even 
to  the  preachers  and  pastors  in  the 
native  church.  We  therefore 
receive  with  delight  such  books  as 
this. 


We  would  thank  an  old  friend, 
Mr.  Freyer,  for  a  copy  of  a  cata- 
logue of  the  publications  of  the 
American  Mission  Press  in  Syria, 
which  was  founded  at  Malta  in 
1822  and  moved  to  Beirut  in  1834. 
Their  publications,  aside  from 
Bibles,  number  over  650 ;  and  the 
list  given  shows  a  choice  collection 
of  religious  and  educational  books, 
pamphlets,  and  tracts.  In  glancing 
through  the  list  one  realizes  how 
immeasurably  easier  it  is  to  clothe 
the  teachings  of  Christianity  in 
Syrian  than  in  Chinese  dress.  Yet 
the  conquests  of  the  gospel  are  as 
real  in  China  as  in  Syria ;  it  is  as 
easy  to  bring  the  Chinese  to  Christ 
as  the  Syrian  ! 


Missionaries  in  interior  stations 
are  launching  out  more  and  more  in 
printing  work.  A  number  of  little 
papers  reach  us,  the  printing  of 
which  doubtless  helps  to  solve  the 
manual  labor  problem  which  con- 
fronts many  converts  to  Christian- 
ity ;  while  the  papers  give  to  mem- 
bers of  missions  and  friends  at 
home  items  of  news  fresh  from  the 
front.     The    Meaaenger,  printed  at 


Nanking  by  the  Christian  and 
Missionary  Alliance  missionaries, 
and  From  the  Front,  by  Dr.  But- 
chardt,  of  the  Foreign  Christian 
Mission,  are  two  of  these  papers. 
The  latter  is  doing  some  really  good 
work  in  half  tone  printing;  the  etch 
ing,  etc.,  being  all  done  at  Lu-cheo- 
fu.  Another  similar  paper  received 
is  the  Asylum  Record,  which  gives 
news  from  the  Okayama  orphan  asy- 
lum, Japan.  This  asylum  prints  a 
monthly  newspaper  in  Japanese — 
the  Okayama  Kojiin  Shimpo — with 
a  circulation  of  15,000  copies. 


Received  Journal  0/  the  China 
Branch  of  the  Royal  Aaiatic  Society, 
Vol.  XXXI,  1896-1897.  Con- 
tributors :  E.  II.  Parker,  A.  Forke, 
Jr.,  T.  W.  Kingsmill,  F.  E.  Taylor, 
P.  G.  Von  Mollendorf,  W.  R. 
Carles. 

Also,  Knowledge,  an  illustrated 
magazine  of  science,  literature,  and 
art,  founded  by  Richard  A.  Proc- 
tor.    London,  May  1st,  1900. 


Friend  of  China,  the  Organ  for  the  So- 
ciety for  the  Suppression  of  the  Opium 
Trade,     April,  1900. 

"The  substitution,  in  the  best 
irrigated  and  most  fertile  lands  of 
the  Ganges  valley,  of  a  crop  which 
would  have  alleviated  the  famine 
now  so  severely  felt  in  India  is  at 
variance  with  the  humane  and  gen- 
erous measures  by  which  the  Indian 
government  is  earnestly  setting 
itself  to  relieve  the  famine."  Ac- 
cording to  the  appendix,  based  on 
official  reports  (1887-1897),  there 
have  been  ten  successive  bad  harvests 
of  opium  in  Bengal,  Besides  the 
blight  of  heaven  the  competition  of 
other  crops,  especially  food-stufiF,  is 
reported    to    be    a    thorn    in    the 


1900.] 


OUR   BOOK   TABLB. 


367 


government's  side.  "  Food  grains  are 
selling  at  so  liij?h  a  price  tliat  the 
cultivators  are  expecting  to  gain 
more  sowing  wheat,  etc.,  than  by 
sowing;  poppy."  Alas  !  that  in  China 
the  poppy  should  as  a  rule  pay 
better  than  grain  or  vegetables,  and 
so  while  the  Indian  government 
must  advance  the  cultivators  money 
and  offer  various  inducen)ents  to 
enlarge  the  area  of  cultivation  the 
Chinese  fanner  needs  no  inducement 
to  enlarge  his  poppy  fields,  for  the 
increasing  demand  and  the  accursed 
thirst  for  gain  suffice  to  aggravate 
the  already  gigantic  evil. 

D. 


English  and   Chinese  Catechism   of  Ge- 
offraphy.  Commercial  Press,  Shanghai. 

The  English  question  and  answer 
are  placed  side*  by  side  with  the 
Chinese  renderings.  The  compiler 
evidently  favors  reform.  Here  are 
some  specimens  of  his  teaching: — 

What  religion  is  spreading  in 
India  ?     The  Christian  religion. 

For  what  are  Asiatics  remark- 
able?    For  following  old  customs. 

In  what  state  are  women  kept? 
In  ignorance. 

Of  what  nature  are  all  govern- 
ments of  Asia,  except  the  English? 
Despotic  (^  ■^)  ;  the  rulers  act 
just  as  they  please. 

For  what  is  Palestine  famous  ? 
As  the  country  in  which  Jesus 
Christ,  the  Son  of  God  and  the 
Savior  of  men,  suffered  and  died. 

What  book  is  widely  circulated 
in  England  ?  The  Bible,  the  great 
cause  of  England's  happiness  and 
greatness. 

Among  whom  does  Christianity 
prevail  ?  Among  all  the  enlighten- 
ed nations  of  the  world. 

How  does  Shanghai  compare  with 
other  Chinese  cities  ?  It  is  a  large, 
rich,  and  handsome  city,  and  the 
best  built  and  most  elegant  in 
China. 

What  can  be  said  of  the  Can- 
tonese ?    They  are  the  most  enter- 


prizing  and  industrious   people  of 
China. 

In  what  has  Japan  distinguished 
itself  in  late  years?  Its  wonderful 
progress  in  civilization. 

How  was  this  progre.ss  brought 
about?  By  increased  intercourse 
with  fureign  nations. 

D. 


British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society.     Re- 
port of  the  China  Agency,  1899. 

If  any  one  should  casually  imagine 
that  the  work  of  this  Society  ia 
merely  the  sale  of  Scriptures  in 
China  he  should  read  this  luminous 
and  business-like  report,  when  be 
will  see  that  translation  and  re- 
vision, as  well  as  printing,  must 
occupy  much  of  the  agent's  time. 
Not  only  are  the  three  versions 
planned  by  the  General  Conference 
well  advanced,  but  also  the  following 
colloquial  versions :  Ningpo,  Wen- 
chow,  Kien-ning,  Anjoy,  Swatow, 
Canton,  Hainan,  Tibetan;  some  of 
these  revisions,  the  last  an  edition  of 
the  gospels  by  photolithography,  pre- 
pared by  two  missionaries  in  Ghoom, 
India.  1,059,165  volumes  were 
printed  during  the  year,  while  over 
one  million  books  were  issued,  and 
the  circulation  amounted  to  856,156 
volumes,  an  increase  of  127,440. 
The  report  shews  that  notwith- 
standing the  anti-reform  wave, 
whatever  the  effect  on  other  classes 
of  literature,  the  Bible  keeps  on 
increasing,  doubtless  because  the 
church  is  growing  still.  The  de- 
mand for  better  bound  and  hence 
more  costly  copies  is  another  grati- 
fying proof  that  the  Christians  also 
are  growing  in  grace  and  long  for 
the  Bible  in  more  durable  form  than 
the  cheap  paper-covered  editions 
which  the  heathen  consider  such  a 
bargain. 

Beside  the  359  Chinese  men  em- 
ployed as  colporteurs  the  Society 
after  two  years'  experiment  reports 
a  success  in  the  employment  of 
Chinese  women  as  readers  and  dis- 


368 


THE    CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[Jnly, 


tributors  of  the  Bible  ;  forty-three 
being  employed ;  their  sales  being  20 
Bibles,  137  Testaments  and  5,172 
portions.     They  read  the  Scriptures 


to  upwards  of  2,000  women,  of 
whom  about  one-quarter  are  report- 
ed to  have  commenced  to  learn  to 
read  for  themselves.  D. 


^bitorial  Comimnt, 


To  eveu  those  who  have  been 
pessimistic  in  regard  to  China 
the  events  which  have  occurred 
in  the  north  during  the  past 
month  have  been  a  complete 
surprise.  That  the  Empress- 
Dowager  should  have  given 
countenance  to  the  Boxers,  that 
the  railways  should  have  been 
torn  up,  that  within  the  city  of 
Peking  itself  the  foreigners  in  the 
legations  as  well  as  in  the  mis- 
sions should  have  been  caught  in 
a  trap,  imprisoned  in  we  scarce- 
ly dare  surmise  how  fearful  an 
insecurity,  sounds  so  strange  that 
if  one  had  prophesied  it  none 
would  have  believed. 

We  cannot  be  too  thankful 
that  the  powers  are  agreeing  to 
act  together;  and  our  prayers 
should  never  cease  that  their 
representatives  may  sink  unim- 
portant differences  and  selfish 
desires  for  aggrandizement  and 
seek  the  peace  of  the  Far  East. 
A  selfish  act  on  the  part  of  one 
power,  at  this  time^  would  too 
easily  prevent  any  lasting  solu- 
tion of  China's  difficulties  and 
put  us  on  the  verge  of  war  and 
disquiet  for  years  to  come, 

•  .  *  •  * 
The  reports  of  the  trials  which 
have  befallen  our  native  brethren 
in  the  north  are  saddening  in 
the  extreme.  The  one  bright 
point  is  the  great  faithfulness 
and  joy  in  being  counted  worthy 
to  suflfer  on  the  part  of  &o  many. 


Martyr-crowns  have  been  won 
in  China  and  in  greater  numbers 
than  many  have  as  yet  any  idea 
of.  In  the  destruction  of  mission 
buildings  and  Cliristian  homes 
in  and  near  both  Peking  and 
Tientsin  great  numbers  of 
Chinese  lost  their  lives.  We 
cannot  of  course  for  a  long 
time  expect  to  obtain  a  correct 
idea  of  the  number  of  the  slain  ; 
but  very  few  who  have  been 
known  to  have  anything  to  do 
with  foreigners  have  had  the 
opportunity  to  escape  or  find 
protection. 

The  dreadful  fear  that  hung 
like  a  pill  over  all  hearts  for  a 
time,  lest  the  imprisoned  foreigu- 
ners  in  the  Legations  and  the 
Methodist  Mission  compound 
should  be  overcome  and  lose 
their  lives,  has  not  yet  been  com- 
pletely dispelled  ;  but  hope  is  now 
brighter.  Yet  let  us  remember 
that  large  numbers  of  Chinese 
have  been  massacred. 

The  loss  of  telegraphic  com- 
munication between  Peking  and 
Tientsin  and  between  both  these 
places  and  the  rest  of  China,  has 
added  to  the  fear  and  the  unrest 
of  Chinese  near  Shanghai.  All 
sorts  of  rumors  have  been  afloat, 
and  some  of  the  Chinese  have 
been  rather  panicky.  Along  the 
Yaugtsze  river,  where  mobs  are 
easily  incited,  signs  of  danger 
have  been  apparent  for  some  time. 
Several     Mission    Boards    have 


1900.] 

cabled,  orderiiif?  all  their  inland 
missionaries  to  the  coast.  Vice- 
roy Lin  Kuii-yi  has,  however, 
shown  his  loyalty  to  the  best 
interests  of  China  in  opposin*,'  all 
the  measures  taken  by  the  Era- 
press  and  the  anti-foreign  officials, 
and  proposes  with  strong  hand  to 
keep  the  peace  in  Central  China. 
The. joint  proclamation  of  the  ad- 
mirals of  the  allied  powers  at 
Takii,  assuring  the  Chinese  that 
the  only  purpose  of  their  warlike 
actions  is  to  put  down  the  Boxers 
and  to  protect  the  lives  of  their 
own  nationals,  will  have  a  most 
salutary  effect: 

*  •  • 
The  annual  meeting  of  the 
Shanghai  Branch  of  the  China 
Association  was  held  on  Tuesday, 
June  10th,  at  which  the  remarks 
of  the  chairman,  Mr.  F.  Ander- 
son, were  of  special  interest,"  He 
gave  a  most  succinct  statement 
of  the  condition  of  affairs,  and  we 
are  glad  to  quote  his  remarks. 
Mr.  Anderson  said  : — 

'•  The  business  before  the  meet- 
ing is  to  pass  the  report  and 
accounts  for  1899  and  to  elect  a 
new  committee.  In  movinj^  that 
the  report  and  accounts  be  adopt- 
ed I  am  afraid  that  any  interest 
there  might  have  been  in  givinj^  an 
account  of  our  work  for  the  past 
year  has  been  entirely  eclipsed  by 
the  events  of  the  past  few  days. 
Last  year  is  already  ancient  history, 
and  looking  at  it  from  a  political 
and  economical  point  of  view  in 
China  it  must  be  regarded  as  a 
period  of  stagnation,  if  not  of  ret- 
rogression. In  tlie  introductory 
part  of  our  report  we  have  endea- 
voured to  describe  the  general 
situation  as  regards  the  govern- 
ment of  the  empire,  and  the  events 
which  have  taken  place  since  it  was 
written,  have  confirmed  the  conclu- 
sion at  which  we  arrived,  namely 


EDITOIUAL  COMMENT. 


869 


that  the  Peking  government  is  re- 
garded as  hopeless  both  by  the 
people  of  the  country  and  by  those 
foreign  powers  which  have  the 
welfare  of  China  at  heart.  But  the 
climax  of  the  Empress-Dowager's 
policy  must  have  come  upon  us  all 
like  a  bolt  from  the  blue.  We  were 
all  quite  prepared  to  acknowledge 
that  the  utterly  rotten  state  of  the 
Peking  government  was  such  that 
important  changes  must  sooner  or 
later  come  about,  but  it  was  felt 
that  either  internal  rebellion,  or 
foreign  pressure,  or  both,  were  the 
influences  which  would  bring  about 
a  change.  No  one  imagined  that 
even  in  its  colossal  ignorance  the 
Manchu  party  would  have  com- 
mitted such  an  act  of  midsummer 
madness  as  to  ally  itself  with  tlie 
rabble  and  challenge  the  great) 
powers  of  the  world.  That  has 
been  done ;  a  state  of  war  exists  at 
the  capital,  but  fortunately  the 
nation  at  large  has  not  lost  its 
reason,  and  whilst  the  reactionary 
party  of  the  north  are  now  engaged 
in  actual  hostilities  with  the  great 
powers  of  the  world  the  local 
viceroys  and  provincial  administra- 
tions are  looking  on  with  pity,  not 
unmixed  with  contempt.  The  whole 
situation  has  been  suddenly  changed 
by  the  action  of  the  very  people 
who  have  been  in  the  past  bitterly 
opposed  to  any  change,  and  we  are 
suddenly  brought  face  to  face  with 
either  what  Lord  Charles  Beresford 
calls  the  "  Break-up  of  China  "  or 
what  Mr.  Colquhoun  calls  "  China 
in  Transformation,"  and  in  our 
opinion  it  depends  to  a  great  extent 
upon  the  action  of  England  in  this 
crisis  which  of  the  two  will  happen. 
England  has  perhaps  been  wise  in 
not  doing  anything  to  precipitate 
this  crisis.  She  has  had  very  serious 
work  in  hand  on  the  north-west 
frontier  of  India,  in  Egypt,  and  in 
South  Africa,  but  the  serious 
nature  of  the  difficulties  she  has 
had  to  face  have  shown  unmistak- 
ably the  grit  and  mettle  of  the  old 


8T0 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[July, 


country,  and  not  of  the  old  country 
alone,  but  of  our  colonies,  who  vied 
with    each    other   in    hastening   to 
j»ive  a  helping  hand.   Every  subject 
of  the  Queen  feels  intense  pride  in 
the  events  of   the  last   two  years, 
and   we   may   be   quite    sure    that 
they  have  had  a  consideiable  effect 
both  on  the  friends  of  the  country 
and    the   enemies    we    may    count 
amongst  the  nations.     No  one  can 
say  at  present   whether  we  are  on 
the    eve    of    another    struggle    in 
defence  of  our  rights  and   the  in- 
terests  of  our  empire,      I   do  not 
say  that  the  present   conflict  in  the 
north  will  result  in  a  general  con- 
flagration,   but    I    do   say    that    a 
clear,  firm,  decided  course  of  action 
on  the  part  of  England  will  be  one 
of  the  principal  influences  in  pre- 
venting such  a  castastrophe.     It  is 
impossible   to  settle   the  questions 
that  have  been   raised  until   order 
has  been  restored.    The  danger  will 
really  begin    when  order  has  been 
restored,    and   a   new   government 
has  to  be  decided  upon.     We  hope 
that    the   government   will   realize 
that  a  weak  and  vacillating  policy 
now  will  be  fatal  to  the  interests 
of    the    empire,    that    a   stitch   in 
time  saves   nine,   that  a  policy  of 
temporary   expediency  will  not  be 
our  watchword,  and   that  we  shall 
not   agree   to   a   policy    which,    to 
quote   a  Chinese  proverb,   may  be 
good  for  ten  years  and  bad  for  ten 
thousand.     The  more   the   English 
government    shows    its    determina- 
tion to  assert  its  rights  and   influ- 
ence, the  less  will  be  the  danger  of 
serious  trouble.     Our  policy  ought, 
in  our  opinion,  to  be  first,  if  it  can 
be  managed,  to  uphold  the  integrity 
of  China   under  a  projjressive  gov- 
ernment,   giving    it,    if    necessary, 
the  support  of  Great   Britain,    but 
accepting  co-operation   with    other 
powers  ;  no  exclusive  privileges  for 
ourselves,    but  also   none   for   any 
other  nation.    If  that  policy  proves 
to  be  impossible,  if  special  privileges 
are  claimed  in  special  spheres,   we 


maintain  that  England  must  do  the 
same  in  our  sphere,  and  if  partition 
is  forced  upon  China  we  must  be 
prepared  to  enter  upon  the  protec- 
tion of  our  sphere  in  earnest.     The 
fact  that   we  are   prepared   with  a 
definite  and   clear  policy,  and  that 
we  are  prepared  to  carry  it  out,  will 
be  a  restraining  influence  of  great 
importance    on    other    powers.     I 
would   ask   you   for   a   moment  to 
consider    what    the     partition     of 
China  means.     It  means   bringing 
between    three   and   four    hundred 
millions  of  a  population  eventually 
within  the  voi-tex  of  militarism.    It 
probably    means    that    the    great 
powers  will  have  to  maintain  large 
native    armies,   with   conterminous 
frontiers,  artificially  arranged.    An 
increase    in  one  army   will  be  fol- 
lowed by  a  corresponding  increase 
in  the  others ;  each  division  will  be 
under  a  different  system  of  govern- 
ment,   and    the    interests  involved 
are  certain  to  clash  sooner  or  later; 
there   is   no   choice    between   this 
state  of  things,  and  allowing  over- 
whelming power   to   pass  into   the 
hands  of  one   nation.     When   you 
have  created  Chinese  armies,   will 
all  the  powers  be  able  to  rely  upon 
their  loyalty  1     I  think  it  is   very 
doul)tful,  but  I  also  think   that  in 
the  long   run   English  administra- 
tion    need    not   fear    that    it    will 
suffer  in   comparison   with   that  of 
the    others   with   whom   it   will  be 
brought   into   contact,    and   if  the 
great  experiment  be  tried    I   have 
sufficient  confidence   in   the  power 
of   England    to   govern    to  believe 
that  they  will  succeed  in  China  as 
they   have   in   India   and    Africa. 
Another  point  that  must  be  borne 
in  mind  is  that  if  this  great  parti- 
tion takes  place,  it   is  exceedingly 
improbable  that  it  will   be  brought 
about  except  after  years  of  convul- 
sion, at  any  rate  in  certain  portions 
of  the  country,  and  the  stupendous 
nature  of  the    task     will  probably 
cause  the  most  aggressive  power  to 
pause.    On  the  other  hand,  if  the 


1900.] 


EDITORIAL   COMMENT. 


371 


transformation  of  China  is  arrived 
at,  and  the  powers  ciin  agree  to  co- 
operate to  maintain  its  integrity, 
the  development  of  this  country 
under  a  progressive  government 
will  revolutionizd  the  world.  The 
basis  of  t!ie  government  of  China 
— the  family,  the  theory  of  its 
administration — the  personal  re- 
sponsibility of  officials — is  exceed- 
ing well  suited  to  the  people.  If 
the  powers  are  sincere  it  should 
not  be  impossible  to  inaugurate  a 
system  of  law,  reform  of  taxation, 
proper  payment  of  officials,  and  a 
reform  of  the  system  of  defence 
within  certain  limits.  Granted  that 
this  was  accomplished  and  free 
play  given  to  the  development  of  its 
marvellous  resources  the  prosperity 
of  the  country,  with  an  industrious 
and  intellii^ent  population  like  the 
Chinese,  would  advance  by  leaps 
and  bounds,  and  the  civilized  world 
will  be  saved  from  a  difficult  and 
perilous  experiment  There  must 
be  no  question,  liowever,  about  the 
continuation  of  the  present  regime. 
It  is  absolutely  necessary,  now  that 
the  opportunity  has  come,  that  the 
present  reactionary  party  should 
be  replaced  by  a  party  of  progres- 
sion. If  that  is  done  we  shall  find, 
to  quote  Mr.  Colquhoun  again, 
that  the  same  people  who  are  dis- 
posed to  be  insolent  and  aggressive 
■when  met  with  deference  and 
weakness,  are  friendly  and  reason- 
able when  dealt  with  a  firm  hand. 
"What  the  Association  has  done 
since  these  troubles  have  broken 
out  perhaps  it  would  not  be  partic- 
ularly judicious  for  nie  to  repeat 
in  public.  We  have  had  many 
communications  with  H.  B.  M.'s 
Consul-General,  Mr.  Pelham  War- 
ren, and  with  the  London  Com- 
mittee, who  have  been  communicat- 
ing direct  with  the  Foreign  Office. 
The  committee  are  impressed  with 
the  very  excellent  work  which  has 
been  done,  since  these  troubles  have 
arisen,  by  Mr.  Warren.  We  believe 
that     the    government    are    fully 


alive  to  the  responsibility  of  the 
situation,  and  all  we  can  continue 
to  do  is  to  urge  upon  them  the 
policy  which  I  have  endeavoured 
to  sketch  in  these  remarks.  I  can- 
not conclude  without  giving  ex- 
pression to  the  deep  sympathy  and 
anxiety  which  we  all  feel  for  those 
who  have  been  unfortunately  shut 
up  in  Peking,  and  more  particularly 
Sir  Claude  and  Lady  Macdonald. 
Our  earnest  hope  is  that  at  any 
moment  we  may  hear  of  their 
having  been  relieved." 


THE  MISSIONARY   HOME   AND 
AGENCY,   SHANGHAI. 

As  is  well  knowu  to  onr 
missionary,  friends,  the  above 
has,  for  quite  a  number  of  years, 
been  an  institutiou  of  Shanghai, 
For  the  past  tea  years  it  has 
been  in  the  hands  of  Mr.  Edward 
Evans  and  his  wife,  who  have 
developed  it  from  a  conaiparative- 
iy  small  affair  in  one  house  to  its 
present  proportions,  using  three 
houses  and  carrying  on  a  large 
connection  with  corresponding 
missionaries  all  through  the 
East,  attending  to  their  matters 
and  providing  a  much  appreciat- 
ed "Agency"  to  meet  the  many 
business  needs  of  the  missionary 
public. 

The  premises,  as  well  as  the 
neighbourhood  in  which  they  are 
situated,  have,  however,  degener- 
ated, and  for  many  reasons  a 
change  has  been  most  desirable ; 
the  high  rentals  commanded  by 
house  property  in  Shanghai  of 
late  years  presenting  an  obstacle 
to  its  accomplishment.  It  had 
the  advantage  of  being  very  cen- 
tral, too,  so  that  any  move  that 
would  be  made,  would  have  to 
keep  that  most  essential  point  in 
view. 


372 


THE    CHINESE    RECORDER. 


[Jnly, 


We  are  happj^  to  learn  that 
there  is  dow  to  be  a  change;  two 
houses,  one  a  very  large  one,  in 
a  new  block  jnst  completed  on 
the  corner  of  Qniusan  and  North 
Szechnen  Roads,  having  been 
leased,  to  be  occnpied  September 
1st.  The  main  entrance  is  on 
Quinsan  Road,  bnt  the  honse 
fronts  on  both  streets  and  also 
on  "  Qniusan  Gardens  "  a  lawn 
running  the  whole  length  of  the 
block  upon  which  the  wide  sooth 
verandahs  of  the  Home  will  look. 
Oo  the  eastern  end  of  the  "  Gar- 
den "  block  lies  the  Qninsan 
Park,  so  that  guests  and  their 
families  may  enjoy  these  ad- 
vantages as  fully  as  if  the 
"  Home  "  were  in  the  open  coun- 
try, while  as  regards  convenience 
to  the  business  part  of  the  settle- 
ment it  is  actually  five  minutes' 
walk  nearer  to  "Hall  &  Holtz," 
corner  of  Nanking  Road,  than 
the  former  Home.  To  those 
familiar  with  Shanghai  it  will 
be  evident  from  this  that  no 
disadvantage  accrues  from  the 
change,  while  the  a[)proach  from 
the  several  steamer  landings  can 
be  reduced  to  almost  the  same 
distance.  There  are  no  native 
houses,  but  only  some  of  the 
finest  foreign  residences  sur- 
rounding the  new  "  Home  "  on 
each  side.  There  are  no  "  back  " 
rooms,  as  on  its  several  sides  the 
rooms  look  out  on  street  or  gar- 
den. The  house  is  fitted  in  the 
most  improved  manner,  with 
electric  bells;  several  of  the 
rooms  having  private  bath-rooms 
attached,  as  well  as  their  own 
distinct  share  of  verandah.  The 
parlor,  sitting,  and  dining  rooms 
en  suite  are  commodious  and  most 
attractive.  On  the  ground  floor, 
entering  on  the  south  front,  are 
the  offices,  book-room,  box-room, 


and  baggage  elevator,  and  a 
separate  private  entrance  to  the 
second  house. 

It  is  unnecessary  for  us  to  say 
anything  as  to  the  entertainment 
or  advantages  of  the  "Home" 
as  a  rendezvous  for  the  mission- 
ary friends.  Those  who  have  en- 
joyed its  hospitality  iu  the  years 
past  can  appreciate  these  and 
can  testify  to  the  houjelike  char- 
acter and  happy  Christian  at- 
mosphere enjoyed — giving  re- 
freshment to  mind,  body,  and 
spirit.  We  feel  assured  these 
conditions  will  be  maintained  in 
the  new  Home  as  ever.  We 
heartily  express  the  hope  that 
the  support  that  this  institution 
has  so  generally  received  will  be 
more  than  continued.  It  will  be 
obvious  that  the  expenses  of  the 
new  Home  will  be  considerably 
in  advance  of  the  former  one, 
but  if  well  supported  Mr.  Evans 
hopes  to  be  able  to  clear  himself 
without  materially  changing  the 
tarifi^  He  prof)Oses  to  make  the 
experiment,  and  a  number  of  the 
rooms  will  be  available  at  the 
rates  hitherto  asked.  There  will 
be  an  addition  on  those  rooms 
which  afford  special  advantages, 
so  that  every  taste  can  be 
provided  for. 

We  would  mention  that  the 
advantage  of  keeping  the  "Home" 
strictly  for  the  use  of  casual 
traffic,  only  the  travelling  mis- 
sionary being  accommodated, 
while  very  satisfactory  to  the 
latter,  on  arriving  in  Shang- 
hai during  a  time  of  much 
demand,  it  would  financially 
doubtless  be  of  advantage  to 
support  the  "  Home  "  with  a 
more  permanent  tenancy.  For 
this  reason  we  feel  that  our 
friends  iu  carrying  on  the 
"Home"     on     this    personally 


1900.] 

disinterested  basis  have  a  claim 
to  the  help  and  support  of  those 
intended  to  be  benefited.  May 
the  "  Missionary  Home  "  in  its 
new  quarters  continue  more  and 
more  to  be  a  feature  of  the 
missionary  agencies  of  our  land 
and  work. 

*  *        *        . 
The     harrowing    acconnts    of 

famine  and  sickness  which  still 
reach  us  from  India  call  for 
deepest  sympathy.  Beside  the 
large  snms  of  money  in  aid 
sent  by  the  foreign  residents  in 
Shanghai  various  amounts  have 
been  forwarded  directly  to  mis- 
sionaries from  native  Christians 
here  and  there.  A  surplus  of 
nearly  $100  being  in  hand  after 
aid  to  flood-sufferers  near  Yii- 
yiao,  Chekiang,  this  spring,  that 
amount  was  sent,  with  the  con- 
currence of  the  native  workers 
in  that  region,  and  accompanied 
by  their  prayers,  to  Rev.  M.  B. 
Fuller,  of  Bombay,  for  the  famine 
snflferers. 

*  *        * 

Wb  note  in  an  exchange — the 
Bomhay  Guardian — that  a 
steamer  laden  with  grain  was  on 
the  way  to  India  from  the  U.  S. ; 


MISSIONABY  KEWS. 


873 


the  steamer  being  chartered  by 
the  U.  S.  government.  These 
200,000  bushels  of  grain,  the  re- 
sult of  the  philanthropic  work  of 
the  editor  of  the  Christian 
Herald  of  New  York,  will  help 
to  feed  many.  Yet  the  sufferers 
are  many  times  more  than  can 
be  cared  for,  although  the 
British  government  is  doing 
so  nobly  in  feeding  millions. 


Many  will  be  glad  to  see  that 
the  Review  of  "  Methods  of  Mis- 
sion Work,"  written  by  Dr. 
Mateer  and  printed  in  March- 
May  numbers,  has  been  reprinted 
in  pamphlet  form.  It  is  no  dis- 
paragement of  either  the  earlier 
work  or  this  review  to  say  that 
the  two  together  form  a  valuable 
all  around  treatise  on  mission 
methods. 


Back  numbers  of  Woman'* 
Work  in  the  Far  East  are  de- 
sired as  follows :  November, 
1887 ;  May  and  November,  1888 ; 
May,  1889;  and  May,  1890. 
The  Presbyterian  Mission  Press 
will  pay  twenty-five  cents  per 
copy  for  each  of  these  numbers. 


tssionarjj  l^ctos. 


The  Ecumenical  Con- 
ference, 

"  The  personnel  of  the  [Ecumen- 
ical] Conference  was  intensely  in- 
teresting. Never  was  "the  hoary 
head  "  as  *'  a  crown  of  glory  "  more 
truly  such  than  in  the  persons  of 
John  G.  Paton,  forty-three  years  in 


the  South  Seas;  Wm.  Ashmore* 
fifty  years  in  China ;  Jacob  Cham* 
berlain,  forty-two  years  in  India  J 
and  Bp.  Ridley,  long  a  heroic  toiler 
among  the  Red  Indians  of  the  frozen 
north.  These,  and  a  few  others 
like  them,  were  the  more  eagerly 
heard,  because  their  names  are  his- 
toric and  because  they  are  reckoned 


S74 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[July, 


among  the  modern  apostles  who  have 
wrought  mightily  and  subdued  king- 
doms. But  there  was  a  great  com- 
pany from  many  lands  whose  names 
are  a  synonym  for  noble  deeds  .  .  . 
Where  all  [the  addresses]  were  so 
good  and  inspiring,  it  would  seem 
almost  out  of  place  to  particularize  ; 
yet  by  common  consent  the  finest 
paper  from  any  home  worker  was 
that  read  by  Canon  Edmonds,  of  Ex- 
eter, England  ;  and  the  most  inspir- 
ing address  from  a  missionary  was 
that  delivered  by  the  venerable  Dr. 
Ashmore,  of  the  Baptist  Mission  in 
China.  Canon  Edmond's  paper  was 
on  the  translation  and  distribution 
of  the  Scriptures,  a  theme  for  which 
his  long  connection  with  the  Bri- 
tish and  Foreign  Bible  Society  gave 
him  peculiar  fitness. 

Dr.  Ashmore's  address  [was]  on 
the  "  Three  Chinas  "—the  China  of 
the  past,  the  China  of  the  present, 
and  the  China  of  the  future.  The 
first  two  parts  could  not  have  been 
otherwise  than  excellent  from  such 
a  man,  who  for  half  a  century  has 
toiled  in  China;  but  when,  at  a 
late  hour  in  the  evening,  he  reached 
the  "China  of  the  Future"  he  was 
truly  the  "  old  naan  eloquent."  He 
stood  before  his  vast  audience,  fill- 
ing gallery  on  gallery  far  up  to  the 
ceiling,  like  some  venerable  prophet 
of  Old  Testament  times,  inspii'ed 
to  sublimest  speech  by  his  vision 
of  the  kindling  dawn  of  the  Church's 
triumphal  day.  He  loves  China, 
and  firmly  believes  she  will  be  pre- 
served of  God  to  become  a  great 
Christian  nation.  None  who  heard 
him  that  evening  can  ever  forget 
his  thrilling  plea  for  China  " — The 
Missionary  (Southren  Presbyterian 
Church)  for  June. 


The  Escape  frow  Tsang- 

chou. 

We  reprint  this  letter  from  Rev. 
D.  S.  Murray  to  Dr.  Muirhead,  re- 
counting the  escape  of  the  mission- 


aries from  Tsang-chou.  It  is  at  pres- 
ent impossible  to  get  any  detailed 
news  from  our  friends  in  the 
interior : — 

Taku,  18th  June,  1900. 

Dear  Mr.  Muirhead:  I  am  sure  you 
will  be  glad  to  know  that  our  Tsang-chou 
party  is  all  safe,  after  running  a  very 
narrow  escape  of  extermination  by  the 
Boxers, 

I  was  hurrying  up  on  Tuesday  last, 
getting  all  our  Christians  off  as  far  as 
possible  to  places  of  safety,  when  word 
came  that  we  were  surrounded  by  thou- 
sands of  Boxers  bent  on  murder  and 
pillage.  General  Mei  and  our  local  mag- 
istrate kindly  sent  us  their  own  carts  and 
a  strong  escort  of  friendly  Chinese  soldiers. 
Throwing  on  some  Chinese  clothing  we 
stole  out  soon  after  midnight  through  the 
Boxer  lines,  and  God  restrained  tliem  in 
some  wonderful  manner.  If  they  had 
made  an  attack  on  us  our  Chinese  escort 
would  have  broken  and  fled,  as  they  were 
quite  demoralized  by  fear.  Hurrying  on  we 
actually  made  sixty  miles  the  same  day, 
arriving  at  Chi-cou  on  the  coast  the  same 
night.  At  Chi-cou  the  general  wished  us 
to  go  to  the  Taku  forts,  thirty-seven  miles 
distant,  and  this  too  was  General  Mei'a 
orders,  but  I  was  afraid  the  allied  troops 
might  at  any  time  attack  theforts,  so  I  sent 
a  servant  by  a  small  fishing  bout  to  the 
British  admiral,  who  kindly  sent  us  a 
steam  launch  next  day.  On  the  fourth 
day  of  our  leaving  Tsang-chou  we  arrived 
at  Taku,  and  we  were  sent  out  on  board 
H.  M.  S.  Orlando.  Next  day  the  forts 
were  bombarded  and  taken.  The  forts 
opened  fire  soon  after  midnight  (12.50), 
and  for  nearly  six  hours  a  most  terrific 
cannonade  was  kept  up  from  the  forts 
(over  100  guns)  and  the  smaller  vessels 
that  could  get  near  enough  to  bombard. 
None  of  the  big  vessels  could  get  within 
range  owing  to  the  bar.  A  landing 
party  from  the  different  ships,  about 
1,200  or  1,500  strong,  went  round  and 
escaladed  the  forts  in  the  rear.  About  6 
a.m.  the  south  fort  blew  up  with  a  terrific 
explosion,  and  then  it  was  soon  over. 
The  taking  of  the  forts  has,  for  the  pres- 
ent, seriously  increased  the  dangers  of 
the  situation,  as  now  all  Chinese  Imperial 
troops  must  fight  the  foreigner,  that  is, 
take  sides  with  the  Boxers.  Our  interior 
missionary  stations  are  in  the  greatest 
danger,  but  nothing  can  be  done  at  pres- 
ent to  relieve  them  until  larger  forces  of 
troops  come  and  until  Pekinu  is  relieved. 
Tientsin  is  entirely  surrounded  by  Boxers, 
and  is  now  in  great  danger,  as  the  Im- 
perial troops  have  artillery.  No  com- 
muuioatiou  possible  between  Taku  and 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  NEWS. 


375 


Tientsin,     Admiral  Seymour  is  entirely 
cut  off  from  Lis  bntie  liere. 

The  authorities  hiive  made  far  too 
light  of  things  till  now.  Tlie  situation  is 
really  a  frightful  one.  General  Mei  says 
the  lowest  estimate  of  Boxers  in  four 
northern  provinces  is  three  millions.  We 
are  probably  going  to  Wei-hai-wei  to- 
morrow, where  Dr.  Peill,  at  the  admiral's 
requesf,  will  take  charge  of  the  naval 
hospital.  We  have  lost  everything,  and 
our  houses  and  line  new  hospital  probal>ly 
burned  ere  now.  With  kincleat  regards  to 
yourself  aud  Mrs.  Muirhead. 

I  am,  yours  sincerely, 

D.  S.  Mdbbat. 


Anti-Opium  League 
in  China* 


Contributions. 


.        —  1620.19 


Danish  Luth- 
-enm  Mission, 
Manchuria 


Previously  reported 
Rev.  O.  Olesen 

„    John  Vyff 

,,    J.  Lykkegaard 

,,    M.  Jensen 

„    C.  Waidtlow 

„    C.  Bolwig 
Miss  K.  Nielsen 

„    E.  Nielsen 
Miss  E.  Tomkinson,  Ning-hai  ... 
Dr.  L,  Savin,  Chao-tong.fu      ,„ 
Rev.  F.  J.  Dymoud  „ 
Mr.  Thorns  ,,     ^ 

Miss  Bush  „      

Rev.  S.  B.  Ward       „     ... 

„    B.  C,  Patterson,  Su-cli'ien... 
Dr.  Alfred  Hogg,  Wencbow 
A  Friend    ,..         ...         ...         ._ 

Ning-hai  Church,  per  Mr.  Knick- 

erbocUer         .„         ,„         _ 

Rev.  A.  R.  Crawford,  Kirin      .« 

„    W.  Miskelly  „ 

Dr.  B.  L.  Livingstone  Learmontb, 

Kirin  ...         .„ 
Rev.  F.  W.  S.  O'Neill,  Kirin    .. 
8g  5^  :*C     Nan-zitig 

m  ^  m      „         ...     ... 

Mm^      »         

iJii^^ii      „         

y^  Wi  /C.         it  ...        ... 

^»3r  „  

K  jSI  fli        M  .-       — 


25.00 


2.00 
2.00 
1.00 
1.00 
1.00 
2.00 
2.00 
5.10 
2.00 

5.00 
5.00 

s.oo 

2.00 
8.00 
5.00 
.20 
.20 
.20 
.20 
.20 
.20 


§687.49 
W.  H.  Park,  M.D., 
Treasurer. 
SoocHow,  June  11th,  1900. 


Another  Visit  to  Hunan* 

BT  KEV.  GRIFFITH  JOHN',  D.D. 
Reprinted  from  the  North-China  Daily  Ifeuii. 

Sir  :  A  brief  account  of  a  visit 
ju.st  paid  to  Hunau  may  interest 
some  of  your  readers. 

I  left  Hankow  on  the  7th  of 
May  and  reached  Yo-chou  early  on 
the  morning  of  the  9th,  where  I 
spent  a  part  of  two  days  with  Mr. 
Greig  and  Dr.  Peake.  It  was  a 
new  joy  to  visit  a  mission  station 
in  Hunan  actually  manned  by 
foreign  missionaries.  I  found  our 
two  missionaries  in  occupation  of 
the  house  purchased  by  us  last 
year;  but  the  house  is  so  trans- 
formed that  it  bears  hardly  any 
resemblance  to  its  original  self.  I 
found  them  also  in  the  enjoyment 
of  good  health  and  high  spirits. 
Yo-chou  is  undoubtedly  a  healthy 
place,  and  the  mission  is  most 
favourably  located.  It  would  be 
difficult  to  find  a  more  desirable 
spot  either  inside  or  outside  the 
city. 

Ever  since  the  establishment  of 
the  mission,  in  December  last,  a 
steady  work  has  been  carried  on  at 
Yo-chou.  The  officials  and  people 
have  been  exceedingly  friendly,  and 
no  ill  feeling  has  been  shown  on 
the  part  of  any  one.  Public  preach- 
ing is  carried  on  daily  at  the 
chapel,  aud,  as  a  rule,  the  place  is 
well  filled.  Special  services  are 
held  on  Sunday  and  certain  even- 
ings of  other  days  for  the  Chris- 
tians and  inquirers,  and  these  are 
well  attended.  Whilst  at  Yo-chou 
I  conducted  one  of  the  evening 
services.  The  attendance  was  good 
and  the  attention  paid  by  all  to 
the  words  spoken  was  very  gratify- 
ing. 

The  Yo-chou  prefecture  pre- 
sents a  very  attractive  sphere  of 
missionary  labour.  It  comprises 
four  districts  or  counties,  all  of 
which  can  be  easily  worked  from 
Yo-chou,  the  prefectural  city  ;  all 
four  will  be  worked  by  the  Loudon 


876 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDED, 


[July, 


Mission,  and  all  four  -will,  I  have 
no  doubt,  yield  a  goodly  harvest  in 
the  days  to  come. 

IVtr.  Greig  and  myself  went  on 
board  the  s.  s.  Siang-tai  late  on 
Thursday  night,  the  10th  May,  and 
left  Yo-chou  for  Chang-sha  early  on 
the  following  morning.  We  steam- 
ed across  the  lake  and  up  the  Siang 
■without  any  difficulty;  there  being 
abundance  of  water  everywhere. 
We  reached  Chang-sha  at  8  p.m., 
having  made  a  run  of  about  130 
English  miles  in  fourteen  hours. 
Next  morning  we  transferred  our 
baggage  to  the  little  steam  launch 
that  was  to  take  us  to  Siang- 
tan. 

At  Chang-sha  we  met  Mr.  Alex- 
ander, of  the  Alliance  Mission,  and 
had  some  conversation  with  him 
about  the  place  and  his  experiences 
at  the  place.  Mr.  Alexander  has 
been  at  Chang-sha  for  some  months, 
living  in  a  native  boat  and  doing 
colportage  work  in  and  around  the 
city.  He  is  not  allowed  to  live  on 
shore ;  but  he  has  had  no  difficulty, 
for  some  time,  in  going  in  and  out 
among  the  people  with  Scriptures 
and  tracts.  The  people  of  the 
place,  scholars  and  others,  visit 
bim  on  his  boat,  and  much  of  his 
time  is  spent  in  receiving  visitors 
and  conversing  with  them.  At 
first  he  met  with  some  opposition ; 
but  all  rudeness  has  died  down, 
and  he  is  able  now  to  carry  on  his 
work  without  any  annoyance  on 
the  part  of  officials  or  people.  He 
lives  on  Chinese  food  and  wears 
the  Chinese  dress.  He  might  pass 
for  a  Chinaman  so  far  as  appearance 
is  concerned.  Indeed  the  officials 
have  tried  to  pass  him  off  for  a 
native  of  Ningpo.  A  gunboat  is 
anchored  alongside  his  boat  for  his 
protection.  The  authorities  are 
evidently  determined  that  no  harm 
shall  befall  him.  Now  and  again 
they  send  him  word  to  ask  him 
what  it  is  that  is  keeping  him  at 
the  place  and  why  he  does  not  take 
his  departure.     But  no  attempt  is 


made  to  drive  him  away.  On  one  • 
point,  however,  they  are  fully  bent, 
namely,  that  he  shall  not  live  on 
shore.  But  their  opposition  is  all 
in  vain.  They  have  had  to  yield 
point  after  point,  so  that  now  only 
this  point  is  left.  A  little  more 
perseverance,  and  this  point  will 
be  yielded  too. 

We  left  Chang-sha  at  1  p.m.  and 
reached  Siang-tan  at  6.  The  dis- 
tance is  about  thirty  English  miles, 
and  we  did  it  in  five  hours.  Com- 
ing down,  on  our  return  trip,  it 
was  done  in  three  hours.  These 
steam  boats,  which  are  getting  to 
be  quite  numerous  in  Hunan,  make 
travelling  in  that  province  a  very 
different  thing  from  what  it  was  in 
former  days.  The  saving  of  time 
is  enormous  and  the  saving  of 
patiAice  is  not  less  so. 

At  Siang-tan  we  had  the  joy,  on 
this  visit,  of  living  on  shore  and  in 
our  own  house.  The  property  was 
bought  by  us  exactly  a  year  ago, 
and  has  been  used  ever  since  for 
mission  purposes.  It  is  situated  in 
a  busy  part  of  the  "  River  Street," 
which  is  the  main  street  in  Siang- 
tan.  The  house  is  large,  strongly 
built,  and  splendidly  situated  for 
our  work.  We  hope  to  evolve  out 
of  it  a  chapel  that  will  seat  a  con- 
gregation of  three  hundred  people 
at  least  and  a  dwelling  house  large 
enough  to  accommodate  two  bach- 
elors, or  one  married  couple.  Dur- 
ing our  stay  on  this  occasion  a 
large  number  of  people  visited  us, 
and  all  seemed  very  friendly.  On 
Sunday  morning  a  service  was  held 
in  the  chapel,  when  more  than  fifty 
Christians  were  present,  besides  a 
large  number  of  heathen.  There 
were  in  all  forty-eight  candidates 
for  church  membership,  of  whom 
eight  were  baptized  at  the  close  of 
the  service.  Among  those  who 
were  put  back,  some  struck  us  as 
genuinely  sincere  and  very  promis- 
ing. In  April  of  last  year  there 
were  eleven  persons  baptized  at 
Siang-tan,  but   the  ordinance  was 


DIARY   OF  E\ENTS   IN  THE   FAR  EAST. 


1900.] 

adniinistorod  on  board  our  native 
hoiib.  This  is  tlio  first  tirno  tlio 
rite  has  been  ad  iiiiiiisteied  on  shore. 
The  service  was  curried  on  from 
beginning  to  end  with  open  doors, 
but  we  had  no   difficulty  in  niaiiag- 

(7'o  be  concluded.) 


in^  the  crowd  of  outsiders  present. 
Many  listened  very  attentively  to 
the  pr(;aching  and  some  seemed 
really  interested.  Thei'o  wns  not 
tlie  least  manifestation  of  hostile 
feeling  on  the  part  of  any  one. 


DiarjT  0f  €bmt$  hx  tljt  Jfar  (Bust 


May  12th. — Mr.  Chao,  an  cvnngclist 
of  tlio  L.  M.  S.,  and  an  enquirer,  Liu 
Cliing-yun,  were  tied  up  to  trees  by 
Boxers  and  hacked  to  pieces  near 
Kung-tsuii,  out  of  Peking.  They  tlien 
destroyed  the  chajjcl  at  Kung-tsun.  Mr. 
Chao,  when  begged  earlier  to  leave,  said 
resolutely:  "1  was  sent  hero  to  woik 
for  the  church,  and  it  is  my  duty 
to  stay." 

25tli. — Boxers  reported  gathering  by 
tens  of  thousands  in  the  vicinity  of 
Peking.  Many  Christians  flocking  to 
I'eking  for  safety.  OIHcials  more  or  less 
openly  encouraging  the  I'oxeis.  Im- 
perial troops  sent  out  from  'Tientsin 
against  them  were  defeated  witii  a  loss 
of  seventy 

28th. — The  Boxers  have  destroyed 
t  hirty  miles  of  railway  between  Pao-ting. 
fu  and  I'eking,  burning  several  stations. 
They  also  threatened  the  foreigners  at 
Pao-ting-fu.  'J'lio  Belgian  engineers 
with  their  families  thought  it  best  to 
fiee.  The  party,  forty-three  in  num- 
ber, made  their  way  with  great  dif- 
ficulty to  Tientsin ;  four  being  killed 
and  several  missing.  Twenty-three  were 
wounded.  The  missionaries  remained 
in  Pao-ting-fu. 

3Uth. — An  Imperial  decree  issued 
which,  wiiile  denouncing  tiie  Boxers, 
leaves  a  loophole  for  any  one  joining 
them  to  escape  punishment. 

June  1st — A  small  body  of  marines 
sent  to  Peking  to  protect  tiie  Legations. 

2n(l. — The  ministers  have  callinl  for 
several  hundied  marine  guards;  and 
threatened  tiiat  if  the  Boxers  are  not  put 
down  the  Powers  will  take  things  in 
their  own  liands. 

oth. — Two  missionaries.  Revs. C. Robin- 
son and  H.  V.  Nornnin,  of  the  S.  P.  G., 
have  l)een  murdered  by  the  Boxeis. 

— The  Russian  government  offers  to  the 
Ciiinese  government  to  undertake  the 
suppression  of  troubles  in  the  north. 

— The  Empress-Dowager  and  her 
advisers  decide  not  to  put  down  tlie 
Boxers,  considering  them  loyal. 


Cth. — An  Imperial  decree,  which  tries 
to  put  the  blame  of  the  Boxer  troubles  on 
bad  men  who  have  joined  the  Christians. 

8th. — The  Iho-chuan  (Boxers)  have 
garrisoned  Cho-chou,  a  town  near  Peking, 
and  are  holding  all  towns  they  have 
captured. 

—  Pao-ting-fu  reported  burning.  The 
railway  service  finally  stopped  between 
Peking  and  Tientsin.  Ail  the  mission- 
aries in  Peking  are  said  to  have  taken 
refuge  either  in  Legations  or  in  tho 
Methodist  compound.  The  T'ung-chow 
mission  buildings  also  burnt. 

June  10th.— 800  troops,  chiefly  British, 
led  by  Admiral  Seymour,  are  forcing 
their  way  to  Peking. 

— An  Imperial  decree,  appointing  the 
father  of  the  heir-apparent,  Prince  Tuan, 
head  of  the  T^ung-li  Yamen.  He  is  a 
notorious  foreign-hater  and  reputed 
head  of  the  Boxers ;  and  will  now 
have  the  guiding  hand  in  the  govern- 
ment. 

11th. — The  chancellor  of  the  Japanese 
Legation  was  killed  outside  the  Yung- 
ting  Gate,  Peking,  near  the  railway 
station. 

12tli. — Viceroys  Liu  and  Chang  at 
Nanking  and  Wuchang  ordered  by  the 
central  govenniient;  to  be  prepared  to 
resist  effort,  on  the  part  of  the  powers  to 
seize  the  Yangtsze  Valley.  They,  how- 
ever, both  give  evidence  that  they  seek 
the  pence  of  Central  China  and  will  not 
offend  the  powerls. 

13t.li. — An  edict  issued  regretting  tho 
nuirder  of  the  Japanese  chancellor,  and 
for  the  first  time  characterizing  the 
Boxers  as  rebels. 

—  Leading  members  of  the  Reform 
Party  residing  in  Shanghai,  representing 
fourteen  of  the  eighteen  provinces,  have 
drawn  up  a  petition  addressed  to  the 
Secretaries  of  State  of  leading  nations, 
asking  their  help  in  opposing  the 
partition  of  China  and  in  placing  Kwnng 
Hsii  again  upon  the  throne. 

— The  Catholic,  China  Inland,  and 
Christian  Mission  premises  in  Yun-uau-fu 


378 


THE    CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[July,  1900.] 


liave  all  been  destroyed.  The  mission, 
aries  are  safe. 

— Tlie  Boxers  rose  in  Peking,  burning 
the  principal  buildings  in  the  east  city 
and  killing  hundreds  of  Christians  and 
servants  of  foreigners.  The  cathedral,  the 
Customs'  mess,  and  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M. 
and  L.  M.  S.  buildings  are  all  destroyed. 

14th. — Three  chnpels  were  burned  in 
Tientsin  native  city. 

17th The   fleet  of  the  Allied  Powers 

off  Taku  presented  an  ultimatum  to  the 
forts  calling  on  them  to  give  posse>sion 
of  the  fortH.  Tliese  replied  by  opening 
fire  on  the  fleet.  The  forts  were  silenced 
and  captured  after  six  hours'  steady 
firing. 

20th. — The  Chinese  soldiers  began  to 
bombard  Tientsin  with  modern  field 
guns;  the  bombardment  continuing  for 
many  days.  Damage  done  was  chiefly 
in  the  extra  concession. 

— The  American  Consul  at  Chefoo 
chartered  a  Japanese  steamer  to  go  to 
Yang-chia-kou  to  rescue  missionaries  of 
W.  Shantung  making  their  way  to  the 
coast.  Missionaries  from  Tsang-chou, 
liaving  been  driven  out,  arrived  at  Wei- 
liai. 

24th. — The  troops  of  the  powers  land- 
ed  at  Takn  now  aggregate  8,000.  Two 
Jesuit  missionaries  are  reported  murder- 
ed  near  Pao-ting-fu. 


26th. — The  relieving  forces  enter  Tien- 
tsin, and  bombardment  ceases.  Chinese 
oflScials  report  the  ministers  in  Poking 
still  unharmed  on  the  20th  ;  but  jio 
certain  news  can  be  had.  The  allies 
left  Tientsin  for  Peking  on  the  24th. 

— Panic  prevails  in  many  parts  of 
Central  Ciiina  among  the  mass  of  the 
people.  Thousatids  of  Chinese'  leave 
Shanghai  daily  for  Ningpo,  Snochow, 
etc.,  while  great  numbers  are  coming  to 
Shanghai  from  tlie  country.  'J'lie  panic 
in  the  river. ports  is  less  marked.  Pmmors 
are  rife,  also,  throughout  the  interior 
that  churches  are  to  be  burned,  mission- 
aries and  converts  to  be  killed,  etc. 

27th. — The  Presbyterian  Mission  at 
Wei-hien  completely  destroyed  The 
foreigners  escaped. 

— The  ITrench  missionaries  and  oflicials 
have  had  to  leave  Yunnan  province.  The 
position  in  Szchuan  is  also  very  criticjil, 
and  the  British  Consul  has  taken  charge 
of  the  s.  8.  Pioneer  for  use  in  case  of 
need. 

28th. — Admiral  Seymour  and  his  force 
liave  returned  to  Tientsin,  having  62 
killed  and  3 12  wounded.  Still  no  definite 
news  from  Peking. 

June  28th.— Tlie  U.  S.  battle-ship 
Orecjon,  en  route  for  Taku,  has  gone 
ashore  on  Hoki  Island. 


IlissinnarjT  lournaL 


BIRTHS. 

At  Chu-cheo,  Anhuei,  June  5th,  the  wife 
of  Rev.  W.  Remfry  Hunt,  F.  C.  M.  S., 
of  a  son  (Victor  Clifford). 

At  51  Rifle  Range  Road,  June  19th,  the 
wife  of  J.  Trevok  Smith,  B.  and  F.  B. 
S.,  of  a  son. 

MARRIAGE. 

At  Hankow,  May  17th,  Rev.  K,  S. 
Stokke,  A.  N.  L.,  and  Miss  Marik 
Leithouser,  C.  and  M.  A.,  Peking. 

ARRIVALS. 

At  Shanghai,  June  5th,  Mrs.  M.  M- 
Crossette,  a.  p.  M.,  for  Wei-hien 
(returned),  from  America. 

At  Shanghai,  June  15th,  A.  Grainger, 
wife  and  three  children,  C.  I.  M., 
from  Lngland. 

DEPARTURES. 

From  Shanghai,  June  4th,  Mrs.  George 
Hunter  and  ciiild,  C.  I.  M.,  for 
England. 


From  Shanghai,  June  5th,  Rev.  David 
Ekvall  and  family,  C.  and  M.  A., 
Kan-suh,  for  America. 

From  Shanghai,  June  9th,  ]\Ir.  Jf.  C. 
York,  C.  and  M.  A. ;  Rev.  Jas. 
Enuicott  and  family,  C.  M.  M  ,  Kia- 
ting;  Rev.  B  'C.  Patterson  and 
family,  S.  P.  M.  ;  Rev.  A.  EwiN(;, 
wife  and  two  children,  and  Rev-  0.  L. 
Stratton,  C.  I.  M.,  for  America. 

From  Slumghai,  June  13th,  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  W.  P.  CiiALFANT  and  children, 
A.  P.  M.,  I-chow-fu,  for  U.  S.  A. 

From  Shanghai,  June  18tii,  Misses  NoR- 
DEN  and  E.  E,  Petterson,  C.  I.  M., 
for  England. 

From  Shanghai,  June  23rd,  Rev.  and 
Mrs  S.  I.  WooDBRiDGE  and  children, 
S  P.  M.,  Chinkiang,  for  U.  S.  A. 

From  Shanghai,  June  30th,  Miss  E.  C. 
Shaw,  M.  E.  M.,  Nankin;  Miss  M. 
A.  Holme,  A,  F.  M.,  Nunkin;  M  s. 
E.  C.  Saw,  F.  C.  M.  S.,  Nankin,  for 
America. 


THE 


CHINESE  RECORDER 


AND 


'^Slx^j^ioxaarp   l^ottrnar. 


Vol,  XXXI.  No.  8. 


ATTPTT^T    iqno  C  $3.50  per  annum,  post- 

AUGUbl,   1900.  I      p^^jj   (Q^,j  $1.75.) 


Special  Terms  in  the  Mandarin  Bible. 

BY   C.   W.   MATEER,   D.D. 


.-»i?l 


EEING  the  revision  of  the  translation  of  the  Bible  is  going 
forward,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  discnss  in  the  Recorder 
a  few  of  the  special  terms  that  seem  to  need  revision.  In 
common  with  every  other  snbject  religion  has  its  special  terminolog'y, 
and  mnch  of  the  force  of  Bible  truth  depends  on  the  propriety  of  the 
terras  nsed  to  express  it.  Translation  reaches  its  highest  point  of 
im[)ortance  in  the  selection  of  these  special  terms,  for  they  will 
certainly  modify  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  the  belief  of  those  who 
use  them.  lu  estimating  the  validity  of  the  following  criticisms,  it 
is  important  that  the  reader  divest  himself  of  the  prepossessions 
formed  by  the  habitnal  nse  of  the  old  terms.  Only  thus  can  a  jnst 
conclnsion  be  reached.  This  is  oftentimes  a  very  difficnlt  thing  to 
do,  especially  for  certain  types  of  mind.  Conservatism  is  a  good 
thing,  bnt  overconservatism  has  done  a  great  deal  in  the  past 
centnries  to  retard  the  canse  of  trnth. 

1.  Sign,  S»j/u£ioi'.  In  the  old  English  version  this  Greek  terra  is 
translated  both  sign  and  miracle,  but  in  the  new  version  it  is 
uniformly  rendered  sign.  In  the  present  Mandarin  version  it  is 
generally  rendered  -^  ^,  bnt  sometimes  ^f  ^.  When  it  inclndes 
the  idea  of  a  prognostic  it  is  rendered  ^  ^^  or  H  jJ(J.  Trench  defines 
it  as  "a  token  and  indication  of  the  near  presence  and  working 
of  God."  The  Standard  Dictionary  says  :  "  A  remarkable  event 
produced  by  divine  or  supernatural  power."  In  view  of  these  defini- 
tions -^  ^  is  quite  inadequate.  It  is  in  fact  a  made-up  term» 
meaning  simply  a  remarkable  affair  and  nothing  more.  Much  of 
the  meaning  it  seems  to  have  is  read  into  it  by  nse.  If  nsed  at  all 
it  should  be  nsed  to  translate  repac,  wonder,  to  which  it  corresponds 
fairly  well.    For  sign,  two  terms  have  been  proposed,  viz.,  |i^  ^  and 


380  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [Augnst, 

M  W-  0^ these  the  former  seems  much  preferable  for  several  reasons: 
(1).  It  is  better  known  and  understood,  being  much  more  frequently 
used  in  Chinese  books  than  ^  |^.  (2).  The  meaning  is  much  more 
nearly  correct.  Whether  jjii^  (used  here  as  an  adjective)  be  taken  to 
mean  divine  or  spiritual  its  meaning  may  be  fairly  rendered  by 
super7iatural,  which  is  the  essential  idea  of  Srj/xttov.  Trench  says  of 
it :  "  It  is,  so  to  speak,  a  finger-post  of  God."  ^  on  the  other  hand, 
simply  means  extraordinary,  and  quite  fails  to  bring  out  the  idea  of 
anything  supernatural,  being  in  this  respect  no  better  than  •^.  (3). 
^  is  needed  in  the  term  ^  f^,  mighty  works,  for  which  there  is  no 
other  suitable  term.  It  cannot  well  be  used  in  both  terms,  especial- 
ly as  we  have  twice  the  complete  enumeration — "  signs  and  wonders 
and  mighty  works."  With  it  we  would  have  the  very  infelicitous 
repetition  ^  ^,  ^  ^,  and  ^  fg.  Whereas  with  f^  g|  we  have 
the  everyway  consistent  and  felicitous  enumeration  ipip  ^,  ^  ^,  and 

2.  Baptize  was  first  rendered  ^  ^  by  the  Roman  Catholics, 
and  Protestants  have  followed  them;  first  in  Weu-li  and  then  in 
Mandarin.     There  are,  however,  strong  reasons  why  the  term  should 
be  discarded  in  favor  of  fj^.  The  meaning  of  |^  is,  first,  to  propagate 
or  teach,  as  in  "^^  fi; ;  second,  to  confer  ov  bestow,  as  i^  M  ^^  M  'I'm 
and  J^  ^,  and  everywhere  carries  with  it  the  idea  of  conferring  a 
favor  or  grace  by  a  superior  on  an  inferior.     This  was  no  doubt  the 
point  of  vifew  which  inflaeaced  the  Roman  Catholics  in  choosing  it. 
Few  Protestants,  however,  believe  that  baptism  confers  any  sacra- 
mental grace,  or  that  the  administrator  is  clothed  with   any  such 
power,  and  they  do  not  wish  any  such  idea  translated  into  the  Chinese 
word  for  baptism.     The  term  fj  g^  expresses   the  idea  correctly 
and  without  any  coloring,    f  j  means  simply  to  perform  or  administer 
the  rite.     The  specific  difference  of  the  two  words  is  well  seen  in  the 
terms  fj  ^  and  |g  ■^;  the  former  meaning  to  practice  medicine  in 
the  ordinary  way  as  a  profession,  the  latter  to  practice  it  as  a  charity. 
The  only  place  where  the  terms  seem  to  approach  each  other  is  their 
application  to  the  ordinary  f^  Jg  which  is  referred  to  indifi'erently 
^s  fr  li  o''  M  11-      Whatever   explanation  may  be  given  of  this 
exceptional   case   it  remains   that  the  distinction    given    above  is 
general  and  characteristic.     The  performance  of  the  marriage  rite 
by  a  minister  is  uniformly  referred  to  as  ff  f§,  not  as  ^  jji*.     Still 
more  to  the  point  is  the  fact  that  in  the  present  versions  circumcis- 
ion is  uniformly  rendered  ^7  §1]  jjj*,  not  J^  ^ij  ^s.     The  question  is 
why  not  J||  §ij,  as  well  as  H;  ^  ;  the  only  pertinent  answer  being 
that  the  idea  of  grace  conferred  was  not  desired  by  the  translators 
in  the  case  of  circumcision.     The    fact   is   that   the  two   cases  are 
.perfectly  analogous  and  the  same  word  should  be  used.  . 


1900.]  SPECIAL  TERMS  IN  THE  MANDARIN  BIBLE.  381 

The  nse  of  ^  gfe  illustTates  a  marked  defect  of  the  present 
translatiou  of  the  Bible  into  Chiaese,  viz.,  coloring  the  meaning  by 
puttiii<^  in  tlie  preconceived  ideas  or  prejudices  of  the  translators,  by 
either  over- or  uuder-traoslating.  As  an  iustance  of  the  former  we  have 
the  constant  nse  of  ^  ov  ^  ^  as  a  translation  of  didojfxX  whenever  it 
is  used  with  reference  to  God.  The  truth  is  that  StSw/xi  means  simply 
to  give,  without  any  coloring  of  any  kind,  so  far  as  the  word  itself  is 
concerned,  and  it  is  uniformly  so  translated  in  the  Eiglish  Bible.  * 

.  3.  To  believe  on  or  in  Christ  as  distinguished  from  simply 
believing  that  a  thing  is  truue.  This  distinction  is  a  very  important 
one  as  related  to  Christian  faith,  yet  it  is  entirely  dropped  ont  of 
the  present  Cliiuese  versions.  \^  alone  being  always  used,  fg  '\i  at 
best  but  a  weak  word  for  faith,  meaning  primarily  rather  fidelity 
than  faith.  It  needs  strengthening,  and  in  Mandarin  especially 
it  needs  an  associate  word  to  bring  it  into  line  with  the  genius  of 
the  spoken  language  which  de[)ends  so  largely  on  dual  combinations. 
As  expressing  simple  belief  it  may  frequently  be  strengthened  by 
8!iyi"g  ^9  Hi"'  As  ex()ressing  belief  on  or  in  Ctirist  we  have  the 
two  terms — \^  ^  and  fg  /jg.  The  former  is  a  foreign-made  term 
not  known  in  purely  Chinese  usage.  It  has  been  devised  by  preachers 
as  an  explanation  of  saving  faith.  It  is  too  mechanical  for  constant 
use  and  savors  too  much  of  the  nature  of  a  definition,  fg  ^g  is  a 
truly  Chinese  combination,  adding  to  belief  the  idea  of  assent  to  and 
confidence  in,  which  is  very  near  if  not  precisely  the  idea  desired. 
To  M  ^K  a  iiiiiu  is  to  believe  him  so  as  to  put  confidence  in,  wluit  he 
says.  By  using  this  term  for  believing  on  or  in,  we  preserve  the 
distinction  made  in  the  original  and  carefully  maintained  in  all 
translations  into  "Western  languages. 

4.  Temple.  The  Greek  has  two  words  for  temple,  viz.,  vao^  and 
apov  ;  the  former  meaning  the  main  building  or  fane,  the  latter  the 
temple  in  general,  including  "the  wbole  com[)ass  of  the  sacred 
enclosure"  (Trench).  For  want  of  two  available  words  in  the  Eng- 
lish language  both  these  words  have  been  rendered  temple.  Unfor- 
tunately the  Chinese  versions  have  followed  the  lead  of  the  English 
and  rendered  both  Greek  words  by  the  one  word  ^,  and  this 
notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  Chinese  language  offers  us  two 
words  corresponding  very  well  with  the  Greek  terms,  viz.,  jSgg  and 
^.  The  former  corresponds  precisely  with  Itoov  and  the  latter  will 
answer  fairly  well  for  vaoQ.  j^  is  used  of  temples  of  all  kinds,  large 
and  small,  ancestral  and  otherwise.  The  composition  of  the  character 
— the  covered  place  where  audience  is  held — is  admirable,  and 
shows  at  once  the  idea  of  the  word,  viz.,  the  place  where  the   gods 

*  In  the  English  Bible  Bi^w/jx  is  once  translated  bestow,  viz.,  in  the  text 
"Behold  what  manner  of  love  the  Father  hath  bestowed  upon,  etc." 


382  THE   CHINESE   RECORiOER.  [Allglist, 

(o  r  spirits)  reveal  themselves  uud  where  men  t^ome  to  worship  them. 
Il  is  safe  to  say  that  no  mau  translatiug  a  Gree^k  book  other  thaa 
the  Bible  into  Chinese  conld  possibly  render  Xspov  bjv  any  other  word 
than  j^.     In  tact  the  translators  of  the  Bible  themselves  when  the 
"temple  of  Diana"  is  mentioned  (Acts  xix.  27),  do  not'  hesitate  to 
translate  it  J^.     Why  this  careful  distinction  in  rendering-  a  word 
which  was  used  by  the  apostles  and  early  chnrch  alike  of  hfeathen 
temples  and  of  the  temple  of  God   in   Jerusalem  ?     The   r^^ason 
affords  another  illustration  of  the  coloring  which  translators  havre 
allowed    their    prejudices  to  give  to  the  translation  of  the  Bible.^ 
If    in  writing  the  Scriptures  men   inspired    by   the    spirit   used 
the  heathen  word  for  temple  when    they    spoke   of  the    temple 
of    Jehovah     it     surely     seems    as    if    the    translators    of    the 
Scriptures    might    safely    follow    their    example.     The  fact    that 
the     Chinese     use    J||     of     their    heathen     temples    should    not 
be  any  reason  against  it.    The  terras  for  altar,  incense,  offering, 
sacrifice,  etc.,  are  equally  used  in  their  idolatry.     "We  cannot  allow 
heathenism  to  cheat  us  out   of  the   religious    terminology   of   the 
language.     The  Christianizing  of  the  people  means  the  Christianiz- 
ing of  their  language.     To  missionaries  who  have  been  long  accus- 
tomed to  use  ^  the  use  of  ^  will  be  awkward  at  first  and  perhaps 
seem  irreverent,  but  it  will  soon  vindicate  its  inherent  fitness  to 
express  the  idea.      To  the  Chinese  it  will  seem   perfectly  natural 
nnless  it  be  to  a  few.  preachers  who  have  inherited  the  prejudices  of 
their  foreign  teachers.     ^  will  answer  for    vaog,   though    strictly 
speaking  it  does  not  mean   specifically  a  place  where  worship    is 
offered,  but  rather  a  hall  or  palace,  the  main  building  in  any  public 
enclosure.     It  is  only  by  putting  a  violent  and  unnatural  strain  on 
the  usage  of  the  word  that  it  can  be  made  to  include  the  whole  enclo- 
sure of  the  temple  with  its  side  buildings,  porches,    etc.      When  we 
say  that  Christ  went  up  into  the  ^  and  taught  we  by  necessity  con- 
vey a  wrong  impression,  seeing  the  ^  was  reserved  for  the  priests 
alone.     In  order  to  make  up  for  the  weakness  of  ^  the  translators 
of  the  Mandarin  Testament  have  generally  added  gg.     If,  however, 
the  use  of  J^  be  limited  to  vaog  this  makeshift  will  be  much   less 
needed  and  should  in  any  case  be   entirely  discarded.     If  we  add 
holy  when  it  is  not  in  the  original  what  more  shall  we  say  when 
it  is  there.     It  should  be  observed  that  the  figurative  use  of  the 
temple  for  the  body  is  wholly  confined  to  vaog. 

5.  Heaven.  Wherever  heaven  clearly  means  the  abode  of  the 
blest,  as  in  Luke  xv,  7,  Mat.  xviii.  10,  etc.,  there  seems  to  be  no  good 
reason  why  it  should  not  be  translated  5c  ^'  '^^^^^  term  is 
constantly  used  in  our  hymns  and  Christian  books  as  well  as  in 
our  prayers  and  preaching,  and  will,  without  doubt,  continue  to  be 


1900.]  SPECIAL  TERMS  IN   THE   MANDARIN  BIBLE.  383 

SO  used.  The  terra  ^  in  Chinese  is  very  vague,  and  will  not  so 
readily  take  on  the  idea  of  a  particular  place  as  our  word  heaven. 
The  fact  that  the  term  has  been  coined  and  come  into  use  proves 
the  need  of  it.  It  may  not  be  the  best  term  that  could  have  been 
devised  (3^  §  would  probably  have  been  better),  but  it  is  already 
embedded  in  the  language,  forming  an  integral  part  of  Christian 
thought,  and  it  ought  to  be  recognized  in  the  Scripture.  It  is  a 
Buddhist  term,  which,  however,  is  nothing  against  it.  We  have 
taken  their  term  for  hell,  j;^  ^%  why  not  its  correlative  for 
heaven  ? 

6.  Ordinance.  The  term  ^  ^St.  ^7  which  this  word  is  at 
present  translated,  means  court  etiquette  rather  than  ordinance. 
The  idea  of  the  original  is  a  dignified  one,  expressive  of  the  forms 
prescribed  for  the  observance  of  the  law,  while  the  term  ^35^'^ 
quite  wanting  in  dignity,  having  in  it  too  much  of  parade  and 
decoration.  If  the  English  translators  had  used  the  word  etiquette 
they  would  hardly  have  been  further  off  than  is  ^  '^.  It  was 
evidently  chosen  in  order  to  disparage  the  obsolete  forms  of  the  old 
dispensation.  It  affords  another  example  of  coloring  given  to  the 
meaning  by  the  translators.  The  term  |f  •^  preserves  the  dignity 
of  the  original,  and  is,  without  doubt,  the  correct  translation. 
In  Luke  ii.  6  when  Zachariah  is  spoken  of  as  "walking  in  all 
the  commandments  and  ordinances  of  the  Lord  blameless"  there 
was  no  desire  to  belittle  the  term,  and  accordingly  the  translators 
of  the  Mandarin  New  Testament  have  here  rendered  ^i*  ^. 

7.  Grace.  In  the  present  version,  when  "  grace  "  is  used  in 
prayer  or  benediction,  it  is  generally  translated  j§,  ^.  This  com- 
bination is  unusual,  even  in  books,  and  is  never  heard  in  ordinary 
Mandarin.  The  root  idea  of  ^  is  iove,  leading  to  the  bestowmeut 
of  special  favors.  In  common  usage  it  is  always  joined  with  the 
idea  of  partiality  (generally  reprehensible).  Its  common  and  natural 
cognate  is  ^  ;  thus  we  have  iu  common  use  ^  ^,  to  love  with 
a  partial  and^  overweening  affection.  To  say  to  a  man  that  he 
^  ^  is  to  o^eTM^  by  accusing  him  of  being  a  special  favorite  and 
in  the  enjoyment  of  excessive  favors.  ,§,  ^|  is  thus  an  overtransla- 
tion,  and  is  not  a  suitable  term  to  use  in  prayer.  The  sufficient 
translation  of  xaptc  is  ,§.  alone,  or  else  ,§,  ^,  or  ,l|.  J^. 

8.  The  Faith.  This  term  originated  with  the  early  church,  and 
is  abundantly  used  by  Paul  in  his  epistles.  It  expresses  collectively 
the  special  and  essential  truths  accepted  and  believed  by  the 
Christian  convert.  Its  translation  transcends  the  ordinary  resources 
of  the  Chinese  language,  and  it  has  accordingly  been  rendered  in  a 
great  variety  of  ways.  It  is  rendered  fg  i^  seven  times,  ^  three 
times,  jl^  ^  twice,  H  ^  five  times,  "^  i  6^  jiE  S  ^^^^^  times, 


384  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [AngHSt, 

'M  jE^^^'^s  times,  fg  (noun)  twice,  and  twelve  tinaes  the  whole  sen- 
tences so  transformed  as  to  use  -^  as  a  verb.  The  idea  of  the  term 
is  as  admirable  as  it  is  important,  and  some  way  onght  to  be  devised 
to  transmit  it  in  its  integrity  to  the  Chinese.  Several  terms  have 
been  snggested,  bnt  none  seems  so  fitting  as  |f  fg.  This  combina- 
tion nor.  only  expresses  the  meaning,  but  it  makes  a  term  which 
will  fit  the  various  constructions  in  which  "  the  faith  "  is  used.  The' 
Bible  has  already  given  rise  to  a  number  of  new  words,  such  aS' 
M>  M>  ^  ^^M.  ^^  fl  fS>  etc.,  and  to  these  should  be  added  one 


for  "  the  faith." 


An  Object  Lesson  in  Self-support* 

BY  DR.  H.  G.  UNDERWOOD,  KOREA. 

'VERY  church  in  its  mission  work  is  desiroas  of  establishino" 
in  the  fields  in  which  it  has  missionaries,  a  self-supporting, 
SELF-PROPAGATING,  and  SELF-GOVERNING  CHURCH.  Those 
missionaries  and  mission  bodies  who  differ  most  radically  in  their 
plans  and  methods  from  the  plans  followed  in  our  field,  and  from  the 
ideas  of  the  writer,  are  not  one  whit  less  anxious  for  a  self-support- 
ing church  than  we  are,  and  they  desire  to  obtain  the  same  as 
speedily  as  possible,  but  they  believe  that  their  method  of  work 
will  attain  the  end  most  speedily,  while  we  believe  that  ours 
will  do  so. 

We  do  not,  then,  in  presenting  this  paper  pose  as  the  uphold- 
ers of  a  self-support  which  is  not  believed  in  by  those  who  difi'er  with 
us,  but  it  is  a  question  as  to  whether  self-support  in  the  end  can  be 
most  satisfactorily  accomplished  by  the  granting  oif  large  and 
generous  aid  at  the  beginning,  or  whether  better  results  can  be 
secured  by  pushing  the  idea  of  self-support  from  the  very  opening  of 
the  work. 

This  paper  then  presents  an  object  lesson,  not  of  self-support, 
but  of  a  field  and  mission  where  the  self-support  principle  was 
strenuously  pushed  from  the  very  first. 

The  other  plan,  that  of  extending  bountiful  aid  in  every  depart- 
ment of  church  work,  has  been  widely  tried.  Almost  every  mia>ion 
field  has  followed  it,  hoping  thereby  to  speedily  establish  a  self- 
supporting  church;  and  in  but  few  cases  have  these  hopes  been 
realized. 

What  is  commonly  called  the  self-support  plan,  that  of  stren- 
uously urging  self-support  in  every  department  and  insisting  upon 
the  same,  has  been  given  a  fair  trial  in  very  few  places.     I  think 

*  Written  for  the  Ecumenical  Council,  New  York. 


1900.]  AN   OBJECT   LESSON   IN  SELF-SUPPORT.  385 

it  ranst  be  conceded  that  the  plaa  of  largely  aiding  at  the  opening  of 
a  work,  with  a  view  to  self-support  in  the  future,  has  not  been  a  com- 
plete success  anywhere,  even  in  the  fields  where  it  has  been  followed 
for  one,  two,  and  three  score  years  and  even  for  a  century.  It  may 
be  claimed  that  the  other  plan  has  also  failed  of  success,  but  the  con- 
tention is  that  this  latter  plan,  that  of  which  this  paper  is  the 
exponent,  has  nowhere  had  a  fair  trial. 

►  Dr.  Nevius,  although  he  never  claimed  to  be  the  originator  of 
this  plan,  was  doubtless  the  one  who  brought  it  most  prominently 
before  the  mission  world;  and  yet  it  certainly  never  had  a  full 
trial  in  his  own  district  of  Shantung,  China,  where  his  own  fellow- 
workers  in  the  same  mission  were  working  on  the  other  principle. 
The  successful  trial  of  such  a  plan,  from  the  very  nature  of  the 
methods'followed,  demands  that  the  missionaries  in  that  station  be 
a  unit.  In  Korea,  too,  the  field  which  we  represent,  and  which  is  to 
be  given  as  an  object  lesson  of  the  system,  it  has  not  had  a  fair 
trial.  Our  Methodist  Episcopal  brethren  are  as  earnestly  desirous 
of  a  self-supporting  church  as  we  are,  yet  they  do  not  see  eye  to 
eye  with  us  as  to  the  best  means  of  reaching  this  end ;  and  we  find 
it  no  easy  matter  for  the  systems  to  be  carried  on  side  by  side.  If 
you  have,  in  a  new  field,  in  one  village  a  mission  that  carries  on  its 
work  along  the  old  lines,  pays  four-fifths  or  perhaps  the  whole  cost 
of  a  church  building,  pays  for  the  services  of  an  evangelist  and 
col[iorteur  and  perhaps  a  Bible-woman,  and  supports  a  native 
school,  all  in  one  village,  it  will  be  no  easy  matter  to  carry  on  the 
other  system  three  or  ten  miles  off,  and  to  insist  that  the  people  build 
their  own  church,  pay  for  their  own  workers,  support  their  own 
evangelists,  buy  their  own  books,  and  carry  on  their  own  school. 
If  we  find  these  difficulties  confronting  us  where  the  workers  are  in 
separate  missions,  how  much  harder  must  it  be,  and  in  fact  how 
absolutely  impossible,  for  one  two,  or  even  half  a  dozen  men  to  give 
such  a  plan  a  fair  trial,  with  the  balance  of  their  mission  pulling  in 
.the  other  direction,  or  even  not  upholding  them. 

On  our  way  to  Korea,  when  we  were  coming  to  begin  work,  we 
w-ere  surprised  at  the  dependence  of  the  "  independent  Japanese  " 
npon  the  foreign  mission  Boards  for  support.  A  study  of  the 
problem  seemed  to  show  very  largely  that  there  were  the  same 
results  in  the  older  though  more  conservative  field  of  China.  In 
the  beginning  of  our  work,  before  we  had  fully  matured  our  plans, 
fortunately  as  we  thought.  Dr.  Nevius  paid  us  a  visit  on  his  way  to 
America,  in  the  summer  of  1890.  His  book,  "  Methods  of  Mission 
Work,"  had  already  given  us  much  assistance  and  many  valuable 
hints  in  the  initiation  of  our  work,  but  the  full  meaning  of  his  system 
was  more  fully  explained  on  his  arrival. 


385  THE    CHINESE    RECORDER.  [AogHSt, 

After  a  carefnl  consideration  and  a  survey  of  the  methods  and 
their  results  in  other  fields,  our  mission  decided  that  although  our 
work  would  start  more  slowly,  and  for  some  years  we  could  not 
expect  as  great  an  outward  show  of  fruits,  it  was  probable  that  we 
would  have  in  the  end  a  more  firmly  established  church  by  a  care- 
ful following  of  this  plan,  than  in  any  other  way. 

We  have  been  fortunate  in  that  the  missionaries  who  have 
come  out  since,  as  they  have  seen  our  work,  have  nearly  all  taken  , 
the  same  view  ;  and  that  the  one  or  two  that  did  not  perhaps  fully 
accord  in  the  principle  have  agreed  to  abide  by  the  methods 
adopted  by  the  majority.  Still  further,  the  other  Presbyterian 
churches  that  have  come,  have  heartily  adopted  the  same  plan,  and 
the  Bcif)tist  mission  throws  its  vote  on  the  same  side.  Thus  with  the 
exception  of  the  two  American  Methodist  churches  that  ai«e  work- 
ing here  with  us,  and  perhaps  the  church  of  the  English  mission, 
concerning  whose  methods  I  have  no  information,  all  the  mission- 
aries here  have  adopted  the  one  plan.  It  might  be  said  that  under 
these  circumstauces  the  system  was  having  a  fair  trial  here ;  but 
before  we  consider  the  results  in  this  land  under  this  system,  I 
would  again  call  your  attention  to  the  difficulty  of  practising  a 
system  of  self-support  side  by  side  with  one  in  which  in  various 
ways  money  from  the  home  land  is  so  freely  used. 

The  system  as  now  followed  by  our  mission  is  not  exactly  what 
was  originally  known  as  the  Nevius'  system,  but  has  grown  out  of 
the  needs  of  the  work,  and  has  been  developed  with  it.  As  we  now 
compare  it  with  Dr.  Kevins'  "Methods  of  Work"  we  find  that  it  is 
even  more  thoroughly  self-supporting  than  the  plans  laid  down 
in  that  book. 

It  would  be  well  to  note  in  the  beginning  that  the  Koreans 
are  not  rich,  but  extremely  poor.  There  are  no  large  guilds  of 
wealthy  merchants,  and  but  a  small  sum  of  money  is  a  fortune  in 
Korea.  A  man  with  a  capital  of  one  or  two  hundred  dollars  would 
be  considered  a  well-to-do  man  and  almost  a  gentleman  of  leisure. 
The  poorer  classes,  from  whom  in  the  main  our  church  members 
come,  live  largely  in  low  thatched  mud  huts  with  one  or  perhaps 
two  small  rooms  eight  feet  square  each,  with  a  hole  in  one  side 
covered  with  paper  in  lieu  of  a  window,  and  a  small  rough  lattice 
door.  The  province  of  Shantung  in  China  is,  I  believe,  classed  as 
one  of  the  poorer  provinces  in  the  land,  and  yet  Chinese  mer- 
chants, carpenters,  and  builders  and  others  from  this  section  who 
have  come  in  to  do  work  for  foreigners,  tell  us  that  the  Koreaps 
are  far  poorer  than  the  men  of  their  own  province.  As  we  sailed 
down  the  Yalu  river  with  China  on  the  one  side  and  Korea  on  the 
other,  the  contrast,  was  most  marked.     On  that  side  the  Chinaman 


lOOO.]  AN   OBJECT  LESSON    IN   SELF-SUPPORT.  3B* 

with  his  stoue-built  uud  well-tiled  house,  strougly  luade  expeusive 
boats,  his  well-built  vvaggous,  the  wheels  of  which  were  studded 
with  irou  nails,  his  far  clothing  and  every  aspect  of  substantial 
means  ;*  while  on  our  own  side  we  saw  the  Korean  with  his 
thatched  mud  huts  with  their  little  paper  windows,  his  poor  rickety 
boats,  his  cotton  clothing,  and  every  uitpciirauce  of  poverty.  It 
certainly  cannot  be  said  tiiat  the  measure  of  success  that  has  been 
meted  to  our  work  is  due  to  Korea's  wealth. 

The  general  principles  on  which  we  work  are:  that  the  missionary 
is  a  leader  who  has  to  gather  his  workers  from  among  the  people ; 
that  each  missionary  shall  be  allowed  one  paid  personal  helper, 
bat  no  one  shall  be  used  as  a  paid  helper  unless  he  has  proven 
himself  qualified  for  the  position,  and  some  of  our  missionaries  have 
no  paid  helpers  at  all  (when  a  man's  work  becomes  so  large  that 
with  thirty  or  forty,  or  in  some  cases  more,  churches  to  oversee  he  is 
unable  to  superintend  the  work  with  only  one  helper  he  may,  by  vote 
of  the  mission  at  its  anuual  meeting,  be  granted  an  extra  paid 
helper);  that  no  evangelist  or  pastor  shall  be  paid  for  by  foreign 
funds  (the  term  foreign  funds  applies  alike  to  the  Board's  money, 
funds  provided  by  friends  at  home  and  those  drawn  from  the 
missionaries'  own  pocket).  The  missionary  needs  his  helper  (and 
in  some  cases  two)  to  keep  in  touch  with  his  field  and  to  properly 
oversee  his  work,  but  the  real  evangelistic  work  and  the  paying 
of  evangelists  and  the  carrying  of  the  gospel  into  new  districts  we 
place  on  the  shoulders  of  the  native  church.  The  building  of  their 
churches  and  chapels,  as  well  as  their  primary  schools,  is  to  be 
borne  by  the  natives ;  and  during  the  last  few  years  we  have  made 
still  another  step  in  advance,  by  asking  the  natives  to  carry  on  the 
native  churah-schools,  although  in  the  beginning  of  these  schools 
assistance  may  be  rendered  to  the  extent  of  one-half  their  expenses. 
VVe  have  tried  from  the  very  start  to  put  the  burden  of  propagating 
the  gospel  on  the  natives.  We  have  been  willing  to  leave  this  work 
to  them  wherever  possible ;  and  we  have  striven  to  make  every 
Korean  realize  that  the  gospel  has  been  given  to  him  not  for  him- 
self alone  but  in  order  that  he  may  carry  it  to  his  neighbor,  and 
that  it  is  his  privilege  to  become  a  co-worker  with  God. 

When  we  started  out  with  this  plan,  and  when  we  considered 
all  the  principles  iu  view,  we  were  almost  startled,  and  temptetl  to 
think  that  we  would  have  to  wait  a  long,  long  while  before  we  could 
see  any  great  results ;  but  I  believe  that  the  progress  of  the  work 
here  is  very  largely  dueto  God's  blessing  on  the  tnetliods  tluit  we  hare 
adopted.     We  had  expected  that  our  work   would  go   on  slowly, 

*  The  worker  in  China  would  swvrcely  subscribe  to  tliis  phrase  as  descriptive 
oi  llm  inaiiises.  Nur  uro  there  many  '*  of  substantial  means "  among  Chinese 
Qonverta.— Kd.  Rkc. 


388  tHE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [Angast 

that  the  other  churches  which  were  largely  following  what  might 
be  called  the  old  plan,  would  at  the  start  far  ontnamber  ns.  We 
had  expected  to  go  "  slow,"  believing  that  it  wonld  be  at  least 
"sure;"  yet  from  the  very  start  God  has  blessed  ns  in  the  great 
unmbers  who  have  come  out  on  His  side.  The  very  fact  that  the 
burden  of  preaching  the  gospel  is  put  upon  the  natives,  has  given  to 
us  a  church  of  earnest  Christian  workers,  who  are  fast  carrying  the 
gospel  throughout  the  whole  land.  To-day  we  have  in  Korea  out  of 
188  imperfectly  organized  Presbyterian  churches  (last  September's 
figures),  186  that  are  entirely  self -supporting.  In  them  we  have 
an  adult  membership  of  2,873,  of  whom  865  were  added  during  the 
year.     They  contributed  for 

^  Congregational  expenses Fen  2,525.90 

Education 411.89 

Church  buildings  and  repairs       3,099.53 

Home  and  foreign  missions  237.11 


A  total  for  the  year  of  |6,274.43 

These  are  only  partial  figures,  and  do  not  represent  a  large 
amount  given  in  grain,  eg2:s,  products  of  various  kinds,  with  a  great 
deal  of  voluntary  labor,  not  only  in  preaching  but  in  the  building 
of  churches,  etc. 

In  passing  it  should  be  noted  that  in  the  capital  and  the  open 
ports,  where  labor  commands  a  higher  wage  than  anywhere  else, 
the  wages  of  an  artizan  will  be  about  fifty  sen  (or  about  twenty-five 
cents  U.  S.  money)  and  of  a  laborer  not  more  than  thirty  sew  (fif- 
teen cents)  a  day.  Thus,  in  a  place  where  the  laborer  gets  $1.50  a 
day,  the  above  amount  would  represent  yen  62,744.30. 

Now  a  word  or  two  as  to  the  history  of  some  of  these 
churches. 

THE  SORA.I  OR  CHANG  YUN  CHURCH. 

Some  ten  or  more  years  ago,  when  this  church  had  a  member- 
ship of  ten  or  a  dozen,  they  sent  up  a  delegation  to  me  at  Seoul  to 
let  me  know  that  they  were  desirous  of  securing  a  church  building 
for  their  neighborhood.  Some  of  their  number  had  first  heard  the 
gospel  in  China  and  had  gained  their  ideas  as  to  mission  work 
from  what  they  had  seen  there.  Not  knowing  this  I  expressed  joy 
at  their  decision  and  asked  them  when  they  would  begin  the  work. 
I  did  not  at  first  comprehend  what  they  meant  when  they  replied  that 
that  depended  upon  me ;  but  when  I  found  that  they  were  expect- 
ing the  mission  to  provide  them  with  a  church  I  soon  disabused 
their  minds,  telling  them  that  they  must  put  up  their  own  building. 
When  in  reply  they  said  it  would  be  impossible  I  pointed  to  the 
fact  that  they  had  wood  on  their  hills,  axes  and  tools   in   their 


1900.]  AN    OBJECT    LKHSON    IN    SKr.K-srfM'<»|!T.  889 

homes,  and  God-giveu  mnscles  in  their  arms,  and  told  them  tliat  if 
they  desired  to  bnild  a  chnrcli,  and  wonkl  let  me  know  when  they 
were  going  to  begin,  I  vvonld  come  down  and  lend  a  hand  in  catting 
down  the  trees  and  in  erecting  the  chapel. 

A  few  years  later  the  Rev.  Mr.  McKenzie,  from  Canada,  arrived 
in  Korea,  and  being  desirous  of  finding  a  home  in  the  country,  at 
my  suggestion  settled  in  the  little  village  of  Sorai.  His  earnest 
christian  life  there  soon  brought  a  change  among  the  villagers  ; 
Christians  that  had  become  cold  in  the  Lord's  service  had  their 
faith  rekindled  as  they  saw  his  devotion,  and  it  was  not  long 
before  they  decided  to  build  a  church.  One  gave  the  trees  as  they 
stood, others  oifered  to  go  and  cut  them  down,  others  volunteered  the 
use  of  their  ox-carts  to  haul  them  to  the  site ;  a  poor  widow  woman 
gave  the  lot  on  which  the  church  stands ;  others  gave  grain  to  feed 
the  men  who  volunteered  their  labor  ;  and  a  few  gave  money. 
Brother  McKenzie  did  not  live  to  see  the  completion  of  the  work ; 
the  same  messenger  from  Sorai  brought  me  a  letter  from  him  asking 
me  to  go  there  to  dedicate  the  church  on  the  first  Sunday  in  July, 
1895,  and  a  notification  of  his  decease. 

This  church,  the  result  of  so  much  native  labor  and  the  proof 
of  so  much  zealous  love  for  the  Master,  was  dedicated  July  the  7th. 
It  was  a  substantially-built  chapel,  thirty -five  by  twenty  feet,  with  a 
tiled  roof.  It  was  in  the  centre  of  a  farm  village  of  about  sixty 
houses.  Before  a  month  was  passed  under  the  unpaid  ministrations 
of  brother  So  Kyeug-jo,  the  building  was  too  small,  and  steps  were 
taken  for  its  enlargement.  Before  a  year  was  out,  its  capacity  was 
doubled,  and  two  neat  school  or  class  rooms  were  added. 

The  church  to-day  is  one  of  the  strongest  that  we  have  in 
Korea.  They  have  become  the  centre  for  the  whole  of  the  Chang 
Ynn  circuit,  and  from  them  have  grown  twelve  other  churches. 
This  church,  in  addition  to  paying  all  its  own  expenses,  supports  an 
evangelist,  who,  under  the  direction  of  the  elder  and  deacons,  travels 
from  church  to  church  and  from  village  to  village,  and  for  whom 
they  have  built  a  house.  It  supports  its  own  church  school,  which, 
through  the  generosity  of  the  church  members,  has  from  time  to 
time  received  endowments  in  fields,  which  now  almost  meet  the 
entire  school  expense.  In  addition  to  this  they  are  very  liberal  iu 
assisting  other  churches  and  chapels;  from  time  to  time  send  out 
companies  of  Christians  to  preach  Christ  in  villages  where  He  is 
not  known;  and  they  take  up  collections  for  mission  work,  and  on 
two  occasions,  those  of  the  Indian  famine  and  the  Turkish  atrocir 
ties  among  the  Armenians,  collections  were  voluntarily  taken  up. 
For  the  Indian  famine  alone  they  gave  over  eighty  yen.  When  it  is 
remembered  that  the  people  are  largely  paid  in  kind,  and  that 


S90  TBIi  CBK7ESF.  UliCORDT!!*.  [AngHSl, 

their  wages  are  not  ten  cents  a  day,  the  above  voluntary  contribntion 
alone  represents  no  small  deprivation  and  hardship.  The  brother 
So  Kyeng-jo,  to  whom  reference  has  been  made,  the  elder  in  this 
section,  has  informed  me  (and  has  given  figures  for  his  statement), 
that  if  the  native  convert  would  but  be  as  generous  in  the  worship 
of  the  true  God  as  he  was  formerly  zealous  for  the  heathen  deities, 
the  Korean  Christians  wonld  have  more  than  enough  money  to 
build  their  own  churches,  carry  on  their  own  native  schools,  and 
pay  for  their  own  books,  and  when  all  this  was  done  they  would 
have  quite  a  sum  left  over  towards  the  salary  of  the  missionaries 
whom  they  need  as  leaders.  This  same  brother  has  travelled 
considerably  throughout  the  province  of  Shantung  in  China,  and  he 
tells  me  that  the  same  is  true  of  the  work  in  that  province.  A 
careful  estiinate  of  the  amount  of  money  spent  by  native  Christians 
before  their  conversion  in  heathen  worship  will,  I  think,  be  an  eye- 
opener  to  most  missionaries,  and  will  assist  us  very  materially  in 
decidmg  how  far  the  native  church  can  be  pushed  along  the  line  of 
self-support. 

THE  CHONG  DONG  OR  SAI  MUN  AN  CHURCH. 

About  the  same  time  that  Mr.  McKenzie  began  planning  for 
his  church,  the  little  building  on  the  mission  compound  in  Seoul,  in 
which  the  Christians  had  been  meeting,  became  too  small,  and  it  was 
necessary  to  enlarge  it.     We  had  reached  the  point  where  we  had 
thought  that  in  our  country  places  the  natives  could  put  up  their 
own  buildings,  but  in  a  city  like  Seoul,  where  labor  was  so  high 
where  the  cost  of  material  was  so  excessive,  where  everything  was 
so  dear,  and  at  the  same  time  where  all  our  members  were  poor,  we 
thonght  that  we  might  make  an  exception  to  the  general  rule.     We 
called  the  church  together  and  told  them  that  the  enlargement, 
would  be  needed;  and  in  discussing  this,  it  appeared  evident  that  a 
new  building  would  be  necessary.     We  told  them  that  we  were 
planning  for  a  building  that  would  cost  in  the  neighborhood  of  1,000 
yen.     We  wanted  to  plan  moderately,  and   we  asked  them  what 
they  could  do.     After  considerable  discussion  concerning  the  plans, 
and  no  little  work  upon  the  part  of  the  missionaries  and  natives, 
our  hearts  were   very   much  cheered  when  the  latter  told  us  that 
they  had  raised  500  yang  or  a  little  over  20  yen.     We  thonght  that 
the  little  handful  of  people  in  our  Seoul  church  had  done  nobly;  we 
were  proud  of  the  eifort  that  they  had  made  and  the  success  that 
had  attended  that  effort,  and  the  missionaries  themselves,  took  steps 
towards  raising  the  balance  of  the  money  for  the  new  building 
among  themselves.     A  site  was  secured,  and  we  were  getting  ready 
to  begin  work  when  one  day,  at  a  little  prayer  meeting  held  at  my 
hoase,  our  deacon.  Yi  Chun-ho,  startled  the  Koreans  as  well  aa  the 


IPOO.")  AN  OWECT  LESSON   IN  SELF-STTPPORT.  391 

missionary  by  the  sng-gestion  that  the  natives  alone,  withont  foreign 
aid,  shonld  put  np  the  new  chnrch.  I  at  once  turned  to  him  and  said  : 
"  Yon  have  raised  twenty  yen,  and  yon  believed  that  you  had  done  all 
that  yon  conld  ;  it  will  take  almost  1,000  yen  to  pnt  np  the  chnrch  ; 
can  yon  do  it?"  I  in  tnrn  felt  myself  strongly  rebnked  by  his 
qniet  reply  with  the  words :  "  We  ask  snch  questions  as  'can  yon  do  it' 
about  men's  work,  but  not  about  God's  work."  The  following  Sunday 
one  or  two  members  made  the  proposition  to  the  people,  and  in 
several  strong  speeches  proposed  that  they  put  their  shoulders  to  the 
wheel,  that  those  who  could  not  give  money  shonld  give  labor,  and 
those  who  could  not  give  labor  or  money  shonld  gather  the  materials, 
and  that  nil  of  them  should  unite  ami  make  up  their  minds  that 
thoy  could  put  np  a  chnrch  for  themselves.  The  proposition  was 
enthusiastically  accepted,  and  they  determined  to  see  what  conld  be 
donf.  The  women  among  themselves  of  their  own  accord  agreed  to 
have  in  the  kitchen  a  Lord's  basket,  and  of  everything  that  they 
cooked  or  made  they  set  aside  a  small  portion,  which  was  to  be  sold 
for  the  church;  boys  who  had  no  means  at  all  took  their  packs 
upon  their  backs  and  gathered  up  stones  that  could  be  used  in  the 
bnilding  ;  men  who  had  never  done  a  stroke  of  work  volunteered  to 
do  what  they  conld.  It  was  decided  to  begin  operations  just  as 
soon  as  there  were  any  funds  to  commence  with  and  to  go  as  fast 
as  the  funds  wonld  allow,  trusting  that  as  the  church  went  np  the 
means  wonld  be  forthcoming.  Some  Christian  carpenters,  men 
who  are  simply  day  laborers,  said  as  their  families  were  dependent 
upon  them  they  conld  not  do  so  every  day,  but  they  wonld  gladly 
work  for  the  church  for  nothing  every  other  day  while  the  chnrch  was 
building,  while  on  alternate  days  they  would  work  outside  and  thns 
support  the  family.  The  mission  gave  nothing  bnt  the  site,  tiles, 
and  a  few  timbers  of  a  part  of  a  bnilding,  a  small  portion  of  which 
was  to  be  pulled  down.  The  missionaries  threw  off  their  coats  and 
assisted  in  the  work,  and  on  Christmas  day  of  the  same  year  we 
were  privileged  to  dedicate  the  Sai  Mun  An  church  that  had  been 
pnt  up  entirely  by  the  natives  at  the  cost  of  750  yen.  It  is  not  a 
large  bnilding ;  it  is  only  thirty-five  by  twenty-three  feet,  bnt  it  was 
pnt  up  entirely  by  the  natives  with  their  own  money,  and  they  look 
npon  it  as  their  own  church.  From  the  very  start  we  have  been 
crowded,  and  did  the  lot  in  which  our  church  is  sitnated  allow  it,  we 
would  have  ere  this  commenced  the  erection  of  a  large  and  com- 
modions  chnrch.  The  example  set  by  the  Chang  Yun  and  Sai  Mnn 
An  churches,  and  almost  at  the  same  time  by  one  or  two  congrega- 
tions in  the  province  of  Pyeng-yang,  has  been  followed  all  over  the 
land  wherever  Presbyterian  work  is  starting ;  and  it  is  a  not  un- 
common and  certainly  a  pleasant  experience  for  the  missionary 


392  THK    CHINESK    RECORDER.  [Auglist, 

on  his  visiting  a  station  to  find  that  the  natives  have  ready  a 
church  or  chapel  for  him  to  dedicate.  These  are  bnt  samples  of 
what  is  being  done  in  Korea  and  the  way  in  which  the  Koreans  are 
helping  on  the  work  of  the  Lord.  The  above  instances  were  chosen 
simply  becanse.they  were  best  known  to  the  writer,  but  they  are  by 
no  means  exceptions. 

{To  he  concluded.) 


4^: 


The  Twenty-tour  Paragons  of  Filial  Piety,  * 

BY   DONALD   MACGILLIVRAY. 

jF  three  unfilial  things,  the  chief  is  to  die  without  sons."— 
Mencius. 

"Esteem  most  highly  filial  piety  and  brotherly  submission, 'in 
order  to  give  their  due  importance  to  social  relations." — The  K'anc/ 
Hsi  Sacred  Edict,  precept  one. 

"  Honor  thy  father  and  thy  mother  ;  that  thy  days  may  be  long 
in  the  land  which  the  Lord  thy  God  giveth  thee." — Fifth  Command- 
ment. 

If  one  were  to  ask,  what  virtue  is  most  highly  honored  in  China  ? 
there  would  be  no  doubt  about  the  answer.  All  would  agree  at  once 
that  it  is  filial  piety  ;  and  the  answer  is  highly  creditable  to  China. 
A  favorite  proverb  has  embodied  a  sentiment  to  which  China's 
millions  would  give  unanimous  approval,  viz.,  "Of  the  hundred 
virtues,  filial  piety  is  chief."  Thus  Arthur  Smith  calls  filial  piety  not 
only  a  characteristic  but  a  peculiarity  of  the  Chinese.  With  the 
first  dawn  of  their  history  we  find  their  emperors  extolled  for  this 
virtue.  Confucius,  true  to  his  character  of  a  transmitter,  not  a 
maker,  merely  emphasized  and  developed  in  his  teaching  the 
fundamental  virtues  of  the  ancients.  "The  ancient  kings,"  said  he, 
"had  a  perfect  virtue,  an  all-embracing  rnle  of  conduct,  viz.,  filial 
piety,  the  root  of  all  virtue."  "Of  all  the  actions  of  men  there  is 
none  greater  than  filial  piety."  "  There  are  three  thousand  off'ences 
against  which  the  five  punishments  are  directed,  and  there  is  not  one 
of  them  greater  than  being  unfilial."  And  K'ang  Hsi  reechoes  the 
sentiment  by  putting  this  duty  first  in  order  among  his  Eighteen 
Maxims  in  the  Sacred  Edict. 

But  it  is  not  my  purpose  to  deal  with  the  passages  in  the 
Classics  referring  to  filial  piety,  for  that  would  be  abstract  and 
theoretical,  and  theory  is  the  too  strong  point  of  the  Chinese,  at  any 
rate  in  morals.     I   propose  to   see  how  the  theory  works  out  in 

*  Read  before  tha  Shanghai  Missionary  Assooiatioa,  April  5th,  1900. 


1&00.1         THE  TWENTY-FOUR  PARAGONS  OF   FILIAL  PIETY.  398 

l>ractice.  Fortnnately  it  is  Dot  necessary  to  rainntely  scan  the 
history  of  milleuninms  for  onr  practical  examples.  That  work  has 
been  done  by  a  Chinese  (some  say  it  was  Ohn  Fn-tsz  himself,)  and 
he  has  done  his  work  so  well  from  a  Chinese  standpoint  that  his 
twentj'.fonr  paragons  of  filial  piety  are  regarded  as  canonical.  The 
booklet  and  illustrations  are  ranch  sold  at  New  Year's  time. 
Thongh  Wells  Williams  calls  it  a  toy-book  it  is  not  to  be  despised 
if  one  desires  to  know  what  the  Chinese  themselves  call  filial  piety. 
Although  Williams  and  Doolittle  both  give  translations  in 
whole  or  in  part,  it  will  be  necessary  for  ns  to  briefly  relate  the 
stories  of  each,  classifying  and  omitting  a  few  nninteresting  cases. 

Son  towards  his  Motlier  {eleven  cases). 

1st.  In  the  time  of  the  Three  Kingdoms,  a  lad  of  six  went  to 
dine  with  a  certain  great  man.  At  the  feast  some  fine  oranges  were 
brought  in.  The  lad,  when  no  one  was  watching,  slipped  three  up 
his  sleeve.  On  taking  formal  leave,  he  put  both  hands  together  and 
bowed  low, forgetting  the  oranges;  which,  in  obedience  to  the  law  of 
gravity  and  in  total  disregard  of  "face,"  rolled  to  the  floor.  "  And  do 
you,  my  guest,  presume  to  filch  my  oranges?"  roared  the  host.  A 
highly  embarrassing  situation  was  relieved  when  the  lad  with  ready 
wit  replied:  "I  am  taking  them  home  for  my  mother,  who  loves 
oranges."  His  host  is  lost  in  admiration  that  a  child  so  young 
should  remember  the  tastes  of  his  mother.  Posterity  join  the 
chorus,  and  the  lad  walks  off  with  the  oranges  into  the  Chinese 
Temple  of  Fame. 

2d.  This  lad,  early  left  fatherless,  devoted  himself  to  his  surviv- 
ing parent.  She  fell  sick.  During  the  winter  she  expressed  a 
desire  to  have  a  sonp  of  bamboo  sprouts,  which  unhappily  were  out 
of  season.  The  son,  however,  nothing  daunted,  repaired  to  a 
neighboring  grove,  grasped  a  bamboo,  lifted  up  his  voice,  and  wept. 
His  filial  cries  moved  heaven  and  earth,  when  lo  !  the  ground 
parted  and  the  sprouts  came  up !  The  soup  was  eaten  and  his 
mother  recovered. 

3rd.  This  lad,  in  a  time  of  disorder  in  the  laud,  carried  his 
mother  on  his  back  to  a  place  of  safety,  just  as  Virgil  represents  his 
Pius  Aeneas  carrying  his  father  Auchises  on  his  back  from  burning 
Troy.  Though  often  intercepted  by  the  rebels,  he  told  them  his  old 
mother  was  still  living,  and  so  was  released,  for  even  rebels  admit 
the  claims  of  aged  parents. 

4th.  This  boy  served  his  mother  obediently.  One  day,  while  he 
was  away  on  the  hills  gathering  firewood  some  guests  unexpectedly 
arrive  at  the  house.  His  mother  is  much  embarrassed,  and  in  her 
longing  for  her  son's  return  bites  her  finger.     On  the  instant  her 


894  lUE  CHINESE  RECORbEk.  [AUgQSt, 

absent  son  feels  a  twinge  of  pain,  and,  divining  trouble,  starts  for 
home,  arriving  in  time  to  help  his  mother  to  properly  receive  the 
guests.  The  native  comment  is,  "  Behold  how  perfect  a  medium 
between  mother  and  child  is  filial  piety  ! "  This  is  a  very  ancient 
example  of  telepathy.  It  is  said  that  this  boy  was  afterwrds 
Tsen  Tzu,  the  famous  disciple  of  Confucius. 

5th.  This  boy's  mother  during  life  was  very  timid  during 
thunderstorms.  After  her  death,  when  storms  came  up,  her  son 
would  run  to  the  grave  at  the  foot  of  the  hills,  crouch  down  beside  it 
and  cry :  "Your  son  is  here,  dear  mother,  do  not  fear."  He  refused 
to  take  office  because  it  would  interfere  with  his  frequently  visiting 
her  tomb.  When  he  came  to  the  passage  in  the  Book  of  Odes, 
"Alas!  Alas!  my  parents  have  borne  and  nourished  me  with  great 
care,"  he  always  read  it  with  flowing  tears.  In  some  pictures  he 
philosophically  holds  an  umbrella  over  his  head  to  protect  from  the 
rain  as  he  kneels  before  the  grave  with  offerings. 

6th.  This  hero  was  the  son  of  an  aged  mother  afflicted  with 
sore  eyes.  She  desired  to  secure  some  wild  deer's  milk  as  a 
sovereign  specific  for  her  trouble.  The  lad,  with  inventive  love, 
clad  himself  in  a  deer's  skin,  and  entering  among  a  herd  on  the 
mountains,  surreptitiously  milked  the  ususpecting  does.  Of  course 
his  mother's  eyes  were  cured. 

7th.  This  pattern  was  captured  by  the  men  of  a  bandit  chief, 
before  whom  he  was  quickly  haled.  The  chief  enquired  :  "  Why 
do  you  carry  that  basket?"  "To  gather  ripe  mulberries  for  my 
mother,"  the  lad  replied;  "the  sour  I  eat  myself."  Such  unselfish- 
ness melted  the  hard  heart  of  this  Robin  Hood,  who,  in  proof  of  his 
admiration  for  virtue  (in  other  people),  forthwith  ordered  a  leg  of 
beef  and  two  bushels  of  rice  to  be  sent  to  their  home. 

8th.  This  son's  father  took  unto  himself  a  concubine,  who, 
jealous  of  the  lawful  wife,  influenced  the  father  to  drive  her  forth. 
At  this  time  ^iv;  lad  '\was  but  seven  years  of  age.  He  afterwards 
rose  lV  riigh  office,  but  Cu^uld  not  forget  his  mother.  Laying  aside 
his  robes  of  office  he  swore  \aii  oath  that  he  would  not  return  till  he 
found  her.  After  fifty  year;^'  search  he  succeeded.  Time  did  not 
efi'ace  her  memory  from  his  filial  heart. 

9th.  As  filial  piety  is  the.  piUar  of  the  State,  the  Emperor  must 
be  foremost  in  setting  the  exl^niple.  Han  Wen-ti  finds  a  place 
among  the  worthies.  During  i^  three  years'  illness  of  his  mother 
he  never  put  off  his  clothes,  being  iu  constant  attendance  upon  her. 
No  medicine,  however  nauseous,  bassed  her  lips  without  being  first 
tasted  by  her  loyal  son. 

10th.  In  the  Han  dynasty  there  lived  a  poor  family,  consisting 
of  a  mau»  his  wife  and  child,  and   i^ia  mother.    Finding  that  bis 


1900.]  THE   TWENTY-FOUR   PARAGONS  OF   FILIAL   PIETY.  395 

mother  was  stiutiiijjj  herself  fur  the  cliild,  the  sou  tlins  discoursed  to 
his  wife:  "We  are  so  poor  that  we  canuot  support  our  mother 
together  with  this  child.  Why  not  barj'  the  child  alive  ?  We  toay 
have  another,  hut  if  mother  should  die  her  place  canuot  be  filled." 
His  wife  dares  not  opjiose.  He  begius  to  dig  the  grave,  when  lo !  he 
strikes  a  pot  of  gold,  on  which  a  thoughtful  providence  had 
inscribed  :  "  Heaven  bestows  this  gold  on  the  filial  son.  The 
officials  shall  not  seize  it,  nor  shall  the  people  take  it. "  Tiie 
ancient  Greeks  reasoned  similarly  about  a  ^yife  as  compared  to  a 
brother.  The  wife  could  be  replaced,  but  not  a  brother,  and  so  they 
were  prepared  to  sacrifice  the  former  in  preference  to  the  latter. 
11th.     This  case  presents  no  special  features. 

Son  toward  his  Father  (four  cases). 

12th.  This  boy's  father  died,  but  owing  to  extreme  poverty  the 
family  could  uot  provide  a  coffiu.  The  lad  resolved  to  sell  himself 
in  order  to  secure  enough  money  for  the  purpose.  AVith  the 
proceeds  the  boy  is  enabled  to  gratify  the  impulses  of  his  filial 
heart.  While  on  the  way  to  work  out  his  debt  a  female  fairy 
opportunely  appears  to  him  and  seeks  the  honor  of  his  hand,  which 
he  grants.  The  happy  pair  proceed  to  the  master's  house,  and  iu 
oue  month,  such  is  the  skill  of  the  fairy,  they  are  able  to  hand  over 
two  himdred  pieces  of  satin  iu  full  discharge  of  the  debt. 

13th.  This  boy  lost  his  mother  at  the  age  of  uine.  His  devotion 
to  her  was  the  talk  of  all  the  country-side.  To  his  living  parent  he 
devoted  himself  with  the  most  assiduous  anxiety.  In  summer,  when 
the  heat  was  great,  he  sought  to  cool  his  father's  pillow  by  a 
vigorbus  use  of  his  fan.  In  winter,  before  his  father  lay  down,  the 
lad  first  warmed  the  couch  with  his  body.  This  story  must  somehow 
have  become  known  to  the  senior  boys  at  Rugby  School,  where  they 
used  to  teach  the  "fags"  to  be  {)roperly  filial  towards  them  by 
performing  a  similar  office  for  them  on  cold  nights  I 

14th.  This  boy  distinguished  himself  at  the  age  of  fourteen  by 
saving  his  father's  life.  While  they  were  at  work  iu  the  field  a 
monster  tiger  suddenly  sprang  out  of  the  thicket  and  attacked  the 
father.  The  lad,  seeing  his  father's  imminent  peril,  leaped  upon  the 
tiger,  regardless  of  costs,  putting  him  to  a  speedy  and  ignominious 
flight.  It  is  to  be  hoped  that  the  father  would  have  been  as  ready 
to  risk  life  for  his  sou. 

15th.     This  story  is  unfit  for  translation. 

Son  toward  Step-mother  (two  cases). 

16th.  Losing  his  mother  early,  this  youth  fell  into  the  hands  of 
a  step-mother,    who   treated   him    with   the   proverbial   harshness. 


S96  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [Atignst, 

Ooe  winter  r7ay  his  father  ordered  him  to  pnll  his  carriage  for  him. 
The  rope  fell  from  his  nam  bed  hand.  His  father,  not  knowing  the 
cause,  proceeded  to  beat  hira  when,  to  his  astonishment,  the  lash 
split  open  his  clothes  and  shewed  that  his  wicked  step-mother  had 
wadded  his  clothes  with  the  flowers  of  reeds  instead  of  the  warm 
cotton  witji  which  she  had  provided  her  own  children.  The  father, 
justly  incensed  at  this  discovery  of  her  cruelty,  was  about  to  divorce 
the  wicked  woman,  when  the  little  philosopher,  with  equal  generosity 
and  thoughtfulness,  pled  his  father  to  spare  her,  saying:  "Mother 
here,  one  son  cold  ;  mother  gone,  all  of  us  will  be  orphans."  The 
step-mother,  hearing  this,  repents  forthwith  of  her  misdeeds.  The 
boy  was  Min  Tza-ch'ien,  one  of  Ooufacius'  pnpils. 

17th.  This  lad's  step-mother  was  always  accusing  him  to  his 
father  of  want  of  filial  love,  so  he  determined  to  give  a  lieroic  proof 
of  his  sincerity  and  virtue.  He  resolved  to  melt  her  heart  by  grati- 
fying her  palate.  In  midwinter  he  went  to  the  ice-bound  river  to  fish 
fur  carp  ;  but  failing  to  break  a  hole  our  hero,  nothing  daunted, 
pulled  off  his  garments  and  proceeded  to  melt  a  hole  with  the 
warmth  of  his  naked  body.  In  a  miraculously  short  time  the  ice 
melted,  and  out  leaped  two  large  carp.  These  he  joyfully  carried  to 
his  step-mother;  who,  on  learning  the  facts,  repented  of  her  evil 
deeds.  A  poet  has  said:  "A  thousand  ages  cannot  efface  the 
remembrance  of  the  crack  in  the  ice,  nor  obliterate  the  fragrant 
traces  of  so  worthy  an  action." 

Son  toward  Parents  (five  cases). 

18th.  This  lad  early  earned  a  place  in  the  honor  roll  by  an 
extraordinary  act  of  filial  devotion.  The  family  were  poor,  a'nd  of 
course  had  no  mosquito-curtains  to  their  beds.  The  rest  of  the  old 
folks  was  much  disturbed  by  the  mosquitoes ;  but  the  filial  sou  was 
equal  to  the  occasion.  He  hit  upon  a  happy  expedient.  He  allowed 
the  village  mosquitoes  to  sate  themselves  on  his  youthful  blood  so 
that  his  parents  might  escape  their  attentions.  A  poet  represents 
him  to  have  thus  discoursed  when  they  presented  their  little 
bills :  "  I  have  no  dread  of  you,  nor  have  you  any  reason  to  fear  me. 
Although  I  have  a  fan  I  will  not  use  it.  I  will  lie  very  still  and 
let  you  gorge  yourselves  to  the  full." 

19th.  This  is  a  specimen  of  the  virtue  of  a  man  seventy  years  of 
age,  whose  parents  were  still  living.  Fearing  that  the  sight  of  their 
aged  son  should  provoke  in  them  the  unpleasant  thought  of  their 
own  still  more  extreme  age,  and  agreeing  with  Confucius  that  the 
difficulty  is  with  the  countenance,  he  adopted  the  variegated  dress 
and  manners  of  a  little  child.  He  would  also  take  two  pails  of 
water  on  a  carrrying-pole,  and  pretend  to  totter  like  a  child.    Falling 


1900.]  THE  TWENTY-FOUR  PARAGONS  OF   FILIAL  PIETY.  397 

down,  he  wonld  begin  to  whimper  like  a  child.  (Tiiis  story  may  have 
soiuii  connection  with  onr  piirase  "  second  childhood  I") 

20th.  Tiiia  pattern,  being  deprived  by  tlieir  early  death  of  the 
privilege  of  serving  his  piirents,  set  up  images  of  thera  which  he 
served  as  if  living.  Eis  wife,  moved  with  jealonsy,  did  not  approve 
of  this  conrse,  and  in  his  absence  pricked  the  hands  of  the  images 
with  a  neetlle.  The  son  on  his  return  saw  blood  on  tlie  hands  and 
tears  ia  the  eyes  of  the  images.  He  straightway  charged  his  wife 
with  her  offence  and  drove  her  from  his  house. 

2 1  St,  About  2200  B.  C.  lived  Shnn.  His  father  was  stnpid,  his 
mother  depraved,  and  his  younger  brother  proud.  Amid  these 
difficult  circumstances  he  shewed  such  duteousuess  that  the  supernal 
powers  were  moved.  The  elephants  came  to  plough  for  him  and 
the  birds  to  weed  for  him.  The  Emperor  Yao  heard  of  this,  and 
sent  nine  of  his  sons  to  serve  him,  then  gave  him  his  two  daughters 
iu  marringe,  and  finally  resigned  the  throne  to  him. 

22ud.     Nothing  noteworthy. 

Daughter  toward  Mother-in-laio  (two  cases). 

23rd.     Nothing  noteworthy. 

24th.  The  mother-in-law  was  fond  of  river-water.  To  fetch  it, 
the  daughter-in-law  had  to  carry  it  a  distance  of  two  miles.  She 
was  also  very  fond  of  carp,  which  at  much  expense  of  toil  were  also 
procured  for  her.  At  last  reward  comes ;  for  suddenly,  by  the  side 
of  the  house,  there  bubbles  up  a  spring  of  pure  water,  which  was 
found  to  be  of  the  same  taste  as  the  river  water ;  and  strange  to 
relate,  a  brace  of  carp  were  wont  to  leap  out  of  the  spring  every  day 
qntil  her  death  1 

Of  the  foregoing  cases  eleven,  or  nearly  half,  relate  to  the  duty 
of  son  to  mother;  four,  of  son  to  father  ;  five,  of  son  to  parents  ;  two, 
of  son  to  step-mother;  and  two,  of  danghter-iu-law  to  mother-in-law. 

Anyone  who  looks  into  the  Hsiao  Ching  can  see  that  Hsiao  ^, 
the  character  usually  translated  filial  piety,  has  a  much  wider 
application  than  with  us.  Bailer,  with  a  view  to  cover  the  whole 
field,  translates  it  "duteousness."  But  the  twenty.four  paragons 
do  not  wander  from  the  text,  and  strictly  relate  to  the  duties  of 
children  to  parents,  properly  including  step-mothers  and  mothers- 
in-law. 

According  to  our  survey,  filial  love  should  find  its  loftiest 
exponent  in  the  son  of  heaven,  while  the  lowest  and  poorest  should 
furnish  many  examples.  Children  should  endure  suffering  and  risk 
danger  for  their  parents'  sakes  (nine  instances);  when  promoted  to 
office  remember  them,  be  pained  when  they  feel  pain,  and  perform 
the  humblest  duty  for  them.     They  should  exercise  the  greatest 


398  THE   CHINESE    RECORDER.  [AugUSt, 

care  and  solicitude  for  them,  give  them  dainty  food,  even  at  great 
expense  to  the  giver,  long  to  see  them  if  separated,  and  prefer  them 
to  office.  They  should  even  give  up  a  son  for  them  and  surrender 
a  wife  for  them  if  she  is  not  in  sympathy  with  their  son's  love- 
They  should  help  them  when  helpless,  cherish  them  when  sick. 
Even  when  children  are  old  they  must  not  forget  filial  piety.  When 
parents  die,  children  should  make  any  sacrifice  to  provide  them 
with  decent  burial,  and  cherish  them  with  offerings  as  if  living. 

1.  The  fact  that  about  one-half  of  the  paragons  are  specifically 
in  the  list  on  account  of  devotion  to  their  mothers,  should  be  allowed 
due  weight  when  we  dwell  on  the  inferior  position  of  women  in 
China.  Let  no  one  be  so  ungracious  as  to  say  that  duteousness  is 
easier  towards  the  compassionate  mother  than  towards  the  stern 
Confucian  father.  The  lesson  here  is  highly  creditable  to  the 
Chinese,  and  we  must  not  hastily  discount  it.  At  a  lantern  exhibi- 
tion in  Honan,  Dore's  picture  of  the  Prodigal  Son  was  shown  to  a 
meeting  of  new  converts.  After  the  various  characters  had  been  all 
pointed  out  an  old  man  inquired :  "  Where  is  the  Prodigal's 
mother?"  She  would  have  felt  it  most.  He  could  not  think  why 
the  artist  had  left  her  out.  I  do  not  think  that  Christianity  had 
taught  him  this.  At  any  rate  the  Chinese  woman  rates  highest  as 
mother,  though  lower  as  wife  and  lowest  of  all  as  daughter.  So,  per 
contra,  none  of  the  twenty-four  are  filial  daughters,  and  only  two 
appear  as  filial  daughters-in-law.  As  to  the  wife,  according  to  our 
text,  one  is  so  bad  as  to  dishonor  the  parents'  images,  and  another 
must  do  violence  to  her  maternal  feelings  by  standing  near  while  her 
brutal  husband  digs  a  hole  to  bury  their  child. 

2.  It  is  creditable  to  the  Chinese  that  so  many  of  the  paragons 
come  from  poor  families  (seven  cases).  To  this  day  it  is  said  that 
poor  families  are  the  ones  to  produce  filial  sons.  >^  "p^  j^  ^  #  ^ 
33J  ^  -^j  "  Lucky  parents  do  not  know  what  it  is  to  have  filial 
sons,"  i.e.,  sons  of  the  well-to-do  are  either  not  inclined  or  have  no 
opportunity  (to  show  filial  piety). 

3.  There  is  in  the  paragons  no  trace  of  the  practice  which  the 
late  Dr.  Faber  described  as  cannibalism,  but  which  is,  in  modern 
times,  the  sure  road  to  Imperial  recognition,  and  an  imposing  Pailou. 
I  refer  to  the  practice  of  filial  sons  and  daughters  cutting  out  a  piece 
of  their  own  flesh  and  providing  their  unwitting  parents  when  ill 
with  a  Thyestean  banquet  in  hopes  of  a  happy  recovery. 

4..  It  is  well  to  note  that  according  to  these  stories,  heaven,  or 
heaven-and-earth,  rewards  filial  piety  as  in  accordance  with  what  is 
right;  we  can  hardly  say  in  accordance  with  their  will,  for  such 
impersonal  entities  cannot  be  so  spoken  of.  In  one  instance,  a 
heavenly  being  comes   to  relieve  distress.      When  we  come   later 


1900.]  THE   TWENTY-FOUR  PARAGONS  OP   FILIAL   PIETY.  359 

to  speak  of  the  ethical  basis,  we  will  see  how  weak  this  is ;  but 
meantime  we  should  rejoice  that  there  is  no  subject  on  which 
conscience,  God's  representative  in  the  breasts  of  the  Chinese,  is  so 
sensitive  and  responsiva 

5.  In  the  management  of  the  family  (^  5^),  this  virtue  is  the 
chief.  It  is  sometimes  said  that  the  Chinese  have  no  homes.  But 
granting  that  there  have  been  even  a  few  instances  like  the 
pai-agons,  who  can  deny  that  in  these  cases  the  word  "  home "  is 
worthily  employed  ?  though  that  does  not  mean  that  we  Christians 
have  nothing  to  add  to  the  idea. 

6.  The  Chinese  are  not  wrong  in  emphasizing  filial  piety  and 
claiming  for  it  far-reaching  consequences.  It  is  most  creditable  to 
them  that  they  fixed  tipon  it  as  fundamental.  "The  fact  of 
fatherhood  is  indeed  primary,  fundamental,  and  universal.  Every 
man,  being  a  son,  knows  what  is  involved  in  fatherhood."  (Principal 
G.  M.  Grant).  Moreover,  if  we  examine  the  divine  principle 
underlying  the  fifth  commandment,  '  the  first  commandment  with 
promise,'  we  shall  see  that  the  Chinese  are  right  in  their  far-reaching 
views  of  filial  piety.  Let  us  hear  what  the  late  R.  W.  Dale  says 
about  this  commandment :  "  The  promise  was  a  declaration  that  the 
prosperity,  the  stability,  and  permanence  of  the  nation  depended  upon 
the  reverence  of  children  for  their  parents.  The  discipline  of  the 
family  was  intimately  related  to  the  order,  the  security,  and  the 
greatness  of  the  state.  Bad  children  would  make  bad  citizens.  If 
there  was  a  want  of  reverence  for  parental  authority  there  would  be 
a  want  of  reverence  for  public  authority.  If  there  was  disorder  in 
the  home  there  would  be  disorder  in  the  nation ;  and  national  dis- 
order would  lead  to  the  destruction  of  national  life.  But  if  children 
honored  their  parents,  the  elect  nation  would  be  prosperous,  and 
would  retain  possession  of  the  country  which  it  had  received  from 
the  hands  of  God."  After  reading  this  one  need  not  wonder  at  the 
long  continuance  of  the  Chinese  in  the  land  which  God  gave  them. 

But  now  turn  for  a  little  to  the  other  side  of  the  picture  and 
note  the  defects.  1.  The  Hsiao  Ching,  which  is  at  least  of  Confucian 
authority,  asserts  that  the  "  services  of  love  and  reverence  to  parents 
when  alive,  and  those  of  grief  and  sorrow  for  them  when  dead, 
completely  discharge  the  fundamental  duty  of  living  men."  The 
paragons  accord  with  this  idea ;  and  of  course  on  the  face  of  it  we 
see  that  the  position  assigned  to  this  virtue  is  extravagant,  and  leads 
the  Chinese  into  doing  ridiculous  and  even  wicked  things,  under  the 
impression  that  filial  piety  demands  them.  As  a  result,  we  have 
straining  after  excessive  devotion,  impossible  without  improper 
disregard  of  the  just  rights  of  others.  Although  filial  piety  is 
important,  we  cannot  admit  that  it  is  a  religion  in  itself,  as   the 


400  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [AugUSt, 

Chinese  people  do  when  they  pit  it  against  the  worship  of  the  gods' 
as  witness  the  proverb  :  *'  ^^^1)^ -^  i^  iB  'M.  -^  ')M  ^>  Reverence 
your  parents  at  home ;  why  should  you  go  far  to  burn  incense?" 
As  if  to  say,  you  need  no  other  religion !  Love  to  parents  is 
indeed  a  natural  duty,  but  there  are  two  other  loves — love  to  God 
and  love  to  man — which  constitute  the  great  commandment;  nay, 
there  are  three,  for  self-love  is  also  a  duty.  Thou  shalt  love  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself;  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  love  to  God,  which 
seems  impossible  to  the  Chinese,  who  will  only  admit  it  possible  to 
reverence  God. 

2.  It  follows  from  the  extravagant  importance  attached  to  this 
virtue  that  the  moral  judgment  is  confused,  so  that  men  con- 
done, or  worse,  laud  to  the  skies,  acts  which  the  most  elementary 
conscience  would  unhesitatingly  pronounce  immoral  unless  warped 
by  a  wall-eyed  view  of  their  parents  as  indeed  living  Buddhas. 
Thus  a  boy  steals  oranges,  but  as  it  is  for  his  mother  the  act  is 
highly  praised.  To  this  day  no  daughter-in-law  regards  her  pilfering 
from  her  husband's  folks  as  stealing,  because  it  is  "  for  her  mother." 
A  son  proceeds  to  murder  his  child  to  save  his  mother,  forsooth ! 
Similarly,  vengeance  on  behalf  of  parents  is  regarded  as  a  sacred  duty ; 
and  not  long  since,  sons  used  to  leap  from  the  top  of  T'ai-shan 
in  order  to  save  a  sick  parent.  In  the  Christian  sentiment,  on  the 
other  hand,  there  is  the  fullest  scope  for  the  discharge  of  filial  duty, 
without  violation  of  the  laws  of  God  or  of  conscience.  "  Harmony 
and  unity  are  secured  by  the  subordination  of  man's  duty  to 
man  to  man's  duty  to  God." 

3.  On  reading  some  of  these  stories,  we  exclaim  again  and  again: 
How  miserably  selfish  these  parents  must  have  been  to  allow  their 
children  to  do  such  things  for  them !  To  this  agrees  the  frequent 
remark  of  critics  that  the  Chinese  idea  of  filial  piety  fosters 
selfishness.  The  full  tale  which  their  parents  exacted  from  them, 
they  expect  to  exact  in  turn  from  their  children,  not  merely  during 
youth  but  down  to  the  end  of  life  and  for  long  after  death.  "  He 
who  gives  sixteen  ounces  of  filial  piety  to  his  parents,  will  receive 
one  pound  of  it  from  his  descendants  "  (^  ^"py^M^^  51^ 
jf  —  jf ).  "Sons  should  be  born  early,  not  late  "  (tb  ^  ^  %  ;?? 
^  'M  %)•  ^^  born  late  the  parents  may  die  before  the  boys  are  of 
any  use  to  their  parents,  and  so  the  trouble  expended  on  them  will 
be  wasted.  The  '  final  cause  '  of  children  is  the  benefit  of  the  parents. 
The  selfishness  of  parents  accounts  for  the  dislike  of  daughters. 
Early  marriage  carries  them  off  to  benefit  another  family.  In  this 
connection  note  that  no  daughter  appears  among  the  worthies  except 
the  daughter-in-law,  who  comes  to  add  to  the  working  force.  Some 
have  argued  from  the  supposed  composition  of  the  character  ^,  viz. 


1900.]         THE  TWENTY- POUH   PARAGONS  OP  FILIAL   PIETY.  401 

(according  to  the  Shuo  Wen),  an  old  man  on  his  son's  back, — that 
the  primitive  idoa  is  support;  and  the  fact  that  Confucius  scornfully 
blames  some  of  the  people  of  his  time  for  fancying  that  the  mere 
providing  of  food  and  raiment  was  filial  piety,  shews  the  danger  that 
always  existed.  The  Christian  idea  is :  Honor  thy  father  and  thy 
mother;  obey  your  parents  in  all  things.  At  the  same  time  the 
duties  of  parents  are  enforced  :  "  Ye  fathers,  provoke  not  your  children 
to  wrath ;  but  nurture  them  in  the  chastening  and  admonition  of  the 
Lord."  (Eph.  vi.  4).  "  Fathers,  provoke  not  your  children,  that  they  be 
not  discouraged."  (Col.  iii.  21.)  Lcgge  says  that  no  Chinese  would 
subscribe  to  the  teaching  of  2  Cor.  xii.  14,  viz.,  "  The  children  ought 
not  to  lay  up  for  their  parents,  but  the  parents  for  the  childrea" 
He  says  it  always  provoked  a  storm  of  opposition  when  he  quoted  it. 
And  yet  Christian  children  are  constantly  assisting  their  parents 
with  their  earnings,  and  Chinese  parents  are  laying  up  for  their 
children.  If  explained  to  them  the  passage  would  appear  perfectly 
natural. 

4.  In  only  two  of  the  paragons  is  there  reference  to  ancestor 
worship;  but  to  a  (Jhinese  this  is  so  elementary  a  duty  that  it  needs 
no  emphasis.  But  there  must  be  something  radically  wrong  with  a 
conception  of  duty  which  has  borne  such  mournful  fruit  in  connec- 
tion with  the  dead.  The  dead  require  our  services,  it  is  said,  and  so 
leaving  a  posterity  is  held  to  be  a  sacred  duty.  Hence  a  train  of  ills 
thus  summarized  by  Arthur  Smith  :  "  Adoption  of  children,  whether 
there  is  or  is  not  any  adequate  provision  for  their  support,  early 
marriages,  and  large  families  with  nothing  to  live  on,  polygamy  and 
concubinage,  always  and  inevitably  a  curse."  The  effect  of  ancestor 
worship  on  progress  is  sufficiently  well  known  without  special 
mention. 

5.  Although  Chinese,  when  questioned,  admit  that  filial  conduct 
is  pleasing  to  heaven,  in  this  virtue  as  in  every  other  the  chief 
motive  is  not  that  it  is  pleasing  to  heaven,  but  that  it  is  highly 
expedient.  Utility  is  the  motive.  Social  order,  peace,  safety,  pros- 
perity, are  necessary.  Therefore  be  duteous.  Beyond  this,  gratitude 
is  also  dwelt  on  as  prompting  duteousness.  Thus  the  paraphrast  of 
K'ang  Hsi's  Maxim  derives  all  his  arguments  in  enforcing  the  duty 
from  these  sourcea  How  different  Paul's  precepts  to  children: 
"  Obey  your  parents  in  all  things,  for  this  is  well-pleasing  in  the 
Lord ; "  and  again :  "  Children,  obey  your  parents  in  the  Lord,  for 
this  is  right." 

Finally  admitting  the  evils  of  exaggeration  mentioned  above, 
after  all,  are  Chinese  children,  on  the  whole,  filial  or  the  opposite  ? 
Two  veterans  have  expressed  themselves  on  the  point.  The  late  Dr. 
Yates  affirmed  that  Chinese  sons  are  the  most  unfilial,  disobedient 


4G2  THE  CHINESE   RECORDER.  [AugUSt, 

to  parents,  and  pertinacious  in  having  their  own  way,  of  any  nation 
we  ever  read  of.  But  the  lata  Dr.  Legge  roundly  dissents  from  this 
condemnation.  I  should  be  glad  to  hear  the  opinions  of  those 
present.  At  any  rate  we  should  not  be  of  those  who  seem  afraid  to 
discover  virtues  among  heathen  peoples,  lest,  forsooth,  the  motives 
of  evangelizing  should  be  weakened.  We  should  rejoice  that  God 
hath  not  left  himself  without  witness  in  the  conscience  of  the 
Chinese.  Christianity  ever  perfects  ;  correcting  excesses  and  filling 
up  defects,  supplying  moral  dynamics  where  there  is  nothing  to  help 
to  the  attainment  of  virtue,  and  teaching  the  Chinese  the  greatest 
lack  of  all,  their  duty  to  a  heavenly  Father,  by  union  with  whom  a 
full- orbed  character  is  alone  possible. 


The  Measuring  of  a  Minister. 

BY   REV.   D.    W.    NICHOLS. 

tHE  character  of  Jesus  Christ  is  the  most  unique  this  world 
has  ever  known.  His  very  uniqueness  proves  His  divinity. 
He  courted  the  favor  of  none.  He  paid  no  attention  to  the 
whims  of  so-called  society.  He  depended  upon  the  truth  and  the 
righteousness  of  His  cause  to  commend  Himself  to  mankind.  He 
started  his  mission  on  a  basis  that  had  never  before  been  tried.  It 
was  the  very  opposite  of  what  our  so-called  wise  men  would  have 
considered  a  wise  plan.  He  undertook  to  conquer  this  world  with 
a  weapon  that  had  never  before  been  tried.  The  clash  of  arms  upon 
hundreds  of  battle-fields  in  every  land  had  been  heard.  Nations 
with  carnal  weapons  had  conquered,  but  to  be  reconquered  by 
another.  Lands  had  been  pillaged  and  unnumbered  hosts  slain  by 
marshalled  hosts  under  earthly  kings,  and  the  world  all  the  time 
growing  worse.  Now  comes  a  new  king  to  conquer  the  world  and 
make  it  better  by  a  new  method.  He  builds  no  forts,  he  arms  no 
troops  with  weapons  of  slaa(.;hter.  Men  and  devils  arrayed  them- 
selves against  him,  while  angels  sang  his  song  of  triumph  of  the 
victory  He  was  to  achieve.  He  stood  alone,  the  world  with  its 
most  cruel  weapons  arrayed  against  him.  He  launched  a  thunder- 
bolt from  the  skies  on  the  compelled  attention  of  mankind.  "  Re- 
pent, for  the  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand ! "  was  a  call  to 
surrender.  He  was  armed  with  the  weapon  of  love,  which  kills  and 
makes  alive.  He  poised  his  bow,  lot  go  his  arrow.  The  message 
was  the  same  for  the  king  upon  his  throne  and  for  the  beggar  on 
the  streets.     His  message  found  a  responsive  echo  in  the  hearts  of 


1900.]  THE  MEASURING   OF  A   MINISTER.  408 

many  who  desired  to  enlist  under  his  banner.  Their  numbers 
multiplied.  He  chose  his  trusted  few  from  among  the  lowest,  and 
through  his  loving  grace  and  heaven-given  wisdom,  exalted  them 
to  the  highest  eminence  to  which  it  was  possible  for  mankind  to 
attain.  The  good  in  every  land  have  loved  and  honored  him,  while 
the  bad  have  scoffed  and  marvelled  at  his  power.  He  is  now  the 
captain  of  the  greatest  army  this  world  has  ever  known.  They 
march  to  the  music  of  heaven  ;  their  tread  shakes  the  earth,  their 
numbers  are  being  multiplied  daily.  His  wisdom  in  choosing 
the  weapon  he  chose  is  manifest.  He  conquers  and  holds  men  as 
none  other  can.  With  a  bugle  blast  from  the  throne  of  God,  he  has 
called  and  is  still  calling  men  in  every  land  and  among  all  peoples, 
and  arming  them  with  the  all-conquering  message  to  take  the 
leadership  in  His  church  to  conquer  other  hearts  and  other 
nations.  Armed  with  the  sword  of  his  Spirit,  He  has  started  us  out 
on  a  crusade  to  win  this  world ;  and  woe  be  unto  the  man  that  dares 
to  exchange  the  God-given  weapon  for  one  of  his  own  or  another's 
creation.  Many  have  done  this  and  been  defeated  upon  many  a 
battle  field.  They  have  fought  hard,  but  gained  no  victories  in 
conquering  hearts  for  the  captain  of  our  salvation. 

The  little  army  over  in  Judea  were  sent  forth  as  sheep  among 
wolves.  They  fully  understood  what  that  meant.  What  was  true 
to  them,  then  and  there,  is  equally  true  to  us  in  China.  He  gave  a 
standard  for  the  measurement  of  his  ministers,  i.e.,  they  could  have 
but  one  Master.  They  could  not  serve  God  and  Mammon;  that  is, 
they  could  not  serve  God  and  do  as  the  world  does.  He  declared 
that  His  word  was  not  bound,  and  He  never  intended  any  faithufl 
soldier  of  the  cross  should  be.  But  there  are  cowards  and  traitors 
in  the  armies  of  every  nation;  and  there  are  traitors  in  the  church 
of  Christ,  and  have  been  ever  since  the  days  of  Judas  Iscariot. 
Men,  when  flicing  the  enemy,  have  been  known  to  throw  down  their 
weapons  and  run ;  others  have  thrown  down  their  weapons  and 
surrendered,  others  have  not  only  surrendered,  but  have  actually 
joined  the  ranks  of  the  enemy;  but  their  names  have  never  gone 
down  in  the  history  of  famous  men,  but  have  been  a  stench  unto 
the  good  and  bmve  among  all  nations.  But  the  man  who  goes 
down  holding  up  his  colors,  true  to  his  country  and  his  flag,  is  the 
man  whose  memory  we  delight  to  honor.  Some  ministers  of  the 
gospel,  through  weakness  and  fear  of  popular  opinion,  have  com- 
promised the  truth  and  toned  down  the  message  of  the  Son  of  God, 
with  the  result  that  such  ministers  have  brought  shame  to 
themselves,  disgrace  to  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  condemnation  to  the 
souls  of  men.  We  are  now  measuring  such  men,  and  find  they 
measure  not  up  to  the  standard  as  given  by  Paul :     "  For  to  me  to 


404  THE   CHINESE  RECORDER.  [August, 

live  is  Christ,  to  die  is  gain."  Better  a  thousand-fold  to  be  ostracized 
from  society,  to  be  burned  at  the  stake  of  public  opinion,  to  die  upon 
the  scaffold  of  scorn  and  opprobium  than  to  compromise  the  word 
of  God  in  courting  the  favors  of  the  world. 

The  attitude  of  the  apostle  to  the  Corinthians  should  be  the 
attitude  of  God's  ministers  to  all  people.  "  For  I  determined  to 
know  nothing  among  you  save  Jesus  Christ  and  Him  crucified." 

No  man  is  so  scrutinized  as  the  minister  of  the  gospel.  He  is 
the  target  at  which  the  arrows  of  every  man's  bow  are  directed. 
Can  he  walk  among  them  without  injury  ?  That  depends  upon  his 
life.  If  he  lives  close  with  God,  ever  leaning  upon  the  everlasting 
arms,  sheltered  beneath  the  wings  of  the  Almighty,  with  a  conscience 
void  of  offence,  he  can  He  need  have  no  fear ;  the  air  will  be  filled 
with  a  legion  of  angels  to  guard  him.  He  must  first  be  sure  that 
he  is  right  with  God.  If  no  condemnation  comes  from  above  he 
need  have  no  fear  from  that  which  comes  from  below.  If  the 
minister  compromises  the  word  of  God,  or  compromises  his  life  to  gain 
the  favor  of  the  world,  he  will  have  purchased  it  at  far  too  great  a 
sacrifice.  He  will  be  far  better  off  without  it.  To  suffer  ostracism 
would  be  paradise ;  while  to  gain  the  favor  of  man,  and  God 
offended,  would  be  hell. 

Let  the  minister  always  seek  his  message  from  the  Lord,  and 
endeavor  to  imitate  our  great  Exemplar,  Christ  Jesus.  He  never 
made  an  attempt  at  eloquence  to  gain  the  plaudits  of  men ;  and  yet 
"  He  spake  as  never  man  spake."  He  made  His  life,  and  every  word 
He  uttered,  speak  for  the  good  of  man  and  the  glory  of  God.  The 
minister  of  the  gospel  should  always  feel  that  it  is  his  duty  to  "  cry 
aloud,  spare  not,  lift  up  the  voice  like  a  trumpet,  and  show  the 
people  their  transgressions  and  the  house  of  Jacob  their  sins."  He 
should  ever  live  in  that  rich  experience.  "  The  spirit  of  the  Lord 
God  is  upon  me,  because  the  Lord  hath  anointed  rae  to  preach  good 
tidings  unto  the  meek.  He  hath  sent  me  to  bind  up  the  broken- 
hearted, to  proclaim  liberty  to  the  captives,  and  the  opening  of 
prisons  to  them  that  are  bound;  to  proclaim  the  acceptable  year 
of  the  Lord  and  the  day  of  vengeance  of  our  God ;  to  comfort  all 
that  mourn."  This  is  the  standard  by  which  the  minister  is  to  be 
measured.  And  no  man  who  claims  to  be  called  of  God  should 
object  to  being  measured  by  the  standard  given  by  Him,  "  whose  we 
are  and  whom  we  serve." 

I  am  fully  aware  that  as  ministers  we  are  not  always  measured 
by  the  law  of  justice  as  given  in  the  word  of  God  ;  but  we  should 
rise  so  far  above  any  other  rule  of  measuring  a  minister  that  our 
critics  would  be  put  to  silence.  The  minister  should  be  measured 
more   by    his  character  than  his   words.     Character  speaks    more 


1900.]  THE   MEASURING  OF   A   MINISTER.  4p05 

eloquently  than  words, — weigh  men's  characters.  He  of  the  blackest 
heart  and  the  vilest  character  may  have  the  eloquence  of  a  Cicero 
or  Demosthenes,  while  one  whose  character  is  spotless,  as  that  of 
an  angel  of  light,  may  yet  speak  with  a  broken  stammering  tongue. 
Let  us  imitate  the  Christ  in  our  messages.  He  made  no 
mistake.  He  was  always  in  season  and  never  out  of  season.  His 
message  was  always  suited  to  His  hearers.  He  was  the  same 
yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever;  but  His  message  was  not  always  the 
same.  Note  the  Beatitudes :  "  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,"  "  Blessed 
are  the  merciful,"  "  Blessed  are  the  meek,"  "  Blessed  are  the 
peacemakers."  Such  a  sermon  must  have  thrilled  the  hearts  of 
those  who  heard  Him  with  joy  unspeakable.  Again :  "  Come  unto 
Me  all  ye  that  labor  and  are  heavy-laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest." 
How  the  weary  and  burdened  hearts  must  have  leaped  with  new 
life  on  hearing  such  a  message.  Perhaps  many  are  saying :  Oh,  give 
us  such  a  ministry  as  His — so  gentle  and  kind  ;  no  harshness,  no 
rebuking  of  men  for  their  shortcomings.  But  hold ;  let  us  hear 
him  on  another  occasion :  "  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and  Pharisees, 
hypocrites  ;  woe  unto  you,  lawyers  ;  woe  unto  thee,  Chorazin ;  woe  unto 
thee,  Bethsaida."  Where  are  your  beatitudes  now  ?  Hear  Him 
once  more  when  some  of  the  self-righteous  come  to  Him,  claiming  to 
have  Abraham  as  their  father.  "  Ye  are  of  your  father  the  devil, 
and  the  lusts  of  your  father  ye  will  do."  Again  :  "  Ye  generation  of 
vipers,  who  hath  warned  you  to  flee."  The  gentle  beatitudes  have 
changed  into  the  blazing  forked  lightnings  of  Sinai.  The  storm  of 
justice  bursts  in  fury  against  the  wickedness  of  man.  Read  the 
4th  chapter  of  Luke's  gospel  from  the  16th  to  the  32nd  verse.  Here 
you  will  find  His  audience  charmed  and  thrilled  with  delight  at  His 
gracious  words ;  and  yet  before  He  closed  His  discourse,  this  same 
crowd  is  aroused  with  indignation  and  seek  to  kill  Him.  His 
message  had  pricked  their  conceit  and  roused  their  indignation. 
Men  have  always  attempted  to  limit  the  gospel  message  by  brid- 
ling the  tongue  of  the  ministry. 

"Siiall  I,  to  soothe  the  unholy  throng, 
Soften  thy  truth,  or  sraoothe  my  tongue, 
To  giiin  earth's  gilded  toys,  or  flee 
The  cross  endured,  my  Lord,  by  theel" 

No,  the  scoffs  and  scorn  of  mankind  cannot  hurt  us,  so  to  the 
Cross  of  Christ  we  cling ;  we  need  have  no  fear. 

"  Yea,  let  men  rage,  since  thou  wilt  spread. 
Thy  shadowing  wings  around  my  head." 


406  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [August, 

Saul  was  a  great  king,  because  God  made  him  a  king.  By 
appointing  himself  a  priest — an  office  to  which  God  had  never 
called  him — he  offended  a  righteous  and  just  God,  counting  the 
office  of  4ihe  priesthood  other  than  a  sacred  office  to  which  God 
divinely  calls  men ;  and  for  his  presuming  to  assume  the  duties  of 
this  sacred  office,  God  visited  him  with  His  great  displeasure.  I  fear 
there  are  too  many  who  presume  to  enter  the  sacred  office  of  the 
ministry  without  having  first  obtained  the  divine  call  and  the 
signet  of  this  call,  which  is:  "  Woe  is  unto  Me  if  I  preach  not  the 
gospel."  There  is  no  mistake  in  such  a  call.  If  a  man  has  such  a 
call,  neither  men  nor  devils  can  intimidate  him  in  his  glorious  work ; 
nor  gold  nor  silver  can  tempt  him  to  lay  aside  this  glorious  calling. 
That  branch  of  the  Christian  church,  of  which  the  writer  is  an 
humble  member,  propounds  the  following  questions  to  those  seeking 
admission  into  the  ranks  of  her  ministry :  "  Do  you  trust  that  you 
are  inwardly  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  take  upon  you  the  office 
of  the  ministry  in  the  church  of  Christ  to  serve  God  for  the  promot- 
ing of  His  glory  and  the  edifying  of  His  people  ?  "  This  question 
must  be  answered  in  the  affirmative.  Again,  in  the  admonition 
given  by  the  bishop  to  those  presenting  themselves  for  ordination : 
"  You  have  clearly  determined,  by  God's  grace,  to  give  yourself  wholly 
to  this  office,  whereunto  it  hath  pleased  God  to  call  you ;  so  that,  as 
much  as  lieth  in  you,  you  will  apply  yourself  wholly  to  this  one 
thing,  and  draw  all  your  cares  and  studies  this  way,  and  that  you 
will  continually  pray  to  God  the  father,  by  the  mediation  of  our 
only  Saviour  Jesus  Christ,  for  the  heavenly  assistance  of  the  Holy 
Ghost ;  that  by  daily  reading  and  weighing  of  the  Scriptures  you  may 
wax  riper  and  stronger  in  your  ministry ;  and  that  you  may  so 
endeavor  to  sanctify  the  lives  of  you  and  yours  and  to  fashion  them 
after  the  rule  and  doctrine  of  Christ,  that  you  may  be  wholesome 
and  godly  examples  and  patterns  for  the  people  to  follow."  The  man 
who  keeps  these  vows  will  alway  be  found  in  the  work  of  the  ministry 
until  God  spaaks  to  him  and  says  :  "  It  is  enough,  come  up  higher." 

No  man  is  big  enough  to  make  an  all-round  minister  of  the 
gospel  and  yet  be  entangled  in  the  affairs  of  the  world.  Business 
men  who  make  a  success  of  their  business  are  men  who  give 
undivided  attention  to  their  business  affairs.  The  true  minister  of 
the  gospel  will  find  enough  in  the  ministry  to  occupy  his  head,  his 
heart,  his  hands,  his  all ;  to  him  "  Christ  is  all  in  all." 

"Let  Zion's  watchmen  all  awake, 
And  take  the  alarm  they  give  ; 
Now  let  them  from  the  mouth  of  God 
Their  solemn  charge  receive. 


1900.]  THE   MEASURING   OF   A    MINISTER.  40T 

'Tis  not  a  cause  of  small  import 
The  pastor's  care  deiiiands  ; 
But  what  mi^ht  fill  an  angel's  heart, 
And  filled  a  Saviour's  hands. 

They  watch  f<»r  souls  for  wiiich  the  Lord 

Did  heavenly  blias  forego; 

For  souls  which  must  forever  live 

In  rapture  or  in  woe. 

May  they  that  Jesus,  whom  they  preach, 
Their  own  Redeemer  see; 
And  watch  Thou  daily  o'er  their  souls, 
That  they  may  watcli  for  Thee." 

The  man  who  devotes  himself  wholly  to  the  work  of  the  ministry, 
need  offer  no  apology  for  the  position  he  occupies,  as  does  the  man 
who  devotes  a  part  of  his  time  to  the  work  of  the  ministry  and  a 
larger  part  of  his  time  to  worldly  gain. 

I  once  knew  a  minister  of  the  gospel,  a  very  strong  premillen- 
narian,  who  was  preaching  on  every  occasion  the  immediate  second 
coming  of  Christ,  believing,  as  he  professed,  that  the  time  was  at 
hand ;  and  yet  a  grasping  speculator,  as  though  he  was  afraid  Christ 
would  come  before  he  got  a  few  thousands  laid  up  for  his  family.  He 
perhaps  expects  the  millenniarian  to  come  to  him  and  not  his  family, 
if  one  is  to  judge  him  by  his  actions.  "  Ye  cannot  serve  God  and 
mammon,"  so  said  our  great  Teacher,  who  taught  by  precept  and 
example  :  "I  come  not  to  do  mine  own  will,  but  the  will  of  Him  that 
sent  me."  Again :  "  My  meat  is  to  do  the  will  of  Him  that  sent  me 
and  to  finish  His  work." 

The  ideal  of  the  true  minister  of  the  gospel  is  high  ;  but  blessed, 
yea  thrice  blessed,  that  man  who  attains  to  that  high  ideal ;  or  like 
the  apostle :  "  Not  as  though  I  had  already  attained,  either  were 
already  perfect ;  but  I  follow  after,  if  that  I  may  apprehend  that  for 
which  I  am  also  apprehended  of  Christ  Jesus.  Brethren,  I  count  not 
myself  to  have  apprehended;  but  this  one  thing  I  do,  forgetting  those 
things  which  are  behind,  and  reaching  forth  unto  those  things  which 
are  before,  I  press  toward  the  mark  for  the  prize  of  the  high  calling 
of  Ood  in  Christ  Jesxis."  The  things  behind  are  the  world,  the 
ilesh,  and  the  devil.  He  presses  forward  that  he  may  be  found  in 
Christ,  "  his  living  head."  This  is  a  picture  of  an  ideal  minister  of 
the  gospel.  Paul  is  right  when  he  calls  the  work  of  the  ministry  a 
•'  calling."  It  is  not  a  profession,  but  a  calling  of  God  to  the  noblest 
work  mortal  man  ever  engaged  in;  co-laborers  with  God's  own  Son  in 
the  world's  redemption.     Perhaps  some  will  object  to  be  measured 


408  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [August, 

by  the  standard  set  forth  in  this  article;  but  the  objector  will  not  be 
among  those  whose  life  is  devoted  wholly  to  the  work  of  the  ministry. 
Where  can  you  find  men  who  command  the  respect  of  all  classes 
more  than  such  men  as  Drs.  Muirhead,  John,  Hudson  Taylor,  and  the 
late  David  Hill  and  Dr.  Nevius,  and  many  others  one  might  name? 
But  this  is  sufficent  to  illustrate  Men  who  on  entering  the  ministry 
gave  theTnselves  wholly  to  God,  who  had  called  and  ordained  them 
to  the  great  work  of  the  ministry  of  the.  gospel  of  His  dear  Son. 
Their  ordination  vows  were  not  rashly  made.  Such  men  will  not 
object  to  being  measured  by  the  standard  herein  given.  Paul  the 
apostle,  after  a  life  well  spent  in  the  ministry,  exhorts  the  youthful 
Timothy  to  faithfulness,  cautioning  him  against  becoming  entangled 
in  the  affairs  of  the  world,  urging  him  to  be  a  good  soldier  of  the 
cross ;  and,  having  endured  the  trials  and  conflicts  incident  to  a 
faithful  ministry,  he  exclaims  :  "  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have 
kept  the  faith.  Henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crown  of 
righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the  righteous  judge,  shall  give  to  me 
at  that  day;  and  not  to  me  only,  but  unto  them  also  that  love  His 
appearing."  May  we  measure  up  to  this  man  of  God,  who  felt,  "  to 
me  to  live  is  Christ,  to  die  is  gain." 


Missionsiry  Dangers: 

BY    REV.  D.   J.   MILLS. 


VERY  superficial  reading  of  the  New  Testament  gives  one  an 
impression  of  danger,  imminent  at  all  times  to  the  early 
disciples,  and  especially  threatening  those  who  actively  and 
openly  engaged  in  the  propai^atiou  of  the  gospel. 

"  Go  your  ways  ;  behold,  I  send  you  forth  as  lambs  in  the  midst 
of  wolves,"  said  the  Master ;  and  never  was  any  attempt  made  to 
hide  from  His  messengers  the  merciless  opposition  that  would 
confront  them  iu  the  world  at  the  hands  of  men,  and  not  less  at  the 
hands  of  the  prince  of  darkness,  from  whom  they  were  to  daily  pray 
to  be  delivered. 

In  the  inspired  acconut  given  us  of  the  founding  of  the  early 
church,  the  element  of  danger  looms  ever  large  before  our  vision. 
Persecution  and  intolerance  without,  heresies  and  schisms  within; 
the  very  "pillars"  characterized  at  times  by  weakness,  inconsist- 
ency, and  fallibility,  all  threatened  to  wreck  the  church  of  God  and 

*  Read    before    the  Tientsia  Missionary    Association    February    19th,   1900* 
Published"  By' request:  - 


1900.]  MISSIONARY    DANGERS.  409 

quickly  scatter  the  company  of  believers  so  lately  gathered  oat  from 
Jews  aud  gentiles. 

The  closing  book  of  the  Canon,  even  if  it  conveys  nothing 
else  to  the  casnal  reader,  certainly  in  its  vivid  succession  of 
figurative  scenes,  filled  "  with  blood  aud  fire  and  vapour  of  smoke," 
will  impress  him  with  the  fact  that  dangers  to  her  very  existence 
would  threaten  at  every  step  the  Bride  of  the  Lamb,  and  that  all 
the  powers  of  earth  and  hell  would  conspire  to  roi)  her  of  her  purity. 
No  effort  of  fiendish  malice  or  diabolical  ingenuity  would  be  left 
untried  to  pollute  and  destroy  her.  The  path  to  the  final  triumph 
was  indeed  to  lay  tbrongh  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  "set 
all  along,"  as  Buuyan  tells,  "fall  of  snares,  traps,  gins,  and  nets 
here,  and  so  full  of  pits,  pitfalls,  deep  holes,  and  shelvings  down 
there"  that  only  by  the  leading  aud  protection  of  an  almighty  hand 
could  there  be  escape  or  deliverance. 

Missionary  dangers,  however,  may  include  not  only  the  dangers 
which  are  peculiar  to  the  missionary,  but  also  such  as  are  common 
to  all  the  people  of  God.  The  most  eminent  missionary,  as  well  as 
the  most  insignificant  Christian,  may  easily  make  shipwreck  of  faith 
if  he  neglect  to  be  on  the  watch  against  the  ordinary  temptations 
of  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil  It  was  in  the  common 
things  of  life — bread — that  the  great  Captain  of  the  missionary 
host  met  his  first  and  perhaps  most  subtle  temptation.  Much 
more  than  the  rank  and  file  of  the  Christian  army,  must  the 
missionary  give  ear  to  those  danger-signals — the  "  take  heeds  "  of 
Scripture. 

"An  evil  heart  of  unbelief"  will  be  fatal  to  everything. 
"Take  heed  I"  "Hypocrisy,  the  leaven  of  the  Pharisees,"  will 
disgust  and  hinder  the  heathen  in  China  as  much  as  at  home. 
"  Take  heed  I "  "  Covetonsness,"  like  some  imperceptible  yet 
deadly  gas,  will  overpower  the  strongest  of  God's  saints.  "  Take 
heed  1 "  "  To  be  seen  of  men,"  may  be  the  motive  underlying  much, 
even  of  the  missionary's  effort  and  sacrifice,  and  the  applause  which 
'  the  church  and  world  bestow,  will  be  the  only  reward  such  service 
will  ever  obtain.    "  Take  heed  1 " 

"  Take  heed  !  "  the  word  sounds  out  again  and  again,  "  how 
ye  hear,"  *^what  ye  hear."  "Take  heed  that  no  man  deceive  you." 
"Take  heed  to  yourselves,  lest  at  any  time  your  heart  be  over- 
charged with  surfeiting,  and  drunkenness,  and  cares  of  this  life, 
and  so  that  day,"  the  day  of  His  appearing,  "come  upon  yoii 
anawares."  "  Take  heed  nuto  thyself  and  to  the  doctrine;  continue 
in  them,  for  in  doing  this  thou  shalt  both  save  thyself  and  them 
that  hear  thee."  "Take  heed  to  the  ministry  which  thou  hast 
received  in  the  Lord,  that  thou  fulfill  it." 


410  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [AugUSt, 

These  and  many  other  warnius^s  found  in  the  Scriptures,  the 
missionar}',  living  often  in  isolation,  wiiere  Satan's  seat  is,  and 
excepting  for  the  great  Sliepherd  of  the  sheep,  himself  pastorless — 
he  above  all  people  cannot  afford  to  disregard. 

"  A  holy  'missionary'  is  an  awfnl  weapon  in  the  hand  of  God," 
bnt  what  will  the  unholy  be  but  a  stumbling  block,  a  delusion 
and  a  snare  ? 

My  purpose,  however,  in  this  paper,  is  to  deal  not  with  these 
general  spiritual  dangers,  much  less  of  dangers  to  health,  to  home 
or  person,  from  riots  and  rebellions,  from  "  Big  Swords  "  or 
"  Boxers,"  but  simply  with  some  dangers  to  the  missionary's 
nsefuhiess,  as  he  or  she  goes  on  in  "the  common  round,  the  daily 
task." 

Persecution  seldom  hinders  or  harms  the  work  of  God  ;  and 
to  the  missionary  it  affords  indeed  a  valuable  opportunity  for 
showing  that  faith  in  God  is  a  reality  ;  and  not  life,  hut  the  favour 
of  God  is  the  greatest  necessity.  Few  of  us  probably  look  back 
upon  our  period  of  missionary  life  without  some  feeling  of  dis- 
appointment. We  have  not  seen  all  that  we  had  hoped  of  God's 
power  and  grace,  of  changed  lives  and  saved  sonls  ;  and  why  not  ? 

If  this  paper  deals  with  common  places,  my  excuse  is  that  the 
common  place  is  most  likely  to  be  overlooked  ;  and  to  "  exhort  one 
another  daily,"  even  in  the  things  with  which  we  are  most  familiar, 
is  a  Christian  and  therefore  a  missionary  duty. 

Dangers  to  the  usefulness  of  the  missionary  as  such,  are  not 
perhaps  easy  of  classification,  but  we  will  consider  them  as  they 
stand  in  relation,  first,  to  the  missionary  himself;  second,  to  the 
missionary  and  his  fellow- workers  ;  third,  to  the  missionary  and  his 
work. 

1.  Perhaps  the  first  danger  that  threatens  the  missionary  him- 
self is  to  become  so  accustomed  to  the  abounding  evil  around  that 
he  thiuKs  far  less  seriously  than  he  ont^ht  of  the  exceeding  sin- 
fulness of  the  sins  so  commonly  committed.  Idolatry  may  even 
become  only  interesting.  Foot-binding  and  other  cruel  customs  ' 
cease  to  horrify.  The  opium  vice,  he  begins  to  think,  is  not  so  bad 
after  all,  and  Sabbath  observance  can  well  be  done  without  I  The 
moral  atmosphere  benumbs,  and  there  is  a  danger  that  instead  of 
converting  the  Chinese  they,  in  some  measure,  may  convert  him; 
and  prevarication  and  lying,  deception  and  dishonesty,  temper  and 
other  vices,  if  not  actually  becoming  a  part  of  his  character,  may 
at  any  rate  cease  to  stir  in  him  those  strong  feelings  of  disappro- 
bation with  which  he  formerly  invariably  regarded  them. 

To  missionaries  who  are  much  thrown  among  the  Chinese  for 
companionship  there  is  a   danger  that  they  unduly  exalt   them- 


1900  ]  MISSIONARY   DANGERS.  411 

selves  and  irangine  that  their  knowledge,  abilities,  and  goodness  are 
far  iu  exiiess  ot  the  actual  facts.  They  measure  themselves  by  the 
preilomiaatiiig  ij^aoraace  and  stupidity  aroiiod.  The  fnlsome  and 
8peci(Mis  flattery  also  of  cringiiii;  defendants,  has  its  effects  ;  and 
the  result  is  the  death  of  meekness  and  humility.  Furloughs,  the 
society  of  one's  peers,  the  study  of  great  hooks,  all  have  their  cor- 
rective effects  ;  but  the  true  antidote  to  pride  is  found  in  the  word 
of  God ;  especially  the  2ud  of  Phili{)pians  and  the  example  of 
Jesns  Christ. 

On  the  other  hand,  there  are  those  who  too  readily  conclude 
that  they  at  least  are  of  no  use  and  can  do  nothing,  that  it  was  all 
a  mistake  their  having  come  to  China  at  all !  To  such  the  message 
comes,  "have  faith  in  Gi)d,"  who  can  overrule  all  mistakes  to  His 
own  jrlory  and  use  in  His  own  soveriegn  way  the  soul  that  is  wholly 
subject  to  Him. 

If  it  be  the  want  of  visible  results  which  leads  to  such  de- 
spondency the  time  of  harvest  may  not  be  yet.  The  thought,  "  In 
Thy  favour  is  life,"  cheered  and  n[)held  the  self-denying  Bowen  of 
Bombay  in  his  long  and  arduous  yet  Jipparently  fruitless  labours. 

Visible  success,  while  to  healthy  minds  acting  as  a  stimulus  to 
greater  and  grander  effort,  may  also  be  a  peril.  If  our  expectations 
are  supposed  to  be  realized,  it  will  be  the  death  of  all  progress, 
and  our  chief  employment  the  retailing  to  ourselves  and  others  the 
brave  deeds  that  have  been  done  instead  of  afresh  girding  our- 
selves for  the  still  raging  conflict. 

The  "  Go  ye  "  of  Matt,  xxviii  is  repeated  from  heaven  again 
and  aj^ain  in  the  Acts  and  Epistles;  and  woe  to  the  missionary  who 
can  live  without  preaching  and  teaching  the  gospel  of  the  grace 
of  God.  Paul  the  aged,  though  having  fully  proclaimed  the  gospel 
of  Christ  from  Jerusalem  to  the  shores  of  the  Adriatic,  and 
"  having  no  more  place  in  these  parts,"  far  from  being  content  with 
■what  Christ  had  wrought  by  him  to  make  the  gentiles  obadient, 
was  still  looking  forward  to  work  in  Rome  and  far  distant  Spain. 
'Ever  fresh  conquests  for  the  cross!  The  true  missionary  spirit 
flamiuiif  till  the  end. 

II.  In  regard  to  the  dangers  that  beset  us  as  co-workers  with 
others  it  is  not  easy  to  estimate  the  harm  (and  the  g<'od)  we  can  all 
do  to,  as  well  as  receive /rom,  our  fellow- workers.  How  often  huve 
the  hearts  of  tried  veterans  in  the  missionary  ranks  been  made 
sad  by  the  harsh  jui'gments  of  those  who,  following  after,  have 
concentrated  their  attention  not  upon  the  brilliant  successes,  but  upon 
the  supposed  fuilnres  and  defeats  of  their  ])re  lecessors  iu  the  war. 

It  is  easy,  however,  to  be  wise  after  the  event.  It  is  ea.-^y  to 
ignore  the  fact  the  our  superior  knowledge  has  been  only  possible* 


412  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [August, 

because  of  the  very  mistakes  which  we  raaj'  cruelly  deride  or 
condemn.  And  after  all,  were  these  things  mistakes  ?  Have  we 
the  power  to  so  put  ourselves  in  the  position  of  those  we  blame  and 
to  so  exactly  estimate  all  the  difficulties  that  then  surrounded 
them,  that  we  dare  to  pronounce  an  adverse  judgment  ?  To  do  the 
best  possible,  though  bad  compared  to  what  is  desirable,  is  not  a 
blunder.  That  we  can  do  better,  is  perhaps  only  because  of  the 
altered  circumstances,  altered  possibly  throngh  the  very  line  of 
action  we  condemn.  In  these  days  there  are  few  of  us  but  what 
in  some  sense  succeed  to  the  work  of  others.  Other  men  have 
laboured,  and  we  enter  into  their  labours.  Let  us  not,  even  to 
explain  our  own  failure,  disparage  their  labours;  for  "  with  what 
judgment  we  judge  we  shall  be  judged." 

To  make  our  fellow-workers  or  those  around  us  a  common 
topic  of  conversation,  is  most  dangerous  to  harmony  and  true  unity. 
It  is  seldom  safe  to  discuss  the  sayings  and  doings  of  others.  It  is 
generally  impossible  in  so  doing,  not  to  make  comparisons  and  not 
to  exaggerate;  and  suspicion,  if  not  dislike,  may  soon  take  the 
place  of  confidence  and  love.  To  discuss  Julius  (Caesar,  the  latest 
invention,  the  Scriptures  of  truth,  or  indeed  anything  rather  than 
those  with  whom  we  work  and  live,  may  be  of  real  use  and  benefit ; 
but  tale-bearing,  gossip,  and  back-biting  (suggestive  word  !)  have 
grieved  the  Spirit  of  God,  set  workers  at  variance,  and  hindered  the 
work  in  not  a  few  mission  stations.  To  the  peculiarities  or  infirm- 
ities of  others  let  us  turn  a  deaf  ear  and  a  blind  eye,  which  often 
indeed,  as  Mr.  S{)urgeon  once  said,  will  be  our  best  ear  and  best  eye. 

Dissension  also  may  arise  when  individual  opinion  is  stubbornly 
believed  to  he  the  only  possible  rule  of  conduct,  and  pigheadednesa 
is  mistaken  for  firmness,  and  wilfulness  for  consistency.  Happy  are 
we  if  like  the  late  Dr.  Nevins  we  can  cheerfully  help  to  carry  out 
plans  approved  by  our  brethren,  but  of  which  we  may  personally 
disapprove.  Prayer  to  the  God  who  maketh  men  to  be  of  one  mind 
in  a  house,  will  do  much  to  bring  about  unanimity  of  judgment 
and  help  us  to  avoid  failing  where  even  Euodia  and  Syntyche,  Paul  • 
and  Barnabas  failed.  Cordiality  and  cheerfulness,  carefulness  and 
consideration  are  qualities  which  cannot  be  cultivated  too  sedulously, 
and  which  go  far  to  make  our  lives  a  refreshment  and  a  joy  to  all 
with  whom  as  missionaries  we  are  daily  thrown  in  contact. 

To  those  who  in  the  home  churches  are  in  any  way  associated 
with  us,  there  is  a  danger  that  we  cater  unwisely  to  the  demand  for 
results.  To  satisfy  this  demand  the  ignorant  and  unworthy  may 
be  admitted  to  the  church  in  numbers  sufficient  to  cause  the  name 
of  the  worker  to  be  mentioned  everywhere  with  flourish  of  trumpets 
and  high  eulogium  of  praise;  but  the  ruin  of  such  work  is  near  at 


1900.1  MISSIONARY  DANGERS.  418 

hand  ;  conversions  which  were  not  converBions,  aJifl  the  admission  of 
any  but  living  stones  intD  the  spiritnal  tetnple,  will  in  the  end  but 
overvvlielin  work  and  workers  in  tlie  shame  they  deserve. 

Exajrgeration  in  our  correspondence  is  a  kindred  evil.  Perhaps 
only  the  bright  side  of  the  work  is  presented  and  a  false  impressioa 
is  conveyed.  Missionary  diaries  and  reports  have,  by  not  a  fiwr, 
come  to  be  onsidered  very  nnreliable  reading  on  just  this  account. 
As  in  other  things,  so  in  this,  transparent  honesty  is  the  best  policy. 
Those  whose  sympathy  is  most  worth  having,  want  to  know  the 
facts,  and  the  story  of  our  disappointments  and  failures  will  draw 
ont  their  prayers  for  ns,  as  much  as  our  joys  and  successes,  their 
praise.  If  we  desire  to  live  as  we  pray,  so  should  we  write  as 
we  work  and  work  as  we  write. 

The  opposite  danger  of  sending  to  our  friends  at  home  pessi- 
mistic and  alarmist  statements  which  have  but  little  foundation  ex- 
cept in  imagination,  is  not  so  common,  but  the  effect  is  even  worse. 
•We  may  be  often  alarmed  without  good  cause  if  we  listen  to  every 
]»assiug  rumour  of  the  people  around  ;  but  we  need  not  harrow  the 
feelings  of  our  home  friends  by  always  committing  them  to  paper. 
And  any  man  who  is  ordinarily  human  will  soon  become  a  pessimist 
when  he  looks  only  at  the  difficulties  and  disappointments  incident 
to  missionary  work.  But  again,  if  discouraged  onrselves,  we  need 
not  discourage  others  by  fears  and  fancies  having  no  foundation 
in  fact. 

In  regard  to  letters  arriving /rom  home  the  young  missionary 
at  least,  by  fond  and  admiring  thongli  unwise  friends,  is  often  told 
of  the  great  self-denial  and  heroic  bravery  he  or  she  has  manifested 
in  becomiui^  a  foreign  missionary;  and  if  these  kind  of  statements 
are  too  constantly  expressed,  in  time  there  is  a  danger  of  their  being 
believed,  nnless  indeed  there  is  wisdom  enough  to  s^ie  that  what  is 
borne  for  Clirist's  sake  by  the  missi(jnary  is  sometimes  no  more 
than,  if  so  much  as  the  merchant  bears  for  sake  of  wealth  or  liveli- 
hood, thp  traveller  for  profit  or  pleasure,  the  diplomat  and  soldier 
for  sake  of  queen  and  country. 

III.  The  missionary  in  the  course  of  his  work  finds  pitfalls  and 
stumbling  blocks  at  every  turn  of  the  road ;  and  if  he  would  rna 
swiftly  and  well  he  must  be  on  the  alert,  be  circnraspect,  and  qnick 
to  avoid  these  dangers  to  his  progress. 

If  some  Chinese  who  criticize  the  missionaries  are  to  be 
believed,  one  of  the  greatest  hindrances  to  missionary  usefulness  is 
arrogance.  The  apostles  had  to  be  taught  by  revelation  from  heaven 
the  equality  of  gentile  with  Jew  in  the  new  dispensation,  and  they 
found  it  a  very  difficult  lebsou  to  master.  The  arrogance  of  the 
missionary,  if  arrogant  he  be,  ie  often  becaase  he  supposes  himself 


3il4  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  •  [AugUSt, 

to  come  from  a  better  country  and  a  better  race,  and  in  consequence 
in  every  wny,  by  birth  and  education,  to  be  far  and  away  a  better 
man  than  the  poor  people  he  is  come  to  benefit.  He  is  riylit  in 
thinking  his  own  country  to  be  the  best  under  tlie  sun,  but  the 
Hottentot  and  Fueijan  believe  the  same.  Arnot  in  his  "  Garengenye  " 
relates  how,  though  the  Kaffir  would  often  profess  to  be  lost  in 
admiration  at  the  wonders  of  European  life,  yet  around  the  camp 
fires  at  night,  when  he  was  sup[)osed  to  be  asleep,  the  general 
conclusion  drawn  was  that  Kaffirs  and  Kaffir  ways  were  indescrib- 
ably the  better  !  That  there  are  very  few  Ciiiuese  but  believe  the 
same  of  their  country  and  their  ways,  is  an  open  secret,  and  with 
some  reason.  It  is  therefore  unwise  to  force  unnecessary  com- 
parisons which  are  odious  as  well  to  the  one  as  to  the  other,  and 
will  in  no  wise  help  to  the  reception  of  the  gospel  of  which  such 
comparisons  constitute  no  part,  but  will  create  needless  opposition 
and  prejudice  against  it.  Chang  Ohi-tung  may  a[)preciate  railways 
and  Krupp  guns,  and  even  some  things  in  the  manners  and  methods 
of  Western  nations;  but  imagine  the  chance  of  a  man  converting 
him  who  had  the  idea,  and  showed  it  at  every  turn,  that  China,  as 
compared  to  his  own  country,  was  in  every  way  inferior  I 

^Neither  is  it  necessary  to  the  belief  of  the  gospel  that  a  man 
first  of  all  accepts  the  Newtonian  theory  of  the  universe..  He  may 
still  believe  the  world  to  be  flat  if  he  chooses  and  yet  be  saved 
through  Christ.  Education  will  make  him  a  better  Christian,  but  is 
by  no  means  essential  to  his  becoming  a  Christian. 

Pride  of  race  or  place,  of  comparative  knowledge  or  comparative 
wealth  will,  in  the  make  up  of  the  successful  missionary,  in  no  way 
help.     They  are  "not.of  the  Father,  but  of  the  world." 

Over-familiarity,  tolerance  of  rudeness,  the  too  ready  confiding 
of  personal  and  family  affairs,  will  earn  the  contempt  instead  of  the 
respect  of  those  about  us.  It  is  easy  in  our  recoil  from  the  opposite 
danger  of  pride  and  distance  to  fall  into  this  other,  but  again  the 
true  path  lies  between  them  both. 

If  in  China  a  native  church,  "self-supporting,  self-governing,  * 
and  self-propagating,"  is  to  be  raised  up,  it  will  be  necessary  also 
for  the  missionary  to  rid  himself  of  the  idea  (if  he  has  such  idea) 
that  he  alone  is  capable  of  preaching  and  teaching,  or  of  settling 
matters  connected  with  the  church.  A  kind  of  modified  sacerdo- 
talism, a  lording  over  God's  heritage,  a  most  unduly  magnifying 
the  office  of  missionary,  and  an  almost  childish  delight  in  being 
sainted  "  Muh-si,  Mnh-si,"  and  addressed  "  Rsv."  it  is  feared  is  not 
altogether  unknown  among  missionaries,  who  should  be  free  from 
these  things.  If  our  native  brethren  are  to  realize  their  liberty  and 
responsibility  in  the  church  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  must  not  be  kept 


1900.]  MISSIONARY   DANGERS.  416 

iu  leadiu!^  stiiugs  because  of  the  desire,  perhaps  nnconscioas,  of  the 
missinuary  to  be  '  some  great  oue.' 

Lack  of  sympathy  in  the  personal  and  family  joys  and  sorrows 
of  the  converts,  does  not  help  them  to  nndHrrttaml  the  trne  nnity 
of  the  body  of  Christ,  and  that  if  one  meral)er  suffer  all  the  mem- 
bers suffer.  While  alas  I  as  at  home,  so  in  China,  it  is  to  be  f«*ared 
that  sometimes  the  pastor  knows  so  little  of  his  flock,  that  with  the 
exception  of  a  select  few,  he  is  really  often  unaware  of  their  joys  or 
sorrows  I 

The  use  of  money  certainly  needs  to  be  specified  as  a  danger 
to  missionary  work,  according;  as  it  is  wisely  expended  or  withheld. 
By  nijrgardliness  to  those  iu  distress,  when  for  personal  comforts 
and  even  luxuries  no  expense  is  spared,  many  genuine  and  sincere 
enquirers  have  been  hindered  and  have  finally  refused  to  believe  ia 
a  religion  of  love  which  appeared  to  be  so  but  'in  word  or  in  tongue.* 
Foolish  liherality  on  the  other  hand,  has  not  infrequently 
gathered  round  the  missionary  a  set  of  cautinur  hypocrites,  whose 
profession  of  religion  was  always  a  stumbling  block  to  better  men 
and  which  profession  only  lasts  as  long  as  the  loaves  and  fishes  hold 
out.  To  avoid  these  equally  serious  mistakes,  would  it  not  be  well 
to  help  only  where  the  church  helps  and  to  help  only  in  proportion 
as  is  helps  ? 

A  more  intimate  acquaintance  on  the  part  of  the  missionary 
with  the  prevailing  falsehood  and  deceit  around  has,  on  some 
natures,  the  disastrous  effect  of  making  them  suspect  the  motive 
of  every  friendly  advance  and  of  every  expression  of  interest  in  the 
'doctrine.'  Every  one  is  held  to  be  guilty  of  playing  the  hypocrite 
till  he  proves  himself  a  true  man  !  Iu  a  land-  like  China,  however, 
it  is  hard  to  say  whether  this  attitude  of  suspicion,  or  the  opposite 
fault  of  easy  credulity  which  makes  a  man  the  easy  prey  of  every 
plausible  knave,  is  the  most  dangerous. 

Want  of  tact,  the  ignoring  of  etiquette,  the  disregard  of  custom, 
and  trampling  on  prejudice,  have  often  worked  havoc  in  a  whole 
district,  giving  rise  to  endless  stories  and  alienating  people  who 
would  otherwise  have  been  friends. 

It  is  possible,  again,  to  be  so  afraid  of  offending,  that  the 
verities  of  the  gospel  messnge  are  lost  amid  the  maze  of  compro- 
mise. We  shoidd  bring  the  word  of  reconciliation  iu  a  conciliatory 
way,  but  we  may  not  forget  that  some  truths  are  absolutely 
essential,  and  that  an  entrance  to  life  in  Christ  now,  and  the  joy 
of  heaven  for  ever,  is  necessarily  impossible  except  by  way  of  the 
new  birth  and  cleansing  in  the  blood  of  Jesus.  We  dare  not 
adulterate  the  heavenly  manna  of  the  gospel  with  the  earthy 
products  of  heathen  minds,  nor  dare  we  put  the  Christ  iu  even  the 


'"41'6  THE   CHINESE   RECORDER.  [AugUSt, 

Chinrsp  pantheon,  highly  as  we  raaj'^  think  of  the  heroes  and  sages 
of  the  East.  Onr  Saviour  is  "in  the  midst  of  the  Throne,"  and 
throngh  Him  alone  is  salvation. 

If  there  is  any  "danger"  in  connection  with  the  study  of  the 
language  it  is  that  it  is  easy  to  be  content  with  what  is  really 
insufficient  for  our  work.  But  if  we  are  to  grapple  with  hardened 
consciences,  if  we  are  to  adequately  instruct  the  ignorant  ;  if  we 
are  to  follow  the  many  windings  of  the  Confucianist,  and  unearth 
the  black  infidelity  at  the  back  of  it  all,  then  we  must  have  Chiuese 
more  or  less  thoroughly  at  our  command.  Other  things  being  equal, 
our  usefulness  will  largely  depend  upon  our  familiarity  with  the 
language.  As  ambassadors  for  Christ  we  must  needs  make  plain 
the  message  of  our  King. 

Above  all  let  us  recognize  the  danger  of  supposing  that 
merely  natural  gifts  and  acquirements  can  ever  produce  supernatnral 
results.  Souls  are  only  born  again  of  the  S[)irit  of  God  ;  and  we 
and  our  works  require  to  be  buptized  with  that  same  Spirit,  the 
Spirit  of  counsel  and  might,  of  wisdom  and  love,  if  we  are  ever  to  be 
more  than  a  sounding  brass  and  tinkling  cymbal.  Let  us  never 
doubt  too  the  efficacy  of  prayer  offered  in  faith  and  the  Holy  Ghost, 
nor  have  to  lament  as  one  good  man,  "I  wish  I  had  prayed  more," 
The  God  of  Miiller  lives. 

Our  work,  as  well  as  our  life,  is  largely  made  np  of  little  things. 
"We  cannot  afford  to  be  careless  of  the  smallest  detail.  "We  never 
know  what  is  important,  nor  when  we  are  standing  at  the  open 
door  of  great  opportunities."  Pastor  Hsi  in  Hong-toug,  Shan-si,  a 
man  greatly  used  of  God,  was  fir.st  led  to  think  there  might  be 
something  good  in  Christianity  by  the  courteous  and  dignified 
demeanour  of  David  Hill.  One  of  onr  most  useful  and  earnest 
Christians,  a  wealthy  merchant  in  Cheo-kia-k'eo,  Honan,  was 
converted  to  God  when  he  only  came  into  our  newly-rented  "  t'ang" 
from  curiosity  to  look  around. 

If  in  this  paper  the  dangers  to  usefulness  are  emphasized,  it  is 
because  this  is  the  special  subject  under  consideration.  If  they 
seem  many  it  is  not  because  the  list  has  been  exhausted. 

We  acknowledge  and  honour  with  gratitude  to  God  the  many 
who  remain  true  missionaries  and  true  saints  to  the  end.  "They 
still  bring  forth  fruit  in  old  age."  Their  usefulness,  instead  of 
being  impaired,  grows  as  the  years  go  by,  and  will  still  grow  till 
they"  are  called  to  serve  in  the  more  itnmediate  presence  of  the 
King,  where  we,  as  they,  by  grace  may  yet  hear  :  "  Well  done,  good 
and  faithful  servant;  thou  hast  been  faithful  over  a  few  things,  I 
will  make  thee  ruler  over  many  things  ;  enter  thou  into  the  joy 
of  thy  Lord." 


1900.]  A  PRAYER.  41 


"  Is  the  way  difficult  t 

I  will  direct  thee. 

Is  the  path  dangerous? 

I  will  protect  thee. 


Fear  not  and  falter  not ; 

Let  the  word  cheer  thee, — 
'All  through  the  coming  days, 

I  will  be  with  thee.' " 


A  Prayer. 

BY   CHARLES  G.  ROBERTS. 

For  use  in  the  hour  of  danger.      Written  urith  special  reference  to  our 
besieged /riends  in  Peking,  Pao-ting-/u,  etc. 

O  God  of  Israel,  in  our  grief, 

Our  prayerful  cry  ascends  to  Thee ; 
On  either  hand  no  help  we  see : 

Thou,  Lord,  alone  canst  bring  relief. 

Eternal  God,  Thy  help  we  crave; 

Stretch  forth  Thine  arm  of  power  to  save  ! 

While  danger,  like  a  heavy  cloud, 

Thick  with  the  blackness  of  a  storm. 
Is  gathering  o'er  in  threatening  form, 

And  with  increasing  roarings  loud, — 

Eternal  God,  Thy  help  we  crave ; 

Stretch  forth  Thine  arm  of  power  to  save  ! 

Our  hope  is  centred  in  Thy  grace, 

O  Source  of  love  that  has  no  end  ! 

We  love  to  claim  Thee  as  our  Friend, 
Though  yet  we  have  not  seen  Thy  face. 
Eternal  God,  Thy  help  we  crave  ; 
Stretch  forth  Thine  arm  of  power  to  save  i 

Tis  when  all  human  efforts  fail 

We  turn  to  Thee  with  longing  eyes ; 
'Tis  when  distressing  fears  arise 

We  breathe  the  prayer  which  must  prevail : — 

Eternal  God,  Thy  help  we  crave; 

Stretch  forth  Thine  arm  of  power  to  save  ! 


418 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 

Our  tearful  cries  must  reach  Thine  enr : 
Thy  name  and  nature,  Lord,  is  love  ; 
O  give  us  cause  again  to  prove 

That  perfect  love  which  casts  out  fear. 

Eternal  God,  Thy  help  we  crave  ; 

Stretch  forth  Thine  arm  of  power  to  save  ! 

O  God  of  Israel,  in  our  grief 

Our  prayer  to  Thee  we  utter  still ; 
According  to  Thy  sovereign  will ; 

In  mercy  look  and  send  relief. 

Eternal  God,  Thy  help  we  crave ; 

Stretch  forth  Thine  arm  of  power  to  save  ! 


[August, 


Amen. 


^irutatiniial    gcpartmi:nt» 


Rkv.  E.  T.  Williams,  M.A.,  Editor. 


Published  in  th«  interests  of  the  "  Educational  Association  of  China." 


EduGationsil  AssooiSLtion  of  China,. 

MEETING   OF  EXECUTIVE   COMMITTEE. 

'^r^HE  Committee  met  May  15th,  1900,  at  McTyeire  Home,  and 
'Hih  was  opeued  with  prnyer.  Present:  Rev.  A.  P.  Par  leer,  D.D., 
Chairraau  ;  Rev.  F.  L.  K  Pott,  Rev.  J.  G.  PergnsoQ,  and  the 
Secretary.  Miss  Richardson  was  elected  to  take  the  place  of  Miss 
Haygood,  whose  decease  has  deprived  the  committee  of  a  greatly 
valued  member. 

The  General  Editor  reported  in  substance  as  follows  : — 

REPORT   OF   GENERAL  EDITOR. 
I.  Publication  of  Books. 

1.  Six  hundred  copies  of  the  Minutes  of  the  Third  Triennial  Meeting 
have  been  published  and  placed  on  sale  at  $1.50  and  $1.00  per  copy, 
for  half  binding  and  paper  covers  respectively,  with  thirty  per  cent, 
discount  to  members. 

2.  Three  hundred  copies  of  the  Biographical  and  Geographical 
Terms,  authorized  by  the  last  meeting  of  the  Association,  have  been 
printed  and  distributed  to  the  members  and  placed  on  sale  at  cost  price, 
viz.,  thirty-five  cents  per  copy. 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT.  '4W 

3.  Six  thousand  illustrations  for  hand-books  of  birds,  animals,  and 
astronomy,  were  imported  from  Edinburgh. 

4.  One  thousand  copies  each  of  Mrs.  Parker's  Zoology  and  Dr. 
Mai  tin's  Political  Economy,  and  500  copies  of  Dr.  Muirhead's  Geography, 
have  been  published  and  placed  on  sale  since  the  last  meeting  of  the 
Executive  Committee. 

II.  Financial  Matters. 

1.  The  book  sales  at  the  Mission  Press  for  six  months  ending 
December  31,  1899,  amounted  to  about  $2,026.00,  which  was  subject 
to  a  discount  of  ten  per  cent,  to  the  Press  for  handling  the  stock.  The 
bill  for  printing  for  the  same  term  was  $2,750.00  j  the  net  result 
for  the  said  six  months  being  to  leave  us  in  debt  to  the  Press 
for  $920. 

2.  We  received  from  the  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Christian  and 
General  Knowledge  $795.65  for  sales  of  books  at  their  depository  in 
Shanghai  for  the  year  ending  February  28th,  1900.  • 

3.  I  find  on  examination  of  the  records  of  sales  of  our  books  at  the 
Mission  Press  that  the  sales  amount  to  $668  for  three  months  ending 
March  31st,  1900. 

III.  Answers  to  Circular  Letters. 

Only  some  twenty-one  replies  have  been  received  to  the  circular 
letters  that  I  sent  out  some  time  ago  to  the  members  of  the  Association, 
making  inquiries  in  regard  to  school  and  text  books,  what  books  were 
being  made,  what  others  were  wanted,  suggestions  as  to  how  to  secure 
the  preparation  of  such  books  as  we  need,  etc.  While  the  number  of 
replies  is  somewhat  disappointingly  small,  they  contain  some  interesting 
and  valuable  suggestions,  and  as  soon  as  it  appears  that  no  moie  replies 
are  likely  to  come  in,  it  is  my  purpose  to  prepare  an  abstract  of 
the  replies  received,  and  forward  them  to  the  Recorder  for 
publication. 

In  regard  to  the  adverse  balance  reported  by  the  treasurer,  I  think 
the  sales  of  books  for  the  present  six  months,  ending  June  30th,  will  pay 
it  oflF,  or  nearly  do  so. 

In  any  case  we  have  a  large  amount  of  saleable  books,  maps,  charts, 
etc.,  in  stock,  and  it  cannot  be  long  before  the  sales  will  clear  off  our 
entire  indebtedness. 

A.  P.  Parker, 

General  Editor. 

The  treasnrer  reported  an  adverse  balance  in  January  of 
$1,649.39.  Since  then  there  have  been  paid  out  by  the  treasnrer 
$74.00.     A  credit  of  §876.65,  and  cash  in  hand  to  the  amount  of 


420  THE   CHINESE  RECORDER.  [August, 

$24.00,    leaves    an    adverse    balance    of    $856.74.      Report    ap- 
proved. 

Dr.  Staart  having  asked  for  a  supply  of  books  to  be  placed  on 
sale  at  the  triennial  examinations  at  Nanking,  the  reqnest  was 
referred  to  the  Society  for  the  DifFasion  of  Christian  and  General 
Knowledge  among  the  Chinese,  with  a  reqaest  that  he  be  furnished 
with  the  books  needed. 

The  following  names  were  proposed  and  nnanimonsly  elected 
to  membership  in  the  Association:  Miss  L.  M.  Stanley,  Nanking  ; 
Rev.  A.  J.  Macfarlaue,  M.A.,  Hankow;  Rev.  H.  0.  T.  Biirkwall, 
Canton ;  Rev.  J.  P.  Bruce,  B.A.,  Ch'iug-chu-fu  ;  Rev.  A.  G.  Jones, 
Ch'iug-chu-fn. 

The  following  resolutions  were  passed  : — 

Resolved,  That  we  request  the  members  of  the  Association  to  con- 
tribute to  the  educational  departinent  of  the  Recorder  articles  of  interest 
to  those  engaged  in  educational  work. 

Resolved,  That  the  committee  desires  to  express  to  Rev.  E.  T. 
Williams  their  appreciation  of  his  work  in  that  department. 

Propositions  for  the  publication  of  new  book-;  were  c>n>ilered, 
but  the  work  of  piblishiug  them  was  postponed  narii  the  finances 
of  the  Association  justify  such  expenditure. 

J.    A.    SiLSBY, 

Secretary. 


ExaminsLtion  Scheme. 

fHE  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Christian  and  General  Knowl- 
edge and   the   Educational    Association    of  China    have    for 
some   time    had    under    consideration    the    advisability    of 
establishing   local    examination    centres    throughout    China    where 
Chinese    students    njight    be   examined   in    Western    branches   and 
obtain  a  certifi(;ate  that  would  have  some  recognized  value. 

Rev.  E.  F.  Gedye  discussed  the  subject  at  the  last  triennial 
meetij.ig,  and  the  Association  appointed  a  committee  consisting  of 
Revs.' A.  P.  Parker.  D.D.;  L),  Z.  Sheffield,  D.D.;  and  E.  F. 
Gedye,  M.A.,  to  consult  with  the  committee  of  the  S.  D.  C.  and 
G.  K.  air-ady  appointed — Revs.  Timothy  Richard,  J.  C.  Ferguson, 
and  F.  L.  Hawks  Pott. ' 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL    DEPARTMENT.  421 

This  joint  committee  has  now  agreed  npon  a  conrse  of  stndy 
and  plans  for  coiidiuitiiig  examinations,  set  forth  in  the  report 
printed  below.  While  the  occ.nrrences  of  the  present  sninmer  have 
donbtless  pnt  examinations  ont  of  the  qnestiou  for  thia  year  it  will 
be  well  to  [int  this  report  before  our  readers. 


LOCAL  EXAMINATION  SCHEME  FOR  THE  CHINESE  EMPIRE. 

General  Regulations. 

1. — The  examinations  will  be  held  on  or  about  the  20bh  day  of  the  8th 
ruoon.     Tlie  examination  will  be  in  writing. 

2. — The  examinations  will  b«  held  in  Shanghai,  Nanking,  Foochow, 
Tientsin,  Hankow,  and  any  city  where  a  competent  secretary 
can  be  secured. 

3. — Candidates  wi^hiii<<  to  be  exaiiuned  must  makp  application  at  le^st  a 
mnntii  i)efore  the  examination,  and  the  application  must  loniain 
the  name,  Hgt»,  occupKtion,  and  a'ldress  of  the  candi<iat»' ;  accom- 
panying the  a[iplication  a  fee  of  $1  must  bn  forwardnd.  If  for 
any  rcasou  the  examination  is  not  held,  the  money  sunt  iu 
fees  will  be  returned. 

4. — A  local  committee,  with  a  local  secretary,  will  be  formed  at  each 
centre  where  an  examination  is  to  be  held.  All  applications 
should  be  sent  to  the  secretary  of  the  local  conjmittee. 

5.— No  fees  are  returned  in  cases  where  a  student  fails  to  appear  for 
the  examination. 

6. — Examinations  are  held  for  thi'ee  grades — junior,  intermediate,  and 
.senior.  The  exatnioHtion  will  be  held  either  in  Chinese  or 
English ;  separate  schedule  having  been  drawn  up  for  each.  In 
making  application  the  candidates  must  express  what  examina- 
tion he  desires  to  take.  ' 

7. — Students  obtaining  a  general  average  of  60  %  will  be  entitled  to  a 
certificate,  provided  that  they  do  not  fall  below  40  %  in  any 
subject  upon  which  they  are  examined. 

8. — Tiie  five  ay)plicants  passing  the  best  examination  of  all  those 
examined  at  the  diflPerent  centres  will  be  granted  scholarships  at 
one  of  the  following  institutions  (to  be  determined). 

9. — Candidates  applying  for  the  intermediate  grade  must  ha\e  pre- 
viously obtained  a  certificate  for  pissjng  the  junioi  giade 
successfully;  candidates  for  the  senior  graue  must  have  previous- 


422 


THE   CHINESE    RECORDER. 


[August, 


ly  obtained  a    certificate   for   passing   the   intermediate   success- 
fully. 

10, — Candidates  passing  the  senior  grade  successfully  shall  be  entitled 
to  a  diploma  stating  that  they  have  entirely  completed  the  course 
laid  down  in  this  scheme. 

11. — All  candidates  must  faithfully  abide  by  the  rules  for  the  conduct 
of  the  examination.  In  case  of  any  irregularity  the  certificate 
will  not  be  granted. 

12. — All  examination  papers  are  to  bo  printed  in  Shanghai  and  sent  to 
the  local  secretaries  in  sealed  envelopes,  which  are  not  to  be 
opened  until  the  time  of  the  examination,  when  they  will  be 
opened  by  a  properly  appointed  person,  who  will  be  present  until 
the  examination  is  over,  and  then  at  once  seal  all  the  candidates' 
papers  and  send  them  in  a  registered  packet  to  the  secretary  of 
the  Central  Committee,  stating  the  time  when  the  examination 
was  held,  when  the  papers  were  opened,  when  sealed,  and  when 
returned. 

Schedule  for  Examination  in  English. 


- 

Mathematics. 

Natural  Sciences. 

History  and  Polit- 
ical Economy. 

English  Language 
and  Literature. 

Arithmetic  (includ- 

Geography    (Polit- 

History  of    Greece 

IVth  Reader. 

ing    English,     A- 

ical  and  Descrip- 

and Rome. 

Grammar. 

5* 

merican,  and  Chi- 

tive). 

Dictation. 

o 

nese  Currency  and 

Elementary  Physic- 

Composition. 

o 

Exchange). 

al  Geography. 

Translation  of  Eng- 

"3 

lish  into  Chinese,. 

s 

and  Chinese  into 
English. 

o 

Elementary  Algebra 

Chemistry. 

Mediaeval  and  Mod 

Standard   Work  in 

'5 

(through      Quad- 
ratic Equations). 

Physics. 

ern  History. 

English      Litera- 

Political Economy. 

ture. 

Plane  Geometry  or 

Grammar. 

ej 

Euclid  (first  four 

Dictation. 

'5 

and  sixth  books). 

Composition. 

0) 

Translation  of  Eng- 
lish into  Chinese, 

■*-> 

and  Chinese  into 

►-H 

English. 

Plane  Trigonometry 

Geology, 

History  of  Modern 

Standard    Work   in 

(up  to  De  Mories 

Astronomy. 

Europe  (especial- 

English     Litera- 

Theorem in  Eng- 

ly  of  the  XlXth 

ture, 

lish  Text- books). 

Century). 

Grammar. 

t 

Syntax    and    Pros- 

O 

y 

ody. 

O 

Dictation. 

C 

Composition. 

Translation  of  Eng- 
lish into  Chinese, 
and  Chinese  into 
English. 

1900.] 


CORRESPONDENCE. 
Schedule  for  Examination  in  Chinese. 


423 


Mathematics. 

Natural  Sciences. 

History, 

Other  Subjects. 

g 

u 
JO 

'a 

Arithmetic. 

Geography     (Polit- 
ical aud  Descrip- 
tive). 

Elementary  Physic- 
al Geography 

Science  Primer. 

History    of    Greece 

iind  Rome. 
Clodd's    Childhood 

of  the  World. 

Herbert     Spencer's 
P^ssiiy  on  Educa. 
tion. 

6 

u 

£ 

.2 
•5 

o 

e 
hi 

»5 

Elementary  Algebra 
(through      Quad- 
ratic Equations.) 

Plane  Geometry  or 
Euclid  (first  four 
and  sixth  books). 

Chemistry. 
Physics, 

History  of  Europe. 

History  of  England 

History      of       tht 

United  States. 

Political  Economy, 
/atechism    on     the 

Religions  of   the 

World. 

o 

ti 
%- 

o 

*5 

CO 

Plane  Trigonometry 
(including     Solu- 
tion of  Triangles). 

Geology. 
Astronomy. 

History      of     the 
XlXth  Century. 

International  Jaw. 
Ancient  Religions. 

^oxxtB^m^tmt 


A  CHRISTIAN  ENDEAVOR  LETTER, 

To  the  Editor  of 

"The  Chinese  Recorder." 

Kindly  publish  the  following 
letter,  received  too  late  for  the  Con- 
ference at  Foochow  : — 

Congregational  Chinese  Mission, 

San  Francisco,  California. 

To  Dr.  F.  E.  Clark, 

President  Y.  P.  S.   C.  E. 

I  now  take  pleasure  in  writing 
a  few  lines  as  I  had  promised.  I 
wish  you  would  convey  to  all  our 
Chinese  endeavorers  who  assemble 
in  their  National  Convention  in 
China  ray  most  hearty  greeting. 
The    members    of    our    Congrega- 


tional Christian  Endeavor  Society 
of  San  Francisco  also  send  their 
cordial  greetings.  May  God's 
richest  blessing  rest  upon  all 
the  et)deavorers,  and  may  He  guide 
and  direct  them  in  all  their  de- 
liberations, so  that  they  may 
speedily  leaven  the  whole  of  China 
with  the  gospel  of  Christ. 

Please  say  to  the  endeavorers  in 
China  for  me  that  I  have  found 
the  Cliristian  Endeavor  Society  a 
very  important  factor  in  church 
work.  Its  benefits  are  many.  I 
will  mention  a  few  of  them  : — 

1st. — Its  very  name  is  excellent. 

2nd. — Its  pledge  shows  that  an 
endeavorer  must  have  faith  with 
works. 

3rd. — Its  motto,  "For  Christ 
and  the  Church,"    is    most  fitting. 


424 


THE  CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[August, 


4th. — It  starts  young  Christian 
people  in  the  work  of  the 
Lord. 

5th. — Its  method  of  conducting 
meetings  is  the  best  known  to 
develop  and  train  young  workers 
for  Jesus. 

6th. — Its  power  to  draw  others 
to  Christ  is  great.  In  other  words 
there  are  certain  classes  of  people 
who  are  entirely  out  of  the  reach 
of  inii.isteis,  but  are  accessible 
through  the  efforts  of  young  Chris- 
tians. 

7th. — Its  members  can  be  very 
useful  helpers  to  their  pastor 
and  the  church  in  hundreds  of 
ways. 

8th. — Its  united  efforts  and  in- 
fluences for  good  are  powerful 

9tii. — I's  fHllow-;hip  with  iiiem- 
bers  of  other  societies,  r^-gardless 
of  nationalities,  is  in  a'C'td  with 
the  practice  of  Christianity,  par- 
ticularly with  the  Scripture  which 
says :  "  God  is  no  respecter  of 
persons"  I  want  to  say  tliat  I 
an)  not  talking  of  wl>at  I  have 
heard,  but  vvhat  I  have  seen  with 
my  onr.i  eyes  ia  America  ;  and  also 
what  I  iiave  personally  enjoyed  in 
this  Endeavor  fellowship. 

10th. — Its  good  work  is  felt  in 
nearly  every  country  in  the  world, 
and  1  am  glad  that  Ciiina  has 
taken  hold  of  this  most  glori ms 
and  progressive  movement  and  that 


she   has    already   a   part    in    this 
grand  work. 

And  now  my  beloved  country- 
men and  fellow- endeavorers.  I 
congratulate  you,  for  you  are  being 
greatly  iionored  by  the  presence  of 
Dr.  Clark,  wh(j  is  known,  respected, 
and  esteemed  in  all  countries  of 
the  world  where  his  work  is  known. 
Invite  him  auaiii  to  attend  your 
next  national  convention. 

Oh  I  I  do  hope  that  the  way  may 
soon  be  opened  in  China  to  have  an 
International  Christian  Endeavor 
Convention.  Dr.  Ciark  is  the  best 
man   to  ci>unsel  you  in  this  matter. 

Again  I  congratulate  you  for 
what  you  have  done  for  our  be- 
nighted people  in  China  ;  but  there 
is  yet  so  much  remaining  to  be 
done  !  I  know  ot  no  better  way  to 
accomplish  this  than  by  or,'anizing 
a  Christian  Endi-avor  Society  in 
every  mission  and  in  every  church 
throughout  the  whole  Chinese  em- 
pire; and  if  all  the  Endeavorers 
will  faithfully  and  cons<-ientiously 
keep  the  filndge  and  motto  of  the 
Cliiistian  Endeavor  Society  this 
result  will  Ije  attained. 

And   now  please  exhort  the  en- 
deavorers   to  continue    their   go  d 
work,    never    ceasing    until     ''  the 
Land  of  Sinim"  is  won  for  Clirist 
Yours  in  Christ, 

Jee  Gam. 

March  13th,  1900. 


hxx  §a0k  Calrk, 


Received  from  the  Commercial 
Press,  u41  Peking  Road,  The 
"Anglo-Chinese  Royal  Primer," 
a  translation  of  the  Piimer  of  the 
"Royal  School  book  "  series.  Also, 
"  N^w  Client  Primer"  and  "New 
Orient  First  and  St^cond  Readers." 
These  seem  well  tianslated,  and 
mark  an  advance  in  the  attempt  of 
Chinese  youth  to  leain  English. 
Such  works   as   these,    while    not 


much  needed  during  these  months 
of  tnjuiile,  will  shortly  be  in  great 
demand  in  the  New  China  soon  to 
emerge. 


Commentary  on  the  Epistle  to  the 
Philippians,  by  Rev,  Jas.  Jackson. 
4th  edition.     msLlt'^Uik- 

We  have  carefully  read  this 
scholarly  production,  and  take  pleas- 
ure  in  recommending  it  afresh  to 


1900.] 


OUR   BOOK  TABLE. 


425 


all  eu<i;a^ed  in  teaching  New  Testa- 
meiit  Exe-^esis. 

As  has  often  been  remarked,  the 
best  books  in  Chinese  are  those 
that  have  been  prepared  hy  those 
actually  engaged  in  the  work  of 
teachiii!;,  and  taught  in  the  class 
room  befoie  being  prepared  for 
th«  press.  This  book  is  very 
evidently  the  result  of  work  done 
in  0,  theological  school,  and  gathers 
togetht-r  in  a  biief  coinpa.sH  just 
those  important  explanations  that 
it  is  necessary  to  teach  a  class  of 
students  in  oider  to  make  this 
epistle  a  living  document. 

The  introductory  notes  are  most 
admralile.  Brief  but  sufficient 
comments  are  given  on  .«uch  suh- 
j^'Cts  as  :  the  city  of  Philippi  ;  St. 
Paul's  founding  of  the  church  at 
Phili(.pi;  the  attitude  of  Cliristian- 
ity  toward  women,  slaves,  and  the 
home;  the  mutual  .affection  of  St. 
Paul  and  the  Christians  ot'Philippi ; 
St.  Paul's  visits  to  the  churcli  ;  the 
contriltution  of  the  church  towards 
the  support  of  the  apostle;  Epaph- 
roditus  ;  St.  Paul's  imprisonment  in 
R«me  ;  the  foundin;^  and  condition 
of  the  Rom.in  church;  the  reasons 
for  writing  the  epistle ;  and  an  out- 
line of  the  epistle. 

In  the  headings  in  the  introduc- 
tion we  notice  on  p.  12  what  is 
evidently  an  error  in  printing: 
ImT  fif«  fe   ^    It   #  should  be  ^ 

m  ^  ^  ^^-  m^^  B  m 

is  also  probably  a  misprint  for 
^  1^.  The  former  is  a  heathen 
phrase  and  not  suitable  for  a 
Christian  i)Ook. 

As  to  tlie  exegetical  notes  them- 
selves we  cannot  but  admire  their 
conciseness  and  perspicuity. 

Headings  are  given  to  each 
section,  and  then  the  verses  under 
each  sec^ion,  the  latter  being  divid- 
ed up  phrase  by  phrase  and  com- 
mented upon  separately. 

The  most  difficult  passage  in  the 
epistle,  cli.  ii.  5-11,  is  discussed  quite 


fully  in  the  notes  and  further 
coiHinentf'd  up«.n  in  an  essay 
appended  at  the  end  of  the 
book. 

The  writer  holds  to  the  more 
cotiservative  view  as  to  the  mean- 
ing of  'aW  'tavTov  'tKtvwm,  and 
considers  the  great  self  abnegation 
of  Christ  to  be  His  putting  aside 
the  glory  that  He  had  with  the 
Father.  We  are  more  inclined  to 
the  view  held  by  such  in»-n  as  C  in- 
on  Gore,  and  think  that  v*  hat  the 
apostle  meant  was  that  *  Christ  laid 
aside  the  mode  of  divine  existence 
in  order  to  assume  the  human.  In 
a  certain  asp<ct  indeed  the  incarna- 
tion is  the  fold  ini.'  round  the  G((d- 
head  of  the  veil  of  humanity, 
but  it  is  much  more  than  this.  It 
is  a  ceasing  to  exercise,  at  least  in 
a  certain  sphere,  and  so  far  as 
human  thought  can  attain,  some 
natural  prerogatives  of  the  divine 
existence, "  such  as  perfect  knowl- 
edge and  infinite  power. 

We  would  in  this  connection  call 
attention  to  what  we  believe  to  be 
a  somewhat  inaccurate  form  of 
speech.  It  is  the  refeience  to  the 
pie-incarnate  Christ  by  the  human 
name  Jesus.  This  we  think  should 
always  be  avoided.  St.  Paul  uses 
the  double  name  Christ  Jesus.  In 
ch.  iii.,  v.  10,  the  author  should  have 
called  attention  to  a  mistranslation 
in  the  Chinese  version  of  the  phrase 
"  the  power  of  the  resurrection." 
The  Greek  word  ^vvaiuiv  is  used, 
and  this  is  not  correctly  rendered 
by  the  Chinese  characters  ^  ^. 
Again  in  ch.  iii.,  v.  20,  the  l)ody 
of  our  humiliation  (to  awfia  ttjq 
TawHvooatMQ)  is  erroneously  trans- 
lated      i)y     the     phrase     ^     ;^ 

m  ^- 

These  characters  render  the  un- 
fortunate phrase  "  vile  body  "  of 
the  King  James  version,  and  not 
theoriginal.  St.  Paul  never  intended 
to  speak  of  the  body,  that  is,  the 
temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  in  such 
language  as  this.     We  make  these 


426 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[August, 


few  criticisms,  because  we  feel  sure 
that  so  alile  and  painstaking  an 
author  would  welcome  honest  crit- 
icism aud  would  be  glad  to   have 


called  to  his  attention  a  few  points 
that  may  possibly  have  escaped  his 
notice. 

F.  L.  H.  P. 


^iritorial  €timmtni 


The  situation  in  China  is  still 
one  of  the  gravest  uncertainty. 
No  certain  news  is  to  be  had  of 
the  fate  of  our  friends  in  Peking 
and  vicinity,  for  whose  safety  we 
have  been  in  suspense  for  six 
weeks.  Tientsin  passed  throngh 
a  dangerous  and  trying  bombard- 
ment, but  is  at  last  relieved. 
Shantung  has  been  in  a  conflagra- 
tion, and  all  missionaries  have 
been  compelled  to  flee.  What 
the  native  Christians  have  suf- 
fered and  are  suffering  none  can 
tell.  Most  missionaries  in  Cen- 
tral China,  from  up  the  river, 
have  had  to  come  to  port ;  and 
all  feel  somewhat  as  though  we 
were  seated  in  uncomfortable 
proximity  to  a  gunpowder  maga- 
zine with  men  carrying  torches 
near  by.  Fohkien  province, 
having  been  visited  by  the 
greatest  flood  of  years,  has  its 
attention  somewhat  distracted 
from  the  rebellion.  Kwangtung 
and  Kwangsi  are,  like  Central 
China,  held  in  check  from  rowdy- 
ism and  violence  only  by  the 
strictest  surveillance  on  the  part 
of  the  officials. 

Whether  Kwang  Hsii  aud  the 
Empress-Dowager  are  dead  or 
alive  we  cannot  tell.  But  the 
usurper,  Prince  Tuan,  while 
opposed  strongly  by  Jung  Ln,  is 
assuming  all  the  pomp  aud 
authority  of  an  emperor  ;  and  has 
ordered  troops  from  the  south,  as 


well  as  demanding  money  and 
local  coo[)eration  from  the 
viceroys  and  governors  from 
Shantung  southward.  While  the 
viceroys  refuse  allegiance  to  the 
usurping  government  in  most 
particulars,  aud  have  promif^ed 
the  consuls  in  Shanghai  (now 
the  acting  ministers  of  their 
respective  countries)  to  maintain 
peace  and  order,  they  have  been 
sujjplying  large  numbers  of  troops 
for  the  north,  especially  from 
Kiangsuand  Chehkiang.  Wheth- 
er this  is  "  carrying  water  on 
both  shoulders,"  or  what  the 
explanation  is,  we  cannot  say. 
Many  reasons  conspire  to  make 
it  the  interest  of  the  officials  in 
Central  China  to  maintain  order, 
and  they  are  not  so  densely 
ignorant  of  the  outside  world  as 
are  the  Manchus. 

*        *        * 

The  Chinese  are  shrewd  prog- 
uosticators.  The  events  of  the 
past  two  months  have  but  fulfill- 
ed the  prophecies  made  by  many 
that  this  year  was  sure  to  witness 
rebellion  and  calamity.  Just  how 
far  tbe  superstitions  regarding  a 
Kangts  year  in  which  there  is  an 
intercalary  eighth  moon,  served 
to  bring  to  a  focus  the  influences 
which  were  sure  sooner  or  later 
to  cause  trouble,  no  one  can  say. 
Doubtless  these  superstitioas 
have  a  good  deal  to  do  with  the 
present  crisis  occurring  as  it  has. 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  NEWS. 


427 


Opinions  vary  as  to  the  actual 
causes  of  the  crisis.  It  is  evirlcnt 
tliut  the  Bnxers,  the  Maiichiis, 
and  the  soldiers  in  the  north  arc 
actnated  first  of  all  by  the  race- 
liatred,  the  antipathy  to  foreign- 
ers, which  is  on  the  surface  of 
this  movement.  But  is  it  true 
that  this  cataclysm  is  the  fault 
of  the  mission  workers  in  China 
as  has  been  char<j:ed  by  some? 
The  missionary  will  not  shirk  his 
due  share  of  the  fault  if  fault 
there  be.  Tiuit  missionaries  have 
never  been  mistaken  in  their  uietli- 
otls  we  dare  not  say.  That  the 
Chinese  would  love  all  Torei<:jners, 
even  if  missionaries  never  made 
mistakes,  we  cannot  say.  Since 
the  days  when  it  was  said,  "  They 
that  turn  the  world  upside  down 
are  come  hither  also,"  the  mis- 
sionary has  brought  with  him  not 
peace,  but  first  the  sword.  We 
are  not  disheartened  that  a  great 
trial  as  of  fire  has  come  u[)on 
China,  nor  would  we  be  should 
the  whole  cause  of  the  trouble 


be  seen  to  devolve  npon  the  mis- 
sionary enterprise.  What  canses 
for  hatred  of  foreigners  there  are 
lying  outside  the  missionary  body 

we  need  not  here  inquire. 

•        •         • 

Wb  are  giving  ia  this  issae 

all  the  information  obtainable  to 
date  (2nd  August)  in  regard  to 
the  missionaries  in  the  disturbed 
sections  in  the  north,  as  well  as 
in  other  parts  of  China.  It  is 
not  practicable  to  give  a  list  of 
those  who  have  gone  to  Japan, 
or  are  now  in  the  several  ports 
of  (Jhitia.  We  trust  anyone  who 
has  reliable  information  as  to 
the  whereabouts  of  missionaries 
who  have  been  driven  from  their 
stations,  and  whether  actual  dam- 
aire  has  been  done  to  property,  etc., 
will  communicate  the  same  to  us. 
We  are  constantly  in  receipt  of 
inquiries  by  letter  and  by  cable 
in  regard  to  the  welfare  of 
missionaries,  and  attention  to  this 
request  will  beof  great  advantage 
to  the  whole  missionary  body. 


JPersecution  in  Shantung, 


We  quote  from  letters  just 
received  from  Chefoo,  which  bring 
vividly  to  mind  the  deep  suffer- 
ing endured  by  our  native  Chris- 
tians. Their  faith  is  indeed  more 
precious  thaa  gold,  which  perishes 
even  though  it  be  proved  with  fire. 
Dr.  C.  W.  Mateer  writes,  on 
July  17th  :— 

'*  The  drama  of  blood  is  going  on 
with  increasing  violence  up  here. 
Persecutions  are  raging  all  o\er  the 
province.  The  otlicers  ate  arresting 
Christians  and  beating  them  till 
they  promise  to  adjure  their  faith. 
The  governor  pays  no  attention  to 
the   protests   of   the   consul.     The 


distress  of  our  people  is  heartrend- 
ing, and  we  are  utterly  po^xerless  to 
help  them.  No  news  of  the  loved 
ones  imprisoned  in  Peking.  Cer- 
tainly this  situation  is  without  a 
parallel  in  the  history  of  the  Chris- 
tian era  ! " 

Mrs  C.  K.  Mills  writes:  "Our 
hearts  are  torn  with  anguish  for 
the  native  Chri  tians.  I  have  just 
been  listening  *o  sucli  a  pitiful  story 
of  the  treatment  given  to  our 
young  native  pastor  and  a  Chris- 
tian doctor  at  Lai-chow-fu.  They 
have  been  beaten  until  tliere  is  no 
flesh  left  on  their  bones.  They 
have  suffered  this  rather  than 
retract.  It  is  quieter  here  in  Che 
foo  than  ife  was  two  weeks  ago.'' 


428 


THE  CHINESE   RECORDER. 


News  from  the  'Provinces, 

MANCHURIA. 

The  Protestant  missions  of  this 
province  are  under  the  direction  of 
the  United  Presbyterian  Church 
of  Scotland  and  the  Irish  Piesby- 
terian  Church,  with  agents  of  the 
B.  and  F.  Bilils  Society  working  in 
conjunction.  The  work  has  been 
very  encouraging  of  hite,  and  these 
Societies  report  some  20,000  com- 
municants, with  lart,'e  numbers  of 
enquirers.  The  Christians  have 
suffered  severe  persecution,  and 
many  have  been  killed,  while  others 
have  been  beaten,  robbed,  and 
driven  from  their  homes.  All  the 
missionaries  have  escaped,  except 
Rev.  T.  S.  W.  O'Neill,  who  remained 
at  Fa-kou-tnen  and  subsequently 
joined  the  Russians  at  Tie-ling. 

There  has  been  a  pretty  <;eneral 
destruction  of  mission  property 
in  Manchuria.  At  Moukden  the 
United  Presbyterians  had  five  res- 
idences, two  hospitals,  a  girls' 
school,  and  a  native  church, — all 
destroyed.  The  residences,  school, 
and  chapel  of  the  Irish  Presbyteri- 
ans and  the  book  dep6't  of  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society 
have  also  been  destroyed.  The 
mission  residences  and  hospital  at 
Liao-yang,  of  the  United  Presby- 
terians, are  reported  destroyed ; 
no  report  of  their  property  at  Kai- 
yuen  and  Ashi-ho.  At  Chin-chow 
and  Kwang-ning  the  Irish  Presby- 
terians have  lost  their  residences, 
hospitals,  and  churches.  There  is  no 
report  of  the  property  at  K'wang- 
cli'ing-tse  and  Kirin,  nor  of  tlie 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society's 
dep6t  at  Kirin.  A  sad  sequel  is  the 
death  of  Mrs.  Westwater  at  Arima 
and  Mrs.  Greig  at  Vladivostock. 

The  port  of  Ne«chwang  has  been 
protected  by  foreign  troops,  the 
Taotai  co-operating  to  keep  order. 

CHIH-LL 

This  province  is  the  grett  storm- 
centre  of  the  present  aati-foreigu 


[August, 

and  anti-Christian  outbrok.  Many 
missionaries  have  been  killed,  much 
property  has  been  destroyed,  and 
in  some  sections  there  has  been  a 
general  slaughter  of  Christians. 

At  Peking  the  American  Board, 
the  American  Methodists,  Ameri 
can  Presbyterians,  and  the  London 
Missionary  Society  were  strongly 
established.  The  Society  for  the 
Propagation  of  the  Gospel  also 
had  work  in  Peking,  and  the  Rev. 
Wm.  H.  Miirray  superintended  the 
agency  of  the  National  Bible 
Society  of  Scotland  and  carried  on 
his  notable  work  for  the  blind.  The 
American  Bible  Society  had  a  book 
depot  at  Peking,  and  the  Christian 
and  Missionary  Alliance  liad  an 
interesting  work  carried  on  by 
several  lady  missionaries. 

All  the  mission  property  in  Pe- 
king has  probably  been  looted  and 
destroyed;  native  Christians  have 
been  killed,  and  for  a  long  time 
there  seemed  little  ground  to  hope 
that  any  of  the  missionaries  shut  up 
in  Peking  since  the  8th  of  June  had 
been  spared.  The  general  mas- 
sacre of  all  foreigners  has  been 
reported  again  and  again,  but  as 
often  denied. 

Latest  advices  from  Peking  give 
ground  to  hope  that  the  Brit- 
ish, American,  and  Japanese  min- 
isters were  alive  about  the  20th  of 
July,  and  although  many  at  the 
legations  had  been  killed  or  wound- 
ed, there  is  ground  for  hope  that 
a  number  of  the  missionaries  are 
among  those  who  are  still  alive. 

News  has  also  come  that  the 
forces  of  the  Allies  are  on  the 
march  to  Peking  and  that  before 
many  days  anxiety  regarding  our 
Peking  friends  may  be  relieved. 

When  communication  with  Pe- 
king stopped  there  were  a  large 
number  of  missionaries  at  the 
capital.  A  few  had  gone  to 
Pei-tai-ho  and  other  sanitariums, 
but  the  summer  exodus  had  barely 
commenced,  and  the  Methodist 
Conference  had  brought  some  from 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  NEWS. 


429 


other  stations  into  the  city  to  at- 
tend its  moetings.  At  T'un'^-chow 
the  Arnericun  Board  missioiiaiies 
had  gathered  for  their  annual 
mission  meeting;,  and  when  the 
Boxers  appeared  these  were  escort- 
ed "  for  safety  "  to  Peking. 

We  believe  that  the  list  piven 
below  of  the  missionaries  shut  up 
in  Peking  is  very  nearly  correct : — 

American  Board. 

Of  Peking:— 

Rev.  W.  S.  Ament,  D.D. 

,.    C.     E     Ewing,     wife    and    two 
children, 
Mrs.  John  L.  Mateer. 
Miss  Ada  Haven. 

„     N.  N.  Russell. 
Miss  V.  C.  Murdock,  M.D. 

„     E.J.  Sheffield. 

0/  T^ungchow : — 

Rev.  Chauncey  Goodrich,  D.D.,  wife, 

and  three  children. 
Dr.    J.    H.    Ingram     wife    and    two 

children. 
Rev.  E.  G.  Tewksbury  and  family. 

„     H.  S.  Gait  and  wife. 
Miss  J.  G.  Evans. 

,,     Luella  Miner. 

„     M.  E.  Andrews. 

,,     A.  G.  Chapin. 

0/  Pang-chuang : — 

Rev.  A.  H.  Smith  and  wife. 
Miss  Grace  Wyokoff. 

,,     Gertrude  VVyckoff 
Rev.    F.  M.  Chapin,   wife    and    two 
children. 

Of  Kalgan : — 

Rev.  Mark  Williams. 
„    J.  H.  Roberts. 

American  Presbyterian. 

Rev.  C.  A.  Killie  and  wife. 

„     C.  H.  Fenu  and  family. 

„     Juo.  Infills,  wife,  and  child, 

„     J.  A.  Wherry. 

,,     J.  L.  Whiting. 
Miss  J.  C.   McKillican. 

„     E.  E.  Leonard,  M.D. 

„     B.  C.  McCoy. 

„     G,  Newton. 

Methodist  Episcopal. 

Of  Peking  :— 

Rev.  F  D.  Gamewell  and  wife. 

„     G.  D  N.  Lowry,  M.D 

„     H.  E.  King. 
Mrs.  Ed.  K.  Lowry  and  children. 


Miss  E.  Yotmfr. 

„  Alice  Terrell.  ' 

„  Oertriult!  Gillmao. 

,,  C.  M-  Jewell. 

„  A.  D.  Glo*s.  M  D. 

„  Emm  i  Miirtin,  M  D. 

,,  Lizzie  Martin. 

Of  Tienlain . — 
Rev.  G.  R.  Davis. 
„     W.  T.  Hob-irt. 
„     W.  F.  Walker  and  family. 
Mr.  J.  V.  Martin. 
Miss  E.  G.  Terry. 

Of  Taian  .— 
Rev.  Geo.  W.  Verity, 

(Mrs.   Verity   and    other  Taian 
missionaries  escaped  to  Japan). 
Chri.stian  and  Missionary  Alliance. 

Miss  D.  M   Douw. 
„     A   H.  Gowans. 
„     Amy  E.  Brown. 
„     H.  E.  Rutherford. 

Chdroh  or  England. 
Rev.  R.  Allen. 
Miss  Lambert. 
•Deaconess    I.  M.  Ransome. 

„  E  Ransome. 

Rev.  F.  L.  Norris. 

London  Mission. 

Rev.  J.  Stonehouse  and  family. 

„     T.  Howard  Smith,  wife  and  child. 
Miss  Smith. 

,,     Shilston. 
Mr.  Re^gin. 
Miss  Saville,  M.D. 

'     School  for  the  Blind, 

Rev.  Wm.  H.  Murray. 
Rev.  Chas,  (/heeseman. 

International  iNsriTUTE  of  China. 

Rev.  Gilbert  Reid,  wife  and  child. 
„     Wm.  B.  Stelle. 

Imperial  Uxiveiwity. 
(Formerly  missionaries.) 

Rev.  W.  A    P.   Martin,   D.I),   LL  D. 

„     Joseph  Bailie  and  family. 
Dr.  Ri>b«rt  Coltnian,  Jr.,  and  family. 
Mr.  F.  Uuberty  James. 
Rev.  J.  M  Aliardyce. 

Dr.  J.  Dudgeon,  well  known  in 
missionary  circle.",  and  Rev.  Prof. 
G.  F.  Wright,  M.D.,  and  son,  of 
Obt'i'lin  College,  who  were  visiting 
at  T'un<4chow,  are  ainong  those  who 
were  shut  up  in  Peking. 
Safe. 

The  following  Peking  and  T'ung- 
chow  missionaries  are  in  America:^ — 


im 


THE  CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[August, 


American  Board. 

Mrs.  Ament  and  children. 

Miss  J.  E   Chapiii. 

Rev.  D.  Z.  Sheffield  and  wife. 

American  Presbytkrian. 

Mrs.  J    A.,  Wiierr}'  .ind  children! 

„     J.  L.  Whitiug  and  children. 

Rev.  A.  M.  Cunningham  and  wife. 

Methodist  Episcopal. 

Rev,  H.  H  Lowry,  D.D,.  and  family. 

,,     I.  T.  Headland  and  family. 
Mrs.  G.  R  Davis  and  children. 

,,     W   T.  Hobart  and  children. 

Miss  Anna  E.  Steere. 

The  following  Peking  and  T'ung- 
cliow  and  Tsunhua  missionaries  are 
reported  to  be  in  Japan  or  in  places 
of  safety  in  Chin  a  ; — 

American  Board. 

Mrs.  Geo.  D.  Wilder  and  family. 
„    F.  D.  Wilder. 

Methodist  Episcopat.. 

Dr.  N.  S.  Hopkins  and  family.         • 
Miss  M.  Croucher. 
Rev.  J.  F.  Hayner  and  family. 
Mrs.  G.  D.  N.  Lowry  and  children. 

Church  of  England. 

Rt.  Rev-  Chas.  P.  Scott  and  wife. 
Mr.  A.  C.  Moule. 

Others. 

Mrs.  J.  N.  AUardyce,  and  three  chil- 
dren are  in  Australia. 

Mr.  M.  L.  Taft  and  family  are  in 
Europe. 

Miss  K.  B.  Winterbotham.in  Tientsin. 

Pao-tittg-tu. 

There  has  been  much  anxiety 
concerning  the  missionaries  at  this 
important  centre.  The  dispatch 
received  by  Sheng  Taotai  and  kept 
by  him  for  one  or  two  weeks  before 
making  it  public,  has  been  con- 
firmed  from  other  sources,  and  is 
true  without  any  rea.souable  doubt. 
All  the  missionaries,  Protestant  and 
Catholic,  have  lieen  killed,  the  mis- 
sion property  has  been  destroyed 
and^  there  has  been  a  general 
slaughter  of  Chinese  Christians. 
Sixty  Roman  Catholic  priests  and 
nuns  are  reported  massacred.  The 
following  Protestant  missionaries 
were  probably  among  the  slain  : — 


American  Board. 

Rev.  H.  T.  Pitkin. 
Miss  A.  A.  Gould. 
,,     Morrill. 

American  Presbttbrian. 

Rev.  F.  E.  Simcox,  wife,  and  three 

children. 
Dr.  G.  Y.  Taylor. 

China  Inland  Mission. 

Rev.  B.  Baguall,  wife  and  child. 
Rev.  Wm.  Cooper,  who  was  visiting 
the  station. 

Safe. 
Rev.  and  Mrs.  Noble,  in  IT.  S.  A. 
Rbv.Geo.H.E'.vingand  wife,  in  Japan. 
Mrs.  A.  P.  Lowrie,  in  U   S.  A. 
Rev.  J.  W.  Lowrie,  in  Tientsin. 
„     J.    A.      Miller    and    family,    in 
Chefoo. 

The  English  Methodist  mission- 
aries of  Tang-shan  and  those  of 
the  London  Mission  at  Ts'ang-chou, 
Chi-chou  and  Tung-an  escaped, 
but  their  property  has  been  de- 
stroyed, and  the  missionaries  lost 
nearly  everything,  except  their 
clothing. 

Tientsin. 

The  Tientsin  mission  residences 
were  located  on  the  Taku  Road, 
between  the  foreign  settlements 
and  the  native  city.  They  were 
occupied  by  American  naval  and 
military  forces,  and  all,  except  the 
residence  of  Mr.  Aiken,  were  saved, 
although  more  or  less  injured  in  the 
bombardment.  The  chapels  in  the 
native  city  were  destroyed,  and 
Christians  suffered  severe  persecu- 
tion, many  being  killed. 

The  Tientsin  missionaries  have 
all  escaped,  except  those  who  were 
shut  up  in  Peking,  and  most  of 
them  are  now  in  Japan. 

MisH  R.  R.  Benn,  of  the  Ameri- 
can Board,  and  Mrs.  King,  M.D., 
of  the  London  Mission,  are  said  to 
be  in  Tientsin  assisting  in  the  care 
of  the  wounded. 

Tsun-hua. 

Dr.  A.  H.  Hopkins  and  family, 
Rev.  J.  F.  Hayner  and  family,  and 
Miss  M.  Croucher,  of  the  American 
Board,  have  escaped  to  Japan. 


1000.] 


MISSIONARY   JOURNAL. 


4dl 


SbueO'teh  and  Huahlub. 

The  China  Inland  Mission  prop- 
erty at  Shuen-teh  and  Huai-Iuh 
has  been  destroyed,  but  the  mis- 
sionaries escaped  to  the  country, 
•where  they  are  supposed  to  be  in 
hidinj?,  but  in  jjreat  danger.  At 
Shuen-teh  were  Mr.  M.  L.  Griffith, 
wife,  and  child,  and  Mr.  R.  M. 
Brown.  At  Huai-luh,  Mr.  C.  H.  S. 
Green  and  wife,  and  Miss  J.  G. 
Gregg. 

Kalgan. 

There  is  reason  to  hope  that  Rev. 
W.  P.  Sprague  and  wife  and  Miss 
Engl)  have  escaped  to  the  north. 
Mrs.  J.  H.  Roberts  is  in  America. 

SHANTUNG. 

It  is  believed  that  all  the  mis- 
sionaries in  the  interior  of  Shan- 
tung have  escaped  to  the  ports  of 
Chefoo,  Wei-iiai-vvei,  and  Tsing-tau, 
have  taken  refuge  in  Shanghai  and 
Japan,  or  else  have  embarked'.for 
the  home-lands.  Governor  Yuan 
Shili-kai  about  the  end  of  May 
told  them  he  could  no  longer 
protect  them, — he  could  only  escort 
them  to  the  coast;  and  afterward, 
when  Mr.  Jones,  of  the  English  Bap- 
tist Mission,  telegraphed  tlirough 
the  Tientsin  consul  about  property, 
the  governor  replied  that  he  could  not 
guarantee  its  safety,  but  that  com- 
pensation would  be  made.  Perhaps 
the  governor  has  done  all  that  he 
is  able  to  do  to  protect  the  life  and 
property  of  foreigners,  but  his 
position  is  a  very  difficult  one,  and 
there  has  been  widespread  and 
severe  persecution  of  Christians  at 
the  instance  of  many  of  the  officials, 
and  much  destruction  of  property. 
At  Wei-hien  a  mob  attacked  the 
house  in  which  Rev,  Mr.  F.  H. 
Chalfant  had  taken  refuge  with 
Misses  Boughton  and  Hawes  and 
some  Chinese;  the  other  members 
of  the  Mission  having  gone  a  day  or 
two  previous.  Mr.  Chalfant  kept 
it  at  bay  for  two  hours,  and  then 
escaped    with   his    company   while 


the  mob  were  quarrelling  over  the 
contents  of  some  boxes  which  had 
been  packed  for  removal  and  were 
found  in  the  court.  Mr.  Chalfant 
reached  Tsing-tau  in  company  with 
a  few  Germans,  who  escorted  them 
from  the  mines,  some  miles  distant 
from  Wei-hien.  Tliemission  property 
was  looted  and  burned.  Six  res- 
idences, a  school,  chapel,  two 
dispensaries,  and  a  hospital  were 
destroyed.  The  Ameiican  Presby- 
terians and  the  English  Baptists 
had  strong  and  flourishing  missions 
in  Shantung.  There  were  also 
missions  of  the  Am-n-ican  Board, 
Society  for  the  Propagat  ion  of  the 
Gospel,  China  Inland  Mission,  A- 
merican  Baptists,  English  Meth. 
New  Con.,  Swedish  B.iptists,  and 
several  unconnected  missions.  The 
communicants  connected  with  these 
missions  must  have  numbered  some 
20,000.  This  province  was  one  of 
the  greatest  and  most  interesting 
mission  fields  in  the  empire. 

At  I-chow-fu  the  Presbyterian 
mission  property  lias  been  partially 
looted  by  soldiers.  The  Ch'in- 
chow-fu  English  Baptist  mission 
property  has  been  looted  and  de- 
stroyed, the  officials  giving  full  sway 
to  the  looters  and  actively  assisting 
in  the  persecution  of  the  Christians. 

The  property  of  the  English 
Methodists  at  Lao-ling  has  been 
destroyed,  but  the  missionaries 
escaped. 

The  persecution  in  Shantung 
has  been  widespread  and  severe. 
There  has  been  a  general  destruc- 
tion of  mission  projjerty,  and  hun- 
dreds of  Christians  have  beenslaugh- 
tered.  The  ports  of  Chefoo,  Tsing- 
tao,  and  Wei-hai-wei  have  been 
protected  by  foreign  gun-boats,  but 
grave  fears  are  entertained  regard- 
ing inland  stations. 

Pang-chuang. 

Rev.  H.  D.  Porter,  M.D.,  and 
Miss  M.  H.  Porter,  are  in  Chefoo ; 
Mrs.  Porter,  Dr.  A.  P.  Peck  and 
wife  and  Dr.  E.  R.  Wagner  and 
familv  are  in  U.  S.  A. 


"432 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[August, 


HU-PEH. 

Severe  drought  in  Hupeh  has 
made  the  people  desperate,  and 
there  have  been  many  threatenings, 
but  we  have  heard  of  no  serious 
outbreaks.  Most  of  the  mission- 
aries are  believed  to  be  in  places  of 
safety. 

The  Wesleyan  Mission  property 
at  Tangan  fu  and  at  Liang-chow- 
wan  has  been  looted,  but  the  mis- 
sionaries have  escaped. 

SI-CH'UEN. 

The  governor,  formerly  Taotai 
at  Shanghai,  has  promised  protec- 
tion to  all  missionaries  congregat- 
ing at  three  centres,  viz.,  Ch'eng-tu, 
Chung-king,  and  Sui-fu.  He  seems 
to  be  doing  all  that  he  can  to  pre- 
serve order. 

KIANQ-SI. 

The  governor  and  other  officials 
have  shown  a  disposition  to  protect 
foreigners,  but  there  are  increasing 
evidences  that  there  will  be  wide- 
spread troul)le  in  this  province.  At 
Rao-cheo  the  C.  I.  M.  premises 
were  looted  and  destroyed  by  tire, 
but  no  lives  were  lost. 

Dr.  and  Mrs.  Judd  have  arrived 
at  Shanghai,  and  other  missionaries 
have  either  left  the  province  or  are 
travelling  toward  the  coast  via 
Kiukiang. 

SHANSI. 

The  persecution  in  this  province 
has  been  most  violent  and  wide- 
spread. The  governor  is  one  of  the 
most  rabid  of  all  the  foreign- 
hating  officials  in  China,  and  has 
been  active  in  the  instigation  of  all 
kinds  of  persecution.  It  is  feared 
that  a  large  number  of  missionaries 
and  many  hundreds  of  Christians 
have  been  massacred.  The  C.  I. 
M.,  with  their  Swedish  associates, 
had  91  missionaries  in  this  province. 
The  English  Baptists  and  the  Am- 
erican Board  also  had  extensive 
work  in  Shansi,  and  there  were  a 
number  of  unconnected  workers 
besides. 


Rev.  Evan  Morgan,  of  the  Eng- 
lish Baptist  Mission,  telegraphs 
from  Hsi-an-f u  on  the  28th  of  July 
that  fifty  missionaries  have  been 
massacred  in  Shansi,  and  there  has 
been  fearful  persecution  of  Chris- 
tians. Eleven  missionaries  are  now 
starting  from  Hsi-an-fu  to  the  coast. 
SHEN-SI. 

The  governor  at  Si-an-fu  wired 
to  the  Swedish  consul-general  that 
he  would  do  his  utmost  to  protect 
the  missionaries  and  their  property, 
and  if  they  decided  to  return  to 
Hankow  to  afford  them  proper 
military  protection  en  route.  All 
the  C.  I.  M.  missionaries  have  been 
called  in,  and  are  on  their  way  to 
the  coast. 

HONAN. 

Cheo-kia-k'eo,  Si-hua,  and  Shae- 
k'i-tien,  where  the  C,  I.  M.  have 
been  laboring,  have  all  been  rioted 
and  the  mission  property  destroy- 
ed. The  missionaries  succeeded  in 
escaping,  and  most  of  them  are 
travelling  to  the  coast  through 
An-huei. 

Two  missions  have  been  working 
in  this  province,  viz.,  the  China 
Inland  Mission  and  the  Canadian 
Presbyterian  Mission.  Dr.  McClure, 
Dr.  Menzies,  with  their  families  and 
Miss  M.  S.  "Wallace,  M.D.,  were  oa 
their  way  to  Pei-tai-ho,  when  they 
were  warned  by  telegraph  of  their 
danger,  and  escaped  to  the  coast. 

The  rest  of  the  Presbyterian 
Mission  were  notified  of  impending 
danger  and  started  southward  for 
Hankow.  After  travelling  for 
some  days  they  were  attacked  by  a 
mob  and  barely  escaped  with  their 
lives.  Dr.  Leslie  was  severely 
wounded,  and  will  probably  be 
maimed  for  life  Mr.  Goforth  was 
seriously  wounded  in  the  back  of 
the  neck,  and  narrowly  escaped 
death.  The  missionaries  reached 
Shanghai  after  an  arduous  journey, 
but  thankful  that  all  their  lives 
were  spared.  In  all  there  were 
twenty-one  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren in  this  party. 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY    NEWS. 


438 


TheNorwegian  missionaries  of  Yu- 
ninj[-fu  and  Hin-yang,  who  seemed 
to  be  in  despfrate  straits,  have  since 
been  heard  from,  and  were  on  their 
way  to  Hankow. 

KANSUH. 

Missionaries  from  this  province 
are  travelling  to  the  coast  via  S'i- 
ch'uan. 

CHEHKIANQ. 

While  there  has  been  no  general 
destruction  of  foreign  and  mission 
property  in  this  province,  there  has 
been  a  widespread  persecution  of 
Christians,  in  some  cases  with  the 
connivance  of  officials. 
Cbu-ki. 

The  next  day  after  the  mission- 
aries left  Chuki  their  residence 
was  looted  and  burned  and  two 
native  catechists  narrowly  escaped. 
Five  hundred  soldiers  were  sent  to 
quell  the  disturbance,  and  they 
caught  and  beheaded  four  men.  It 
is  said  that  tiie  Christians  in 
this  district  have  had  their  houses 
pulled  to  pieces  or  burned,  chapels 
have  been  destroyed  and  Christi^ms 
driven  from  their  homes  and  robbed 
of  their  goods. 

Kln-hua. 

The  families  of  Revs.  Holmes 
and  Bousfield,  Baptist  missionaries, 
had  left  their  station  and  were  at 
their  sanitorium  on  the  hills  some 
miles  away,  when  they  were  in- 
fornied  that  a  band  of  desperadoes 
was  coming  to  attack  them.  They 
hastened  back  to  Kin-hua,  where 
rioters  attacked  them,  and  they 
were  compelled  to  flee  to  the 
yamen  for  protection.  There  they 
remained  for  two  days,  when  the 
magistrate  told  them  that  he  could 
protect  them  no  longer  and  they 
must  leave,  otherwise  the  rioters 
would  attack  and  destroy  his  yamen. 
They  asked  for  a  guard,  and  only 
after  considerable  delay  and  the 
promise  of  $900  Mexican,  was  a 
guard  of  twenty  soldiers  obtained. 
After  much  suffering  and  hardship 
they   at  length  reached  Shanghai. 


They  were  robbed  of  their  goods, 
and  the  mission  property  was  also 
destroyed. 

Wencbow. 

There  has  been  widespretid  and 
severe  persecution  of  Christians  in 
the  Wenchow  district,  and  several 
native  Christians  have  suffered 
violent  deaths,  one  of  them  bein  g 
the  native  pastor  of  P'ing-iang. 

The  whole  of  the  foreign  com- 
munity at  Wenchow  was  compelled 
to  leave  at  one  time,  the  Clien-tai 
and  Chih-fu  showing  no  disposition 
to  protect  them,  although  the  Tao- 
tai  was  friendly.  It  being  proved 
that  the  Chen-tai  and  Chih-fu  were 
largely  instrumental  in  stirring  up 
the  recent  troubles,  they  have  been 
dismissed  from  office  and  sent  away 
from  Wenchow  in  dis-^race. 

The  China  Iidand  missionaries 
at  P'ing-iang  escaped,  but  their 
property  has  been  looted. 

Between  P'ing-iang  and  Wenchow 
lies  Sui-an.  Here  the  persecution 
has  been  most  violent  and  the 
Methodist  and  Roman  Catholic 
mission  property  has  been  de- 
stroyed. It  is  reported  that  soldiers 
have  since  been  sent  to  this  local- 
ity, that  a  battle  has  been  fought 
with  the  rioters  and  a  number 
killed.  The  district  is  now  said  to 
be  quiet. 

Ch'u-cbeo. 

A  riot  took  place,  endangering 
the  life  of  the  prefect,  who  was 
exporting  rice,  enhancing  its  price. 
The  hsien  rescued  him,  assuring 
the  people  that  their  wrongs  would 
be  redressed.  The  C.  I.  M.  mis- 
sionary was  not  involved.  This 
place  should  not  be  confounded 
with 

K'u-cbeo. 

From  this  place  an  unconfirmed 
report  has  come  that  the  prefect 
has  been  killed  by  the  "  vegeta- 
rians," and  the  missionaries  mas- 
sacred. 

Sbao-bslng. 

A  report  that  there  have  been 
anti-missionary   troubles  here    has 


434 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[Aug.,  1900.] 


been  disproved  by  a  telegram  from 
Mr.  Meadows. 

Tai-chow. 

In  this  district  the  Chinese  have 
been  greatly  incensed  against  the 
Roman  Catholics,  who  secured  the 
decapitation  of  Wan  In-tS. 

Rev.  W.  G.  Godson,  while  out  on 
a  boat,  was  attacked  and  led  off  by 
a  band  of  men,  who  would,  no  doubt, 
have  killed  him  had  he  not  been 
able  to  prove  that  he  was  not  a 
Roman  Catliolic. 

Ningpo  and  Hangcbow. 

There  are  extensive  mission  in- 
terests at  these  ports  and  con- 
sideiable  foreign  property.  Most 
of  the  missionaries  have  left,  but 
as  yet  there  has  been  no  rioting. 
The  consuls  have  urged  their  na- 
ti'nals  to  leave,  especially  the 
women  and  children. 

GENERAL  NOTES. 

The  C.  I.  M.  has  given  a  free 
hand  to  all  its  missionaries  to  take 
such  measures  as  will  secure  their 
safety    and   to  come  to  the   coast 


when  necessary,  and  in  the  most 
turbulent  districts  all  missionaries 
have  been  recalled. 

The  consuls  are  calling  in  their 
nationals  from  the  interior  stations 
and  advising  all  in  the  ports  who 
can  do  so  to  leave  for  Japan  or  the 
home-lands.  It  seems  prol)able  that 
many  weeks,  perhaps  many  months, 
will  intervene  before  woik  can  be 
safely  taken  up  in  the  inland  stations 
of  provinces  north  of  the  Yangtze. 

The  missionaries  and  nearly  all 
the  foreigners,  especially  the  women 
and  children,  have  left  Canton  and 
Foochow  and  the  surrounding  coun- 
try. 

There  has  been  a  general  exodus 
of  foreigners  from  all  Yangtze 
ports  except  Shanghai,  to  which 
place  many  have  come  for  safety. 

At  Shanghai  there  is  a  volunteer 
force  of  about  a  thousand  men  and 
from  15  to  20  forei^'n  gun-boats 
are  kept  anchored  in  the  harbor. 
All  is  quiet  here  and  in  southern 
Kiang-su 


|Itssi0ixa:rjj  |0iirnaL 


MARRIAGE. 

At  T'ai-cheo,  June  26th,  Robert  Grier. 
SON  and  Jennie  H.  Sherman,  C.  I.  M. 

BIRTHS. 

At  Chon-p'ing,  Shantung,  June  10th, 
the  wife  of  Rev.  Frank  Harmon,  E. 
B.  M.,  of  a  son. 

At  Foochow,  June  28th,  the  wife  of 
Rev  M.  C.  Wilcox,  Ph.D.,  M.  E.  M., 
of  a  daughter. 

At  Shanghai,  July  16th,  the  wife  of 
G.  A.  Stuart,  M.D.,  M.  E.  M.,  Nan- 
king, of  a  son. 

At  Ma-t'ou,  Wei-hai-wei,  July  17th,  the 
wife  of  C.  F.  HosG,  of  a  son, 
DEATH, 

At  Fan-ch'eng,  July  11th,  1900,  Janet 

Eleanore,  daughter  of  Rev.  and  Mrs. 

Jiimes    A.     Slimmon,    of    Hsiu-chen, 

Honan. 

ARRIVAL. 
At  Shanghai,  July  7th,  Rev,  T.  Richard, 

S.  D.  C.  K.,  from  U.  S.  A. 
DEPARTURES. 
From  Shanghai,  June  20th,   C.  J.  and 

Mrs,  Anperson  and  child,  Misses  D. 


Ltndvall  and  Elizabeth  Petterson, 
of  C.  I.  M.,  for  America.  " 

From  Shanghai,-  July  9th,  Rev.  and 
Mrs,  R.  H.  Bent  and  children, 
A.  P.  M.,  Chi-ning-chow  ;  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  J.  Y.  McGiNNis,  Mrs.  M.  A. 
McGiNNis,  S.  P.  M.,  Kiang-yin  ;  Rev. 
W.  D.  KiNc.  G.  M.  ;  Mrs.  Dr.  Bar. 
ROW  and  child,  M.  E.  M.,  Tai-an-fu ; 
all  for  U.  S.  A. 

From  Shanghai,  July  14th,  Miss  C.  E. 
Hawes,  A.  P.  M.,  Wei-hsien,  for 
U.  S.  A. 

From  Shanghai,  July  18th,  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  C.  W.  Pruitt  and  family, 
S.  B.  C,  Hwang-hien,  for  U.  S.  A, 

From  Shanghai,  July  21st,  Miss  I.  P. 
Rhind,  C.  M.  a.,  and  Miss  M. 
King,  C.  I,  M.,  for  America  ;  Rev. 
and  Mrs.  J.  MacIntyre  and  daughters, 
U.  P.  C.  S.  M.,  Hai-cheag,  for  Scot- 
land. 

From  Shanghai,  July  30th,  Mrs.  A.  D. 
Cousins  and  two  sons,  L.  M.  S.,  Wu- 
chang ;  Mrs.  T,  E.  North  and  chil- 
dren, W.  M.  S.,  Wuchang,  for  Eng- 
land, 


THE 


CHINESE  RECORDER 


"^i^i^ioxxaxt?  ^onvnat. 


C  S3.50  per  annum,  post- 

Vol,  XXXL  No.  9.       SEPTEMBER,  1900.      [     ^J  (q^ij  ^i'/ts.) 

The  Imperial  Decree. 

Psalm    II. 

Why  do  the  nations  rage, 

And  the  peoples  imagine  a  vain  thing? 

The  kings  of  the  earth  set  themselves, 

And  the  rulers  take  counsel  together. 

Against  the  Lord,  and  against  His  anointed,  saying, 

Let  us  break  their  bands  asunder. 

And  cast  away  their  cords  from  us. 

He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh. 
The  Lord  shall  have  them  in  derision. 
Then  shall  He  speak  unto  them  in  His  wrath, 
And  vex  them  in  His  sore  displeasure : 
Yet  I  have  set  My  King 
Upon  My  holy  hill  of  Zion. 

I  will  tell  of  the  decree : 

The  Lord  said  unto  me,  Thou  art  My  Son, 

This  day  have  I  begotten  thee. 

Ask  of  Me,  and  I  will  give  thee  the  nations  for  thine  inheritance, 

And  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  thy  possession. 

Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  rod  of  iron, 

Thou  shalt  dash  them  in  pieces  like  a  potter's  vessel. 

Now  therefore  be  wise,  O  ye  kings  : 

Be  instructed,  ye  judges  of  the  earth' 

Serve  the  Lord  with  fear. 

And  rejoice  with  trembling. 

Kiss  the  Son,  lest  He  be  angry,  and  ye  perish  in  the  way, 

For  His  wrath  will  soon  be  kindled. 

Blessed  are  all  they  that  put  their  trust  in  Him  ! 


436  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [September, 

God  within  the  Shadow. 

BY   REV.   P.    F.   PRICE. 

"  Careless  seems  the  great  avenger  ;  history's  pages  but  record 
One  death  grapple  in  the  darkness  'twixt  old  systems  and  the  Word, 
Truth  forever  on  the  scaffold,  wrong  forever  on  the  throne. 
But  that  scaffold  holds  the  future,  and  behind  the  great  unknown 
Standeth  GOD  within  the  shadow,  keeping  watch  above  His  own." 

Soon  after  arriving  in  China  the  writer  was  conducted,  with 
other  new-comers,  to  see  for  the  first  time  a  great  Chinese  temple. 
There  were  all  the  paraphernalia  that  we  are  all  so  familiar  with, 
the  noise  and  crowds  and  buying  and  selling  without,  the  empty 
worship  of  dumb  idols  within.  But  however  we  have  read  or  heard 
of  these  things,  there  is  no  such  impression  as  Avhen  our  eyes  first 
see  them  and  as  we  stood  there,  our  hearts  filled  with  strange 
emotions  at  the  first  sight  of  idolatry,  one  of  the  ladies  in  the  party 
broke  the  silence  by  repeating  that  verse  in  Isaiah,  "  This  people 
have  I  formed  for  myself;  they  shall  show  forth  my  praise."  It 
seemed  strange  to  speak  of  God's  purpose  at  the  moment  when  we 
beheld  their  alienation  from  God ;  but  so  it  was  when  the  words  were 
spoken  the  first  time.  It  was  of  erring,  sinning  Israel  that  God 
announced  this  gracious  purpose.  And  as  we  read  in  the  Word  of 
God  concerning  Israel,  may  we  not  read  in  the  providence  of  God  con- 
cerning the  Chinese  people  that  the  Almighty  God  has  formed,  spared, 
kept  them  for  himself,  and  that  they  shall  show  forth  his  praise  ? 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  facts  of  all  history  is  God's  sparing 
China  so  long.  Egypt,  with  her  ancient  and  analogous  civilization, 
belongs  to  the  dim  past.  Assyria,  Babylon,  Greece,  Rome,  Macedon, 
old  India,  have  all  passed  away.  Only  China  remains.  Of  that 
ancient  forest  one  tree  alone  stands,  though  it  has  weathered  four 
thousands  winters.  Human  judgment  has  said  again  and  again : 
"  Cut  it  down  ;  why  cumbereth  it  the  ground  ? "  Divine  mercy  and 
the  divine  purpose  have  said  :  "  Spare  it  a  little  longer."  God  has 
kept  China  from  entire  collapse.  Morally,  China  is  rotten  to  the 
core.  Dr.  Arthur  Smith  has  said  of  the  various  religions  of  the 
empire :  "  A  result  of  the  union  of  all  beliefs  is  the  debasement 
of  man's  moral  nature  to  the  lowest  level  found  in  any  of  the  creeds." 
And  that  moral  corruption  has  been  finding  a  lower  and  lower  level. 
It  might  have  been  supposed  that  such  a  rotten  structure  would 
have  collapsed  long  ago,  but  there  have  been  some  beams  that  have 
kept  the  old  building  together.  The  reverence  for  superiors,  the 
general  patience  and  peaceableness  and  industry  of  the  people,  the 
modesty  of  the  women,  these  and  other  admirable  qualities  of  the 
Chinese  have  kept  them  from  hopeless  moral  collapse. 


1900.]  GOD  WITHIN  THE  SHADOW.  437 

Ih  the  providence  of  God  the  Chinese  people  have,  in  spite 
of  untold  diseases  and  dangers,  been  preserved  from  destruction. 
The  ravages  of  climate,  and  the  utter  and  universal  disregard  of  all 
sanitary  laws  might  be  thought  to  be  causes  sufficient  to  decimate 
the  population,  but  over  against  these  destructive  causes  God  has 
set  a  wonderful  physical  vitality.  Famines  have  slain  their 
thousands  and  floods  their  tens  of  thousands.  Dr.  Faber  says  there 
was  war  during  900  years  of  the  Chow  dynasty,  during  which 
millions  were  slain.  It  is  estimated  that  the  Taiping  rebellion 
drained  the  life  blood  of  20,000,000.  Six  millions  died  during  the 
great  famine  of  1877  78.  War,  pestilence,  and  famine  have  so  done 
their  work  that  it  would  be  hai-d  to  find  anywhere  in  history  such  a 
wholesale  periodic  destruction  of  human  life.  Yet  the  population, 
instead  of  declining,  has  been  on  the  increase,  and  we  are  face  to 
face  to-day  with  a  population  of  no  leas  than  400,000,000  souls,  the 
most  tremendous  responsibility  ever  laid  upon  the  church  of  God  ! 

God  has  kept  China  from  division  into  separate  states.  While 
the  Jews,  their  contemporaries,  have  been  scattered  to  the  ends 
of  the  earth  the  Chinese  have  held  together.  Many  causes  might 
have  seemed  to  be  at  work  to  separate  them,  but  there  have  been 
the  cementing  forces  of  one  great  sage,  one  written  language,  and 
one  paternal  government,  so  that  the  rulers  of  China  have  governed 
more  people  for  a  longer  time  than  any  other  succession  of  kings, 
emperors,  or  presidents  in  the  whole  history  of  the  world.  God 
has  averted  the  assimilation  of  China  with  other  nations.  When 
the  Most  High  divided  to  the  nations  their  inheritance  He 
divided  China  on  the  north  by  the  mountains  and  the  great 
desert,  on  the  west  and  on  the  south  by  the  mountains,  and  on  the 
east  by  the  trackless  sea ;  and  for  long  years  natural  environment 
and  human  prejudice  hemmed  her  in  and  barred  outward  interfer- 
ence. But  the  tendencies  have  been  different  in  our  day.  Within 
sixty  years  China  has  had  three  foreign  wars — and  counting  this  now 
in  progress  four — and  has  lost  a  part  of  Manchuria  and  all  of  Corea, 
Formosa,  Burmah,  Siam,  Tongking,  Hongkong,  Kiaochow,  Weihai- 
wei,  an  average  of  more  than  one  dependency  each  decade.  There 
has  been  abundant  talk  of  partitionment  among  the  powers.  Suppose 
there  were.  England  would  take  her  share,  and  her  rule  would  be 
beneficent.  But  Russia  would  have  a  good  portion  of  the  north,  and 
France  a  large  slice  of  the  south ;  and  Russia's  intolerant  religious 
rule  would  be  a  blight,  and  French  aid  to  Rome's  temporal  power 
would  be  a  backset  to  Christian  missions.  But  China  has  been  kept 
a  unit.  We  may  thank  God  for  that.  Even  should  division  now 
come,  such  progress  has  been  made  that  it  would  be  hard  to  set  the 
dial  of  Protestant   missions  backward.      And   should    (."hina    still 


438  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [September^ 

remain— as  we  devoutly  hope  it  will — one  people,  we  cannot  believe 
but  that  the  present  upheaval  will  have  brought  a  larger  measure 
of  the  precious  boon  of  religious  liberty.  God  has  given  to  China  a 
unique  position  among  the  nations  of  the  world.  Napoleon  said 
of  China:  "There  sleeps  a  giant;  let  him  sleep."  But  we  have  seen 
that  giant  awakening  I  And  when  he  does  awake  the  world  is  going 
to  know  it.  When  the  Chinese  begin  in  great  numbers  to  turn  out 
the  results  of  their  industry  and  imitative  skill  there  will  be  a 
panic  in  the  markets  of  the  world.  When  a  great  army  learns  to 
be  soldiers  as  a  few  regiments  have  now,  they  will  be  reckoned  as  a 
great  power.  And  when  through  intercourse  with  other  nations  the 
moral  influence  of  this,  the  greatest  branch  of  the  family  of  nations, 
begins  to  be  felt,  that  influence  will  be  immeasurable,  either  for 
good  or  for  bad. 

God  has  kept  back  China  from  the  too  rapid  progress  of  civiliza- 
tion and  commerce  without  Christianity.  We  know  too  well  that 
modern  civilization  carries  with  it  not  only  enlightenment  and 
progress  but  also  vice  and  corruption;  and  a  people  morally  weak 
assimilate  the  bad  more  rapidly  than  they  do  the  good.  Now  it  has 
been  thought,  by  even  those  who  labored  and  hoped  for  the  highest 
good  of  China,  that  the  land  would  have  been  opened  to  the 
entrance  of  Western  civilization  long  ago,  but  every  apparent  open- 
ing has  proved  a  disappointment.  Commerce  reached  China  long 
before  missions,  but  now  the  tables  are  turned  and  missionaries  have 
penetrated  where  commerce  cannot  go.  Is  there  not  the  purpose 
of  God  in  it  that  the  missionary  may  lay  those  true  substructures 
of  truth  and  righteousness  on  which  all  true  civilization  rests  ?  Then 
again  we  are  not  as  Japan  or  India,  where  the  works  of  Hume  and 
Huxley  and  Paine  and  Ingersoll  contend  the  ground  with  the  gospel. 
Our  problem  is  simpler,  for  we  meet  more  of  apathy  than  of  intel- 
ligent antipathy.  The  Chinese  need  exposition  more  than  argument, 
persuasion  more  than  polemics ;  and  when  they  do  accept  Christian- 
ity they  accept  it  as  they  do  one  of  their  own  proverbs,  something 
beautiful  in  itself  that  can  be  nothing  else  than  true.  And  that  old 
enemy  of  the  gospel — conservatism — becomes  its  ally  in  helping  to 
link  the  people  fast  to  the  new  faith. 

God  has  kept  China  from  the  sway  of  corrupted  religions.  It 
is  a  profoundly  impressive  fact  that  the  Christian  religion  has 
existed  in  some  form  or  other  in  China  for  eleven  centuries.  Nesto- 
rianism  entered  China  in  the  seventh  century  and  lingered  until 
the  thirteenth,  but  all  that  is  left  of  Nestorianism  now  is  an  ancient 
tablet.  In  the  thirteenth  century  Romanism  appeared,  and  we  must 
not  forget  that  at  that  time  the  Roman,  even  as  the  corrupted 
Jewish  church  when  our  Saviour  came,  held  the  true  oracles  of  God. 


1900.]  GOD   WITHIN   THE  SHADOW.  439 

This  church  met  with  varying  auccesa  until  the  first  part  of  the 
eighteenth  century,  when  it  reached  a  great  height  of  power  and  in- 
fluence. High  dignitaries  throughout  the  empire  were  numbered 
among  the  converts,  and  even  the  uncle  of  the  Emperor  Kang  Hi 
himself  was  baptized,  and  space  within  the  Imperial  palace  grounds 
was  granted  for  the  building  of  a  church.  In  one  province  alone 
there  were  said  to  be  100  churches  and  100,000  converts.  In  a  visit 
throughout  the  empire  the  Emperor  showed  marked  favor  to  the 
Jesuits  everywhere.  It  was  Rome's  opportunity.  What  if  she  had 
taken  it!  What  if  the  blight  of  Romanism  had  spread  over  the 
land  as  it  has  over  South  America,  over  Cuba,  and  the  Philippines  1 
But  political  ambition, — from  which  may  the  Protestant  church  ever 
be  delivered, — arose,  and  Rome  lost  her  opportunity ;  and  now  after 
the  lapse  of  two  centuries  more  she  has  never  regained  what  was  lost 
in  the  reigns  of  Kang  Hi  and  Yung  Chin.  We  cannot  forget  that  in 
the  Nestorian  and  Roman  churches  there  were  and  are  men  of 
courage  and  consecration,  whose  self-denying  purpose  may  well 
provoke  us  to  emulation.  Yea,  there  were  martyrs  among  them, 
and  through  these  two  churches,  no  doubt,  thousands  came  to  a 
knowledge  of  the  true  God  and  eternal  life.  But  they  became 
unsteady  in  doctrine  and  unscriptural  in  practice,  and  God  took  the 
opportunity  from  them  and  gave  it  to  another,  even  to  the  Protest- 
ant church  of  to-day.  What  is  the  Protestant  church  going  to  do 
with  that  opportunity  ? 

God  has  most  signally  and  significantly  opened  China  to  the 
gospel.  It  is  the  glor}'^  of  the  Most  High  that  He  works  when  and 
where  and  how  He  pleases.  He  makes  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise 
Him  and  makes  His  people  willing  in  the  day  of  His  power. 

Two  events  happened  in  England  in  the  year  of  our  Lord,  1792, 
that  would  seem  to  have  no  more  connection  than  the  north  and 
south  poles ;  yet  these  two  events  have  been  linked  together  in  a 
most  wonderful  manner.  One  was  the  sermon  of  William  Carey, 
the  shoemaker  of  Nottingham,  from  the  text  Isaiah  1.  2,  3  ;  the  other 
was  the  deli  very  of  a  royal  commission  to  Lord  McCartney  to  proceed 
as  England's  first  envoy  to  Peking  in  order  to  obtain  certain  trading 
privileges  for  Great  Britain.  Carey's  sermon  was  the  beginning  of 
a  great  movement  to  give  the  gospel  to  the  world ;  McCartney's 
expedition  was  the  beginning  of  commercial  and  political  events 
that  would  operate  to  throw  China  open  to  the  entrance  of  the 
gospel.  God  laid  His  hand  upon  a  man  who  had  prayed  that  he 
might  be  sent  to  that  field  that  was  the  hardest,  and  where  the 
difficulties  seemed  the  most  insurmountable.  And  when  Robert 
Morrison  ended  in  Macao  in  183-t  that  laborious  life  that  forms  the 
first   chapter  of  Protestant   missions   in   China,  the    clouds    were 


440  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [September, 

gathering  and  the  prospect  seemed  almost  as  dark  as  when  he  first 
had  landed.  But  God  was  working  and  making  ready  those  causes 
that  led  to  the  war  of  1842  and  to  the  opening  of  the  five  ports 
(Shanghai,  Amoy,  Foochow,  Ningpo,  and  Canton)  and  to  the  ceding 
of  Hongkong.  And  the  Lord  had  so  prepared  His  church  through 
the  example  of  Morrison  and  his  co  laborers  and  successors,  that 
within  the  space  of  two  years — and  it  could  have  scarcely  been 
sooner  in  that  day — the  five  ports  were  occupied  by  thirty  or  forty 
missionaries ;  and  within  fifteen  years  the  number  had  increased  to 
one  hundred. 

Yet  they  were  confined  within  the  ports,  and  they  longed  to 
lengthen  their  cords  and  press  into  the  great  interior.  And  it  is 
said  of  Dr.  Medhurst  that  he  used  to  pray  in  those  days,  "  O  Lord, 
scatter  Thy  servants!"  And  God  was  preparing  an  answer  to  that 
prayer.  In  His  wisdom  He  was  working  together  for  good  two 
different  tendencies — the  passions  of  men  and  the  prayers  and  labors 
of  His  people  toward  the  same  glorious  result. 

Causes  were  already  at  work  that  led  up  to  the  French  and 
English  war,  which  ended  in  the  treaty  of  June,  1856,  throwing 
China  open  to  the  entrance  of  the  gospel.  And  since  then  on, 
through  the  Taiping  rebellion  and  the  Tientsin  massacre  of  1870  and 
the  war  with  Japan,  through  riot  and  massacre,  God  has  been  work- 
ing. Every  advance  in  open  doors  has  come  through  war  and 
disturbance  and  bloodshed. 

On  the  one  hand,  God  has  been  overruling  the  wrath  of  man  for 
the  breaking  down  of  doors  that  have  been  locked  and  barred  and 
bolted  for  centuries.  And  on  the  other  hand.  He  has  been  preparing 
His  people  for  the  work. 

And  what  shall  we  say  of  the  upheaval  through  which  we  are 
passing  ?  We  can  believe  that  the  same  guiding  hand  is  in  it. 
But  may  we  not  go  a  step  further  and  see  some  reasons  even  now 
why  God  has  allowed  this  ?  At  the  close  of  the  war  with  Japan  we 
thought  that  the  time  had  come  for  reform,  but  we  were  disappoint- 
ed. Again  when  Kwang  Hsii  began  to  show  a  firm  hand  in  1898  it 
seemed  that  our  hopes  were  realized,  but  all  those  hopes  were 
blighted. 

God  has  chosen  His  own  time.  It  is  a  time  when  the  trans- 
Siberian  railway  is  not  yet  completed,  though  it  was  planned  to  be, 
and  had  it  been  Russia  might  have  appeared  as  a  different  factor  ere 
this  on  the  scene.  It  is  a  time  when  all  the  great  powers  are 
aroused  as  never  before  and  are  in  strange  and  unexpected  accord. 
As  long  as  two  years  ago  representations,  which  failed,  were  made 
regarding  the  present  anti-foreign  movement,  for  which  Christians 
were  then  chiefly  suffering.     But  in  the  providence  of  God  it  was 


1900.]  GOD   WITHIN   THE  SHADOW.  441 

not  checked  then.  It  has  been  allowed  to  go  on  until  it  is  evident 
to  the  whole  world  that  the  hostility  is  not  only  anti-Christian  but 
anti-reform  and  anti-foreign,  and  until  those  involved  are  not  only, 
as  heretofore,  unoffending  missionaries  and  defenceless  native 
Christians,  but  include  all  classes  up  to  the  very  representatives  of 
the  great  powers  themselves.  And  though  it  is  a  sore  and  bitter 
trial,  and  though  the  sufferers  are  many  and  the  persecution  wide- 
spread, we  can  but  believe  that  through  the  settlement  will  come 
such  peaceful  and  permanent  results  as  will  exceed  our  fondest 
dreams  in  the  past. 

Can  we  doubt  that  God  is  through  His  providence  breaking 
down  barriers  and  opening  wider  doors  ?  And  then  it  will  be  the 
part  of  the  church  to  go  in  and  through  the  power  of  the  Spirit, 
which  alone  can  convert,  and  by  renewed  zeal  and  devotion  win  the 
Chinese  to  the  allegiance  of  the  cross. 

God  has  marvellously  blessed  the  beginning  of  Protestant 
missions  in  China.  Compare  the  triumphs  of  commerce  and  the 
triumphs  of  Christianity.  Compare  the  triumphs  of  diplomacy 
and  the  triumphs  of  Christianity.  Compare  the  results  with  the 
difficulties  encountered.  Think  of  the  hundred  thousand  Christians 
and  the  power  of  Christianity  in  the  land,  our  enemies  themselves 
being  judges.  Look  at  the  educational  work,  the  medical  work. 
Look  at  a  great  army  whose  life-work  is  service  in  the  field.  They 
have  left  home  and  broken  tender  ties;  often  shortening  their  lives 
or  separating  from  their  children;  burying  loved  ones  in  a  strange 
land,  or  laying  down  their  own  lives  mayhap ;  enduring  all  the  ills 
that  Paul  ever  endured,  and  all  simply  for  the  "  well  done  "  of  their 
Master.  See  how  there  has  been  greater  increase  within  the  past 
eight  years  than  in  the  first  eighty  years  of  Protestant  missions. 
In  spite  of  all  human  failures  and  mistakes  and  imperfections  what 
hath  God  wrought  in  the  beginning  of  Christian  missions  in  China ! 

And  now  look  at  the  marvelous  imprint  of  the  Divine  Hand :  a 
great  nation  with  a  vast  population,  but  with  such  resources  as 
would  support  five  times  as  many ;  this  nation  kept  through  the 
centuries,  through  a  thousand  causes  that  might  have  brought  moral 
collapse,  or  material  destruction,  or  national  dismemberment ;  kept 
from  assimilation  with  other  nations  and  from  the  vices  of  civiliza- 
tion without  Christianity ;  kept  from  corrupt  religions  which  nearly 
won  their  way;  and  now  in  our  day  being  thrown  wide  open  to  the 
entrance  of  the  gospel,  with  the  direct  seal  of  God  on  the  beginning 
that  has  been  made. 

So  we  are  confident,  knowing  that  He  who  has  led  still  leadg 
His  people,  His  church.  However  the  minds  of  men  may  be 
beclouded  as  to  the  issues  at  stake  or  the  ultimate  results,  God's 


442  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [September, 

purpose  is  clear  and  unchangeable.  The  hearts  of  kings  and  the 
minds  of  governments  are  in  His  hand,  and  He  will  turn  them 
whithersoever  He  will,  and  His  church  is  dear  to  His  heart.  He 
will  sacrifice  kings  for  her  sake.  Empires  rise  and  fall,  but  the 
church  of  God  remains.  The  storm  may  rage,  but  He  guides  the 
storm,  and  the  good  work  that  He  has  begun  He  will  undoubtedly 
perform. 


A  Letter  to  the  EGumeniGdl  Conferenoe  on  Foreign  Missions. 

FROM   PROF.   GUSTAV  WARNECK,  D.D.,  HALLE,   GERMANY. 

.^yfONORED  SIRS,  Dear  Brethren  :  It  is  with  painful  regret 
^,^  that  I  find  myself  prevented  from  personally  attending 
the  Ecumenical  Conference  on  Foreign  Missions.  But  I 
mast  at  least  send  you  a  written  word  of  greeting,  with  the 
assurance  that  I  am  with  you  in  spirit,  and  that  my  prayers 
accompany  your  proceedings.  May  our  great  high  priest  and 
king  lift  up  His  hands  upon  you  and  give  you  such  a  blessing  that 
the  glorious  work  of  extending  his  kingdom  in  the  non-Christian 
world,  in  which  we  are  all  engaged,  shall  receive  a  far-reaching 
impetus,  an  inward  and  outward  furtherance,  from  this  important 
Conference  ! 

The  historical  and  theoretical  study  of  missions  has  been  ray 
special  work  for  over  thirty  years,  embracing  more  and  more  the 
full  extent  of  the  field,  and  this  work  has  become  my  very  life.  As 
a  veteran,  therefore,  in  mission  service,  perhaps  I  may  venture  to 
call  your  attention  to  a  few  thoughts  and  wishes  which  have 
occupied  my  mind,  and  which  are  as  much  based  on  missionary 
experience  of  the  past  as  they  appear  to  me  of  importance  for  the 
mission  work  of  the  future. 

Looking  back  upon  the  very  small  beginnings  of  the  missionary 
activity  of  the  nineteenth  century,  which  to-day  has  assumed  truly 
vast  dimensions  among  the  ancient  Christian  churches  and  in  the 
non-Christian  world,  the  Ecumenical  Mission  Conference  cannot 
but  have  the  character  of  a  jubilee  centenary  celebration  in  the 
most  specific  sense  of  the  word.  We  cannot  render  suflScient  praise 
to  God  that  He  has  opened  the  door  of  faith  for  the  heathen  in  this 
century  as  never  before.  But  let  our  praise  be  a  sincere  and 
humble  Soli  Deo  Gloria,  and  let  us  avoid  even  the  appearance  of 
any  praise  to  men. 

The  success  of  mission  work  hitherto  achieved  may  by  called 
great  or  small  according  to  the  light  in  which  it  is  viewed.     In  mak- 


1900.]   A  LETTER  TO  THE  ECUMENICAL  CONFERENCE,  ETC.     443 

iii^  our  estimate  let  ns  endeavor  to  be  both  careful  and  sober.  80- 
phrosyne  is  also  a  great  mission  virtue,  likely  in  the  long  ran  to 
win  more  friends  for  the  missions  at  home  and  to  be  of  greater 
service  abroad  than  pious  rhetoric  endeavoring  to  startle  by  exag- 
geration. 

The  nineteenth  century  is  rightly  called  a  mission  century.  As 
regards  the  number  of  mission  workers,  the  total  of  mission  expend- 
iture, the  extent  of  mission  euterprize,  and  the  organization  of  mis- 
sion activity,  this  century  has  no  equal  in  former  missionary  periods. 
Through  God's  grace  much  has  been  done;  but  we  ought  to  have 
the  humility  and  the  courage  to  examine  honestly  whether  every- 
thing has  been  done  well.  Only  a  rigid  self-righteous  adherence  to 
preconceived  theories  shuts  the  eyes  to  the  teachings  of  experience, 
which  show  us  our  mistakes.  A  conscientious  examination  of  our 
missionary  methods,  based  on  the  facts  of  mission  history,  appears 
to  me  to  be  one  of  the  chief  purposes  of  the  great  Conference  now 
meeting  in  New  York. 

The  mission  century  behind  ns  has  accomplished  great  things, 
but  greater  things  are  expected  from  the  one  before  us.  The  longer 
we  study  them  the  more  clearly  should  we  not  only  understand 
theoretically  the  special  mission  problems  but  also  be  better  able  to 
solve  them  practically.  This,  however,  cannot  be  done  by  catch- 
words. Rhetorically  dazzling,  these  catchwords  are  more  apt  to 
confuse  than  to  enlighten,  and  not  seldom  they  are  romantic  will-o'- 
the-wisps,  showing  a  wrong  road  on  which  much  generous  energy  is 
lavished  almost  uselessly,  and  to  return  from  which  requires  rare 
courage.  Solid  work  is  the  only  road  by  which  to  arrive  at  an  intel- 
ligent understanding  of  the  mission  problems,  and  wisdom  and 
discretion  alone  will  help  to  solve  them. 

What  we  need  besides  expert  mission  directors  is,  above  all, 
missionaries  really  capable  for  their  great  work.  The  general  cry 
is  more  missionaries.  And  let  me  add  emphatically  more  men. 
Bat  the  petition  that  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  should  send  forth 
laborers  into  His  harvest  has  also  reference  to  the  quality.  Mission- 
aries must  be  weighed,  not  only  counted.  Spiritual  equipment  is,  of 
course,  the  chief  consideration.  But  the  experience  of  more  than  a 
hundred  years  should  prevent  us  from  falling  into  the  mistake  of 
thinking  that  this  alone  suffices  without  a  thorough  training. 

It  is  a  hopeful  sign  of  the  increase  in  missionary  interest  that  a 
growing  enthusiasm  for  the  work  is  spreading  among  young  men 
and  students.  May  God  raise  up  from  among  them  large-minded 
men  with  real  insight  into  the  mission  problems,  determined  to 
make  this  service  their  calling  for  life,  and  not  willing  to  turn  aside 
after  the  first  few  years  have  barely  completed  their  apprenticeship. 


444  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [September, 

Very  energetically  are  the  watchwords  promnlgated  nowadays  : 
"  Expansion,"  "  Diffusion,"  "  Evangelization  of  the  World  in 
this  Generation."  I  will  not  deny  that,  in  view  of  the  present  open- 
ings all  the  world  over,  snch  mottoes  are  entitled  to  consideration  ; 
and  so  far  as  this  is  the  case  I  certainly  have  no  wish  to  weaken 
their  force.  But  without  due  limitation  and  completion  I  consider 
them  dangerous.  The  mission  command  bids  us  go  into  all  the 
world,  not  fly.  Festina  lente  applies  also  to  missionary  undertak- 
ings. The  kiugdom  of  heaven  is  like  a  field,  in  which  the  crop  is 
healthily  growing  at  a  normal  rate ;  not  like  a  hot-house.  Impatient 
pressing  forward  has  led  to  the  waste  of  much  precious  toil,  and 
more  than  one  old  mission  field  has  been  unwarrantably  neglected 
in  the  haste  to  begin  work  in  a  new  field.  Patience  fills  a  large 
space  in  the  missionary  programme,  and  to  patience  must  be  added 
faithfulness  in  steadily  continuing  the  great  task  of  bnilding  up  in 
the  old  mission  fields.  Here  are  ripening  harvests-calling  for  reap- 
ers. The  non-Christian  world  is  not  to  be  carried  by  assault.  Mis- 
sion history  should  also  teach  us  not  to  specify  a  time  within  which 
the  evangelization  of  the  world  is  to  be  completed.  It  is  not  for  us 
to  determine  the  times  or  the  seasons,  but  to  do  in  this  our  time 
what  we  can,  and  do  it  wisely  and  discreetly.  The  catchword  "  dif- 
fusion" is  really  a  caricature  of  evangelical  missions  if  its  antithesis, 
'•  not  concentration,"  leads  to  the  destruction  of  organization.  If 
evangelical  missions  are  suffering  from  one  lack  more  than  another, 
it  is  the  want  of  organization,  in  which  the  liomau  Catholic  mis- 
sions are  so  much  their  superiors.  Nor  will  the  great  spiritual  war 
which  the  missions  are  waging  be  decided  by  hosts  oH francs-tireurs , 
but  by  organized  concentration.  The  many  so-called  free  missionaries 
are  not  an  addition  of  strength  to  the  evangelical  missions,  but  a 
waste  of  strength.  Neither  is  it  well  to  go  on  establishing  new  mis- 
sionary societies  ;  rather  let  the  watchword  be  "join  and  support  the 
old  and  experienced  ones."  Nothing  is  more  painful  than  for  old, 
established  societies  to  be  obliged  to  reduce  their  work  because  new 
undertakings  are  absorbing  men  and  means  without  making  up  for 
these  losses  by  their  own  successes. 

Perhaps  the  greatest  of  all  mission  problems  is  the  implantation 
of  Christianity  into  the  foreign  soil  of  heathen  nations  in  such  a 
way  that  it  takes  root  like  a  native  plant  and  grows  to  be  an  indige- 
nous tree.  No  doubt  the  first  object  of  mission  work  is  to  bring  the 
individual  heathen  to  faith,  and  through  faith  to  salvation.  But 
the  object  of  mission  work  must  be  also  national  and  social,  to 
permeate  whole  heathen  nations  with  the  truth  and  the  power  of 
the  gospel,  to  gather  in  them  a  Christianity,  and  to  sanctify  their 
social   and   national  relations.      If  the   native   Christians   become 


1900.]       A  LETTER   TO  THE   ECUMENICAL   CONFERENCE,    ETC.  445 

estraugod  from  their  national  and  popular  cnatoms  Christianity 
will  never  become  a  national  and  popular  power.  Tliere  is  great 
danger  of  confonudiug  the  spread  of  the  gospel  with  the  spread  of 
European  or  American  culture;  and,  so  far  as  I  can  see,  this  danger 
has  by  no  means  been  avoided  everywhere.  If  I  am  not  greatly 
mistaken,  a  chief  reason  why  the  success  of  missions  is  not  greater 
is  to  be  found  in  the  fact  that  the  national  character  is  lacking 
to-day  in  so  large  a  part  of  the  Christianity  of  mission  lands.  A 
not  inconsiderable  percentage  of  the  nutive  helpers  (Chinese, 
perhaps,  excepted)  and  of  the  young  people  who  have  passed 
through  the  higher  schools  is  more  or  less  denationalized  and 
misedueated.  Hardly  any  mission  has  been  exempt  from  this 
experience,  but  it  is  chiefly  noticeable  in  many  English  and 
American  mission  fields.  We  must  have  the  counige  to  see  this 
if  there  is  to  be  an  improvement.  Where  the  evil  is  not  even  seen, 
how  can  it  be  remedied  ? 

Whilst  a  proper  attitude  to  the  customs  of  the  natives  has  in 
many  cases  not  yet  been  found,  another  side  of  the  problem  ia 
question  claims  particular  attention,  namely,  the  fostering  of  their 
own  language.  Without  doubt  evangelical  missions  of  all  national- 
ities and  denominations  have,  in  the  course  of  this  century,  produced 
excellent  results  as  regards  native  languages  ;  there  are  among 
evangelical  missionaries  linguists  to  whom  is  dne  a  position  of 
honor  in  the  science  of  languat:!;es.  Also  the  principle  is  generally 
accepted  :  Each  nation  has  a  right  to  hear  the  gospel  in  its  mother 
tongue.  On  the  other  hand,  the  fact  cannot  be  denied  that  this 
principle  is  not  always  put  into  practice  in  our  preaching  and 
teaching.  There  are  plenty  of  missionaries  who  never  become 
independent  of  the  help  of  the  interpreter — nay,  more  :  who  have 
scarcely  understood  the  language  problem  at  its  real  root.  This 
problem  is  the  difficulty  of  becoming  so  completely  acquainted 
with  the  spirit,  the  whole  mode  of  thinking  and  reasoning,  of  the 
foreign  people  as  to  be  able  to  render  Scripture  terms  into  their 
language  so  that  the  truths  of  the  gospel,  naturally  foreign  to 
them,  shall  be  fully  understood  by  the  natives.  This  is  perhaps 
the  greatest  intellectual  task  which  may  be  demanded  of  the 
missionary.  As  a  foreigner  to  them,  he  must  himself  understand 
the  natives  before  they  can  understand  him.  The  New  York 
Conference  should  press  for  more  energetic  endeavor  in  this 
direction  than  hitherto.  English  has  become  the  language  of 
intercourse  throughout  the  wide  world,  but  that  must  not  tempt  us 
to  make  it  the  language  of  missions.  The  missionary  command 
does  not  say  :  "  Go  ye  and  teach  English  to  every  creature."  Not 
more,  bat  less,  English  in  the  missions — this  should  be  the  watch- 


446  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [September, 

word  of  the  twentieth  century  in  this  respect  if  the  great  missionary 
problem  is  to  be  solved 

One  more  point  in  conclnsion.  It  is  now  generally  acknowl- 
edged among  evangelical  missions  that  the  aim  of  the  work  is  the 
formation  of  independent  chnrches  of  native  Christians.  This  has 
only  been  perceived  in  the  course  of  the  work  ;  the  beginnings  of 
missionary  activity  seldom  took  the  roads  to  reach  this  goal.  And 
to  this  day  there  is  in  many  missions  a  neglect  in  this  respect  which 
should  be  remedied.  On  the  other  hand,  too  much  haste  and 
unwise  impatience  have  been  shown  in  placing  native  churches 
on  an  independent  footing,  especially  where  republicanism  has 
joined  hands  with  ultra-independent  theories.  The  result  has  beea 
unsatisfactory  everywhere.  It  has  even  damaged  the  young 
churches,  because  they  were  not  yet  ripe  for  full  independence. 
The  latest  experiment  of  this  kind,  the  so-called  Ethiopian 
Church  in  South  Africa,  is  generally  admitted  to  be  a  danger 
actually  threatening  Christianity  there.  Here  we  have  another 
great  mission  problem,  toward  the  solution  of  which  catchwords 
will  not  help.  It  can  be  solved  only  by  slow  and  solid  work, 
carried  on  with  patient  wisdom  and  keeping  the  end  aimed  at 
always  in  view.  The  great  majority  of  those  upon  whom  our 
missionary  efforts  of  to-day  are  exercised  cannot  be  treated  as 
Englishmea  or  as  Americans,  nor  as  the  G-reeks  were  treated  in 
apostolic  times.  Differences  of  race,  of  education,  and  weakness 
of  character  forbid  it.  Let  us  pray  for  both  patience  and  wisdom, 
that  we  may,  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  become  in 
every  respect  true  educators,  and  not  spoilers,  of  the  heathen 
nations  to  whom  by  the  will  of  God  we  are  permitted  to  bring  the 
gospel. 


An  Object  Lesson  in  Self-support 

BY  DR.   H.   a   UNDERWOOD,   KOREA, 

(Concluded  from  page  392,  Augiust  number). 

As  to  some  of  the  plans  followed  in  our  work. 

First.  We  do  not  foist  a  completely  organized  church,  as  we 
anderstand  it  in  the  home  land,  upon  the  native  infant  church.  We 
have  had  for  a  number  of  years  one  general  session,  composed  of 
missionaries  annually  elected  for  the  purpose  who  have  oversight  of 
all  the  churches  that  were  under  the  care  of  the  Presbyterian  mis- 
sions in  this  land  (at  the  present  time  we  have  only  two  such  sessions), 
and  this  session  delegates  power  to  sessional  committees  or  to  a 
missionary  to  organize  work.     For  societies  working  under  the  Pres- 


1900.]  AN   OBJECT  LESSON    IN   SELF-SUPPORT.  447 

byterian  Council  the  reports  of  1899  gave  188  chnrcheB,  and  yet 
among  them  all  we  have  not  a  single,  fully,  and  completely  organized 
Presbyterian  church  in  Korea.  At  the  present  time,  with  oar 
membership  of  over  3,0(JU,  the  nearest  approach  to  a  perfectly 
organized  church  is  one  which  has  two  elders-elect  and  a  board  of 
stewards  to  look  after  its  temporal  affairs.  In  each  place  where  there 
is  a  churcii  there  is  a  local  leader  responsible  for  the  church  services, 
and  a  board  of  stewards,  or  in  the  older  churches,  of  deacons, 
takes  charge  of  church  property,  and  with  the  church  leaders 
has  general  oversii^ht  of  the  work.  The  organization  is  as  simple 
as  possible,  and  the  leader  may  be  one  of  the  deacons  or  an  elder,  if 
they  have  them. 

Second.  We  endeavor  to  plan  our  church  architecture  in 
accordance  with  the  ability  of  the  natives  to  build  and  the  styles  of 
houses  generally  used.  This  is  a  very  important  feature  in  the 
successful  carrying  out  of  this  plan  of  self-support,  for  immediately 
that  we  foist  on  the  natives  a  foreign  style  of  architecture  beyond 
their  means  it  is  imperative  that  we  provide  the  building.  Conse- 
quently we  have  for  our  large  centres  well-built,  solid,  tile-roofed 
churches,  but  in  the  small  villages  we  have  small  thatched-roofed 
chapels,  and  even  these  in  many  cases  represent  no  little  self-denial 
and  sacrifice. 

Third.  As  noted  above  we  try  to  place  the  responsibility  of 
giving  the  gospel  to  the  heathen  upon  the  Christians  ;  our  aim  is 
that  every  Christian  shall  become  an  active  worker.  We  try  to 
make  every  one  feel  that  it  is  his  privilege  to  tell  others  of  Christ ; 
and  in  fact  we  refuse  to  receive  into  church  membership  a  man  or 
woman  who  tells  us  that  he  has  never  tried  to  lead  others  to  Christ. 
We  still  further  strive  to  make  the  church  realize  that  it  is  their 
duty  to  send  the  gospel  to  regions  beyond,  and  that  if  they  are  not 
able  to  go  themselves  others  should  be  sent.  As  a  result,  from  a 
number  of  congregations  the  most  intelligent  Christians  will  be  sent 
out  to  other  places;  in  some  cases  their  expenses  are  paid  by  the 
natives,  in  some  cases  they  pay  their  own  expenses  ;  in  some  of  the 
churches  evangelists  are  permanently  employed  by  the  church  to 
give  all  their  time  to  this  work,  and  thus  the  gospel  is  spread. 
When  these  evangelists  are  so  employed,  we  allow  the  natives  to  set- 
tle their  method  of  payment,  which  often  follows  the  native  method 
of  giving  so  many  bags  of  grain,  so  much  fuel  per  year,  and  perhaps 
the  use  of  a  house. 

In  some  cases  where  a  helper  is  allowed  by  the  mission,  the 
missionaries  associated  with  that  station  will  allow  the  use  of  half 
the  salary  of  the  helper  for  each  of  two  men,  some  native  church 
or  individuals  guaranteeing  and  supplying  the  other  half. 


448  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [September, 

Fourth.  It  is  the  mission  policy  that  there  shall  be,  wherever 
congregations  warrant  it,  church-schools  supported  by  the  church, 
and  under  the  supervision  of  the  missionary  in  charge,  stewards, 
deacons,  or  elders  as  the  case  may  be.  The  Chang  Yun  church 
above  referred  to  has  one  school,  which  is  attended  by  both  the 
boys  and  girls  of  the  congregation.  This  is  entirely  supported  by  the 
natives.  This  school  takes  the  pupils  through  the  principal  Chinese 
primary  books.  Old  and  New  Testaments,  gives  fair  grounding 
in  arithmetic,  geography,  universal  history,  and  elements  of  natural 
science.  The  Sai  Mnn  An  church  has  two  schools — one  for  boys  with 
two  teachers  and  one  for  girls  with  one  teacher.  The  course  aimed  at 
is  the  same  as  that  carried  out  in  Chang  Yun,  and  the  church  pays 
one-half  of  the  expenses  of  the  two  schools  and  the  mission  pays 
the  other  half.  It  is  the  aim  of  the  mission  to  make  all  its  church- 
schools  entirely  self-supporting.  They  are  for  the  sons  and  daughters 
of  the  Christians,  but  they  are  also  patronized  by  outsiders,  and  thus 
are  becoming  a  valuable  evangelistic  agency. 

The  mission  has  now  a  number  of  church  primary  schools  in 
different  places,  which  are  largely  supported  by  the  natives  ;  from 
these  schools  there  are  now  coming  out  young  men  and  boys  who  have 
learned  all  that  such  schools  can  teach,  but  who  have  a  strong  desire 
for  further  instruction,  who  are  ready  to  work  to  obtain  it  and  whom 
their  parents  and  guardians  are  prepared  to  send  and  support  at 
such  schools.  It  is  the  aim  of  the  mission  to  provide  such  high 
schools  or  academies  at  its  larger  stations;  the  mission  must  provide 
the  foreign  teacher,  the  salaries  of  most  of  the  native  teachers,  the 
beginning  of  an  educational  plant;  but  from  the  start  the  current 
expenses,  the  lighting  and  heating,  janitors'  wages  and  the  board  of 
the  pupils  will  be  entirely  borne  by  the  natives,  and  they  are  pre- 
pared to  give  a  considerable  sum  toward  the  establishment  of  such 
an  institution.  From  what  we  have  seen  in  the  past  we  have  no 
doubt  but  what  a  rigid  adherence  to  this  principle  will  in  but  a 
short  time  give  us  institutions  of  this  grade,  whose  only  expense  to 
the  Board  will  be  the  salaries  of  the  missionaries. 

Fifth.  In  the  training  of  our  workers  we  meet  with  the  most 
serious  problem  and  the  one  as  yet  unsolved,  but  we  believe,  as  we 
go  on  step  by  step,  God  will  solve  it  fur  us. 

We  see  no  reason  to  believe  that  in  the  early  church  there  was 
a  regular  stated  pastorate,  and  we  are  not  yet  urging  this  upon  the 
Koreans.  However,  some  few  years  ago  the  Sai  Mun  An  church  did 
issue  a  call  to  one  of  our  most  able  workers  to  come  up  and  take 
charge  of  its  work,  and  the  little  Chan  Dari  church  has  now,  for  the 
past  two  years,  told  the  young  man  who  started  the  work  there  to 
give  most  of  his  time  to  preaching  of  the  word,  and  has  promised  to 


1900.  I  AN   OBJECT   LESSON   IN   SELF-SUPPORT.  449 

supply  whatever  he  or  his  fjimily  may  hick.  lu  God's  own  time  a  reg- 
ular pastorate  will  be  established,  but  at  the  present  time  we  have 
no  distinct  theological  seminary  in  mind  for  the  immediate  future. 

Once  or  twice  a  year  the  leaders  in  our  country  and  city  work 
are  gathered  together  in  Bil)le  and  training  classes.  These  classes 
generally  last  about  a  month,  and  with  the  Bible  as  text-book  we 
try  to  direct  the  studies  of  our  leaders  and  to  fit  and  prepare  them 
for  their  work.  One  or  more  missionaries  are  usually  associated  in 
these  classes,  and  church  history,  outlines  of  systematic  theology, 
and  Bible  exegesis  are  taught.  The  practical  is  never  lost  sight 
of,  and  these  class  meetings  are  always  made  times  of  special 
evangelistic  activity  in  the  cities  in  which  they  are  held. 

In  addition,  on  our  evangelistic  tours  a  number  of  these  men 
accompany  us  ;  sometimes  at  their  own  ex[)ense,  sometimes  at  the 
expense  of  the  church  to  which  they  belong,  and  sometimes  the 
expense  is  borne  by  the  missionary.  In  this  way  these  men  receive 
a  practical  training  in  preaching  and  organization  tliat  they  could 
get  in  no  other  way.  The  foreign  missionary  with  such  a  company 
has  his  peripatetic  school,  and  generally  finds  himself  forced  to  be 
prepared  to  answer  questions  on  almost  every  subject  and  in  almost 
every  science.  I  had  to  take  a  night  march  to  do  our  work  before 
the  steamer  left,  and  while  travelling  from  the  close  of  one  service 
at  9.30  in  the  evening  to  the  next  preaching  place  at  3.30  in  the 
morning  we  had  a  most  delightful  six  hours'  study  of  astronomy  with 
our  class  of  eight  leaders. 

A  large  number  of  the  churches  freely  entertain  the  missionary 
and  his  company  while  he  visits  them,  and  so  he  in  turn  entertains 
their  leaders  for  a  month  at  the  training  class  held  in  the  city. 
This  entertainment  is  not  always  accepted,  as  some  insist  on  paying 
for  their  own  food,  and  in  most  of  our  country  circuits,  even  in  the 
larger  classes,  the  expenses  are  largely  paid  by  the  natives  them- 
selves. It  must  not  be  understood  that  a  general  invitation  is 
given  to  all  who  care  to  attend  these  classes.  The  aim  is  to  have 
only  the  picked  leaders,  and  of  these  only  the  ones  specially  asked 
by  the  missionary  in  charge  of  their  circuit  are  entertained.  Al- 
though open  to  any  one,  all  others  must  provide  for  their  own 
entertainment.  This  privilege  is  quite  largely  taken  advantage  of; 
some  men  paying  their  own  expenses  and  others  being  paid  for  by 
friends  or  native  churches.  Similar  classes  have  been  lately  started 
for  women  workers,  the  expenses  of  which  have,  to  a  great  extent, 
been  voluntarily  borne  by  the  natives. 

At  the  present  time  it  is  our  aim  to  take  these  leaders,  and  by 
means  of  these  summer  and  winter  training  and  Bible  classes,  sup- 
plemented by  the  practical  training  that  we  can  give  them  by 


450  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [September, 

associating  them  with  ns  in  our  work,  and  having  them  accompany 
ns  in  onr  itinerating  evangelistic  tours  and  assist  us  in  the  organi- 
zation of  churches — to  train  up  a  class  of  thoroughly  equipped  lead- 
ers, well  grounded  in  the  faith,  who  know  their  Bible  and  are  able 
to  give  a  reason  for  the  faith  that  is  in  them. 

As  the  work  develops,  and  better  trained  men  are  required,  and 
a  permanent  native  pastorate  is  demanded,  the  more  regular 
theological  seminary  will  be  necessary,  but  not  till  then,  and  when 
this  is  the  case  the  way  will  be  open  for  it. 

Sixth.  A  decidedly  new  departure  in  mission  work  has  been 
made  in  the  matter  of  books  and  publications  for  the  natives. 
They  not  only  pay  for  them,  but  pay  a  price  that  very  nearly  ap- 
proximates the  cost  of  production ;  the  rule  having  been  adopted 
by  the  missionaries  that  the  price  shall  exceed  the  cost  of  the  paper, 
and  latterly  the  Korean  Religious  Tract  Society  has  raised  its  price 
to  almost  the  entire  cost  of  preparation,  and  its  sales  keep  up. 

Seventh.  The  same  element  is  made  to  appear  largely  in  our 
medical  work,  the  natives  are  expected  to  pay  for  all  their  medicines, 
food,  etc.,  while  in  the  hospitals,  and  when  taking  medicine  from 
the  dispensaries  ;  no  one  of  course  is  turned  way;  medicine  is  gra- 
tuitously given  to  the  poor,  while  the  rich  are  expected  to  pay  full 
price  for  medicine  and  for  visits  to  their  homes. 

We  have  endeavored  to  present  to  you  a  few  of  the  facts 
from  Korea  and  a  general  outline  of  the  plan  followed.  We  do  not 
pretend  that  the  last  word  had  been  said,  or  that  there  is  nothing 
more  to  be  discovered,  but  that  God  has  blessed  the  system  in 
Korea  we  have,  I  think,  given  ample  proof.  After  the  first  fifteen 
years  of  work  in  Korea,  the  Presbyterian  churches^  which  have  fol- 
lowed this  system,  are  able  to  report  186  out  of  188  native  churches 
self-supporting,  with  a  baptized  membership  of  over  3,000,  con- 
tributing during  the  year  nearly  7,000  yen,  and  almost  entirely 
supporting  and  carrying  on  their  own  work. 


The  Unity  of  the  Church. 

BY  REV.   WM.   MUIRHEAD,  D.D. 

fHIS  is  one  of  the  great  teachings  of  holy  Scripture.  Christ 
earnestly  prayed  for  it  and  brought  forward  His  union  with 
the  Father  as  the  ground  and  standard  of  the  union  of  His 
disciples  with  each  other.  He  urgently  inculcated  this  duty  npon 
them  as  all  important  in  personal  character  and  conduct  and  in  the 
constitution  and  history  of  the  church.  The  apostles  enjoined  the 
same  thing  on  those  to  whom  they  wrote.     They  were  to  be  united 


1900.]  THE  UNITY  OF  THE  CHURCH.  451 

in  faith  and  love,  and  where  it  obtained  they  were  commended  in 
the  highest  manner  as  an  evidence  of  their  Christian  profession 
and  as  a  means  of  influence  on  those  around  them.  Our  Lord  iu  pray- 
ing for  it  said  that  it  was  specially  iu  t^iis  way  the  world  would  be 
led  to  believe  that  the  Father  had  sent  Him.  'J'he  fact  is  that  the 
more  clearly  and  fully  this  spirit  of  union  and  fellowship  and  action 
is  realized  and  shown  on  the  part  of  the  followers  of  Christ,  the  more 
will  there  be  a  corresponding  exemplification  of  His  character  and 
teachinj^,  an  illustration  of  His  great  object  and  aim,  and  an  attain- 
ment of  the  end  He  had  in  view  in  the  conversion  and  salvation 
of  men. 

There  are,  however,  so  many  diversities  among  those  who  bear 
the  Christian  name  as  to  make  their  unity  a  matter  of  serious 
question.  There  are  such  grievous  inconsistencies  and  apparent 
disagreements  iu  the  lives  and  characters  of  many  professing 
Christians,  and  even  of  those  who  stand  high  in  the  list,  that  the 
idea  of  peace  and  harmony,  in  the  sense  indicated,  is  looked  upon 
as  having  little  or  no  reality,  Alas  for  the  infirmities  of  human 
nature  and  the  seeming  contrarieties  in  the  Christian  church, 
arising,  to  say  the  least  of  it,  from  the  imperfection  of  Christian 
character  and  experience.  At  the  same  time  let  it  be  prominently 
maintained  that  in  the  case  of  such  as  are  the  true  followers  of 
Christ — and  happily  they  are  without  number — there  is  most  grati- 
fying evidence  of  their  union  iu  Him  and  with  each  other  iu  all  the 
essential  elements  of  Christian  life. 

Christ  illustrates  this  subject  in  a  striking  manner.  He  calls 
Himself  the  true  vine,  and  those  in  union  with  Him  are  the  branches. 
Now  the  various  branches  of  a  tree  may  differ  from  each  other  in 
outward  form  and  ajipearauce,  but  they  are  equally  connected  with 
the  parent  stock  and  have  the  same  essential  character  throughout. 
So  in  regard  to  those  who  bear  the  Christian  name;  si'ch  as  are 
really  united  to  Christ,  however  distinguished  iu  some  respects 
from  one  another,  say  in  outward  circumstances,  nationality,  train- 
ing, and  such  like,  still  bear  the  same  fnudaraeutal  relation  to  Him, 
whose  name  they  bear;  they  partake  of  the  same  spirit  of  promise 
and  nnite  in  forming  the  one  mystical  body,  of  which  Christ  is  the 
head,  as  He  is  the  true  vine,  of  which  they  are  the  branches. 

A  remarkable  definition  of  this  matter  is  given  by  the  apostle 
in  Ephesians  iv.  1-6,  on  which  we  shall  make  a  few  brief 
comments  as  being  descriptive  of  the  real  character  and  unity  of 
the  church,  the  elements  of  which  they  consist,  and  the  manner  in 
which  it  is  to  be  attained  and  observed. 

Paul  reminds  the  E[)hesian  Christians  of  their  divine  calling 
and  their  duty  iu  regard  to  it.     He  urges  them  to  act  with  all 


452  thb;  CHINESE  RECOEDEE.  [September, 

lowliness  and  meekness,  with  long  snfFering,  forbearing  one 
another  in  love.  There  was  need  for  such  characteristics  in  the 
case  of  those  who  had  received  that  divine  calling,  in  order  that  it 
might  be  rightly  represented,  and  that  they  might  secure  the  end 
and  object  supremely  connected  with  it,  the  peace  and  harmony  for 
which  they  were  inspired  by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  whose  continued 
presence  and  power  in  their  experience  and  conduct  were  dependent 
npon  it.  Following  this  we  have  a  striking  account  of  the 
spiritual  character  and  condition  of  a  Christian  church,  the 
elements  composing  it,  and  by  which  it  claims  to  be  distinguished. 
A  thorough  consideration  of  these  points  is  needful  for  the  under- 
standing and  realization  of  the  unity  in  question,  as  it  bears  on  our 
own  Christian  character  and  in  relation  to  the  native  churches 
with  which  we  have  to  do. 

1.  There  is  one  body,  that  is,  one  church.  All  who  are  the  real 
followers  of  Christ  are  one,  like  the  branches  of  a  tree  or  the  various 
members  of  the  human  frame.  It  matters  not  what  distinctions 
obtain  between  them ;  as  already  referred  to,  these  do  not  affect 
their  relation  to  Christ  or  their  standing  in  Him.  Only  let  them  be 
united  to  Him  as  the  word  of  God  enjoins,  and.  they  have  an 
equal  right  and  title  to  all  the  blessings  of  fellowship  and  com- 
munion with  Him. 

2.  One  spirit,  that  is,  the  Holy  Spirit,  inspiring,  animating, 
pervading  the  whole  man  like  the  life  everywhere  existing  in  the 
human  body.  It  is  only  as  that  spirit  obtains,  in  His 
characteristic  gifts  and  graces,  that  we  have  any  ground  for 
supposing  we  really  belong  to  Christ  and  are  in  union  with 
Him.  "  If  any  man  have  not  the  Spirit  of  Christ,  he  is  none  of 
His." 

3.  One  hope.  "  Even  as  ye  were  called  in  one  hope  of  your 
calling."  We  are  professedly  called  to  be  the  followers  of  Christ 
by  a  divine  and  spiritual  impulse,  and  are  thus  led  to  entertain  the 
hope  of  acceptance  in  the  beloved  and  admission  into  His  presence 
for  evermore.  The  blessed  hope  of  heaven  is  oar  inspiration  in 
union  with  Christ. 

4.  One  Lord,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  our  Lord  and  Saviour. 
He  is  our  Lord  in  this  capacity  and  has  claims  upon  us  of  the 
highest  and  uppermost  kind.  We  gladly  acknowledge  this  and 
bow  in  grateful  and  adoring  submission  at  His  feet. 

5.  One  faith,  the  faith  of  Christ — His  divine  person,  incarna- 
tion, holy  life,  atoning  death,  resurrection,  and  ascension  to  glory. 
Our  faith  is  fixed  and  centred  in  Him  in  these  respects.  He  is 
thus  our  Saviour  from  sin  and  all  its  consequences,  and  we  are 
transformed  into  His  likeness  through  faith  in  Him. 


1900.]  FOREGLEAMS   AND   DANGER  SIGNALS.  468 

6.  One  baptism.  We  are  thereby  dedicated  to  the  one  name 
of  the  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Ghost,  devoted  to  the  worship,  service, 
and  love  of  God  in  this  manner,  and  are  nuder  high  ohiigatiou  to 
act  accordingly. 

7.  One  God  and  father  of  all,  who  is  above  all  and  through 
all  and  in  yon  all.  That  is,  in  the  infiuitnde  of  His  being,  in  the 
material  character  of  His  relationship,  in  the  supremacy  of  His 
government,  in  the  nniversality  of  His  presence,  and  in  the  con- 
sciousness of  His  gracions  indwelling,  He  is  onr  God,  and  we  are 
nuited  to  Him,  and  form  together  one  in  Him. 

What  thoughts  are  these  for  our  prayerful  meditation  and  daily 
life  I  How  suggestive  in  reference  to  our  own  Christian  character 
and  in  relation  to  the  Christian  churches  with  which  we  have  to  do 
in  the  onward  course  of  our  missionary  work  I  How  much  should 
we  make  known  this  divine  idea  and  seek  to  promote  it  among  the 
native  Christians  that  they  might  realize  and  act  upon  it  to  a  far 
greater  extent  than  they  may  otherwise  be  expected  to  do — their 
onion  in  Christ  and  their  union  with  each  other  in  Him.  There  are 
divine  possibilities  in  this  aspect  of  the  case  to  which  we  are 
called  to  reach  forward,  and  of  which  as  yet  we  have  only  a  faint 
conception.  So  is  it  even  at  home.  We  feel  that  for  the  most  part 
we  are  really  and  truly  one  in  Christ  Jesus,  that  the  native 
churches  we  are  called  to  form  are  in  the  same  connection,  that  the 
language  of  the  apostle  on  the  subject  is  no  less  applicable  to  them 
than  it  is  to  ns ;  only  the  union  in  question  in  all  its  high  charac- 
teristics may  well  be  urged  upon  their  observance  in  the  most 
effective  manner,  that  the  diff'erences  which  obtain  amongst  them 
at  our  instance  have  no  force  or  reality  in  the  matter  of  their 
Christian  life,  or  on  the  fact  of  their  union  with  Christ  and 
acceptance  in  Him.  We  desire  this  subject  to  be  ever  borne  in 
mind  and  aimed  at  in  our  work  and  service,  that  the  prayer  of  our 
Lord  may  be  fulfilled  in  the  experience  of  oar  native  brethren,  and 
that  the  result  following  upon  it  may  be  attained,  that  the  world 
may  believe  in  His  divine  mission  for  the  salvation  of  the  world. 


Foregleams  and  Danger  Signals, 

BY  REV.   WM.   REMFRY   HUNT. 

tHE  greatest  race  in  the  world  seems  to  be  for  supremacy.     The 
glittering  prizes  of  wealth,  power,  and  authority  have  drawn 
all  nations,  peoples,  and  civilizations  into  the  arena.     It  is  a 
tremendous  contest.     Whether  we  look  from  the  moral,  political,  or 
commercial  view-point,  we  are  impressed  with  the  fact  that  the 


454  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [September, 

competition  becomes  keener  as  newly-trained  contestants  come  up 
to  the  line. 

Although  one  of  the  last  to  enter  the  circle,  the  "imperial 
race,"  as  Dr.  Williamson  loved  to  call  the  Chinese,  seems  by  no 
means  to  have  chosen  the  rear  point  in  the  race.  It  will  not  be 
the  purpose  of  this  article  to  discnss  the  place  China  should  take  in 
the  scratch ;  sufBce  to  notice  the  position  she  has  herself  assumed. 

"In  all  studies,"  says  the  Risjht  Hon.  W.  E.  Gladstone,  "  the 
light  shines  inward  from  without."  The  application  and  demonstra- 
tion of  this  principle,  as  applied  to  Chinese  evangelization  and 
emancipation,  is  obvious.  Perhaps  more  truly  can  it  be  said  of 
China  than  of  any  other  nation,  "  And  strangers  shall  build  up  thy 
walls  and  their  kings  shall  minister  unto  thee."  The  question  of 
the  hour  is,  "  What  profiteth  it  ?"  How  far,  and  in  what  way,  and 
to  which  ideal,  are  the  Chinese  looking,  after  the  peculiar  and  costly 
period  of  their  elementary  schooling  in  enlightenment  and  civilization. 

Considered  with  regard  to  her  opportunities  for  industrial 
advancement  and  general  progress  she  has  had  coveted  advantages. 
The  trouble  is  that  China  has  apparently  not  profited  by  these. 
The  position  assumed  pictures  the  Chinese  lifting  their  heads 
proudly  over  the  science  and  inventions  of  the  centuries  and  crying 
out  with  cynical  arrogance,  "  I  have  more  understanding  than  all 
my  teachers." 

It  is  this  detestable  race-pride  of  the  Chinese  which  has  built 
the  most  massive  walls,  dividing  her  from  social,  conamercial,  and 
political  intercourse.  If  China  had  been  willing  that  others  than 
the  sons  of  Han  should  be  allowed  to  [f{  ^  ;fg  ^  (go  and  come  as 
friends)  her  isolation  would  long  since  have  broken  up  and  Sinim 
would  be  enjoying  a  better  place  than  it  does  to-day  in  the  comity 
of  nations. 

Only  as  we  live  in  the  realm  of  faith  can  we  discern  the  faint 
and  distant  dawn  of  a  larger  day.  By  force  of  circumstances,  rather 
than  by  any  inherent  energy,  the  nation  is  being  aroused.  All 
around  us  are  evidences  that  a  new  life  is  imminent.  Christianity 
demands  that  Asia  must  be  born  again.  The  "  higher  education  " 
theory  advocates  her  redemption  along  the  times  of  material  and 
secular  advancement.  The  point  where  this  argument  must 
converge  is  right  here. 

'  China  must  learn  that  religion  and  conduct  must  be  identical. 
The  lessons  of  current  human  history  emphasize  this.  China  has 
crystallized  through  looking  backward.  It  is  simply  a  demonstra- 
tion of  the  philosophy  of  history.  As  witness  the  ruin  of  ancient 
Egypt,  Persia,  Greece,  and  Judea.  Is  there  not  hope,  however,  that 
China  may  be  like 


1900.]  FOREGLEAMS   AND   DANGER  SIGNALS.  466 

"  Iron  dug  from  central  gloom 
And  heated  liot  with  burning  fears, 
And  dipped  in  baths  of  hissing  tears, 
And  battered  with  tho  shocks  of  doom 
To  shape  and  use." 

It  is  as  Matthew  Arnold  has  said  :   "  Brilliant  Greece  perished 

for  lack  of  attention  to  conduct,  steadiness,  character The 

revelation  which  rules  the  world  of  to-day  is  not  Greece's  revelation, 
but  Judea's  ;  not  the  pre(iinineuee  of  art  and  science,  but  the 
preeminence  of  righteousness."  China  is  undoubtedly  the  greatest 
heathen  nation  in  the  world.  The  fruits  of  heathenism  lie  everj'- 
where  around  us.  There  is  decay  and  darkness  everywhere.  The 
population,  education,  industries,  politics,  and  ideaa  of  religion  are 
stationary.  It  has  produced  after  its  kind.  It  could  not  have  done 
otherwise. 

Heathenism  cannot  be  tabulated.  It  is  a  horrible  thing.  It  is 
deadening.  It  is  filthy.  It  is  devilish.  It  must  have  been  born 
in  hell  for,  like  its  father,  the  devil,  it  is  a  lie  from  the  beginning. 
In  his  Roman  letter  Paul  has  painted  the  type  of  character  which  is 
generally  the  product  of  non-biblical  religions.     Milton  expresses  it, 

"  Black  it  stood  as  niobt, 
Fierce  as  her  furies,  terrible  as  hell." 

Like  three  elaborate  candlesticks  the  three  religions  of  China 
stand  as  placed  in  massive  temples  in  high  places,  but  they  have 
neither  substance,  light,  nor  heat ;  and  they  represent  the  cold  and 
formal  mythology  which  neither  educates  nor  saves. 

One  of  the  saddest  thoughts  to  us  lies  in  the  fact  that  many 
lamps  go  out  in  this  impure  atmosphere.  This  is  the  danger  signal 
hoisted  !  What  does  it  mean  ?  It  is  plain  upon  the  tables,  and  he 
who  runs  may  read.  Surely  the  greatest  peril  of  the  times  and  that 
which  is  threatening  to  undermine  the  whole  range  of  missionary 
eiFort,  is  on  the  tendency  of  the  times  to  secularize  missionary  life 
and  activities. 

The  government  colleges  and  proposed  universities  want  the 
light  and  education  of  our  best  missionaries  ;  but  they  are  extremely 
careful  to  restrict  them  in  speech  and  manner,  lest  they  should 
christianize  as  well  as  educate  and  civilize.  China  is  perfectly 
willing,  and  even  anxious,  to  have  her  heathenism  whitewashed 
with  Western  science  and  teaching,  but  she  is  neither  willing,  nor 
pleased  to  "  repent  and  be  baptized  for  the  remission  of  sins." 

In  writing  a  timely  warning  to  the  Corinthian  church  on  the 
question  of  the  dignity  of  the  Christian  ministry  the  apostle  wrote  : 
"  Therefore  seeing  we  have  obtained  mercy  we  faint  not  ;  but  we 
have  renounced  the  hidden  things  of  shame,  not  walking  in  crafti- 


456  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [September, 

ness,  nor  handling  the  word  of  God  deceitfnlh^  but  by  the  manifesta- 
tion of  the  truth  commendint^  ourselves  to  every  man's  conscience 
in  the  sight  of  God.  But,  and  if  our  gospel  is  veiled,  it  is  veiled  in 
them  that  are  perishing,  in  whom  the  God  of  this  age  hath  blinded 
the  thoughts  of  the  unbelieving,  that  the  illumination  of  the  gospel 
of  the  glory  of  Christ,  who  is  the  image  of  God,  should  not  dawn 
upon  them."     (11.  Cor.  iv.  l-4t) 

We  may  be  permitted  to  use  the  figure  used  by  Rev.  Phillips 
Brooks,  D.D.,  in  his  beautiful  sermon  on  "the  Candle  of  the  Lord." 
Speaking  of  brilliant  but  useless  and  fruitless  lives  he  says : 
"There  are  unlighted  candles;  they  are  the  spirit  of  man  elaborated, 
cultivated,  finished  to  its  very  best,  but  lacking  the  last  touch  of 
God.  As  dark  as  a  row  of  silver  lamps,  all  chased  and  wrought  with 
wondrous  skill,  all  filled  with  rarest  oil,  but  all  untouched  with 
fire,  so  dark  in  this  world  is  a  long  row  of  cultivated  men  set  up 
along  the  corridors  of  some  age  of  history,  around  the  halls  of  some 
wise  university,  or  in  the  pulpits  of  some  stately  church,  to  whom 
there  has  come  no  fire  of  devotion,  who  stand  in  awe  and  reverence 
before  no  wisdom  greater  than  their  own,  who  are  proud  and  selfish, 
and  who  do  not  know  what  it  is  to  obey," 

It  is  evident,  especially  to  those  who  watch  the  currents  of 
modern  missionary  activity,  that  there  is  a  tendency  too  much  in 
the  line  of  compromise.  We  shall  gain  nothing  by  yielding  to  the 
fascinating  will-o'-the-wisp  allurements  of  classic  mythology.  All 
is  not  gold  that  glitters.  Aerolites  that  fall  from  the  heavens  are 
not  stars.  Milton  writes  of  lurid  flames  which  kindle  an  unearthy 
glare  around  the  regions  of  darkness.  Shall  we  appoint  a  com- 
mission of  earth's  highest  critics  to  appropriate  and  utilize  these 
phenomena  ? 

This  is  precisely  what  China  wants  us  to  do.  Let  us  not 
become  too  much  involved  in  heathen  wreckage,  lest  we  go  down 
with  it  in  its  ruin.  We  must  openly  rebuke  sin.  We  must  preach 
righteousness.  To  yield  in  one  point  is  to  endanger  the  promise 
of  victory.  The  apostle  Paul  met  this  same  temptation  with  the 
pedantic  philosophers  and  voluptuous  magistrates  of  Asia  Minor. 
But  he  conquered  by  "keeping  his  body  under."  He  submitted 
himself  to  severe  discipline,  "  lest  having  proclaimed  the  gospel  to 
others  1  myself  should  be  a  castaway."  What  an  exhortation  is  this 
to  u^  to-day.  Let  us  "  give  all  diligence  to  make  our  calling  and 
election  sure,"  and  in  this  luxurious,  self-seeking,  worldly  age  we 
should  feel  that  necessity  is  laid  upon  us,  and  with  the  apostle  be 
able  to  realize  that  "  woe  indeed  is  there  for  me  if  I  should  not 
evangelize  "  {pvai  yap  fxoi  tanv,  aav  fix]  eifayyiXii^wfxai).  This  is 
surely  the  stewardship  intrusted  to  us. 


1900.1  FOREGLEAMS   AND  DANGER   SIGNALS.  437 

It  would  be  interesting  as  well  as  iustrnctive,  and  {)erhaps  even 
of  practical  interest  to  the  entire  missionary  community,  if  we  could 
have  a  symposium  on  "the  evangelization  of  China"  treated  iu  the 
pages  of  the  Chinese  Recorder.  The  greatest  need  of  China  to-day 
is  not  a  foreign-drilled  army,  or  a  new  and  powerful  navy.  These 
are  all  right  in  their  place.  Nor  would  it  be  enough  if  the  govern- 
ment were  crying  out  for  colleges  on  Western  principles,  costly  and 
well  equipped  universities,  richly  stored  arsenals,  industries,  railways, 
mines,  quarries,  and  other  aids  to  using  and  utilizing  the  natural 
resources  of  the  country.  In  these  things  there  is  prospect  of 
developing  internal  wealth  and  of  gaining  external  power.  This 
would  be  all  right  if  the  Chinese  did  not  think  this  the  essence  of 
Christianity.  This  would  be  to  build  from  the  top.  China,  like 
Japan,  has  wanted  the  new  wine  in  the  old  bottles,  the  old  garment 
patched  with  new  cloth.  They  are  proud  enough  to  think  they  can 
run  this  ship  filled  with  tremendous  and  powerful  machinery  with- 
out either  chart  or  compass. 

Need  is  the  interpreter  of  truth.  Our  whole  civilization  is 
evidence  of  this.  While  we  must  adjust  ourselves  to  these  changing 
conditions  in  the  corporate  life  of  nations  we  must  not  lose  sight 
of  the  fact  that  even  adjustment  has  its  limitations.  The  gospel  is 
superior  to  all  other  faiths  and  forces.  The  same  challenge  that  it 
threw  down  to  Romans,  Greeks,  Celts,  Teutons,  Persians,  Jews,  and 
Mahommedans,  it  repeats  to-day  iu  India,  China,  and  Japan.  Chris- 
tianity is  on  trial  in  Asia.  It  will  ascend  to  its  millennial  coronation 
so  far  as  it  is  true  to  the  original  creed  and  charter  of  the  great 
commission.  These  "  marching  orders  "  of  the  church  have  had  no 
revision. 

In  these  days  of  shifting  scenes  and  trying  transitions  let  us 
stand  faithfully  on  the  divine  word  and  seek  to  know  the  Father's 
purpose.  Let  us  "  listen  for  the  signal  to  take  the  next  step  forward 
in  the  progress  of  His  great  plan  "  and  to  utilize  every  legitimate 
agency  in  the  employment  of  the  divinely  ordained  means  necessary 
for  the  instruction  and  training  of  the  Chinese  in  "all  things  that 
pertain  unto  life  and  godliness,  through  the  knowledge  of  Him  that 
called  US  by  His  own  glory  and  virtue."  This  is  the  New  Testament 
method.  It  is  the  safest  agency.  It  will  produce  the  best  results. 
The  apostles  went  out  after  prayer,  preparation,  pentecost,  and 
power.  They  were  "  witnesses  in  Jerusalem  and  in  all  Judea  and 
Samaria  and  unto  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth."  It  thus  be- 
gan at  home,  reached  the  neighbours,  and  then  went  out  to  all  the 
nations. 

"Go  ye  therefore  and  make  disciples  of  all  nations."  As  Sir 
Walter  Scott  said  :  "  Go  "  is  a  verb  iu  the  imperative  mood.     It  ia 


458  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [September, 

also  connected  with  omnipotence.  The  "all  power"  immediately 
precedes  it.  It  also  snrronuds  it,  supports  it,  gives  it  dynamic 
force,  and  assures  it  of  universal  and  triumphant  victory. 

"  Would'st  thou  go  forth  to  bless, 
Be  sure  of  thine  own  ground  ; 
Fix  well  th}'  centre  first 
Then  draw  the  circle  round  " 

nntil  "  the  wilderness  and  the  solitary  place  shall  be  glad  ;  and  the 
desert  shall  rejoice  and  blossom  as  the  rose." 


The  "  Exodus  "  from  North  Eomn. 

kitory  of  the  flight  of  the  members  of  the  Canadian  Presbyterian 
Mission,  as  told  by  T.  Cratgie  Hood. 

2]^  VERYTHING  seemed  perfectly  quiet  in  North  Honan  when 
(^^^  on  June  4th  Drs.  McClure  and  Menzies,  with  their  families,  and 
Dr.  Margaret  S.  Wallace  set  out  by  houseboat  for  Pei- 
tai-ho  via  Tientsin.  We  had  no  thought  of  being  disturbed,  except 
perhaps  that  a  famine,  whose  certain  coming  became  every  day  more 
evident  as  the  rain  held  off,  might  cause  us  trouble.  Scarcely  a  week 
had  gone  by  when  news  came  to  us  of  the  Pao-ting-fu  trouble,  and  we 
found  our  mail  service  cut  off  and  our  communication  with  the  out- 
side world  broken.  This  gave  us  no  alarm,  however,  and  we  expected 
that  a  few  weeks  would  see  things  righted.  But  this  was  not  to  be 
the  case.  On  June  14th  we  received,  via  Liu-ch'ing,  a  telegram 
which  ran  somewhat  as  follows:  "Travelling  toward  Tientsin 
unsafe,  foreign  troops  rescuing  Peking,  all  escape  south."  We 
decided  to  stand  at  our  post  until  we  should  have  greater  reason 
than  this  seemed  to  give  for  leaving.  We  could  not  think  that 
the  Boxer  trouble  would  spread  so  far  inland.  But  the  very  next 
day,  June  15th,  a  local  disturbance  arose.  That  morning  a  Chinese 
woman  was  washing  the  upstairs  windows  of  Mr.  Mackenzie's  new 
foreign-built  house  at  Ch'u-wang,  when  some  women  on  the  street 
caught  sight  of  her  and  immediately  started  the  report  that  just  as 
the  clouds  were  gathering  and  the  rain  beginning  to  fall  the  "  foreign 
devils  "  were  seen  waving  a  cloth  with  strange  characters  on  it,  and 
this  drove  the  clouds  away.  A  fruit-seller  spread  the  report  through 
the  town,  and  soon  a  mob  of  about  1,000  people  were  at  the  com- 
pound gate  clamoring  for  admittance,  and  could  scarce  be  restrained 
even  by  the  officials.  The  days  that  followed  were  anxious  ones. 
Every  few  days  the  mob  would  become  frantic  and  threaten  the 
lives  of  the  missionaries.     Reports  from  the  north  of  alleged  Boxer 


1000.]  THE  "exodus"   from   NORTH    HONAN.  469 

successes,  and  a  report  that  Dr.  McClure  and  party  had  been  mur- 
dered, added  fuel  to  the  fire.  Still  the  officials  and  the  native  Chris- 
tians said :  "  Don't  go,"  and  we  hoped  to  be  able  to  stay.  On  June 
25th  we  received  a  telegram  from  Dr.  McClure,  who  had  escaped 
with  his  party  to  Chi-nan-fu,  having  been  stopped  by  the  P'ang- 
ch'wang  missionaries  in  time  to  prevent  their  running  right  into  the 
death-trap  before  them.  This  telegram  said  :  "  Powers  occupy  Taku, 
consuls  urge  all  foreigners  leave,  come  immediately  to  Chi-nan, 
gteamer  waiting."  This,  added  to  the  local  troubles,  decided  us  to 
leave.  We  thought  that  with  a  good  escort  we  could  get  through  to 
Chi-nan  and  thus  have  only  six  days  by  cart  instead  of  two  weeks 
should  we  have  to  go  south  to  Fan-ch'eng,  But  at  the  last  moment 
the  officials  refused  to  give  us  an  escort  across  the  portion  of  Chili 
province  lying  between  us  and  Shantung,  uor  would  they  send  ahead 
to  arrange  for  an  escort.  Moreover,  <;arts  wouhl  not  go  that  route  for 
any  money.  We  were  compelled  to  take  the  southern  route.  On 
June  27th  the  Ch'u-wang  friends  left  their  station  and  came  to 
Chang-te.  They  left  not  a  day  too  soon.  The  night  before  had 
been  spent  by  thoni  in  a  Chinese  home  that  was  kindly  thrown 
open  to  them.  The  mob  had  already  begun  to  loot  some  of  the 
houses  that  night,  and  next  morning,  a  couple  of  hours  after  they 
left,  their  houses,  dispensaries,  hospital  buildings,  and  chapel  were 
being  torn  down.  We  left  Chang-te  with  ten  carts  early  next 
morning,  June  28th,  having  been  provided  with  a  good  escort. 
On  July  1st  we  reached  the  Yellow  River,  and  there  joined  the  mem- 
bers of  our  third  station,  Hsin  chen.  They  were  travelling  with 
Messrs.  Jameson,  Reid,  and  Fisher,  of  the  Peking  Syndicate,  who 
had  a  good  escort. 

All  that  week  we  wended  our  way  to  the  southward;  the  two 
parties  keeping  pretty  well  in  touch  with  one  another,  always  stop- 
ping at  the  same  town  over  night.  Saturday,  July  7th,  we  reached 
a  region  which  seemed  to  be  very  much  disturbed.  Our  escort 
had  gradually  dwindled  down  till  we  had  none  at  all.  Mr.  Jameson 
felt  that  his  escort  was  not  sufficient  to  protect  both  parties,  so  he 
decided  to  leave  our  party  at  Hsin-tien  while  he  pressed  on  thirty 
li  to  Nan-yang-fu  to  ask  for  an  escort  for  us  and  for  his  own  party. 
We  had  scarcely  got  settled  in  our  inn  at  Hsin-tien  when  the  mayor 
of  the  town  came  to  us  and  told  us  that  a  gang  of  about  100  were 
going  to  attack  us  and  rob  us.  He  advised  us  to  buy  them  off  with 
a  few  tens  of  silver,  but  we  refused,  for  we  felt  that  this  would  not 
ensure  us  against  their  even  then  taking  what  might  be  left  We 
barricaded  our  inn  doors  with  carts,  etc.,  and  prepared  to  defend 
ourselves  as  best  we  could,  meanwhile  sending  word  of  the  threat  to 
Mr.   Jameson.     The   night   passed   without    our    being  disturbed. 


460  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [September, 

About  8  o'clock  next  morning  word  came  from  Mr.  Jameson  that 
the  official  would  neither  see  him  nor  give  him  or  us  an  escort.  We 
must  all  get  through  as  best  we  could.  Mr.  Jameson  had  already 
shared  his  escort  with  us.  We  left  the  inn  at  Hsin-tien  at  about 
8.30  a.m.  The  streets  were  packed  with  people,  and  over  the  city 
gate  hung  hundreds  of  spectators  upon  the  wall.  The  crowd  out- 
side the  gate  has  been  estimated  at  10,000.  But  these  were  not  the 
fiends,  except  that  now  we  think  they  took  a  fiendish  delight  in 
watching  us  pass  on  to  what  they  thought  was  our  doom.  Outside 
of  this  crowd  we  were  passing  along  an  ordinary  deep  Chinese  road 
where  there  was  showered  down  upon  us  a  perfect  hail-storm,  of 
stones,  bricks,  clubs,  etc.,  etc.  The  carters  whipped  up  the  animals 
and  made  a  mad  dash  to  get  through,  but  the  mob  shot  and  slashed 
and  pounded  the  mules  till  they  were  killed  or  disabled,  and  thus 
brought  us  to  a  standstill.  My  cart  was  wedged  in  among  four  or 
five  others.  My  first  glance  about  me  told  me  that  the  fearful  fight 
was  on.  The  swords  and  spears  and  clubs  were  now  turned,  not 
against  the  mules  but  against  the  missionaries.  In  front  of  me  Mr. 
Griffith  was  sitting  in  his  cart ;  the  blood  streaming  from  his  fore- 
head and  hands.  The  second  stone  thrown  at  him  had  smashed  his 
revolver  in  pieces.  A  sweep  with  a  sword  had  been  aimed  at  his 
head,  but  his  hat  prevented  it  making  a  very  deep  gash.  He  sprang 
from  the  cart,  and  seizing  a  club  that  lay  near,  defended  himself 
against  the  brute  who  was  attacking  him.  On  my  right  Mr. 
Mackenzie  was  valiantly  defending  his  wife  and  little  son,  while  his 
upper  garments  were  literally  saturated  with  his  own  blood.  On  the 
left  was  Mr.  Goforth,  being  beaten  over  the  head  with  clubs,  any 
blow  from  which  was  enough  to  kill  him  had  he  not  been  able  to 
ward  them  off  to  some  extent.  When  I  glanced  toward  him  again 
the  blood  was  streaming  from  an  ugly  sword -gash  in  the  back  of  his 
head  and  from  a  cut  in  his  left  arm.  The  ladies  and  children  had 
been  ordered  from  the  carts,  and  stood  in  different  places  while  the 
stones  and  bricks  flew  about  them  in  all  directions.  I  did  not  see 
Dr.  Leslie  attacked.  I  am  thankful  I  did  not  see  that  awful 
hacking. 

Well,  all  this  and  far  more  (for  I  haven't  said  anything  about 
the  soldiers  who  fought  so  nobly  for  us  and  who  were  slashed  and 
stabbed  and  trampled  under  their  horses'  feet  right  before  my  eyes) 
passed  before  me  in  far  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it.  Stones 
hurled  in  at  the  front  of  my  cart  told  me  that  it  was  time  to  leave 
it.  I  got  down  and  seized  a  rock  and  thought  that  with  this  I'd 
try  to  keep  the  fiends  at  a  safe  distance.  In  a  few  moments  there 
came  a  lull  in  tho  fight ;  all  seemed  to  be  busy  with  the  looting, 
except  the   brute   who   had   attacked    Mr.   Griffith   and   had  also 


1900.]  THE  "exodus"  from  north  HON  an.  461 

attacked  Mr.  Mackenzie  several  times.  He  still  stood  and  threatened 
to  kill  us,  while  he  swung  his  sword  about  his  head  in  the  fiercest 
fashion  possible.  I  think  I  never  saw  such  a  hellish  look  on  a 
human  ftice.  At  last  he  snatched  a  pig-skin  trunk  that  Mr.  Griffith 
threw  to  him,  snatched  it  as  a  ravenous  wolf  would  snatch  a  child, 
and  ran  off  to  his  companions  to  see  what  it  contained.  Some  of 
our  number  had  already  escaped  from  the  scene  of  conflict,  and  we 
who  were  left,  taking  advantage  of  the  lull,  gathered  ourselves 
together  into  a  little  company  and  began  to  walk  slowly  away.  We 
were  twice  surrounded  by  men  with  swords  and  daggera  and  com- 
pelled to  give  up  our  watches,  rings,  etc.  They  even  took  parts  of 
our  clothing,  leaving  us  barely  enough  to  cover  ourselves.  It  was 
an  hour  or  so  before  we  knew  that  every  member  of  the  party  had 
got  away  alive.  Mr.  Goforth  was  quite  seriously  wounded.  He  and 
his  family  were  taken  in  by  a  Mohammedan  family  and  kindly 
cared  for.  Dr.  Leslie  was  very  seriously  wounded.  Mr.  Mackenzie 
and  Mr.  Griffith's  wounds  were  of  a  superficial  nature.  The  rest  of 
us  (seven  adults  and  five  children)  had  escaped  practically  without  a 
bruise  or  a  scratch.  Dr.  Leslie  had  been  hacked  twelve  or  fifteen 
times.  There  is  scarcely  any  hope  that  he  will  ever  have  the 
proper  use  of  his  right  leg  or  his  right  hand  again.  After  he  had 
received  all  these  wounds,  and  he  and  Mrs.  Leslie  were  away  from 
the  carts  altogether,  a  fiend  came  up  to  attack  them  again,  and 
would  have  killed  them  (the  doctor  surely  couldn't  bear  much  more) 
when,  raising  his  revolver  in  his  left  hand  the  doctor  sent  the  last 
bullet  he  had  into  the  fiend's  face  and  drove  him  away,  we  believe 
to  pay  for  his  morning's  folly  with  his  life.  Just  at  this  stage  my 
"  boy "  whipped  out  one  of  the  carts,  picked  up  one  of  the  ladies 
and  one  of  the  children  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Leslie,  and  thus  they 
escaped  after  having  passed  through  the  ordeal  of  being  searched  on 
the  way  as  we  had  been.  When  we  overtook  the  cart  the  doctor  had 
lost  so  much  blood  that  he  could  scarcely  speak.  One  of  the  ladies 
tore  her  underskirt  into  bandages  and  Dr.  Dow  hastened  to  bind  up 
his  wounds.  The  carter  took  him  on  for  five  or  six  li  and  then  declar- 
ed he  would  go  no  farther.  We  had  to  carry  the  doctor  into  a  small 
guard-house  by  the  roadside  and  lay  him  on  some  straw  mats. 
There  we  were  with  no  food,  no  "  cash,"  and  no  means  of  going 
forward.  A  crowd  soon  gathered  about  us  again,  and  again  was 
our  story  told,  but  do  you  think  a  single  heart  was  touched  ?  Those 
hearts  were  hard  as  the  nether  mill-stone.  Words  couldn't  move 
them,  blood  couldn't  move  them,  distress  couldn't  move  them,  God 
couldn't  move  them  without  a  miracle. 

Towards   evening   a    military    official    from    Nan-yang-fu   and 
twenty  or  thirty  horse-soldiers  came  along,  and  we  hoped  they  would 


462  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [September, 

help  us.  Word  had  been  sent  to  the  officials  of  the  robbery,  and 
these  soldiers  had  been  sent  out  to  look  into  the  matter.  Shortly 
after  they  reached  us  our  carts  unexpectedly  came  along,  and  we  got 
on  them,  expecting  that  the  soldiers  would  escort  us  into  the  city, 
whither  it  was  necessary  for  us  to  go,  as  our  only  hope  of  getting 
money.  But  instead  of  escorting  us  they  deliberately  rode  off  and 
left  us  to  get  along  as  best  we  could.  The  crowd  from  the  city 
came  out  for  half  a  mile  or  more  to  meet  us,  and  as  we  passed  on,  it 
gathered  fiends  as  a  flood  gathers  debris.  We  managed  to  get  into 
an  inn,  but  we  weren't  the  only  ones  who  got  in.  Officiols  were  sent 
for,  but  would  do  nothing  to  keep  the  crowds  out.  They  ordered  us 
to  leave  at  once.  We  demanded  (we  co'uld  afford  to  talk  strongly, 
it  was  a  case  of  desperation)  food  and  money  and  protection.  They 
brought  us  food  and  nineteen  tiao  and  promised  an  escort  of  twenty 
horse  and  forty  foot-soldiers  and  said  we  must  go  at  once.  We 
refused  to  move  until  the  escort  should  appear ;  we  waited  in  vain ; 
at  least  as  far  as  that  number  of  soldiers  was  concerned.  At  last 
eight  or  ten  foot-soldiers  appeared,  and  as  it  was  after  midnight, 
and  things  were  black,  we  concluded  we  had  better  start-  The 
people  told  us  we  would  not  be  allowed  to  get  out  alive.  The 
soldiers  and  officials  went  to  our  servants  and  tried  to  persuade 
them  to  leave  us  as  we  were  all  to  be  killed.  The  Roman  Catholics 
of  the  place  were  defending  themselves  in  a  "  chai,"  and  we  were  to 
be  murdered  before  this  to  tevrify  them.  Why  we  were  allowed  to 
escape  we  shall  perhaps  never  know.  In  getting  out  of  the  city  Mr. 
Griffith  and  Paul  Goforth  (aged  nine)  were  mysteriously  separated 
from  the  party,  and  we  saw  nothing  more  of  them  till  midnight  next 
night  when  they  managed  to  overtake  us.  That  day  we  passed 
through  a  very  disturbed  region.  Thousands  of  people  rushed 
wildly  through  the  country.  They  would  gather  in  mobs  by  the 
roadside  and  await  our  coming.  If  we  were  stopped  once  that  day 
we  were  stopped  thirty  times  and  would  have  been  robbed  as  often 
had  we  had  anything  they  could  take.  The  carters  made  matters 
worse  by  driving  at  a  mad  rate.  Imagine,  if  you  can,  what  Dr. 
Leslie  must  have  suffered  as  he  lay  flat  in  the  cart,  his  head  bump- 
ing over  the  axle,  and  his  wounded  limbs  jolting  about.  Imagine 
what  the  women  and  children  suffered,  for  all  the  carts  were 
practically  without  quilts,  cushions,  etc.  That  night  at  Hsing-yie- 
hsien  the  officials  offered  us  four  tiao.  Mr.  Jameson  had  heard  of 
the  robbery,  and  immediately  sent  a  man  back  to  meet  us  with  fifty 
taels  of  silver,  and  this  reached  us  in  time  to  enable  us  to  refuse 
the  four  tiao.  However,  those  officials  gave  us  a  splendid  escort,  and 
next  da}',  although  thousands  of  people  lined  the  roads,  neither  man  nor 
boy  dared  open  mouth  against  us,  so  well  did  those  soldiers  do  their 


1900.]         THE  REFORM  MOVEMENT  IN  CHINA.  46S 

work.  We  reached  Fan-ch'eng  that  evening,  Tuesday,  July  lOtb^ 
about  8  o'clock,  just  fourteen  days  from  the  time  the  start  was  made. 
The  members  of  the  Peking  Syndicate  supplied  us  liberally  with 
silver,  and  they  and  the  Hsin-chen  friends  gave  us  what  clothing 
they  could  spare.  There  was  a  real  "community  of  goods"  for  the 
remainder  of  the  trip. 

Both  parties  boarded  the  house-boats  shortly  after  midnight  the 
next  night,  and  were  escorted  down  the  Han  river  by  two  Chinese 
gun-boats  provided  by  Chang  Chih-tung  We  reached  Hankow 
in  about  ten  days,  having  been  towed  for  the  last  three  hundred  li 
by  a  steam  launch  sent  out  by  the  Consuls  at  Hankow,  At  Han- 
kow we  boarded  the  Kiang-yu,  immediately  on  our  arrival  there, 
and  we  were  able  to  feel  that  the  hard  part  of  our  journey  was  past. 
We  arrived  in  Shanghai  on  Tuesday,  24th  July,  just  four  weeks  from 
the  time  we  had  left  our  station.  Here  we  were  met  by  Dr.  McClure, 
who  informed  us  that  all  the  other  members  of  our  mission  were  safe  ; 
he  and  those  with  him  having  escaped  via  Chi-nan-fu  to  Chefoo. 
God  was  indeed  good,  in  that  He  spared  the  life  of  every  member 
of  the  mission.  The  flight  had  been  hard,  but  its  lessons  for  us  were 
not  a  few.  We  were  shown  how  helpless  we  are  and  what  a  mighty 
God  is  ours.  We  understand  more  fully  than  we  ever  before  under- 
stood the  greatness  of  that  greatest  of  all  the  great  needs — the  need 
of  giving  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  to  the  heathen,  especially  the 
Chinese  heathen. 


The  Reform  Movement  in  China. 

BY  ISAAC  TAYLOR  HEADLAND. 

tHE  present  uprising  in  China  is  in  some  respects  the  result  of 
the  reform  movement  which  began  more  than  two  years  ago. 
Let  us  follow  the  gradual  growth  of  the  reform  movement 
and  see  how  one  condition  has  been  the  logical  outcome  of  another 
until  the  present  condition  has  been  reached. 

From  the  time  of  the  introduction  of  Christianity  into  China 
until  the  present  the  Missions  of  all  churches  have  had  schools  con- 
nected with  their  work,  and  from  these  schools  have  gone  out  a 
great  number  of  young  men  who  have  taken  positions  in  all  depart- 
ments of  business,  and  many  of  State,  and  revealed  to  the  officials  as 
well  as  to  many  of  the  people  the  power  which  foreign  education 
lends.  An  imperial  college  was  soon  established  by  the  imperial 
customs  service  for  the  special  education  of  young  men  for  diplo- 
matic and  other  services,  and  from  this  school  have  gone  out  young 


464  THE  CHINESE  EECORDER.  [September, 

men  who  are  the  representatives  of  the  government  as  consuls  or 
ministers  in  the  various  countries  of  Europe  and  America ;  and 
these,  together  with  the  students  who  were  sent  to  Europe  and 
America,  have  had  a  vast  influence  in  governmental  affairs,  though 
in  only  a  few  cases  directly  connected  with  the  government  at  home. 

This  influence  was  such  that  the  government  began  the  estab- 
lishment of  schools  and  arsenals,  with  which  there  were  connected 
numerous  scholars,  who  did  a  large  amount  of  translating  and 
publishing  of  many  books  which  had  had  a  molding  or  controlling 
influence  on  Western  governments,  or  which  were  the  outcome  of 
conditions  in  the  West.  In  addition  to  these  were  many  tract 
societies  which  published  a  healthy  kind  of  religious  literature  and 
a  "  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  General  and  Christian  Knowledge," 
which  published  translations  or  digests  of  not  only  the  most  noted 
books  on  religion,  but  also  such  books  as  Mackenzie's  "  Nineteenth 
Century,"  Strong's  "Our  Country,"  Bellamy's  "Looking  Backward." 
These,  with  all  kinds  of  scientific  books  on  astronomy,  physiology, 
chemistry,  physics,  geography,  and  other  subjects  of  a  like  nature, 
were  distributed  among  the  students  at  their  annual  or  triennial 
examinations,  and  were  sold  at  Chinese  shops,  not  only  at  the  open 
ports,  but  in  many  of  the  large  cities  in  every  province  in  the 
empire. 

This  class  of  work  brought  out  a  noted  utterance  from  the  pen 
(or  brush)  of  the  great  Viceroy  Chang  Chih-tung,  a  man  who  ranks 
with  Li  Hung-chang,  in  which  he  urged  that  the  members  of  the 
diplomatic  body  in  various  foreign  countries  translate  or  secure  the 
translation  into  Chinese  of  all  the  best  books  in  the  languages  of  the 
countries  in  which  they  happen  to  be  stationed.  He  called  the  old 
conservatives  "  mossbacks"  and  urged  that  the  printers  and  book- 
sellers in  all  the  open  ports  print  large  editions  of  good  books  on 
government,  international  law,  political  economy,  and  kindred  topics, 
and  scatter  them  broadcast  throughout  the  land.  This  book  was 
printed  by  the  Tsung-li  Yamen  and  advertised  by  yellow  posters  on 
the  walls  in  all  the  streets  of  the  capital  as  well  as  in  other  cities. 

The  fever  for  reading  these  books  was  so  great  as  to  tax  to  the 
utmost  the  presses  of  the  ports  to  produce  them,  and  some  of  the 
societies  feared  that  a  condition  was  arising  which  they  were  un- 
prepared for.  Books  written  by  such  men  as  Dr.  Allen,  Dr.  Mateer, 
and  Dr.  Martin,  and  even  the  large  dictionary  by  S.  Wells  Williams, 
and  the  English-Chinese  edition  of  the  Four  Books  by  Dr.  Legge, 
were  brought  out  in  pirated  photographic  reproductions  by  the 
book-shops  of  Shanghai  and  sold  at  from  one-tenth  to  one-fifteenth 
of  the  cost  of  the  original  work.  Authors  soon  discovered  that  they 
must  protect  themselves,  and   the  pirates  were  in  some  cases  com- 


1900.]  THE   REFORM   MOVEMENT   IN    CHINA.  465 

pelled  to  deliver  over  to  authors  the  stereotype  plates  which  they 
had  thus  made,  to  avoid  being  brought  before  the  officials  in 
litigation. 

It  was  while  this  was  going  on  that  the  matter  was  taken  up 
by  the  government  and  introduced  into  the  examinations ;  it 
compelled  the  students  to  be  examined  in  mathematics  and  other 
phases  of  Western  thought  if  they  hoped  to  secure  their  degrees. 
This,  of  course,  made  certain  phases  of  Western  education  very 
general  among  the  official  class ;  and  what  gets  to  the  official  class 
becomes  more  or  less  known,  with  a  greater  or  less  (usually  less) 
degree  of  accuracy,  by  the  people.  For  although  the  Chinese  have 
no  newspapers,  as  we  look  upon  newspapers,  yet  every  man,  woman, 
and  child  is  a  herald,  gazette,  or  journal,  to  be  read  by  his  next 
door  neighbor  ;  and  though  his  informf^ftion  is  not  correct  it  is 
nearly  as  correct  as  that  of  similar  news-carriers  of  the  West,  and 
serves,  as  these  do,  to  awaken  the  people  to  a  realization  that 
something  is  going  on  somewhere  else  in  the  world. 

While  this  book-making  was  going  on  in  the  ports,  business 
intercourse  with  China  was  gradually  growing.  The  telegraph  was 
carrying  messages  from  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other; 
Chinese  merchants  were  carrying  on  commerce  by  means  of  a  large 
steamship  company;  trade  grew  up  in  cloth,  nails,  clocks,  watches, 
toys,  lamps,  and  afterwards  in  candies,  wines,  and  liquors  ;  and  then 
all  kinds  of  groceries,  dry-goods,  and  general  merchandize  began  to 
be  carried  to  the  interior  cities,  towns,  and  village  fairs,  and  the 
Chinese  began  to  use  the  goods  of  the  people  whom  they  had  learned 
to  hate  as  "  foreign  devils." 

This  desire  for  foreign  goods,  toys,  and  inventions,  very  early  in 
his  life  reached  the  child  Kwang  Hsii  (the  present  Emperor)  and 
became  a  passion  with  him,  so  that  it  is  said  that  the  part  of  the 
palace  which  he  occupied  was  a  very  museum  of  all  the  most 
ingenious  contrivances,  wonderful  inventions,  and  attractive  pro- 
ductions of  the  West.  These  were  collected  and  presented  to  him  by 
officials,  who  hoped  through  them  to  secure  his  favor  and  obtain 
official  position.  Phonographs,  telephones,  gramophones,  grapho- 
phones,  and  every  kind  oi  graph  and  phone  which  was  calculated  to 
open  the  eyes  of  the  young  man  or  tickle  his  fancy,  were  purchased 
for  him,  presented  to  him,  or  bought  by  him.  So  that  it  is  probable 
that  few  people  in  the  world  had  a  larger  collection  of  the  wonders 
of  modern  invention  than  the  young  Emperor  himself. 

But  when  he  had  passed  his  majority  his  tastes  began  to 
change.  He  stepped  out  of  the  kindergarten  into  the  school.  He 
took  up  the  study  of  the  English  language,  which  opened  up  to  him 
the  portals  of  a  new  world.    And  when  the  ladies  of  China  presented 


466  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [September, 

to  the  Empress-Dowager  the  New  Testament  printed  with  new  type, 
on  special  paper,  bound  in  silver,  incased  in  a  silver  box,  which  was 
again  inclosed  in  a  plush  case,  the  young  Emperor  the  next  day  sent 
to  the  office  of  the  American  Bible  Society  to  purchase  copies  of 
both  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  such  as  that  (Society  was  selling 
to  his  people.  He  began  at  once  the  study  of  the  Gospel  of  Luke. 
Of  this  I  have  positive  proof,  because  one  of  the  members  of  the 
church  of  which  I  was  five  years  pastor  was  a  gardener  and  florist, 
and  took  flowers  and  produce  into  the  palace  daily,  where  the 
eunuchs  became  so  interested  in  the  Bible  and  kindred  topics  that 
it  was  with  difficulty  he  could  get  away  when  he  went  in  to  trade 
with  them.  On  one  occasion  they  gave  him  his  dinner  so  that  he 
might  stay  longer  and  talk  with  them ;  on  another  occasion  they 
gave  him  three  hundred  ounces  of  silver,  saying  that  he  need  not 
return  it,  but  that  they  would  take  it  out  in  flowers ;  on  another 
they  invited  him  and  my  assistant  pastor  to  dine  with  them ;  and 
on  still  another  occasion  three  of  them  came  with  him  to  call  on  me 
that  they  might  have  a  view  of  a  "  foreign  devil  "  and  his  home. 

To  the  study  of  English  and  the  Bible  by  the  young  Emperor  is 
largely  due  the  waves  of  influence  that  passed  over  the  officials  and 
their  sons.  There  was,  not  only  at  Peking,  but  throughout  the 
empire,  a  rush  toward  the  requirement  of  foreign  languages,  especi- 
ally English,  and  a  knowledge  of  all  kinds  of  foreign  affairs. 
Letters  and  telegrams  came  to  us  at  the  Peking  university  from  ail 
over  the  empire  asking  us  to  reserve  room  for  the  senders  in  the 
school ;  and  with  the  letters  came  the  price  of  tuition,  that  the  place 
might  be  obtained.  Among  those  who  came  were  the  grandson  of 
the  tutor  of  His  Majesty,  several  graduates  of  various  degrees,  among 
whom  were  men  of  rank,  and  the  sons  of  wealthy  men  who  had  not 
yet  obtained  degrees.  Schools  were  established  for  the  teaching 
and  study  of  English ;  some  private,  others  under  patronage  of  the 
government.  Constant  requests  came  to  our  graduates  to  teach 
English  in  official  families,  so  that  my  assistant  pastor,  who  was  a 
good  English  scholar,  was  permitted  to  give  up  his  salary  as  a 
preacher  and  to  teach  English  for  a  living,  which  work  he  continued 
for  some  two  or  three  years,  all  the  time  preaching  for  nothing  and 
dropping  seeds  and  spreading  an  influence  in  those  official  families, 
which  will  prevent  their  ever  being  opposers  of  Christianity  or  the 
church  in  the  future. 

But  toys  and  inventions,  the  study  of  English  and  the  Bible  by 
the  Emperor,  were  only  methods  of  trying  his  wings  for  longer 
flights.  He  soon  began  a  thorough  investigation  of  all  phases  of 
foreign  learning.  He  began  to  purchase  all  kinds  of  foreign  books 
which  had  been  translated  into  Chinese,  as  well  as  all  kinds  that 


1900.]  THE  REFORM   MOVEMENT  IN  CHINA.  4d7 

had  been  written  in  Chinese  by  foreign  scholars,  or  by  Chinese 
versed  in  foreign  learning.  These  books  embraced  such  topics  as 
inbernational  law,  political  economy,  chemistry,  physics,  botany, 
astronomy,  mathematical  books,  books  on  medicine  and  kindred 
topics,  together  with  books  on  all  phases  of  Christianity  now 
preached  or  taught  in  the  Middle  Kingdom.  During  this  time  an 
eunuch  from  the  palaee  came  to  me  daily  seeking  a  new  book  for 
His  Majesty,  and  I  was  forced  to  look  through  the  Tract  Society,  our 
own  university  publications,  and  finally  through  my  private  library, 
even  giving  him  my  wife's  medical  books.  The  eunuch  said  that  he 
dared  not  return  a  single  day  without  taking  back  something  new, 
though  it  were  nothing  but  a  sheet  tract.  Not  long  after  the  coup 
d'etat  a  man  came  to  me  and,  kneeling,  begged  me  to  save  his  life 
and  let  him  join  the  church,  saying  that  he  was  a  friend  of  this 
book-buying  eunuch  who,  he  said,  had  been  banished  by  the  Dowa- 
ger, and  he  was  himself  in  danger  of  losing  his  head. 

It  was  during  the  time  the  Emperor  was  thus  engaged  in  the 
study  of  foreign  affairs  that  the  young  scholars  of  the  empire 
organized  a  reform  club  in  Peking  for  the  promotion  of  foreign 
learning,  and  subscribed  and  sent  for  all  the  leading  newspapers  and 
magazines  of  both  Europe  and  America.  It  was  hoped  that  these 
young  men  would  be  an  element  in  China  which  would  bring  about 
a  reformation  similar  to  that  brought  about  in  Japan.  Nor  is  thia 
hope  entirely  abandoned  either  by  those  who  know  them  or  by  the 
young  scholars  themselves  ;  for  though  at  present  they  have  all  lost 
their  official  positions  they  are  continuing  their  foreign  studies  and 
preparing  themselves  for  a  time,  which  will  soon  come,  let  us  hope, 
when  the  empire  will  begin  a  movement  which  will  not  end  until 
the  richness  of  its  resources  and  the  quality  of  its  people  shall  have 
been  realized  by  the  Western  world. 

The  Emperor  then  began  to  issue  a  series  of  reform  edicts,  the 
most  remarkable  that  have  ever  been  issued,  perhaps,  by  any  ruler 
in  any  country  in  the  same  length  of  time.  Grant  that  they  were 
too  hasty,  it  must  be  admitted  by  every  careful  student  of  them  that 
there  is  not  one  that  would  not  have  been  of  the  greatest  possible 
benefit  to  the  country  if  they  had  been  properly  put  into  operation. 
Let  me  summarize  them  : — 

1.  The  establishment  of  a  university  at  Peking. 

2.  The  sending  of  Imperial  clansmen  to  foreign  cotmtries  to 
study  the  forms  and  conditions  of  European  and  American 
government. 

3.  The  encouragement  of  art,  science,  and  modern  agriculture. 

4.  The  Emperor  expressed  himself  as  willing  to  hear  the  ob- 
jections of  the  conservatives  to  progress  and  reform. 


468  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [September, 

5.  Abolished  the  literary  essay  as  a  prominent  part  of  the 
government  examinations. 

6.  Censured  those  who  attempted  to  delay  the  establishment  of 
the  Peking  Imperial  university. 

7.  Urged  that  the  Lee-han  railway  should  be  carried  on  with 
more  vigor  and  expedition. 

8.  Advised  the  adoption  of  Western  arms  and  drill  for  all  the 
Tartar  troops. 

9.  Ordered  the  establishment  of  agricultural  schools  in  the 
provinces  to  teach  the  farmers  improved  methods  of  agriculture. 

10.  Ordered  the  introduction  of  patent  and  copyright  laws, 

11.  The  Board  of  War  and  the  Foreign  Office  were  ordered  to 
report  on  the  reform  of  the  military  examinations. 

12.  Special  rewards  were  offered  to  inventors  and  authors. 

13.  The  officials  were  ordered  to  encourage  trade  and  assist 
merchants. 

14.  School  boards  were  ordered  established  in  every  city  in 
the  empire. 

15.  A  bureau  of  mines  and  railroads  was  established. 

16.  Journalists  were  encouraged  to  write  on  all  political  subjects. 

17.  Naval  academies  and  training-ships  were  ordered. 

18.  The  ministers  and  provincial  authorities  were  called  upon 
to  assist  the  Emperor  in  his  work  of  reform. 

19.  Schools  were  ordered  in  connection  with  all  the  Chinese 
legations  in  foreign  countries  for  the  benefit  of  the  children  of 
Chinese  in  those  countries. 

20.  Commercial  bureaus  were  ordered  in  Shanghai  for  the 
encouragement  of  trade. 

21.  Six  utterly  useless  Boards  in  Peking  were  abolished. 

22.  The  right  to  memorialize  the  throne  by  sealed  memorials 
was  granted  to  all  who  desired  to  do  so. 

23  Two  presidents  and  four  vice-presidents  of  the  Board  of 
Rites  were  dismissed  for  disobeying  the  Emperor's  orders  that 
memorials  should  be  presented  to  him  unopened. 

24.  The  governorships  of  Hupeh,  Kuangtung,  and  Yunnan  were 
abolished  as  being  a  useless  expense  to  the  country. 

25.  Schools  for  instruction  in  the  preparation  of  tea  and  silk 
were  ordered  established. 

26.  The  slow  courier  posts  were  abolished  in  favor  of  the 
Imperial  Customs  Post. 

27.  A  system  of  budgets  as  in  Western  countries  was  approved. 
I  have  given  these  decrees  in  this  epitomized  form  so  that  all 

those  who  are  interested  in  the  character  of  this  reform  movement 
in  China  may  see  the  influence  the  young  Emperor's  study  had  upon 


1900.]  THE   REFORM   MOVEMENT  IN  CHINA.  469 

him.  There  is  not  one  of  the  decrees  that  would  not  have  been  a 
most  useful  move  for  the  Chinese  government  to  make ;  and  if  the 
Emperor  had  been  allowed  to  proceed,  putting  into  operation  all  of 
them,  as  he  did  some,  China  would  at  present  be  close  upon  the 
heels  of  Japan  in  the  adoption  of  Western  ideas. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  these  were  simply  decrees  and  that 
nothing  was  accomplished.  The  Peking  and  Nanking  universities 
are  in  operation,  not  as  unrestricted  as  they  might  have  been  had 
the  Emperor  been  allowed  to  proceed  in  his  own  way,  but  still  they 
are  active  and  living.  The  Imperial  Customs  Post  is  about  as  good  as 
the  postal  system  of  any  other  country.  The  Bureau  of  Mines  is  em- 
ploying Western  engineers  and  making  an  effort  to  open  up  the  coun- 
try. Naval  academies  are  in  operation,  and  a  host  of  young  men  are 
still  quietly  going  on  with  their  studies,  both  in  China  and  in  other 
countries,  hoping  that  the  time  will  come  when  the  knowledge  they 
are  now  acquiring  may  be  used  in  the  development  of  the  country 
they  love  as  ardently  and  patriotically  as  we  love  ours.  Indeed  it  is 
one  characteristic  of  these  young  reformers  that  they  develop  a 
patriotism  which  is  akin  to  that  of  the  West. 

The  extent  of  this  reform  movement  it  is  not  easy  to  estimate, 
and  what  will  be  the  result  is  not  easy  to  predict.  It  was  this 
movement  that  opened  up  the  intensely  anti-foreign  province 
of  Hupeh  and  transformed  it  into  a  province  where  railroads 
are  to  be  built  connecting  the  north  with  the  south.  It  is 
opening  up  the  great  mining  province  of  Shansi  and  the  lumber 
region  of  Manchuria.  It  is  starting  railroads  which  will  be  the 
great  thoroughfares  from  north  to  south  and  the  great  lines  of  trade 
for  the  whole  empire.  That  a  large  proportion  of  the  people 
understand  that  foreign  countries  are  constantly  talking  about  the 
division  of  China  is  evident  from  the  fact  that,  in  the  first  place,  the 
Chinese  are  the  greatest  gossips  in  the  world,  and  in  the  absence  of 
newspapers  every  one  is  a  reporter ;  and,  in  the  second  place,  there 
are  newspapers  published  in  all  the  ports  which  are  circulated 
throughout  a  large  part  of  the  empire. 

The  result  of  the  present  uprising  and  foreign  complications  it 
is  impossible  to  predict.  It  might  be  one  of  two  things  :  First,  the 
empire  may  be  divided,  which  is  very  unlikely.  Russia  has 
indicated  no  desire  to  have  it  divided;  all  she  wants  is  a  controlling 
influence  in  the  north.  Great  Britain,  America,  Japan,  and  Ger- 
many have  no  desire  for  a  division,  and  so.  as  I  think,  there  is  no 
probability  of  division.  The  second  thing  that  might  happen  is  the 
overthrow  of  the  conservative  party  and  the  Empress-Dowager  and 
the  restoring  to  power  of  the  conservative  party  under  some  able 
leader,  which  is  a  cousummation  devoutly  to  be  wished. — live  Outlook, 


470  THE  CHINESE  RECOEDER.      ,  [September, 

Kolar  Mission  Plough. 

'X^^'^T'E  take  the  following  from  the  Indian    Witness.     It  ma}'  be 
j^»         suggestive  to  some  of  oar  friends  io  the  uorth  uud  others 
engaged  in  industrial  work. — Ed.  Kec. 


Whv  spend  forty  days  plonghing  with  a  country  plough 
when  a  Kolar  Mission  plough  will  do  the  work  in  ten  days  ?  These 
ploughs  are  made  with  finest  tempered  and  polished  imported 
mould  board  and  shares  of  plough  steel.  (Not  a  cheap  plough  of 
uutempered,  unpolished  boiler  plate  steel.)  Handles  of  spring 
steel     Wood  beam  of  select,  fibrous  wood. 

8  inch  size  for  medium  grade  bullocks,  Rs.  17.0.0. 
7        do.  light  do.  „    15.0.0. 

Disc  ploughs,  chilled  iron  ploughs,  cultivators,  etc.,  to  order. 
For  circulars  address — The  superintendent  Kolar  Mission,  Kolar, 
Mysore. 

^^  There  is  also  a  good  chilled  iron  plough  with  wooden 
bandies  instead  of  iron,  for  Es.  13. 


Plous^hs  are  not  exactly  in  our  line.  But  we  believe  so  strongly 
in  the  advantage  to  agriculturists  in  using  the  Kolar  Mission 
plough  that  we  deem  it  a  duty  to  call  public  attention  to  this 
valuable  implement.  Especially  do  we  desire  to  see  native  Chris- 
tian agriculturists  possessing  this  plough.  It  is  the  "  result  of  years 
of  consideration  and  practical  experiments,  growing  out  of  the  belief 
that  Indian  methods  of  tilling  the  soil  must  be  radically  modified  if 
a  chronic  state  of  hunger  among  the  great  masses  and  the  frequent 
occurrence  of  famine  are  to  be  averted." 

If  the  man  who  succeeds  in  getting  two  blades  of  grass  to 
grow  where  only  one  blade  has  previously  appeared,  is  a  benefactor 
of  mankind,  surely  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Hollister,  who  has  devoted 
much  patient  effort  to  the  solution  of  the  plough  problem,  must  be 
considered  one  of  the  foremost.  For  the  Kolar  Mission  plough  has 
been  thoroughly  tested,  and  the  testiinouy  is  that  it  is  every  way 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL    DEPARTMENT.  471 

vastly  superior  to  any  plough  at  present  in  use  in  India.  The 
bottoms  are  mannfactnrecl  to  order  with  special  care  by  Deere  & 
Co.,  Moline,  Illinois,  the  largest  manufacturers  of  ploughs  in  the 
world.  Nothing  better  of  the  same  size  than  these  bottoms  can  be 
had  for  the  same  money  in  any  country. 

With  no  other  motive  than  to  enconrage  the  use  of  the  plough 
for  the  benefit  of  the  users,  no  less  tiian  to  encourage  a  most  useful 
mission  indnstry,  we  have  had  three  ploughs  sent  to  Calcutta, 
that  missionaries  and  others  residing  in  or  visiting  Calcutta  may 
have  the  opportunity  of  seeing  these  excellent,  implements  for 
themselves.  They  may  be  seen  at  the  JMcthodist  Publishing  House, 
46  Dhararatala  Street,  Calcutta.  To  encourage  Indian  Clu-istians 
to  use  them  a  friend  offers  to  pay  the  freight  to  any  railway  station 
of  Bengal  for  ploughs  to  be  used  by  the  class  referred  to.  The 
offer  to  hold  good  for  three  months  from  this  date. 

The  ploughs  are  manufactured  at  Kolar,  Mysorp.  Correspond- 
ence and  orders  should  be  addressed  to  the  superintendent,  Kolar 
Mission,  who  will  be  glad  to  furnish  printed  circuhirs,  price  lists,  etc. 


dEirittiitbita;!    gcpiirtmtitt. 


Rev.  E.  T.  Williams,  M.A.,  Editor. 


Published  in  the  interests  of  the  "  Educational  Association  of  China." 

Our  Backward  Swing, 

BY  WM.   REMFRY   HUNT. 

"rr^TlIEN  the  forces  of  moral  reform  and  religio-political 
^^/^^  reconstruction  were  set  in  motion,  with  the  Imperial 
sanction,  some  few  years  since,  the  promise  of  Ciiina's 
early  regeneration  was  counted  as  almost  assured.  No  sooner, 
however,  had  the  results  of  scientific  progress  and  Western  learn- 
ing begim  to  manifest  their  removing  as  well  as  establishing 
tendencies  than  we  were  confronted  with  a  peril  of  the  first 
magnitude. 

It  was  discovered    that   we  were  working  on  peculiar  material 
and  endeavouring  to  euli^rhten  with  the  highest  lessons  of  Christian 


472  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [September, 

civilization  an  ancient-loving  and  conservative  race,   who  are  not 
even  educated  to  a  point  of  toleration  to  modern  ideas. 

The  "reactionary  movement"  instigated  by  the  anti-foreign 
party  in  Peking,  under  the  Imperial  patronage  of  the  Dowager- 
Empress  and  her  confreres,  did  not  merely  originate  with  the  idea 
of  arresting  educational  reform.  It  was  part  of  a  loug  planned  and 
determined  'plot  to  rid  the  empire  of  the  hated  foi-eigner  and  all  his 
multiple  machinery  for  the  evangelization  and  education  of  the 
masses,  which  was  interpreted  as  being  the  thin  end  of  the  wedge 
for  the  purpose  of  draining  the  resources  and  gaining  for  our  govern- 
ments the  "  hills  and  rivers,  lauds  and  lakes "  of  the  Celestial 
kingdom. 

The  present  reverse  is  due  to  psychological  as  well  as  political 
causes.  It  is  traceable  to  the  unrest  of  a  dying  religious  system . 
"  Culture  or  civilization,  taken  in  its  wide  ethnographic  sense,  is  that 
complex  whole,  which  includes  knowledge,  belief,  art,  murals,  law, 
custom,  and  any  other  capabilities  and  habits  acquired  by  man  as 
a  member  of  society."*  This  deals  with  the  evolution  of  the 
trinity  of  man's  being,  in  body,  soul,  and  spirit,  and  solemnises  us 
in  regard  to  the  wide  range  of  the  regeneration  required '  to  be 
eflfected. 

Educational  reform  in  China  must  meet  its  reverses  with  good 
grace  and  courage.  In  fact  reform  is  hai-dly  the  word  suited  to 
the  times.  Regeneration  is  the  clarion  call  of  all  true  educationalists 
in  China,  because  if  the  moral  cltange  is  to  he  permanent  it 
must  be  so  ensured  by  vital  spiritual  causes. 

All  great  and  permanent  changes  cost.  History  shows  too 
how  these  have  been  of  gradual  growth.  Not  infrequently  they  are 
accompanied  by  a  loss  of  balance  of  power.  This  is  the  philosophy 
of  succession.  As  the  building  of  the  moral  and  industrial  life 
of  the  nation  has  gone  on  there  have  been,  of  course,  occasional 
accidents  and  not  a  few  calamities. 

The  field  was  an  immense  one  to  begin  with.  The  survey  had 
to  be  made,  the  land  marked  out,  and  the  pathway  found  through 
all  the  debris  of  hoary  superstitions  and  venerated  customs.  Be- 
sides all  this,  Christianity  had  to  acclimate  itself  to  its  new 
environment. 

Pride  of  race  has  been  injured.  The  nearing  of  the  grander 
and  newer  scructure  has  been  a  striking  and  painfully  convincing 
contrast  to  the  relative  worth  of  the  old  and  the  new.  Considered 
from  these  view-points  it  is  not  a  surprise  that  there  should  have 
been  a  collision  of  the  conservative  with  the  progressive  energies  of 

♦Vide  "  Primitive  Culture,"  by  Ed.  B.  Tylor,  D.C.L.,   LL.D.,  F.R.S.,  Vol.  I. 
Chapter  I. 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT.  473 

the  people,  and  the  result  is  a  temporary  reverse — a  backward 
swintj:  of  tho  arm — proparatory  to  the  strong  and  steady  course  of 
the  resistless  law  of  udvaiicemeiit. 

In  and  thron^^h  the  varied  af^enciea  and  departments  that  are 
so  energetically  at  work  in  transhition,  teaching,  guiding,  and  training 
in  the  colleges,  schools,  hospitals,  naval  and  military  academies,  as 
well  as  in  the  offices  of  the  telegraph,  railroad,  and  mining  companies, 
besides  the  nnparailelled  consecration  of  the  highest  and  lowest 
Christian  scholarship  and  cnltnre,  it  is  safe  to  say  the  provinces 
have  been  adorned  with  the  choicest  gifts  of  grace  and  wisdom. 
How  snch  self-sacrifice,  heroism,  an  1  patient  devotion  conld  be 
suspected,  misconstrued,  and  misinterpreted  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  ; 
yet  the  present  disorder  is  largely  traceable  to  religious  distrust  and 
native  snperstition. 

In  China  as  in  other  lands  religion  will  prove  itself  to  be 
a  great  revolutionizing  factor.  Its  demands  of  the  Chinese  when 
asked  to  give  up  their  dearest  conservatisms  iu  religious  rites, 
ancestry,  gods,  and  customs — and  tliat  by  foreigners  whom  they 
have  for  ages  hated  with  a  bitter  hatred — seems  to  them  to  be 
arbitrary  in  the  extreme.  Christianity  proves  itself  to  be  the 
harbinger  of  both  the  olive  branch  of  peace  and  the  din  and  clash 
of  the  sword.     Via  crucis  via  lucisf 

What  the  probable  elFect  of  all  Xhis  chaotic  revolution  may  be 
upon  the  future  of  educational  work  it  is  difficult  to  prognosticate. 
Whether  also  the  beginning  of  the  end  of  Chinese  exclusion  and 
auarchial  tendencies  will  be  effected  by  peaceful  solution  or  by  the 
melting  of  the  distnri)iug  elements  in  the  furnace  of  war  it  is 
difficult  even  yet  to  define.  One  thing,  however,  seems  to  have 
been  determined.  The  powers  are  agreed  that  China  is  to  be  no 
longer  the  menace  to  the  peace  and  progress  of  the  world. 

While  we  do  not  uphold  the  "guarding  of  the  cross  with 
Kruppguus"  we  incline  to  the  opinion  that  the  Peking  tragedy 
and  the  heinous  crime  of  the  government  against  national  honor 
and  morality,  has  laid  China  open  to  stern  rebuke  and  chastisement, 
the  resnlt  of  which  seems  inevitably  to  point,  notwithstanding 
diplomatic  pledges  to  preserve  "  territorial  integrity,"  to  the  hasten- 
ing of  the  further  partition  of  the  empire. 

Whatever  is  in  the  near  future,  in  the  mighty  changes,  in  the 
political  and  commercial  relations  of  China  with  the  world,  it  will 
be  true  that  missions  willibe  prosecuted  with  more  and  more  vigoAr. 
Plans  may  be  readjusted,  methods  readapted,  ideas  clarified,  and  the 
general  regime  of  missionaries  be  made  more  conciliatory  with 
native  ideas  of  patriotism  and  honor.  These  will  be  some  of  the 
lessons  learned. 


474 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[September, 


Onr  backward  swing  is  bnt  the  drawing  of  the  bow.  Progress 
must  wia.  It  is  in  the  air.  China  must  reform  or  be  recast  ! 
There  are  no  other  alternatives.  The  work  of  edncation  will  go 
on.  Missions  will  triumph.  The  old  will  give  place  to  the  new  ; 
and  future  generations  reading  the  history  of  these  sanguinary 
strnggles  will  ask  in  wonder  why  their  ancestors  fought  so  wildly 
and  died  so  bravely  in  the  losing  game  of  fighting  to  cherish  error 
and  to  prevent  the  demonstration  of  that  inexorable  twin-law — 
the  triumph  of  right  over  might  and  the  "  survival  of  the 
fittest." 


#ur  io0h  ©able. 


The  China  Review  for  June   and   July, 
1900, 

With  articles  by  E.  H.  Parker, 
E.  Von  Zaoh,  J.  Edkins,  and 
others. 


Transactions  of  the  Asiatic  Society   of 
Japan.     Vol.  XXVII.    Part  III. 

The  whole  number  is  taken  up 
with  an  elaborate  and  well  illus- 
trated paper  on  the  Cultiwition  of 
Bamboos  in  Japan,  by  Sir  Ernest 
Satow,  K.C.M.G. 


We  acknowledge  with  thanks 
the  receipt  of  the  annual  report  of 
the  Shanghai  Municipal  health 
officer.  Dr.  Arthur  Stanley,  for 
1899.  It  contains  a  number  of 
well  arranged  statistical  tables, 
notes  on  infectious  diseases,  public 
health  laboratory,  sanitation,  food, 
etc.,  all  of  whicfi  go  to  show  how- 
much  care  is  taken  and  what  an 
expenditure  of  money  must  be 
made  every  year  in  order  to  help 
the  inhabitants  of  Shanghai  live 
as  long  and  as  healthily  as  possible. 


The  Fortunate  Union.  Chapter  I. 
Translated  by  Robert  K.  Douglas. 
London  :  Kegan  Paul,  Trench,  Triib- 
ner  &  Co.  Price  5  cents  nett. 

As  the  title  indicates,   this  is  a 
translation    of    Chapter    I.    of    a 


very  popular  Chinese  novel,  and  is 
intended  as  a  text-book  for  begin- 
ners in  Chinese.  The  text  is  in 
vertical  columns  with  the  Roman- 
ized attached  to  each  character, 
while  underneath  are  very  full  and 
satisfactory  notes,  followed  by  the 
English  translation.  If  this  ven- 
ture on  the  first  chapter  meets  with 
success  it  is  proposed  to  follow  with 
the  remaining  seventeen  chapters. 
The  name  of  Dr.  Douglas  as 
translator  is  sufficient  guarantee 
that  the  work  is  well  done. 


A  System  of  Chinese  Short-hand,  adapt- 
ed to  the  Amoy  colloquial.  By  Rev. 
Alex.  Gregory,  Woolor,  England 
(formerly  of  Amoy).  To  be  obtained 
from  the  secretary  of  the  E.  P. 
Mission,  Amoy.    Price  25  cents. 

This  is  an  attempt  on  the  part 
of  Mr.  Gregory  to  utilize  the  Pit- 
man system  of  phonography  to 
represent  Chinese  sounds,  and  with 
the  hope  that  it  might  be  applic- 
able, with  very  slight  modifications^ 
to  all  the  dialects  of  the  empire. 
In  the  January,  1892,  Recorder 
Mr.  Grejiory  expressed  himself  as 
to  the  tlisirability  of  such  an  at- 
tempt, and  now  he  has  himself 
carried  the  idea  into  practice.  We 
commend  the  pamphlet  to  those 
who  are  interested  in  work  of  this 
kind. 


1900.] 


"EDITOniAL  COMMENT. 


475 


€t)ttarial  Comment ♦ 


Thk  relief  of  Peking  the  past 
inoDth  was  an  event  wljicli  {)i'ob- 
ably  carried  joy  to  more  hearts 
thau  any  single  event  of  modera 
times.  Lncknow,  Ladystnith, 
Kinihorly,  Mafeking,  stirred  the 
hearts  of  many,  but  never  have 
the  nations  been  so  represented 
ns  in  the  little  company  who 
lield  out  so  long  and  wondrously 
in  Peking.  At  the  same  time 
our  joy  is  chastened  with  the 
thonght  of  the  sufferings  which 
many  have  had  to  undergo,  and 
some  are  still  uudergoiug,  in 
their  attempts  to  reach  places  of 
safety.  The  prayers  and  sym- 
pathies of  God's  peo[)le  every- 
wiiere  go  out  for  them. 

We  give  in  this  number  of  the 
Recordeu  accounts  of  the  trials 
and  sutferinns — in  part  only,  for 
all  cannot  be  told — of  two  differ- 
ent parties  of  missionaries,  in  their 
escape — the  one  from  Houan,  the 
other  from  Shansi.  It  is  difficult 
to  conceive  of  anything  more 
lieart-rendiug,  more  indescriba- 
bly awful  than  that  through 
which  these  men,  women,  and 
children  passed.  One  would  have 
said  that  it  was  impossible  for 
flesh  and  blood  to  endure  such 
hardships  and  deprivations,  heat 
and  hunger,  blows  and  curses, 
and  every  conceivable  and  name- 
less torture,  and  yet  survive. 
In  the  midst  of  it  all,  however, 
we  do  not  forget  that  the  eye  of 
Omnipotence  looks  down  and  sees 
a  great  deal  more  thau  we  see, 
and  has  known  every  groan, 
beard  every  cry.  What  His  pur- 
poses are  in  permitting  all  this 
we  do  not  yet  understand,  and 
may  never    understand  in  this 


life.       But   no   one,   who   traly 
knows  Him,  distrusts  llim. 

"  Blind  unbelief  is  sure  to  err, 
And  scan  His  works  in  vain  ; 
God  is  His  own  interpreter, 
And  He  will  make  it  plain. " 

We  have  heard  no  cry  for 
vengeance,  and  we  question  if 
any  one  of  the  sufferers  asks  for 
it.  But  there  is  a  cry  of  justice, 
that  some  of  the  princi[)als  in  the 
perpetration  of  these  awful  crimes 
be  lawfully  dealt  with. 

*  ♦         » 

There  may  be  other  stories, 
yet  to  be  told,  of  just  as  great 
trials  and  suff'erings  as  those 
through  which  these  friends 
passed,  but  we  trust  not.  But 
in  this  connection  we  cannot  bat 
remember  that  many  of  onr 
Chinese  fellow-Christians  have 
passed  and  are  ptissing  through 
very  trying  times,  being  beaten 
and  robbed,  imprisoned,  tortured, 
their  property  destroyed  or  taken 
away,  and  they  themselves  a 
curse  and  a  by-word  among  their 
people.  Often  they  have  no  one 
to  appeal  to  for  succor,  no  redress 
for  injustice,  no  place  of  refuge 
open.  They  must  suff'er  on,  and 
many  of  them  perish.  The  ear- 
nest prayers  and  heartiest  sym- 
patliies  of  God's  people  are  cer- 
tainly with  them.  And  God  is 
with  them  too, 

*  *  m 

At  present  the  China  mission- 
aries are  very  much  in  evidence, 
not  only  here  in  China  but  also 
on  the  other  side  of  the  globe. 
Lord  Salisbury  has  tamed  his 
attention  to  them  and  given 
some  very  good  advice  (we  do  not 
say  that  it  was  all  such)  to  the 
Church  Missionary  Society,  some 


476 


THE  CHINESE   RECOEDER. 


[September , 


of  which  may  well  be  passed  on 
to  other  Societies.  It  certainly 
is  well,  always,  for  the  mission- 
aries to  be  cautions  and  discreet, 
but  sometimes,  it  may  be,  not 
quite  according  to  Lord  Salis- 
bury's ideas. 

And  what  of  the  future  ? 
What  are  these  hundreds  of 
missionaries,  now  waiting  in 
Shanghai  and  a  few  other  ports 
t)f  China,  and  in  Japan,  to 
do?  Is  there  any  pros{)ect  of  a 
speedy  return  to  their  fields  and 
work  ?  We  fear  not.  It  looks 
as  if  there  were  to  be  mouths 
-and  months  of  waiting.  A  gov- 
ernment of  some  kind  must  be 
established,  guilty  officials  must 
be  punished,  and  last  of  all,  and 
perhaps  most  difficult,  the  powers 
must  come  to  some  mutual 
arrangement  among  themselves. 
We  must  confess  the  end  does 
not  seem  near. 

*        *         *  ^ 

Are  the  missionaries  respon- 
sible for  the  present  crisis  ?  Yes 
and  No.  If  furnishing  good  lit- 
erature, books  on  history,  geog- 
raphy, astronomy,  mathematics, 
philosophy,  morals,  and  religion, 
many  of  which  fell  into  the  hands 
of  the  Emperor  and  others  and 
caused  the  Reform  Edicts — books 
and  literature,  the  tendency  of 
which,  like  Paul's  preaching,  was 
to  turn  such  a  country  as  China 
■*'  upside  down" — -then  the  mis- 
sionaries are  responsible,  though 
we  can  scarcely  see  how  they 
are  to  blame.  But  there  are 
other  matters  to  be  considered 
which  have  had  a  powerful  in- 
fluence in  bringing  about  this 
■crisis  and  which  have  perhaps 
exasperated  the  Chinese  even 
more  than  the  missionaries'  lit- 
erature and  preaching.  There 
wa<s  tilnQ  war  with  France  of  a 


few  years  ago  and  the  appropria- 
tion of  a  no  small  slice  of  Chinese 
(so-called  ?)  territory.  There  was 
the  Japanese  war,  followed  by 
the  appropriation  by  Russia  of 
just  so  much  of  Manchuria  as 
she  might  be  disposed  and  able 
to  occupy  from  time  to  time. 
There  wjis  the  seizure  of  Kyiao- 
chow,  followed  by  the  friendly  (?) 
ceding  of  Wei-hai-wei  and  Kow- 
loong  ;  the  opening  up  of  mines 
and  railroads,  which  was  thought 
by  the  Chinese  (stupidly,  of 
course,  but  nevertheless  a  very 
important  fact)  to  disturb  the 
repose  of  the  dead  and  bring 
calamity  upon  the  living.  Some 
of  these  innovations  of  civiliza- 
tion were  introduced  in  a  manner 
not  calculated  to  quiet  the  {>rej- 
udices  of  the  Chinese,  or  disabuse 
them  of  the  thought  that  their 
nation  was  certainly  to  be  cut 
up  into  morsels  for  the  benefit 
of  the  all-absorbing  foreigner. 

There  is  another  element  to 
which  we  refer  regretfully,  and 
that  is  the  attitude  of  the  Roman 
Catholics  towards  the  Chinese 
officials  and  their  taking  the  law 
into  their  own  hands  in  the 
matter  of  lawsuits,  etc.  We  are 
sure  that  this  has  been  deep 
cause  of  hatred  not  only  on  the 
part  of  the  officials  but  also  of 
many  of  the  people.  Altogether 
we  think  the  present  movement 
is  anti-missionary,  anti-merchant, 
and  auti-modei'n.  The  mission- 
aries are  certainly  responsible, 
but  we  cannot  think  blame- 
worthy. The  powers  are  certain- 
ly largely  responsible,  and,  in 
many  respects,  far  from  blame- 
worthy. 

»        ♦        » 

A  BRIEF  notice  in  one  of  the 
Shanghai  daily  papers  recently 
aunoauced    the    death    at    Saa 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  NEW& 


477 


Francisco,  California,  of  Dr.  D. 
B.  McCartee,  on  Jnne  17th.  Di*. 
McCartee  came  to  China  in  1844, 
the  same  year  with  Drs.  Happer 
and  Culbertsou  and  Canon  Mc- 
Clatchie,  and  was  probably  the 
oldest  China  missionary  livinj^. 
Up  to  1871  he  was  located  prin- 
cipally at  Ningpo,  havin,i^  been 
for  a  short  time  stationed  in 
Chefoo.  His  later  years  have 
been  spent  in  Japan.  Though 
a  medical  missionary  he  was 
always  mnch  interested  in 
evangelistic  work  and  prepared 
a  nninber  of  triicts,  snch  as 
Western  Scholars'  Reasons,  Fnn- 
damental  Principles  of  Chris- 
tianity, Brief  Disconrse  on  Re- 
pentance and  Faith,  etc.,  which 
have  passed  through  many  edi- 
tions here  in  Chin;),  and  some  of 
them  been  reprinted  in  Ja{)an. 
While  skillful  as  a  physician  he 
was  versatile  as  a  lingnist,  being 
familiar  with  Latin,  Greek,  and 
Hebrew  as  well  as  Chinese  and 
Japanese.  For  a  number  of 
years  his  home  has  been  in  Tokyo, 
Japan,  from  whence  he  seems  to 
have   returned    to    the    United 


States,  donbtless  with  the  inten- 
tion of  spending  his  last  days  in 
his  native  land.  And  so  another 
link  that  connected  us  with  the 
early  days  of  missionary  work  in 
China  has  been  sundered. 
«        «         * 

Dr.  Clark  sends  ns  a  postal 
card  from  "nearlrkntsk,"  snying 
they  had  now  been  twenty-nine 
davs  on  the  way.  and  had  come 
2,500  miles.  They  had  been 
dehiyed  by  the  sand-banks  on  the 
Amoor  and  Shika,  being  stuck  for 
days  at  a  time.  The  rail  was 
even  worse,  and  they  had  been  six 
days  going  seven  hundred  miles  I 
He  feared  they  would  miss  the 
London  Convention  after  all. 
We  trust,  however,  that  tiiey  were 
able  to  make  better  progress 
further  on.  To  miss  the  Con- 
vention would  not  only  be  a  great 
disappointment  to  them  person- 
ally, but  a  great  loss  to  the  Con- 
vention. 

Later  word  says  they  were 
forty-five  days  crossing  from 
Vladivostock  to  St.  Petersburg, 
and  would  probably  just  be  in 
time  for  the  Convention. 


[issbnarg  |ttfos. 


Dr.  J.  M.  Swan  writes  from  Can- 
ton :  I  think  the  Chinese  Recorder 
is  to  be  highly  compUraented  on 
the  amount  of  information  gathered 
and  published  in  tl»o  last  issue.  It 
was  just  what  many  of  us  have 
been  longing  for.  It  was  a  great 
comfort  for  me  to  learn  of  the 
safety  of  friends  whom  I  had  sup- 
posed were  in  great  peril  if  still 
living. 

Mission  work  has  practically 
closed  in  this  part  of  the  field, 
except  the  Cauton  iiospital,  which 
has  been  able  to  continue  work  as 


usual  and  with  good  attendance. 
Hence  I  am  tied  here  pretty  close ; 
my  family  being  in  Macao,  where 
almost  all  the  missionaries  have 
gone,  either  there  or  Hongkong. 
We  anxiously  await  news  from 
Peking,  as  we  still  feel  much  doubt 
as  to  the  news  to  hand  thus  far 
showing  safety  of  foreigners. 


Rev.  F.  Brown,  Tientsin,  writes : 
It  may  interest  some  of  your 
readers  to  know  that  tiie  General 
commanding  British  troops  has 
requested   me   to    accompany    the 


478< 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[September, 


force  to  Peking  as  an  intelligence 
officer ;  the  appointment  has  been 
pressed  upon  me,  and  I  have  con- 
sented to  go,  not  for  the  big  pay 
offered  but  for  hnnianity's  sake. 
Thus  it  is  seen  missionaries  are 
sometinies  souglit  after  by  the 
government  officials. 


Hon  an. 


Rev.  and  Mrs.  Stokke  and  dia- 
coness  Ingeborg  Eederson  escaped 
from  Ru-ning-fu. 

They  have  been  in  very  hard 
straits,  barely  saved  their  lives. 

The  mission  station  (American 
Norwegian),  the  only  one  in  the 
city,  is  robbed  and  demolished.  The 
dwelling  houses  have  been  wrecked. 

The  missionaries  lost  all  their 
property.  Open  hatred  was  shown 
by  the  city  officials. 

The  fifteen  days  journey  down 
to  Hankow  was  one  of  continuous 
peril.  Only  in  Ying-shan-hsien, 
Hupeh,  kindi>es-3  was  shown  to  the 
fugitives.  The  Hsien  mandarin 
did  all  in  his  power  to  lighten  the 
difficult  flight. 


Escaped  from  Shansi. 

A    TERRIBLE    STORY. 

Of  all  the  provinces  Shansi  holds 
the  record  for  diabolical  massacres 
and  barbarities.  At  mie  time  it 
looked  as  if  not  a  single  foreigner 
could  by  any  possibility  escape  the 
murderous  purpose  of  Yii  Hsien, 
whom  our  Ministers  so  supinely 
allowed  to  be  made  governor  there. 
Fortunately  some  have  escaped.  A 
party  of  refugees  from  Shansi 
arrived  here  [Hankow]  to-day,  after 
encountering  such  sufferings  and 
hair-breadth  escapes  as  will  be 
difficult  to  find  a  parallel  anywhere. 

The  party  consists  of  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
A.  R.  Saunders  with  two  children 
(other  two  of  their  children  died 
on  the  way)  and  Mr.  A.  Jennings 
and  Miss  Guthrie,  all  from  Ping- 


yao ;  Mr.  E.  J.  Cooper  and  two 
children  fromLu-eheng(Mrs. Cooper, 
Miss  Rice,  and  Miss  Houstoa 
also  from  that  city  were  killed  on 
the  way  or  died  from  injuries  re- 
ceived) ;  Ml',  and  Mrs.  A.  E,  Glover 
with  two  children,  and  Miss  Gate.9 
from  Lu-an.  All  are  members  of 
the  China  Inland  Mission,  and  of 
the  nineteen  who  started  five 
perished. 

The  story  they  tell  is  as  follows ; 
All  was  quiet  in  Ping-yao  up  to  the 
25th  of  .June.  The  magistrate  wa* 
friendly,  and  had  issued  a  proclama- 
tion denouncing  the  Boxers  and 
promising  protection  to  foreigners 
and  Christiana  We  were  aware 
that  there  was  trouble  on  the  route 
between  us  and  Tientsin,  but  did 
not  know  much  as  to  what  wsbs  going 
on,  or  anticipate  danger.  On  that 
day,  however,  we  received  a  letter 
from  Tai-yuan  enclosing  a  copy  of  a- 
proclamation  which  had  just  been 
issued  by  Yii  Hsien,  the  governor, 
in  which  the  people  were  informed 
that  China  was  at  war  with  for- 
eigners, and  that  all  foreign  devils 
must  be  destroyed.  On  the  back 
of  that  we  learned  that  our  mag- 
istrate was  having  his  favouiable 
proclamation  taken  down  from  the 
walls,  KTid  that  a  mob  had  already 
begun  to  demolish  our  chapel  in  the 
city.  Later  on,  in  the  evening, 
a  mob  arrived  at  our  bouse  in  the 
suburb,  and  we  were  driven  to  take 
refuge  in  the  yamen.  The  magistrate 
declared  he  could  not  help  us.  He 
had  received  orders  no  longer  to  pro- 
tect foreigners,  and  bade  us  depart 
in  peace.  At  length,  in  answer  to- 
our  entreaties,  he  agreed  to  send 
us  to  Tai-yuan,  150  li  distant,  under 
escort,  so  we  started  north  for  the 
capital,  We  got  within  20  li  of  it- 
without  adventure  when  we  met  a 
native  Christian,  whom  we  knew, 
fleeing  south.  He  implored  us  to 
turn  back  as  the  Inland  Mission 
had  been  already  burned,  tlie 
Roman  Catholic  establishment 
pulled  dowu,  and  all  the  foreigners 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY   NEWS. 


479 


were  in  the  baptist  Mission  com- 
pound surrounclcd  by  a  great  mob, 
who  were  threatening  to  burn  it 
witli  all  who  were  inside.  On  this 
wu  turned  back  towards  Ping-yao, 
and  our  escort  at  once  left  us.  We 
had  not  much  money,  and  the 
people  demanded  exorbitant  prices 
for  everything,  even  for  the  simple 
permission  to  pass  along  the  load. 
We  sold  our  cli)thes  and  pawned 
whatever  would  ])a\vn,  including 
our  wedding  rings,  and  in  this  way 
n^ached  our  station  at  Lucheng, 
safe  but  stripped. 

Lu-cheng  bad  not  yet  been  rioted, 
but  only  two  days'  peace  was 
allowed  us  when,  with  the  friends 
there,  we  had  to  flee  for  our  lives 
at  midnight  with  nothing  but  one 
donkey-load  of  bedding  and  clothes 
and  a  supply  of  silver,  which  we 
divided  up  amongst  the  party. 
A\'hich  direction  to  take  we  did  not 
know.  To  go  north  again  was  out 
of  the  question,  and  eastward  to 
8hantung  was  equally  impossible, 
so  we  made  for  the  south,  hoping 
to  get  through  Honan  and  Hupeh 
to  Hankow.  But  we  had  only  got 
49  li  from  Lu-cheng  when  we  were 
stopped  at  a  large  village  by  some 
two  hundred  people,  who  deaianded 
money.  We  could  not  satisfy  them, 
so  they  seized  our  donkey,  and  in 
sheer  wanton  mischief  tore  all  our 
bedding  and  clothes  to  pieces.  Then 
they  stripped  us  next,  taking  each 
person's  clothes,  hat,  shoes,  and 
stockings,  and  little  store  of  silver, 
leaving  us  nothing,  ladies  and 
children  alike,  but  a  single  pair  of 
native  drawers  each.  In  this  afiair 
■we  lost  the  natives  who  were  ac- 
companying us,  some  of  whom  we 
fear  were  killed,  while  we  were 
driven  along  the  road  by  men  with 
clubs.  It  was  a  terrible  situation. 
The  blazing  sun  burned  us  to  the 
bone,  and  some  of  us  had  not  so 
much  as  a  little  piece  of  rag  to  wet 
and  put  on  the  top  of  our  heads. 
At  every  village  we  were  attacked 
and  driven  from  one  to  the  other 


with  blows  and  cur5?es.  The  vil- 
lages there  aie  very  thick,  and,  be- 
fore we  got  clear  of  the  mob  from 
one  the  mob  from  the  next  had 
already  arrived  to  take  us  in  hand. 
Neither  food  nor  water  could  V)o 
obtained.  How  we  contrived  to 
exist  we  hardly  know ;  for  days 
our  only  support  was  found  in  the 
filthy  puddles  by  the  road-side. 
Wh(m  we  reached  a  city  it  was  a 
little  better.  Apparently  each  mag- 
istrate was  anxious  that  we  should 
come  to  our  end  in  the  next  county, 
so  when  we  went  to  the  yamen 
they  would  give  us  a  little  food 
and  send  an  escort  to  see  us  safely 
over  the  borders  of  that  particular 
yamSn's  jurisdiction.  Arrived  at 
that  point,  the  escort  always  left 
us,  and  we  had  to  struggle  on  as 
before. 

Miss  Kice  was  killed  on  the  road 
fift}'  li  north  of  Tseh-chau-fu  in 
Shansi.  That  day  both  she  and 
jNliss  Houston  sat  down  on  the 
road-side  saying  th^y  would  wil- 
lingly die,  but  walk  anotiier  step 
they  could  not.  In  the  previous 
city  the  magistrate  had  given  us  a 
small  piece  of  silver  which  we  had 
to  carry  in  our  hand,  having  no- 
where else  to  put  it.  We  thought 
we  nnght  be  able  to  hire  a  cart  for 
these  ladies  with  this  piece  of  silver, 
so  two  of  us  went  to  a  village  to 
negotiate.  The  villagers  refused 
the  cart,  but  at  the  same  time  they 
pounded  our  knuckles  with  a  stick 
till  we  dropped  the  silver,  and  then 
drove  us  down  the  road  away  from 
our  party.  Just  then  it  began  to 
rain,  and  the  party,  with  tbe  ex- 
ception of  the  two  ladies,  retired  for 
shelter  to  an  empty  guard-house 
near.  There  a  mob  fell  upon  them 
and  drove  them  on,  and  in  this  way 
the  two  helpless  ladies  got  left  and 
were  beaten  to  death.  Nothing 
could  be  done  till  Tseh  chau  was 
reached,  when  the  magistrate  sent 
back  to  enquire.  Miss  Rice  was 
found  to  be  already  dead,  but  Miss 
Houston,   although  dreadfully    in- 


480 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[September, 


jured,  was  still  alive.  She  died 
afterwards  at  Yun-tnun;^  in  Hupeh, 
and  the  body  was  brought  on  to 
Hankow  for  burial. 

The  crossing  of  the  Yellow  River 
was  one  of  our  most  trying  expe- 
riences. The  yamen  had  placed  us 
in  carts,  and  promised  to  send  us 
over.  But  as  soon  as  we  were  in 
the  boat  the  carts  drove  away,  and 
the  boatmen  ordered  us  to  land 
again,  as  they  declined  point  blank 
to  have  anything  to  do  with  us. 
For  two  days  we  sat  on  the  bank  of 
tlie  Yellow  River  not  knowing 
what  to  do.  We  were  like  the 
Israelites  at  the  Red  Sea.  Pharaoh 
was  behind;  neither  right  nor  left 
was  there  any  retreat  and  no  means 
of  crossing  over.  On  the  third  day 
the  boatmen  unexpectedly  changed 
their  minds  and  took  us  over. 

The  tirst  city  we  came  to  south 
of  the  river  was  Chang-chou.  The 
magistrate  here  was  bitterly  anti- 
foreign,  and  said  had  we  only  ar- 
rived twenty-four  hours  sooner  he 
would  have  had  the  pleasure  of 
killing  us  all.  His  orders  were  to 
allow  no  foreign  devil  to  escape, 
but  the  Empress-Dowager  had 
taken  pity  on  them,  and  he  had 
just  been  instructed  to  have  them 
all  sent  as  prisoners  into  Hupeh. 
Accordingly,  from  this  point  we 
were  sent  on  across  Honan,  from 
city  to  city,  as  prisoners,  by  the 
yamgn,  some  in  carts  and  sometimes 
mounted  on  the  hard  wooden  pack 
saddles  of  donkeys.  For  food  they 
gave  us  bread  and  water,  and  no- 
where showed  us  any  kindness  till 
we  reached  Sin-yang-chou,  the  last 
city  in  Honan.  Here  we  were  no 
longer  treated  as  prisoners,  and 
here  we  met  with  the  Glovers  from 
Lu-an,  who  had  arrived  there  after 
a  sidiilar  journey.  The  Hupeh 
magistrates  were  exceedingly  kind. 
At  the  first  city,  Ying-shan,  we 
were  supplied  with  food  and  cloth- 
ing and  kept  in  the  yamen  five  days, 
as  the  road  south  was  blocked  by 
soldiers     proceeding     to     Peking, 


whom  it  would  not  be  safe  to  meet. 
The  Ying-shan  native  Christians 
also  sought  us  out  and  showed  us 
great  kindness,  as  they  also  did  at 
the  cities  of  Teh-ngan,  Yun-mung, 
and  Hsao-kan.  Mrs.  E.J.Cooper 
died  at  Ying-shan  of  the  injuries 
and  hardships  undergone,  and  her 
body  was  brought  to  Hankow  for 
burial.  Thus  ended  at  Hankow 
on  the  14th  of  August  a  journey 
of  fifty  days'  duration,  of  which 
the  wonder  is  that  a  single  one 
survived  to  tell  the  tale. — N.-G. 
Daily  News. 


Fahkien, 


Rowdyism  and  mob  violence  have 
at  last  broken  loose  in  parts  of  the 
Amoy  districts.  Up  to  last  week 
or  ten  days  ago  all  the  agitation  was 
confined  to  "  vvild  talk,"  but,  on 
account  of  the  state  of  affairs  up  in 
North  China  remaining  in  such  an 
unsettled  condition  so  long,  the 
sparks  of  anarchy  have  been  fanned 
into  a  blazing  flame,  and  so  words 
have  given  place  to  dastardly  acts. 
However  the  present  troubles  are 
contined  to  the  interior,  viz.,  in 
the  Chiang-chiu  Fu,  along  the 
"  north  river  and  Leng-na-chiu 
districts,"  i.e.,  north  and  west  of 
the  city  of  Chiang-chiu,  say,  on  an 
average,  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  north-west  of  Amoy.  Choan- 
chiu  Fu  and  its  dependencies,  on 
the  other  hand,  are  all  quiet,  and 
in  so  far  as  is  known  everything  is 
proceeding  as  usual.  The  explana- 
tion of  all  this  is  simple.  It  is 
entirely  due  to  the  different  at- 
titude toward  existing  events  and 
the  characters  of  the  two  Taotais, 
who  stand  at  the  heads  of  these 
two  Fu.  Choan-chiu  Fu,  under 
which  are  Amoy  and  Choan-chiu 
cities,  has  a  Taotai  who  is  profes- 
sedly pro-foreign,  and  possesses 
some  backbone.  He  has  taken 
every  possible  caution  against  any 
possible  outbreaks,  and  by  proc- 
lamations  has   signified  his  inten- 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY   NEWS. 


481 


tion  to  deal  severely  and  speedily 
with  all  offenders  against  foreigners 
and  n.itive  Christians.  He  has 
given  all  to  understand  that  under 
DO  circumstance  nor  consideration 
will  he  tolerate  insubordination  or 
insurrection.  The  result  is  as 
already  indicated  :  everything  quiet 
and  running  along  smoothly.  In 
Chiang-chiu  Fu,  under  which  is 
the  city  of  Chiang-chiu,  another 
state  of  things  prevails.  There  the 
Taotai  is  of  the  jelly-fish  type  if 
not  actually  anti-foreign.  He  has 
taken  very  few,  if  any,  precautions 
outside  of  the  city  of  Chiang-chiu 
itself,  where  he  resides,  to  protect 
his  people  from  raids  by  lawless 
rioters.  Apparently  he  lias  no 
control  over  his  subordinates  (at 
least  shows  no  sucii  signs),  nor  the 
affairs  pertaining  to  his  district, 
and  hence  at  present  everything  is 
*'  at  sixes  and  sevens." 

This  weak,  jelly-fish  policy  has 
brought  its  nemesis.  The  rowdies 
and  riffraff  along  the  "north 
river,"  and  in  the  region  beyond, 
have  finally  become  emboldened  to 
begin  their  fiendish  work  of  desola- 
tion of  chapels  and  persecution  of 
Christians  as  their  only  way  of 
demonstrating  their  hatred  against 
all  foreigners. 

Already  the  American  Reformed 
Church  Mission  have  had  one 
chapel  at  Leng-soa  looted,  and 
three  others  located  at  the  following 
places :  Tng-li-jin,  Hoe-khe,  and 
E-lang.  Loss  probably  $2,000  or 
$3,000  Mex.  ;  it  is  difficult  to  say 
now  exactly  how  much.  The  L.  M. 
S.  has  fared  even  worse,  having  had 
eight  chapels  destroyed,  located  at 
Theng-chiu,  Ho-tian,  Leng-na,  Eng- 
hok,  Te-hang,  Chiang-peng,  Sin- 
hi,  and  Pho-lam.  Estimated  loss 
$20,000  Mex. 

Thus  far  we  hear  of  no  loss  of 
life,  but  in  some  instances  the 
Christians  have  been  robbed  of 
everything — houses,  fields,  and  even 
tleeds,  crops,  and  all  the  clothing 
they  possessed,  save  what  they  wore. 


The  one  bright  ray  that  pierces 
this  cloud  is  the  testimony  of 
these  sufferers  in  regard  to  the 
shelter  and  protection  afforded 
them  by  their  unconverted  neigh- 
bors, showing  that  these  present 
troubles  were  none  of  their  choos- 
ing at  all. 

It  must  there^'oro  be  said  that 
this  state  of  affairs  is  a  great 
surprise  to  some  of  u.s,  and  we  do 
say,  in  justice  to  the  'people,  of  this 
region,  noted  for  their  sobriety  and 
industry,  that  with  a  Taotai  of 
some  mental  calibre  and  moral 
stamina  such  things  could  not  have 
occurred  here. 

A  mandarin  with  three  hundred 
soldiers  has  been  sent  frotn  Amoy 
into  the  disturbed  district,  so  we 
may  hope  the  trouble  will  not 
spread  any  further. 

Correspondent. 

Later. — It  has  been  discovered 
that  the  destruction  noted  above 
has  not  been  done  by  local  mobs — at 
any  rate  not  instigated  by  them — 
but  by  a  band  of  ruffians  (helped  of 
course  by  local  spirit,  of  the  same 
stamp),  who  started  on  their  career 
of  plunder  and  vandalism  from 
.  Teng-chiu  Fu,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
or  three  hundred  miles  north-west 
from  Anioy.  Their  work  has  been 
done  most  systematically — destroy- 
ing chapels  and  robbing  people 
riyht  in  order  down  to  Chiang- 
chiu,  and  not  a  finger  raised  by  the 
officials  to  stop  the  bandits.  It  is 
rumored  that  they  are  near  or  actu- 
ally at  Chiang-chiu,  but  this  has 
not  been  confirmed.  Whether  the 
members  of  this  band  represent 
"  Boxers,"  or  some  other  secret  so- 
ciety, is  not  known  at  this  writing. 
Still  later. — These  ruffians  did 
appear  at  Chiang-chiu  and  threaten- 
ed to  pull  down  the  L.  M.  S. 
church  there,  but  they  were  stop- 
ped by  the  officials,  who  seem,  for 
the  moment  at  least,  to  have 
awakened. 

Correspondent. 


482 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[September, 


Another  Visit  to  Yunnan. 

(Concluded  jrom  page    377, 
July  number.) 

On  Monday  we  called  on  Mr. 
Lingle,  of  the  American  Presbyter- 
ian Mission,  wlio  started  a  mission 
in  Siang-tan  in  March  of  this  year. 
We  found  him,  together  with  Mrs. 
Doolittle  and  her  daugliter.  Dr. 
Doolittle,  busily  engaged  in  the  not 
very  congenial  work  of  turning  a 
native  house  into  a  fit  abode  for 
foreign  residents.  The  house  is 
large,  and  situated  within  the  city 
wall.  It  stands  in  a  quiet,  out  of 
the  way  place,  and  would  not  do 
for  public  preaching.  But  the  local- 
ity is  well  adapted  for  school  work 
and  for  private  residence,  especially 
where  ladies  and  children  are  con- 
cerned. The  presence  of  the  ladii>s 
has  created  a  great  deal  of  curiosity 
and  drawn  immense  crowds  of  eager 
sjjectators.  Both  mother  and  daugh- 
ter must  have  passed  through  try- 
ing times ;  but  they  complained  of 
nothing  worse  than  intense  curiosity 
on  the  part  of  the  sight-seers.  They 
have  nothing  to  conaplain  of  on  the 
score  of  rudeness  or  ill-will.  Mr. 
Lingle  himself  is  confident  that  they 
have  nothing  to  fear  from  the  people. 

It  is  nearly  twenty  years  since  I 
first  visited  Siang-tan  ;  and  I  have 
still  a  very  vivid  recollection  of  the 
ignominious  treatment  received  by 
Mr.  Archibald  and  myself  on  that 
occasion.  Ever  since  it  has  been 
one  of  my  ambitions  to  establish  a 
mission  at  this,  the  greatest  mart  of 
Hunan.  Till  the  beginning  of  last 
year  there  was  nothing  in  the  out- 
look to  inspire  hope  ;  now,  however, 
we  have,  not  only  a  mission  in  Siang- 
tan,  but  missions.  The  change  in 
Siang-tan  is  something  wonderful. 
Nonfe  except  those  who  saw  the 
Siang-tan  of  old  can  have  any  idea 
of  the  greatness  of  the  change.  But 
it  is  only  an  illustration  of  what  is 
going  on  all  over  Hunan.  The 
whole  province  is  ripe  for  innova- 
tioas   aud  improvements   of  every 


kind.  We  left  Siang-tan  on  the 
14tli  at  noon  and  reached  Chang-sha 
at  3  p.m.  Certain  officials  called  on 
us,  and  made  no  difficulty  about 
our  entering  the  city.  AV^e  might 
go  in  chairs  or  walk  as  we  liked 
best.  They  asked  us  if  we  wished 
to  preach  and  sell  books ;  there  being 
no  objection  to  either  the  one  or 
the  other.  They  thought  it  would 
have  been  better  if  we  had  brought 
with  us  suits  of  native  clothes  for 
the  occasion ;  still  it  was  a  matter 
of  no  great  importance.  In  fact 
we  found  theai  in  a  most  complai- 
sant mood.  Right  through  it  was 
"Just  as  j'^ou  will."  There  was 
only  one  point  on  which  they  were 
determined  not  to  oblige  us.  Last 
year  we  bought  a  house  at  Chang- 
sha,  outside  the  north  gate.  The 
deed  was  drawn  out  in  proper  form 
and  sent  to  the  district  magistrate 
to  be  stamped.  But,  though  the 
property  was  bought  with  the  cogni- 
zance and  permission  of  the  officials, 
the  magistrate  refused  to  put  his 
seal  to  it,  or  even  return  it  to  us  in 
its  original  form.  The  British  Con- 
sul at  Hankow  has  brought  the 
matter  before  the  governor  of  Hu- 
nan and  the  viceroy  of  Hu-kwang 
repeatedly,  and  in  every  case  fav- 
ourable replies  have  been  returned 
by  these  two  high  officials.  Still 
the  deed  has  not  been  stamped  and 
the  property  has  not  been  handed 
over  to  us.  On  this  visit  we  hoped 
to  be  able  to  put  the  matter  through, 
but  we  failed.  We  communicated 
with  one  Yamen  after  another,  but 
all  in  vain.  One  official  threw  the 
responsibility  on  the  other,  and  all 
seemed  equally  determined  to  have 
nothing  to  do  with  the  business. 
They  are  afraid  of  the  thin  end  of 
the  wedge.  I  feei  sure,  however, 
that  they  will  not  be  able  to  hold 
out  much  longer,  and  that  the  open- 
ing of  a  chapel  in  Chang-sha  will 
soon  be  an  accomplished  fact. 

We  entered  the  city  by  the  great 
West  Gate  and  came  out  by  the 
North   Gate,     I  was  much   struck 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY   NEWS. 


483 


with  some  of  the  fine  builflinjrs 
whicli  we  passed  en  route.  Many 
of  tlio  shops  are  large  and  well 
stocked.  Some  of  the  streets  are 
comparatively  wide,  and  all  the 
streets,  whether  wide  or  narrow, 
are  reinarkalily  clean  and  well 
paved  with  large  slabs  of  granite. 
The  population  of  Chang-sha  is  sup- 
posed to  he  more  than  half  a  million. 
If  I  may  judge  from  what  I  saw  of 
the  city  I  should  say  that  this 
estimate  is  rather  below  than  above 
the  mark.  Tlie  population  of  Chang- 
slia  is  larger  than  that  of  Siang-tan  ; 
bub  Siang-tan  occupies  the  first 
place  commercially.  I  was  delight- 
ed with  what  I  saw  of  both  the 
city  and  the  people  of  Chang-sha. 

Wo  went  through  the  city  in 
chairs  provided  for  us  by  the  of- 
ficials, but  walked  a  part  of  the  way. 
We  had  a  small  escort,  but,  so  far  as 
I  could  see,  there  was  no  real  need 
of  any  escort  at  all.  There  was 
hardly  any  crowding,  and  no  rude- 
ness whiitever.  I  never  saw  a  surly 
look  or  heard  an  insolent  word  all 
the  time  I  was  at  Chang-sha.  When 
we  returned  to  our  boat  about  thir- 
ty people  followed  us  ;  but  they  soon 
began  to  disperse,  and  in  less  than 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  they  were  all 
gone.  Some  scholars  came  to  see  us, 
and  all  seemed  most  friendly.  With 
one  of  them  I  had  a  long  conversa- 
tion, and  he  expressed  a  strong 
desire  that  I  should  come  and  live 
at  Chang-sha. 

Such  was  ray  experience  at  Chang- 
sha  on  this  my  last  visit.  This  is 
the  first  time  1  have  been  allowed 
to  enter  the  city.  On  my  first 
visit,  about  twenty  years  since,  I 
was  told  distinctly  that  no  foreigner 
could  be  admitted  within  the  gates 
of  Chang-sha ;  the  thing  being  un- 
heard of  and  the  danger  being 
too  great.  On  subsequent  visits  I 
was  told  that  the  examinations 
were  going  on,  and  that  the  students 
would  tear  me  in  pieces  if  I  ven- 
tured on  shore.  On  this  occasion 
no  objection  whatever   was  raised 


by  any  one.  I  am  convinced  that 
Chang-sha  is  about  to  be  thrown 
open.  I  think  it  probable  that 
before  this  time  next  year  mission- 
aries will  be  living  within  the  walls 
of  that  famous  city.  The  people 
are  prepared  for  us,  and  many  of 
the  scholars  are  thoroughly  friendly. 
What  keeps  us  out  now  is  nothing 
but  an  official  sentiment,  a  senti- 
ment which  is  rapidly  dying  down 
and  will  soon  be  quite  dead. 

Messrs.  North,  Watson,  and  War- 
ren, of  the  Wesleyan  Mission,  have 
just  returned  from  Hunan.  They 
are  deeply  impressed  with  the  im- 
portance of  Hunan,  and  hope  to  do 
something  towards  moving  their 
Society  to  extend  their  operations 
into  that  province.  It  is  my  earn- 
est prayer  that  their  efforts  will 
not  be  ia  vain.  There  is  abun- 
dance of  room  for  us  all  in  Hunan. 
They  also  entered  Chang-sha,  and, 
like  ourselves,  found  the  people 
manageable  enough. 

We  left  Chang-sha  on  the  17th 
and  reached  Yo-chou  on  the  18th, 
having  anchored  many  hours  on 
the  way.  I  spent  the  night  at 
Yo-chou  with  my  colleagues — Mr, 
Greig  and  Dr.  Peake,  On  the  fol- 
lowing day  I  was  off  again  for 
Hankow,  and  reached  home  early 
on  Sunday  morning,  the  20th  May. 
It  was  pleasant  to  find  my.self 
at  home  once  more  and  to  tell  the 
native  church  at  Hankow  the  good 
news  respecting  Hunan  and  the 
work  in  Hunan, 


Shansi,  Ho^um,  and 
Chihli, 

During  the  past  month  our  anxiety 
concerning  the  missionaries  in  Pe- 
king has  been  relieved  by  the 
taking  of  Peking  on  the  14th  and 
15th  August,  Details  have  not  been 
received,  but  it  is  reported  that  the 
lives  of  all  the  missionaries  at  the 
capital  have  been  spared,  and  we 
may  hope  soon  to  hear  from  their 
own    lips   the  story  of    their   ex- 


4S4 


THE  CamESE  RECORDER. 


[Septefflbef, 


perieiices  during  those  terrible 
vreeks  of  danger  and  privation. 

The  centre  of  anxious  interest  at 
present  is  the  province  of  Shansi. 
It  is  too  early  tio  give  full  particu- 
lars, but  it  is  feared  that  at  least  fifty 
inissionaries  have  been  murdered  in 
that  province,  and  these  have  been 
killed  by  the  direct  order  of  the 
notorious  Yii-hsieii,  who  was  pro- 
moted to  his  present  position  after 
the  Germans  had  demanded  his 
removal  from  the  governorship  of 
Shantung. 

At  the  time  of  the  breaking  out 
of  hostilities  there  were  stationed 
in  this  province  over  150  mission- 
aries. The  membership  of  the  dif- 
ferent missions  is  reported  as 
follows  :— 

China  Inland  Mission,  includ- 
ing Scandinavian  associates,  91  J 
Christian  Missionary  Alliance 
(mostly  Scandinavians),  27;  English 
Baptist,  13;  Shao-yang  Mission  (Mr. 
Pigott's),  1 1 ;  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society,  2  ;  American  Board, 
10.  Total,  154.  There  were  also 
quite  a  number  of  children.  That 
it  was  Yii  hsien's  purpose  to  ex- 
terminate all  foreigners  there  can 
be  no  doubt.  The  awful  story  of 
the  way  in  which  men,  women,  and 
children  were  done  to  death  is  too 
horrible  for  publication.  There 
remains  a  hope  that  besides  the  few 
who  have  escaped  by  way  of  Han- 
kow some  have  fled  to  the  north  or 
are  still  in  hiding  in  the  mountains, 
but  this  hope  is  not  as  well  founded 
as  we  might  wish. 

The  province  of  Honan  has  as  its 
governor  Yii-chang,  a  brother  of 
Yii-lu,  governor  of  Chih-li,  who  be- 
longs to  Kang-yi  and  YU-hslen'a 
tjlique.  Although  the  missionaries 
of,  this  province  have  escaped  with 
their  lives  it  is  believed  that  every 
mission  station  has  been  looted,  and 
many  of  those  Who  have  escaped 
have  undergone  great  hardship  and 
have  been  robbed  and  beaten  on 
the  road.  Several  parties  have 
escaped  through  Honan  from  Shan- 


si, but  it  has  proved  a  dangerous 
and,  in  some  cases,  a  fatal  route,  as 
is  seen  from  accounts  given  in 
this  number  of  the  Recorder.  In 
the  three  provinces  of  Shensi,  Chih" 
li,  and  Honan  very  little  remains  of 
niissiotl  property  ;  the  missionaries 
have  been  compelled  to  flee  for 
their  lives,  and  the  native  Christiana 
have  been  robbed,  beaten  and  mur- 
dered. In  these  provinces,  and 
wherever  there  has  been  wide- 
spread riot  and  persecution,  it  has 
been  plainly  proved  that  it  has 
been  done  with  the  connivance  of 
ofiicials  or  at  their  instigation. 

Since  the  so  called  "Boxer" 
uprising  began  there  have  been  no 
murders  of  missionaries  reported  as 
occurring  outside  of  these  three 
provinces,  with  the  exception  of 
the  murder  of  the  C.  I.  M,  mission- 
aries at  and  near  K'ti-chow,  where 
the  uprising  was  only  indirectly  con- 
nected   with  the  Boxer  movement. 

We  have  not  attempted  to  give 
an  account  of  the  Roman  Catholic 
losses  during  these  troublous  times, 
but  they  have  been  very  extensive . 
and  severe.  In  Kan-yang-fu,  in 
Honan,  the  Roman  Catholic  Bishop 
and  sixteen  priests  gathered  their 
followers  into  a  village  which  they 
have  fortified  and  defended,  refus- 
ing to  be  beguiled  under  promise 
of  escort  by  the  civil  and  military 
officials.  In  Chih4i  similar  action 
has  been  reported  in  one  or  two 
localities. 


China  Inland  Mission, 

We   are   indebted  to  Rev.  J.  J. 
Coulthardfor  the  following  notes: — 

ShansIi — Information  has  been 
received  that  on  June  27th,  Dr. 
Edward's  hospital  at  Tai-yuen  Fu 
was  burnt  and  Miss  Coombs  per- 
ished in  the  flames.  On  June  28th 
all  the  rest  of  the  foreign  com- 
munity was  gathered  together  ia 
the  premises  belonging  to  the  B. 
M.  S.,  and  these  were  fired  ;  and  it 
is  further  reported   that  on  July 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  NEWS. 


485 


9th  the  city  was  given  up  to  riot 
for  a  whole  day,  and  it  is  feared 
that  all  the  inisHionaries  and  native 
Christians  perished.  Another  re- 
port says  timt  thirty  missionaries 
escaped  to  the  east  mountains  and 
were  being  pursued.  Eight  work' 
ers,  vi«.,  Rev.  A.  E.  and  Mrs. 
Glover  and  two  children,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  A.  R  Saunders  and  two  chil- 
dren, .  Mr.  E.  J.  Cooper  and  two 
children.  Miss  Gates,  Miss  Guthrie, 
and  Mr.  Jennings  reached  Hankow 
on  August  13th  after  a  perilous  and 
most  trying  journey.  Miss  Rice 
was  murdered  in  Shansi,  Mrs.  E.  J. 
Cooper  and  Miss  Huston  died  in 
Hupeii  from  injuries  received,  and 
two  of  Mr.  Saunders*  children  from 
hardships  on  the  road,  while  Mr. 
E.  J.  Cooper's  youngest  child  died 
shortly  after  reaching  Hankow. 
These  workers  came  from  the  sta- 
tions of  P'ing'iao,  Lu-ch*eng,  and 
Lu-an  Fu.  As  soon  as  they  reached 
the  borders  of  Hupeh  they  were 
vreW  cared  for  by  the  officials  acting 
under  instructions  received  from 
Viceroy  Cliang  Clii-tung. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Luther  and  two 
children,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dreyer  and 
a  party  of  eight  ladies  are  travelling 
through  Honan  to  Hankow.  The 
Taotai  of  T'ung-kuan,  in  Shensi, 
refused  to  allow  this  party  to 
enter  the  province  :  he  said,  all  the 
missionaries  had  left  and  none  could 
enter  Shensi.  Had  they  been  allow- 
ed to  enter  they  would  have  been 
in  comparative  safety.  The  TaO' 
tai,  however,  compelled  them  to  go 
by  t^e  dangerous  Nan-yang  Fu 
route  to  Fan-ch'eng  (Hupeh).  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Duncan  Kay  and  fellow- 
workers,  six  in  all,  belonging  to 
the  district  of  Kllh-wu,  are  hiding 
in  some  high  mountain  and  are 
being  ministered  to  by  an  elder  of 
the  church,  who  conveys  supplies  to 
them  from  time  to  time. 

It  is  reported,  through  native 
sources,  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Mc 
■Connell  and  child,  also  two  ladies. 
Misses  King  and  Burt,  were  killed 


travelling  from  Ho-tsin  to  the 
Yellow  River  en  route  for  Shensi. 
The  reports  vary  concerning  the 
actual  number  who  were  killed  :  one 
reports  Ave  foreigners  and  three 
natives,  another  seven  foreigners 
and  one  native. 

Mr.  D.  M.  Robertson,  of  Kiang- 
cheo,  Shansi,  has  reached  Hankow. 

LATKR  NEWS. 

On  the  28th  the  following  C.  I. 
M.  missionaries  arrived  at  Hankow 
from  P'ing-yang-fu,  travelling 
through  Honan  :  Mr.  and  Mrs.  A. 
Lutley,  Mr,  and  Mrs.  F.  C.  H. 
Dreyer,  Misses  J.  F.  Hoskyn,  A. 
Hoskyn,  E.  C.  Johnson,  E.  Fiench, 
E.  Gauntlett,  E.  Higgs,  R.  Palmer, 
and  K.  Rasmussen.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Lutley's  two  children  died  during 
the  journey. 

Anhui. — All  the  workers  in  this 
province  have  safely  reached  the 
treaty  ports.  They  have  had  no 
trouble  on  the  way. 

Yunnan. — A  number  of  mission* 
aries,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Owen  Steven- 
son, Mr.  and  Mrs.  Harding,  Mr. 
Sanders,  and  Miss  Campbell  reach- 
ed Hongkong  safely,  and  some  have 
arrived  at  Shanghai, 

The  workers  at  Ta-li  Fu  wired 
on  August  23rd  that  they  were  well 
and  safe. 

Hunan. — All  C.  I.  M.  mission- 
aries have  left  this  province. 

Chehkiano. — The  report  regard- 
ing the  K'tt-chow  massacre  ha«  been 
confirmed.  We  learn  from  native 
sources  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  D.  B. 
Thompson,  two  children,  Misses 
Sherwood,  Manchester  and  Desmond 
were  murdered  in  the  city  on  July 
21st ;  also  that  Mrs.  Ward  and  child 
and  Miss  Thirgood  were  murdered 
on -the  22nd  July  at  the  jetty  out- 
side the  city  on  arrival  from  Ch'ang- 
shan  ;  Mr.  Ward  on  the  same  day 
at  a  place  15  /i  from  K'il-chow. 

KiANGSi. — It  is  expected  that  be- 
fore this  number  of  the  Recorder 
will  be  issued,  the  missionaries  in  this 
province  will  be  at  a  treaty  port. 


486 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[September, 


The  last  news  from  Mr,  Oir- 
Ewing,  who  has  been  making 
arrangements  to  escort  the  lady 
missionaries  to  Kiukiang,  was  to  the 
effect  that  he  had  gone  to  Kuang- 
sin  Fu  to  procure  the  necessary 
official  escort.  At  the  beginning  of 
his  journey  he  was  met  by  robbers, 
■who  I'elieved  him  of  his  ready  money, 
but  he  reached  in  safety  one 
of  the  mission  stations  the  same 
evening. 

Shensi.' — All  the  missionaries 
have  left  the  Si-ngan  plane  and 
Han-chang  Fu.  Many  have  arrived, 
and  the  rest  are  being  safely  con- 
ducted to  Hankow. 

Kansuh. — A  party  of  the  Lan- 
chow  lady  missionaries  left  on  the 
11th  of  August,  and  a  party  of 
missionaries  from  Si-ning,  Liang- 
chow,  and  Lan-chow  started  on  the 
21st  of  August  for  Chungking. 
The  Viceroy  was  providing  escorts 
for  them. 

KuEi-CHAU. — Missionaries  from 
Kuei-iang  and  other  stations  are 
now  travelling  to  Chungking  under 
escort.  Workers  in  the  Hsing-i 
district  are  travelling  to  Canton 
via  Kuang-si. 


JKiu-tsi-kuan  Outrages, 

On  the  highway  between  Han- 
kow and  Si-gan  is  a  wedge  of  Honan 
■with  a  mart — Kiu-ts'i-kuan.  The 
Hsie-t'ai  (major)  Lu  sent  a  birth- 
day present  to  the  Chen-t'ai  (col- 
onel) at  the  now  notorious  Nan- 
yang-fu.  The  Chen-t'ai  passed  on 
a  telegram  from  the  Empi-ess-Dow- 
ager  containing  the  order  :  "  Wher- 
ever you  meet  with  foreigners  you 
must  kill  them ;  if  they  attempt  to 
escape,  you  still  must  kill  them." 

,The  Hsie-t'ai  assured  me  he  had 
not  seen  the  telegram  that  his 
messenger  Su  had  brought,  and 
allowed  to  be  freely  copied.  He 
sent  another  messenger  to  the  Nan- 
yang  Chen-t'ai  asking  for  definite 
orders,  and  promised  to  protect 
us  five  days  longer.     He  got  back 


a  proclamation,  a  despatch,  and 
a  letter.  The  proclamation  licens- 
ed riot.  The  despatch  forbade 
protection,  and  added  that  Ho- 
nan does  not  recognize  the  Yang- 
tse  agreement.  The  letter  ordered 
utter  extermination.  He  permitted 
our  escape  next  day  and  promised 
that  all  the  property,  about  200 
cases  for  the  Kansu  and  Shensi 
stations,  as  well  as  our  own  things, 
should  be  preserved  unless  he  were 
superseded  or  a  band  were  sent 
purposely  to  work  destruction,  such 
as  tlie  governor  had  threatened 
against  tlie  Italian  missionaries  at 
Kien-kang,  a  fortified  village  near 
Nan-yang.  We  purposed  to  escape 
during  the  five  days'  grace  along 
with  the  Duncan-Shorrock  party, 
but  the  assurances  of  the  Hsie-t'ai, 
both  to  them  and  to  us,  caused  us 
to  delay  to  help  the  parties  that 
were  following  them  a  day  or  two 
behind  each  other.  The  third  party, 
Mr.  Folke's,  from  Shansi,  arrived  an 
hour  later  than  the  returned  mes- 
senger, and  we  left  next  morning 
with  them.  After  our  boats  had 
started  the  Hsie-t'ai  gave  the  Chen- 
t'ai's  letter  to  his  subordinate,  the 
Tsien-tsong  (lieutenant).  He  im- 
mediately ordered  twelve  militia 
to  mount  horses  and  fetch  us  back. 
Before  dark  the  Hupeh  gunboat 
men  met  the  party,  so  that  when 
the  twelve  horsemen  found  that 
our  protectors  were  more  numerous 
and  better  armed  than  themselves, 
they  returned  and  reported  that 
they  did  not  dare  to  attempt  the 
arrest.  On  the  first  day  of  the 
seventh  moon,  three  days  after  our 
departure,  all  movables  were  con- 
fiscated and  removed  to  the  Hsie- 
t'ai's  yamen.  Later,  each  box  was 
opened  and  the  military  officials 
made  their  selection  and  the  re- 
maining contents  of  each  box  was 
divided  amongst  the  militia, — all 
Kiu-tsi-kuan  men.  It  was  the 
Tsien-tsong  who  broke  the  Hsie- 
t'ai's.  seal  and  commenced  the  re- 
moval of  the  boxest 


1900.] 

T>v.  Bergin,  of  Bristol,  left  over 
thirty  cases,  a  complete  outfit  for 
hospital.  Tlie  Si-gan  Baptist  Mis- 
sionary Society  boxes  were  several 
boat-loads.  Nearly  every  station  in 
Kai)-su  and  Si-gaii  lias  thus  been 
robiiecj  by  a  man  into  whose  hands 
their  lives  and  property  have  been 
committed  for  a  whole  year,  and 
that  otKcial  told  me  he  had  been  in 
office  in  Shaiifj^liai  for  six  months. 
Each  day  a  Cliristian  was  being 
arrested  and  Hogged  until  he  prom- 
ised in  cash  the  full  value  of  all 
)ii3  property. 

George  Parker. 


MISSIONARY   JOURNAL. 


487 


General  Notes, 

Of  the  154  missionaries  statiqned 
in  Shensi  only  some  45  are  known 
to  have  escjiped. 

The  officials  of  Chehkiang  prov- 
ince seem  to  have  the  riotous 
element  of  that  province  pretty 
well  under  control. 

The  district  controlled  by  Chang 
Chih-tung  and  Liu  Kung-yi  has 
been  comparatively  free  from  riot- 
ing, and  where  trouble  has  occurred 
prompt  and  vigorous  action  by  the 
officials  has  insured  comparative 
safety  to  missionaries  and  their 
property. 

There  has  been  rioting  in  Fuhkien 
province  at  several  places,  and  the 
officials  have  not  been  blameless, 
but  it  is  hoped  that  these  disturb- 
ances will  not   be   multiplied.     A 


correspondent  gives  an  account  of 
disturbances  near  Amoy. 

The  occupation  of  Newchwang 
by  the  Russians  and  the  landing 
of  troops  at  Amoy  by  the  Japanese 
are  occurrences  whose  effect  upon 
missionary  operations  remains  to 
be  seen. 

More  than  thirty  menrof-war  are 
anchored  at  Shanghai  and  Woo- 
sung  with  some  8,000  men  on 
board.  Three  regiments  of  Indian 
troops  have  been  sent  to  ensure  the 
piotection  of  this  port,  and  the 
French  have  sent  about  a  thousand 
soldiers,  consisting  of  French,  An- 
namese,  and  Tonkinese  troops,  to 
protect  their  settlement. 


Corrections. 

The  news  from  the  provinces 
given  in  last  month's  Recorder  was 
carefully  gathered  froni  reliable 
sources,  but  several  corrections 
should  be  noted.  In  the  list  of 
Presbyterian  missionaries  at  Peking 
the  names  of  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Court- 
land  van  R.  Hodge  and  Miss  Maud 
Mackey,  M.D.,  should  be  added. 
Professor  G.  F.  Wright  and  son,  who 
were  supposed  to  be  among  the 
visitors  at  Peking,  we  ^Yere  glad  to 
learn  had  left  China  before  hos- 
tilities commenced.  A  note  from 
Dr.  Noyes,  of  Canton,  informs  us 
that  all  the  missionaries  had  not 
left  Canton,  but  a  number  of  theut 
were  remaining  at  their  posts. 


488 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[Sept.,  1900.] 


Ibsbnarij  Imirnal 


MARRIAGES. 

At  JCobe,  Japan,  July  31st,  Miss  I^AipY 
E.  Wood,  Botecourt  County,  Va., 
y.  S.  A,,  and  Rev.  J.  A.  G,  Shipley, 
M,  E.  S.  M.,  Soochow. 

At  Holy  Trinity  Cathedral,  Shanghai, 
Friday,  August  3rd,  at  5.30  p.m., 
Miss  L.  A.  BovEY,  L.  M.  S)  Shang- 
hai, and  Rev.  Donald  MacGillivbay, 
S.  D.  C.  K. 

BIRTHS. 

At  Shanghai,  August  4th,  the  wife  of 
ROBT.  E  Lewis,  College  Y.  M.  C.  A., 
of  a  daughter. 

At  Shanghai,  August  27th,  the  wife  of 
Rev.  J.  D,  Liddell,  L.  M.  S.,  Mpr- 
golia,  of  ?i  soi^. 

At  Shanghai,  August  27th,  the  wife  of 
Rev.  H,  Barton,  C,  M.  S.,  Chu-ki,  of 
a  daughter. 

DEATH, 

At  Macao,  July  31st,  Agnes  May 
Cooney,  C.  and  M.  A.,  Wu-chow,  qqe 
week  before  the  date  appointed  for 
her  marriage  to  Rev.  Robert  H. 
Glover,  M.D.,  of  the  same  Mission. 

ARRIVALS. 

At  Shanghai,    July  29th,    Rev.  S.    R. 

Clark,  wife,   and  two  children,  fronj 

England,  for  C.  I.  M. 
At  Shanghai,  August  18th,  Rev.  D„  L. 

Anderson,  M.  E.  S.  M,,  Soochow. 

DEPARTURES. 

From  Shanghai,  August  3rd,  W.  West- 
wood,  wife,  and  two  children.  Misses 
Bessie  Webster  and  Alice  Henry, 
for  Australia,  Miss  R.  Oai^eshott, 
for  England,  and  Miss  B.  Kumm,  for 
Germany,  all  of  C.  I.  M. ;  Rev,  and 
Mrs.  J.  W.  Heywood,  U.  M.  F.  C.  M., 
Ningpo;  Dr.  an(^  Mrs.  C.  J.  Daven- 
port, L.  M.  S.,  Hankow  ;  Mrs.  John 
Archibald,  N.  B.  S.  S.,  Hankow,  for 
England. 

From  Shanghai,  August  4th,  Rev.  and 
Mrs.  J.  Goforth  and  three  children, 
Bev.  J,  A.  Slimmon,   Misses  M.  J, 


McIntosii,  M.  a.  Pyke,  and  Dr. 
J.  I.  Dow,  all  of  C.  P.  M.,  for  Canada? 
Dr.  Gertrude  Taft,  W.  F.  M.  S., 
Chinkiang,  for  U.  S.  A. 

From  Shanghai,  August  11th,  Kev.  and 
Mrs.  K.  S.  Stokke,  Am.  Nor.  M., 
Hankow  ;  Rev.  and  Mrs.  C  A.  Sal- 
QUIST,  A.  M.  B.  U..  Chungking;  Mrs. 
Chas.  Thompson  and  two  children, 
C.  I.  ^.  r.Rpv.  ai^cl  i\^rs.  R.  A.  HAOEii 
and  three  children,  S.  P.  M.,  Kiang- 
yin;  Rev.  and  Mrs.  0.  M.  Sama, 
N.  L.  M.,  Hankow,  for  U.  S.  A.  ; 
Rev.  and  Mrs.  M,  Mackenzie  and 
child,  Dr.  and  Mrs.  J.  Menzies  an4 
t;wo  children,  C,  P.  M.,  for  Canada. 

From  Shanghai,  August  13th,  H.  T. 
Ford,  wife,  and  child,  E.  A.  Jackson, 
fo^:  England,  J.  W.  Bouldjn,  for 
America,  via  England,  all  of  C.  I.  M. 

From  Shanghai,  August  17th,  A.  Berg, 
wife,  and  two  children,  Misses  Prytz, 
Fozelklow,  Engstrom,  and  J.  Sande- 
berg,  for  Sweden,  Miss  Holth,,  for 
I^orway,  all  of  C.  I.  M.  ;  Mrs.  J. 
Web^'^er,  U.  P.  C.  S.  M.,  Manchuria, 
for  Scotland ;  Rev.  and  Mrs.  J.  E. 
L^ind^erg,  S.  B.  ^.,  Kiao-chow,  for 
Swetien. 

I'roiv;  Shanghai,  August  21st,  G.  J. 
Marshall,  wife,  and  child  and  Miss 
L.  G.  Albertson,  C.  I.  M.,  for  Amer- 
ica; Mr.  and  Mrs.  H.  C.  Kingham, 
wif^,  and  child,  for  England,  Rev.  aud^ 
Mrs.  J[,  Hartwell  and  four  children, 
S.  B.  C,  for  U.  S.  A. 

From  Shanghai,  August  27th,  Mrs.  T. 
James  and  five  children,  for  England, 
L.  H.  E.  LiNDER  and  wife  and  Miss 
Eriksson,  for  Sweden,  W.  J.  Davey, 
wife,  and,two  children,  for  India,  Misa 
A.RPIAINEN,  for  Finland,  all  of  C.  I.  M.  ; 
Mr,  Isaac  Mason,  wife,  and  children, 
F.  F.  M.,  Chungking;  Miss  L.  S. 
DiGB;Y,  A^iss  M.  A.  Thompson,  Rev. 
and  Mrs.  D.  Callum,  Chungking, 
Rev.  and  Mrs.  W.  E,  Godson,  Ning- 
{>o,  all  of  C.  M,  ^.,  for  England. 


THE 


CHINESE  RECORDER 


AND 


Vo.  XXXI.  No.  10.         OCTOBER,  1900.         {^^ptX^r^"'.?"^ 

Seeking  to  Save :  Have  we  a  Beinite  Plan  ? 

BY   REV.    C.   B.   TITUS. 

^jTOW  to  reach  the  Chinese  still  remains  an  unsolved  problem. 
M'^X  The  experience  of  workers  in  other  countries  sheds  some 
light,  but  the  conditions  in  China  are  peculiar.  The  savages 
of  the  Pacific  islands  were  dangerous,  but  once  their  fear  was 
allayed  and  attention  gained,  the  gospel  had  free  entrance  to  their 
minds  and  hearts.  Not  so  here.  In  some  respects  it  is  worse 
than  in  Komanized  South  America.  There,  deep  prejudice  exists 
against  the  missionary  when  he  arrives,  for  the  priest  threatens  his 
members  with  eternal  purgatory  if  they  even  listen  to  the  heretical 
preaching  of  the  Protestants.  There,  enlighten  the  laymen  and  the 
priest's  power  disappears.  Here,  the  people  profess  to  heartily 
despise  the  Buddhist  and  Taoist  priests,  and  they  laugh  at  their 
mud-made  idols;  yet  such  is  their  fear  of  devils,  sickness,  and  death, 
that  they  expend  vast  sums  each  year  in  idolatrous  worship  and 
rely  on  the  priests'  incantations  during  their  last  moments  to  ward 
off  the  devil's  imps. 

Though  for  2,000  years  the  teachers  have  been  memorizing 
the  ethics  of  Confucius  and  other  sages,  yet  they  habitually 
disregard  their  advice  in  practice.  Until  lately  they  believed  them- 
selves the  embodiment  of  the  world's  knowledge,  and  that  the  out- 
side barbarians  came  as  vassals  to  pick  up  the  crnmbs  that  fell 
from  the  table  of  the  "son  of  heaven."  They  humbled  themselves 
to  listen  to  a  missionary,  whose  broken  speech  and  lame  pronuncia- 
tion were  proof  positive  of  his  dense  ignorance.  Bitter  prejudice 
prevailed.  All  who  went  to  Chinese  schools  conned  the  same  old 
books,  so  that  their  distorted  ideas  of  the  world  and  the  people 
therein  permeated  the  whole  population. 


490  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [October, 

They  were  self-satisfied.  They  wanted,  above  all  things,  to  be 
let  alone.  But  outside  peoples  would  come  in  and  conquer  them. 
Helpless  they  settled  down  to  the  slow  process  of  absorbing  their 
conquerors.  Their  history  is  a  constant  repetition  of  how  this  has 
been  done.  They  absorbed  the  Buddhists  with  their  idols ;  the 
Taoists  with  their  awful  hell  tortures;  the  Mohammedans  and 
Catholics  with  their  heretical  doctrine  ;  and  lastly,  the  Mauchu 
dynasty  itself,  under  the  same  process,  has  become  corrupt  and 
palsied. 

Do  we  wonder  that  the  Chinese  look  upon  Christianity  as  only 
another  heretical  religion  and  on  the  missionaries  as  setters  forth 
of  another  strange  god  ?  Will  Christianity  help  them  any  more 
than  Confucianism,  which,  despite  an  admixture  of  all-comers,  is 
still  the  state  religion  ?  False  religions  have  hardened  the  people 
until  they  have  even  forgotten  the  true  God.  And  God  has  given 
them  up  to  their  own  lusts  (see  Romans  i.  and  ii.),  and  they  are 
reaping  the  evils  thereof,  which  are  legion. 

Where  is  the  present  fighting-line  of  the  missionary  forces  ? 
We  believe  the  present-century  world-evangelization  movement 
began  of  God  ;  and  that  God  has  used  Christian  nations  as  well  as 
men  in  promoting  it.  The  authorities  at  Peking  have  issued  strict 
orders  to  their  officials  to  see  that  the  missionaries  are  not  molested. 
The  people,  smothering  their  hatred  of  the  foreigner,  settle  down 
to  their  old  trick  of  "  taking  him  in  "  by  absorption.  The  unwary 
missionary  comes  full  of  enthusiasm  for  converts.  He  loves  the 
Chinese  with  his  whole  heart.  He  has  heard  of  their  hardness  of 
heart,  and  is  willing  to  do  anything  for  them  if  they  will  only 
listen  to  the  gospel  and  believe.  He  can  pay  well  for  servants,  and 
is  overjoyed  to  employ  a  convert  who  can  actually  preach  the 
gospel  to  others.  The  home  board  gladly  sends  him  money  to  build 
a  house  for  his  health's  sake.  The  heathen  children  can  be  brought 
under  the  teaching  of  the  gospel  through  the  medium  of  a  day- 
school,  and  money  comes  to  employ  native  teachers  and  sometimes 
to  erect  a  foreign  school  building.  The  converts  are  poor,  very 
poor  ;  so  the  missionary  advises,  and  the  home  board  donates,  to 
these  poor  struggling  disciples  of  the  Master  a  church  home.  A 
large  foreign  hospital  is  also  erected,  and  the  suffering  multitude 
treated  practically  free. 

But  there  is  an  undertow.  The  wily  Chinese  sees  money  in  it. 
The  missionary's  power  is  greater  than  that  of  his  own  ofiicials. 
He  conjures  up  a  plan  to  climb  into  the  sheepfold.  He  finds  that 
the  "  doctrine  "  is  the  key  to  entrance.  He  approaches  with  hum- 
blest mien  as  a  learner.  He  gets  a  flattering  reception.  It  works. 
He  comes  again,  repeats  some  of  the  doctrine,  and  accepts  a  gift 


1900.]  SEEKING  TO  SAVE.  49-1 

of  book.  He  is  good  at  memorizing,  and  his  answers  soon  satisfy 
the  most  exacting.  He  is  baptized.  But  now  his  neighbors  perse- 
cute him.  Poor  fellow !  the  missionary  will  protect  you.  A 
foreigner's  card  goes  to  the  yamen,  and  the  wonld-be  persecutors 
are  crusiied.  But  the  convert's  business  has  beea  broken  up. 
Ah,  never  mind,  he  can  tell  the  glad  story  of  salvation  ;  he  is  givea 
|6  a  month  and  goes  forth.  Others  try  it  and  become  servants  at 
good  wages.  The  people  of  the  region  find  foreign  doctors  and 
hospitals  a  great  boon.  The  business  men  of  the  place  are  not 
averse  to  the  expenditure  of  large  sums  of  foreign  money  on  buildings 
in  their  midst. 

But  good  comes  out  of  it  all,  for  there  are  those  into  whose 
hearts  the  word  of  life  falls  as  seed  into  good  soil,  who  believe  and 
obey,  and  who  will  yet  sit  down  with  Abraham  and  Isaac  and  Jacob 
in  the  kingdom  of  God.  Let  ua  pray  that  all  China  may  yet  find 
the  light  of  the  world  in  Jesus. 

New  missionaries,  hearing  that  hiring  the  first  converts  to 
preach  led  some  to  come  in  for  the  "  loaves  and  fishes,"  went  to 
the  other  extreme  and  would  hire  none  at  all.  This  checked  enthu- 
siasm, and  the  work  lagged.  The  idea  of  entire  self-support  was 
perhaps  chiefly  promoted  by  Dr.  Nevius'  writings.  The  trouble  with 
this  plan  is  that  at  first  there  is  no  desire  on  the  part  of  tha 
Chinese  for  the  gospel.  Until  a  desire  is  awakened  they  must  be 
labored  with  ;  and  to  do  this,  money  has  to  be  expended,  not  only 
upon  some  foreign  missionaries,  but  also  on  some  natives  to  aid  in  the 
work.  Some  natives  will  take  advantage  of  their  position,  it  is 
true,  but  experience  has  proved  that  where  the  best  are  employed 
to  teach  and  preach,  to  sell  Bibles  and  tracts,  and  otherwise  as- 
sist in  spreading  a  knowledge  of  the  truth,  more  have  learned  of 
the  true  God  and  of  Jesus  Christ  the  Savior  than  in  solely  relying 
on  the  foreign  missionary.  This  plan  makes  it  now  possible  for 
new  missionaries  to  come  in  and  reform  the  work,  as  they  term  it, 
into  a  seIf-sup[)ortiug  church. 

Rev.  C.  W.  Mateer,  D.D.,  who  has  been  a  missionary  perhaps 
longer  than  was  Dr.  Nevius,  and  on  nearly  the  same  ground,  has 
recently  written  that  the  work  in  Shantung  province,  started  by  Dr. 
Nevius,  was  left  by  him  in  a  critical  condition,  and  was  taken  over 
by  the  Presbyterian  Board  and  a  scheme  of  ministerial  sustentation 
instituted.  Each  church  and  station  was  required  to  give  an 
annual  contribution.  This  common  fund  employed  a  number  of 
native  evangelists  who  had  been  carefully  instructed.  Each  had 
several  preaching  placea  The  plan  proved  weak,  because  the  native 
evangelists  too  easily  received  members.  The  history  of  fifty-foar 
out  of  sixty  stations  has  beeu  traced.     Of  these,  fourteen  have  been 


492  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [October, 

entirely  abandoned ;  the  members  having  all  apostatized  or  died. 
One  or  two  who  remained  Christians  moved  to  other  parts.  Five 
other  stations  do  not  meet  on  Snnday  ;  the  members  of  eight  other 
stations  attend  service  at  adjoining  stations.  The  remaining  twenty- 
three  stations  are  organized  into  eleven  chnrches  with  elders  and 
deacons.  In  only  one  case  is  a  church  confined  to  a  station.  Of 
the  station  leaders  one-third  have  fallen  into  gambling,  opinm- 
smoking,  or  gone  over  to  the  Catholics  ;  one-third  are  decidedly 
indifferent  Christians  ;  and  the  remaining  third  are  good  men,  but 
none  of  them  have  prepared  themselves  for  the  pastorate.  In  the 
aggregate  quite  as  many  have  gotten,  or  tried  to  get,  financial  aid 
out  of  the  church  or  the  foreigners  as  any  other  class  of  men  in  the 
church.  About  fifteen  stations  were  assisted  to  build  or  lease 
houses  for  services,  receiving  from  |10  to  $15  each,  or  one-fourth 
to  three-fourths  the  whole  expense.  The  majority  of  these  houses 
have  passed  into  private  hands  and  are  no  longer  used  for  preach- 
ing places. 

This  picture  from  a  veteran  missionary  shows  how  difficult  is 
the  work  in  China.  As  we  believe  nothing  is  impossible  with  God, 
the  harder  the  work  the  more  eagerly  we  ought  to  press  forward. 
The  grand  pioneer  missionaries  labored  in  this  faith.  They  have 
done  their  work  well.  We  can  honor  them  ;  the  Lord  alone  can  re- 
ward them.  Conditions  are  somewhat  different  now.  The  mission- 
ary forces  have  settled  down  to  a  siege  ;  long  or  short — the  Lord 
knows,  we  do  not.  Onrs  but  to  obey  Christ's  marching  order  :  "  Go 
and  preach  the  gospel."  Christ  has  promised  unto  those  who 
believe  and  are  baptized,  salvation.  Oh,  that  the  kingdoms  of  this 
world  may  speedily  become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  Savior 
Jesus  Christ. 

Have  we  a  definite  plan  by  which  we  are  working  for  the 
evangelization  of  China?  It  is  admitted  that  there  are  local  disor- 
ders requiring  special  treatment.  But  does  the  work  here  differ  so 
radically  from  that  in  all  other  countries  that  we  cannot  follow  the 
general  principles  laid  down  for  the  guidance  of  missionaries  in  all 
ages  and  in  every  clime  P 

What  is  Jesus'  plan  for  making  disciples  ?  Go  to  them,  into  their 
houses,  into  all  the  world.  The  seventy  were  to  preach,  heal,  and 
freely  give  as  they  had  freely  received.  The  first  workers  of  the 
new  must  face  the  wolves  of  the  old.  Be  ye  wise  as  serpents  and 
harmless  as  doves.  Jesus  found  and  called  His  first  disciples — 
Andrew  and  Peter,  James  and  John.  He  told  them  to  become 
fishers  of  men.  To  angle  successfully  one  must  go  where  the  fish 
are,  learn  their  habits,  bait  the  hook,  and  cast  the  net  accordingly. 
The  best  do  not  come  beseeching  to  be  caught.     Zaccheus  was  seen 


1900.]  SEEKING   TO  SAVE.  493 

ia  the  tree  and  assured  :  "This  day  is  salvation  come  to  this  honse." 
Matthew  was  called  from  the  receipt  of  cnstonis.  The  eleventh- 
hour  laborers  trusted  the  promise,  "  Whatsoever  is  right,"  The 
reward  is  God's  free  gift,  not  mao's  merit.  Whosoever  forsaketh 
not  all,  cannot  he  Christ's  disciple. 

That  the  Chiuese  should  come  to  the  missionary  with  worldly 
gain  in  mind  is  not  strange.  The  Jews  as  well  as  the  gentiles 
sought  for  precedence  and  pro-eminence  when  Jesus  was  on  earth. 
Let  us  learn  from  the  Master  the  true  method  of  dealing  with  them. 
He  sent  away  those  who  would  make  him  an  earthly  king.  To  him 
who  wanted  an  inheritance  divided,  he  showed  an  all-revealing  diiy 
of  judgment.  The  rich  young  man  went  away  very  sorrowful  be- 
cause he  was  told  to  sell  all.  To  the  one  who,  without  counting  the 
cost,  declared  he  would  follow  Jesus  whithersoever  He  went,  Jesus 
pointed  out  that  He  himself  had  not  where  to  lay  His  head.  In  the 
one  who  came  for  healing  of  the  bodj',  Jesns  looked  for  faith  in  God. 
And  when  the  multitude  followed  to  the  other  side,  He  told  them 
plainly  :  "Ye  seek  me  not  because  ye  saw  the  miracle,  but  because 
ye  did  eat  of  the  loaves  and  fishes.  The  flesh  profiteth  nothing;  it 
is  the  spirit  that  qnickeneth.  Believe  my  words,  for  they  are  spirit 
and  they  are  life."  Then  many  went  back  and  walked  no  more 
with  Him. 

The  apostles  understood  the  Master's  plan.  After  the  persecu- 
tion at  Jerusalem  they  went  everywhere  {)reaching  the  word.  But 
those  who  came  to  them  with  worldly  motives,  as  Ananias  and 
Sapphira,  Simon  the  sorcerer  and  Elymas,  were  rejected.  Those 
who  would  sacrifice  to  Paul  and  Barnabas  at  Lystra  were  restrained 
and  exhorted  to  turn  to  the  living  God.  Even  on  the  island  of 
Melita,  where  the  barbarous  people  thought  Paul  a  god  and  treated 
him  with  no  little  kindness,  Paul  did  not  baptize  any,  although  they 
honored  him  with  many  honors  and  loaded  him  with  such  things  as 
were  necessary  for  his  journey.  On  the  other  hand,  such  great 
helpers  as  Timothy  and  Titus  were  found  and  set  forth  as  evangel- 
ists and  overseers  of  the  churches. 

What  lesson  may  we  thus  learn  from  the  Master  and  His 
apostles?  In  brief,  that  we  must  not  be  too  quick  in  receiving  for 
baptism  those  who  first  press  themselves  upon  our  attention.  We 
must  go  forth  and  find  the  Andrews,  the  Matthews,  the  Timothys. 
The  missionary's  mistake  is  not  so  much  from  standing  too  closely 
by  the  self-support  idea,  nor,  on  the  other  hand,  from  putting  his 
converts  under  too  strict  surveillance;  the  failure  is  ofceuer  because 
the  hearts  of  the  converts  are  not  lincere.  Their  thoughts  xire  far 
from  God.  They  are  entering  for  worldly  gain.  They  are  even  yet 
making  use  of  a  middleman.     Let  us  patiently  teach  and  preach, 


404  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [October, 

aud  abide  God's  own  good  harvest  time.  By  their  fruits  ye  shall 
kuow  them.  They  must  show  their  faith  by  their  works.  They 
must  re[)ent  and  be  born  again.  Except  the  Lord  build  the  house 
they  labor  in  vain  who  build  it.  Let  us  pray  that  the  time  may 
speedily  come  when  not  7,000  but  7,000  times  7,000  in  this  great 
empire  may  be  found  who  will  not  bow  the  knee  to  Baal, 

Jesus  came  to  seek  and  to  save  the  lost.    Let  us  go  and  do 
likewise. 


Miss  Eaygood:  a  Life  for  China. 

[S  ISHOP  McTYEIRE  has  said :  "  Whenever  the  Lord  would  do  a 
work  in  the  earth,  a  tnan  is  got  ready."  It  may  be  added  that 
the  making  of  a  great  man  or  a  great  woman  is  in  itself  the 
greatest  work  of  God  in  the  world.  The  greatness  of  any  work  of  God 
is  tested  by  the  amount  of  Himself  which  He  can  put  into  it.  Of  all 
His  works  in  the  world,  only  men  and  women  admit  of  being  "  filled 
unto  all  the  fullness  of  God."  Christ  Jesus  is  our  absolute  standard  of 
greatness,  "  for  in  Him  dwelleth  all  the  fnllness  of  the  Godhead  bod- 
ily." His  title  to  be  acknowledged  as  "head  over  all  things  "  is  not 
only  in  His  divine  fullness,  but  also  in  His  power  to  make  others  such 
full  partakers  of  His  nature.  As  we  close  this  preeminently  mission- 
ary century,  and  as  our  ideals  of  greatness  are  becoming  more  and 
more  Christianized,  we  are  ready  to  say  that  the  supreme  exhibition 
of  the  greatness  of  God  is  in  the  making  of  a  great  missionary.  It 
is  as  a  truly  great  missionary,  as  one  in  whom  God  was  well  pleased 
to  reveal  in  an  exce{)tioual  degree  the  grace  and  truth  of  His  Son, 
that  Miss  Haygood  deserves  to  engage  our  prayerful  thought  at 
this  time. 

Every  great  missionary  life  involves  three  elements  of  supreme  in- 
terest, viz.,  a  call,  a  career,  and  a  character.  We  want  to  know  the 
way  in  which  the  Spirit  of  God  led  the  life  on  to  the  crowning  de- 
cision for  missionary  service ;  we  want  also  to  know  the  faithfulness 
aud  wisdom  with  which  the  chosen  one  cooperated  with  God  in 
meeting  the  daily  demands,  the  toils,  the  disappointments,  and  the 
triumphs  incident  to  working  out  a  great  life  purpose  ;  we  want  also 
especially  to  know  those  qualities  of  character  which  made  the  soul 
responsive  to  the  call  of  God  and  enabled  it  to  concentrate  its  all 
with  unfaltering  constancy  upon  the  shaping  of  a  Christ-like  career. 
In  each  of  these  respects  Miss  Haj'good's  life  furnishes  very  valua- 
ble lessons. 

Bishop  Haygood  suggested  that  the  law  of  heredity  had  worked 
toward   making  Miss  Haygood  a  missionary.     "  If  you  ask,"  said 


1900.]  MISS   HAYGOOD  :    A   LIFE   FOR  CHINA.  495 

he,  "why  ray  sister  goes  to  China  as  a  missionary,  I  answer,  Becanse 
she  had  a  Methodist  father  and  mother  and  Methodist  grandpar- 
ents." Her  grandmother  seems  to  have  tnrued  to  religions  nses 
the  very  earliest  movements  of  conscions  mental  life  in  Miss  Hay- 
good.  A  very  close  friend  writes:  "When  little  more  than  an  in- 
fant, she  nsed  to  lie  at  the  feet  of  the  dear  old  grandmother  and  hear 
her  read  the  Bible  and  sing  the  old  hymns  ('How  Firm  a  Fonnda- 
tion  ! '  being  a  favorite),  until  faith  and  love  were  interwoven  into  the 
very  fiber  of  her  child  nature."  The  grandmother,  all  nnconscious- 
ly,  bnilt  her  life  into  the  very  foundations  of  that  noble  missionary 
career.  Miss  Haygood's  mother  practically  gave  her  her  entire 
education,  excepting  two  years  spent  at  Wesleyan  College,  Macon, 
Ga.,  from  which  she  was  graduated  in  1863,  at  the  age  of  eighteen. 
From  her  mother  she  received  not  only  rounded  iutelliirence  and 
culture,  but  also  marvelous  purity  and  strength  and  unselfishness  of 
nature.  Her  revered  father  died  during  her  last  year  at  college^ 
and  in  the  severe  school  of  her  first  great  sorrow  she  began  her 
thorongh  mastery  of  one  of  earth's  divinest  arts:  how  "we  may  be 
able  to  comfort  them  that  are  in  any  affliction,  through  the  comfort 
wherewith  we  ourselves  are  comforted  of  God."  Between  her  and 
her  brother  Atticus,  her  senior  by  about  six  years,  there  was  a  spe- 
cial congeniality,  and  each  helped  the  other  to  determine,  amid  ail 
the  myriad  voices  of  life's  turning  points,  which  was  the  voice  of 
God.  Snch  a  home  life,  whose  very  atmosphere  is  charged  with 
Christian  faith  and  love  and  praise,  is  God's  choicest  training  school 
for  all  that  enters  most  vitally  into  the  making  of  a  missionary. 

Miss  Haygood's  special  branch  of  missionary  work  was  to  be 
educational,  and  for  this  she  had  a  very  thorough  providential  prep- 
aration. She  tanght  with  her  mother  in  a  private  school  in  Oxford, 
Ga.,  where  they  were  forced  to  take  refuge  because  of  the  war  sit- 
uation in  Atlanta.  On  returning  to  Atlanta  she  tanght  a  private 
school  until  the  opening  of  the  girls'  high  school  of  that  place. 
She  at  once  became  a  teacher  in  the  high  school,  and  afterwards 
became  its  principal.  She  won  the  most  decided  favor  of  pupils, 
associate  teachers,  and  the  best  citizens  of  Atlanta.  Over  her  pu- 
pils, as  they  testify,  she  not  only  wielded  the  influence  of  her  faith- 
fulness, patience,  and  noble  ideals,  but  threw  the  spell  of  her  strong, 
loving,  and  commanding  personality.  With  younger  teachers  her 
sympathy  was  very  great,  and  she  was  most  helpful  in  guiding  them 
through  their  perplexities  and  in  supplying  them  with  suitable, 
stimulating  reading.  When,  in  1884,  it  became  known  that  she  was 
to  resign  her  principalship  in  order  to  go  to  China,  the  number  of 
Atlanta's  most  prominent  citizens  who  entreated  her  to  change  her 
purpose,  made  it  apparent  that  she  met  the  terms  of  Dr.  Allen's 


THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [October, 

appeal  for  more  laborers  in  China,  pleading  as  he  did  for  "onr 
choicest  women,  who  can't  be  spared  at  home." 

The  more  immediate  inflneuces  leading  to  Miss  Haygood's  mis- 
sionary decision  came  to  her  through  the  chnrch  and  through  mis- 
sionary friends.  From  childhood  she  had  been  connected  with 
Trinity  Church,  Atlanta.  Her  father  and  mother  were  among  its 
charter  members.  She  loved  the  church  very  loyally,  and  no  one 
ever  made  a  more  faithful  use  of  its  means  of  grace  than  did  she. 
In  1882,  at  a  prayer  meeting  service  which  found  its  inspiration  in 
the  words,  "I  delight  to  do  thy  will,  O  my  God:  yea,  thy  law  is 
within  my  heart,"  Miss  Haygood  received  a  fresh  baptism  of  the 
Spirit  for  service.  She  now  entered  upon  home  mission  work  with 
marked  energy  and  wisdom.  Her  wonderful  power  for  organizing 
and  directing  Christian  work  as  well  as  for  doing  immediate  personal 
service  was  called  out  in  ever-increasing  measure.  Relief  work, 
industrial  training,  Sunday  school  work,  day  school  work,  church 
home  for  old  people  and  children  now  found  a  place  in  her  thought 
and  effort  alongside  her  usual  service  of  the  church  and  her  activ- 
ities as  principal  of  the  girls'  high  school.  In  1883  her  mother 
died,  and  she  was  free  to  go  wherever  the  most  urgent  plea  for  help 
might  call  her.  From  1882  to  1884  she  was  in  constant  recei[»t  of 
letters  from  China.  Mrs.  Brown  (u6e  Muse)  wrote  her  very  fully 
of  the  conditions  which  she  found  in  China  and  of  the  great  needs 
of  Chinese  women  and  children.  Her  heart  and  conscience  began 
to  go  out  toward  China.  Dr.  Allen  was  making  his  "  urgent  appeal 
for  more  laborers  in  China,"  especially  pleading  for  women  of  expe- 
rience in  educational  work  and  women  qualified  to  organize  and 
direct  the  various  other  branches  of  Christian  work.  Miss  Hay- 
good  began  to  feel  that  it  would  be  cruel  both  to  work  and  workers 
should  none  but  the  inexperienced  and  immature  consent  to  answer 
this  urgent  appeal.  On  February  24,  1884,  while  listening  to  a 
sermon  by  Dr.  Potter,  she  decided  to  devote  her  life  to  the  work  of 
Christ  in  China.  In  June,  1884,  the  Woman's  Board  of  Missions 
accepted  Miss  Haygood  as  a  special  gift  from  God  for  China. 

In  October  Miss  Haygood  left  for  China,  and  the  farewell 
service  held  for  her  at  Trinity  Church  may  perhaps  be  reckoned 
among  the  most  impressive  scenes  in  the  history  of  our  church.  It 
was  called  by  one  a  great  wedding  feast — the  marriage  of  Miss 
Haygood  to  Christ's  work  in  China.  Her  words  on  this  occasion 
rose  to  a  truly  Pauline  height  of  spiritual  grace,  and  she  closed  her 
remarks  with  Paul's  prayer  for  the  church  at  Philippi  as  found  in 
Philemon  i.  3-11.  Hundreds  are  said  to  have  looked  into  Miss  Hay- 
good's  face  and,  after  a  silent  clasp  of  the  hand,  to  have  blindly  wept 
their  way  out  of  the  house  of  God.  One  describing  the  occasion  says  : 


1900.]  MISS  HAYQOOD:   A   LIFE  FOB  CHINA.  497 

"No  qneeQ  ever  looked  more  royally,  no  saint  ever  spoke  more 
lovingly,  and  no  martyr,  except  the  Master,  ever  offered  a  sacrifice 
more  costly."  It  was  the  triumphal  close  of  one  life  aod  the  triamph- 
al  entry  upon  another  which  was  really  not  another.  Miss  Hay- 
good  never  forgot  the  days  of  blessing  which  were  hers  while 
engaged  in  home  mission  work  iu  Atlanta.  It  was  this  which  led 
her  to  insist  so  strongly  on  the  unity  of  the  work  at  home  and  in 
heathen  lands.  She  insisted  that  the  Christian  women  at  home 
have  their  part  also  in  the  "great  commission."  It  was  this 
memory  which  prompted  her  to  write,  soon  after  reaching  China, 
those  words  which  thrill  with  the  Master's  spirit,  "0  that  every 
woman  in  the  Southern  Methodist  Church  (who  cannot  come  to 
foreign  lands)  would  say,  '  I  give  my  money,  my  love,  and  my  pray- 
ers to  the  foreign  work ;  I  give  my  money,  my  love,  my  prayers, 
and  myself  to  the  home  work.' " 

Of  Miss  Haygood's  fifteen  years  of  heroic  service  in  China  it  ia 
impossible  to  give  any  adequate  sketch.  Only  its  outstandiug  feat- 
ures can  be  mentioned.  Before  considering  her  work  proper  it 
will  be  well  to  mention  her  letters  from  the  field.  These  letters 
breathe  so  much  of  the  Pauline  spirit ;  they  show  such  an  insight 
into  the  deeper  things  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  they  plead  so  stren- 
uously for  an  awakening  in  the  charch  at  home  and  for  the  coming 
of  more  workers,  they  set  forth  such  a  high  ideal  of  Christian 
consecration  and  of  the  qualifications  needed  for  missionary  service, 
they  supply  such  searching  facts  to  stir  the  Christian  heart  and 
conscience,  they  are  so  pure  in  diction,  so  free  from  cant  and 
triviality,  so  overflowing  with  Christ-like  love  and  grace  and  wisdom 
that  they  alone  are  enough  to  enshrine  Miss  Uaygood  forever  in  the 
hearts  of  all  Christian  workers.  No  one  was  ever  more  truly  a 
living  link  between  the  church  at  home  and  the  church  abroad. 
We  cannot  but  rejoice  at  the  prospect  of  the  publication  of  these 
letters. 

Miss  Haygood's  first  work  in  China  was  the  organizing  of 
Trinity  Home,  where  she  lived  and  worked  with  several  other  ladies 
ol  the  Mission  for  about  six  years.  She  writes  :  "Two  days  after 
we  landed  we  began  the  home-making.  No  sooner  were  we  settled 
than  Chinese  teachers  appeared,  and  study  of  the  Chinese  language, 
with  its  inexhaustible  possibilities  and  resources  for  furnishing 
employment,  was  entered  upon  by  us.  Such  work  in  charch  and 
school  as  has  been  possible  to  us  has  been  undertaken,  and  the  days 
crowned  with  the  tender  mercies  and  loving-kindness  of  our  God, 
have  been  full  and  happy.  That  we  have  been  happy  does  not  mean 
that  we  have  not  measured  time  by  the  coming  and  going  of  the 
American  mails,  uor  that  the  letters,  both  coming  and  going,  have 


498  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [October, 

not  sometimes  been  tear-stained ;  but  the  tears,  thank  God  !  have 
been  as  gentle  as  the  summer  rain,  and  the  promised  peace  that 
passeth  all  understanding  has  been  givea  in  hours  of  greatest  need 
with  its  power  to  quiet  the  inexpressihle  longing  for  home  and  all 
that  home  means."  Trinity  Home  sooq  became  the  center  of  a 
large  and  varied  work  iu  Shanghai.  The  Clopton  School  (the  fruit 
of  Mrs.  J.  W".  Lambuth's  untiring  labors)  and  numerous  day-schools, 
with  their  manifold  and  ceaseless  demands,  kept  Miss  Haygood 
exceedingly  busy  during  these  early  years,  and  fully  tested  her 
almost  nueqnaled  capacity  for  etfective  work.  She  constantly 
studied  how  to  make  the  teaching  in  the  schools  more  intelligently 
and  positively  Christian,  as  well  as  how  to  provide  the  best  helps 
for  aiding  the  newly  arrived  missionaries  to  get  a  working  knowl- 
edge of  the  China  tongue  as  quickly  and  readily  as  possible.  She 
greatly  encouraged  vernacular  Chinese  literature,  and  has  brought 
all  our  later  missionaries  under  a  debt  to  her  for  providing  facilities 
for  their  early  training,  which  are  invaluable. 

Early  iu  1885,  Dr.  Allen  cooperating  with  her.  Miss  Haygood 
formulated  a  plan  for  the  development  of  woman's  work  in  China, 
which  has  proven  monumental  The  plan  was  to  raise  $25,000  for 
establishing  a  high  school  for  girls  of  the  higher  class  whose  parents 
were  able  to  pay  for  having  their  daughters  educated.  In  connec- 
tion with  this  school  was  to  be  founded  a  home  for  missionaries,  a 
home  especially  for  the  conservation  of  the  strength  and  courage 
of  new  missionaries  while  undergoing  adjustment  of  life  to  the  new 
conditions.  It  was  designed  to  raise  the  money  by  selling  shares 
of  ten  dollars  each  and  giving  a  neat  certificate  of  {)archment  paper 
to  every  one  who  would  take  a  share  of  the  stock.  At  the  meeting 
of  the  Woman's  Board  in  June,  ]  885,  the  plan  was  received  with 
great  enthusiasm,  and  at  once  eight  hundred  and  twenty  shares, 
nearly  one-third, of  the  entire  amount  of  stock,  were  subscribed. 
Bishop  McTyeire  wrote:  "I  cannot  refrain  from  expressing  a 
hearty  approval  of  Miss  Haygood's  })lan.  I  look  upon  it  as  good 
stock,  and  beg  to  take  a  share  for  each  of  my  five  grandchildren." 
The  response  thronghout  the  church  was  very  prompt,  and  "  by 
the  time  the  money  was  ready  at  home  a  piece  of  land,  most  beau- 
tifully situated  and  adapted  for  the  purpose,  was  secured  through 
the  unceasing  vigilance  of  Dr.  Allen."  By  September,  1890, 
Miss  Haygood  moved  into  McTyeire  Home,  and  writes :  "  I 
am  getting  toward  the  close  of  my  first  evening  in  the  new 
home,  and  want  to  write  this  note  before  I  go  to  sleep  to  tell 
you  that  I  am  here.  How  wonderful  are  the  ways  by  which  God 
has  led  us  through  the  past  six  years  to  this  good  hour  !  More 
ardently  than  my  words  can  tell  jou  I  long  to-night  that  it  should 


1900. J  MISS  HAYGOOD:   A   LIFE  FOR  CHINA.  499 

be  truly  His  home,  made  beantiful  and  glorions  by  His  indwelling, 
a  true  witness  for  Him  in  this  land,  a  great  light  in  the  midst  of  the 
darkness  about  us."  This  home  has  been  a  place  of  blessing  to 
numberless  people.  Here,  as  had  been  planned,  new  missionaries 
have  been  received,  refreshed,  and  inspired  for  their  work  ;  here 
niissiouaries  from  the  interior  stations  have  come  for  rest  and 
renewal  of  life  in  all  aspects  ;  here  has  been  a  gathering-place  for 
weekly  devotional  services,  and  to  some  of  us  the  parlor  of  McTyeire 
Home  was  as  much  a  holy  sanctuary,  where  we  meet  with  our 
Heavenly  Father,  as  a  place  hallowed  by  fellowship  with  Christian 
friends;  here  also  was  Miss  Haygood's  study,  made  thrice  sacred 
by  the  evident  presence  of  the  Saviour,  who  loved  and  thought 
and  worked  hour  by  hour  through  her  heart  and  brain  and 
band. 

Among  Miss  Haygood's  earliest  forward  movements  in  this 
new  home  was  the  projecting  of  the  first  missionary  society  of  our 
church  in  China.  Of  its  organization  she  writes:  "  Fifty-one  names 
were  quickly  enrolled  as  members,  and,  wonderful  as  it  may  seem 
to  you,  almost  every  member  had  brought  her  dues  for  the  first 
month  in  advance.  When  the  dimes  and  '  cash  '  were  counted,  it 
was  found  that  they  had  $2.84.  This  $2,84  represents  an  amount 
of  self-denial  of  which  you  can  scarcely  form  a  conception,"  Few 
events  of  her  missionary  career  gave  Miss  Haygood  any  deeper 
satisfaction  than  the  hearty  way  in  which  on  that  January  day  in 
1891  the  Chinese  womeu  of  our  Shanghai  Methodism  took  up  work 
in  behalf  of  their  unsaved  sisters. 

Miss  Haygood  had  to  wait  until  the  spring  of  1892  for  the 
opening  of  McTyeire  School.  The  delays  of  1891  almost  sank  out 
of  memory  as  she  invited  every  member  of  the  Woman's  Missionary 
Society  to  join  her  iu  thanksgiving  that  God  had  made  the  opening 
of  the  school  possible.  She  poured  out  her  soul  in  these  sentences: 
"  I  am  sure  that  I  had  a  new  appreciation  on  the  evening  of  the 
16th  of  March  of  all  that  the  children  of  Israel  must  have  felt  when 
the  Jordan  was  actually  crossed  and  the  memorial  stone  set  up  on 
the  other  side.  '  Here  I'll  raise  my  Ebenezer  I '  But  the  land  is 
yet  to  be  possessed  and  many  battles  to  be  fought.  My  '  waiting  eyes 
are  unto  God '  for  the  help  which  I  am  sure  that  He  will  send  iu  His 
own  good  time."  The  annals  of  missions  scarcely  furnish  a  parallel 
for  the  growth  of  this  institution,  all  things  considered.  Never  has 
a  venture  of  faith  been  more  thoroughly  justified.  From  the  six 
girls  who  had  entered  as  pupils  at  first,  it  has  grown  to  have  more 
than  ten  times  that  number,  and  from  scantily  occupying  the  Mc- 
Tyeire school  building  it  has  expanded  until  it  now  fills  as  well  the 
splendid  McGavock  Memorial.  McTyeire  Home  and  School  is  a  mouu- 


500  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [October, 

ment  priceless  enough  to  make  fadeless  the  memory  of  any  Chris- 
tian worker. 

Miss  Hayojood's  health  required  her  comin^^  to  America  in 
1894.  Her  visit  to  the  home-land  told  wonder fnlly  npon  the  whole 
church.  As  soon  as  able — in  church,  in  drawing-room,  in  the 
social  circle,  in  sacred  life  conferences  with  many  young  people — 
she  made  China's  needs  and  claims  a  living  reality.  On  returning 
to  China,  in  1896,  her  visits  to  the  various  stations  where  the  work 
of  the  Board  lay,  gave  her  great  joy.  She  found  the  older  pupils 
more  truly  (Christian  in  their  views  of  life  and  duty,  and  several 
pupil  teachers — earnest,  growing  Christians — ready  in  all  ways  to 
help  on  the  spread  of  the  gospel.  Her  first  welcome  to  China  had 
been  all  that  heart  could  wish,  but  her  second  welcome  to  China 
she  counted  among  the  most  sacred  and  unspeakable  joys  of  her 
life.     The  wisdom  of  her  second  going  cannot  be  questioned. 

Only  one  or  two  features  of  this  last  period  of  her  life  in  China 
can  be  noticed.  Some  hopes  of  long  standing  were  at  last  to  be 
realized.  The  opening  of  the  Davidson  Memorial  Bible  School  in 
Soochow  in  April,  1897,  marked  a  glad  day,  to  which  she  says  she 
had  for  years  looked  forward.  The  training  of  Bible  women  and 
the  effort  to  reach  Chinese  women  by  direct  work  were  at  last 
coming  to  something  like  a  coordinate  place  with  the  educational 
work.  In  May,  1897,  at  the  Bible  School,  there  was  held  a  meet- 
ing of  a  week's  duration  for  Bible  study  and  conference  as  to 
personal  work  for  soul-saving.  The  meeting  proved  to  be  one  of 
great  spiritual  power,  attended  as  it  was  by  between  fifty  and  sixty 
Chinese  women  and  girls  who  were  seeking  to  know  Christ  better 
and  to  be  better  qualified  to  serve  Him  acceptably.  This  promises 
to  grow  into  a  regular  annual  meeting,  and  has  in  it  untold  possibili- 
ties of  good.  In  the  autumn  of  1898  Miss  Haygood,  while  her  soul 
was  filled  with  the  joys  of  the  Jubilee  Conference,  found  even  those 
joys  surpassed  by  the  deep  gratification  she  found  in  the  comple- 
tion and  opening  of  the  Hayes-Wilkins  Memorial  at  Sung-kiang. 
This  school,  like  the  Davidson  Memorial,  is  designed  to  "  help  Bible 
women  to  a  more  thorough  equipment  for  work  and  to  provide  a 
place  where  Chinese  women  may  have  opportunity  to  study  the 
Bible  and  Christian  truth."  It  was  dedicated  by  Bishop  Wilson  on 
Sunday,  November  13,  and  on  the  15th  Miss  Haygood  had  a  fore- 
taste of  what  the  school  and  chapel  would  accomplish,  when  more 
than  sixty  heathen  women  listened  with  interested  attention  while 
she  told  them  of  Jesus  and  His  love. 

Miss  Haygood  still  had  one  more  earnest  longing,  which  was 
that  the  rapidly  expanding  work  at  Soochow  should  have  as  its 
crowning  piece  a  high  school  for  girls  answering  to  the  MeTyeire 


1900.]  MISS  haygood:  a  life  for  china.  601 

Home  and  School  at  Shano^hai.     This  she  did  not  live  to  achieve, 

but  is  destined  to  aciiieve  in  her  death.  At  the  recent  session  of  the 
Womuu's  Board  it  was  decided  to  build  in  Soochow  the  Laura  Hay- 
good  Home  and  School.  It  is  desired  to  invest  $30,000  in  the 
homo  and  school  without  dela\'.  Fully  one-fifth  of  the  whole 
amount  asked  for  was  subscribed  by  those  in  attendance  upon  the 
Board  meeting.  It  seems  certain  that  the  women  of  Southern 
Metiiodism  will  not  be  other  than  [irompt  in  payin<^  r.hisdue  tribute 
to  the  memory  of  one  who  gave  such  a  wealtb  of  love  and  service 
to  the  women  and  children  of  China  in  their  name  and  in  the  name 
of  the  Master. 

The  character  of  Miss  Haygood  is  so  fully  revealed  in  her  life 
that  it  seems  almost  needless  to  portray  it.  Yet  it  is  so  rich  in 
itself,  so  transparent  in  its  simplicity,  that  it  calls  for  attention. 
There  are  few  characters  which  have  been  so  symmetrical,  so 
marked  by  the  perfect  balance  of  their  qualities.  Miss  Haygood 
impressed  every  one  with  her  thoroughly  self-effacing  love  along 
with  her  intense  personal  convictions.  One  who  knew  her  long 
and  most  intimately  says:  "There  was  not  a  selfish  fiber  in  her 
being."  Her  power  of  loving  was  equaled  only  by  her  power  of 
winning  love.  Love  was  written  in  characters  of  light  upon  her 
countenance,  love  gave  its  unmistakable  note  in  the  sweetness  of 
her  voice,  and  love  was  instantly  and  always  felt  to  be  the  secret 
of  her  magnetic  personality.  Yet  no  one  ever  expected  Miss  Hay- 
good's  personal  love  to  bias  her  judgment  as  to  the  path  of  dnty  or 
to  lead  her  to  be  any  other  than  uncompromising  in  her  Christian 
convictions  and  the  best  interests  of  the  work  committed  to  her 
charge.  Christ  was  so  securely  enthroned  in  the  very  heart  of  her 
being  that  His  voice  of  love  always  rang  out  clear  and  strong  above 
all  other  voices,  however  dear  they  were  to  her. 

Miss  Haygood  had  the  greatest  enthusiasm  of  faith,  together 
with  the  most  submissive  patience  and  power  of  persistent  waiting. 
She  had  a  fiiith  which  defied  difficulties,  a  courage  that  would  ven- 
ture against  any  odds  in  the  enterprizes  of  her  God,  and  yet  few 
knew  so  well  how  to  endure  and  not  faint,  how  to  wait  and  not 
marmnr.  For  one  with  her  intensity  of  nature,  her  enthusiasm  for 
her  life  work,  her  last  months  of  quiet  uncomplaining  8uff"ering 
were  a  miracle  of  Christ-like  patience.  Miss  Haygood  also  combined 
in  a  remarkable  degree  power  and  sweep  of  vision  with  mastery  of 
details  and  executive  ability.  She  had  vision-power,  without  being 
visionary;  she  knew  details,  without  being  lost  in  them.  She  could 
see  in  the  homeliest  service  to  an  unkempt  child  a  loving  ministry 
to  her  Lord.  There  were  single  days  that  carried  for  her  the  weight 
and  epitome  of  years,  yet  all  days  were  sacred  in  her  sight.    She 


502  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [October, 

conid  see  in  the  humblest  beginnings  of  a  work  the  promise  of  har- 
vest blessings  which  thrilled  her  very  being.  She  conId  ascend  the 
mount  of  God  and  behold  the  pattern  of  divine  things,  she  could 
descend  to  the  levels  of  daily  life,  and  by  wise  planning  and  master- 
ful practical  administration  make  good  among  men  what  she  had 
seen  with  God.  Miss  Haygood  had  also  a  rich  and  versatile  intel- 
lectual life,  wide-reaching  in  its  interests  and  broad  in  its  sympa- 
thies, while  underneath  it  all  was  a  deep  devotional  life.  She  loved 
to  commune  with  her  Saviour ;  she  could  follow  Paul  with  a  rare 
spiritual  affinity  in  his  loftiest  consciousness  of  identity  with  his 
Lord  in  His  sufferings  on  the  cross  and  in  His  glory  on  the  throne  ; 
she  could  so  lose  herself  in  her  Lord  as  to  whisper  in  the  hour 
of  anguish  :  "  His  faithfulness  fails  not."  Yet  Miss  Haygood 
looked  out  upon  life  with  perfect  sanity.  She  had  no  touch  of 
asceticism,  no  trace  of  fanaticism.  She  was  fond  of  the  freshest 
books,  she  was  open  to  new  truth,  she  grappled  with  some  of  the 
latest  problems  of  Biblical  study.  She  believed  in  everything  that 
made  human  life  sweeter  and  lovelier  and  richer  in  all  the  graces  of 
body  and  soul.  She  was  passionately  fond  of  flowers.  Her  all- 
absorbing  love  for  her  Saviour  only  intensified,  in  no  wise  diminish- 
ed, her  human  loves  and  interests.  Miss  Haygood,  with  all  her 
rare  powers  of  spiritual  insight  and  varied  stores  of  knowledge,  was 
willing  to  be  taught  by  any  one.  Teachableness  was  ever  her  spirit. 
With  all  the  authority  she  was  commissioned  to  bear,  she  never 
betrayed  any  self-consciousness.  She  fully  exemplified  the  Master's 
charge :  "  But  he  that  is  greatest  among  you  shall  be  your 
servant."  Intensity  marked  her  character  through  and  through. 
She  was  intense  in  her  devotion  to  Christ,  intense  in  her  devotion 
to  her  friends,  intense  in  her  love  of  truth  and  intense  in  her  love  of 
souls,  intense  in  her  sympathies  and  intense  in  her  convictions, 
intense  in  her  activities  and  intense  in  her  very  patience — in  fact 
she  was  intense  in  all  those  elements  of  character  in  which  it  is 
scarcely  possible  to  be  excessive.  To  many  of  us  she  revealed  more 
of  the  Christ  life  than  we  had  ever  seen  before  ;  and  now  that  she 
is  gone  we  despair  of  again  seeing  so  full  a  realization  of  what  He 
is  until  the  veil  of  the  flesh  has  been  laid  aside  and  we  shall  see 
Him  face  to  face  and  know  Him  as  He  is. 

No  wonder  that  when  the  death  shadows  began  to  thicken  about 
sucfh  a  one  as  she  so  many  sent  up  the  earnest  plea  to  God:  "  We 
can't  spare  her  !  we  can't  spare  her  !  "  But  at  the  sunset  hour  of 
Sunday,  April  29,  God  in  His  wisdom  called  her  from  China  to  a 
higher  sphere  of  life.  We  linger  over  her  farewell  words  to  the 
Woman's  Board  :  "  I  hope  they  will  never  for  a  moment  think 
of  my  time  in  China  as  years  of  sacrifice,  but  as  years  of  glad  and 


1900.]  THE   NATIVE  PASTORATE   AT   AMOY,  ETC.  503 

loving  service.  Had  I  kaown  the  end  from  the  beginning,  it  would 
have  been  all  joy  to  give  these  fifteen  years  of  service  for  God  in 
China.  Ho  has  fulfilled  to  the  ntniost  to  me  all  His  promises  to 
those  who  leave  home  and  friends  for  His  sake  and  the  gospel's ;  not 
one  of  all  His  promises  has  failed  me."  We  are  silent  before  onr 
Father  as  we  hear  the  cries  of  so  many  orphaned  hearts  as  they 
come  to  us  from  China.  Yet  as  we  think  of  all  the  gracious  tributes 
of  loving  words,  of  tears  and  songs  and  flowers,  with  which  she  was 
laid  to  rest,  we  say  of  her  goinii;  to  heaven  as  we  said  of  her  going 
to  China:  It  is  but  the  triumphal  close  of  one  life  and  the  triumphal 
entry  upon  another  life  which  is  really  not  another.  For  she  her- 
self has  said :  "  I  am  more  and  more  persuaded  that  death  is  only 
an  incident  in  our  continuous  life."  Many  are  the  hearts  that  will 
keep  on  singing  over  and  over  the  words  with  which  the  service  at 
her  grave  was  closed  : — 

Sleep  on,  beloved,  sleep  and  take  thy  rest ; 
Lay  down  thy  head  upon  thy  Saviour's  breast ; 
We  loved  thee  well,  but  Jesus  loves  thee  best — 
Good-night ! 

Only  **  good-night,"  beloved — not  "  farewell  !  " 
A  little  while  and  all  His  saints  shall  dwell 
lu  hallowed  union  indivisible — 
Good-night ! 

— The  Review  of  Missions. 


The  Native  Pastorate  at  Amoy;  or  Another  Objeet- 
Lesson  in  Self-support. 

BY  REV.  P.   W.   PITCHER. 
I. 

tHE  method  employed  for  conducting  mission  work  at  Amoy 
has  now  been  in  operation  for  over  forty  years,  but.  in  so  far 
as  my  knowledge  extends,  no  single  article  touching  exclu- 
sively on  this  interesting  theme  has  ever  appeared;  and  when  a 
request  was  made,  now  more  than  a  year  ago,  by  those  in  charge  of  the 
Recorder  for  some  person  in  Amoy  to  prepare  such  a  paper  I 
was  hoping  some  one  would  comply.  Since,  however,  every  one  felt 
too  busy  to  do  so,  no  paper  up  to  this  time  has  appeared  in  print. 
While  I  naturally  shrink  from  attempting  to  produce  any  paper  of 
this  nature  yet  I  am  moved  to  do  so.  {!).  Because  of  *  paragraph 
which  appeared  in  Dr.  Mateer's   review  of   "  Methods    of  Mission 


504  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [October, 

Work"  in  the  Recorder  for   April,  page  12,  where  he  speaks  of 
Dr.  Nevius'  quoting  "  the  native  pastorate  at  Amoj  "  to  support  his 
argument.     (2).  Because  it  involves  one  of  the    most    interesting 
missionary  topics  of  the  day,  viz.,  self-supporting  native  churches. 
(3).  Because  the  present  seems  to  call  for  some  presentation  of  the 
real  status  of  self-support  in  this  region.     As  this  latter  feature 
enters  so  largely,  in  fact  enters  into  every  fiber  of  j  the  method  or 
plan  we  are  to  review,  it  will  at  once  invite  attention  in  considering 
its  inception  and  development,  which  has  followed  during  the  last 
half  century,  or  nearly  so.     First,  then.  Dr.  Mateer  rightly  remarks 
in  reply   to  Dr.  Nevius'  argument :  "  the  case  is  not  really  a  happy 
one."     The  native  pastorate  at  Amoy  was  indeed  a  "  necessity,"  but 
not  a  necessity  on  account  of  lack  of  funds.    Quite  the  reverse  is  true, 
because  on  account  of  funds  in  hand  from  native  sources  it  was 
possible.     It  was  a  necessity  occasioned  by  a  natural  and  healthy 
development  and  founded  upon   an  entirely  different    basis    from 
that  advocated  in  "Methods  of  Mission   Work."     The  two  basal 
stones  upon  which  the  native  pastorate  at   Amoy  has  been  con- 
structed, were  and  continue  to  be    (1)  a  trained  native  ministry  and 
(2)  financial  capability  of  self-support.     These,  we  may  observe  in 
passing,  have  stood  the  test  of   time  and   have  safe-guarded   the 
permanency  of  the  institutions    builded  thereon  and  their  future 
development  for  all  time.      And   secondly,  this  being  a  topic  of 
world-wide  interest,  read  about  and  thought  about  by  the  whole 
Christian  world  (though  we  may  be  told  that  "  not  one  in  a  thou- 
sand in  the  church  gives  the  matter  any  consideration  whatever"), 
it   needs   to  be   studied    from  all  sides  and  no  hasty   conclusions 
reached,  and  certainly  none  whatever  before  careful  consideration. 
If,  however,  it  should  be  a  fact  that  only  such  a  small  percentage  of 
the  church  people  take  any  interest  in  the  most  important  mission- 
ary topic  of  the  day  and  concerning  which   missionary  literature 
abounds,  it   would  show  an  indifference  both  to  the  writers  and  to 
the  subject  simply  disgraceful  and  unsurpassed  by  any  other  class 
of  interested  people.     Can  this  be  true  of  Christian  people  ?     I  for 
one  cannot  believe  it.     But  how  do   the  people  think  about  it  ? 
What   view  do  they  hold  concerning  self-support  ?     What  is  self- 
support  ?     What  does  self-support  support  ?     These  are  important. 
If  there  are  any  fogs  hanging  over  the  question  they  should  be 
blo^vn  away.     Because  in  no  small  measure  upon  this  matter  of  self- 
support  hangs  the  destiny,  the  successful  issue  of  a  great  part,  if  not 
the  greater  part  of  mission  work,  at  least  in  so  far  as  this  region  is 
concerned.     No  one-sided  view  will  suffice.     A  broad  view,   broad 
enough  to  consider  the  whole  question,  is  what  is  needed,  broad 
enough  to  endorse  "  old-fashioned  "   methods  though  they  be.     Not 


1900.]  THE  NATIVE  PASTORATE  AT  AMOY,  ETC.  605 

merely  because  they  are  "  old-fashioned,"  but  because  of  their  intrinsio 
work.  In  Amoy  the  principle  of  entire  self-support  is  ever  to  the 
front.  Let  no  one  be  mistaken  on  that  score,  though  we  may  differ 
in  the  process  to  secure  it.  Probably  no  company  of  missionaries 
believe  in  self-support  more  thoroughly  than  the  Amoy  missionariea 
They  are  as  much  concerned  about  the  matter  as  the  most  ardent 
advocates  at  home  or  elsevjrhere.  They  are  just  as  anxious  that 
these  churches  should  entirely  support  the  evangelistic,  educational, 
medical,  and  other  branches  of  the  work,  as  the  next.  More  than  this 
could  not  be  asked.  Forty  years  ago  they  placed  their  hands  to  the 
plow,  and  have  never  once  looked  back,  nor  have  they  had  cause  to 
regret  the  measures  adopted  and  followed  during  all  these  years. 

THE  NEED  OP  FOREIGN  SUPPORT. 

There  is  one  feature  or  element  in  the  method  adopted  here  in 
Amoy  which  needs  a  passing  notice,  and  which  I  consider  to  be  the 
real  strength  of  the  whole  system,  viz.,  the  co-operation  which  has 
ever  existed  between  the  native  church  and  the  home  (foreign) 
church,  a  co-operation  which  comprises  the  entire  evangelistic  work 
and  a  large  portion  of  the  educational,  making  us  all  laborers  to- 
gether in  this  close  union.  If  there  is  any  truth  in  the  old  motto: 
"  in  union  there  is  strength,"  it  has  been  found  so  here.  It  is  this 
very  union  that  has  made  the  churches  stronger  to-day  than  thus 
otherwise  might  have  been. 

It  is  only  necessary  here  to  mention  one  factor  in  this  co- 
operation (there  are  others  which  will  be  noted  in  due  time),  viz., 
foreign  support.  If,  for  instance,  the  native  churches  could  only 
entirely  support  the  native  pastorates,  together  with  the  partial 
support  along  other  lines,  we  have  deemed  it  a  wise,  business-like,  and 
economical  policy  to  supplement  the  funds  in  order  to  double  the 
force  of  native  assistants,  i.  e.,  by  providing  the  support  of  preach- 
ers and  teachers.  Even  then  what  are  the  numbers  arrayed  against 
sin,  darkness,  and  all  the  forms  of  idolatry  which  abound  ! 

Taking,  therefore,  some  such  aspect  of  the  case  into  considera- 
tion, it  has  sometimes  occurred  to  me  that  we  are  frequently  in  too 
great  haste  to  place  the  whole  burden  on  the  native  church.  To  do 
so  does  not  seem  best.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  pushing  self-support 
too  far — too  far  when  the  home  church  cuts  itself  off  from  partic- 
ipation in  direct  work  of  evangelization,  education,  medicine,  etc., 
and  not  merely  in  special  objects.  Cut  off  this  interest  in  foreign 
missions  and  much  of  the  spirit  of  the  gospel  is  sacrificed  and  the 
vital  chord  that  binds  the  church  to  Christ  is  severed.  It  is  just 
this  close  connection  with  world-wide  missions  that  mak^s  the  church 
^  living  and  an  aggressive  power  in  the  world.     Therefore  let  the 


606  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [October* 

home  support  continue.  And  it  will  be  found  that  the  spiritual, 
expansion  and  growth  of  any  church  will  ever  be  marked  by  its 
interest  and  share  taken  in  "the  last  great  commission,"  "Go  ye 
therefore  and  make  disciples  of  all  the  nations,"  Then  there  is  the 
other  aspect,  i.  e.,  the  effect  upon  the  growth  and  development  of 
the  native  church.  I  venture  to  say  that  the  rapidity  of  the  spread 
and  development  of  Christianity  in  China  will  be  in  exact  ratio  to 
the  amount  of  finances  received  from  Christian  lands;  and,  conversely, 
its  retrogression  (or  retardation")  will,  in  the  same  manner,  be  meas- 
ured by  the  sparse  sums  Avhich  come.  So,  however  ardently 
others  may  urge  the  placing  of  the  entire  burden  on  the  native 
churches,  for  my  part,  the  better  policy — better  for  the  church 
catholic — seems  to  be  co-operation. 

This  also  has  a  bearing  on  the  question  of  self-support,  and  will 
affect  that  matter  more  than  we  are  inclined  to  think.  To  me  there 
is  a  close  connection  between  the  final  success  of  partial  self-support 
(for  that  is  what  it  amounts  to  in  Amoy,  as  will  be  demonstrated 
in  due  time)  and  the  wealth  the  Christian  world  chooses  to  con- 
secrate for  the  extension  and  development  of  the  kingdom  of  God 
in  (;hina.  The  speedy  or  tardy  consummation  of  entire  self-support 
will  be  affected  by  it.  More  help,  more  churches.  More  thoroughly 
organized  churches,  more  prospect  of  substantial  churches.  More 
substantial  churches,  more  reason  to  hope  for  final  conquest  and  the 
consummation  of  entire  self-support. 

TERMINOLOGY. 

In  considering  the  question  of  self-support  many  factors  enter 
very  properly  into  the  argument.  Among  them  we  may  name  area, 
population  of  the  district  or  the  country  at  large;  character  and 
condition  of  people;  extent  of  work — evangelistic,  educational,  medical, 
and  the  press,  etc.,  etc.  These  things  should  always  be  weighed 
when  comparing  results  of  different  methods.  But  upon  these 
matters  I  have  no  desire  to  dwell,  nor  is  there  need  to  do  so.  There 
is,  however,  another  matter  of  quite  as  much  importance  about  which 
I  wish  to  say  a  word,  viz.,  what  does  the  term  "self-supporting 
churches  "  signify  ?  Has  not  the  term  come  to  be  a  good  deal  like 
the  "  Delphic  oracles  "  ?  Perhaps  no  two  missions  hold  the  same 
views  upon  it.  To  one  it  means  this,  and  to  another  that,  and  to 
still  another  something  else.  What  we  want  to  know  is  whether  by 
"  self-support "  is  meant  entire  self-support  or  partial  self-support. 
People  start  off  with  writing  about  entire  self-support  when  you 
discover  by  reading  between  the  lines,  as  well  as  by  certain  admis- 
sions made  here  and  there,  that  it  is  not  entire  self-support  after 
all.     It  may  come  very  near  it,  but  things  need  always  to  be  called 


1900.]  THE  NATIVE  PASTORATE   AT  AMOY,   ETC.  507 

by  their  proper  names.  Entire  self-support,  it  seems  needless  to 
remark,  must  mean  that  a  church  organization  'pays  everything 
(missionaries'  salaries  always  excepted) — every  item  of  expense  con- 
nected with  it,  no  matter  whether  the  organization  is  composed  of 
one  congregation  or  several,  no  matter  whether  there  is  one  helper,  or 
whether  there  are  ten,  the  only  difference  being  in  degree.  At  any 
rate,  this  is  the  standard  this  article  proposes  to  raisa  An  honesfa 
presentation  of  the  question  requires  an  honest  definition  of  what 
we  mean  by  the  term.  It  will  not  do  to  say  because  it  is  almost) 
self-supporting,  we  might  as  well  call  it  entirely  self-supporting. 
"  Every  tub  must  stand  on  its  own  bottorru" 

Let  me  say  then  that  (with  one  or  two  exceptions)  we  have  no 
such  thing  as  entirely  self-supporting  churches  in  Amoy,  but  wo 
have  what  are  called  "entirely  self-supporting  pastorates." 

These  are  but  the  beginnings  however.  The  ideal  is  ever  be- 
fore us,  and  upon  these  foundations,  laid  broad  and  deep,  with  mutual 
co-operation  from  home,  we  expect  to  build  and  realize  the  ideal— 
entirely  self-swpporting  churches. 

THE  AMOY   PLAN. 

Merely  for  the  sake  of  convenience  we  will  use  this  designation, 
but  I  have  never  heard  anyone  ever  lay  claim  to  such  a  title.  It  ia 
therefore  the  Amoy  plan  only  because  it  is  one  long  ago  adopted 
and  followed  for  nearly  half  a  century.  The  purpose  of  this  paper 
is  not  to  advocate  any  plan  or  method  of  mission  work,  nor  does  it 
propose  to  go  out  of  its  way  to  do  so  ;  at  the  same  time  it  is  worth 
while,  when  considering  such  matters,  to  keep  in  mind  plans  that 
support  something.  A  plan  that  supports  nothing,  a  plan  which  to- 
day is  and  to-morrow  is  not,  is  not  satisfactory,  whether  it  be  called 
"old-fashioned"  or  "short  cut."  Names  are  nothing,  results  are 
everything.  "  Old-fashioned  "  or  "  short  cut  "  will  do  when  either 
will  produce  in  time,  not  only  entire  self-supporting  churches  but 
substantial  and  entire  self-propagating  churches.  Foundations  must 
be  laid ;  and  the  deeper,  broader,  and  more  solid  they  are  laid  the 
better.  Upon  them  we  are  to  build  a  church  which  is  to  flourish 
and  develop  and  become  what  we  all  seek  for.  May  we  be  wise 
enough  to  select  the  precious  stones,  keeping  out  all  the  bay  and 
stubble  as  we  lay  the  foundations  and  build  thereon. 

And  so  in  submitting  our  plan  I  need  only  say.  and  then  leave 
it,  that  here  is  a  plan  that  has  supported  something  tangible  for 
forty  years  and  produced  a  work  that  promises  fair  to  withstand  all 
tests.     Others  have  pronounced  it  "  unique." 

This  plan  contemplates  self-supporting  cJiurches  from  start  to 
finish,  but,  first,  partially  self-supporting  church&s  vrith  liberal  aid 


508  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [October, 

and  co-operation  from  home,  and,  second,  entirely  self-supporting 
churches  independent  of  foreign  aid  and  direction. 

We  are  still  on  the  firstly  and  are  expanding  this  heading  very 
largely.  With  a  proper  amount  of  backing  from  home  and  with 
patience  from  all  we  will  in  due  time  pass  on  to  secondly. 

What  this  "firstly"  means  here  in  Amoy  is  simply  this,  and  as 
already  indicated,  that  we  have  reached  and  passed  a  period  of 
progress  when  "  entirely  self-supporting  pastorates,"  with  a  great 
amount  of  partial  self-support  along  other  lines,  are  possible.  This 
is  the  extent  of  our  progress  thus  far,  and  if  all  the  facts,  area,  charac- 
ter of  the  people,  and  above  all  the  broad  base  upon  which  we  are 
building  and  the  extent  of  the  work  in  actual  operation — evangel- 
istic, educational,  medical,  etc.,  are  weighed,  we  believe  that  all  will 
acknowledge  the  success  which  has  marked  the  passing  years.  And 
to  the  founders  of  these  missions  we  ascribe  all  the  praise. 

Before  passing  on  to  a  more  minute  consideration  of  our  paper 
let  me  pause  to  present  a  side  object-lesson  (which,  however,  is  only 
a  part  of  the  whole)  that  will  illustrate  the  spirit  of  liberality  pre- 
vailing amongst  the  people  of  this  district.  We  have  a  native  con- 
stituency whose  benevolence,  in  so  far  as  I  know,  has  never  been 
surpassed  anywhere.  It  is  not  spasmodic,  but  year  after  year  this 
beautiful  Christian  characteristic  shines  on  fairer  and  brighter.  To 
illustrate,  I  shall  choose  the  figures  from  the  reports  of  the  American 
Reformed  Church  Mission,  because  I  am  more  familiar  with  them 
and  have  them  at  hand  No  one  need  for  one  moment,  however, 
think  that  this  spirit  of  liberality  is  confined  to  or  peculiar  to  the 
constituency  of  this  mission.  Reports  from  the  other  two  missions 
would  tell  the  same  story  of  liberality.  It  is  not  a  characteristic  of 
any  one  region,  nor  of  any  one  mission,  but  all  seem  to  inherit  it. 
And  if  ever  the  purse  is  the  thermometer  by  which  we  read  the 
spiritual  condition  of  a  church,  even  near-sighted  people  will  find 
no  difficulty  here. 


Mexican.  Mexican, 


In  1890 

899 

1891 

968 

1892 

1,008 

1893 

1,017 

1894 

1,023 

1896 

1,125 

1896 

1,188 

1897 

1,226 

1898 

1,301 

1899 

1,326 

899  (net)  communicants  gave 


$2,900.00; 

per 

capita 

about 

$3.20 

3,382,08; 

J5 

3.50 

3,894.80; 

)t 

3.80 

3,923  90; 

j> 

3.85 

4,628.29 ; 

»» 

4.50 

4,351.54; 

), 

3.85 

4,586.39; 

>t 

3  90 

4,827.77; 

»» 

3.95 

6,164.74; 

»» 

4.70 

6,458.50 ; 

» 

4.80 

Total  ten  years  =  $45, 118.01;,,        „        ,,         $4.00 

It  may  be  observed  that  in  the  years  1895-97  there  was  a 
flight  retrogression,  but  in  1898  the  lost  ground  was  more   than 


1900.]  POSSIBLE   CHANGES   AND  DEVELOPMENTS,    ETC.  509 

recovered.  It  is  not  certain  what  caused  this  decline.  If  I  were  to 
state  a  cause,  I  would  say  it  was  probably  due  to  the  effects  of  the 
plague,  more  or  less  prevalent  in  these  regions  during  that  period. 
I  just  wish  to  mention,  in  passing,  that  the  churches  (nine  at  that 
time)  connected  with  this  mission,  for  the  ten  years  preceding 
these  indicated  above,  gave  a  total  of  $23,702  Mex.,  at  a  yearly 
average  of  $2.80  Mex.     Another  thermometer  with  clear  readings. 

{To  he  concluded.) 

Amoy,  July  26th,  1900. 


Possible  Changes  and  Developments  in  the  Native 
Churehes  arising  out  of  the  Present  Crisis. 

BY  MR.  D.  E.  HOSTE. 

MIDST  all  the  uncertainty  confronting  us  just  now  one  fact 
stands  out  clearly;  it  is  that  the  future  is  pregnant  with 
change.  In  some  parts  of  China  a  condition  of  affairs  has 
supervened  in  consequence  of  the  present  uprising,  which  suggests 
the  thought  that  along  with  other  changes,  political  and  commercial, 
affecting  the  country  as  a  whole,  we  may  see  a  development  in  the 
life  of  our  native  churches  of  an  important  character,  and  calling 
for  more  or  less  readjustment  of  the  methods  hitherto  in  vogue 
amongst  us.  In  two  Provinces  the  whole  organization  of  missionary 
work  has  been  swept  away.  The  same  is  true  of  several  other 
districts  throughout  the  country  ;  whilst,  with  but  few  exceptions 
the  whole  of  our  work  outside  the  immediate  neighborhood  of  two 
or  three  of  the  treaty  ports,  has  been  left  by  the  missionaries.  The 
dangers  to  our  converts  arising  from  this  state  of  affairs  are  suffi- 
ciently grave  and  obvious ;  and  we  have  all,  no  doubt,  reviewed  the 
possibilities  of  the  situation  with  misgiving  and  concern.  Clearly 
the  fabric  of  our  ordinary  missionary  organization  in  the  field 
is  such  that  the  abrupt  removal  and  prolonged  absence  of  the 
missionary,  must  necessarily  lead  to  great  changes  in  its  form  and 
character.  This  point  need  scarcely  be  elaborated  here.  Under  the 
system  hitherto  generally  in  force  the  work  has  centred  round  the 
missionary;  executive  authority  and  financial  control  have  been 
in  his  hands.  For  the  most  part,  the  native  brethren  engaged 
in  it  have  been  dependent  upon  funds  administered  by  him  for 
support,  and  have  held  their  position  at  his  discretion.  Now  the 
tendency  of  such  a  relationship  is  not,  to  say  the  least,  in  the 


510  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [October, 

direction  of  developing  in  them  independence  of  thought  and  in- 
itiative in  action  ;  rather  the  reverse.  Nor  can  it  be  regarded  as 
the  one  most  heathly  for  the  missionary.  Few  natures  can  wholly 
withstand  the  debilitating  effects  of  habitual  immunity  from 
serious  opposition;  to  most  of  us  the  bracing  effects  of  contact 
with  independent  minds,  who  can  withstand  our  action  and 
combat  our  views,  is  wholesome  and  necessary.  It  is  hoped  that 
these  observations  will  not  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  an  attack 
on  the  system  in  question.  Nothing  is  further  from  their  aim 
or  intention.  Every  system  has  it  dangers  and  drawbacks;  and 
at  the  initial  stages  of  our  work  in  ('hina  one  does  not  see  how, 
as  things  are,  any  other  would  have  been  feasible.  Indeed,  so  long 
as  there  is  need  for  the  missionary  at  all,  his  relation  to  the  native 
churches  should  be  one  of  real  authority  and  effective  guidance. 
But,  what  we  desire  is  that  this  authority  should  be  spiritual,  and 
our  influence  simply  the  outcome  of  our  character  and  capacity 
as  spiritual  guides  and  exemplars.  How  largely  these  have  been 
elements  in  the  past  relationship  between  the  missionary  and  his 
native  subordinates  any  one  acquainted  with  the  facts  can  thank- 
fully testify.  There  probably  have  been,  and  are,  cases  even  where 
the  missionary  has  possessed  such  exceptional  qualities  that  the 
above  mentioned  unhealthy  tendencies,  in  the  present  system,  have 
practically  been  inoperative;  but,  in  discussing  a  system  and  its 
characteristics  we  must  regard  it,  not  in  its  extreme  form,  either 
good  or  bad,  but  as  seen  in  its  average  growth  and  working.  And 
it  is,  in  the  view  of  the  writer,  undeniable  that  the  system  hitherto 
in  general  use  does  tend  to  produce  a  relationship  between  the 
missionary  and  his  native  brethren,  which  is  unhealthy  for  both, 
and  which  pi'actically  postpones  indefinitely  the  independence  and 
self-government  in  the  native  churches,  which  all  agree  in  regarding 
as  the  goal  to  aim  at.  The  question  is,  can  it  be  altered  ?  And,  if 
so,  how  ?  It  is  easy  to  throw  out  crude  and  revolutionary  schemes 
for  the  immediate  demolition  of  a  system  which  offends  us ;  but 
those  with  whom  the  management  of  affairs  rests  have  to  recognize 
and  guard  against  the  practical  difficnltfes  and  dangers  which  any 
change  in  an  existing  order  may  give  rise  to.  The  rightful  interests 
of  those  who  would  be  se-riously  affected  by  a  new  departure  must 
be  considered  and  provided  for;  the  fact  that  characters  which 
have  been  formed  under  the  influence  of  the  old  system  cannot 
without  time  and  preparation — and  even  then  only  imperfectly-— 
accommodate  themselves  to  the  new,  has  to  be  borne  in  mind. 
In  other  words,  the  principle  has  to  be  observed  that  the  more 
closely  the  outward  change  in  a  society  can  coincide  with  the 
growth  of  the  opinions,  intelligence;  and  capacity  of  its  members, 


1900.]  POSSIBLE  CHANGES   AND    DEVELOPMENT,    ETC.  511 

the  more  will  it  be  free  from  injustice  and  disorder  in  the  process 
of  its  caiTying  out,  and  fruitful  in  its  beneficial  results  to  all.  The 
question  presents  itself  whether  the  present  unprecedented  con- 
dition of  our  native  churches,  consequent  upon  the  troubles  of  the 
summer  may  not,  in  the  providence  of  God,  prove  to  be,  to  a  certain 
extent,  a  transition  period  in  the  development  of  their  character  and 
independence,  leading  to  some  of  the  very  results  which  are  so 
much  to  be  desired,  but  the  realization  of  which  has,  on  practical 
grounds,  been  hedged  round  with  risk  and  difficulty.  At  any  rate 
it  seems  clear,  as  said  before,  that  if  our  absence  from  our  district 
is  prolonged,  great  changes  are  bound  to  take  place  in  the  shape  of 
the  work.  In  most  cases,  though  in  varying  degrees,  the  continued 
absence  of  the  one  in  whom  the  centre  of  gravity  of  power,  influence, 
and  initiative  have  rested,  will  lead  to  a  period  of  greater  or  less  re- 
arrangement in  the  mutual  relationships  of  the  native  leaders.  The 
points  of  character  which  fit  a  man  to  be  a  good  paid  helper  to  the 
missionary,  and  under  him  to  take  a  leading  part  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  work,  are  different  from  those  essential  to  independent 
leadership,  with  its  burdens  of  responsibility  and  calls  for  initia- 
tive. For  the  former  position  the  qualities  of  tact,  receptivity  of 
mind,  and  skill  in  details  of  business,  without  aspirations  to  com- 
mand, are  especially  needed,  and,  moreover,  are  developed  in  it. 
Hence  it  will  not  be  surprising  to  find  that  many  of  these  men  will, 
in  the  new  conditions,  drop  into  the  background  ;  whilst  others, 
whose  very  force  and  independence  of  character  unfitted  them  for 
office  under  the  old  rrgime,  will  come  to  the  front ;  and  proving 
themselves  equal  to  the  facing  of  danger  and  bearing  of  responsi- 
bility, grow  into  leadership.  How^  important,  if  in  any  district  this 
should  prove  to  be  the  case,  the  returning  missionary  should  under- 
stand what  has  occurred ;  and,  whilst  not  being  deluded  by  factious 
and  unruly  men,  who,  in  a  time  of  change  often  shew  themselves, 
and  usurp  authority  in  the  name  of  liberty,  be  prepared  to  recognize 
and  gladly  welcome  the  co-operation  of  those  who,  during  his 
absence  have,  in  any  measure,  won  the  confidence  of  the  Christians 
and  come  to  be  looked  up  to  by  them  as  guides,  and  who  are  no 
longer  dependent  upon  foreign  sources  for  pecuniary  support.  He 
must  practically  recognize,  also,  that  his  own  relation  with  these 
men  is  an  essentially  different  one  from  that  which  he  held  before 
with  his  paid  helpers.  He  must  be  prepared  to  find  that  his  plans 
and  opinions  are  not  always  received  with  that  docile  acquiescence  to 
which  he  was  formerly  accustomed.  Initiative,  direct  responsibility 
for  action  may,  to  a  considerable  extent,  rest  with  the  natives  rather 
than,  as  of  old,  with  himself.  Nor  will  these  brethren  be  free  from 
the  faults  peculiar  to  their  temperament  and  position ;  and  the  mis- 


M2  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [October, 

sionary  ma}'  need  at  times  to  exercise  much  humility  and  patience 
in  dealing  with  their  self-will  and  self-complacency.  In  fact  it  would 
seem  that  the  situation  may  have  considerable  difficulties  of  this 
character,  calling  for  much  tact,  power  of  sympathy,  and  quiet 
firmness  in  the  foreigner.  But,  as  an  heir  to  the  blessings  of 
religious  liberty  and  the  rights  of  conscience  he  will  feel  that  the 
disorders,  which  all  history  shews  arise  from  a  condition  of  freedom 
and  independence,  are  as  nothing  compared  to  the  fundamental 
injuries  to  character,  mental,  moral  and  spiritual,  caused  by  the 
bondage  of  an  artificial  relationship  which,  however  much  the  in- 
dividuals concerned  may  honestly  wish  it  otherwise,  produces  uni- 
formity of  will  and  thought  at  the  expense  of  manhood.  In 
concluding  these  remarks  the  writer  would  say  that  they  are 
presented  with,  it  is  hoped,  the  diffidence  and  desire  to  learn 
becoming  to  comparative  inexperience,  simply  as  suggestions 
possibly  containing  food  for  thought  upon  a  subject,  the  magnitude, 
difficulty,  and  interest  of  which  is  appreciated  by  all  who  have  been 
privileged  to  have  a  share  in  the  high  and  holy  work  of  caring  for 
the  church  of  Christ  in  China. 


The  Siege  of  Peking, 

BY    REV.    D.    Z.    SHEFFIELD,    D.D. 

fHE  following  brief  account  of  the  siege  of  Peking  and  the  final 
rescue  of  all  foreigners  will  only  allow  space  to  note  general 
conditions  and  the  more  important  events : — 
There  is  now  complete  evidence  that  the  Boxer  movement  was 
inspired  by  the  Chinese  government ;  the  Empress-Dowager  under 
the  lead  of  high  Manchu  officials  having  committed  herself  to  the 
policy  of  attempting  to  drive  from  the  country  all  foreigners  and  to 
recover  the  national  prestige  which  had  been  lost  by  the  encroach- 
ment of  Western  nations.  Superstition  and  imposture  were  blended 
together  in  the  claims  of  the  leaders  of  the  Boxers  that  they  were 
possessed  by  the  spirits  of  departed  ancestors,  who  would  help  them 
fight  and  protect  them  from  injury ;  and  the  high  officials  who  gave 
direction  to  the  movement  placed  equal  confidence  in  these  claims. 
It  is  quite  certain  that  if  the  forts  of  Taku  had  not  been  captured 
by  the  allies  when  they  were,  the  attempt  of  Admiral  Seymour  to 
relieve  Peking  would  have  been  opposed  by  Imperial  troops.  There 
was  a  widespread  conspiracy  directed  from  Peking  to  drive  out 
foreigners  and  destroy  their  native  adherents,  and  the  time  to  strike — 
somewhat  hastened  by  the  frenzy  of  the  Boxers — was  already  immi- 
nent.    Looting  and  massacre  had  begun  outside  of  Peking ;  mission- 


1900.]  THE  SIEGE  OP  PEKING.  513 

aries  and  large   numbers   of  native   Christians   had  crowded  into 

central  places  in  Peking  for  protection,  especially  into  the  Methodist 
premises  and  into  the  Roman  Catholic  cathedral  in  the  north-west 
section  of  the  city. 

Imperial  soldiers  and  Boxers  now  appeared  in  great  numbers  in 
the  streets  of  the  city,  and  the  work  of  destruction  began.  The  evil 
purpose  of  these  emissaries  of  the  wicked  government  ran  deeper 
than  had  boon  imagined.  Native  Christians  having  homes  in  the 
city  were  advised  to  remain  in  them  or  to  take  refuge  outside  of  the 
city.  The  result  was  that  large  numbers  of  them  were  destroyed  in 
their  homos,  or  while  wandering  about  in  helplessness  and  despair. 
The  stories  of  broken  families  are  numerous  and  pitiful.  The  Boxers 
seemed  to  be  possessed  with  a  frenzied  spirit  of  murder,  and  prayers 
for  mercy  were  sounds  without  meaning  in  their  ears.  A  general 
attack  upon  Christian  chapels  and  all  foreign  residences  was  made, 
and  the  darkness  of  night  was  lighted  in  many  directions  with  burn- 
ing buildings.  The  gravity  of  the  situation  increased  from  day  to 
day;  the  Gorman  minister  was  murdered  on  his  way  to  the  Tsung- 
li  yamen.  The  other  ministers  now  realized  that  to  withdraw 
from  Peking,  under  promised  Chinese  protection,  would  mean 
destruction  to  all  foreigners  and  to  the  Christian  Chinese.  It  was 
decided  to  bring  the  missionaries  into  the  British  legation  and  the 
native  Christians  into  large  premises  across  the  moat  to  the  east  of 
the  legation,  vacated  by  a  high  Chinese  official,  and  here  make  the 
best  possible  defence  until  relief  came, 

Many  attacks  were  made  by  companies  of  Boxers,  which  were 
easily  resisted  with  severe  punishment,  but  it  became  evident  that 
the  power  of  the  regular  soldiers  must  also  be  opposed,  and  the 
work  of  careful  fortification  was  begun.  Mr.  Gamewell,  of  the 
Methodist  Mission,  had  already  shown  his  fitness  to  superintend  this 
work  by  his  thorough  defence  of  the  church  occupied  by  missionaries 
and  native  Christians  before  withdrawing  to  the  legation.  Native 
Christians  were  divided  into  relays  of  workers  under  foreign  superin- 
tendents, and  with  this  body  of  men  thus  organized  and  directed  the 
work  of  digging  trenches,  erecting  barricades,  strengthening  walls, 
building  bomb-proofs,  went  steadily  on  night  and  day  for  seven  weeks. 

The  Japanese  marines  assigned  to  the  defence  of  the  native 
Christians,  were  in  a  specially  exposed  position,  and  defended  it 
with  great  bravery  and  at  heavy  loss.  The  Chinese  soldiers  improved 
every  advantage  of  position  to  place  sharp-shooters  to  do  their 
deadly  work,  and  cannon  were  trained  from  various  points  upon  the 
walls,  which  threatened  extermination  to  the  besieged.  Fortunate- 
ly they  were  badly  served,  and,  while  considerable  damage  was 
done,  this   means   of  attack  failed  to  accomplish  its  object.     The 


514  THE  CBfiNESE  RECORDER.  [October, 

cannonading  was  not  continuous,  but  Avas  renewed  after  a  little 
respite,  day  and  night,  and  became  nerve-wearing  to  the  beleaguered 
company,  who  always  feared  that  it  would  be  followed  by  an  attempt 
to  storm  the  fortifications.  To  the  end  this  fear  was  not  realized,  and 
it  was  evident  that  in  spite  of  the  persistence  of  the  attack  the  fear 
of  the  foreigner  was  upon  the  Chinese  soldiers. 

The  American  marines  occupied  a  section  of  the  south  wall 
of  the  city  behind  the  American  legation.  The  position  was  a 
difficult  but  important  one.  A  successful  attack  was  made  the  3rd 
of  Jaly  upon  a  section  of  the  wall  directly  contiguous  to  the  west, 
and  with  cross-walls  for  defences  the  enlarged  foothold  was  held 
to  the  end  and  was  of  the  utmost  importance  in  defending  the 
legation  from  attack  in  that  general  direction. 

Early  in  the  siege  a  persistent  attempt  was  made  to  bum 
down  the  legation  and  so  to  exterminate  the  foreigners.  The 
Imperial  Hanlin  Library  was  contiguous  to  the  legation  to  the 
north,  and  was  filled  with  costly  books  and  blocks  upon  which  they 
had  been  printed  The  Boxers  improved  the  occasion  of  a  heavy 
wind-storm  to  light  these  buildings.  The  foreigners  fought  the 
fire  as  best  they  could  with  water  thrown  from  buckets — the  ladies 
assisting  in  the  work — the  winds  veering  once  and  again  to  favor- 
able quarters,  and  so  the  fiendish  purpose  of  the  Boxers  was 
defeated.  A  like  dangerous  attempt  to  fire  the  legation  from  the 
south  and  west  was  defeated,  with  ihe  result  that  the  adjoining 
buildings  being  destroyed  there  was  much  greater  security  than 
before.  The  enemy  had  strengthened  the  position  of  the  besieged 
to  resist  further  attack. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  siege  the  foreign  lines  covered  territory 
within  which  there  was  a  very  considerable  quantity  of  provisions, 
an  abundance  of  poor  rice.  There  was  a  large  number  of  riding 
ponies  belonging  to  gentlemen  in  the  legations  and  customs,  and 
also  a  liberal  quantity  of  hay.  There  were  delicacies  also  for 
the  use  of  invalids  and  children ;  and  so  while  the  diet  was  poor  and 
with  little  variety  it  sustained  life,  and  all  accepted  it  with  the 
utmost  patience.  The  ladies  worked  in  the  hospital  in  care  of  the 
wounded,  and  made  sand  bags,  to  be  used  in  the  defences,  from  such 
material  as  came  to  hand,  not  begrudging  costly  silks  and  damasks 
in  this  life-saving  service.  It  was  hard  from  the  standpoint  of  the 
besieged  to  understand  why  there  was  such  long,  long  delay  in  the 
arrival  of  relief,  but  hope  never  flagged,  neither  did  the  high  spirit 
fail  in  the  resolve  to  do  to  the  utmost  and  to  the  end.  A  small 
boy,  disguised  as  a  beggar,  with  his  message  hidden  in  the  mush  of 
his  beggar-pouch,  was  one  of  the  messengers  let  down  from  the  wall 
and  the  one  as  it  happened  who  gave  definite  tidings  in.  Tientsin  of 


1900.]  IN  MEMORIAM.  515 

the  survival  of  the  foreignera.  This  knowledge  helped  to  the 
decision  to  move  forward  to  the  relief  without  further  delay. 

After  the  battle  of  Po-tsang  the  Chinese  troops  seemed  to  be 
half  hearted  in  opposing  the  advance  of  the  allies.  Tung-cho  was 
easily  captured  and  nearly  destroyed.  The  strongest  defence  of  the 
walls  of  Peking  by  the  Chinese  soldiers  was  on  the  east  against  the 
Japanese,  who  fought  with  their  usual  reckless  bravery,  thus  draw- 
ing the  Chinese  away  from  the  southern  city,  which  was  entered  by 
the  British  and  Americans  with  but  little  opposition.  The  Sikhs  were 
the  first  to  reach  the  legation,  entering  under  the  city  wall  through 
the  terminus  of  the  moat  defended  by  the  foreigners.  The  rejoicing 
at  deliverance  was  expressed  in  words  and  acts,  but  the  thoughts  of 
many  ran  too  deep  for  expression.  It  was  indeed  a  deliverance  at 
the  hands  of  brave  men,  but  it  was  also  through  the  manifestation 
of  a  directing  Providence.  Many  things  contributed  to  the  preserva- 
tion of  this  beleaguered  and  seemingly  fated  body  of  men,  women,  and 
children — the  bravery  of  the  marines  of  the  different  nationalities, 
over  half  of  their  number  having  been  killed  or  wounded  in  the 
defence ;  the  labor  of  the  missionaries  and  native  Christians,  men 
and  women ;  the  provision  of  a  liberal  supply  of  food ;  the  bad 
marksmanship  of  the  Chinese  soldiers;  and  their  fear  of  foreigners 
in  spite  of  their  overwhelming  numbers. 

The  world's  rejoicing  at  this  signal  deliverance  is  mingled  with 
sorrow  at  the  memory  of  the  long  list  of  native  Christians  in  Peking 
and  of  foreigners  and  natives  in  other  places  who  were  not  delivered, 
and  for  whose  loss  only  the  Divine  Father  can  soothe  the  sorrow  of 
many  hearts.  These  things  have  not  come  of  blind  fate,  neither  of 
accident,  but  are  under  the  direction  of  a  permissive  Providence,  and 
in  the  end  there  shall  be  light. 


3\\  nDemoviam. 

REV.   MARTIN  SCHAUB. 

BY  REV.  C,  R.  IIAGER,  M.D. 

Our  gifted  brother,  whose  death  we  sadly  mourn  to-day,  was  bora 
in  Basel,  Switzerland,  on  the  8th  of  July,  1850.  Quite  early  ia  life, 
and  while  engap[ed  in  business,  liis  attention  was  directed  to  the  cause  of 
foreign  missions,  and  when  he  arrived  at  the  age  of  nineteen  he  presented 
himself  at  the  seminary  of  the  Basel  Missionary  Society  in  order  to  fit 
himself  for  his  future  work.  For  six  years  he  studied  assiduously,  gaining 
the  love  and  admiration  of  his  teachers,  who  saw  in  him  a  man  full  of  prom- 
ise and  bright  hopes ;  his  scholarship  being  of  the  very  highest  order. 
With  this  thought  in  view  he  was  designated  for  the  mission  iu  China,  in 


616  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [October, 

order  that  in  time  he  might  become  a  teacher  to  prepare  men  for  preach- 
ing and  teaching  in  the  Basel  Theological  Seminary,  stationed  at  Li-long, 
not  far  from  Hongkong.  Here  he  commenced  his  labour  in  the  second  year 
of  his  missionary  career  and  continued  in  that  same  work  for  twenty-four 
years,  having  only  two  furloughs  home  in  all  that  time.  It  goes  without 
fear  of  gainsaying  that  the  school  under  Mr.  Schaub's  management  and 
teaching  became  one  of  the  best  training  schools  in  South  China,  from  which 
every  year  men  were  sent  forth  fully  equipped  with  the  gospel  message. 
No  drones  were  allowed  in  the  school,  and  certainly  no  man  of  meager 
attainments  was  ever  allowed  to  become  a  full-fledged  preacher.  Mr. 
Schaub  believed  in  thoroughness  for  himself  and  his  students,  and  I  still 
remember  how  earnestly  he  taught  them  the  principles  of  Chi'istian 
theology.  Finding  the  seminary  without  any  text  books  he  set  to  work 
and  translated  and  composed  a  number — on  dogmatics,  ethics,  church 
history,  etc. — which  show  his  great  knowledge  of  the  Chinese  language. 
On  the  one  hand,  he  was  constantly  teaching  his  students  how  to  preach ; 
on  the  other,  he  was  continually  writing  some  useful  Christian  books  in 
the  Chinese  language.  Ten  years  ago  he  was  chosen  one  of  tlie  five 
members  to  translate  anew  the  New  Testament  into  the  high  classical 
style.  On  this  work  his  last  labors  were  employed,  and  three  years  ago 
Rev.  Dr.  Chalmers  and  he  issued  a  new  translation  of  the  New  Testa- 
ment, which  may  not  in  future  become  the  version  of  New  Testament, 
yet  every  one  who  has  examined  it,  has  found  remarkable  improvement 
on  the  old  delegates'  version,  and  the  committee  on  the  Easy  Classical 
had  a  copy  of  this  translation  constantly  before  them.  With  Dr.  Chalmers, 
he  was  an  earnest  student  of  Chinese  thought,  and  it  has  been  said  of 
both  that  if  they  found  a  new  Chinese  character  in  the  evening  that  they 
could  not  sleep  until  they  had  found  out  its  meaning.  In  this  respect 
Mr.  Schaub  had  the  same  zeal  as  his  more  learned  and  senior  brother 
Dr.  Chalmers.  Both  these  men  gave  up  the  last  years  of  their  lives  to 
the  perfection  of  the  Chinese  Bible,  and  both  of  them  were  buried  in 
the  Hongkong  cemetery  only  a  few  months  apart.  It  was  a  great  shock 
to  us  all  when  we  heard  of  his  decease,  Just  a  little  past  fifty,  when  most 
men  begin  to  live  and  achieve  their  higliest  success  ;  but  not  so  with  our 
brother,  who  was  called  early  and  in  the  midst  of  his  years,  but  his  work 
was  done  and  that  well  done ;  and  although  nearly  all  the  missionaries  of 
South  China  had  sought  refuge  in  Hongkong  and  Macao  yet  he  contin- 
ued at  his  post  up  to  August  28th,  when  essaying  to  give  his  last  lecture 
he  was  compelled  to  desist  on  account  of  weakness.  For  some  time  he 
had  suffered  witli  his  kidneys,  and  it  was  this  disease  that  finally  on  the 
7th  of  September  robbed  him  of  his  life.  One  who  knew  him  well  said 
of  him  that  during  the  later  years  of  his  life  he  became  more  gentle  in 
his  manner.  Surely  he  not  only  taught  his  pupils  the  principles  of 
theology  but  he  also  lived  them,  and  though  dead  to-day  yet  his  life 
still  speaks  in  the  great  number  of  students  that  lie  has  taught.  To 
him,  the  welcome  applaudit  of  his  Lord,  to  us  the  grief  and  sorrow  of 
parting ;  to  him,  an  everlasting  crown,  to  us,  the  silent  waiting  for  the 
footsteps  of  the  Master  as  we  still  toil  on  in  this  our  warfare  here  below. 
To  him,  perfect  rest  and  peace,  to  us,  the  still  arduous  task  of  completing 
our  work.  Mr.  Schaub  leaves  a  widow,  wiio  has  been  his  constant  com- 
panion for  the  last  twenty-three  years,  and  although  no  cliildren  graced 
their  home  yet  their  wedded  union  was  full  of  happiness  and  bliss,  and  our 
hearts  go  out  in  sympathy  and  grief  to  her  who  has  been  so  suddenly  and 
«adly  bereaved.    But  through  the  eyes  of  faith  we  see  our  departed  brother, 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT.  617 

only  gone  before  a  little  while ;  we  shall  sooa  follow  him  and  greet  him 
agfiia  on  the  eternal  shores  of  the  hereafter.  God  grant  that  our  work 
nuiy  bo  as  well  done  as  that  of  our  brother's  who  spared  not  himself  in 
order  that  he  mi''ht  exalt  Christ. 


Rkv.  E.  T.  Williams,  M.A.,  Editor, 

Published  ia  the  intereabs  of  the  "  Educatioaal  Association  of  China." 

A  Present  Duty. 

HATEVER  policy  the  powers  may  decide  to  parsne  in  the 
settlement  of  the  present  trouble  there  can  scarcely  be 
any  doubt  as  to  the  effect  of  the  crisis  upon  educatioaal 
work  in  China.  The  reactionary  party  is  already  discredited  and 
the  future  goverument  must  lend  its  support  to  educational  reforms. 
If,  as  we  hope  and  as  recent  edicts  indicate,  the  Emperor  Kwaug 
Hsii  is  to  be  restored  to  power,  he  will  undoubtedly  resume,  though 
perhaps  in  a  more  cautious  manner,  some  of  the  important  items  of 
the  prograuime  outlined  in  the  remarkable  edicts  of  1898. 

In  any  case  the  demand  for  the  new  learning  will  be  greater 
than  ever  before. 

A  year  ago,  in  writing  of  the  retrograde  movements  of  the 
government,  the  triumph  of  conservatism,  and  the  hostility  shown  to- 
ward modern  methods  of  education,  we  expressed  the  belief  that  the 
reaction  would  prove  to  be  but  temporary  and  that  it  would  be 
followed  by  a  wave  of  progress  that  would  sweep  forward  far  beyond 
any  attainment  in  the  past.  We  did  not  then  anticipate  that  the 
conservative  party  would  first  work  such  folly  and  wickedness  as  it 
has  been  guilty  of  the  past  summer.  But  "  Quern  Jupiter  vuU 
perdere,  dementat  prius "  ;  and  much  as  we  may  reprobate  these 
awful  crimes  we  cannot  but  feel  that  they  have  hastened  the  dawn- 
ing of  the  day  for  which  we  have  hoped,  the  day  of  enlightenment 
and  progress.  Folly  has  borne  its  appropriate  fruit  and  the  martyrs 
of  1898  are  abundantly  avenged. 

But  the  ffict  that  Western  education  is  likely  to  be  in  greater 
demand  than  ever  before  should  rouse  the  members  of  the  Educa- 
tional Association  to  an  immediate  consideration  of  the  problems 
which  are  sure  to  be  presented  and  to  the  devising  of  plans  for 
united  action  in  aid  of  any  movement  for  the  spread  of  knowledge. 


518  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Octol)er, 

In  a  recent  nnmber  of  the  Nation  a  timely  article  on  "  The 
Organization  of  Edaeatiou "  calls  attention  to  the  need  of  an 
organization  of  the  mnltitadinoiis  agencies  charged  with  the  educa- 
tion of  American  pupils.  The  situation  is  quite  different  in  China. 
The  field  is  so  vast  that  there  is  no  immediate  danger  of  such  a 
needless  duplication  of  schools  and  colleges  as  is  complained  of  in 
the  United  States,  but  there  is  none  the  less  as  great  a  need  of 
organization.  That  this  need  is  felt  in  some  measure  is  proved  by 
the  existence  of  our  Association;  yet  how  little  we  accomplish,  after 
all,  compared  with  the  need  and  with  our  resources  1  It  is  but 
natural  that  each  teacher  should  give  most  of  his  thought  to  his 
own  particular  school  or  department  of  a  school,  but  most  seem 
content  to  confine  themselves  to  this  narrow  field  with  the  result 
that  the  really  more  important  problems  concerned  with  the  general 
progress  of  education  in  China  are  almost  wholly  neglected. 
We  meet  once  in  three  years  and  listen  to  some  thoughtful 
and  valuable  discussions  of  these  questions,  but  when  it  comes  to  the 
practical  work  of  carrying  out  such  plans  as  are  agreed  upon  the 
result  is  far  from  satisfactory.  Even  on  such  matters  as  the 
transliteration  of  proper  names  or  the  preparation  of  a  uniform 
system  of  scientific  nomenclature  the  work  is  spread  over  a  long 
term  of  years,  and  we  seem  content  with  the  most  leisurely  progress. 
In  other  matters  we  are  equally  slow.  There  has  been  much 
excuse  for  this  state  of  affairs  in  the  past  in  the  fact  that  our  schools 
have  been  few  and  most  of  them  of  recent  establishment  as  well  as 
in  the  feeling  that  the  general  aversion  to  Western  learning  has 
made  immediate  action  unnecessary.  But  these  excuses  no  longer 
suffice.  We  have  a  large  body  of  able  and  experienced  teachers. 
They  have  given  years  of  thought  to  many  of  the  problems  which 
demand  consideration,  and  the  great  changes  which  are  impending 
urge  all  such  educators  to  lose  no  time  in  consulting  together  to 
secure  the  most  economical  and  efficient  employment  of  the  forces 
at  command.  If  we  are  worthy  of  our  name  we  ought  to  be  prepared 
to  direct  the  future  course  of  education  in  China.  It  is  too  much 
to  hope  that  there  can  be  absolute  uniformity  in  methods,  but  there 
ought  to  be  substantial  agreement  in  the  general  outlines  of  an 
educational  system  which  shall  adapt  the  learning  of  the  West  to  the 
peculiar  conditions  prevailing  in  China  and  to  the  peculiarities  of  the 
Chinese  mind  and  the  genius  of  the  Chinese  language.  Proper  text- 
books for  the  teaching  of  some  branches  are  utterly  wanting.  In 
other  branches  the  text-books  need  revision  to  bring  them  up  to 
date,  while  a  uniform  terminology  in  the  sciences  is  still  wanting. 
These  and  other  equally  important  matters  deserve  attention  at  once. 
Now  that  so  many  teachers  are  at  leisure  and  must  remain  for  some 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT.  519 

time  to  come  away  from  their  accnstomed  fields  of  work,  is  it  not 
possible  for  them  to  devote  their  energies  to  these  qnestious  ?  It 
ouj(ht  to  he  easy  to  decide  what  text-books  are  most  needed  and  to 
fiud  snitable  persons  to  prepare  them.  Particnlar  attention  should 
be  given  to  the  preparation  of  a  complete  and  nniform  set  of  j^raded 
text-books  snch  as  may  prove  snitable  to  a  corapreheuive  scheme  of 
national  education. 

We  commend  these  suggestions  to  the  attention  of  the  Execn- 
tive  Committee  of  the  Educational  Association  and  urge  npon  it.  the 
dnty  of  taking  some  snch  action  at  once  as  will  bring  the  leading 
educators  of  Ciiina  into  conference  npon  these  topics  with  a  view 
not  so  much  to  exposition  of  theories  as  to  iran>ediate  and  practical 
action. 


Notes  and  Items. 


Prof  E.  R.  Lyman,  of  the  Chinese  Polytechnic  Institute,  an- 
nounces in  the  Shanghai  native  papers  a  course  of  popular  lectures' 
on  science  to  be  given  at  the  Institute  this  year.  Every  Monday 
evening  there  will  be  a  lecture  in  English  on  some  subject  connected 
with  geology,  and  every  Wednesday  evening  on  some  astronomical 
topic,  also  in  English;  these  to  be  given  by  Prof  Lytnan.  Every 
Friday  evening  there  will  be  a  lecture  in  Chinese ;  subjects  and 
speakers  to  be  announced  from  time  to  time.  Admission  will  be  by 
tickets  only,  which  may  be  obtained  at  the  Institute. 

Such  a  course  is  timely,  and  will  no  doubt  be  highly  appreciated 
by  the  Chinese. 


It  is  reported  that  H.  E.  Chang  Chih-tung  is  seriously  meditat- 
ing the  closing  of  the  military  academy  at  Wuchang,  owing  to 
the  recent  alleged  plot  of  certain  "  reformers  "  to  burn  the  three 
cities  of  Hankow,  Hanyang,  and  Wuchang,  and  murder  the  officials. 
Sonve  of  the  students  sent  by  him  to  Japan  were  said  to  have  been 
interested  in  the  conspiracy.  A  Chinese  daily  paper  at  Shfanghai 
complains  that  Western  education  tends  to  make  the  students 
seditious. 

Students,  it  is  true,  have  often  been  involved  in  the  revolution- 
ary uprisings  in  Europe,  particularly  in  France  and  Russia,  but 
probably  not  so  much  because  they  were  students  as  because  they 
were  young  men.  Every  one  who  has  lived  at  a  provincial  capital 
in  China,  knows  that  the  thousands  of  students  who  gather  there  to 
take  the  examinations  are  often  guilty  of  riotous  demonstrations  and 


520 


THE  CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[October, 


that  they  not  infrequently  coerce  the  officials  into  compliance  with 
their  whims.  Nevertheless  Western  learning  does  broaden  the  views 
of  Chinese  young  men  and  shatter  their  regard  for  the  conservative 
and  superstitious  views  of  their  elders  and  in  so  far  perhaps  makes 
them  zealous  for  reform.  Yet  the  record  of  the  numerous  mission 
schools  throughout  the  empire  gives  a  conclusive  denial  to  all 
charges  that  Western  learning  fosters  disloyalty  and  sedition.  There 
are  probably  no  more  orderly,  law-abiding,  and  patriotic  subjects  in 
China  than  these  same  students. 


^'OxxtB^an^mtL 


QUERY. 

To  the  Editor  of 

"  Thk  Chinese  Recorder." 

Dear  Sir  :  Kindly  allow  me  some 
space  to  call  the  attention  of  the 
revisers  to  the  following  passage  of 
the  M  ^  fl  ;j^ ;  it  reads  :  i^  1^ 


*n  II  g^  ^  iftn  E  >i  W  in  ^  M 
^  i#  ^  E  .11  4. 


I  should  like  to  ask,  can  the  troe 
here  spoken  of  as  the  HI.  ;^  ^ 
possibly  be  any  other  tree  than  the 
palm  of  Scripture,  the  date  pahu  1 
And  having  such  a  good  Cliinese 
name  for  a  thing,  can  we  possibly 
be  justified  in  using  any  otiier 
term,  especially  when  translating 
the  Scriptures  ? 

Yours  sincerely, 

W.  Ebert. 

SWATOW. 


#ur  l00h  Cabk, 


1h  ®  Wi;  Concerning  Borrowing.  Pres- 
byterian Mission  Press,  Shanghai. 
Price  4  cents  per  copy,  $3.50  per  100. 

This  is  a  very  instructive  and 
useful  book  on  the  easily  besetting 
sin  of  borrowing  and  contracting 
debts  with  no  certain  prospect  of 
being  able  to  discharge  them.  The 
author,  Mrs.  John  L.  Nevius,  is  a 
well  known  writer,  who  has  placed 
the  ,  whole  cliurch  under  lasting 
obligations  by  books  written  both 
in  English  and  Chinese. 

The  present  work  is  the  result  of 
sympathetic  studies  carried  on  for 
a  period  of  more  than  forty  years. 
It  is  written  with  an  honest  effort 
of  showing  the  evil  and  misery  of 


life-long  indebtedness  and  sug- 
gesting how  debt  may  be  avoided. 
The  Scripture  texts  bearing  on  this 
subject  are  briefly  but  clearly  ex- 
pounded. The  necessity  for  bor- 
rowing, viz.,  poverty,  wliich  is  sup- 
posed to  cover  a  multitude  of  sins, 
is  discussed,  and  mention  made  of 
some  of  the  most  fruitful  causes  of 
poverty,  such  as  money  and  time 
spent  in  ancestral  and  temple  wor- 
ship, the  smoking  of  opium  and 
tobacco,  wine  drinking,  gambling, 
riotous  living,  idleness,  pawning  of 
goods,  theatre  going,  law-suits, 
mutual  loan  associations,  sureties 
for  debts,  entering  into  partnership 
with  untrustworthy  men,  etc.    Each 


1900] 


OUR   BOOK   TABLE. 


621 


item  mentioned  is  so  clearly  dis- 
cussed that  the  reader,  whatever 
may  be  his  practice,  is  constrained 
to  admit  that  the  facts  are  undoubt- 
edly truly.  Whatever  may  be  the 
eflFoct  upon  non-Christian  readers 
the  Christian  is  left  without  excuse 
and  led  to  see  that  all  that  is  nec- 
essary for  him  is  untiring  and  per- 
sistent industry  and  economy  in 
order  to  obey  the  injunction,  "  Owe 
no  man  anything  but  to  love  one 
another,"  the  only  debt  which  must 
remain  ever  due. 

If  as  Matthew  Arnold  says: 
"  True  conduct  is  the  three-fourths 
of  life,"  instruction  in  honesty 
must  issue  in  right  action. 

A  veteran  missionary,  who  was 
often  and  earnestly  appealed  to  for 
help,  asked  one  of  his  members  why 

he  did  not  borrow  from  Mr. , 

a  man  who  had  money  to  lend  1 
The  artless  reply  was,  if  I  borrow 
from  him  I  shall  have  to  return  the 
money.  Doubtless  most  mission- 
aries have  often  been  perplexed  to 
know  what  duty  required  on  this 
particular  subject.  All  such  will 
welcome  this  book.  It  fills  a  place 
greatly  needed  in  tlie  education  nob 
only  of  Chinese  youth  but  of  many 
advanced  in  life. 

This  instructive  and  carefully 
prepared  book  should  be  a  text- 
book in  every  Chinese  school. 

Hereafter  I  shall  require  not 
only  the  pupils  in  all  tlie  schools 
under  my  care,  but  also  teachers, 
preachers,  and  piivate  members  to 
study  and  pass  an  examination  on 
this  book.  It  should  command  a 
ready  sale  and  wide  circulation. 
It  is  beautifully  printed,  and  is  for 
sale  at  the  Presbyterian  Mission 
Press,  Shanghai. 

Hunter  Corbbtt. 

CnEPOO,  August  23rd,  1900. 


Missionary  Society  in  its  one  hun- 
dred and  first  year. 

In  addition  to  a  mass  of  detail 
there  are  a  few  facts  which  may  be 
of  interest  which  record  the  work 
accomplished  and  the  present  status 
of  that  Society  as  compared  with 
other  missionary  organizations. 

The  present  force  of  European 
missionaries — evangelistical,  cler- 
ical, and  lay — is  eleven  hundred  and 
fifty-three.  In  addition  to  this 
there  are  eighty-five  medical  mis- 
sionaries, including  the  wives.  The 
native  adherents  already  baptized 
number  two  hundred  and  thirty- 
three  thousand  and  thirteen. 

The  work  of  this  Society  was 
begun  in  Africa,  but  at  present 
India  has  the  largest  number  of 
stations — two  hundred  and  four  in 
all.  Africa  conies  second  in  the 
list  with  ninety-three.  North 
West  Canada  is  third  with  fifty- 
eight  stations,  and  China  is  fourth. 
In  all  there  are  five  hundred  and 
forty-one  stations.  The  schools 
and  seminaries  number  two-thou- 
sand one  hundred  and  thirty-nine. 
The  annual  receipts  have  been 
four  hundred  and  four  thousand 
nine  liuudred  and  five  pounds. 
This  is  the  report  of  the  largest 
missionary  organization  in  the 
Christian  world. 


Proceedings  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Society.     101st  year. 

This  report  contains  a  most  full 
account  of  the  work  of  the  Church 


Shanghai  "Vernacular  Chinese-English 
Dictionary,  by  D.  H.  Davis  and  J.  A. 
Silsby.  Presbyterian  Mission  Press, 
Shanghai.  Price  $3.00. 

This  is  a  very  convenient  little 
work  of  208  pages,  and  will  be  a 
great  help  to  the  students  of  the 
Shanghai  colloquial  dialect.  It  is 
arranged  according  to  the  order  of 
the  Chinese  radicals,  with  the 
page  of  Williams  and  number  of 
Giles  where  the  character  may  be 
found,  followed  by  a  short  defini- 
tion. The  system  of  Romanization 
is  that  adopted  by  the  Shanghai 
Vernacular  Society, 


522 


THE  CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[October, 


AN    IMPORTANT   BOOK. 
An  Outline   of  Christian   Theology,  by 
William  Newton  Clarke,  D.D.    Cluirles 
Scribner's  Sons,  New  York. 

This  book,  published  last  year, 
has  already  reached  its  fourth 
edition,  and  this  notice  is  in  the  hope 
that  by  another  year  a  full  edition 
may  be  found  in  the  libraries  of 
China  missionaries. 

In  answer  to  the  question  as  to 
how  much  time  he  needed  to  com- 
pose a  sermon,  H.  W.  Beecher 
replied  that  he  used  forty  years. 
Such  a  book  as  this,  written  nomi- 
nally by  one  man,  is  really  the 
outcome  of  nineteen  centuries  of 
Christian  thought  and  experience. 
But  while  it  brings  out  of  the  past 
its  best,  it  yields  the  better  of  the 
living  present;  for  the  writer  teaches 
not  as  the  scribes,  but  with  the 
authority  of  one  whose  mind  is  in 
contact  with  spiritual  reality.  The 
thought  is  direct,  giving  us  a 
system  of  theology  in  482  pages. 
It  is  refreshingly  fearless ;  the 
danger  of  being  cast  out  of  the 
synagogue  being  almost  entirely 
ignored.  It  is  nobly  suggestive,  as 
any  fairly  clear  view  into  the 
nature  of  God  is  bound  to  be. 

Scripture  references  are  weighed 
and  measured  rather  than  counted, 
and  the  largest  are  used  for  founda- 
tion stones. 

Turning  to  the  work  of  Christ, 
the  crux  of  every  theological  system, 
I  will  endeavour  to  give  an  outline. 

The  New  Testament  contains  no 
uniform  exposition  of  Christ^s  work. 
Its  teachings  have  temporary  and 
permanent  elements.  We  need  to 
grasp  firmly  the  thought  that  the 
relation  which  God  is  ever  seeking 
to  establish  between  Himself  and 
men  is  not  that  of  king  and  subject 
but  that  of  father  and  son.  Man 
is  the  one  that  needs  to  be  made 
willing,  never  God.  God  always 
takes  the  initiatix'e.  In  seeking 
this  end  there  are  no  fetters  either 
in  God's  nature,  or  in  nature,  law, 
or  grace,  5\'.hich  Jihree  terms  stand 


for  God's  several  methods  of  self- 
expression,  and  which  therefore,  are 
never  at  variance,  but  eternal  ex- 
pressions of  the  changeless  mind 
and  purpose  of  God,  which  is  hatred 
of  evil,  love  of  goodness,  and  a 
purpose  to  do  everything  possible 
to  bring  men  to  the  same  mind. 
The  law  of  retribution  is  universal 
and  unerring.  The  mission  of 
Christ  comes  from  no  new  motive 
in  God,  but  in  it  is  made  an  exhibi- 
tion in  which  men  see,  far  more 
clearly  than  they  could  in  nature 
or  law,  his  eternal  heart  of  love. 

Hence  no  law  of  God  can  be 
upon  Him  any  restraint  upon  His 
wish  to  save  men.  "  Divine  law  is 
directed  against  sin  and  is  satisfied 
when  sin  is  made  to  cease."  God  is 
under  no  moral  necessity  to  punish 
sin  after  it  has  ceased.  He  cannot 
both  punish  and  forgive.  Neither 
can  the  real  punishment  of  sin  be 
visited  on  another;  that  which 
can  be  transferred  is  only  a  sub- 
stitute for  punishment. 

But  the  work  of  Christ  must 
have  been  all  as  genuine  as  He 
Himself ;  there  were  no  fictions  or 
unrealities  aliout  it,  no  transaction 
that  was  not  expression  of  eternal 
reality.  Christ  was  not  regarded 
by  God  as  anything  that  He  was 
not,  neither  are  men  looked  on  as 
other  than  they  are.  His  being 
"  made  sin  for  us  "  came  about  by 
His  identification  with  humanity,  an 
identification  so  complete  that  upon 
the  cross  He  loses  the  sense  of  His 
oneness  with  the  Father.  His  life 
and  cross  expressed  to  men  God's 
view  of  sin.  They  also  expressed  to 
God  what  man  ought  to  feel  in 
view  of  his  sin.  God  ever  bears  in 
His  heart,  not  the  ordained  punish- 
ment of  man's  sin,  but  the  pain  of 
vicarious  sympathy,  the  same  pain 
that  every  Godly  tninded  man 
knows  who  comes  into  vsympathetic 
and  saving  relation  to  the  sin  of 
others.  All  sin-bearing  is  typical 
of  His.  It  does  not  satisfy  His  law, 
but  His  love  makes   it   a   burden 


lOdO.} 


OUR  BOOK  TABLE. 


523 


nocesaary  for  His  heart,  and  tlje 
openinjj  of  His  heart  and  showing 
to  men  HisHin-hearint?  love,  becomes 
a  part  of  His  work  in  saving  men. 
Ill  niakinji;  this  exhibition  of  His 
nature,  God  completes  the  work 
which  men  had  been  attempting  to 
do  in  their  acts  of  propitiation  and 
whicli  set  forth  men's  conceptions 
of  God's  righteousness  and  inclina- 
tion to  mercy.  And,  as  has  been 
intimated,  Christ  within  humanity 
expresses  the  attitude  which  men 
have  }x3en  more  or  less  conscious 
that  they  ought  to  take,  namely, 
self-offering  to  God,  confession  of 
the  evil  of  sin,  consent  to  His  holy 
will,  and  self-sacrificing  fellowship 
with  his  redeeming  purpose.  In 
that  Christ  expressed  toward  God 
this  attitude  of  humanity,  He  stood 
as  high  priest  and  intercessor.  His 
work  in  bringing  men  to  God  is 
continuous ;  hence  any  of  these 
titles  mny  still  be  used,  though  the 
mind  should  think  of  that  which 
such  terms  denote  As  interpreted 
by  the  above  considerations. 

Sti'aiglitforvvard  and  suggestive 
thought  characterises  the  treatment 
of  other  subjects.  The  God  of 
theology  and  of  creation  is  one  God, 
and  what  He  has  taught  men  in 
science  He  does  not  contradict  else- 
where. 

*'  It  is  a  very  very  happy  fact 
that  theology  can  now  accept  the 
world  as  science  tinds  it." 

Theology,  questioning  science  as 
to  the  world  and  the  human 
race,  gets  an  evolutionary  answer. 
As  to  the  soul  of  man,  the  theory 
of  special  creation  cannot  be  ruled 
out  as  impossible,  but  may  yet  come 
to  appear  improbable.  "  Tlie  larger 
the  sweep  of  one  great  progressive 
method,  the  more  probable  does  it 
become  that  the  method  is  uni- 
versal "...*'  not  because  there  ia 
no  need  of  God  for  the  producing  of 
the  human  soul,  but  because  there 
is  so  much  of  God  in  the  perpetual 
travail  of  creation  that  even  this 
marvelous  addition  to  existence  is 


sufficiently  aiccounted  for  already 
by  His  presence  in  the  process." 

It  is  hard  to  imagine  anything 
better  on  the  vexed  subject  of 
divine  sovereignty  and  human  free- 
dom than  one  finds  in  this  outline. 
God  has  given  to  man  absolute  free- 
dom which  He  cannot  force,  but 
above  the  field  of  human  freedom 
He  does  exercise  a  sovereignty,  so 
that  the  "power,  not  ourselves,  that 
makes  for  righteousness,"  is  no 
dream  but  a  glorious  reality.  We  get 
a  sutjgestion  of  what  this  is  like  from 
our  own  life.  Among  men  mind 
acts  on  mind,  and  that  without  the 
suppression  of  any  worthy  quality 
in  the  mind  acted  upon.  How  far 
God's  mind  thus  influences  ours  we 
cannot  say.  "Perhaps  faith  will 
ultimately  see  that  God's  guiding 
of  men  from  abo\e,  their  freedom  is 
perfect  and  universal,  and  that  His 
limiting  of  Himself  by  creating  free 
wills,  though  real,  has  not  deprived 
Him  of  anything  of  the  control  to 
which  His  perfect  goodness  is  en- 
titled." This  illumination  of  the 
hidden  things  of  God  by  things 
seen  among  men  and  in  our  own 
minds  is  a  happy  feature  of  the 
book.  In  the  discussion  of  the 
triune  existence  of  God  as  illustrated 
by  a  three-foldness  of  the  human 
soul,  the  result  seems  to  fall  short. 
Perhaps  the  conclusion  of  many 
here  would  be  that  the  testimony 
of  consciousness  is  far  more  to  one- 
ness of  being  than  to  anything  like 
a  three-fold  existence. 

As  to  the  iiiterinediate  state 
there  is  none.  Judgment  is  im- 
mediate. Sanctification  is  progres- 
sive. The  larger  hope  is  possible. 
But  this  opens  to  no  one  an  easy 
path  for  sin.  First  or  last  tlie 
sinner  must  do  what  he  is  called 
on  to  do  to-day. 

These  aris  the  closing  words  : — 

"The  most  serious  dangers  in 
connection  with  thought  upon 
future  destiny  do  not  spring  from 
belief  in  the  largeness  of  the  divine 
grace.     They  spring  from  the  idea 


524 


THE  CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[October, 


that  salvation  is  something  else 
than  transformation  into  the  like- 
ness of  the  good  God.  Men  think 
that  to  be  saved  is  to  be  snatched 
out  of  the  suffering  that  is  due  to 
their  sins  and  be  brought  to  ever- 
lasting safety;  and  in  such  a 
thought  there  is  deep  moral  danger.- 
The  lessons  that  need  to  be  in- 
forced  are  such  as  these :  That  no 
man  can  possibly  have  deliverance 
from  punishment  or  ought  to  think 
of  it  or  would  be  blessed  by  it 
wliile  he  is  devoted  to  sin ;  that  to 
be  saved  is  to  be  transformed  from 
sinfulness  into  the  likeness  of  God 
in  Christ;  that  this  change  is 
possible  now  and  is  urged  by  the 
love  that  endured  the  cross ;  that 
delay  must  render  this  change 
more  difficult;  that  therefore 
it   is  folly   to  enter  a   new  stage 


of  existence  expecting  to  make  it 
there  instead  of  here,  even  if  there 
it  is  possible ;  that  duty  knows  no 
future ;  that  wisdom  finds  too 
much  to  regret  in  what  is  past 
already  and  knows  no  good  day  of 
repentance  but  to-day  ;  that  all  the 
motives  are  thus  present  now,  and 
now  is  the  day  of  salvation,  too 
precious  to  be  spent  in  vain.  It 
needs  also  to  be  urged  upon  the 
heart  of  the  Christian  people  that 
the  way  to  turn  men  from  sin  to 
righteousness  is  to  bear  them  upon 
the  heart  as  Christ  did,  and  as 
God  does,  by  an  intense,  unconquer- 
able, self-sacrificing  love;  and  that 
the  salvation  of  the  world  waits  for 
a  redeeming  church  that  lives  not 
for  its  own  comfort  or  even  for  its 
own  salvation,  but  for  the  satisfy- 
ing of  the  heart  of  Christ." 


^bitorial  €ammmt 


At  a  recent  meeting  of  the 
Committee  of  Correspondence, 
which  has  in  charge  the  arrange- 
ments for  the  next  General 
Missionary  Conference,  it  was 
decided,  in  view  of  the  present 
unsettled  state  of  the  conntry,  to 
postpone  the  Conference  indefi- 
nitely, or  until  the  state  of  affairs 
became  such  as  to  seem  to  justify 
the  Conference  being  held.  Al- 
most immediately  following  this 
decision  a  meeting  of  the  mis- 
sionaries now  residing  in  Shang- 
hai was  held,  at  which  it  was 
decided  to  hold  a  Convention  for 
the  deepening  of  the  Spiritual 
Life,  and  a  large  and  represent- 
ative committee  was  appointed 
to  make  arrangements  for  said 
Convention.  As  the  meetings 
will  be  held  soon,  it  will  not  be 
possible  for  those  in  the  southern 
part  of  China  (the  only  ones  now, 
except  those  at  Shanghai,  who 


are  not  driven  from  their  work) 
to  be  present.  But  the  hundreds 
who  are  detained  in  Shanghai 
ought  to  make  such  meetings  full 
of  blessinganda  source  of  spiritual 
power.  It  is  also  proposed  to  have 
weekly  Conference  meetings,  at 
which  papers  will  be  read  or  ad- 
dresses delivered,  bearing  upon 
missionary  work  and  more  in 
the  line  of  the  usual  missionary 
Conference. 


We  extend  our  heartiest  sym- 
pathies to  the  many  missionaries 
who  are  now  detained  at  Shang- 
hai or  in  places  in  Japan,  who 
have  been  watching  eagerly  the 
outlook  of  the  times  and  who 
have  been  ever  hoping  that  mat- 
ters would  clear  up  and  that  they 
might  be  able  to  return  to  their 
work.  Alas,  the  end  seems  fur- 
ther off  than  ever.    The  Powers 


1900.] 


EDITORIAL  COMMENT. 


525 


are  demanding  the  pnnishmont, 
and  justly  so,  of  the  guilty  parties 
in  the  recent  attempt  upon  the 
lives  of  the  Ministers  of  the 
various  nationalities  and  for  the 
niiiHSHcre  of  so  many  missionaries. 
]?ut  who  is  to  deliver  up  tlie  guil- 
ty ones  ?  And  if  no  one  will 
deliver  tliem  up,  then  the  powers 
must  take  it  upon  themselves  to 
ferret  them  out  and  deal  with 
tiiein  as  they  deserve.  This  looks 
like  a  tremendous  task,  and  such 
no  doubt  it  will  be  found.  But 
we  see  no  other  course  possible, 
unless  the  nations  are  willing  to 
let  China  again  lapse  into  her 
old  condition  and  the  Empress- 
Dowager  again  take  up  the  rule 
at  Peking.  But  this  cannot  be 
thought  of  for  a  moment. 
*        *        • 

Shortly  after  the  relief  of  Pe- 
kin;4  the  missionaries  gathered  in 
Shanghai  sent  a  message  of  con- 
gratulation, etc.,  to  the  mission- 
aries in  Peking.  It  was  directed 
to  Dr.  Goodrich,  in  care  of  the 
United  States  Minister,  Major 
Conger.  Dr.  Goodrich  seems  to 
have  been  absent,  and  the  follow- 
ing reply  was  received  from 
Minister  Conger  himself  : — 

Legation  of  the  United  States, \ 
Peking,  August  28th,  1900./ 

My  Dear  Mr.  Woods  : 

All  of  us  here  have  been  deeply 
touched  by  your  loving  congratula- 
tions, and  we  jointly  return  our 
heartiest  thanks  to  all  who  joined 
you  in  the  telegram.  We  have  had 
a  most  anxious  time,  but  our  im- 
plicit faith  that  God  was  on  our 
side  kept  us  hopeful  all  the  time. 
Our  deliverance  was  most  marvel- 
ous, if  not  indeed  miraculous,  and 
we  are  profoundly  grateful  to  Him 
and  to  the  agents  He  used  for  our 
salvation. 

Many  of  the  missionaries  have  al- 


ready gone,  while  others  are  remain- 
in'^  to  carrt  for  their  native  Chris- 
tians, who  were  of  invaluable  aid 
during  our  siege. 

Thanking  you  again  for  your  con- 
grutulations, 
I  am, 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

E.  H.  Conger. 
*         •         * 

Wr  are  glad  also  to  place  on 
record  the  following  from  Minis- 
ter Conger  to  the  Americaa 
missionaries  in  Peking: — 

Peking,  16th  August. 

The  besieged  American  mission- 
aries, one  and  all  of  you,  so  prov- 
identially saved  from  certain 
massacre  : — I  beg  in  this  hour  of 
our  deliverance  to  express  what  I 
know  to  be  the  universal  sentiment 
of  our  Diplomatic  Corps,  the  sincere 
appreciation  of,  and  profound  grati- 
tude for,  the  inestimable  help  wbich 
you  and  the  native  Christians 
under  you  have  rendered  towards 
our  preservation.  Without  your 
intelligent  and  successful  planning 
and  the  uncomplaining  execution 
of  the  Chinese,  I  believe  our  salva- 
tion would  have  been  impossible. 
By  your  courteous  consideration  of 
me  and  your  continued  patience 
under  most  trying  occasions,  I  have 
been  most  deeply  touched,  and  for 
it  all  I  thank  you  most  heartily. 
I  hope  and  believe  that  somehow 
in  God's  unerring  plan  your  sacri- 
fices and  danger  will  bear  rich  fruit 
in  the  material  and  spiritual  wel- 
fare of  the  people  to  whom  you 
have  so  nobly  devoted  your  lives 
and  work. 

Assuring  you  of  my  personal  re- 
spect and  gratitude, 

Very  sincerely  yours, 

E.  H.  Conger. 

It  is  exceedingly  pleasant  to 
receive  such  messages  from  one 
in  such  a  position,  and  the  more 
so  as  we  believe  Mr.  Conger's 
words  to  be  sincere 


626 


THE  CHINESE  RECOEDER. 


[October, 


There  is  no  qnestion  bat  that 
the  coodnct  of  thonsacils  of  the 
native  Christians  iu  the  present 
crisis  will  come  as  a  revelation 
to  a  great  many  people  who  took 
very  little  stock  in  Chinese  con- 
verts and  were  in  the  habit  of 
speaking  of  them  as  "  rice  Chris- 
tians," That  they  were  willing 
to  endnre  torture  and  persecution, 
the  spoiling  of  their  goods,  and 
even  refuse  to  ransom  their  lives 
by  denying  their  religion,  was 
quite  beyond  what  had  been  ex- 
pected. For  truly  if  they  had 
been  Christians  for  the  sake  of 
gain  they  would  have  quickly 
denied  their  Christianity  when 
aught  was  to  be  gained  by 
that. 

And  not  only  those  professing 
Christianity,  but  others  as  well, 
who  had  been  associated  with 
missionaries,  have  suffered  rnther 
than  again  bow  down  to  idols. 
Dr.  Sheffield  is  authority  for  the 
following :  "  A  man  who  had 
been  employed  in  the  American 
Board  Mission  for  many  years 
but  never  had  made  a  profession 
of  Christianit}',  was  seized  by  the 
Boxers  and  ordered  to  worship 
the  idols.  He  stoutly  refused, 
however,  saying  that  when  he 
worship{)ed  he  would  worship 
only  the  true  God  ;  and  so  died 
for  his  testimony."  There  are 
doubtless  a  great  many  Nicode- 
muses  in  China  whose  true  colors 
we  have  not  yet  known. 
*        *        * 

The  editor  of  the  Educational 
Department  wisely  calls  the  at- 
tention of  the  educationists  to 
the  necessity  of  improving  the 
present  time  to  prepare  for  what 
must  inevitably  follow  when  peace 
has  been  declared.  There  is 
little  question  but  that  we  shall 
see  such  a  demand  for  English, 


and  education  in  modern  studies, 
and  on  modern  lines,  as  will  quite 
overwhelm  the  missionary  body. 
We  were  almost  wholly  unpre- 
pared, when  the  Emperor's  re- 
form decrees  were  issued,  for  the 
results  which  followed.  And 
now  that  reform,  in  earnest,  will 
doubtless  be  the  cry  when  mat- 
ters have  again  settled  down, 
what  a  pressure  will  be  brought 
upon  the  missionary  body,  not 
alone  for  direct  evangelistic  work, 
but  especially  for  help  in  found- 
ing schools  and  conducting  edu- 
cational institutions.  Well  may 
every  missionary  ask  himself. 
What  can  I  do  in  the  present 
crisis  to  prepare  for  the  great 
reactionary  wave  of  progress  and 
reform  which  is  sure  to  set  in  ? 
«        «        * 

One  of  the  greatest  treats 
which  has  been  enjoyed  by  many 
for  a  long  time  was  the  lecture 
Dr.  Martin  delivered  in  the  hall 
of  Union  Church  on  Friday  eve, 
September  28th,  in  which  he 
gave  an  account  of  the  siege  and 
relief  of  Peking.  Though  already 
past  the  three  score  and  ten  line 
Dr.  Martin's  eye  is  not  dim,  nor 
his  natural  force  abated,  and  he 
spoke  with  all  the  fire  and  vigor 
of  a  young  man,  inspired  and 
urged  on  by  the  greatness  and 
gravity  of  his  theme.  His  im- 
peachment of  the  Empress- 
Dowager  was  strong  and  unquali- 
fied, and  his  suggestions  as  to 
the  treatment  of  the  guilty  parties 
in  the  present  crisis,  were  de- 
cidedly of  the  heroic  order.  Dr. 
Martin  goes  to  the  United  States, 
where  we  sincerely  hope  his 
experience  and  wisdom  may  tell 
mightily  in  influencing  the  peo- 
ple and  government  to  a  right 
understanding  of  how  matters 
really  are  in  China. 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY   NEWS. 


527 


bsinnixriT  Ucfos^ 


Rev,  J.  B.  Hartwell,  of  Teng- 
chow,  calls  our  attention  to  a 
slip  in  our  last  issue,  among 
Departures,  where  we  announced 
Rev.  J.  H;utwell  and  four  cluldren 
for  tlio  U.  S.  A.  It  should  have  been 
Rev.  Geo.    Hartwell,  of  Chen-tu. 


Dr.  S.  A.  MofTett  writes  from 
P3'eng-yan<,',  Korea : — 

"All  is  quiet  here,  though  some  in 
the  extreme  north  on  the  Chinese 
border  are  frightened.  We  see  no 
reason  to  anticipate  trouble  in 
Korea,  but  one  does  not  dare  to 
prophecy.  We  know  not  what 
may  take  place  in  the  East  now 
that  such  awful  calamities  have 
come.  However  we  go  forward  in 
faith  ;  our  work  developing  as  usual. 
We  have  just  preparfid^ur  report 
for  our  aiuaual  meeting,  and  find 
that  in  this  station  we  have  baptized 
751,  giving  us  2,151  communicants, 
that  we  have  183  out-stations,  and 
that  this  year  our  people  have  built 
65  churches. 

"We  have  some  pretty  serious 
problems  to  face,  and  we  especially 
need  guidance  to  direct  this  young 
but  active  church.  We  rejoice 
in  what  has  been  done  and  in  the 
great  blessing  which  has  been  given 
us  these  years.  May  grace  be 
given  us  to  meet  the  ever  developing 
problems  as  they  arise." 


We  have  been  permitted  to  make 
the  following  extract  from  a  lady 
correspondent  of  Woman's  Work, 
•whose  home  is  in  Canton,  but  is 
now  residing  temporarily  in  Macao  : 
"  Witliin  a  few  days  a  paper  has 
been  circulated  widely  through  the 
province  to  the  effect  that  of  the 
allied     forces     90,000   have    been 


killed  in  Peking  and  the  miserable 
remnant  are.  begging  for  peace, 
which  the  Empress  will  graciously 
granton  condition  tl)at  all  foreigners 
shall  leave  China,  no  more  Chinese 
to  become  Christians,  Hongkong, 
Shanghai,  and  all  foreign  concessionH 
to  be  given  back  to  China,  and  each 
of  the  foreign  nations  to  pay 
millions  of  dollars  to  China  as  a 
penalty  for  the  invasion  of  her  ter- 
ritory. 

"  This  is  all  received  as  truth  by 
the  people  and  acted  upon,  and  last 
night  we  heard  that  1,500  Roman 
Catholics  and  some  of  other  denomi- 
nations are  homeless,  having  lost 
everything,  and  it  is  said  many 
women  and  girls  have  been  stolen." 


[The  following  sympathetic  letter 
has  been  handed  us  for  publica- 
tion.— Ed.  Rec] 

Rio  de  Janeiro,  July  10,  1900. 
Rev.  Dr.  Y.  J,  Allen, 
Shanghai,  China. 

Dear  Bro.: — At  a  meeting  of  mis- 
sionaries and  native  workers  from 
various  parts  of  Brazil,  and  represent- 
ing the  Congregational,  Presbyterian, 
Methodist,  and  Baptist  churches, 
held  in  this  city  yesterday,  much 
hearty  sympatliy  was  expressed  for 
the  suffering  brethren  (native  and 
foreign)  in  China,  and  fervent  pray- 
ers went  up  to  the  throne  of  grace 
in  their  behalf.  Indeed,  the  Brazilian 
Christians  everywhere  have  been 
and  are  much  in  prayer  in  behalf  of 
poor  China,  and  our  hearts  go  out 
in  affectionate  sympathy  and  Chris- 
tian love  to  the  workers  and  be- 
lievers in  this  awful  and  distressing 
crisis. 

The  meeting  preferred  to  appoint 
Dr.   Bagby   (a  Baptist  missionary\ 


528 


THE  CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[October, 


and  myself  a  committee  to  convey 
to  the  Chinese  churclies  our  earnest 
and  heartfelt  sympathy  for  them. 
Dr.  Bagby  will  write  to  Dr.  Graves, 
of  the  Baptist  church,  and  I  now  take 
the  liberty  of  writing  to  you,  request- 
ing that  by  whatever  means  you  may 
deem  best  these  our  sentiments  be 
made  known  to  all  concerned. 

With  kindest  regards  and  loving 
sympathy  to  the  beloved  mission- 
aries of  our  own  church,  and  pray- 
ing that  in  these  distressing  times, 
times  which  try  men's  souls,  they 
may  be  kept  in  perfect  peace, 

I  remain, 

Yours  in  Christ, 

W.  Dickie. 


Resolutions  of  Sympathy 
from  the  Missionaries 
of  the  Two  Kwang  to 
those  who  have  suf- 
fered in  the  Northern 
Provinces, 

The  members  of  the  various 
missions  of  the  two  southern 
provinces,  temporarily  gathered  in 
Macao,  after  an  hour  spent  to- 
gether in  prayer,  desire  to  express 
their  sympathy  with  the  brethren, 
whether  native  or  foreign,  who 
are  now  suffering  in  other  parts 
of  China. 

First.  We  thank  our  covenant- 
keeping  God  for  the  preservation 
of  all  who  have  escaped  the  dan- 
gers of  this  time  of  persecution  and 
lawlessness. 

Second.  We  sorrow — not  for 
thosp  who  have  been  called  to  their 
reward,  who  now  live  in  the  joy  of 
heaven — but  for  those  who  are 
yet  suffering.  Also,  for  the  sorrow- 
ing friends  who  have  been  bereft 
of  loved  ones,  we  would  send  a 
message  of  earnest  sympathy, 
assuring    them    that    our  prayers 


are  continually  rising  with  those  of 
the  Christian  world  that  they  may 
be  supported  by  the  everlasting 
arms  through  this  their  hour  of 
sore  trial. 

Signed  in  behalf  of  the   Kwang- 
tung  and  Kwangsi  missions. 

J.  G.  Kerr 
(American  Presbyterian.) 

R.  H.  Graves 
(American  Southern  Baptist.) 

A.  Alp 
(American  Scandinavian.) 

R.  H.  Glover 
(Christian  Alliance.) 

Andrew  H.  Woods 
(Christian  College.) 

Macao,  China,  Sept.  19,  1900. 


JSews  of  Kalgan  Mission- 
aries. 

The  following  is  from  the  Mission- 
ary Herald  for  September  : — 

"On  August  4  we  were  both 
surprised  and  delighted  by  tidings 
that  came  in  a  letter  written  by 
Rev.  James  H.  Roberts,  of  Kalgan, 
from  Hara  Oso,  Mongolia,  report- 
ing the  escape  into  Mongolia  of 
himself.  Dr.  Virginia  C.  Murdock, 
Rev.  and  Mrs.  Wm.  P.  Sprague, 
Rev.  Mark  Williams,  and  Miss 
Engh ;  the  latter  having  been  an 
assistant  of  the  mission  at  Kalgan. 
This  constitutes  our  whole  mission 
force  at  that  station.  The  letter 
was  dated  June  13,  and  it  reports 
that,  subsequent  to  the  mission 
meeting  at  Tung-cho,  Mr.  Roberts, 
Dr.  Murdock,  and  Mr.  Williams 
left  Peking,  June  6,  and  by  avoid- 
ing the  usual  routes,  reached  Kal- 
gan June  10.  There  were  crowds 
of  Boxers  at  Kalgan,  who  yelled 
savagely,  but  they  had  no  arms. 
On  that  evening  an  attack  was 
made  with  stones.  It  was  found 
that  mission  property  could  not  be 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  NEWS. 


S2d 


dc^fended  if  it  were  attacked,  and 
that  the  prosence  of  the  foreign- 
ers would  not  serve  to  protect 
the  native  Christians  but  might 
the  rather  imperil  them.  It  was, 
tliereforo,  decided  to  go  to  the 
principal  yamcn  at  Kalgan,  which 
governs  a  largo  part  of  Mongolia. 
The  otHcials  received  the  party 
civilly,  but  were  anxious  to  be  rid 
of  them.  Our  brethren  asked  to  bo 
soi\t,  with  a  sufficient  guard,  into 
Mongolia,  and  after  niuch  debate, 
assent  was  given,  and  near  midnight, 
on  Monday,  June  11,  the  party 
started  for  Mongolia,  escorted  by 
soldiers  and  yamen  runners  till  they 
were  safely  out  of  the  city  gates.  For 
sixty  hours  or  more  they  could  not 
sleep  except  in  little  naps,  but 
otherwise  their  journey  was  not 
specially  difficult  or  perilous.  They 
arrived  at  Hara  Oso,  Monj^olia,  on 
June  13.  This  place  has  been 
visited  in  previous  years  by  Mr. 
Roberts,  and  some  account  of  it  will 
be  found  in  the  Missionari/  Herald 
for  January,  1896,  page  28.  It  is 
on  the  direct  route  from  Kalgan  to 
TJrga,  700  miles  north-west  from 
Peking.  From  here  Mr.  Roberts 
mailed  his  letter,  which  came  via 
Siberia  and  Russia.  Several  Swed- 
ish missionaries  were  on  their  way 
to  Urga,  At  the  time  of  his  writ- 
ing Mr.  Roberts  hoped  that  some 
of  their  number  would  he  able  soon 
to  return  to  Kalian.  Another, 
and  a  later  dispatch,  received 
through  the  United  States  Embassy 
at  St.  Petersburg,  reports  these 
missionaries  as  at  Kiachta  in  East- 
ern Siberia,  a  town  near  the  line 
of  the  Siberian  Railway. 


Missionaries  Apjieal  to  the 

Home  Governments, 

A  meeting  of  some  400  mission- 
aries, representing  twenty  Societies, 
held  a  public  meeting  in  Union 
Church  Hall,  Shanghai,  on  the  7th 
of   September  and  passed   the   fol- 


lowing resolutions  by  a  vote  which 
was  nearly  unanimous  : — 

Whereas  :  The  outrages  on,  plunder, 
ill'treatmiiDfc  and  murder  of  many  for- 
eignors,  including  a  great  riuinbor  of  mia- 
sionarics  living  peaceful  lives;  the  heart- 
rending massacro  of  a  multitude  of  native 
Christians ;  the  murderous  attacks  on 
the  legations  at  Peking  from  the  13th  of 
Juno  to  the  time  of  their  relief  on  the 
15th  of  August ;  the  wholesale  destrno> 
tion  of  foreign  property  in  the  various 
parts  of  China;  and  the  long.planned 
extermination  of  foreigners  throughout 
the  empire,  have  all  been  instigated,  order- 
ed, and  encouraged  by  the  Empress-Dow- 
ager, both  in  public  and  secret  Imperial 
edicts;  the  whole  movement  (including 
the  "  Boxer"  uprising),  being  under  the 
direction  of  Prince  Tuan  and  Kang  Yi  by 
Imperial  appointment ;  and 

Whereas  :  On  the  defeat  of  the  Chi- 
nese forces  and  the  victory  of  the  Allies 
R  settlement  of  affairs  in  China  must  be 
arrived  at  before  peace  is  proclaimed; and 

Whereas  :  No  settlement  can  be  satis- 
factory or  permanent  which  does  not  aim 
to  secure  the  real  good  of  the  Chinese 
people  and  the  rightful  interests  of  all 
foreigners  resident  in  China,  whether 
officials,  merchants,  or  misaiouaries; 
therefore  be  it 

Resolved :  That  we,  Protestant  mission- 
aries, representing  twenty  Societies  en- 
gaged  in  work  in  this  country,  do  now,  in 
public  meeting  assembled  at  Shanghai, 
appeal  most  earnestly  to  our  fellow- 
countrymen  at  home  and  to  our  home 
governments  to  secure  a  thorough  and 
lasting  settlement  of  the  present  difficul- 
ties  in  China,  h\  the  interests  alike  of  the 
people  of  China  and  of  civilization. 
Knowing  intimately  the  people  among 
whom  we  work,  we  can  assert  confidently 
that  the  present  troubles  did  not  origin- 
ate in  any  hostile  feelings  toward  for- 
eigners upon  the  part  of  the  commoa 
people,  and  they  would  never  have  occur- 
red but  for  the  direct  instigation  and  par> 
tronage  of  the  Manchu  government. 

All  over  the  empire  there  are  enlight- 
ened men  in  favour  of  reform  and  prog- 
ress who  are  friendly  to  foreigners,  but 
who  dare  not  assert  themselves  without 
a  guarantee  of  safety.  The  general  well- 
being  of  the  people,  their  progress  in  the 
best  and  highest  sense,  and  the  develop- 
ment of  trade  with  them,  are  intimately 
connected  witli  the  spread  of  knowledge 
and  education,  tho  prosecution  of  legit- 
imate missionary  work,  and  with  the 
establishment  of  a  good  secular  govern- 
tueut.       We  therefore  respectfully  sug- 


530 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[October, 


gesfc  that  in  onr  opinion   it  is   desirable 
that  any  settlement  should  aim  at 

1.  The  restoration  to  the  throne  of 
Kuang  Hsii,  the  rightful  sovereign  of 
China. 

2.  Securing  to  Christian  missions  free- 
dom  from  all  hindrance  in  the  prosecu- 
tion  of  their  legitimate  work  and  the 
maintenance  of  all  the  rights  and 
privileges  guaranteed  to  them  under 
the  treaties,  which  rights  and  privileges 
have  been  too  often  disregarded  and 
denied  by  the  Chinese  authorities. 

3.  The  recognition  and  protection  by 
their  own  rulers  of  native  Christians  as 
loyal  and  law-abiding  citizens,  and  their 
exemption  from  the  payment  of  contribu- 
tions for  idolatrous  purposes  and  from 
the  observance  of  all  religious  customs 
other  than  their  own. 

4.  It  is  also  suggested  that  any 
settlement  should  be  preceded  by  the 
adequate  punishment  of  all  who  are 
guilty  of  the  recent  murders  of  for- 
eigners and  native  Christians,  both  those 
who  have  actually  done  the  deed  and 
those,  however  high  in  rank,  by  whose 
orders  or  connivance  these  crimes  have 
been  committed,  and  that  the  trials 
and  punishment  take  place,  so  far  as 
possible,  where  the  crimes  were  com- 
mitted. We  futher  urge  that  in  taking 
punitive  measures  every  effort  be  made 
to  avoid  all  needless  and  indiscriminate 
slaughter  of  the  Chinese  and  destruction 
of  their  property. 

5.  There  should,  following  the  settle- 
ment, be  a  universal  proclamation  of  its 
terms  throughout  the  empire,  which 
should  be  kept  posted  in  every  Fu  and 
Hsien  city  for  a  period  of  two  years. 
This  is  rendered  necessary  by  the  persist- 
ence with  which  such  facts  are  hidden 
from,  or  misrepresented  to,  the  people. 


Tlie  Nohle  Army  of 

Martyrs, 

We  give  below  a  list  of  the  Prot- 
estant missionaries  who  have  lost 
their  lives  during  the  so-called 
"  Boxer  uprising,"  as  far  as  we  have 
been  able  to  obtain  information. 
Of  course  there  is  the  shadow  of 
a  hope  that  some  who  have  been 
reported  as  killed  may  yet  be  found 
among  the  living,  but  we  have  been 
careful  to  obtain  as  accurate  in- 
formation as  possible  and  only   to 


record  the  names  of  those  whose 
death  has  been  confirmed  beyond 
reasonable  doubt : — 

In  Shantung. 

Killed  December  31st,  1899  : 

Rev.  S.  M.  Brooks,  of  the  S.  P. 
G.  (English). 

In  Chihli. 
Killed  about  June  1st,  1900: 

Rev.  H.  V.  Norman,  of  the  S. 

P.  G.  (English). 
Rev.  C.   Robinson,  of  the  S.  P. 

G.  (English). 

At  Paoting-fu,  massacred  June 
30th,  ID'OO  :— 

Of  the  American  Presbyterian 
Board  : 

Rev.  F.  E.  Simcox. 

Mrs.  Simcox  and  three  children. 

G.  Y.  Taylor,  M.D. 

Dr.  C.  V.  R.  Hodge. 

Mrs.  Hodge. 

July  1st,  the  following  mission- 
aries of  the  American  Board  : 

Rev.  H.  T.  Pitkin. 
Miss  A.  A.  Gould. 
„     M.  S.  Morrill. 

And  these  of  the  China  Inland 
Mission  : 

Rev.  B.  Bagnall. 

Mrs.  Bagnall  and  one  child. 

Rev.  Wm.  Cooper. 

In  Chehkiang. 

Killed  at  K'ii-cheo,  July  21-24,  the 
following  missionaries  of  the 
China  Inland  Mission  : — 

Mr.  D.  B,  Thompson. 

Mrs.  Thompson  and  two  children. 

Miss  Sherwood. 

„     M.  Manchester. 

„     J.  E.  Desmond. 

„     Thirgood. 
Mr.  G.  F.  Ward. 
Mrs.  Ward  and  one  child. 

In  Shansi. 

The  following  are  of  the  China 
Inland  Mission  : — 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  NEWS. 


531 


At  Hsiao-yi,  June  30th,  1900  : 
Miss  E.  E.  B.  Wliitchurch. 
„     E.  E.  Searell. 

Near  the  Yellow  River,  July  16th  : 

Rev.  G.  McConnell. 
Mrs.  McConnell  and  one  child. 
Miss  S.  A.  King. 
„     E.  Burton. 
Mr.  John  Young. 
Mrs.  Young. 

On  the  way  to  Hankow  from  Shan- 
si  : 

Miss  H.  J.  Rice,  July  13th. 
Mr.  Saunder's  two  children,  July 

27th  and  August  3rd. 
Mrs.  E.  J.  Cooper,  August  6th. 
Miss  Huston,  August  11th. 
Mr.  E.  J.  Cooper's  child,  August 

17  th. 
Two  of  Mr.  A,  Lutley's  children. 

A  telegram  from  what  is  said  to 
be  a  "  reliable  native  source  "  was 
sent  from  Si-an-fu,  stating  that  the 
missionaries  in  certain  stations  had 
been  massacred.  It  is  believed  that 
they  are  the  following: — 

Of  Sih-cheo : 

Mr.  W.  G.  Peat. 
Mrs.  Peat  and  two  children. 
Miss  Dobson. 
„     E.  G.  Hum. 

Of  Ta-ning  : 

Miss  F.  E.  Nathan, 
„  M.  R.  Nathan. 
„     E.  M.  Heaysman. 

Of  loh-iang  : 

Mr.  D.  Barratt. 
„    A.  Woodroffe. 

Ifear  Taiyuanfu,  on  the  27th  of 
June : 

Miss  E.  Coombs,  unconnected. 

At  Tai-yuan-fu :  The  following 
are  reported  as  massacred  July 
9th:— 

Of  the  China  Inland  Mission : 

Miss  J.  Stevens. 


Miss  M.  E.  Clarke. 
Dr.  Millar  Wilson. 
Mrs.  Wilson  and  one  child. 

Of  the  Sheo-yang  Mission: 

Dr.  A.  E.  Lovitt. 

Mrs.  Lovitt  and  child. 

Mr.  G.  W.  Stokes. 

Mrs.  Stokes. 

Mr.  J.  Simpson. 

Mrs.  Simpson. 

Mr.  John  Robinson,  tutor  to  Mr. 

Pigott's  son. 
Mr.  Pigott's  child. 
Miss  Duval,  a  teacher. 

Two  daughters  of  Rev.  E.  R. 
Atwater,  of  the  American 
Board. 

Mr.  A.  Hoddle,  unconnected. 

Of  the  English  Baptist  Mission: 

Rev.  G.  B.  Farthing. 

Mrs.  Farthing  and  three  children. 

Rev.  T.  J.  Underwood. 

Mrs.  Underwood. 

Rev.  F.  S.  Whitehouse. 

Mrs.  Whitehouse. 

Miss  Stewart,  governess. 

Of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible 

Society : 

Mr.  W.  T.  Beynon. 

Mrs.  Beynon  and  three  children. 

At   Tai-ku,  killed  JulySlst:— 

Of  the  American  Board : 

Rev.  D.  H.  Clapp. 
Mrs.  Clapp. 
Rev.  G.  L.  Williams. 
Rev.  F.  W.  Davis. 
Miss  R.  Bird. 
„     M.  L.  Partridge. 

NexLT  Fen-choufu,  protected  for 
some  time  by  local  officials,  but 
murdered  August  16th  by  or- 
der of  Governor  Yii  Hsien  : — 

Of  the  American  Board : 

Rev.  C.  W.  Price. 

Mrs.  Price  and  child. 

Rev.  E.  R.  Atwater. 

Mrs.  Atwater  and  two  children* 


532 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[October, 


At  K'ai-hsih  :    Killed  August  16th, 

Miss  R.  Palmer. 

the    following 

of    the 

China 

„      E.  C.  Johnson. 

Inland  Mission 

„      K.  Rasmussen. 

Mr.  A.  P.  Lundg! 

[•en. 

Of  Hong-tong : 

Mrs.  Lundgren. 
Miss  A.  Eldred. 

Mr,  A.  Lutley. 
Mrs.  Lutley. 

Miss  E.  Gauntlett. 
„     Edith  Higgs. 

TOTAL  KILLED. 

Of  Kiang-cheo  : 

In  Shansi. 

Adults.  Children. 

Mr.  D.  M.  Robertson. 

C.  L  M. 

27 

9 

Ofl-shi: 

Eng.  Bapt.    ... 
Sheo-yang  Miss, 
A.  B.  C.  F.  M. 

7 

3 

8 
10 

2 
5 

Mr.  L.  H,  E.  Linder. 
Mrs.  Linder. 

B.  F.  B.  Soc. 

2 

3 

Miss  A.  S.  Lagerstam. 

Unconnected 

2 

Of  tlin-ch'eng  : 

In  Chih-li. 

Mr.  E.  Folke. 

C.  L  M. 

S.  P.  G. 

3 

2 

1 

Mrs.  Folke. 
Miss  Halliii. 

A.  B.  C,  F.  M. 

3 

„      R.  Hattrem. 

Am.  Presb.    ... 

5 

3 

„     J.  M.  Hunder^. 

In  Chehkiang. 

Of  Meh-ti-kiai : 
Miss  Angvik. 

C.  L  M. 

8 

3 

„      Holth. 

In  Shantung. 

Of  Hsai-cheo  : 

S.  P.  G. 

1 

Mr.  C.  H.  Tjader. 

— 

— 

Mrs.  Tjader. 

Totals, 

78 

29 

Miss  Prytz. 
„      Forssberg. 

„     J.  E.  Fogelklou. 

SAFE  FROM  SHANSL 

Of  Lu-an  : 

The  following  missionaries  of  the 

Mr.  A.  E.  Glover. 

China  Inland  Mission  have 

escaped 

Mrs.  Glover. 

from  Shansi  and   ai-e  in  pi 

aces  of 

Miss  C.  Gates, 

safety — most   of    tliem    at 

Shang- 

hai: — 

Of  Lu-ch'eng  : 

O/P'ing-iao  : 

Rev.  E.  J.  Cooper. 

Mr,  A,  R.  Saunders. 

Mrs.  Saunders. 

UNCERTAIN. 

Mr.  A.  Jennings. 

Of  P'ing-iang  : 

Mr.  F.  C.  H.  Dreyer. 

Mrs.  Dreyer. 

Miss  J.  F.  Hoskyn. 
„      A.  Hoskyn, 
„      E.  Guthrie. 
„     E.  French, 


Of  the  following  missionaries 
laboring  in  Shansi  we  have  no 
definite  news : — 

Enolish  Baptist  Missionaries. 

Of  Hsin-chou : 

A  letter  of  26  th  of  June  says 
tlie  following   na^tued   missionaries 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  NEWS. 


538 


escaped  on  horseback,  and  were 
being  pursued.  No  word  since 
received  : — 

Rev.  Herbert  Dixon. 
Mrs.  Dixon. 

Rev.  W.  A.  McCurrach. 
Mrs.  McCurrach. 
Mr.  S.  W.  Ennala. 
Miss  B.  C.  Renaut. 

China  Inland  Missionaries. 

OfTat'ong: 
Mr.  S.  McKee. 
Mrs.  McKee. 
Mr.  C.  S.  I'Anson. 
Mrs.  I'Anson. 
Miss  Aspden. 
„     M.  E.  Smith. 

Of  Soh-pHng  : 

Mr.  S.  A.  Persson. 
Mrs.  Persson. 
Mr.  0.  A.  L.  Larsson. 
Miss  J.  Lundell. 
„     J.  Engvall. 

Of  Huen-iiin  : 
Mr.  E.  Petterson. 

Of  Ing-cheo  : 

Mr.  G.  E.  Karlberg. 
Of  Tso-iien  : 

Mr.  N.  Carleson. 
Of  ti-ii  : 

Mr.  J.  W.  Hewett. 
Of  long-ning-cheo : 

Escorted   to  the  Yellow  River, 
but  no  further  news  : 
Mr.  P.  A.  Ogren. 
Mrs.  Ogren  and  child. 
Miss  M.  Hedlund. 
„     A.  Johansson. 

Of  K'uh-u : 

The  following  are  reported  as 
in  the  hands  of  brigands  and 
held  for  ransom  : — 

Mr.  D.  Kay. 

Mrs.  Kay  and  child. 

Mr.  G.  McKie. 


Miss  M.  E.  Chapman. 
„      M.  E.  Way. 

Sheo-yano  Mission. 

Mr.  T.  W.  Piggott. 
Mrs.  Piggott. 

SwKDisH    Missionaries    op    the 

curistian  and  missionary 

Alliance. 

News  has  been  received  by  cable, 
via  St.  Petersburg,  that  a  party  of 
seventeen  Swedes  of  the  Alliance 
Mission  had  reached  a  point  some- 
where in  Siberia,  in  a  destitute 
condition.  They  had  fled  across 
the  desert  of  Mongolia  and  had 
reached  in  safety  some  point  on 
the  Siberian  railway,  probably 
Irkutsk.  The  Christian  and 
Missio7iary  Alliance,  in  reporting 
this,  says  that  an  order  for  $2,500 
gold  has  been  sent  by  cable  for  their 
relief,  and  adds:  "We  have 
reason  to  hope  that  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Larson,  of  Kalgau,  are   included." 

The  following  are  the  names  of 
the  Alliance  Swedish  missionaries 
located  in  Shansi : — 

Mr.  E.  Olsson. 
Mrs.  E.  Olsson. 
Mr.  O.  Oberg. 
Mrs.  O.  Oberg. 
Mr.  O.  Forsberg. 
Mrs.  0.  Forsberg. 
Mr.  C.  Blomberg. 
Mrs.  C.  Blomberg. 
Mr.  C.  F.  Lundquist. 
Mrs.  C.  F.  Lundquist. 
Mr.  W.  Noren. 
Mrs.  W.  Noren. 
Mr.  A.  Fagerholm. 

„    E.  Jacobson. 
Mr.  A.  Sand  berg. 

„     A.  E.  Palm. 
Miss  E.  Erickson. 
Mr.  O.  Bingmark. 
Mrs.  O.  Bingmark. 
Mr.  C.  L.  Lundberg. 
Mrs.  C.  L.  Lundberg. 
Mr.  E.  Anderson. 
Mrs.  E.  Anderson. 


634 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[October* 


Mr,  and  Mrs.  M.  Book  were  in 
Peking  during  the  siege. 

The  Swedish  Consul-General  has 
received  a  telegram,  dated  Sep- 
tember 19th,  stating  that  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  P.  Nystrom  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
M.  Nystrom,  who  were  stationed  at 
Ning-hsia-fu,  in  Kansuh  province, 
had  started  on  that  date  for  Han- 
kow via  Lan-cheo  and  Si-an-fu. 

In  Kalgan,  Chihli,  were  located 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  Soderbaum  and 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  A.  Larson. 

There  are  said  to  be  seventeen 
children  in  the  Swedish  mission  of 
the  Alliance. 


Mrs.  Greene  and  two  children. 
Miss  J. 


CHIHLI  MISSIONARIES. 

In  a  Yam^n  at  Pao-tinq-fu. 

The  following  missionaries  of  the 
C.  I.  M.  are  reported  as  being 
protected  in  a  yamen  at  Pao-ting- 
fu:— 

Of  Huai-luh : 
Mr.  C.  H.  S.  Greene. 


G.  Gregg. 


Of  Hsuen-teh : 

M.  L.  Griffith. 
Mrs.  Griffith. 
R.  M.  Brown. 

Kalgan  Missionaries. 

Rev.  Mark  Williams,  Rev.  J.  H. 
Roberts,  and  Miss  Murdoch,  M.D., 
are  reported  as  having  arrived  at 
Kiachta  in  Siberia. 

Missing  Missionaries. 

The  following  members  of  the 
Swedish  Mongolian  Mission  and  of 
the  Scandinavian  China  Alliance 
are  unaccounted  for  : — 

Mr.  Helleberg. 

Mrs.  Helleberg  and  child. 

Mr.  Wahstedt. 

„    Stenberg. 

,,    Fredstrom. 

„    Suber. 
Miss  Hannah  Lund. 

„     A.  Lund. 

„     M,  Lund. 


Sept.  306ue6  from  preeb^tcrfan  fiDiesion  ipreee* 


Catechism  of  Christian  Doctrine.     Reprint.     P.  M.  P. 

Pamphlet  oa  University  of  Cah'fornia.     Dr.  John  Fryen 

Minutes  of  Synod  of  China.     A.  P.  M. 

Regulations  of  Huai  Te  T'ang. 

Vol.  2.  Stock  Cuts.     P.  M.  P. 
®  1i^  fr  1^  5^   @'  Commentary  on  Acts. 
^  it  "S*  ^  #  fl-  Anglican  Church  Record.     No.  2. 
Manual.     Southern  Presbyterian  Mission. 
Medical  Missionary  Journal^  Vol.  XIV,  No.  4. 
From  the  Front.    No.  9. 
St.  John's  Echo,  September. 
Central  China  Christian.     No,  8. 
China  Messenger,  July -September. 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  JOURNAL. 

Iltissionarrr  |ourn;iL 


635 


BIRTHS. 

At  Chong-pa,.  S/xIman  province,  July 
17th,  the  wife  of  W.  Hofb  Gill,  C. 
M.  S.,  of  a  daughter. 

At  51  Cliff  Road,  Leeds,  Yorks,  August 
<)th.  the  wife  of  Kdwakd  B.  Vahdon, 

F.  F.  M.  A.,  Chungkiug,  of  a  daughter, 
Hilda  Southail. 

MARRIAGES. 

At  Hongkong,  on  tlie  7th  August,  hy 
tJie  Rev.  I.  L.  Hess,  assisted  by  the 
Rev.  J.  K.  Fee,  Rev.  Robert  A. 
Jaffrat  to  Miss  Minnib  B.  Donkr, 
both  of  the  C.  and  M.  A.  Mission. 

At  Shanghiii,  September  14th,  before  H.  I. 

G.  M,  Consul- (J enoral,  Hkinrich  Klein 
to  Miss  Johanna  Schottenhassel.  both 
of   the   German    Alliance  Mission. 

At  Chefoo,  Sept.  20th,  the  Rev.  C.  W. 
Mateer,  D.I).,  A.P.M.,  Tengchow,  to 
Miss  A.  Haven,  A.B.C.F.M.,  Peking. 

At  the  Cathedral,  Shanghai,  on  22nd 
Sept.,  by  Rt.  Rev.  Bishop  Cassels,  F. 
H.  Neale  to  Miss  Minnie  R.  Thomas, 
both  of  the  China  Inland  Mission. 

DEATHS. 

At  Hongkong,  September  7th,  Rev. 
Maktin  Schacb,  B.M.,  aged  50  years. 

At  Nagasaki,  Japan,  September  7th, 
Frances  Emily,  the  wife  of  Charles 
Perry  Scott,  Bishop  in  North   China. 

At  Shanghai,  September  15th,  Edith 
Mahjorib,  aged  eight  months,  daugh- 
ter of  the  Rev.  and  Mrs.  E,  F.  Geuye, 
W.  M.  S. 

At    Shanghai,    September    25th,     Miss 
C.   W.  Fleming,  C.  I.  M.,  from  heart 
disease  and  dysentery. 
ARRIVALS. 

At  Shanghai,  September  15th,  Rev.  D. 
Z.  Sheffield,  A,  B.  C.  F.  M.,  Peking, 
from  U.  S.  A. 

At  Shanghai,  September  19th,  Miss  S. 
Brackbill,  C.  M  .  M.,  Chen-tu. 

At  Shan^liai,   September  29th,   Bishop 
I).  H.  Moore,  M.  E.  M.,  Dr.  H.  H. 
LowRY,  M.  E.  M.,  Peking. 
DEPARTURES. 

From  Shanghai,  September  1st,  Dr.  A. 
G.  Rennison,  C.  I.  M.,  for  America ; 
Misses  Seymodr,  Goddgb,  Gilmodb, 
Drs.  W.  Squibbs,  W.  Stephens, 
C.  M.  S.,  for  London ;  Miss  L.  Crdm- 
mer,  a.  C.  M.  ;  Dr.  E.  R.  Jellison 
and  family,  M.  E.  M. ;  Rev.  D.  Fer- 
GU880N  and  family,  E.  P.  M. ;  Dr.  J. 
A.  Watson  and  family,  E.  B  M.  ;  Mr. 
H.  J.  Openshaw  and  wife,  Mrs,  W. 
M.  Upcrakt,  Mrs.  J.  R.  Goddard  and 
daughter,  A.  B.  M.  U.,  for  U.  S.  A. 

From  Shanghai,  September  3rd,  Rev, 
and  Mrs.  T.  R.  Kearney,  C.  M.  S., 
for  London. 

From  Shangiiai,  September  7th,  Rev. 
Etak  Morgan,  £,  B.  M.,  for  Loudoa. 


By  way  of  .Japan,  from  North  China, 
September  8tli,  Mrs.  C.  Goodrich, 
Dr.  J.  H.  Ingram  and  wife,  Miss  M.  E. 
ANDUKW8,  of  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.;  Rev. 
and  Mrs.  C.  H.  Fenn,  A.  P.  M. ;  Misses 
H,    K.   ROTHERFORD,     A.    E.     Brown, 

D,  M.  DoL'W,  A.  (iowAN,  of  C.  and  M, 
A.;  Rev.  R.  Allen,  Misses  J.  and  K. 
Ransome,  of  C.  E.  M.  ;  Rev.  F.  Broww, 
M.  E.  M.,  for  America. 

From  Shanghai,  September  10th,  Miss 
Forssbero  Mr.  C.  Blom,  Mr,  and  Mrs. 
C.  H.  Stevens  and  child,  and  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  A.  E.  Evans  and  2  children, 
C.I.M.,  for  England  ;  Miss  C,  Eraser, 

C.  S.  M,  for  Australia, 

From  Shanghai,  September  14th,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  H.  Klein,  for  Germany; 
Misses  F.  M.   Williams,   H.   Davies, 

E.  French,  Hioos,  and  CJates,  mid 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Wm.  Wii^on  and  6 
children,  C.  I.  M.  \  Mrs.  Wm.  Deans 
and  2  children,  C.  S.  M.,  for  England  ; 
Dr.  John  Inqlis  and  wife,  A.  P.  M., 
forU.  S.  A. 

From  Shanghai,  September  15th,  Rev. 
H.  0.  Cady  and  family,  M.  E.  M., 
Ikliss  K  L.  Oqbokn,  W.  F.  M.  S.,  for 
U.  S.  A. 

From  Shanghai,  September  20th,  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  O.  Burgess  and  2  children, 
Misses  K.  Fleming,  Harrison,  Cole- 
man,  and  F.  Young,  C.  I.  M.,  for 
Australia. 

From  Hongkong,  September  20th,  Rev. 

D.  S.  Murray  and  wife,  Dr.  A.  Peill 
and  wife,  and  Miss  Bartlbtt,  all  of 
L.  M.  S.,  for  England. 

From  Shanghai,  September  24th,  Mrs. 
W.  C-  Taylor  and  2  children,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Squire  and  3  children.  Misses 
Hilda  .Iohansen  and  Mary  J.  Wil- 
liams,  Mr.  A.  Holland  and  Horacb 
and  Nelly  Hunt,  C.  I.  M.,  for  England. 

From  Shanghai,  September  28th,  Misses 
Worthington,  R.  C.  Aknott,  and 
Hancock,  C.  I,  M.,  for  America. 

From  Shanghai,  September  29th,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  H.  S.  Conway  and  child  and  Miss 

E.  Guthrie,  for  England ;  Miss  A.  S. 
Lagerstam,  for  Finland  ;  Mr.  E. 
Frolich  and  Miss  E.  Brunnschwei- 
LER,  for  Switzerland;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F. 
A.  Gustafson  and  child,  for  Sweden  ; 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ph.  Nilson  and  3  chil- 
dren, Mr.  and  Mrs.  J,  G.  Nilson  and  3 
children,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  S.  Bergstkom 
and  2  children,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Renins, 
Misses  A.  Strand.  T.  Johnson,  L. 
Hedman,  and  Mary  Anderson,  C.I.M.  ; 
Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin,  of  Peking; 
Dr  W.  H.  VEN.\BiJi  and  wife,  Miss 
E.  B.  BoAKDMAN,  S.  P.  M.;  Miss  W. 
H.  Kelly,  S.  B.  C,  for  America. 


636 


w 


H 
o 

(J  ERMAN 

Basel 
Berlin 
Rhenish 

United  Brethren  in 
Christ      

A.  B.C.  P.M.      ... 

Christian  and  Mis- 
sionary   Alliance 

Reformed  Presb.  ... 

"  Christian  College  " 
British          ( 

London   Miss.  Soc.  ij 

Church   Miss.    Soc. 

Wesleyan  Miss.  Soc. 

English  Presb.      .„ 

OP 

p:    -c 

ir 

•      CB 

:    ^ 

American       f 

Baptist  (South)  ...  ( 
Presbyterian 

Name  of  Mission. 

00 

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00  ic  lo  CO  ^1  X  oi  *- 

00  00 

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00 

00  CO  CO 
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4i  CJi  Ol 

Year  of  Foundation. 

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W  :3 


5* 


THE 


CHINESE  RECORDER 


To.,  XXXI.  Ko.  11.       NOVEMBER,  1900.      P^p^'-.^GTdTi-.rs'r 

Should  Missionary  Societies  Claim  Indemnities  ? 

BY   BISHOP  MOULE,    HANGCHOW, 

fAM  told  that  "the  policy  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  is 
against "  the  principle  of  exacting  an  indemnity  for  losses 
incurred  in  their  missions  through  the  hostile  action  of  officials 
or  people  in  China.  I  have  not  sufficient  information  to  justify  my 
affirming  or  contradicting  the  above  statement.  On  one  occasion, 
I  believe,  though  I  have  no  evidence  at  hand,  the  committee  of  the 
Society  informed  the  British  government  that  they  would  not 
accept  indemnity  for  lives  and  property  destroyed  b}^  a  fanatical  mob. 
unrestrained,  if  not  suborned,  by  the  provincial  and  other  magis- 
trates. But  I  have  nothing  to  assure  me  that  this  would  in  all 
cases  be  their  policy. 

I  have  not  at  present  opportunity  of  referemce  ta  authorities  on 
international  law,  but  it  is  sufficiently  well  known  that  claims  for 
indemnity  for  loss  or  injury  suffered  by  citizens  of  one  civilized 
state,  through  the  connivance  or  negligence  of  the  government  of 
another,  have  been  made  and  admitted  within  the  last  few  years. 

American  commerce  suffered  severely  through  the  depredations 
of  the  confederate  privateer  Alabama  during  the  war  of  secessiont. 
The  American  government  held  the  British  government  bound  to 
indemnify  the  sufferers,  on  the  ground  that  the  latter  government 
had  failed  to  detain  the  Alabama  when  she  was  lying  in  an  English 
harbour  for  the  purpose  of  equipment  and  when  a  demand  for  her 
detention  had  been  made  by  the  government  ofithe  U.  S.  A. 

The  case,  as  is  well  known,  was  submitted  to  a  court  of  arbitra- 
tion, which  found  the  plaintiffs  entitled  to  a  very  large  sum  indeed 
by  way  of  indemnity  for  injuries  sustained.  The  award  was  accepted 
by  the  British  government  and  paid  over  to  the  American,  although 
it  was  suspected  at  the  time,  and  afterwards  ascertained,  that  a  large 
portion  of  the  claims  were  imaginary  or  exaggerated. 


538  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [November, 

On  the  same  principle,  when  the  government  of  the  South 
African  Republic  claimed  indemnity  for  injuries  sustained  through 
the  invasion  of  the  Transvaal  by  a  force  of  adventurers  led  by  Dr. 
Jameson,  from  a  neighboring  British  colony,  the  claim  was  rec- 
ognized by  the  British  government,  which,  however,  demurred  to 
the  exorbitanb  estimate  presented  by  the  government  of  the  Republic. 
And,  as  it  seems  to  me,  when  the  property  of  foreigners, 
domiciled  on  Chinese  soil  under  the  provisions  of  treaties,  is  injured 
or  destroyed,  whether  by  the  Chinese  officials  themselves,  or  by  rioters 
unrestrained  or  encouraged  by  the  responsible  authorities,  the  foreign 
government  whose  citizens  have  been  injured,  has  a  clear  right  to 
claim  indemnity  to  the  full  extent  of  the  loss  sustained.  To  take  an 
instance  in  point.  The  Church  Missionary  Society's  agents  have 
for  four  or  five  years  past  been  domiciled  at  the  district  city  of 
Chu-chi,  sixty  miles  beyond  Hangchow.  Their  houses,  built  upon  land 
purchased  with  the  sanction  of  the  magistrate  within  the  walls 
of  his  city,  were  burnt  down  in  the  early  days  of  last  July  by  a  mob 
not  exceeding  two  or  three  hundred  rioters,  many  of  them  local  roughs, 
a  few  professing  themselves  "  patriots  "  from  the  mountainous  coun- 
try to  the  south.  The  magistrate  had  been  applied  to  for  protection, 
both  before  and  after  the  foreigners  left  the  city  for  Hangchow. 
He  professed  his  resolution  to  afford  it,  but  in  effect  did  nothing 
till  it  was  too  late,  and  for  a  time  his  own  life  was  threatened. 

Whether  the  magistrate's  apathy  was  the  result  of  secret  instruc- 
tions from  the  government  or  not,  it  seems  to  me  the  British 
government,  on  behalf  of  the  C.  M.  S.,  have  a  perfectly  fair  claim  on 
the  Chinese  government  for  such  compensation  for  the  injury  as  will 
enable  the  Society's  agents  to  rebuild  their  houses,  schools,  chapel, 
etc.,  and  replace  the  furniture,  clothes,  etc.,  which  were  carried  off 
by  the  rioters  or  destroyed  in  the  flames. 

No  lives  were  lost  on  the  occasion,  and  I  do  uot  enter  upon  the 
much  more  ambiguous  question  of  pecuniary  compensation  for  life. 
The  terms,  however,  in  which  the  general  question  has  been 
brought  to  my  notice  are,  "  the  policy  of  the  C.  M.  S."  with  regard  to 
indemnities.  Policy  and  other  considerations,  such  as,  e.  g., 
humanity,  may  forbid  what  equity  would  fully  justify.  And  I  do 
not  hesitate  to  say  that  I  shall  rejoice  if  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  sees  its  way#  at  least  in  the  case  I  have  instanced,  to  take 
upon  itself  the  responsibility  of  indemnifying  those  who  have  suffered 
loss  in  its  service  and  to  forego  its  own  claim  on  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment for  pecuniary  compensation.  The  total  bill  is  a  heavy  one, 
though  trifling  as  compared  with  some  of  which  we  have  heard  in 
Chihli  and  Shantung.  But  to  furnish  the  |1 2,000  to  $15,000 
required  to  make  good  all  the  losses,  private  and  public,  it  is  morally 


1900.]      SHOULD   MISSIONARY  SOCIETIES  CLAIM   INDEMNITIES?         539 

certain  that  forced  contributions  would  be  exacted  of  many  who  are 
guiltless  of  the  outrage.  The  missionary's  influence  with  his  hearers 
and  neighbours  depends,  usually  at  least,  as  much  on  his  personal 
character  as  upon  his  eloquence  and  mastery  of  Chinese.  And  if, 
when  he  recommences  his  interrupted  work,  the  neighbourhood 
regards  him  as  the  man  whose  demands  led  to  the  distraint  of  the 
offe<;ts  of  some  of  thoir  best  respected  gentry,  there  will  be  a  prej- 
udice against  him  which  he  will  find  it  hard  to  break  down. 

.  We  do  not  always  perhaps  attend  sufficiently  to  another  con- 
sideration which  might  dictate  a  policy  of  moderation,  if  not  of 
absolute  refusal  to  accept  indemnities.  When  we  break  ground  in  a 
new  neighbourhood  it  is,  in  my  experience,  not  unusual  to  find  that 
the  people  whb  are  willing  for  a  consideration  to  help  us  in  renting 
or  purchasing  house  or  land  are  not  the  most  reputable  members  of 
society.  An  opium  smoker  who  sees  in  the  foreigner's  needs  a 
chance  of  earning  a  few  more  pipes  :  a  professional  sharper  who  will 
pretend  to  hand  you  good  title  deeds  for  the  house  you  desire,  Avhile 
he  is  concealing  the  fact  that  one  of  the  part-owners  whose  consent 
is  indispensable  is  absent ;  sometimes  a  reprobate  Buddhist  monk  in 
temporary  sole  charge  of  a  convent  which  he  professes  to  sell  you  for 
a  song,  decamping  promptly  with  your  dollars  and  leaving  you  to 
encounter  the  exasperation  of  his  absentee  brother-monks  and  very 
possibly  of  the  whole  neighborhood  besides,  who  have  no  wish  to  see 
the  dilapidated  convent  give  way  to  a  foreign  residence  or  chapel, — 
these  are  samples  of  the  intermediaries  through  whom  we  acquire 
our  foothold  in  a  new  station,  or  in  an  old  station  seek  to  "  lengthen 
our  cords."  Of  course  we  do  our  best  by  cross-questioning,  by  using 
the  advice  of  trusted  natives,  and  by  submitting  the  whole  to  the 
Yamen  for  registration  to  obviate  or  mitigate  the  ill-eftects  of 
association  with  such  assistants ;  but  they  have  their  trail  on  the 
transaction  only  too  often.  And  then  in  a  time  of  excitement  this 
and  that  circumstance,  which  we  had  forgotten,  is  flung  in  our 
teeth,  aggravating,  if  it  did  not  originate,  the  animosity  against  us. 
When  we  come  to  consider  the  expediency  of  demanding  "  com- 
pensation for  disturbance"  it  may  be  well  to  reflect  that,  little  as 
we  have  intended  to  offer  unnecessary  provocation  to  local  prejudice, 
there  are  these  and  many  other  ways  in  which  we  may  have  done  so, 
posing  in  the  eyes  of  the  respectable  classes  as  the  "  friends" — not 
merely  the  benevolent  but  the  interested  friends — of  the  worst 
"  publicans  and  sinners "  that  infest  the  neighbourhood ;  and  with 
that  reflection  we  shall  hardly  like  to  press  them  very  hard  to  make 
good  our  losses. 

To  bring  this  paper  to  a  close,   my   view   of  the   subject   in 
hand    is    briefly    this,   namely,  that   (1)    it   is   perfectly   right   in 


540  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [November, 

equity  to  cjemand  of  the  Chinese  government  compensation  for  the 
loss  and  destruction  of  property  owned  by  outlanders  on  Chinese 
territory  and  occasioned  by  riotous  conduct  which  the  Chinese 
magistrate  has  neglected,  or  has  been  unwilling  to  restrain,  e.  g., 
that  the  (J.  M.  S.  has  an  equitable  claiTn  for  compensation  at  Chu- 
chi,  where  its  houses  and  the  furniture  and  effects  of  its  mission- 
aries were  plundered  and  burnt  under  the  magistrate's  eye  during 
July;  but  (2)  having  in  view  the  fact  that  a  large  part  of  the 
public  revenues  of  China  are  already  assigned  as  security  for 
loans  to  her  government  by,  or  under  guarantee  of,  foreign  govern- 
ments, it  would  be  good  policy  not  to  press  such  claiTn,  which  would 
in  all  likelihood  form  a  pretext  for  forced  contributions  from  local 
gentry,  of  whom  some  at  least  have  shown  practical  goodwill  to  the 
Mission.  I  have  alleged  other  considerations  in  favour  of  a  policy 
of  moderation  which  need  not  be  repeated. 

Indemnity  or  compensation  for  life  lost  iij  anti-Christian 
riots,  or  6ven  by  the  direct  action  of  the  officials,  is  another  ques- 
tion. Money  in  exchange  for  human  life,  Christian  life,  can  never 
seem  to  me  either  equitable  or  politic.  Punishment,  capital  punish- 
ment of  the  principals  wherever  they  can  be  got  hold  of  is,  I  think, 
both  just  and  politic,  but  not  the  exaction  of  a  pecuniary  fine. 
If  sympathy  with  the  children,  or  other  relatives,  bereaved  by  the 
death  of  the  martyr,  be  alleged  as  a  reason  for  demanding  such  indem- 
nity, is  it  not  rather  the  church's  duty  to  provide  for  those  whose 
bread-winner  has  fallen  in  her  service,  and  so  avoid  the  dubious 
expedient  of  subsidizing  them  with  "  the  price  of  blood  ? " 


An  Argument  for  Indemnity. 

BY    REV,    F.    H.    CHALFANT,    WEI-HSIEN. 

EALICIOUS  destruction  of  mission  property  in  China  may 
occur  in  four  ways  :  (1)  By  mob  violence  from  local  causes, 
such  as  a  misconstruction  put  upon  some  act  or  accident 
upon  mission  premises,  concerning  which  scandalous  stories  have 
been  circulated ;  (2  ^  by  burglary  at  the  hands  of  robbers,  or  other 
lawless  persons  without  grievance,  but  solely  for  the  purpose  of 
plunder;  (3)  b}'  mob  violence,  incited  by  the  magistrates  or  local 
gentyy;  (4)  by  looting  on  the  part  of  soldiers  set  to  guard  property 
in  the  owners'  absence. 

I  believe  that  any  one  of  these  forms  of  wanton  destruction 
renders  the  Chirjese  government  liable  for  full  reparation  In  the 
present  crisis,  however,  the  widespread  and  unprecedented  damage 
to  life  and  property  has  all  come  under  the  third  and  fourth  heads, 
to  wit,  officially  incited  violence  and  clandestine  looting.      Whether 


]900.]  AN   ARGUMENT   FOR  INDEMNITY.  541 

the  indemnity  be  demanded  of  the  central  government,  or  be  levied 
upon  the  locality  whore  the  disorder  occurred,  is  a  question  of  mere 
expediency.  That  it  is  the  right  and  duty  of  our  mission  societies 
to  demand  a  full  cash  indemnity  for  all  property  destroyed  I  base 
upon  the  following  grounds : — 

(1 ).  Upon  the  duty  of  maintaining  national  honor  and  dignity. 
If  treaties  are  to  be  respected  their  terms  must  be  clearly  defined 
and  compliance  therewith  made  obligatory.  Western  nations  havoi 
rightly  or  wrongly,  placed  China  on  a  diplomatic  equality  with 
themselves.  The  existence  of  treaties,  the  presence  of  foreign  minis- 
ters at  Peking,  and  consuls  at  the  ports,  all  go  to  prove  that  such  is 
China's  political  standing  in  the  eyes  of  the  Occident.  Imagine,  if 
you  please,  the  wanton  destruction  of  foreign  life  and  property  in 
Europe  or  America,  and  that  by  means  deliberately  planned  and 
with  the  knowledge  and  consent  of  the  local  magistrates.  Would 
there  be  any  question  raised  as  to  the  right  and  duty  of  demanding 
indemnity?  If  China  is  to  enjoy  the  privileges  of  international 
comity,  shall  she  be  an  exception  in  the  matter  of  infidelity  to 
treaty  obligation  ? 

(2).  Upon  the  ground  of  justice  to  the  sufferer. 
The  victim  of  mob  violence  has  rights  not  only  as  a  representa- 
tive of  his  nation  but  also  as  an  individual.  Whether  he  be  diplomat- 
ist, traveller,  merchant,  engineer,  or  missionary,  he  is  in  China  for 
some  legitimate  purpose  and  with  well  defined  rights  as  a  law-abid- 
ing person.     For  the  sake  of  those  who  would  place  the  missionary 
upon  a  different  footing  from   foreign  residents  engaged  in  other 
callings,  let  me  say  that  such  a  discrimination  was  not  made  under 
the  old  Roman  laws.    "  If  Demetrius  and  the  craftsmen  that  are  with 
him  have  a  matter  against  any  man,  the  courts  are  open  and  there 
are  pro-consuls."     Such  was  the  declaration  of  a  foreign  missionary's 
rights  in  ancient  Ephesus.     Paul  on  several  occasions  insisted  upon 
his  rights  as  a  man  besides  those  due  him  as  a  Roman  citizen.     Are 
the  times  so  changed  that  such  insistence  is  no  longer  in  good  form  ? 
(3).  Upon  the  ground  oi  justice  to  the  investor. 
I  consider  the  contributor  to  the  support  of  mission  work  in 
China  an  investor  just  as  much  as  the  stockholder  in  any  railway  or 
other  commercial  syndicate.     If  the  general  consensus  of  opinion 
among  investors  favors  the  relinquishment  of  their  right  to  claim 
indemnity,  then  let  us  all,  merchant,  syndicate,  and   missionary, 
unite  in  withdrawing  our  claims.     In  such  a  crisis  as  this  the  same 
right  must  be  demanded  for  the  investor  in  mission  enterprizes  as 
for  those  interested  in  secular  pursuits,  for  all  these  have  a  common 
end  in  view,  to  wit,  the  development  of  China.     When  we  see  our 
mission  boards  and  societies  straining  every  nerve  to  maintain  the 


542  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [November, 

financial  status  of  the  work  on  the  field,  what  incentive  will  our 
supporters  have  to  keep  paying  out  their  money  if  there  be  no 
security  for  their  investment ! 

(4).  As  a  guarantee  against  a  recurrence  of  the  offence. 

To  decline  to  demand  indemnity  for  the  sake  of  the  moral  effect 
on  China,  may  or  may  not  be  rightly  interpreted.  It  may  be  taken 
as  an  evidence  of  weakness  and  as  a  proof  that  only  commercial 
institutions  enjoy  the  sanction  and  protection  of  our  home  govern- 
ment. Such  has  been  the  growing  impression  in  the  minds  of 
Chinese  officials  for  many  years.  When  the  Chinese  learn  that 
those  who  will  dance  must  pay  the  piper,  they  will  hesitate  before 
again  enjoying  so  expensive  a  recreation. 

(5).  On  the  ground  that  the  present  anti-foreign  movement  was 
encouraged,  if  not  incited,  hy  the  central  govermiment  at  Peking. 

The  proofs  of  this  are  before  the  whole  world  and  need  not  be 
produced  here.  If  there  ever  was  a  clear  case  of  a  nation's  cul- 
pability we  have  it  here  in  China.  But  for  the  poison  concocted  at 
Peking  and  stealthily  administered  throughout  the  whole  body 
politic,  there  would  have  been  no  paralysis  of  all  foreign  institutions 
in  so  many  provinces,  nor  any  occasion  for  discussing  this  vexed 
question  of  indemnity.  This  alone  is  sufficient  ground  for  demand- 
ing reparation. 

(6).  On  the  ground  that  the  present  movement  is  anti-foreign 
and  not  merely  anti-Christian. 

Of  this  let  the  dismantled  railways,  the  abandoned  mines,  closed 
godowns,  and  the  fanatical  rage  against  all  things  foreign,  furnish 
the  proof.  Missionaries  and  their  converts  have  been  slain  by  the 
scores,  but  so  also  have  employers  of  railways;  and  if  our  very 
ambassadors  escaped  the  edge  of  the  sword,  it  was  in  spite  of  the 
utmost  efforts  of  China  to  betray  them !  Are  the  martyrs  only  to 
be  looked  for  among  the  ruins  of  our  missions  ?  Are  the  murdered 
railway  engineers  and  assassinated  members  of  the  diplomatic  body 
to  be  denied  their  niche  in  the  temple  of  honor  ?  They  have  all 
fallen  in  one  common  cause,  the  cause  of  delivering  China  from  her- 
self and  of  equipping  her  with  higher  ideals  in  ethics,  science,  re- 
licrion — in  all  that  goes  to  form  that  product  of  unhindered  develop- 
ment, physical  and  mental  and  spiritual — that  great  something 
which  we  vaguely  call  Western  civilization.  For  the  lives  of  those 
noble  men  and  women  1  ask  no  indemnity.  All  the  proverbial 
wealth  of  the  East  cannot  pay  the  bill.  But  for  smouldering  lega- 
tions, devastated  mines  and  railways,  ruined  godowns  and  mer- 
chandize, yea,  and  for  destroyed  mission  compounds  and  looted 
Christians'  homes,  let  those  rosponsil)le  for  this  havoc  not  escape 
till  they  shall  have  paid  the  last  farthing ! 


1900.]  THE  DEMAND   FOE  INDEMNITY.  548 

The  Demand  for  Indemnity. 

BY    REV.    GEO.    A.    STUART,    M.D.,    NANKIN. 

'vjl'^HE  movement  which  has  resulted  in  such  awful  loss  of  life 
"kiS  and  propertyin  the  north  of  China  during  the  past  summer, 
so  far  as  the  better  class  of  Chinese  are  concerned  has  not 
been  in  any  large  sense  anti-Christian.  The  three  conditions  that 
are. held  to  have  been  at  the  foundation  of  the  present  troubles  are 
political  distrust,  commercial  and  trade  antagonism,  and  religious 
intolerance.  This  seems  to  bo  the  more  proper  order  in  which  to 
place  these.  There  are  those  who  would  be  inclined  to  place  the 
last  named  first;  but  this  can  be  admitted  only  so  far  as  the 
element  of  time  is  concerned.  Antagonism  to  missionaries  and  the 
work  of  missionary  societies  exists  only  because  these  are  considered 
by  the  Chinese  to  be  forerunners  of  the  political  agent  and  the 
merchant.  The  movement  of  the  present  year  has  been  anti-foreign, 
and  antagonism  to  Christianity  has  by  no  means  been  the  most 
important  factor  even  in  the  minds  of  those  of  the  official  and 
literary  classes  who  are  the  most  directly  responsible  for  the 
cataclysm.  Being  then  not  a  "  persecution  for  righteousness'  sake," 
and  the  official  representative  of  Western  nations,  the  merchant,  the 
traveler,  and  the  missionary  being  all  included  in  the  same  order  of 
extermination,  it  would  seem  that  the  Scriptural  injunction  to  take 
joyfully  the  spoiling  of  one's  goods  "'  for  the  gospel's  sake  "  does  not 
apply  in  this  case. 

This  being  so,  the  missionary  is  as  much  within  his  rights  in 
asking  for  redress  for  his  wrongs  as  are  others,  and  the  missionary 
society  is  as  much  entitled  to  apply  for  indemnity  as  the  business 
firm,  entirely  separate  and  apart  from  the  work  they  are  supposed 
to  be  doing.  As  citizens  of  a  nation  having  treaty  relations  with, 
China,  which  treaties  give  them  the  privileges  of  residi  nee  and  of 
carrying  on  their  work  in  this  empire,  they  are  entitled  to  the  same 
protection  and  immunities  afforded  to  any  other  foreign  resident 

The  payment  of  an  indemnity  and  the  punishment  of  those  who 
take  life  or  destroy  property,  is  a  necessary  measure  as  a  preventive 
of  the  recurrence  of  these  things.  Neither  is  there  any  eternal 
justice  in  planting  a  mission  chapel,  hospital,  or  school,  and  a  business 
house  or  official  residence  side  by  side,  and  virtually  saying  to  a 
barbarous  or  semi-civilized  people:  "This  you  may  loot  and  destroy 
with  impunity,  but  the  other  you  must  let  alone;  or,  you  may  kill 
the  missionary  without  fear  of  punishment,  but  these  consuls, 
merchants,  and  travelers  must  not  be  harmed."  As  long  as  the 
missionary  is  a  man,  and  a  representative  of  the  best  in  civilization. 


544  THE  CHINESE  REC0Ri3er.  [November, 

he  has  a  right  to  expect  to  be  included  in  all  treaties  and  inter- 
national agreements  in  so  far  as  these  touch  his  safety  and  the  safety 
of  his  property. 

The  indemnity  should  include  : — 

1.  Sufficient  to  pay  for  the  reconstruction  of  all  buildings  and 
the  repurchase  of  all  fittings,  apparatus,  and  appliances  destroyed. 

2.  Annuity   or   endowment   to   dependent   relatives   of    those 
massacred. 

3.  Traveling  expenses,  extra  hotel  bills,  and  incidentals  to  those 
who  were  forced  to  leave  their  homes. 

And  we  would  like  to  see  (4.)  special  relief  to  all  natives  who 
h  ave  suffered  loss  on  account  of  their  connection  with  the  foreigner. 


Christian  Missions  in  China,  should  be  Protected 
by  Western  Nations. 

BY   DR.   D.   Z.   SHEFFIELD,  T'UNGCHOW. 

'vir^HE  war  between  China  and   Japan  set  in  motion  a  ferment 
oik  ... 

"H^     among  the  people  of  China  that  is  destined  to  be  important 

and  far  reaching  in  its  results.  That  war  gave  added  impetus 
to  the  forces  of  progress  and  convinced  many  of  the  people  that 
China,  to  survive  among  the  nations,  must  break  with  ancient  tradi- 
tions and  adjust  her  institutions  to  the  conditions  of  modern 
civilization.  On  the  other  hand,  the  war  partly  aroused  old  China 
from  its  age-long  sleep,  only  to  take  alarm  at  the  innovation  which 
Western  civilization  was  making  and  to  put  forth  confused  efforts 
to  beat  back  the  aggressive  "  barbarians  "  and  perpetuate  the  exist- 
ing order  of  things  The  "  Boxers  "  are  the  product  of  the  desire  of 
an  ignorant  and  superstitious  people  to  rid  themselves  of  an  imagined 
evil.  Their  desire  to  drive  out  by  violent  methods  everything 
foreign  has  been  matched  by  a  like  spirit  among  the  majority  of  the 
official  class;  only  that  the  officials  have  worked  covertly  and 
through  the  special  channels  of  influence  open  to  them. 

The  program  of  reform — upon  which  the  3'oung  Emperor  en- 
tered with  so  much  spirit  and  hope,  and  which  was  rapidly  drawing 
to  it. wide  sympathy  and  support — was  a  part  of  the  response  which 
the  more  intelligent  among  the  people  were  beginning  to  give  to 
new  thoughts  and  conditions;  but  the  sudden  overthrow  of  the 
leaders  of  reform  was  the  not  unnatural  expression  of  the  spirit  of 
old  China  in  its  attachment  to  traditional  institutions,  its  jealousy 
of  foreigners,  and  its  fear  of  innovations.  Thus  the  same  initial 
influences  have  inspired  one  class  of  the  Chinese  with  honest  desires 


1900.]  CHRISTIAN   MISSIONS  IN   CHINA,  ETC.  545 

for  reform,  and  have  fired  another  class  with  the  determination  to 
resist  such  reform  at  every  hazard.  It  is  manifest  that  there  is  a 
natural  ground  of  sympathy  between  the  mandarins  who  are  set  to 
preserve  the  law,  and  the  Boxers  who  have  pledged  themselves  to 
trample  it  under  foot.  Both  classes  are  anxious  to  reach  the  same 
results ;  the  one  by  direct  violence  and  the  other  by  studied  neglect 
of  duty  in  suppressing  and  punishing  violence.  In  spite  of  detailed 
information  of  burning,  looting,  and  murder,  at  the  hands  of  these 
bands  of  outlaws,  foreign  Ministers  and  Consuls  have  been  slow  to 
comprehend  the  meaning  of  what  was  taking  place ;  and  a  fire  that 
it  was  thought  would  soon  spend  itself  was  allowed  to  increase  in 
intensity  with  a  great  nation  for  its  possible  fuel.  The  rapidity  and 
extent  of  this  movement  witnesses  to  the  power  which  Western 
thought  is  beginning  to  exert  in  China.  This  alarm  is  not  taken  at 
a  shadow,  but  at  a  reality,  and  this  reality  is  steadily  forcing  itself 
upon  the  attention  of  all  classes  of  the  people.  It  is  the  reality  of 
Western  learning,  of  Western  material  activity,  of  the  restless 
power  of  rival  nations  struggling  for  supremacy,  of  the  purpose  of 
Christian  men  to  cause  their  faith  and  hope  to  become  the  faith  and 
hope  of  the  world.  The  present  convulsion  is  the  protest  of  the 
spirit  of  blind  devotion  to  the  institutions  of  the  past  against  the 
spirit  of  progress  that  is  already  widely  felt  among  the  people. 
There  is  no  room  for  question  as  to  final  results.  Opposition  to  new 
ideas  helps  to  give  them  currency,  and  religious  persecution  adds  to 
the  sacredness  of  religious  convictions.  A  strong  wind  may  extin- 
guish a  kindling  fire,  but  it  will  give  wings  to  flames  already 
kindled.  The  past  stagnation  of  China  was  a  less  hopeful  condition 
than  is  the  present  one  of  frenzied  effort  to  prevent  a  change  from 
that  condition. 

Present  events  are  fitted  to  teach  a  lesson  that  Christian 
nations  cannot  learn  too  promptly;  it  is  that  China  must  be  com- 
pelled to  fulfill  her  treaty  obligations  to  give  protection  to  her 
Christian  subjects  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  religious  rights.  In  the 
treaties  of  1868,  at  the  demand  of  Western  nations,  China  promised 
to  give  such  protection.  The  full  meaning  of  all  that  was  involved 
in  this  promise  was  very  imperfectly  understood  on  either  side. 
Nature-worship  and  ancestral  worship  not  only  form  a  part  of  the 
customs  of  the  people ;  they  are  embedded  in  the  laws  of  govern- 
ment and  have  an  essential  place  in  the  duties  of  the  oflficial  class. 
No  officer  could  enter  the  Christian  church  and  continue  to  dis- 
charge the  duties  of  his  position.  Every  Christian  convert  has 
broken  with  the  system  of  ancestral  worship,  and  in  so  doing — from 
the  standpoint  of  Confucianism — has  sinned  against  the  most  sacred 
institution  of  China ;  and  yet  the  government  has  covenanted  with 


546  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER  [November, 

Western  nations  to  protect  him  in  a  course  of  conduct  that  in  the 
rapid  extension  of  Christianity  would  soon  overthrow  the  old  institu- 
tions of  China.  With  very  imperfect  realization  of  the  meaning  of 
Christianity,  Chinese  officials  have  given  to  native  converts  a  reluc- 
tant and  partial  protection ;  but  the  wider  the  propagation  of  the 
new  religion,  the  more  clearly  is  its  revolutionary  character  becoming 
revealed.  The  rulers  of  China  have  made  promises  which  they  have 
no  disposition  to  fulfill,  and  will  not  fulfill  except  under  resolute 
and  steady  compulsion. 

Christianity  in  its  thought  and  life  claims  a  right  to  the  exercise 
of  religious  freedom,  while  Confucianism  requires  conformity  to 
customs  that  have  the  sanctions  of  antiquity.  The  two  civilizations 
in  their  contact  are  uncompromising  in  the  essential  things  that 
belong  to  each.  Thus  there  was  hidden  in  the  treaties  with  China, 
pledging  protection  to  Christianity,  the  germs  of  an  ultimate  and 
inevitable  conflict,  in  which  the  power  of  Western  nations  was 
certain  to  be  called  into  exercise,  or  the  treaty  requirements  would 
be  set  aside  and  the  people  compelled  to  reject  Christianity.  If 
Western  rulers  had  kept  these  facts  more  clearly  in  mind  they  would 
have  given  steadier  and  stronger-handed  protection  to  the  work  of 
Christian  missions  in  China.  In  the  history  of  the  past  forty  years 
foreign  Ministers  and  Consuls  have  often  made  demands  upon  the 
Chinese  government  for  the  protection  of  native  converts  in  their 
right  to  profess  Christianity,  but  these  demands  have  too  frequently 
been  feeble  and  inadequate.  The  wrongs  of  natives  at  the  hands  of 
their  countrymen,  because  of  their  profession  of  Christianity,  have 
never  been  righted  with  a  promptness  and  vigor  that  has  usually 
characterized  action  where  foreigners  were  seriously  involved. 
Chinese  officials  have  learned  from  experience  that  they  can  avoid 
their  obligations  in  this  regard  with  little  danger  to  themselves. 
During  the  present  period  of  persecution  of  native  Christians  and 
missionaries  alike,  foreign  governments  have  given  very  subordinate 
thought  to  their  treaty  obligations  to  protect  Christian  converts 
from  sacking  and  massacre. 

It  is  because  of  sluggishness  in  dealing  with  the  Boxer  uprising, 
when  the  violence  was  chiefly  directed  against  native  Christians, 
that  the  lives  of  all  foreigners  dwelling  in  China  have  been  imper- 
iled. A  true  account  of  this  official  sluggishness  in  grappling  with 
the  rising  evil  is  the  failure  of  Western  governments  to  keep  in 
mind  their  obligations  to  give  to  native  Christian  converts  the  same 
protection  that  they  give  to  foreign  missionaries.  Why  should 
protection  be  demanded  for  Americans  or  Englishmen  in  China  in 
teaching  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  ?  Because  such  doctrines  are 
accepted  in  Christian  nations  as  helpful  to  society  and  worthy  to  be 


1900.]  CHRISTIAN  MISSIONS   IN   CHINA,   ETC.  647 

propacrated.  that  is,  the  missionary  is  operating  within  the  limits 
of  his  natural  rights  and  is  entitled  to  receive  protection  in  their 
exercise  from  his  government.  But  protection,  to  realize  its  end, 
cannot  stop  with  his  person  and  property  ;  it  must  extend  to  his  work 
and  give  to  his  converts  the  same  shelter  in  the  exercise  of  their 
natural  rights  that  he  himself  enjoys.  The  serious  mistake  has  been 
made  of  acting  upon  right  principles  in  dictating  treaties  with 
China,  but  of  failing  to  appreciate  the  obligations  that  were  involved 
to  watch  over  these  treaties  and  steadily  press  the  government  to 
fulfill  their  requirements.  The  lessons  from  the  mistakes  of  the  past 
should  be  applied  in  the  future,  and  Christian  nations  should  insist 
by  word  and  by  power  behind  the  word,  that  an  honest  and  adequate 
protection  much  be  given  to  natives  and  foreigners  alike  in  the 
enjoyment  of  religious  liberty  and  in  labor  for  the  moral  and  spiritual 
uplifting  of  the  people. 

There  is  yet  hope  of  China.  No  one  acquainted  with  the  race- 
capacity  of  the  people  can  doubt  that  whether  there  is  to  be  a  recon- 
structed and  self-governed  nation  or  not,  there  is  to  be  a  renovated 
race,  that  is  to  have  an  important  place  in  solving  the  world-prob- 
lems of  the  future.  But  there  is  a  serious  question  as  to  the  near 
future  and  as  to  the  road  along  which  that  people  must  journey  to 
reach  a  Christian  civilization.  Christian  statesmen  should  remember 
that  missionaries  are  not  the  representatives  of  a  narrow  propagand- 
ism,  but  rather  are  they  the  apostles  of  human  rights,  imparting 
new  thoughts  concerning  man's  relations  to  his  Divine  Father  and 
his  human  brother,  thoughts  that  have  won  recognition  among 
Western  nations  through  long  and  painful  struggle  and  which  need 
protection  and  encouragement  to  secure  for  them  recognition  in 
lower  and  alien  civilizations. 

Christian  governments  will  best  discharge  their  obligations  to 
China  when  they  use  their  power  to  cause  that  country  to  allow  the 
seeds  of  truth  and  righteousness  planted  in  the  hearts  of  its  people 
to  grow  and  mature  to  a  perfect  fruitage.  China's  condition  is  one 
of  bondage  to  ancient  ideals  of  life  which  hinder  her  in  accepting 
higher  and  truer  ideals.  She  needs  to  be  saved  from  herself  through 
the  wise  interference  of  Western  nations,  helping  the  spirit  of 
progress,  now  repressed  and  fearful,  to  assert  itself  and  to  accom- 
plish the  work  of  social  transformation  among  the  people.  Without 
such  interference  history  will  repeat  itself.  The  new  life  and  thought 
will  struggle  with  the  old,  and  through  long  defeat  will  win  a  final 
victory.  Past  experience  and  present  conditions  unite  in  emphasiz- 
ing the  necessity  for  a  vigorous  international  policy  in  intercourse 
with  China,  that  the  new  China  may  succeed  the  old  with  the  least 
confusion  and  upheaval 


^48  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [November, 

Remarks  on  the  Subject  of  Securing  Indemnity  for 
Losses  in  Connection  with  Mission  Work. 

BY    REV.   P.   D.   BERGEN,  TSINGr-TAO. 

Jr   AM  in  favor  of  using  every  proper  effort  for  the  securing  of  an 
[^     indemnity  for  losses  suffered  by  both  foreigners  and  Chinese 
Christians  during  the  Boxer  riots. 

1.  Because  I  believe  in  general  that  such  w^ork  as  plundering, 
robbing,  killing,  destroying,  should  be  punished. 

2.  Particularly  when  it  involves  the  persecution  of  innocent 
individuals  and  is  aimed  at  the  destruction  of  that  which  is 
manifestly  good. 

3.  The  nature  of  this  punishment  may  be  decided  on  the  grounds 
of  either  necessity  or  expediency.  It  may  be  necessary  to  demand 
indemnity  when  large  and  valuable  institutions  have  been  destroyed ; 
otherwise  it  is  possible  that  they  could  not  be  reproduced.  It  may 
also  be  expedient  because 

a.  Evil  doers  will  grow  weary  of  destroying  property  which 
they  know  they  will  have  to  replace. 

h.  Payment  of  an  indemnity  is  a  recognized  mode  of  procedure 
in  China  as  amongst  most  other  nations,  and  will  be  regarded  by 
respectable  people  as  something  deserved  and  to  be  expected. 

c.  There  is  nothing  intrinsically  unjust  in  demanding  an  in- 
demnity. Unless  we  are  prepared  to  abandon  the  right  of  possess- 
ing property  altogether,  men  should  be  made  to  pay  for  what  they 
wantonly  destroy  of  the  property  of  others. 

d.  Any  renunciation  of  such  just  claims  will  be  regarded  as 
weakness  by  the  Chinese,  and  thus  fail  of  moral  effect. 

e.  Such  renunciation  would  also  facilitate  future  outrages. 

HOW  SHOULD   INDEMNITY  BE  SECURED. 

1.  If  a  friendly  arrangement  can  be  made  through  the  local 
gentry  this  would  be  preferable,  and  may  sometimes  result  both  in  a 
satisfactory  settlement  and  the  formation  of  new  friendships. 

2.  It  is  often  the  case  that  the  local  official  wishes  to  settle  with 
the  missionary  directly.  It  would  seem  advisable  to  meet  such 
advances  and  effect  a  harmonious  arrangement  if  possible.  Proposals 
for  such  negotiations  should  of  course  never  originate  with  the 
injured  party. 

If  there  is  no  prospect  of  an  amicable  settlement  such  as  the 
above  then  the  matter  should  be  brought  in  an  orderly  way  to  the 
attention  of  the  Consul  and  placed  in  his  hands  for  settlement. 


1900.]        REMARKS  ON  THE  SUBJECT  OP  SECURING  INDEMNITY.         549 
AS  TO  WHOM  THE   INDEMNITY  SHOULD  AFFECT. 

1.  Mission  stations  should  be  indemnified  for  all  losses  incurred, 
whether  through  destruction  of  property,  forced  journeys,  or  for  any 
other  extraordinary  expenses  arising  from  the  riots. 

2.  Native  Christians  and  those  who,  though  not  baptized,  have 
suffered  through  aid  given  to  Christians,  or  through  their  relations  to 
foreigners,  should  also  receive  indemnity.  I  can  see  no  cogent  reason 
for. not  including  natives.  They  have  suffered  great  injustice  for 
practically  the  same  reason  as  the  missionary,  and  if  indemnity  is 
proper  in  the  one  case,  it  is  equally  so  in  the  other. 

It  is  the  duty  of  the  Shepherd  to  protect  his  flock,  so  far  as  he 
is  able,  from  injury  and  losses,  no  matter  whether  they  are  spiritual 
or  material. 

It  is  no  argument  against  this  position  to  say  that  the  Chinese 
have  sometimes  taken  advantage  of  the  protection  afforded  to  ex- 
ecute a  cruel  revenge  on  their  non-Christian  neighbors. 

Precautions  must  be  taken  against  such  abuses. 

The  adjustment  of  native  losses  is  no  doubt  a  difficult  task,  and 
when  once  accomplished  may  be  followed  by  evils  in  some  cases;  but 
if  we  should  not  do  evil  that  good  may  come,  neither  should  we 
neglect  to  do  the  good,  lest  evil  may  result. 

Some  may  feel  that  if  the  Chinese  are  compensated  for  their 
losses,  they  are  likely  to  lose  the  spiritual  lessons  that  might  be 
learned  from  such  painful  experiences.  But  surely  our  native  breth- 
ren have  suffered  enough  during  these  times  of  savage  riot,  in 
ways  for  which  no  earthly  compensation  can  be  made,  to  have  driven 
them  often  to  a  closer  walk  with  God  and  to  a  more  unreserved 
reliance  on  His  almighty  power. 

AS  TO  AMOUNT  OF   INDEMNITY  TO   BE  PAID. 

1.  It  should  be  sufficient  to  enable  all  persons,  whether  native 
or  foreign,  to  replace  the  property  they  have  lost. 

2.  Particular  care  should  be  taken  that  Chinese  estimates  be 
accurate  and  fair. 

3.  To  this  end  a  searching  examination  should  be  made  into 
the  losses  of  each  family. 

4.  Lists  of  articles  lost,  with  price  attached  to  each,  should  be 
drawn  up  in  careful  detail. 

5.  The  most  difficult  losses  to  adjust  are  those  where  Christians 
have  been  killed  or  wounded,  or  where  women  and  girls  have  been 
abducted.  Probably  the  only  way  to  settle  these  cases  is  by  a  fine, 
the  amount  to  be  decided  in  each  case  by  a  committee  acquainted 
with  local  conditioua 


650  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [November, 

6.  It  is  desirable  that  the  money  for  such  indemnity  be  not 
paid  out  of  the  general  treasury  of  the  Yamen,  but  that  it  be 
collected  from  the  actual  instigator  or  perpetrators  of  the  outrages. 

lb  may  be  that  some  will  feel  a  difficulty  about  accepting  any 
indemnity,  owing  to  certain  passages  in  Scripture,  which  seem  to 
warn  against  resisting  evil,  or  seeking  for  any  compensation  for  in- 
justice suffered. 

It  is,  however,  impossible  to  interpret  these  passages  literally. 
I  regard  them  therefore  as  inculcating  the  following  principles : — 

1.  That  a  spirit  of  malice  or  revenge  should  never  be  cherished 
by  any  Christian. 

2.  The  Christian  should  make  no  demands  that  might  be  con- 
sidered harsh  or  excessive. 

3.  The  Christian  should  not  allow  his  inner  peace  to  depend 
upon  the  possession  or  non-possession  of  material  goods,  but  ought 
rather  to  make  his  hope  of  salvation  the  main  reliance. 

If  he  is  plundered,  and  receives  compensation,  he  accepts  it,  for 
what  he  has  received  is  only  justice. 

If  on  the  contrary  the  Christian  is  compelled  to  suffer  wrongs 
that  remain  unrighted,  he  should  humble  himself  before  God  and 
await  with  patience  the  further  revelation  of  His  will. 

Nevertheless,  the  administration  of  justice  for  all,  the  prompt  pun- 
ishment of  lawlessness,  are  of  the  most  vital  importance,  not  only  for  the 
satisfaction  of  the  individual,  but  for  the  stability  of  human  society. 

For  the  sake,  therefore,  of  the  one  injured,  and  also  for  the  good 
of  the  whole  population,  I  cherish  the  strongest  conviction,  in  the  fear 
of  God,  that  a  just  indemnity  should  be  demanded  and  obtained. 


The  Native  Pastorstte  of  Amoy.   Another  Ohject- 
Lesson  in  Self-support. 

BY  REV.  P.  W.  PITCHER. 
II. 

MOY  is  a  sea-port  situated  in  the  southern  part  of  Fuh-kien. 
It  was,  as  we  all  know,  one  of  the  first  five  treaty  ports 
opened  for  trade  and  residence,  but  as  early  as  February, 
1842,  became  the  base  of  the  present  extensive  missionary  operations 
of  the  three  Missions  now  laboring  here,  viz.,  American  Reformed 
Church  Mission,  1842;  London  Missionary  Society,  1844;  and  the 
English  Presbyterian  Church  Mission,  1850. 

Commercially,  Amoy  ranks  among  the  first  along  the  coast. 
In  1899  the  total  trade  amounted  to  nearly  20,000,U00  Hk.  Tls. 
and  the  tonnage  of  vessels  more  than  950,000  tons.     In  a  wider 


1900.]  THE  NATIVE  PASTORATE  OF  AMOY.  651 

application  Amoy  refers  to  a  district  covering  an  area  of  some 
18,000  square  miles,  comprising  three  "  Fu  "  with  twenty  counties, 
and  two  "  Chin  "  besides,  having  a  total  (estimated)  population  of 
10,000,000.  According  to  the  Daily  MaiVs  Commercial  Map  of 
China  the  population  of  Fuhkien  is  placed  at  22,100,550,  and 
is  the  most  densely  populated  of  all  the  provinces,  being  574  to  the 
square  mile.  How  accurate  these  figures  are  of  course  I  do  not 
know.  But  this  I  know  that  there  is  no  more  difficult  task  than 
to  get  at  the  real  truth  concerning  the  population  of  China  any- 
where. Granting  therefore  that  these  figures  come  somewhere 
near  the  mark,  I  have  estimated  that  the  larger  part  of  the 
population  is  in  the  northern  portion  of  the  province,  or  what  we 
may  call  for  convenience  the  Foochow  district.  Hence  the  estimate 
10,000,000  for  the  Amoy  district,  divided  as  follows :  Choan-chiu 
Fu  with  five  counties  and  Eng-chhun-chiu,  3,500,000;  Chiang-chiu 
Fu  with  seven  counties  and  LSng-na  chiu,  3,000,000;  Teng-chiu  Fu 
with  eight  counties,  3,500,000.  The  three  important  cities  are : 
Amoy,  population,  700,000;  Choan-chiu,  500,000;  and  Chiang-chiu, 
200,000.  The  people  of  this  district  are  exceedingly  industrious 
and  peaceable,  rowdies  excepted,  and  have  never  in  all  the  trouble- 
some times,  through  which  this  empire  has  been  too  often  called  to 
pass,  disturbed  or  molested  the  foreigner  or  the  native  Christians. 
While  perchance  their  love  for  us  is  no  greater  than  that  of  the  na- 
tives in  any  other  section  of  this  empire,  nevertheless  they  have  ever 
treated  us  with  fairness  and  commendable  hospitality.  And  in  the 
present  calamities  probably  there  has  not  been  up  to  the  present 
time  another  place  in  China  so  undisturbed  and  so  little  agitated 
against  foreigners  and  native  Christians  as  Amoy. 

Now  of  course  there  is  not  space  to  go  into  these  ethnological 
matters — therefore  in  passing  let  me  merely  note  that  among  the 
church  people  of  the  Amoy  district  there  will  be  found  the  very 
poorest  and  the  well-to-do,  but  none  that  could  be  called  Avealthy. 
During  the  few  years  of  my  sojourn  here,  in  sailing  up  and  down 
these  rivers,  or  in  travelling  across  the  country,  little  indeed  have  I 
seen  in  the  shape  of  dwellings  to  awaken  any  kind  of  admiration 
whatsoever,  while  on  the  other  hand,  the  tokens  of  poverty  and 
wretchedness  were  everywhere  visible.  For  the  most  part  they  live 
in  one  story  mud-wall,  tiled  roofed  houses,  composed  of  three  or  four 
small  cheerless  and  damp  rooms — mud  floors — holes  in  the  walls  for 
windows,  scanty  furniture  (but  not  scanty  dirt  and  dust  of  ages)  and 
in  fact  lacking  in  about  everything  worthy  of  the  name  of  home. 
They  are  in  very   truth  a  sin-cursed  and  poverty-stricken  people. 

From  inquiries  into  the  matter  of  wages  I  find  that  carpenters 
and  mechanics  and  masons  receive  from  fifteen  cents  (Mexicans)  to 


552 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[November, 


thirty  cents  per  day;  farm  laborers,  from  ten  to  twenty  cents 
per  day,  including  tobacco,  food,  and  barber  fees;  clerks,  $4 
to  $12  per  month  with  the  above  perquisites;  school  teachers,  from 
^30  to  |100  a  year ;  coolies,  from  ten  cents  to  forty  cents  per  day ;  and 
boatmen,  from  six  cents  to  thirty  cents  per  day. 

And  now  in  considering  the  Amoy  plan  of  conducting  mission 
work  in  this  part  of  China  we  will  consider  : — 

(I).  What  the  natives  do  themselves. 

(II).  What  the  missions  do  to  assist  the  natives. 

I.   WHAT   THE   NATIVES   DO  THEMSELVES. 

To  get  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  whole  situation,  carefully  exam- 
ine the  following  tables  of  statistics,  which  I  trust  will  not  be 
found  entirely  dry  and  uninteresting : — 


C5 

OS 
00 


O 
Em 

H 

w 

< 
H 
CO 

P3 
<i 
h^ 
t2 

pq 
<^ 


o 


o 
CO 


•saATi^^ 
Xq  papiAoad  sasnoH  ps^uaa 

h 

1     ^ 

|s 

•SUOTSSIK                            1     to           ^      1  o 

•sasnoH  paiuaa               |    g3     IS    IS 

•Suipimg  qo4ni{0  ^laA^ounsia  IS     IS     1  ij 

o|. 

•sjadaaji  l^d^'^o               1    ^     1    o     1  -< 
Sui^joddns-jias  ^laji^ug         1           |          | 

•sjsdaaji  laduqo  ifoidiug       1    \\v    |    \\v   |  lye 

•saaqouax  looqog 

"3        "3    1  "3 

•uauiOAV                       jo         o     1  o 
aiqig  3ui:)Joddn8-}iag  /i\\vi%JVi  |                      | 

•uaiuoAV                       In     1    o     laq 
siqja  8m!)aoddn8-jiag  Xiaji^aa  |           |          | 
•sinquapioux  Xv,\              |  n^    1   tl^    1 IT^ 

•SJBIiaSUBAa 

Sm!}Joddns-}iag  Anvi'^iv^ 

o 

»H 

■sistiaSu'BAa 
Sunjoddns-jiag  A'iaji:)ua 

i-i 

° 

'^ 

•sa'j'BJOiSBj 
Supjoddns-Jiag  i?iajnaa 

IH 

^ 

Suiqabddhs-Jiag  ^laaiqug 

'^ 

O 

CO 

ai 

o 

u 
S 

•BI«f)OX 

S 
I 

u 

O 

•aouaiOAauag 

O 
00 

CO 

m 

CO 

•SU0IS8IK  anioH 

$398.70 

388.40 
$787.10 

•sasodanj  j'cuoi^'BSajSuoo 

S 
o 

2,358.80 
?5,069.70 

•siutjoiunuimoo               j 

00 

5i 

1,631 



3,029 

•suoi^'BzmBSjo  qo-inqo         1    S 

3    ISI 

•SKOISSIH 

J3 

3 
^ 

o 


o 

-to 


g 


5- 


^ 


IIB 


;3ai 


^■3 


1900.]  THE  NATIVE   PASTOIIATE   OF   AMOY.  6n3 

It  will  bo  seen  that  if  by  solf-supporting  churches  are  meant 
church  organizations  which  pay  every  item  of  expense  connected 
with  them,  viz.,  pastor's  salary,  chapel-keeper's  salary,  school  teacher's 
salary,  incidental  expenses,  etc.,  (i.e.,  entirely  self-supporting)  then 
there  are  two  such  organizations  in  Amoy,  viz.,  the  Tek-chhiu-kha 
church  in  Amoy  and  the  Koan-khau  church  on  the  mainland.  The 
former,  under  the  American  Reformed  Church  Mission,  supports 
pastor,  two  school  teachers,  pays  all  incidentals,  etc.,  and  helps  support 
a  mission  church  on  Amoy  island,  raising  last  year,  1899,  for  all 
purposes,  ^1,215  Mexican;  the  latter,  under  the  London  Mission 
Society,  supports  a  pastor  and  pays  all  incidental  expenses.  There 
were  no  other  expenses  connected  with  the  organization. 

Every  other  church  organization  received  last  year  some  aid, 
large  or  small,  as  the  case  might  be.  It  is  just  possible  that  I 
may  be  criticised  for  keeping  so  close  to  facts  and  figures,  because 
some  of  the  organizations  noted  in  the  tables  come  so  near  being 
entirely  self-supporting  ;  some  within  $50,  many  within  $100  (Mex- 
ican) that  possibly  by  others  they  might  have  been  classified  as  such. 
But  I  must  confine  myself  to  the  purpose  of  the  paper  and  call 
things  by  their  proper  names,  though  it  may  seem  unfair  to  do  so;  Ifc 
is  my  purpose  to  allow  these  tables  to  speak  for  themselves  and  do 
most  of  the  talking.  They  may  be  considered  authoritative,  as  the 
figures  have  been  gathered  from  published  report,  and  from  those 
authorized  to  speak  in  the  three  Missions. 

Taking  the  tables  at  their  face  value  we  find  that  in  1899  there 
were  twenty-eight  churches  fully  and  completely  organized,  having 
entirely  self-supporting  native  pastorates,  paid  all  incidental  ex- 
penses, helped  toward  the  support  of  evangelists  and  school  teachers, 
contributed  to  home  missions  and  other  benevolent  objects.  Observe 
also  that  besides  these  twenty-eight  churches  there  were  seven  others 
which  entirely  supported  and  thirty-eight  which  partially  supported 
evangelists,  school  teachers,  and  chapel-keepers,  and  contributed  to- 
wards the  other  objects  indicated  above.  The  $8,409.90  contributed 
for  congregational  purposes  covers  the  items :  pastors'  salaries  and 
evangelists'  salaries  ;  the  $9,454.40  contributed  for  benevolence  covers 
the  items:  teachers'  salaries,  building,  land,  poor  fund,  widows'  fund, 
and  incidentals;  and  the  $1,183.40  speaks  for  itself,  making  an  aggre- 
gate of  j^  1 9,137.70  (Mexican).  No  one  can  peruse  these  facts  and 
figures  without  frankly  acknowledging  that  the  native  churches  in  the 
,Amoy  district  have  reached  a  stage  of  development  where  they  may 
^rightly  be  recognized  as  being  in  the  very  front  ranks  of  self-support. 
And  though  they  cannot  honestly  be  described  as  "entirely  self- 
supporting,"  yet  when  we  consider  the  magnitude  of  the  work  in 
operatic^n.  and  the  magnificent  gifts  which  these  poor  people  are 


554  THE  CHINESE  RECOEDER.  [November, 

pouring  into  the  Lord's  treasury  year  after  year,  truly  the  divisional 
line  is  faintly  drawn.  To  make  it  entirely  self-supporting,  all  that  is 
necessary  is  to  curtail  the  work  and  stop  some  of  the  forces  now  in 
motion.  But  who  would  uphold  the  wisdom  of  such  a  policy? 
Before  proceeding  further  let  me  here  note  the  scale  of  salaries  paid 
the  native  pastors  and  assistants  connected  with  the  three  Missions. 
Pastors  receive  from  $12  to  |16  per  month,  evangelists  (preachers) 
from  |5  to  |10  per  month,  school  teachers  from  J^3  to  ^6,  Bible 
women  $2  to  $6  (Mexican).  One  of  the  conditions  on  which  a  call  of 
a  pastor  is  sanctioned  is  that  some  such  salary  can  be  assured.  At 
the  present  time  there  may  be  isolated  cases  where  a  pastor  may 
receive  only  $10,  but  the  majority  are  receiving  |14,  some  |16, 
and  one,  and  only  one,  $20  per  month.  In  regard  to  the  payment 
of  native  assistants,  a  graded  system  is  usually  observed.  But  in 
following  out  this  system  some  make  ability  and  faithfulness  alone 
the  standard  of  payment,  while  others  take  into  consideration  the 
number  of  mouths  to  be  fed.  So  while  in  some  instances  possibly 
one  man's  qualifications  may  be  no  better,  perhaps  not  so  good,  yet 
on  account  of  the  number  of  mouths  to  be  provided  for,  his  salary 
may  be  graded  higher.  It  is  difficult  to  say  which  is  the  better 
plan ;  both  have  their  advantages  and  disadvantages.  Let  each  be 
fully  persuaded  in  his  own  mind.  I  have  omitted  to  mention  that 
the  amount  which  is  annually  contributed  towards  the  "  Widows' 
Fund"  (now  several  hundred  dollars)  does  not  appear  in  the  tables. 
The  annual  assessment  amounts  to  several  tens  of  dollars.  Neither 
do  the  tables  take  cognizance  of  private  donations,  not  infrequently 
made.  For  instance,  a  native  Christian  has  just  presented  to  one 
of  the  Missions  a  gift  of  $1,200  (Mexican). 

II.   WHAT  THE  MISSIONS   DO  TO  ASSIST  THE  NATIVES. 

The  history  of  the  rise  and  progress  of  self-supporting  churches 
is  practically  the  history  of  missions  in  this  region,  and  can  scarcely 
be  separated.  The  whole  plan  is  a  unit,  and  we  must  therefore  in 
relating  the  one  touch  upon  the  other.  However,  our  resumd  must 
be  greatly  abridged  as  we  rapidly  survey  the  work  of  the  past  years. 
The  present  status  of  the  Amoy  churches  is  no  mushroom  growth, 
but  is  the  result  of  fifty  years  of  patient  toil  and  care.  From  the 
start,  the  missionary  has  formed  an  integral  part  of  it,  having 
always  stood  on  a  parity  with  the  native  pastors  and  brethren. 
And  so  when  the  first  ecclesiastical  body  was  organized  in  1862,  i.e., 
the  Classis  of  Amoy  (and  later  the  Synod  of  Amoy,  1892),  the 
missionaries,  by  constitutional  right,  became  an  integral  part  of  this 
body,  enjoying  all  privileges  and  equal  rights  in  the  deliberation 
of  its  assemblies,  yet  not  subject  to  its  discipline.     This  unique 


1900.  I  THE   NATIVE  PASTORATE  OF  AMOY.  665 

position  has  been  sustained  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century 
without  the  least  sign  of  friction  or  the  slightest  misunderstanding  on 
the  part  of  the  natives.  Attention  is  called  to  this  fact  not  alone  on 
account  of  its  uniqueness  but  because  it  seems  to  me  that  this  close 
union  and  mutual  goodwill  and  confidence  toward  each  other  has 
had  not  a  little  to  do  in  stimulating  the  church  and  in  laying  deep 
and  solid  her  foundations  and  in  building  broad  and  strong  thereon. 

(a.)  Financial. 

From  this  relationship  there  was  instituted,  we  may  say,  the 
plan  we  are  following  to-day.  At  first  the  missionaries  in  this 
district  were  the  actual  pastors  over  the  first  congregations  or  church 
organizations,  with  native  preachers  or  evangelists  as  assistants,  who 
were  supported  by  Mission  funds  and  of  course  were  under  the 
Mission's  jurisdiction.  This  policy,  with  only  a  slight  modification, 
still  continues  ;  the  diflference  being  that  native  pastors  have  taken 
the  place  of  missionary  'pastors,  that  is  to  say,  that  when  a 
particular  congregation,  or  an  organization,  was  far  enough  advanced 
financially  to  support  a  pastor,  the  missionary  was  only  too  glad  to 
give  place  to  the  native  and  do  all  in  his  power  to  encourage  so 
commendable  an  effort. 

The  condition  of  financial  ability  to  support  pastorates  has 
always  been  carefully  guarded,  and  the  ordination  of  any  pastor  is 
never  allowed  before  sufficient  guarantee  has  been  assured  by  an 
authorized  committee  to  investigate  the  matter. 

In  1856  the  first  church  organization  occurred  at  Sin-koe-a, 
Amoy,  the  constituency  of  which  had  first  of  all  worshipped  for  four 
years  in  two  hired  rooms,  and  then  for  eight  years  more  (before  the 
organization  was  formed)  in  the  church  edifice  erected  in  1848,  the. 
first  of  its  kind  in  the  whole  empire  of  China.  The  first  pastor 
of  this  organization  was  Rev.  Mr.  Lo.  ordained  May  29th,  1803. 
Thus  was  instituted  the  first  native  pastorate  of  Amoy.  We  also 
see  that  for  seven  years  the  organization  existed  without  a  native 
pastor.  During  this  period  the  missionaries  served  as  pastors. 
Other  churches  were  served  in  the  same  way,  but  it  is  only  necessary 
to  note  this  particular  case. 

From  this  mother  of  churches  sprang  other  churches,  and  in 
due  time  other  pastorates,  until  to-day  there  are  connected  with  the 
Synod  of  Amoy,  as  shown  by  the  tables,  twenty-five  church  organiza- 
tions, with  entirely  self-supporting  pastorates,  having  a  membership 
of  3,029  communicants;  and  connected  with  the  Congregational  Union 
forty-five  church  organizations,  with  ten  entirely  self-supporting 
pastorates  and  evangelists  and  thirty-eight  partially  self-supporting 
evangelists,  having  a  membership  of  2,386  communicants. 


556  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [November, 

In  the  formation  of  churches  it  may  be  well  to  mention  here  a 
slight  divergence  in  the  plans  pursued  by  the  two  bodies  noted 
above.  The  Congregational  Union's  plan  is :  that  whenever  a 
congregation  of  twelve  converts  is  secured,  they  are  at  once  con- 
stituted a  church  organization,  but  always  on  the  principle  of  self- 
support.  Hence  each  organization  is  expected  to  pay  its  OAvn  pastor, 
or  evangelist,  etc.,  or  at  least  do  a  great  deal  towards  it.  And,  as  we 
have  already  seen,  the  subject  of  self-support  is  being  vigorously 
pushed  in  this  organization. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  plan  of  the  Synod  of  Amoy  is  that 
of  concentration,  or  of  grouping  several  neighboring  congregations 
under  one  church  organization,  having  a  membership  of  say  eighty 
or  one  hundred  communicants  or  perhaps  less.  In  this  way  the  finan- 
cial burden  becomes  lighter,  as  it  is  possible  to  secure  the  salaries 
and  funds  for  the  general  work  from  a  larger  number.  In  order 
to  perfect  this  system,  and  to  guarantee  regular  services  in  the 
various  congregations  connected  with  any  particular  organization, 
the  practical  working  of  the  method  followed  in  Amoy  is  clearly 
indicated  by  the  Missions  providing  the  finances  to  support  preachers 
or  evangelists  at  these  places  (out-stations ;  or  "  neighboring  congre- 
gations " — sometimes  two,  sometimes  three,  sometimes  more — each 
case  being  governed  by  the  extent  of  the  field  occupied.  These 
preachers  are  of  course  under  the  authority  of  the  Missions  and  are 
always  subject  to  their  allocation  at  any  time  and  subject  to  the 
authority  of  the  pastors  in  so  far  as  the  Missions  have  delegated 
authority  concerning  them,  and  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  na- 
tive church  only  in  so  far  as  discipline  is  concerned.  Besides  sup- 
porting these  preachers,  funds  have  been  also  furnished  for  sup- 
porting chapel  keepers  and  Bible  women.  But  there  will  be  less 
of  this  (the  two  latter  items)  in  1900. 

To  endeavor  to  explain  the  practical  working  and  some  of  the 
results  of  the  latter  plan,  with  which  I  am  better  acquainted  than  the 
other,  we  will  suppose  a  church  organization  A  to  be  composed  of  four 
different  congregations  meeting  at  a,  6,  c,  and  <i,  whose  total  mem- 
bership numbers  anywhere  from  80  to  120  communicants.  Let  a,  re- 
present the  principal  place  of  the  organization.  Here  the  pastor,  sup- 
ported entirely  by  the  members  scattered  throughout  the  various  con- 
gregations, will  reside.  This  will  be  his  headquarters.  At  i,  c,  and 
d  the  Mission  will  appoint  and  support  preachers  to  assist  the 
pastor  in  his  manifold  duties  connected  with  his  parish.  The 
pastor  regularly  visits  each  congregation,  giving  to  each  its  proper 
care  and  instruction.  And  when  he  goes  to  visit  the  congregation 
&X  b  the  preacher  on  that  Sabbath  will  go  to  a  and  take  the  pastor's 
place  there,  and  sjo  also  with  regard  to  c  and  d.     Communion  is  held 


1900.]  THE   NATIVE   PASTORATE   OB"  AMOY.  657 

regularly,  and  in  some  instances  in  order  at  the  different  places.  In 
this  way  the  pastor  keeps  close  watch  over  his  entire  flock.  That 
the  office  is  one  of  wide  responsibility  and  incessant  toil,  and  that  of 
a  faithful  preacher  not  much  less  so,  will  be  apparent  at  once. 
Then  all  honor  to  the  men  who  have  filled  the  office  so  long 
and  so  well. 

Well,  the  time  comes  when  the  membership  of  the  organization 
has  expanded  geographically  and  numerically,  perhaps  doubled  itself. 
New  out-stations  have  been  added  and  new  territory  acquired.  The 
new  out-stations  which  have  been  opened  we  may  call  e  and  /.  What 
next  ?  Why,  d  thinks  that  with  the  new  congregations  at  e  and  /  and 
say  half  of  c  she  can  set  up  in  business  for  herself,  and  therefore  could 
manage  and  should  manage  to  support  a  pastor  of  her  own.  So  not 
before  long  a  petition  is  presented  to  Classis  asking  for  the 
privilege  of  dividing  the  a  church  into  two  organizations — a  and  b. 
Thus  it  comes  to  pass  that  in  a  few  years  there  are  two  self-support- 
ing pastorates  instead  of  one,  and  after  a  Avhile  the  same  thing  is 
repeated  with  b  and  so  on.  While  these  split-offs  or  divisions  do 
not  occur  with  regular  frequency,  yet  as  a  matter  of  fact  during  the 
year  (1899)  there  were  no  less  than  four. 

And  now  does  some  one  say,  but  all  this  increases  the  financial 
obligations  of  the  Missions  by  requiring  additional  preachers  or 
evangelists  ?  True,  but  ib  increases  the  number  of  "  entirely  self- 
supporting  pastorates  "  and  eoTnpletely  organized  churches,  and  at 
the  same  time  increases  and  multiplies  the  centers  of  evangelization 
in  this  wide  domain.  And  if  we  are  not  here  for  that  purpose,  then 
I  do  not  know  what  we  are  here  lor.  The  time  will  come,  if  we  wait 
patiently,  and  come  sooner,  I  believe,  on  account  of  this  co-operation 
and  close  union  between  foreigner  and  native  when  there  will  not 
only  be  "  entirely  self-supporting  pastorates "  as  a  result  of  this 
method,  but  entirely  self-supporting  church  organizations.  Would 
that  the  churches  at  home  might  realize  this  more  fully,  then  the 
mistake  would  not  be  made  of  thrusting  in  the  knife  and  cutting 
unmercifully  the  annual  estimates  and  of  withholding  funds  so 
necessary  for  the  development  and  consummation  of  this  method. 

(6.)   Educational. 

The  Missions  in  Amoy  have  ever  believed  in  and  have  exerted 
themselves  to  foster  an  educated  ministry  as  the  best  means  or 
agency  for  extending  Christ's  kingdom  here,  while  no  man,  let  it  be 
understood,  with  evidence  of  true  piet}^  true  sincerity,  and  true  worth 
has  ever  been  debarred  from  entering  the  ranks  of  God  s  messen- 
gers to  this  people.  But  before  these  and  all  others  the  standards  of 
education  are  always  kept  prominently  to  the  front  by  keeping  be- 


558  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [November, 

fore  them  its  supreme  importance.     Consequently  courses  of  study 
have  been  provided  for  all. 

1.  Parochial  or  Primary. — Each  church  organization  is  planned 
to  have  at  least  one  school ;  some  have  more.  For  these  schools 
(under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  churches)  a  regular  prescribed  course 
of  study,  covering  a  period  of  eight  years,  has  been  provided  and 
maintained  for  nearly  twenty  years.  As  has  already  been  noted 
these  schools  are  partially  self-supporting ;  on  an  average  the 
Missions  pay  half  of  the  teacher's  salary. 

2.  Middle  Schools  or  Academies — After  the  pupils  have  fin- 
ished the  course  in  the  primary  schools  the  boj'S  pass  on  into  the 
middle  schools,  where  they  pursue  a  course  of  four  years  and  the 
girls  enter  the  higher  institutions  provided  for  them.  There  are 
also  schools  for  women,  where  they  may  come  and  learn  to  read 
the  Bible  and  church  hymns  and  to  learn  more  about  the  gospel. 
These  schools  are  entirely  under  the  management  of  the  Missions. 
Tuition  fees  are  charged,  but  every  case  is  considered  and  deter- 
mined on  its  own  merits.  A.  considerable  amount  is  raised  each 
year  from  the  scholars.  No  boy  or  girl  with  proper  credentials  is 
ever  turned  away  on  account  of  poverty. 

3.  Theological  Seminaries. — Following  the  four  years'  course 
the  boys  may  pass  on  into  the  theological  seminaries  to  pursue  a 
course  of  three  years.  It  is  not  absolutely  essential,  however,  for  a 
young  man  to  first  pass  through  the  middle  schools  in  order  to 
receive  admittance  in  the  seminaries.  Many  who  have  not  had  this 
privilege  are  enrolled  amongst  its  numbers.  These  institutions  are 
entirely  supported  by  the  Missions.  And  of  them  all  we  may  add, 
it  is  rnoney  well  invested. 

4.  Besides  these  institutions  of  learning  there  is  a  prescribed 
graded  course  provided  particularly  for  those  I  mentioned  at  first : 
preachers  or  evangelists  who  on  account  of  their  age  have  not 
enjoyed  the  privileges  of  the  schools,  and  in  general  for  all  others 
in  order  to  continue  their  studious  habits.  This  course  is  divided 
into  ten  grades,  and  provides  for  annual  examinations  at  Amoy, 
comprising  exegesis,,  church  history,  homiletics,  scriptural  knowl- 
edge, reading  and  writing  Amoy  Romanized  Colloquial,  reading  the 
Bible  (character),  geography,  arithmetic,  and  algebra.  Of  can- 
didates for  licensure  and  for  ordination,  special  examinations  are 
required. 

5.  Hospitals. — Medical  work  has  long  ago  been  proved  indis- 
pensable in  carrying  on  missionary  enterprises  successfully.  It  has 
often  proved  the  thinnest  edge  of  the  wedge  that  has  finally  cleft 
the  hard  and  desperately  wicked  heart,  through  which  the  glorious 
light  of  salvation  in  Jesus  Christ  has  filled  the  soul.     Conducted  along 


1900.]  THE  NATIVE  PASTORATE  OF  AMOY.  669 

tliose  lines   thoy  must,  unto  the  end,  ever  prove  influential  factors 
in  the  evangelization  of  China. 

Medical  work  began  in  Amoy  as  early  as  June.  1842,  by  Dr. 
Cummings,  A.  B.  C.  F.  M..*  who  opened  a  dispensary  in  one  of  the 
rooms  of  ])r.  Abeel's  house  on  Kulangsu.  To-day  worthy  successors 
of  that  modest  start,  at  the  important  centers  of  Amoy,  Choan-chiu, 
Cliiang-chiu.  Sio-khe,  and  Chiu-pho,  the  three  Missions,  each  in  its 
own  territory,  have  placed  and  maintained  substantial  and  well  equip- 
ped, hospitals.  From  the  beginning  in  that  little  room  on  Kulangsu, 
to  the  larger  and  better  supplied  institutions,  we  see  to-day.  is  a 
long  way;  but  if  the  same  spirit  of  loving  devotion  of  Dr.  Cummings, 
ever  present  in  his  ministry  of  healing,  has  ever  pervaded  the  wards 
and  dispensary  rooms  of  these  hospitals  during  the  past  half  cen- 
tury and  more,  well  may  we  rejoice  in  our  present  larger  possessions 
and  facilities. 

CONCLUSION. 

This  method,  so  imperfectly  sketched,  with  whatever  fault  it 
may  possess,  may  have  this  said  for  it :  it  has  never  left  any  wrecks 
behind  it,  nor  any  blasted  hopes.  In  no  sense  can  it  be  called  a 
"  pauperizing  "  or  "  coddling  "  policy.  Its  results  have  been  directly 
the  opposite,  as  it  has  invited  and  incited  a  liberality  amongst  this 
people  unsurpassed,  if  not  unequalled,  elsewhere.  At  present,  as  in 
the  past,  it  maintains  that  leadership  properly  belongs  to  the 
missionary,  but  for  the  future  it  contemplates  something  else,  viz  , 
the  followers  becoming  the  leaders  and  the  supporters  of  the  entire 
work.  In  a  sense,  we  are  the  pioneers  opening  up  the  way  for  the 
natives,  who  in  turn,  when  spiritually  and  financially  able,  will 
assume  the  burden.  The  wisdom  of  such  a  method  has  been  proved 
over  and  over  again  during  these  forty  odd  years  of  trial.  It  has 
done  far  more  for  the  evangelization  of  this  region  and  for  the  devel- 
opment of  the  church  than  can  ever  be  reckoned  in  dollars  and 
cents  of  its  cost. 

Yet  we  would  by  no  means  lay  claim  to  having  solved  the 
entire  problem  of  '•  methods."  We  only  desire  to  relate  the  success- 
ful issues  which  have  followed  its  adoption  here.  One  of  its  best 
features  is  that  it  costs  something  to  carry  it  on.  All  the  best 
things  in  this  world  cost  something.  The  burden  is  not  now  laid 
entirely  on  the  native  church,  but  the  home  church  bears  its  share, 
and  should  in  loving  sympathy  rejoice  in  the  privilege.  Another 
good  feature  is  its  permanency.  It  has  produced  something 
tangible — a  self-support  that  supports  something  visible.  It  is 
practical.     It  is  no  longer  a  theory  ;  it  is  a  reality. 

*  Withdrew  from  Atnoy  1847, 


560  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [November, 

Women  who  Make  Trouble :    Missionaiy 
Methods  must  change  in  China. 

BY  JULIAN  RALPH. 

[It  is  not  often  that  the  missionary  receives  such  a  candid  criticism  of  his  work 
and  some  of  his  methods  as  is  given  in  the  following  from  Julian  Ralph,  who  has 
for  the  most  part  taken  his  impressions  first  hand,  having  visited  some  of  the  Mis- 
sions in  China  and  seen  with  his  own  eyes  what  others  pretend  to  write  about  with- 
out going  to  this  trouble.  While  not  concurring  iu  all  that  Mr.  Ralph  says,  we  give 
the  article  as  containing  thoughts  which  may  well  euagage  the  attention  of  the 
missionary.     Would  that  all  were  as  sensible  as  he. — Ed.  Rec.] 

NTEDATING  the  Boxer  outbreak  in  China  by  many  years 
were  the  frequent  and  widespread  assaults  upon  and  mani- 
festations against  the  Christian  missionaries.  Though  foreign 
interference  in  Chinese  affairs  brought  the  soreness  against  foreigners 
to  a  head,  that  irritation  began  with  antagonism  to  the  mission- 
aries. The  Chinese  oflScials  worked  upon  this  hostility  to  bring 
about  the  present  outbreak.  And  the  chief  victims  and  sufferers 
by  this  uprising  have  been  the  missionaries  and  their  native 
converts. 

The  Christian  churches  everywhere  should  ponder  these  facts, 
and  doubtless  will  do  so,  in  order  to  arrive  at  a  means  of  conducting 
their  labours  in  the  future  in  such  ways  as  to  minimise  the  irritation 
they  must  cause  among  a  people  so  conservative  and  tenacious  in 
preserving  their  customs  and  superstitions  as  the  Chinese. 

I  was  told  in  China  that  I  had  studied  the  relations  of 
the  missionaries  to  the  natives  so  as  to  be  able  to  present 
the  facts  in  a  light  in  which  they  had  not  been  viewed  by  the 
sponsors  for  the  missionaries  of  Christendom.  It  was  urged  tliat 
much  good  would  come  of  it  if  I  would  make  public  my  views 
and  impressions.  It  was  a  sage,  a  vigorous  and  a  successful  mis- 
sionary, at  the  head  of  a  large  school  for  Chinese  children,  who 
tried  to  persuade  me  to  broach  this  most  delicate  subject. 
He  knew  that  I  had  crossed  the  Pacific  with  more  than  a 
hundred  English  and  American  missionaries,  and  that,  afterwards, 
I  had  made  two  or  more  journeys  into  the  interior,  and  had  met 
many  missionaries,  and  questioned  some  very  shrewd  Chinamen 
upon  the  extraordinary  enmity  to  the  missionaries  of  the  highest  as 
well  as  the  humblest  people  of  China. 

THE  MISSIONARY  POINT  OF  VIEW. 

It  was  upon  my  return  to  the  treaty  port,  after  a  second  journey 
inland,  that  this  broad-minded  missionary  asked  me  what  I  thought 


1900.]  WOMEN  WHO   MAKE  TROUBLE.  561 

of  tlio  missionaries  and  their  methods.  I  at  first  declined  to  answer 
him.  This  was  because,  in  my  talks  with  other  missionaries  of 
narrower  mental  grasp,  I  quickly  saw  that  my  point  of  view  was 
not  theirs. 

Instead  of  arguing,  or  meeting  fact  with  fact,  they  nsnally  took 
the  ground  that  whoever  criticised  them  had  imbibed  the  prejudices 
of  the  white  people  in  the  treaty  ports.  This  was  not  at  all  my  case, 
but  it  appeared  peculiar  that  there  should  be  such  a  prejudice. 
It  also  seemed  that  if  the  missionaries  knew  that  their  own  fellow- 
countrymen  found  fault  with  them  they  should  inqnire  closely  into 
the  reason  and  try  to  remedy  it. 

I  had  done  very  little  talking  with  these  white  critics,  because 
it  is  their  habit  to  crystallise  their  fault-finding  in  two  charges — 
first,  that  the  missionaries  manage  to  live  very  well  wherever  yon 
find  them,  and,  second,  that  they  "make  all  the  trouble  there  is 
in  China." 

AN  IRRATIONAL  CRITICISM. 

It  is  not  a  rational  point  of  criticism  that  missionaries  live  com- 
fortably. To  begin  with,  they  do  not  have  the  means  to  pamper 
themselves;  and  again,  the  better  they  live  the  more  favourably 
they  impress  all  Orientals.  I  admit  that  wherever  I  saw  their 
homes  they  were  decent,  and  they  had  plenty  of  servants,  who  are 
dirt  cheap  over  there.  But  when  I  compared  their  poor  comforts 
with  the  dangers  by  which  they  were  surrounded,  1  could  only  be 
glad  things  were  not  worse  with  them.  However,  the  question  to 
be  met  is  not  how  comfortable  they  are,  but  how  do  they  conduct 
themselves  towards  the  natives  ?  It  is  well  that  they  should  have 
good  homes  and  servants  a-plenty  to  "  keep  their  face  "  in  China, 
but  it  is  very,  very  ill  indeed  if  their  conduct  or  relations  with  those 
strange  peojile  shame  them  in  the  public  sight. 

Fearing  that  my  friend  would  misunderstand  my  criticism,  I 
refused  to  make  it,  but  he  persisted,  and  assured  me  that  I  would 
not  offend  him. 

"  Well,  then,"  said  I,  "  I  will  tell  yon  honestly  what  I  have 
seen  and  heard,  and  what  deductions  I  have  drawn. 

''First  of  all,  men  too  often  volunteer  as  missionaries  to  satisfy 
their  own  needs,  instead  of  being  carefully  selected  to  satisfy  the 
needs  of  the  Chinese.  In  America  the  men  who  are  sent  out  as 
missionaries  are  too  frequently  persons  who  have  failed  in  other 
walks  and  who  take  to  this  work  as  a  last  resort,  as  a  certain  means 
to  get  an  income,  and  because  they  thus  cease  to  shift  for  themselves 
and  have  a  church  or  rich  society  to  lean  upon.  I  do  not  criticise 
the  men  for  this ;  it  is  the  system  that  is  at  fault. 


562  THE  CHINESE  RECOBDER.  [November, 

THE  WRONG  SORT  OF  MEN. 

"  On  the  ship  bonnd  for  China  I  was  strnck  by  the  mediocre 
mental  character  of  too  many  of  the  men.  They  were  often  vil- 
lagers and  men  of  the  narrowest  horizon.  It  was  these  who  declared 
what  they  would  do  and  have  and  woald  not  have  when  they  reach- 
ed their  stations — as  if  the  Christianising  of  an  ancient,  a  polished, 
and  a  highly  cultivated  race  was  to  be  carried  out  by  a  word  of 
command  instead  of  by  the  most  sage,  deft,  tactful,  and  sympathetic 
means.  'I'll  have  no  convert  who  permits  his  wife  to  cramp  her 
feet,'  said  one,  and  that  fairly  illustrates  the  mental  attitude  towards 
their  work  of  too  many  whom  I  met.  Small  feet,  concubinage,  even 
the  reverent  regard  of  all  good  Chinamen  for  their  ancestors,  were  to 
be  instantly  discountenanced  before  the  true  modes  of  life  and  wor- 
ship were  established  in  their  places. 

"  When  I  travelled  in  China  I  found  that  the  ablest  and  broad- 
est Chinamen  could  not  understand  or  justify  the  behaviour  of 
our  missionaries — proper  as  it  was  to  our  way  of  thinking.  If 
these  able  Chinamen  were  confounded  by  what  they  saw,  it  is  easy 
to  understand  the  source  of  the  hostility  of  the  peasantry.  In 
China  a  woman  never  may  reveal  the  outlines  of  her  body.  To  do 
80  is  indecent  beyond  the  excesses  of  the  most  dissolute  of  the  sex. 
Innocent  and  beautiful  statues  of  the  nude  are  viewed  with  disgust 
in  China.  The  ladies  cover  even  their  hands ;  their  faces  may  only 
be  seen  with  difficulty  through  the  lattice  shades  of  their  sedan 
chairs.  The  poorest  women,  who  work  out  of  doors,  reveal  only 
their  hands  and  faces.  Fancy,  then,  the  effect  upon  the  Chinese  of 
seeing  the  wives  and  sisters  of  the  missionaries  dressed  as  they  would 
appear  at  home,  in  garments  which  closely  follow  the  lines  of  the 
bust  and  hips. 

NO  WOMEN   MISSIONARIES  SHOULD   GO. 

"And,  now,  as  to  the  relations  of  the  sexes.  Women  of  good 
repute  keep  indoors — are  kept  in,  if  you  please.  The  missionary 
women  roam  freely  about  as  they  will.  Kissing  is  regarded  as  a 
vicious  and  an  unspeakable  act,  yet  our  missionary  women  kiss  their 
husbands  and  brothers  in  the  streets  when  they  meet  after  being 
parted  for  a  time.  In  China,  when  a  bride  is  about  to  be  carried  in 
her 'flowery  '  (her  bridal  chair)  to  the  bridegroom's  house,  she  has 
to  be  borne  to  the  chair  by  her  father.  No  other  male  relative  has 
ever  touched  even  her  hand  for  years,  not  since  she  was  an  infant 
and  played  with  her  brother.  If  she  has  no  father,  a  brother  or  an 
uncle  may  take  the  liberty  and  perform  the  office  of  lifting  her  and 
carrying  her  away,  because  it  could  not  be  imagined  that  any  girl 


lOQO.]  WOMEN   WHO  MAKE  TROUBLE.  663 

would  leave  her  home  and  people  of  her  own  free  will,  even  to  be 
married. 

"  VViien  people  have  snch  notions  and  customs,  what  do  yoa 
suppose  they  think  upon  seeing  our  men  and  women  shaking  hands, 
walking  arm-in-arm,  helping  each  other  over  muddy  roads,  and 
funding  or  handling  one  another  as  our  husbands  and  wives  are  free 
and  right  in  doing  ?  From  what  I  saw  and  heard  I  drew  the  con- 
clusion that  no  women  should  be  sent  or  should  go  with  our  mission- 
aries to  China.  It  is  the  women  who  innocently  cause  a  great 
fraction  of  the  mischief.  If  any  women  are  permitted  to  go  to  China 
they  should  only  be  such  as  understand  Chinese  etiquette,  customs, 
and  prejudices,  and  mean  to  defer  to  them." 

"  You  are  absolutely  right,"  said  the  able  missionary  with  whom 
I  spoke  and  whose  wife  was  a  Chinese  woman.  \'  Now,  what  about 
the  men  ?  " 

"Men,"  I  replied,  "should  not  be  sent  merely  because  they 
are  willing  to  go.  The  men  who  are  sent  should  be  of  excep- 
tional and  peculiar  abilit}',  for  I  know  of  no  more  delicate  and 
difficult  task  than  really  Christianising — I  mean  genuinely  Chris- 
tianising— the  Chinese.  The  missionaries  should  be  men  born 
with  tact,  sympathy,  and  consideration  for  those  around  them. 
They  should  be  very  broad-minded,  and  should  approach  the 
Chinese  with  respect  for  their  great  qualities  and  wonderful 
history  and  achievements.  They  are  by  no  means  a  decayed 
or  stagnant  race,  like  the  people  of  India.  They  are  still  intel- 
lectual, quick,  and  shrewd  ;  and  as  they  are  the  most  polite, 
formal,  and  ceremonious  people  on  earth,  the  missionaries  should 
be  able  to  blend  their  manners  with  those  of  their  neighbours. 
They  should  learn  the  languages  (both  written  and  spoken), 
master  the  religion,  and  know  as  much  as  possible  of  the  history 
and  traditions  of  the  people,  in  order  to  discuss  intelligently 
every  new  principle  they  advocate. 

"  But  in  the  first  sentence  I  spoke  all  that  I  think.  Our  mis- 
sionaries should  be  sent  to  meet  the  needs  of  the  Chinese,  and  not 
to  satisfy  their  own  needs.  Snch  men  will  know  how  to  talk  with 
men  of  the  governing  classes  (now  seldom  approached)  and  how  to 
manage  or,  perhaps,  to  leave  alone  the  care  of  the  children,  which 
latter  work  is  almost  as  productive  of  misunderstanding  and  trouble 
as  the  presence  of  the  missionary  women." 

My  friend  agreed  with  me  and  entreated  me  to  make  these  views 
known.  That  was  six  years  ago.  I  have  hesitated  all  that  time  for 
fear  of  wounding  many  good  men  and  women.  But  if  there  is  ever 
to  be  a  time  for  frankly  discussing  this  question  that  time  in  now,— 
Daily  Mail. 


564  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [November, 

The  Principle  that  Underlies  Victory* 

Illustrated  from  the  Story  of  Uganda. 

BY  EUGENE  STOCK,  ESQ., 
Editorial  Secretary  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society. 

ER.  CHAIRMAN:  It  has  occurred  to  me  that  it  might  be 
helpful  and  encouraging  to  our  dear  missionaries,  at  whose, 
feet  I  am  most  thankful  to  sit  when  I  get  a  chance,  if  I  were 
to  remind  them  and  those  here  with  us,  who  have  not  the  great 
honor  of  being  missionaries  ourselves,  first  of  the  great  principle 
involved  in  the  cause,  and  to  illustrate  that  principle  by  the  con- 
sideration of  a  particular  mission  field  that  I  have  been  fairly 
familiar  with. 

Now  you  will  remember,  perhaps,  that  on  a  certain  Tuesday,  the 
Tuesday  before  the  day  which  some  of  us  call  Good  Friday,  that 
Jesus  Christ  was  in  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  being  catechized  by  the 
Sadducees  and  Herodians.  That  it  was  on  the  Tuesday  I  will  not 
stop  to  show.  It  was  on  this  day  that  he  uttered  the  striking  sen- 
tence which  is  in  the  12th  chapter  of  John,  23rd  verse.  Now  for 
the  first  time  he  says,  "  The  hour  is  come."  What  led  to  his  saying 
that  ?  It  appears  that  just  before  that,  certain  Greeks  had  come  to 
Jerusalem  inquiring  the  way  to  God,  as  taught  by  this  Galilean 
teacher,  and  they  come  to  two  of  the  disciples,  Philip  and  Andrew, 
and  say,  "  Sir,  we  would  see  Jesus,"  and  Jesus  answering  them  (Philip 
and  Andrew),  says :  "  The  hour  is  come  that  the  Son  of  Man  shall  be 
glorified."  One  could  imagine  that  the  intelligence  of  the  Gentiles 
coming  and  wishing  to  see  Him,  was  the  vision  of  the  great  heathen 
world  as  it  shall  come  to  Him,  and  that  is  the  glorification  of  the  Son 
of  Man.  But  they  heard  these  words  with  misunderstanding.  Some 
of  them  were  looking  out,  as  you  will  remember,  for  an  earthly  king- 
dom, and  some  came  and  asked  that  they  might  have  the  best  seats, 
one  on  the  right  and  the  other  on  the  left.  When  they  hear  this, 
"  The  hour  is  come,"  did  they  think  He  was  going  to  sweep  away  the 
great  Roman  city  and  start  the  kingdom  on  earth  anew  ?  He  went  on 
and  said  :  "  Verily,  verily  I  say  unto  you,  except  a  grain  of  wheat  fall 
into,  the  ground  and  die.  it  abideth  by  itself  alone;  but  if  it  die  it 
bringeth  forth  much  fruit."  You  know  it  was  just  the  indication  that 
suffering  would  come  to  Him  before  victory ;  that  humilation  was  to 
come  before  triumph ;  that  death  was  to  come  before  life ;  that  the  cross 


*  Stenographer's  report  of  an  address  delivered  by  Eugene  Stock,  Esq.,  before 
the  International  Missionary  Union,  in  the  Tabernacle,  Clifton  Springs,  N.  Y.,  Juue, 
4,  1900. 


1900.]  THE   PRINCIPLE  THAT  UNDERLIES   VICTORY.  665 

was  to  como  before  the  crown.  He  went  on  presently,  and  after  some 
little  further  utterance,  we  come  upon  this :"  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up,  will 
draw  all  men  unto  Me."  But  He  was  referring  evidently  to  the  double 
meaning — humiliation  and  triumph.  To  me,  dear  friends,  is  enumer- 
ated the  great  principle  of  missions,  the  great  principle  for  which 
Christians  love  and  work,  and  may  we  take  it  home  to  ourselves,  that 
death  must  come  before  life,  humiliation  must  come  before  triumph, 
suffering  before  truth,  cross  before  crown.  If  we  are  to  truly  live 
wc  are  to  die  first.  I  say  that  is  the  great  principle  in  missions,  and 
I  have  no  doubt  whatever  that  many  missionaries  will  agree  with  me 
in  this  statement. 

In  the  year  that  Queen  Victoria  came  to  the  throne  in  England 
there  Avas  a  young  German,  Louis  Krapf,  who  after  some  years  of 
struggling  and  suffering  in  Abyssinia,  found  his  way  to  a  place  abso- 
lutely unknown  at  that  time,  on  the  east  coast  of  Africa,  and  fixed 
upon  this  place  as  a  place  to  begin  pioneer  work  on  that  side  of  the 
Dark  Continent.  The  trade  of  this  country  was  entirely  in  the  hands 
of  the  Arabians,  and  Europeans  knew  nothing  at  all  about  it.  In  the 
year  1851  the  President  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society  stated  that 
Africa,  with  the  exception  of  the  coast  line,  was  £f  blank  on  the  map. 
This  young  German  was  the  first  man  to  begin  the  discoveries,  and 
how  did  he  begin  ?  My  dear  friends,  he  began  by  digging  a  grave, 
and  "  except  a  grain  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die  it  bringeth 
not  forth  fruit."  His  young  wife  was  taken  ill  and  died  there  by  his 
side  on  the  islet,  and  her  body  was  carried  across  in  a  little  boat  to  the 
mainland,  and  there  she  was  buried  on  the  rising  land  of  the  mainland. 
Krapf  wrote  this  message  to  the  missionaries :  "  Tell  our  friends  at 
home  !hat  they  have  now  a  Christian  grave  in  East  Africa,  and  as  the 
victory  of  the  church  is  gained  by  stepping  over  the  graves  of  her 
members,  you  are  now  sure  that  you  are  summoned  to  evangelize  Africa 
from  its  east  side."  And  then  he  says  in  his  letter  how  the  heart  and 
body  wept  for  many  months.  Another  year  three  more  were  sent,  and 
that  three  made  journeys,  studying  the  language,  and  trying  to  get 
at  the  interior  geography,  and  tried  to  get  at  the  different  tongues, 
of  which  there  are  any  amount.  At  length  Krapf  came  to  England 
with  a  great  proposition,  that  he  should  have  an  expedition  and  walk 
across  Africa.  Six  or  seven  men  were  told  off  as  the  ones  to  do  that. 
I  was  present  myself,  as  a  boy,  on  2nd  of  January,  1851,  and  said 
good-by.  But  the  expedition  ended  in  despair.  Krapf  was  lost  in 
Africa,  narrowly  escaping  with  his  life,  and  he  said :  "  I  see  now  that 
the  resurrection  of  Africa  is  to  be  accomplished  by  our  death."  He 
went  on  with  his  inquiries,  and  by  and  by  one  of  his  companions,  with 
his  help,  constructed  a  map  from  the  information  they  had  gathered 
from  the  expedition,  showing  that  the  interior  was  not  a  desert,  but 


566  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [November, 

that  there  were  many  sheets  of  water  there.  One  of  them  is  the 
second  largest  lake  in  the  world.  Your  Lake  Superior  is  the  largest, 
and  this  is  second.  The  map  was  sent  to  England,  copied  on  a  large 
scale,  and  hung  up  in  the  geographical  rooms  of  the  society,  and  the 
result  was  that  another  expedition  was  sent  out,  and  they  visited 
this  very  lake  and  other  lakes  in  the  interior,  and  they  named  that 
lake  Victoria  Nyanza.  "  But,"  say  some  friends,  "  where  was 
Livingstone  all  this  time  ? "  Livingstone  did  not  go  out  until  after- 
ward, and  he  was  many  years  laboring  in  search  of  Krapf.  Others 
went  to  Africa  on  exploring  tours,  and  the  cause  of  missions  almost 
died  out.  Krapf  came  home  sick,  and  went  to  Germany,  where  he 
died,  and  his  companion  remained  twenty-nine  years  and  never  came 
home,  and  nothing  was  done  for  many  years. 

Then  this  great  principle  was  illustrated.  Livingstone  died  and 
Livingstone's  death  accomplished  for  Africa  what  his  life  never  did  or 
could  have  done.  The  grain  of  wheat  fell.  In  fact  the  world  woke 
up  when  Livingstone  died  and  said,  "  We  must  do  something  for 
Africa,"  and  the  awaking  that  took  place  when  that  great  man's  death 
was  heard  of  was  remarkable.  I  remember  very  well  hearing  the  black 
boy,  who  was  with  "him  at  his  death,  give  the  account.  He  had  been 
trained  at  the  Church  Missionary  Society  school  and  he  was  one  of 
the  party  of  attendants  who  were  with  Livingstone  when  he  died.  He 
came  home  with  the  body,  and  when  he  was  able  to  tell  all  that 
had  happened  he  told  how  he  had  taken  the  little  prayer-book  from 
the  doctor's  pocket  and  read  it  over  the  little  grave  in  which  were 
placed  the  heart  and  other  parts  of  Livingstone's  body,  and  then, 
having  done  what  was  necessary,  they  fired  a  salute  over  the  grave. 
Those  faithful  lads  carried  that  body  through  hostile  tribes  and 
countries ;  then  when  it  got  to  England  it  was  identified  with  the  par- 
ticular bite  of  a  lion,  and  his  remains  were  placed  in  Westminster 
Abbey.  Take  it  home  to  your  hearts,  dear  friends,  that  when  death 
comes,  if  it  is  true  death,  life  will  follow,  and  when  we  hear  of  the  dear 
brothers  in  China  who  lay  down  their  lives,  be  sure  there  is  going  to 
be  a  blessing  presently.  You  will  remember  that  Stanley  went  out  a 
second  time  after  Livingstone's  death,  and  visited  Uganda  on  the 
north  side  of  that  lake,  and  from  there  he  sent  home  a  letter  challeng- 
ing Christendom  to  send  missionaries  to  a  most  interesting  and  intel- 
ligent people  to  be  met  with  in  the  Dark  Continent,  "  And  now  then, 
gentlemen  of  the  missionary  societies,  are  you  going  to  send  mission- 
aries here  ?  "  Within  two  days  the  Church  Missionary  Society  was 
offered  two  gifts  amounting  to  |50,000  to  send  missionaries  there,  and 
a  large  number  of  persons  applied,  as  might  be  expected  in  such  a 
case,  but  out  of  that  large  number  eight  were  chosen,  one  of  whom 
has  been  speaking  in  the  cities  of  your  states  and  is  at  present  in 


1900.]  THE  PRINCIPLE  THAT  UNDERLIES   VICTORY.  507 

Virginia,  Mr.  Wilson,  and  one  was  Alexander  Mackay ;  there  wore 
others.  Within  fifteen  months  of  their  starting  there  were  only  two 
left,  the  others  were  dead  or  had  returned  home  sick.  There  is  the 
principle  again.  Wilson  after  two  months  was  left  alone  in  the  heart 
of  Africa,  Mackay  having  been  sent  back  to  the  coast,  and  he  was 
alone  with  no  European  within  1.000  miles.  He  is  a  very  gentle  Chris, 
tian  man,  but  he  is  a  man  who  can  stand  hard  knocks.  He  had  been  the 
first  man  to  preach  at  Uganda.  The  history  of  the  mission  for  the 
next  few  years  was  full  of  interest  and  with  many  disappointments, 
and  apparently  again  and  again  collapsed.  I  have  seen  respected 
ministers  and  laymen  in  our  board-rooms  in  London  rise  up  and  say, 
"  Why  don't  you  give  up  this  mad  enterprise  ?  Surely  we  must  send 
to  withdraw  these  men,  the  whole  thing  is  a  mistake."  But  God 
had  His  purpose.  He  sitteth  in  the  heaven  above,  and  whatever 
differences  we  may  have  His  plans  stand. 

In  the  meantime  a  settlement  for  rescued  slaves  had  been  sfiarted 
close  to  the  town  of  Monangese,  at  which  place  Krapf  had  gone  to 
work  thirty  odd  years  before  ;  and  when  the  piece  of  land  was  purchas- 
ed upon  which  this  rescued  slave  settlement  was  to  be  established,  it 
was  found  that  within  that  area  lay  the  grave  of  Mrs.  Krapf.  and  it 
was  literally  true  that  there  was  seed-grain  in  the  earth,  and  where 
she  died,  on  the  very  spot,  you  may  see  the  largest  congregation  in 
East  Africa,  of  rescued  slaves  worshiping  God,  and  suffering  and  lay- 
ing down  their  lives  for  Him  and  His  cause.  But  to  return  to  the 
interior  mission.  In  due  time  a  very  interesting  man  went  to  the 
interior  to  reinforce,  and  his  name  was  James  Hannington.  I  knew 
Mr.  Hannington  well,  and  a  more  true-hearted,  able-bodied  man  never 
walked  this  earth.  He  went  out ;  was  taken  sick  after  marching  about 
one  hundred  miles,  and  he  had  to  return  to  England.  The  doctors 
said,  "  Never  can  you  return  to  Africa."  He  went  to  another  doctor, 
and  you  know  doctors  differ  sometimes,  and  was  told  he  could  go 
bade  He  went  this  time  as  a  bishop,  and  upon  his  approach  to  the 
borders  of  Uganda  that  event  occurred  which  has  had  so  much  influ- 
ence on  the  Christian  world  ;  he  was  cruelly  murdered  by  order  of  the 
young  king.  His  diary  of  his  last  few  days,  written  up  apparently  to 
the  very  hour  of  his  death,  and  the  photographs  afterward  published, 
touched  the  heart  of  England  as  very  few  things  have  done.  A  re- 
markable result  has  occurred,  I  may  say,  in  the  publication  of  his 
memoirs.  Mission  books  were  a  drug  on  the  market  of  England. 
There  was  no  market  for  mission  books  at  all,  but  the  life  of  Bishop 
Hannington  had  so  large  a  sale  that  now  every  publisher  is  glad  to 
get  mission  books.  This  goes  to  show  how  God  is  working  to  bring 
life  out  of  death.  Well  then,  the  king  having  put  Hannington  to 
death,  turned  upon  the  converts — at  least,  after  each  period,  there  were 


568  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [November, 

a  few  converts — and  three  lads  were  seized  and  roasted  alive,  and  Alex. 
Mackay  wrote  that  on  their  way  to  execution  they  sang  a  hymn  to  a 
translation  which  was  sent  home  to  us,  and  Mr.  Ashe  came  home  after- 
ward and  sang  it  to  us.  It  is  a  tune  I  do  not  think  you  know.  He 
walked  across  my  drawing-room  and  played  it  upon  my  sister's  piano. 
I  have  never  heard  it  since  until  a  few  weeks  ago,  when  I  was  in  a 
Sunday-school  in  Philadelphia,  and  they  sang  that  tune.  I  inquired 
about  it,  and  found  it  was  not  in  the  book  that  was  being  used  by 
them.  The  same  king  put  to  death  two  hundred  Christians  not 
long  afterward.  Another  bishop  went  out  and  died  on  the  bank  of 
that  great  lake  of  fever. 

A  day  came  in  1890  when  Alexander  Mackay  in  desperation 
wrote  for  more  laborers.  He  was  there  with  only  two  others,  and 
they  were  two  hundred  miles  away  from  him.  I  wrote  to  him  myself 
saying,  "Will  you  come  home  to  England?"  And  in  June,  1890, 
he  sat  down  and  wrote  a  letter  to  me.  "  What  is  this  you  say  ?  is  it 
the  time  to  desert  one's  post  ?  Send  me  twenty  men  and  then  I 
will  come  home  and  help  you  find  another  twenty."  But  the  Lord 
needed  Mackay  for  His  purpose,  and  his  death  was  to  be  used,  for 
he  died  within  three  weeks  after  writing  that  letter.  He  never 
knew  it,  but  at  the  time  there  was  a  party  being  made  up  in  London, 
one  of  whom  was  George  Pilkington,  who  devoted  himself  body,  soul, 
and  spirit  to  this  work;  and,  I  may  say  here,  that  the  preparatory 
work  began  by  those  who  had  gone  before,  began  to  show  up.  And 
now  to  make  a  long  story  short,  what  do  you  see  now  ?  You  see  in 
that  country  of  Uganda  twenty-five  thousand  baptized  Christians  ; 
you  see  probably  another  one  thousand  who  read  in  their  Bibles. 
You  find  the  translation  of  the  Bible  made  by  Mackay  and  his 
companions.  You  will  find  five  hundred  buildings,  almost,  in  that 
country,  and  every  one  of  them  put  up  with  not  one  cent  sent  from 
English  or  American  missionaries;  you  will  find  one  thousand  five 
hundred  native  evangelists,  not  one  of  them  supported  by  England 
or  America,  but  all  supported  by  the  Christians  themselves ;  and 
these  are  not  only  going  up  and  down  the  country  preaching  the 
Word,  but  also  going  out  into  regions  beyond  Uganda.  Ah,  dear 
friends,  there  is  one  more  thing  I  think  you  will  see,  and  that  is 
this :  that  this  has  been  a  very  profitable  commencement,  and  you 
see  the  great  principle  illustrated  all  through  this  early  period 
of  Uganda.  But  I  am  going  to  illustrate  it  in  another  way.  What 
I  am  going. to  say  is  a  very  solemn  thing.  I  simply  give  it  to  you 
as  a  report,  as  a  statement  of  fact.  Five  or  seven  years  ago,  I  think, 
the  missionaries  were  not  quite  happy ;  they  had  a  good  many  con- 
verts, then  churches  were  being  built,  schools  were  being  prepared, 
but  yet  somehow  or  other  they  had  a  feeling  that  there  was  a  great 


1900.]  THE  PRINCIPLE  THAT  UNDERLIES   VICTORY.  569 

dissatisfaction,  and  they  began  to  tremble  as  to  what  the  result  would 
be.  One  day  George  Pilkington,  while  visiting  some  islands  near  by, 
and  while  being  paddled  in  his  canoe,  was  reading  a  book  written  by 
one  of  the  native  evangelists  who  knew  English,  and  this  little  book 
revealed — or  rather  the  will  of  the  Holy  Ghost  revealed  to  Pilking- 
ton's  heart — that  there  was  a  higher  blessing  to  be  had  and  that  he 
might  be  filled  with  the  Holy  Spirit  as  never  before,  and  that 
perhaps  was  the  secret  of  dissatisfaction.  He  went  back  where  hia 
fellows  were  and  he  told  them  what  he  had  felt,  and  then  they  went 
and  prayed  together,  and  they  prayed  earnestly  and  fervently  that 
the  Lord  would  show  them  their  shortcomings,  and  the  next  morning 
at  the  great  service,  at  which  two  or  three  thousand  people  would 
come,  they  came  and  told  the  people  that  they  realized  that  they 
had  not  been  living  such  holy  lives,  and  had  not  been  filled  with  the 
Spirit  as  they  might  have  been,  and  they  asked  the  converts  pardon 
for  coming  to  them  without  that  fulness  of  the  Savior.  The  result 
of  it  was  a  great  revival  among  the  native  Christians.  We  did  not 
believe  it  at  first,  but  when  Pilkington  and  Baskerville  came  to 
England,  the  great  truth  dawned  upon  us  and  we  thanked  God  for 
His  goodness.  In  Uganda  there  was  a  joy  unknown  in  the  forgiveness 
of  sins,  in  the  love  of  Christ,  such  as  never  came  to  that  people 
before,  and  they  found  for  the  first  time  what  a  mighty  power  there 
was  in  God.  There  had  been  a  death  of  human  ideas  and  dissatis- 
faction— I  can  find  no  better  word — and  from  that  day  the  Word 
of  God  has  gone  all  over  the  land. 

Now  let  me  say  one  word  of  caution  in  closing,  and  that  is 
simply  this,  dear  friends :  Bear  in  mind  that  whenever  there  is  a 
great  movement  or  movements  toward  Christianity,  there  must  be  a 
large  amount  of  nominal  Christianity  in  it.  It  is  sure  to  result  that 
the  nucleus  of  true  Christianity  carries  with  it  a  mass  of  secondary 
Christianity,  and  there  are  things  to  mourn  over,  and  then  the  world 
notices  that.  There  must  be  tares  and  wheat,  and  when  we  hear  of 
a  successful  mission  you  may  depend  upon  it  that  unless  we  pray 
and  work  Satan  will  be  there. 

I  will  give  you  one  more  illustration  before  I  close,  and  that  is 
this :  When  I  was  in  Australia  a  few  years  ago,  I  went  to  see  a  lady 
to  whom  I  had  a  letter  of  introduction.  I  did  not  know  anything 
about  her,  but  I  went  to  see  her,  and  I  was  shown  into  the  parlor, 
and  presently  a  young  lady  came  in  and  took  me  to  where  her  aunt 
was  in  bed,  and  she  told  me  how  her  aunt  had  been  an  invalid  for 
twenty-three  years.  Her  aunt  told  me  that  she  had  been  one  of 
eleven  brothers  and  sisters,  ten  of  whom  were  all  strong  and  healthy, 
but  they  all  were  dead  except  her.  She  said,  "  Mr.  Stock,  the  Lord 
wants  me,  I  am  His  remembrancer,  and  I  am  kept  alive."     She  told 


570  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [November, 

me  that  her  niece  would  procure  all  the  missionary  journals  and 
read  them  aloud  'to  her,  and  as  they  would  come  to  a  certain  part 
where  there  was  need,  she  would  say,  "  Stop  a  moment,  my  dear," 
and  then  pray  for  a  blessing  upon  the  place  or  person  she  had  just 
heard  about.  I  can  only  say,  dear  friends,  I  felt  as  if  for  a  moment 
the  veil  that  hides  the  invisible  God  was  withdrawn.  It  is  not  in  our 
great  gatherings  in  London  or  New  York ;  it  is  not  in  our  great  or- 
ganizations, it  is  in  the  quiet  silent  prayers  of  God's  people  that 
blessing  will  come,  and  therefore  when  you  hear  of  these  missions 
that  we  all  pray  for,  remember,  dear  friends,  that  though  we  stay 
home  in  the  ordinary  humble  life  of  love,  our  prayers  may  be  the 
means  of  bringing  this  or  that  soul  into  the  kingdom.  We  may  not 
see  it  now,  but  in  the  future,  perhaps  Paul  or  the  Angel  Gabriel  in 
our  heavenly  home  may  come  and  say  to  you,  "  Allow  me  to  intro- 
duce this  Chinaman,  this  Hindu,  this  Japanese,  or  this  Arab,  whom 
your  prayers  have  brought  to  the  Lord." 


The  Martyrs  of  Sinim. 

Ye  Martyrs  of  onr  God, 

Blest  band  of  noble  dead, 

With  joy  your  own  life's  precious  blood 

On  China's  soil  was  shed. 

Ye  fell  at  T'ai-yuen-fu 

Beneath  the  Boxer's  spear ; 

In  brutal  rage,  they  ruthless  slew, 

With  many  a  cruel  jeer. 

From  the  far  North  and  East, 
And  from  the  Southern  plain, 
Ye  entered  into  peaceful  rest. 
Where  there  is  no  more  pain. 

Ye  stand  all  clothed  in  white 

Before  the  Lamb's  great  throne, 

And  in  God's  House  serve  day  and  night. 

Without  one  sigh  or  groan. 

O  blessed  Martyrs,  Ye ! 
Forever  with  the  Lord  ; 
The  King  of  Glory  ye  now  see; 
And  be  His  name  adored. 

Hampden  C.  DuBose, 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL    DEPARTMENT.  671 

Rev.  E.  T.  Williams,  KA.,  Editor. 

Published  in  the  interests  of  the  "  Educational  Assooiation  of  China." 


The  Coming  Problem. 

BY  EEV.   T.   J.    AENOLD. 

'mF^HERB  is  something  peculiarly  pathetic  in  the  fact  that  with 
"H^  the  close  of  this  the  century  of  progress,  China,  the  great 
nation  of  anti-progress,  should  be  also  about  to  end  her  career, 
at  least  as  an  anti-progress  power.  It  may  strike  one  as  a  remark- 
able coincidence,  but  to  right  thinking  people  it  is  distinctly  the 
providential  working  of  God's  hand  in  history. 

If  we  have  read  ari<^ht  the  sigas  of  the  times  China  has  now 
reached  the  gravest  crisis  in  her  history.  Speculation  as  to  the 
possible  outcome  is  very  rife.  Certainly  the  most  important  prob- 
lem of  the  century  is  now  up  for  solution.  It  includes  all  problems. 
To  find  a  safe  and  at  the  same  time  thorough  solution,  will  tax 
to  the  utmost  the  skill  of  those  whose  special  function  it  will  be  to 
settle  this  vast  and  knotty  problem. 

Certain  possibilities  must  inevitably  result  from  the  present 
upheaval,  even  should  the  efforts  at  a  complete  settlement  prove  abor- 
tive. Chief  among  these  is  the  educational  possibility.  A  tremen- 
dous impetus  will  be  given  to  all  forms  of  education  when  the  air  is 
cleared  and  confidence  once  more  restored.  We  may  safely  assert 
that  the  antiq[uated  system  of  education  employed  by  China  for  more 
than  twenty  centuries,  is,  for  all  practical  purposes,  obsolete,  dead. 
Whatever  happens,China  cannot  continue  to  perpetuate  such  a  useless 
institution.  Well  may  we  pause  and  ask  the  question.  What  is  to 
take  its  place  ?  Shall  it  be  the  Western  system,  simply  transplant- 
ed, or  shall  it  be  rather  the  principles  of  the  Western  system,  with 
the  form  adapted  to  the  needs  and  environment  of  the  East  P  To  pot 
the  question  in  another  form.  Shall  we  give  China  a  thorough  system 
of  national  education — a  national  system— or  shall  we  allow  a 
system  to  grow  gradually  out  of  the  national  life  of  the  future? 

The  brilliant  effort  of  the  scholarly  and  able  Viceroy  Chang  Chi- 
tung  to  graft  Western  education  on  to  the  Confucian-Buddhist-Taoist 
stock  of  the  present  system,  has  much  to  commend  the  idea  to  the 
native  mind.  His  conciliatory  attitude  towards  all  innovations  is  cal- 
culated to  render  the  direct  influence  of  Christian  teachers  innocuous* 


572  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [November, 

He  even  entertains  the  idea  of  a  Chinese  Utopia,  China  dominating 
the  world  with  her  reformed  system  of  education  and  government. 

Sentimentally  of  coarse  we  are  reluctant  to  cast  ruthlessly  aside 
the  venerable  principles  and  methods  that  have  served  so  long  as  a 
unifying  factor  in  the  national  life  of  this  book-loving  people. 
Yet  we  are  forced  to  confess  that  the  principle  enunciated  in  the 
immortal  parable  of  the  patch  of  new  cloth  on  an  old  garment 
must  be  applied  and  respected  above  all  others  in  determining  the 
educational  policy  of  the  future  of  China.  The  great  desider- 
atum is  not  reform,  but  regeneration — the  infusion  of  a  new  life  that 
shall  burst  forth  in  new  forms,  thus  effectually  superceding  the  old. 

The  example  of  Japan  is  before  us.  We  may  profit  by  a  care- 
ful study  of  the  recent  history  of  educational  movements  there. 
Happily  China  is  practically  free  from  the  unfavorable  antecedent 
conditions  as  regards  the  relation  of  educational  institutions  to  the 
government,  and  thus  the  dangers — I  had  almost  said  calamities — 
that  have  been  met  in  Japan  recently,  may  be  avoided  in  China. 
In  a  word,  China  is  free  to  be  influenced  by  Christian  educators. 
Indeed,  unless  Christian  educators  seize  the  opportunity  to  influence 
China,  she  will  certainly  influence  the  rest  of  the  world,  and  we 
fear  this  influence  will  be  against  Christian  education.  It  would 
seem  sheer  presumption  on  my  part  to  attempt  to  formulate  a 
scheme  of  education  such  as  is  indicated  by  the  foregoing  remarks. 
But  I  may  perhaps  be  allowed  to  suggest  a  few  of  the  salient 
features  in  the  scheme  that  will  be  imperatively  demanded  by  the 
new  country  in  the  Tiew  century. 

The  practical  turn  of  mind  of  the  Chinese  race  will  call  for 
technical  schools  of  all  branches.  Chief  of  these  will  be  a  school 
of  agriculture ;  also  a  school  of  mining,  a  school  of  engineering, 
a  school  of  science,  and  perhaps  a  school  of  law  and  political 
economy.  In  order  to  have  the  widest  influence,  all  classes  must 
be  given  a  fair  and  equal  chance.  Perhaps  it  may  be  necessary  to 
make  education  compulsory,  at  least  until  its  full  benefits  are  realized 
by  the  present  generation.  Doubtless  industrial  schools  will  be 
found  of  great  value  in  providing  a  sound  education  for  the  millions 
of  deserving  poor.  The  principle  of  free  education  has  been  tried 
and  found  wanting.  Either  tuition  fees  or  work  in  lieu  of  same  is 
undoubtedly  a  sound  principle  to  work  on.  While  it  preserves  the 
dignity  of  manhood,  it  also  encourages  industry  and  thrift,  which 
cannot  fail  to  appeal  to  the  minds  of  the  Chinese.  Nothing  tends 
so  clearly  to  remove  disabilities  of  class  and  caste,  or  traditions 
regarding  the  degrading  nature  of  labor.  The  writer  has  in  mind 
a  school  colony,  in  which  every  day  industries  are  taught  on 
scientific    principles,   such   as  silk  culture,  metal   working,  wood 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT.  573 

workinj^,  printing  and  designing.  An  immense  field  will  be  open 
along  these  lines,  by  which  such  institutions  as  the  Leland  Stanford 
University  of  California,  or,  better  still,  Tuskegee  Institute  ia 
Alabama,  could  be  built  up. 

Lastly,  it  goes  without  saying  that  great  centers  of  population 
should  be  chosen  for  the  working  of  such  a  scheme,  say  Tientsin, 
Canton,  Nanking,  and  Cheng-tu.  Others  might  be  chosen,  say  one 
in  each  province,  preferably  the  provincial  capital. 

.  In  spite  of  the  prevailing  unsettloil  state  of  things  we 
should  go  ahead  with  such  beneficent  schemes  as  that  herein  sug- 
gested, in  order  that  its  various  points  may  be  thoroughly  discussed 
and  all  duly  prepared  for  carrying  into  execution  when  the  oppor- 
tune moment  arrives. 


Personal  Experience  in  the  Testcbing  of  English. 

BY   WILBUR  F.   WILSON. 


<>o 


§N  teaching  English  to  the  Chinese,  three  lines  of  work  must  be 
made  prominent — reading,  composition,  and  conversation.  In 
reading  is  naturally  included  the  ability  to  make  correct 
translations  which  leads  up,  among  more  advanced  pupils,  to  full 
explanations  in  English.  Without  this  perfect  understanding,  good 
reading  is  impossible.  In  composition  is  included  the  study  of  all 
those  branches  through  which  the  art  of  good  composition  is  attain- 
able. In  these  two  subjects  text  books  must  be  used,  but  in 
conversation  more  depends  on  what  the  pupil  does  outside  of  the 
class-room  than  on  what  he  does  in  it.  Any  one  who  depends 
entirely  on  his  text  book  for  instruction  in  conversation  will  become 
a  very  stilted  and  imperfect  conversationalist.  Students  do  not 
usually  remain  long  enough  in  our  schools  to  attain  a  high  mark  of 
excellency  in  all  of  these  three  branches,  so  that  there  is  little  need  to 
plan  beyond  them,  that  is,  in  studying  English  as  a  language;  English 
text  books  can  readily  be  used  in  other  branches  of  study.  It  may, 
however,  be  possible  to  go  beyond  this  limit  and  begin  a  study  of 
the  literature,  but  in  all  attempts  which  I  have  made  I  have  found 
the  difficulties  of  the  language  have  not  been  sufficiently  mastered 
for  the  pupil  to  appreciate  the  literature. 

I  have  been  asked  to  give  something  of  ray  experience  in  teach- 
ing English  to  the  Chinese,  and  as  that  experience  has  been  along 
the  line  of  thought  already  marked  out,  what  further  I  have  to  say 
will  be  an  elaboration  of  these  three  subjects. 

Several  methods  are  in  vogue  for  teaching  beginners  to  read  ;  of 
all  these  the  "  Sound  Method  "  seems  to  me  to  be  the  best  adapted  to 


574  TTIE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [November, 

the  Chinese.  Some  may  not  consider  this  the  best,  but  in  using  it 
I  have  found  the  results  to  be  most  satisfactory.  There  are  original- 
ly some  forty  sounds  to  be  committed.  These  can  be  learned 
accurately  by  some  in  a  few  days ;  for  others  much  more  time  is 
needed  on  account  of  the  difficulty  they  have  in  catching  and  pro- 
nouncing the  English  sounds.  Other  things  being  equal  the  pupils 
who  speak  the  Mandarin  dialect  have  the  least  difficulty. 

During  the  fi  rst  year  and  a  half  all  of  the  new  words  in  each 
lesson  are  marked  according  to  the  sounds  already  learned,  and  the 
pupil  is  thus  enabled  to  pronounce  the  majority  of  them  without 
assistance.  Some  words  are  pronounced  so  differently  from  what  the 
correct  spelling  would  signify  that  the  sound  cannot  be  marked.  In 
such  cases  the  word  is  spelled  correctly,  and  opposite  this  word  is  the 
same  word  spelled  by  sound,  e.g.,  enough=enuf.  The  pupil  is  then 
to  pronounce  it  immediately,  although  he  may  justly  find  fault 
with  the  abominable  way  in  which  the  English  language  is  spelled. 
Most  words  can  be  marked  as  spelled,  e.g.,  bane,  making  a  cross  stroke 
through  the  e  to  show  that  it  is  silent.  The  seeming  difficulty  that  the 
pupil  in  originally  learning  to  spell  by  sound  would  find  trouble  later 
in  trying  to  spell  by  the  name  of  the  letter,  is  only  imaginary.  In 
reality  the  two  go  hand  in  hand,  for  while  at  first  the  sound  of  the 
letter  is  given  in. all  oral  spelling,  the  pupil  from  the  beginning  in 
dictation  is  taught  to  spell  correctly.  Comparatively  few  are  found 
who  confuse  the  two  modes  of  spelling,  and  this  they  do  before  they 
have  learned  to  spell  at  all  during  the  first  two  or  three  months  of 
study.  Although  during  the  first  two  years  the  pupil,  when  asked 
the  meaning  of  a  word  or  sentence,  must  necessarily  give  it  in 
Chinese,  the  object  is  to  give  up  the  Chinese  as  soon  as  it  is  at  all 
possible  and  to  require  the  pupil  to  use  only  English,  except  for 
certain  chosen  passages  which  are  given  as  exercises  in  translation. 
The  reading  class  is  a  daily  exercise  throughout  the  preparatory 
course  extending  over  five  years. 

Studies  in  composition  should  begin  as  soon  as  possible.  In  my 
work  two  hours  a  day  are  set  apart  for  instruction  in  English,  and 
as  the  reading  exercise  occupies  one  of  these  the  second  hour 
must  be  arranged  according  to  the  work  needed.  As  soon  as  the 
pupil  can  read  and  write  a  short  sentence  understandingly  he  is  set 
to  studying  short  sentences  and  to  translating  similar  sentences  from 
the  Chinese.  Those  who  are  acquainted  with  the  "English  Les- 
sons "  arranged  by  Mr.  C.  D.  Tenney,  of  Tientsin,  will  understand 
the  method  I  have  used.  These  lessons  are  followed  by  the  lessons 
from  which  they  are  arranged,  "  Sampson's  Progressive  Lessons," 
prepared  by  Mr.  T.  Sampson,  of  Canton.  I  consider  these  two  books 
admirably  adapted  for  the  use  of  the  Chinese  who  are  beginning 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT.  676 

the  study  of  English.  I  like  them  especially  because  of  their 
similarity.  In  the  "English  Lessons"  the  beginner  sees  his  own 
language  side  by  side  with  the  English,  not  in  identical  but  similar 
Bcntenccs.  The  sight  of  the  Chinese  gives  him  confidence,  while 
the  corresponding  English  sentence  shows  him  the  change  of  idiom. 
However,  it  is  a  decided  mistake,  as  I  see  it,  to  permit  the  pupil  to 
use  any  Chinese  in  speaking.  From  the  very  beginning  all  the 
Chinese  used  in  the  class  should  be  used  by  the  teacher.  Tho 
sentences  in  Chinese  are  simply  as  a  help  to  the  pupil  when 
preparing  his  lesson,  that  he  may  see,  as  I  have  said,  the  change  of 
the  idiom.  The  chief  object  of  the  lessons  is  to  accustom  him  to  the 
English  mode  of  thought  and  manner  of  expression,  and  therefore  the 
less  Chinese  and  the  more  English  he  uses  the  better.  The  pupil 
will,  nevertheless,  for  a  long  time  still  think  in  Chinese,  will  almost 
mentally  translate  the  sentence  before  speaking  it,  and  although 
the  purpose  of  the  teacher  should  be  to  change  this  as  soon  as 
possible,  yet  the  tendency  must  bo  yielded  to  at  first,  and  that  is 
just  what  is  done  in  the  "English  Lessons."  I  have  had  both 
oral  and  written  work  in  these  classes.  For  the  oral  work  the 
teacher  pronounces  the  Chinese  and  the  pupil  gives  the  same  in 
English.  For  the  written  work  I  have  first  translated  all  of  the 
English  sentences  into  Chinese,  and  then  have  transcribed  these 
Chinese  sentences  to  slips  of  paper,  a  sentence  to  a  slip,  which  I 
have  passed  out  promiscuously  to  the  members  of  the  class  and 
have  had  them  translate  the  same  into  English  on  the  blackboard. 
The  pupils  have  thus  had  practice  in  both  speaking  and  writing 
English.     This  method  is  continued  throughout  the  book. 

The  "Conversational  Lessons"  are  practically  the  same  as  the 
"  English  Lessons  "  just  finished,  with  two  important  distinctions  : 
one  being  that  there  is  no  Chinese  in  the  book,  and  the  other  that 
the  exercises  are  much  longer.  It  is  a  great  advantage  to  have  the 
one  book  follow  immediately  after  the  other,  for  in  the  latter  the 
former  is  thoroughly  reviewed,  and  by  using  many  sentences  similar 
to  those  already  had,  but  arranged  so  that  the  pupil  no  longer 
translates  but  thinks  in  English,  a  great  step  in  advance  is  made. 
Were  the  sentences  entirely  different,  or  very  much  harder,  this 
would  be  impossible  for  the  ordinary  student.  Another  advantage 
is  the  fact  that  here  is  Avhere  the  pupil  begins  to  converse  in  real 
earnest,  and  some  familiarity  with  the  form  of  these  sentences  is  very 
helpful.  Before,  I  repeat,  it  was  principally  translation ;  now  it 
begins  to  dawn  upon  the  pupil  that  he  can  talk  English  and  the 
new  revelation  to  him  brings  a  new  light  into  his  face  and  gives 
equal  satisfaction  to  the  teacher.  I  have  made  the  "  Progressive 
Lessons "  just  what  they  profess  to  bo,  exercises  in   conversation. 


576  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [November, 

Some  written  work  has  been  done,  but  day  after  day  most  of  the 
hour  has  been  spent  in  asking  questions  to  be  answered  in  turn  by 
the  members  of  the  class.  As  has  already  been  suggested  this 
starts  the  pupil  in  conversation.  His  success  depends  on  whether 
he  continues  to  use  what  he  learns  or  not.  As  class-work  the 
lessons  are  continued  for  half  a  year. 

In  addition  to  what  has  already  been  mentioned  in  these  two 
books  there  is  an  outline,  a  bare  outline,  of  the  general  rules  of 
grammar,  which  prepares  the  pupils  for  a  further  and  more  definite 
study  of  the  grammar  later  on.  The  grammar  is  in  turn  followed 
by  studies  in  composition  and  rhetoric.  Among  these  the  style 
and  form  of  letter  writing  should  be  especially  emphasized. 
Nothing  attracts  more  attention  than  a  wrong  form  in  some  part  of 
a  letter.  Though  the  letter  be  fairly  well  written,  unless  the  form 
is  right,  the  writer  is  justly  condemned. 

In  correcting  compositions  I  have  found  it  best  tO'  let  the  pupil 
do  as  much  of  it  himself  as  possible.  One  often  makes  mistakes  of 
such  a  nature  that  if  they  were  pointed  out  to  him  he  would  know 
how  to  correct  them  while  he  might  not  see  them  if  they  were  not 
shown  to  him.  For  this  purpose  a  set  of  numbered  rules  which 
cover  the  ground  of  most  mistakes  can  be  arranged,  and  instead  of 
the  correction  being  written  on  the  paper  the  number  may  be  writ- 
ten, then  the  pupil  can  make  his  own  correction.  This  plan  must 
be  gradually  worked  up  to,  for  at  first  one  will  receive  compositions 
that  no  human  brain  could  conceive  rules  to  cover.  The  following 
was  once  handed  to  me  as  a  reproduction  from  memory  of  a  reading 
lesson  entitled  "  The  Monkey  Bridge  "  : — 

"  The  monkey  used  his  long  tail  climbed  the  tree. 
A  party  monkey  will  over  the  bridge. 
The  monkey  told  other  monkey  talk  we  on  the  tree. 
When  has  a  larger  strings  of  monkey  used  his  long  tail  on  the  tree. 
First  monkey  on  the  over  side."^ 

He  evidently  gob  his  monkeys  over  the  stream,  but  I  could  not 
tell  how  he  did  it.  No  rules  that  I  could  make,  would  cover  such  a 
composition.  I  would  simply  have  to  go  aver  all  of  it  with  the 
writer.  But  the  following  note,  received  one  day,  could,  with  two 
or  three  exceptions,  be  covered  very  well  with  three  or  four 
num'bered  rules.  Wrong  words  show  sometimes  lack  af  knowledge, 
sometimes  uncertainty  as  to  what  to  use,  so  that  a  rule  of  two  words, 
•'  wrong  word,"  is  often  sufficient,  while  at  other  times  the  right 
word  will  have  to  be  written. 

For  instance,  the  following  note  could  be  corrected  somewhat  as 
follows : — 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT.  677 

"  My  teacher  : — 
1 
I  am  very  ^  wish  to  ^  English  class  room  ^  learn  ^  lesson,  but  I  am 

8  have  not  prepared 

very  sorry  because  my  brother's  son  was  died.     So  I  (don't  ready) 

cannot  1 

my  lesson,  and  (don't)  go  to  the  English  room  too." 

The  numbers  have  the  following  signification  : — 

1.  Omit. 

.2.  Add  a  word  or  words. 

3.  Wrong  word. 

Rules  may  be  made  of  course  to  cover  almost  any  error  except 
that  of  absolute  ignorance.  No.  3  might  be  used  for  the  changing 
of  "  like  "  to  "  wish,"  but  I  would  not  write  it  in  the  other  places,  as 
the  expressions  show  ignorance  of  the  right  form. 

As  I  have  already  suggested,  conversation  must  not  be  delayed 
but  begun  at  the  very  first.  To  aid  the  pupil,  a  series  of  questions 
should  be  prepared  which  will  exemplify  the  errors  most  common 
in  the  conversation  of  the  pupils.  These  are  chiefly  made  in  changes 
of  idiom.  For  example,  these  two  questions  are  two  which  I  would 
choose,  as  I  am  constantly  hearing  incorrect  expressions  correspond- 
ing to  the  answers  of  these. 

Do  you  like  to  do  this  ? 

Does  your  stomach  ache  ? 

Every  day  or  two  a  pupil  says  to  me :  "  I  very  like  to  do  this,"  or 
"  My  stomach  very  pains."  I  have  said  "  questions "  instead  of 
sentences,  for  I  believe  that  the  pupil  will  get  more  from  it  if  he 
himself  answers  the  question  first.  Should  he  make  the  mistake  so 
common,  or  any  other,  it  will  immediately  be  called  to  his  attention 
by  the  teacher  and  he  will  be  better  able  to  avoid  what  he  knows  to 
be  a  danger.  These  questions  I  would  continue  while  there  was 
any  need  for  them.  A  sentence  or  two  a  day  would  not  be  burden- 
some, but  would  be  of  great  help  to  pupils  in  after  life.  The 
answers  should  be  thoroughly  committed  and  frequently  reviewed. 
One  of  the  most  serious  hindrances  is  the  difficulty  of  getting  the 
pupils  to  talk  to  each  other  in  English.  They  are  afraid  of  being 
laughed  at.  A  literary  society  with  compulsory  attendance,  meeting 
once  a  week,  with  a  foreign  teacher  always  present  as  critic,  is  one  of 
the  best  methods  to  overcome  this  tendency,  the  only  successful  one 
which  I  have  found. 

In  general,  I  have  found  the  Chinese  as  good  students  as  I  have 
ever  known.  Some  appear  to  be  capable  of  going  only  so  far.  I 
once  tried  to  explain  a  rule  to  a  member  of  my  class.  All  the  others 
understood  it,  and  I  went  over  it  again  and  again  until  I  thought 


578 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[November, 


that  it  must  be  clear  to  him.  He  looked  as  though  he  understood 
it.  I  then  asked  him  an  easy  question  in  regard  to  it,  which  he 
answered  without  a  moment's  hesitation,  but  what  he  said  had  no 
relation  whatever  to  what  I  had  been  explaining.  I  gave  it  up  and 
finally  suggested  that  he  had  about  all  the  English  he  could  get. 
There  are,  on  the  contrary,  pupils  who  seem  to  thoroughly  understand 
from  the  beginning,  and  I  have  no  doubt  will  take  high  rank  if  their 
opportunities  in  their  own  country  can  be  followed  by  a  thorough 
course  in  one  of  our  Western  colleges. 


€oxxtBi^mxt}tmL 


A   MISSIONARY   EXECUTIVE. 

To  the  Editor  of 

"  The  Chinese  Recorder." 

Shanghai,  27th  October,  1900. 

Pear  Sir  :  The  suggestion  con- 
tained in  the  N.-G.  Daily  News 
of  yesterday  anent  the  need  for  "  a 
strong  representative  missionary 
executive "  to  stand  in  something 
like  tlie  same  relationship  to  the 
general  missionary  body  as  the 
China  Association  does  to  the  mer- 
chant classes,  appears  to  me  to  be 
worthy  of  careful  consideration. 
If  memory  does  not  fail  me  an 
attempt  to  create  an  organization 
of  the  kind  was  actually  and  sin- 
cerely made  at  the  last  Conference ; 
and  the  fact  that  the  effort,  proved 
barren  may  probably  be  taken  as 
proof  that  there  are  many  difficul- 
ties in  the  way  and  that  it  would 
be  by  no  means  an  easy  thing  to 
bring  "  a  strong  missionary  execu- 
tive "  into  being.  Oa  the  other 
hand,  the  too  patent  segregation 
of  the  missionary  community  in 
Chi.ua,  the  gravity  of  the  times  in 
which  we  live,  as  well  as  the  new 
and  important  conditions  of  work 
which  the  future  is  certain  to  impose 
upon  Christian  propagandists,  make 
it  desiral)le  that  .senior  and  wise 
brethren  should,  in  the  interest  of 
every   society  and  every   brother, 


weigh  the  suggestion  just  made. 
If,  Sir,  men  like  yourself,  Bishop 
Moule,  Dr.  Parker,  Dr.  Edkins, 
and  others  now  in  Shanghai  through 
"  stress  of  weather "  could  be  in- 
duced to  think  over  the  matter  and 
then  to  present  your  conclusions  to 
the  missionary  body,  very  many, 
including  myself,  would  be  most 
grateful.  I  am  quite  aware  that 
the  problem  is  both  difficult  and 
complex,  but  it  would  assuredly 
give  general  satisfaction,  even  if 
nothing  very  practical  came  of  it 
immediately,  to  know  that  so  im- 
portant a  question  had  been  fairly 
faced  by  wise  and  honoured 
"fathers,"  whose  opinion  and  judg- 
ment have  always  and  justly  carried 
weight  in  the  rank  of   missionaries. 

I  am,  with  much  respect, 

Yours  faithfully. 

Quoad  hoc. 


preparation  for  future  work. 
To  the  Editor  of 

"The  Chinese  Recorder." 

Dear  Sir  :  Venturing  upon  the 
good  will  of  the  constituency  of 
the  Recorder  I  beg  to  suggest 
that  the  present  condition  of  affairs 
calls  for  some  collective  action  on 
the  part  of  the  whole  missionary 
fraternity. 


1900.] 


Ol  K    H<)<)K   TABLE. 


579 


In  this  condition  we  find  both 
an  ()bli;;ation  and  opportunity. 

No  one  can  ho  ignorant  of  the 
aUo<^(Hl  responsibilityof  mission  work 
ainonij  the  Chinese  for  a  part  of 
the  disoiders  and  sufferings  of 
this  distracted  empire. 

Sucli  statements  are  not  confined 
to  any  place  or  class  of  people. 
Some  of  the  most  consistent  and 
liht'val  supporters  of  the  work  in 
China  are  among  the  questioners. 

It  assumes  tlie  a.spect  of  a  moral 
question  in  its  relation  to  us  now. 
It  is  of  paramount  importance  there- 
fore that  some  piesentation  from 
the  mission  workers'  standpoint 
should  be  made  and  made  quickly. 

Of  the  opportunity  now  before 
us:  to  set  forth  the  present  condi- 
tion of  the  field  as  growing  out  of 
the  past ;  the  proximate  causes  for 
the  riot  and  war  and  their  relation 
to  our  work  ;  and  lastly,  but  of  para- 
mount importance,  some  sugi;estive 
line  of  treatment  of  the  whole 
question  of  mission  work,  mission 
STATUS,  and  mission  kelations,  that 
may  bo  a  guide  to  such  as  are  sym- 
pathetically studying  the  question 
in  view  of  its  ultimate  settlement. 


It  s(»ems  to  me,  and  I  venture  to 
suggest  to  the  brotherhood  of 
workers,  that  the  present  imposes 
upon  us  an  obligation  to  speak  and 
make  our  views  known  as  widely 
as  our  relations  extetid  in  kveuy 
nation,  on  the  vital  issues  now 
confronting  China  in  her  attitude 
to  missionary  work  and  workers, 
and  conversely  thcnr  relation  to 
her ;  and  that  this  propaganda 
should  be  utilized  in  oidightening 
our  people  at  home  and  enforcing 
upon  them  the  need  of  prompt  and 
adequate  preparation  for  the  wider 
demands  now  rising  before  and 
soon  to  lie  urgent  upon  us. 

As  most  of  the  refugee  forces  are 
at  or  within  easy  communication 
with  Shanghai,  and  so  in  a  certain 
sense  the  guests  of  the  Shanghai 
Missionary  Association,  it  would  be 
in  order  for  that  body  therefore  to 
take  such  action  as  would  meet 
both  oblii,'ation  and  opportunity  if 
this  suggestion  commends  itself. 

I  am,  Dear  Sir, 

Obediently  yours, 
W.  M.  Upcraft. 
Peking. 


(Sxir  I500h  Catk. 


Analysis  of  Characters  with  Brief  Ex- 
pliiiiations.  5^  ^  §  8?.  By  Rev. 
C.  W.  Mateer,  D.U.,  American  Presby- 
terian Mission  Press,     Price  20  ceota. 

This  is  a  small  work  of  eighty- 
eight  pages,  printed  in  Chinese,  and 
dealing  with  tlie  analysis  of  rather 
more  than  1,000  characters.  Its 
object  is  to  aid  an  uneducated 
Chinese  to  acquire  a  working  knowl- 
edjre  of  this  number  of  clniracters 
to  lay  such  a  foundation  as  to 
enable  him  to  continue  his  studies 
intelli<iently. 

It  is  divided  into  three  parts  : 
the  first  giving  the  214  Radicals 
■with     definitions;    the    second   an 


index  of  characters  dealt  with, 
arranged  under  Radicals  ;  and  the 
third  the  characters  with  analysis 
and  a  brief  definition. 

In  the  second  part  the  Radicals 
are  printed  in  red  and  the  number 
of  the  page  given  in  small  Roman 
figures  under  it.  This  presupposes 
a  knowledge  of  foreign  figures 
which  many  Chinese  do  not  possess  ; 
it  would  have  perhaps  been  better 
had  Chinese  abbreviated  numerals 
been  used  instead  (fi§  ■^). 

The  scope  of  the  work  neces- 
sarily did  not  admit  of  extensive 
definitions  in  part  three,  but  enough 
has  been  given  to  enable  students 


580 


THE  CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[November, 


to  use  the  character  in  a  limited 
connection.  For  example,  under 
one  character  j^  tl^ere  is  ^  ^, 
jtf  ^>  sufficient  to  indicate  not 
only  its  use  in  the  examples  given, 
but  also  to  enable  a  Chinese  to 
read  his  own  meanings  into  it  in 
other  connections.  The  analysis  is 
given  by  the  side  as  ^  •^. 

The  work  is  well  and  clearly 
arranged,  and  should  serve  a  most 
useful  purpose  in  helping,  for  ex- 
ample, many  members  of  Christian 
churches  who  are  debarred  by 
ignorance  from  access  to  the  pa2;es 
of  the  New  Testament.  The  in- 
defatigable author  is  like  Joseph, 
a  fruitful  bough  whose  brandies 
run  over  the  wall  ;  this  small  bough 
will,  we  are  sure,  produce  fruit 
equal  in  quality  to  that  produced 
by  larger  branches  from  the  same 
root. 

F.  W.  Baller. 


':k  ^  R9  ^.  Catechism.  By  Rev.  Im. 
Genahr.  Published  by  the  Presby- 
terian Mission  Press,  1900. 

The  title  of  this  book,  which 
might  at  first  sight  be  somewhat 
misleading,  is  made  sufficiently 
plain  in  tlie  answer  to  question  3. 
This  question  reads  :  -^  ^  ^U  ^ 
"^  ;:^  i^  'fpf  "|§^,  and  the  answer  is, 

mmmmmuT^  >u  ^  t^  m 

m^tiWcmi:  B  ±  m,  the 

gist  of  which  in  English  is,  A  larger 
Catechism  for  Adult  Christians. 

The  book  might  be  described  as  a 
primary  theology  written  in  cate- 
chetical form.  It  is  divided  into 
nine  ^  or  volumes.  Each  volume 
treats  of  a  separate  general  topic. 
These  volumes  are  again  subdivided 
into  seej|fcns,  amounting  in  all  to 
about,  my.  These  cover  the  chief 
topics4,Wated  in  an  ordinary  theo- 
logy.   ^ 

The  book  is,  and  is  designed  to 
be,  pur"ely  didactic,  and  hence  there 


is  very  little  of  the  polemic  in  it. 
There  are  very  frequent  Sciipture 
references  to  prove  the  statements 
made  in  the  answers  to  tlie  ques- 
tions. 

The  style  is  Wen-li,  simple 
enough  for  some  of  those  for  whom 
it  is  written,  though  a  concise 
Mandarin  style,  would  have  been 
better  since  it  would  supply  the 
learner  with  words  by  which  to 
express  his  ideas  in  teaching  or 
speaking  to  others,  which  is  in 
fact  a  no  small  desideratum.  Imag- 
ine, for  example,  if  our  theol- 
ogies were  all  written  in  mediaeval 
Latin  !  Their  being  written  in  good 
English  gives  us  not  only  the  facts 
taught  but  also  the  words  by  which 
to  express  them.  Especially  is  this 
true  in  the  case  of  young  theologues. 

We  are  pleased  with  the  plan  and 
aim  of  the  book.  Many  adult 
Chinese  Christians,  and  evc-n  native 
helpers,  could  learn  much  from  it. 
It  gives  a  good  outline  of  Bible 
truth  supported  by  suitable  Script- 
ure references. 

There  is  a  rather  serious  defect 
in  the  printing  of  the  book,  for 
which  we  do  not  know  who  is  to 
blame.  The  titles  of  the  volumes 
and  subsections  are  in  the  same 
small-sized  type  as  the  body  of  tlie 
book,  which  very  materially  hinders 
facility  in  references.  These  head- 
ings ought  certainly  to  be  in  larger 
or  bolder  type. 

There  is  one  criticism  that  ought 
to  be  made  re  the  matter  of  term- 
inology. We  refer  to  the  attempt 
made  all  through  the  book  to 
eliminate  the  word  ^  and  to  sub- 
stitute for  it  the  word  jp^.  This 
is  simply  an  attempt  to  change  the 
ordinary  usus  loquendi  of  tliese  two 
characters  and  as  such  must  end 
in  failure.  The  author  makes  this 
change  not  only  when  the  reference 
is  to  God,  or  to  demons,  but  to  the 
human  spirit  as  well.  In  ordinary 
Chinese  parlance  $I^=0£O(t  and  not 
TTvevfxa  by  a  very  great  deal.  This 
misuse   of  j^]^  vitiates  many  state- 


1900. 


OUR  BOOK  TABLE. 


581 


monts  in  the  books,  or  rather  mud- 
dles thetn.  Besides,  there  is  notliiii<; 
whatever  to  bo  {gained  by  ousting 
§g,  takinj,'  jji^  out  of  its  proper 
place  and  attimiptinj,'  to  sul)8tituto 
it    for    1^,  except  confusit)!!. 

Again,  in  eiideavorinj;;  to  illus- 
trate the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity  the 
author  refers  to  the  three  component 
parts  of  a  human  being  as  jfli^, 
^,  and  J^,  which  we  think  is  un- 
fortunate for  more  reasons  than  one. 

In  fine,  we  think  the  autlior  has 
given  us  a  good  and  useful  book, 
and  hut  for  tliH  blemishes  referr«nl  to 
above,  it  might  be  called  very  good. 

A.  Sydenstkicker. 


An  Analytical  Chinese-English  Diction- 
ary, by  F.  W.  Haller.  Anierican  Pres- 
bytfiiiin  Mission  Presa.  Price  410,  To 
missionaries,  $8. 

Mr.  Bailer  is  the  author  of  some 
of  the  most  useful  and  hf'lpful  text- 
books for  students  of  the  Chinese 
language.  He  has  not  published 
anytliinn  that  meets  a  more  general 
and  urgent  want  than  liis  Analyt- 
ical Dictionary.  It  is  "at  once 
portable  and  inexpensive "  and  is 
sufficiently  comprehensive  to  meet 
the  requirements  of  any  ordinary 
student.  It  contains  6,098  differ- 
ent characters,  and  great  care  has 
been  taken  to  select  those  which 
are  most  common  in  the  best 
Chinese  and  Christian  literature, 
and  therefore  most  likely  to  be  use- 
ful to  all  classes  of  students  of  the 
language.  It  is  very  doubtful  if 
any  Chinese  scholar  uses  more 
characters  than  are  to  be  found  in 
this  Dictionary,  and  very  few  use  so 
many.  The  characters  are  num- 
bered consecutively  as  in  Giles,  and 
each  one  is  analyzed  by  cross-refer- 
ences. This  is  a  most  valuable 
feature  of  tlie  book.  The  habit  of 
dissecting  characters  is  a  valuable 
aid  to  the  memory,  and  its  formation 
is  facilitated  by  the  analysis  in  this 
work.  The  student  does  not  really 
know   a    character   when    he   rec- 


ognizes it  as  a  picture,  but  only 
when  he  can  dissect  it  and  write  its 
every  stroke. 

The  definitions  arc  terse  and  clear. 
The  illustrations  are  copious  and 
sufficiently  varied  to  meet  all  ordi- 
nary needs.  A  very  useful  Appen- 
dix ^ives  translationsof  selected  pas- 
8a!.;es  from  the  Four  Books  and  the 
standard  commentary  of  Chu-lisi. 
Tlie  usual  tal)les  of  Cbinese  dynas- 
ties, literary  names  for  the  months, 
the  Chinese  zodiacal  constellations, 
insignia  of  official  rank,  etc.,  are 
given  in  another  Appenilix. 

The  book  is  beautifully  printed 
in  clear  type,  and  the  entire  get-up 
is  most  creditable  to  the  publishers, 
the  Prcsbyttirian  Mission  Press. 
Students  wdl  appreciate  the  lar^e, 
clear  type  used  in  the  Radical 
Index.  No  student  of  the  lan- 
guage should  be  without  a  copy  of 
this  admirable  work. 


The  Cobra's  Den,  and  other  Stories  of 
Missionary  Work  among  the  Telegus 
of  India.  By  Rev.  Jacob  Chamberlain, 
M.D.,  D.D.  Forty  years  a  missionary 
of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America 
at  Madanpalle,  Indiii.  Fleming  H. 
Revell  Co.,  1900.    Pp.  270.    $1.00. 

Dr.  Chamberlain  is  well  known 
as  a  man  full  of  vitality,  which  for 
more  than  a  generation  he  has 
been  injecting  into  the  Telegus  and 
by  leflex  action  into  the  Reformed 
Cliurch  of  America.  Some  of  his 
little  leaflets — especially  the  one 
known  as  "  Winding  up  a  Horse  " — 
have  had  an  enormous  circulation 
and  have  been  instrumental  in  un- 
loosing many  purse-strings.  Few  mis- 
sionaries have  exhibited  a  greater 
talentin  catching  up  the  ordinary  in- 
cidents of  every-day  missionary  life, 
telling  them  graphically,  and  then 
using  them  as  a  whip  and  spur  in  a 
direction  little  thought  of  by  the 
reader  when  the  story  began.  His 
previous  volume,  "In  the  Tiger 
Jungle,"  gave  many  insights  into  the 
details  of  work  in  the  part  of  India 
where  Dr.  Cliamberlaiu  has   lived. 


582 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[November, 


The  present  book  is  an  expansion  of 
the  same  idea,  and  consists  of  some 
papers  in  the  vein  first  mentioned 
and  of  many  others  of  a  different 
sort,  but  everyone  is  well  worth 
perusal,  and  the  book  as  a  whole  is 
an  addition  to  the  ever  growing 
stock  of  missionary  literature,  which 
will  at  once  hold  the  attention  of 
old  and  young.  The  Revell  Com- 
pany have  now  a  long  list  of  works 
of  this  i<ind,  and  they  have  found 
their  way  into  many  Sunday  school 
liljraries  and  others  of  a  like  kind, 
and  ought  to  be  even  more  widely 
circulated.  Dr.  Chamberlain's  chap- 
ter on  "The  Heat  in  India  ;  How 
I  keep  Cool,"  first  published  many 
y^ears  ago  and  widely  copied,  is  an 
admirable  example  of  missionary 
sense  and  skill.  His  medical  knowl- 
edge has  been  an  important  factor 
in  his  success. 


The  Life  of  Dwight  L.  Moody,  by  his 
son,  William  K.  Moody.  Illustrated 
with  more  than  one  hundred  repro- 
duclious  from  original  photographs, 
many  of  which  being  the  exclusive 
property  of  the  family,  were  reserved 
solely  for  this  volume.  Fleming  H. 
Revell  Co.,  New  York,  Chicago, 
Toronto,  1900.  Octavo.  Pp.  590.  Cloth 
binding,  gold-stamped  cover,  $2.50. 

This  large  and  handsome  volume 
in  ei^ht  and  forty  chapters,  has 
long  been  anticipated  as  the  life  of 
Mr.  Moody ;  numerous  others  having 
been  published,  some  in  alleged 
conformity  with  the  wishes  of  the 
subject  of  the  biography  and  some 
in  flagrant  defiance  of  it.  This  is 
certainly  a  highly  disagreeable 
feature  of  contemporary  Christian 
life,  for  the  known  request  of  a 
man  like  Mr.  Moody  ou<;bt  to  have 
been  i  espected  by  all  who  professed 
to  be  his  friends.  It  does  not 
appear,  however,  that  the  invasion 
of  the  field  by  unautiiorized  out- 
siders has  materially  diminished 
the  success  of  this  work  which, 
though  sold  exclusively  by  subscrip- 
tion, had  advance  orders  to  the 
number     of     150,000,    and    some 


months  ago  had  reached  a  circula- 
tion of  more  than  175,000,  with 
steady  progress. 

Those  who  have  followed  the 
career  of  Mr,  Moody  will  find  very 
little,  in  this  admirably  compiled 
and  judiciously  arranged  volume, 
which  is  new,  for  the  facts  of  his 
life  were  too  well  known  and  had 
been  too  constantly  employed  by 
himself  as  illustrative  anecdotes  to 
make  this  possible.  But  it  is 
highly  desirable  in  the  case  of  a  man 
whose  field  was  literally  the  world, 
and  whose  new  departures  were  the 
wonder  of  his  field,  to  have  aa 
authoritative  statement  of  facts  in 
their  true  aspects  and  in  their  just 
proportions,  and  this  the  son  has 
successfully  done.  It  is  well  known 
that  in  tlie  exigencies  of  prepara- 
tion in  order  to  forestall  other  rival 
works,  it  was  necessary  for  the 
author  to  labor  under  very  high 
pressure,  but  of  this  fact  the  book 
itsf^lf  shows  no  signs. 

It  will  give  a  new  impulse  to  the 
countless  activities  of  which  Mr. 
Moody  was  either  the  originator  or 
the  champion,  and  it  will  continue 
to  afford  encouragement  to  all  who 
believe  in  the  ultimate  coming  of 
the  kingdom  of  God  to  see  how 
the  Lord  is  able  to  use  unlikely  and 
indeed  humanly  speaking  impossible 
instruments  to  bring  about  lasting 
spiritual  and  temporal  benefits  to 
millions  of  many   lands  and   races, 

[To  be  obtained  in  China  through 
Mr.  Edward  Evans.] 


While  Sewing  Sandals.  Tales  of  a 
Telegu  Tribe.  By  Emma  Rauschen- 
busch-Clough,  Ph.D.,  member  of  the 
Royal  Asiatic  Society  of  Great  Brit- 
ain and  Ireland.  Fleming  H.  Revell 
Co.    $1.50. 

This  book  is  the  product  of  the 
present  wife  of  Dr.  J.  E.  Clough, 
D.D.,  of  the  American  Baptist  Mis- 
sion in  Ongole,  India.  She  is  the 
daughter  of  a  scholarly  German  pro- 
fessor in  an  American  institution, 
and  has  inherited  the  talent  for 
research   which    characterizes    the 


1900.] 


EDITORIAL  COMMENT. 


585 


race-.stock  from  which  she  descend- 
ed.  The  book  itself  is  a  collection 
of  traditions  gathered  from  tiie  lips 
of  the  members  of  the  Madiga  com- 
munity, relating  not  only  to  tlieir 
ancient  cult  of  a  densely  heathen 
cliaractor,  hut  also  to  the  process 
by  which  Christianity  came  to  be 
received  among  them.  It  is  in  this 
latter  line  that  the  book  will  have 
most  interest  to  general  readers. 
It  bears  some  resemblance  to  the 
Laos  folkk)re  tales  reviewed  in  tliese 
columns  not  many  months  since, 
and  is  a  sign  of  the  ever  widening 
interest  taken  by  Christianity  in 
the  humblest  of  the  sons  of  earth. 
A.  H.  S. 


tion 
collection 


.Probably  the  idea  ^^^^t 

jction  IS  not  new,  but  i.  ^  .     .1 
r  1        1  ■      '•        £  -7  to  the 

tul,  and  an  examination  of  it 

the  cumulative  f(jrce  of  such  e,™ 
pies.  The  summary  is  confined^?' 
a  few  pages  at  the  close,  and  might, 
one  would  think,  have  heen  ampli- 
fied to  advantage.  Mi-.  Scofield  is 
also  the  author  of  books  on  "  The 
Holy  Spirit  in  the  New  Testament 
JScriptuies,"  and  "Witness  Power 
from  on  Hitrh." 


The  Tiiblo  History  of  Answered  Prayer. 
By  William  Campbell  Scofield.  Revell 
Co.,  1900  Pp.  2.35.  $1.00.  (To  be  bad 
of  Mr.  Evans), 

This  book  consists  of  134  cita- 
tions in  full  from  the  Scriptures, 
of  prayers  and  the  answers,  with 
brief  comments  by  way  of  illustra- 


We  acknowledge  with  thanks  the 
receipt  of  the  following  Reports, 
etc. : — 

Report  of  the  Pyeng-yang  Station 
of  the  Korea  Presbyterian  Mission, 
1899-1900. 

Thirty-third  Annual  Report  of 
St.  Luke's  Hospital  for  Chinese, 
in  connection  with  the  American 
Church  Mission,  Shanghai. 

Vol.  3rd  of  Mr.  A.  J.  H.  Moule's 
Commentary  on  the  Old  Testament. 
We  hope  to  give  a  more  extended 
notice  of  this  in  our  next  isssue. 


^biteiiil  Comment, 


The  outlook  for  the  near  re- 
sumption of  missionary  work  in 
China  certainly  doe^look  eiiconr- 
a<^iu<^.  The  removal  of  the 
Conrt  to  Si-n«;an,  the  ajjpoint- 
ment  of  an  anti-foreign  ufovernor 
of  Hnpeli  and  an  anti-foreign 
Taotai  to  Shaugliai  (neither  of 
whom,  however,  we  are  happy  to 
say,  have  so  far  been  permitted  to 
enter  npou  their  office),  and  the 
extensive  and  seemingly  snccess- 
ful  rebellion  in  the  sonth, — all 
combine  to  give  a  gloomy  aspect. 
The  difficnky  of  carrying  on 
neiTotifitious,  with  the  Ministers 
at  Peking  and  the  Conrt  at  Si- 
nijan,  is  enhanced  by  the  fact  that 
no  dependence  whatever  can  be 
placed  npon  the  promises  or  pro- 
fessions  of  the   Conrt.     It  is  a 


qnostion  whether  the  reported 
snicide  of  two  or  three  of  the 
chief  offenders  is  real  or  only 
political,  that  is,  while  they  may 
be  impnted  dead  they  may  be 
actnally  alive.  And  can  the  Em- 
peror— not  be  indnced  to  return 
to  Peking,  for  we  believe  he 
would  most  gladly  do  so  if  he 
conld — but  will  his  imperionsand 
imperial  aunt  permit  him  to  re- 
tnrn  ?  Peace  negotiations  are 
pending  in  Peking,  and  the  native 
papers  give  several  articles  pur- 
porting to  represent  the  condi- 
tions imposed  by  the  foreign  gov- 
ernments. Bnt  even  supposing 
they  are  ratified,  how  will  they 
be  carried  into  execution  ?  These 
and  many  other  questions  and 
considerations    prevent  us  from 


584 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


taking  a  very  cheerful  forecast 
of  the  future. 

*        *        * 

It  is  sometimes  askecl  by  oar 
missiooary  frieuds,  What  shall 
we  do  with  the  native  Christians 
who,  under  persecution,  have 
denied  the  faith  ?  We  remember 
the  thousands  who  have  already 
laid  down  their  lives  and  the 
thousands  more  who  have  been 
despoiled  of  home  and  all  their 
worldly  goods  and  have  been 
driven  forth  destitute,  for  the 
sake  of  their  religion.  And  we 
rejoice  in  all  these.  But  for 
these  other  ?  Well  we  remem- 
ber that  Peter  thrice  denied 
his  Lord,  even  after  three  years 
of  constant  personal  intercourse 
and  instruction.  But  we  do  not 
forget  the  message  that  was  sent 
immediately  after  the  resurrec- 
tion, "  Go  and  tell  His  disciples 
and  Peter."  We  read  that  on 
the  night  of  the  betrayal  "  they 
all  forsook  him  and  fled."  We 
do  not  read  of  any  subsequent 
rebuke  for  this  except  those 
searching  questions  to  Peter, 
"Simon,  son  of  Jonas,  lovest 
thou  me  ?  "  Let  us  remember 
these  facts  in  dealing  with  some 
of  the  weaker  native  brethren  ? 
«         «        « 

We  had  hoped  to  have  an 
In  Memoriara  of  the  late  Dr. 
Muirhead,  written  by  Dr.  John, 
in  this  number  of  the  Recorder, 
but  the  manuscript  has  not  come 
to  hand  in  time  for  this  issue. 
Dr.  Muirhead  fell  on  sleep  sud- 
denly though  quietly  on  October 
3rd,  at  his  home  in  Shanghai. 
He  had  been  ailing  for  some 
time,  and  it  was  felt  by  his 
friends  that  the  end  was  near, 
but  death  was  hardly  expected 
80  soon.  Arriving  in  Shanghai 
in  1847,  Dr.  Muirhead  was  the 


[November, 

Nestor  of  China  missionaries. 
Associated  with  the  history  of 
Shanghai  almost  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  foreign  settlement, 
connected  with  the  founding  of 
Union  Church,  interested  in  va- 
rious benevolent  institutions,  and 
always  taking  a  large  part  in  the 
raising  and  forwarding  of  funds 
for  the  famine-stricken  ones  in 
the  north,  he  has  thus  been  before 
the  public  in  a  manner  such  as 
falls  to  the  lot  of  but  few  mis- 
sionaries. And  he  has  sustained 
his  part  well.  A  noble  and  a 
good  man  has  passed  away,  a 
man  of  God,  whose  work  was 
done,  and  who  has  entered  into 
rest  We  shall  leave  it  for  Dr. 
John  to  speak  more  fully  of  his 
life  and  work. 

*        *         * 

A  CORRESPONDENT  elsewhere 
calls  attention  to  the  leading 
article  in  the  North-China  Daily 
A^eiys  of  October  26th,  on  "Mis- 
sionary Organization."  The  arti- 
cle in  question  certainly  breathes 
a  kindly  spirit,  and  we  quote  as 
follows: — 

"  It  is  suggested  that  the  mission- 
ary body  at  once  set  about  the 
organization  of  a  strong  representa- 
tive executive  on  the  lines  of  the 
China  Association.  Such  an  ex- 
ecutive, with  its  comprehensive 
sources  of  information  and  capacity 
of  judgment,  must  command  respect, 
and  its  expressions  of  opinion  be  of 
immense  value  to  all  foreigners  in 
China.  It  would  naturally  watch 
events  in  the  interests  of  its  own 
labours,  and  advise  Consuls,  Minis- 
ters, and  where  necessary,  the  liome 
governments. " 

The  suggestion,  at  first  blush, 
seems  a  good  one,  but  there  are 
certainly  difficulties  connected 
with  such  an  effort.  Almost  of 
necessity  the  members  of  such  a 
body  (a  committee  would  hardly 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  NEWS. 


585 


answer)  wonld  need  to  all  reside 
either  in  Shanghai  or  Peking, 
otherwise  they  wonld  not  be  able 
to  come  together  without  too 
great  an  expense  of  time  and 
money.  The  Shanghai  Mission- 
ary Association  perhaps  comes 
the  nearest  to  the  idea  of  any 
organization  now  in  existence, 
and  they  have  at  times  taken  np 
matters  of  general  interest  and 
have  exerted  no  shght  inflnence. 
Bnt  it  is  scarcely  snfficiently 
representative  enongh.  Some  of 
the  iarjje  Missions,  like  the  Amer- 
ican Methodists  (North),  Eng- 
lish Baptists,  American  Baptists 
(North),  American  Board  Mission, 
and  other  Societies,  have  no 
resident  in  Shanghai.  For  mat- 
ters on  which  Consuls,  Ministers, 
and,  where  necessary,  the  home 
governments  were  to  be  advised, 
this  wonld  not  materially  matter. 
Bnt  on  matters  of  missionary 
polity,  division  of  the  field,  alloca- 
tion of  missions,  etc.,  the  body 
should  he  as  widely  representative 
as  possible.  At  the  same  time 
we  are  pleased  to  see  the  sugges- 


tion coming  from  snch  a  quarter, 
and  commend  the  matter  to  the 
serious  consideration  of  our  mis- 
sionary   brethren.     "  If  it   bear 

fruit,  well." 

•  •  • 

TflE  slanderers  of  the  mission- 
ary and  his  work  are  busier  than 
ever  these  days,  judging  from 
some  of  the  home  papers.  It  is 
bad  enough  to  be  made  respon- 
sible for  the  present  outbreak  in 
China,  but  in  addition  to  this  all 
sorts  of  stories  are  written  and 
printed,  many  of  which  do  not 
contain  even  a  shadow  of  truth, 
and  are  written  by  people  who 
know  as  much  of  missionary  work 
as  they  do  of  what  is  going  on  at 
the  north  pole,  and  who  have  as 
little  interest  in  the  conversion  of 
the  Chinese  as  they  have  in  the 
unregenerate  of  their  own  lands. 
The  missionary  can  console  him- 
self, however,  with  the  thought 
that  it  was  always  thus  ever 
since  they  said,  "  If  they  have 
called  the  master  of  the  house 
Beelzebub,  how  much  more  them 
of  his  household  ?  " 


tssi0uarn 


The  Missionary  Martyrs. 

In  the  last  Recorder  a  list  of 
thirty-two  missionaries  was  given 
who  had  been  laboring  in  Shansi 
province,  but  of  whom  we  had  uo 
definite  news.  There  seems  to  be 
no  reasonable  doubt  that  all  of  these 
have  been  killed.  This  list  includ- 
ed six  of  the  English  Baptist 
Mission,  twenty-four  of  the  China 
Inland  Mission  and  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Pipgott.  There  were  also  two 
children  killed,  and  news  has  been 
received  of  the  death  of  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  C.  Bloniberg  and  child,  of  the 
Christian  and  Missionary  Alliance. 
The  total   of  the   Protestant   mis- 


sionaries killed  in  Shansi,  thus  far 
reported,  amounts  to  ninety  adults 
and  twenty-four  children — 114  in  all. 
Of  the  Swedish  missionaries  con- 
nected with  the  Christian  and 
Missionary  Alliance  the  following 
from  Shansi  are  reported  safe  :  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  O.  Oberg,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
C.  F.  Lundquist  and  two  children, 
Mr.  A.  Fagerholm,  Mr.  E.  Jacob- 
son  and  Mr.  A.  Sandberg,  besides 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Book,  who  came 
safely  through  the  siege  at  Peking. 
Twelve  adults  and  nine  children 
are  still  on  the  list  of  those  missing, 
but  four  (names  not  known)  are 
believed  to  be  travelling  toward 
Hankow  with  the  Kansub  mission- 


586 


THE  CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[November, 


aries,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  F.  Nystrom 
and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  M.  Nystrom  and 
child.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  C.  Soderbaum, 
with  two  children,  and  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  A.  Larson,  with  two  children, 
are  reported  safe  from  Kalgan. 

All  of  the  missing  members  of  the 
Swedish  Mongolian  Mission  and  the 
Scandinavian  China  Alliance — nine 
adults  and  one  child — are  reported 
killed.  The  total  of  those  killed 
includes  the  followin2  : — 


Adults. 

China    Inland  Mission  62 

A.B.  G.  F.  M.  ...  13 

English  Baptist         ...  13 

Sheo-yang  Mission     ...  10 

American  Presbyterian  5 

S.    P.   G.         .„        ...  3 

B.  &  F.  B.  Society     ...  2 

Unconnected   ...         ....  2 

Alliance,  Swedish      ...  2 

Swedish  Mongolian   ...  3 

Scandinavian   China  \  ^ 

Alliance  J  ° 


Children. 
15 
5 
3 
2 
3 


Total,  121  33 
One  hundred  and  fifty-four  vic- 
tims of  the  Boxer  movement,  and 
12  Swedish  missionaries  with  nine 
children  as  yet  unaccounted  for ! 
To  this  number  rai^ht  also  be 
added  the  name  of  Mrs.  Glover, 
who  died  in  Shanghai  from  the 
effects  of  injuries  received. 

■Rev.  E.  J.  Cooper,  who  suffered 
the  loss  of  wife  and  child  and 
himself  received  severe  injuries,  is 
very  ill  at  Shanghai. 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Greene  and  one 
child.  Miss  Gregg,  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
M.  L.  Griffith,  and  Mr.  R.  M. 
Brown,  of  the  C.  I.  M.,  are  re- 
ported at  Tientsin,  but  one  of  Mr. 
Greene's  children  has  died  and  Mr. 
Green  is  very  ill.  This  party  was 
kept  for  some  time  at  Pao-ting-fu 
in'one  of  the  Yamens. 


Christian  Work  Among  the 
Chinese  in  Yokohama, 

There  is  in  Yokohama  a  Chinese 
population  of  between  4,000  and 
5,000.  These  are  nearly  all  of  the 
merchant  class,  and    are  therefore 


possessed  of  considerable  wealth  and 
intelligence.  There  are  two  firms 
that  consist  mostly  of  Christians. 
Besides  these  there  are  several 
other  believers. 

A  Sunday  School  has  been  kept 
up  for  several  years,  and  has  always 
had  a  considerable  number  of  steady 
pupils.  At  one  time  a  native 
preacher  was  employed  by  the 
Union  Church  to  work  among  the 
Chinese  residents,  but  there  were  no 
very  marked  results  from  his  efforts. 
About  two  years  a  young  man 
named  Mittwer  started  for  China  as 
an  independent  and  self-supporting 
missionary. 

He  .was  from  Minneapolis,  and 
had  spent  three  years  in  Mr.  Moody's 
training  school  at  Chicago.  During 
that  time  he  had  been  doing  mis- 
sionary work  among  the  Chinese, 
and  had  thus  'become  interested  in 
that  country  and  its  people. 

He  took  passage  for  China  on  a 
Japanese  steamer  from  Seattle  to 
Shanghai.  During  the  voyage  he 
went  among  the  Chinese  passengers 
that  were  on  board  and  made  their 
acquaintance. 

While  the  steamer  was  lying  in 
Yokohama  harbor,  a  Japanese  offi- 
cial went  on  board  and  arrested  two 
of  the  Chinamen  for  smoking  opium. 
One  of  the  men  did  not  use  opium 
at  all.  Both  were  put  into  jail  to 
await  trial ;  and  at  first  no  bail 
was  allowed. 

When  Mr.  Mittwer  learned  what 
had  occurred  he  decided  to  wait 
over  and  see  what  could  be  done 
for  the  relief  of  the  two  prisoners. 
After  some  days  he  succeeded, 
with  the  help  of  the  Chinese 
residents,  in  getting  them  released 
on  bail ;  and  both  were  taken  care 
of  by  the  Chinese  Christians  living 
in  Yokohama.  Neither  of  the 
two  had  ever  before  attended  a 
Christian  service,  or  knew  anything 
about  Christianity.  Both  were 
deeply  impressed  by  the  unexpected 
kindness  thus  received  from  entire 
strangers,  and  they  became  at  once 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  NEWS. 


687 


interested    in    learning   about   the 
religion  of  the  Bible. 

About  two  months  from  the  time 
of  arrest  the  trial  took  place,  and 
both  were  sentenced  to  one  year  of 
imprisonment  and  hard  labor.  This 
decision  of  the  Japanese  court 
aroused  much  indignation  on  the 
part  of  the  Chinese  residents,  and 
the  proposal  was  made  by  some 
to  boycott  the  Japanese  line  of 
steamers  entirely.  The  steamship, 
however,  did  not  approve  of  the 
action  of  the  court  and  gave  assist- 
ance to  the  men  who  had  been 
arrested. 

An  appeal  was  made  to  the 
higher  court ;  about  one  month  later 
the  decision  in  one  case  was 
approved,  and  the  other  was 
dismissed.  The  man  who  was  con- 
demned was  sent  to  Yokohama 
prison  to  serve  out  his  sentence. 
The  other  Chinaman  was  released 
and  went  on  to  his  home  in  China. 
Both  had  accepted  the  teachings  of 
the  Bible  and  requested  baptism. 

In  the  meantime  Mr.  Mittwer 
had  made  the  acquaintance  of  the 
leading  men  among  the  Chinese 
residents  and  won  their  confidence 
and  esteem  to  so  great  an  extent 
that  there  was  a  very  general  and 
earnest  request  made  him  to  remain 
and  work  as  a  missionary  to  the 
Chinese  in  Yokohama.  His  entire 
expenses  were  paid  by  them,  during 
the  time  of  his  delay,  and  he  was 
assured  of  a  support  in  case  he 
would  remain  and  devote  his  time  to 
teaching  and  Christian  work. 

After  careful  and  prayerful  con- 
sideration of  the  matter,  Mr.  Mitt- 
wer decided  to  remain  and  open  a 
school  for  instruction  of  Chinese  in 
English  during  the  week  and  re- 
ligious instruction  on  Sunday. 

At  first  there  was  an  attendance 
at  the  day-school  of  eighteen 
boys ;  but  the  number  gradually 
increased  until  there  is  now  fifty 
in  all.  Girls  have  also  been  ad- 
mitted and  are  sharing  in  the  same 
privileges  as  the  boys. 


In  the  meantime  two  assistants 
have  been  secured  from  China ;  and 
one  is  a  man  of  fifteen  years'  ex- 
perience as  an  evangelist  in  Canton. 
There  are  four  religious  services 
every  week,  with  an  attendance  of 
from  thirty  to  forty-five. 

Since  the  opening  of  this  school 
the  former  Chinese  school,  which 
is  under  heathen  control,  has 
diminished  about  one-half  in 
attendance  ;  and  it  is  a  question 
whether  it  will  not  be  given  np  en- 
tirely. The  officials  of  the  Chinese 
government  have  subscribed  to- 
wards the  support  of  Mr.  Mittwer's 
school,  but  not  for  the  support  of 
the  other. 

All  tlie  expenses  of  this  work 
have  thus  far  been  tnet  by  the 
Chinese  residents,  including  the 
support  of  Mr.  Mittwer.  The 
question  among  them  now  is  how 
to  raise  funds  for  a  new  building 
that  will  serve  for  both  school  and 
church  purposes.  About  $2,000 
Yen  ($1,000  U.  S.  currency)  has 
already beensubscribed  towards  this 
fund,  and  if  the  work  continues  to 
pro.sper  as  in  the  past  it  is  likely 
that  funds  will  be  secured  to  erect  a 
building  suitable  for  the  whole  work. 
It  is  more  than  a  year  since 
this  work  was  begun,  but  already 
it  has  made  a  deep  impression 
upon  the  Chinese  portion  of  Yoko- 
hama. Several  have  become  Chris- 
tians, and  many  are  interested. 

The  greatest  result  so  far,  how- 
ever, has  been  the  removal  of  prej- 
udice against  the  Christian  religion 
that  was  before  so  prevalent  in  the 
minds  of  the  leading  Chinese  resi- 
dents. Mr.  Mittwer's  efi'orts  in 
behalf  of  their  countrymen  has 
resulted  in  opening  to  him  the 
hearts  and  homes  of  many  of  the 
people,  and  he  is  everywhere  wel- 
comed as  their  friend. 

"With  such  an  auspicious  begin- 
ning, we  liope  for  great  results  in 
the  future. 

H.  LooMis. 
Yokohama, 


588 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[Nov.,  1900.] 


Itissxonarg  |0XtmaL 


f~ 


BIRTHS. 

At  Kanazawa,  Japan,  October  4th,  the 
wife  of  T.  D.  Begg,  Ruling,  of  a  son. 

At  the  London  Mission,  Shanghai,  Oct. 
14th,  the  wife  of  Rev.  Chas.  Robert- 
son, Wuchang,  of  a  son  (George 
Gladstone). 

At  17  Sinza  Road,  Shanghai,  the  wife 
of  James  Hutson,  C.  I.  M.,  Kuan- 
hsien,  Szechuan,  of  a  son  (Andrew 
Herbert). 

At  Nagasaki,  Japan,  October  19th,  the 
wife  of  Rev.  J.  Skold,  S.  M.  A., 
Wuchang,  of  a  daughter. 

At  35a  Soochow  Road,  Shanghai,  Oct. 
22nd,  the  wife  of  Rev.  Edward  Thomp- 
son, C.  M.  S.,  T'ai-<:how,  of  a 
daughter. 

At  Shanghai,  October  27th,  the  wife  of 
Rev.  J.  Mercer  Blain,  S.  P.  M., 
Kashing,  of  a  daughter. 

At  Arinia,  Japan,  October  — ,  the  wife 
of  Rev.  J.B.  Cochran,  A. P.M.,  of  a  son. 

MARRIAGES. 

At    Yokohama,     October    4th,    C.    B. 

Barnett    and    Miss  E.  J.  Ferguson, 

both  of  C.  I.  M. 
At    Shanghai,   October  25th,    G.  Ahl- 

strand  and  Miss  R.  von  MaimborG, 

both  of  C.  I.  M. 
At  Shanghai,  October  31st,  Rev.  L.  L. 

Little  to  Miss    Ella    C.   Davidson, 

both  of  S.  P.  M. 

DEATHS. 

At  Minneapolis,  Minn.,  U.  S.  A.,  on  the 
homeward  journey  from  China,  Sept. 
16th,  Francis  VVoolf  Swan,  elder 
son  of  Rev.  Chas.  W.  and  Rhuy  W, 
Swan,  A.  P.  M.,  Canton,  aged  5  years 
and  10  months. 

At,' Shanghai,  October  3rd,  Rev.  Wm. 
MuiKHEAD,  D.D.,  L.  M.  S.,  aged  78 
years. 

At  Shanghai,  October  25th,  Mrs.  A.  E. 
Glovkr,  C.  I.  M.,  in  consequence  of 
injuries  received  during  journey  from 
Shansi. 


ARRIVALS. 

At  Shanghai,  October  22nd,  H.  J.  and 
Mrs.  Alty,  C.  I.  M.  (returned),  from 
England. 

At  Shanghai,  October  27th,  Rev.  L.  L, 
Little,  S.  P.  M.,  Kiang-yin  (return- 
ed), from  U.  S.  A.  ;  Rev,  and  Mrs. 
J.  A.  Ingle  and  children,  A.  C.  M., 
Hankow   (returned),    from  U.    S.   A. 

DEPARTURES. 

From  Shanghai,  October  8th,  T.  Soren- 

soN  and  A.  Jennings,  C.  I.  M.,  for 

America. 
From  Shanghai,  October  10th,  Rev.  and 

Mrs.  V.  C.  Hart,  C.  M.  M.,  Kia-ting; 

Miss  B.  C.  McCoy,  A.  P.  M.,  Peking, 

for  U.  S.  A. 
From  Shanghai,  October  13th,  Cecil  and 

Mrs.  Polhill-Torner  and  5  children, 

F.    C.  H.    and   Mrs.    Dreyer,    Mrs. 

Lachlan  and  2  children,  Mrs.  Bebb- 

LAND,  child  and  Miss  Fearon,  C.  L  M., 

for  England  ;  Rev.  D.   N.    Lyon,   A. 

P.    M.,  Soochow,  for  U.  S.  A.  ;  Rev. 

and  Mrs.  A.  G.   Shorrock,  Misses  J. 

Beckingsale  and  Law,  of  E.  B.  M., 

for  England. 
From  Shanghai,  October  17th,  Rev.  T. 

D.  and  Miss  Huntington,  A.  C.  M., 
Hankow,  for  U.  S.  A. 

From  Shanghai,  October  20th,  Misses 
Ogdbn  and  ,R.  Palmer,  C.  I.  M.,  for 
America. 

From  Shanghai,  October  22nd,  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Beauchamp  and  3  children.  Misses 
Barclay,  G.  Irvin,  Alice  Hunt  and 

E.  Gauntlett,  Messrs.  W.  J.  Dough- 
erty, Charles  Best,  A.  Preedy,  and 
C.  F.  E.  Davis,  of  C.  I.  M.,  for  Eng- 
land; Mrs.  C.  F.  E.  Davis  and  2 
children,  C.  I.  M.,  for  Australia. 

From  Shanghai,  October  27th,  E.  Folke, 
C.  J.  Madsen,  wife  and  child.  Miss 
A.  Sanders,  Messrs.  Johnson  and  O. 
Bengston,  C.  I.  M.,  for  America ;  Rev. 
Edward  James,  wife  and  2  children, 
M.  E.  M.,  Nanking;  Mr.  and  Mrs.  M. 
S.  Book  and  child,  C.  and  M.  A.,  for 
America, 


THE 


CHINESE  RECORDER 


AKD 


Vo.  XXXI.  Xo.  12.        DECEMBER,  1900.     p^ptid'"(oTdTl'.r5'r 

Missionaries  and  Christian  Converts  in  China. 

BV   rev.   D.   Z.   SHEFFIELD,  D.D. 

CCORDING  to  papers  and  periodicals  now  finding  their  way 
from  the  Unittjd  States  to  the  Orient  there  is  a  widespread 
feeling  that  missionaries  and  native  Christians  in  China  are 
responsible  in  no  small  measure  for  the  present  serious  outbreak 
of  hatred  against  foreigners  and  against  all  natives  related  to  them. 
It  is  represented  that  missionaries  in  their  zeal  to  win  converts  have 
offended  the  most  cultured  and  intelligent  classes  among  the  Chinese, 
both  in  their  oral  teachings  and  in  their  writings,  declaring  that 
many  of  the  doctrines  of  the  sages  are  false,  and  that  the  institu- 
tions built  upon  them  are  hurtful  to  the  people.  It  is  further  com- 
plained that  missionaries  have  been  careless  in  admitting  unworthy 
converts  into  the  Christian  church,  men  who  have  attached  them- 
selves to  foreigners  with  selfish  motives,  and  that  in  behalf  of  such 
men  they  have  often  interfered  with  the  authorities,  using  their 
prestige  as  foreigners  to  defeat  the  ends  of  justice.  By  reason  of 
these  things  they  have  created  the  apprehension  that  in  the  growth 
of  mission  work,  the  sacred  teachings  of  the  ancient  sages  will  be 
set  aside,  and  the  revered  institutions  of  China,  which  have  come 
down  from  antiquity,  will  be  overturned.  If  such  charges  are  true, 
have  not  the  Chinese  some  just  cause  for  determining  to  rid  them- 
selves, at  any  cost,  of  these  disturbers  of  the  peace  of  China  and  to 
stamp  out  their  teachings  from  among  the  people  ? 

In  reply  to  these  charges  we  may  answer  in  the  outset :  Truth 
always  loses  its  quality  as  truth  when  it  consents  to  make  compromise 
with  error.     Confucius  declined  to  let  down  his  high  standard  of 


590  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [December, 

teaching  because  men  found  it  difficult  to  attain  to  that  standard. 
A  father  cannot  share  his  fatherhood,  or  a  king  his  kingship  with 
another  man.  The  Christian  must  teach,  as  he  believes,  that  God 
is  supreme  over  all,  and  must  oppose  any  teaching  or  custom  that 
is  contrary  to  this  truth.  In  the  ancient  Roman  empire,  Christians 
suffered  martyrdom  rather  than  ojffer  incense  before  the  image  of  a 
living  Emperor,  because  he  claimed  to  be  a  divine  being,  and  to 
thus  worship  him  would  dishonor  God.  So  in  China  missionaries 
teach  that  the  idols  which  fill  the  temples  in  every  city  are  false, 
and  must  not  receive  the  honor  due  only  to  God,  that  ancestors 
while  living  were  men  like  ourselves,  and  when  dead  must  not  be 
worshipped  as  God. 

Every  truth  in  its  nature  is  in  harmony  with  every  other 
truth,  but  men  in  their  ignorance  and  prejudice  antagonize  truth 
against  truth,  holding  to  one  truth  and  rejecting  another.  Marcus 
Aurelius,  one  of  the  greatest  of  the  Roman  Emperors,  once 
wrote :  "  If  any  man  will  convince  me  and  show  me  that  I  do 
not  think  or  act  right  I  will  gladly  change ;  for  I  desire  to 
know  the  truth,  by  which  no  man  was  ever  injured.  But  a  man 
is  injured  when  he  abides  in  his  ignorance  and  error."*  This 
Emperor  thought  he  desired  to  know  the  truth,  and  yet  he 
rejected  the  teachings  of  Christianity  and  persecuted  the  church. 
Was  it  because  those  teachings  were  false  and  the  influence  of 
the  church  evil  ?  Many  other  great  rulers  have  believed  the 
teachings  of  Christianity  to  be  true  and  the  influence  of  the 
church  to  be  good.  Aurelius  was  unconsciously  prejudiced  against 
Christianity,  and  did  not  understand  its  teachings  and  the 
benefits  of  its  institutions  to  his  kingdom.  So  it  is  in  China. 
The  rulers  believe  that  the  teachings  of  Confucianism  are 
infallible,  and  that  the  institutions  founded  upon  those  teachings 
should  never  change;  and  when  missionaries  come  among  the 
people  teaching  the  higher  truths  of  the  Christian  revelation 
and  seeking  to  establish  customs  in  harmony  with  those  truths, 
they  are  thought  to  be  mischievous  innovators,  whose  work  should 
be  arrested.  Not  only  is  their  work  condemned  and  opposed 
by  the  leaders  of  thought  in  China ;  it  is  criticised  as  foolish  and 
hurtful  by  many  men  who  were  born  and  educated  in  Christian 
lands,  but  have  rejected  Christianity  for  themselves,  and  their  lives 
are  not  in  harmony  with  Christian  teachings.  How  can  such  men 
understand  the  true  meaning  of  the  work  of  missionaries  and  give 
a  just  account  of  it  ?  But  if  men  devoted  to  work  for  the  highest 
good  of  their  fellows  were  to  stop  work  because  it  was  misunder- 
stood and  misrepresented,  the  world  would  cease  to  make  progress, 
*  From  Paulson's  Ethics. 


1900.]       MISSIONARIES  AND  CHRISTIAN  CONVERTS  IN  CHINA.         591 

and  the  institutions  of  all  countries  would  petrify  into  fixed  and 
unchanging  conditions.  Christ,  the  world's  great  teacher,  was  mis- 
understood and  rejected  by  His  own  nation  and  generation,  and  in 
like  manner  His  followers  in  every  nation  and  generation  have  been 
misunderstood  and  rejected,  and  yet  they  have  continued  to  do  their 
work  of  uplifting  and  transforming  the  lives  of  men  ;  and  for  their 
devotion  and  heroism  they  have  been  honored  by  the  descendants  of 
those  who  persecuted  and  destroyed  them. 

Of  the  thousands  of  missionaries  in  China  all  are  not  equally 
wise,  and  some  will  prove  themselves  to  be  unfitted  for  their 
work ;  but  they  are  a  carefully  selected  body  of  men  and  women, 
many  of  them  coming  from  the  first  institutions  of  learning  in 
Christian  countries.  If  missionaries  be  compared  with  an  equal 
number  of  educated  men  and  women  in  other  callings  in  life,  no 
list  will  be  found  to  contain  more  honored  names,  whether  for 
their  learning  and  research,  or  for  their  devotion  and  labor  for 
the  good  of  their  fellow-men ;  and  in  that  list  the  missionaries  to 
China  will  have  an  equal  place  along  with  those  to  other  lands. 
The  Chinese  people  in  all  orders  of  society,  if  measured  by  the 
standards  of  Western  learning,  are  grossly  ignorant.  The  mis- 
sionaries are  laying  the  foundations  of  a  wider,  truer  learning. 
They  gather  students  into  their  schools  and  teach  them  geography, 
history,  mathematics,  the  natural  sciences,  the  principles  of 
Christian  ethics  as  applied  to  individual  life,  to  government, 
to  society,  and  to  international  relations.  They  are  the  leaders 
in  preparing  an  educational  literature  which  will  multiply  the 
influence  of  Christian  schools  many  fold.  Among  them  are  men 
of  special  training  and  fitness  who  devote  their  time  to  the  prepa- 
ration of  an  awakening  literature,  setting  forth  in  books  and 
tracts  the  features  of  Western  civilization  that  are  superior  to  the 
civilization  of  China,  whether  along  material,  intellectual,  or  social 
lines,  and  giving  careful  warning  against  evils  in  Western  countries 
that  should  be  avoided  in  China. 

Two  years  ago  the  Emperor  of  China  set  out  on  a  scheme  of 
governmental  reform,  which  was  unfortunately  arrested  before  it 
had  been  fully  inaugurated.  His  ideas  of  reform  came  from  read- 
ing books  prepared  by  missionaries,  or  from  the  suggestions 
of  men  who  had  studied  those  books.  It  is  exactly  here  that 
we  find  the  "storm  center"  of  the  present  opposition  to  mis- 
sionaries by  the  opponents  of  reform  in  China.  Missionaries 
both  in  their  teachings  and  writings  are  agitators ;  they  are 
constantly  telling  the  people  how  they  can  have  a  better  govern- 
ment, a  better  order  of  society,  a  better  condition  of  family 
life,  better    material  conditions.      These   innovators    were    looked 


592  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [December, 

upon  with  mingled  contempt  and  forbearance  so  long  as  the 
results  of  their  labors  were  limited  to  scattered  handfuls  of 
"converts"  to  their  strange  notions — and  that  chiefly  from  among 
the  ignorant  and  superstitious  masses  of  the  people ; — but  when 
scholars  and  mandarins  began  to  listen  to  their  teachings,  to  read 
their  books  with  favor,  and  the  Emperor  himself  to  gather  about 
him  as  counselors  young  men  whose  minds  were  poisoned  with 
foreign  ideas,  daring  to  give  counsel  to  overturn  the  institutions  of 
China,  then  alarm  was  aroused  and  wrath  was  kindled  against  these 
"outside  barbarians,"  who  sought  to  overturn  the  heaven-given 
institutions  of  C-onfucian  civilization. 

As  to  the  charge  that  missionaries  have  gathered  about  them 
unworthy  native  converts  to  Christianity,  and  that  they  have 
interfered  in  behalf  of  these  converts  with  the  just  administra- 
tion of  law,  thus  arousing  the  hatred  of  both  officials  and  people, 
the  answer  may  be  given.  China  is  full  of  cunning,  unscru- 
pulous men  who  live  by  their  wits,  and  who  are  ready  to  suck 
the  blood  of  any  foreigner  who  allows  them  to  attach  them- 
selves to  his  body,  and  most  foreigners  lose  no  little  amount 
of  blood  before  they  learn  how  to  protect  themselves  against 
such  parasites;  but  when  this  period  of  social  accliTnatizing  is 
past,  foreigners,  like  the  natives,  prefer  to  keep  their  blood  for 
their  own  invigoration !  There  are  many  men  who  find  satisfac- 
tion in  regarding  missionaries  as  classed  under  the  two  heads 
of  fools  and  fanatics,  men  and  women  who  through  life  are  blind 
dupes  to  the  false  professions  of  native  miscreants  ;  but  this  assump- 
tion is  born  of  a  willing  imagination,  and  is  not  the  result  of 
study  of  mission  work  and  knowledge  of  the  character  of  native 
converts.  No  answer  will  be  accepted  by  men  who  make  the 
charges  that  professed  converts  to  Christianity  in  China  are  mostly 
a  nondescript  company  of  hypocrites  who  have  deceived  the  innocent 
missionaries,  since  these  charges  are  made  in  reckless  disregard  to 
truth.  There  is  a  deep  philosophy  hidden  in  the  apothegm  concern- 
ing the  man  who  is  "  convinced  against  his  will ! " 

There  is  a  class  of  men  in  the  Far  East,  regretably  large  but 
growing  less,  that  have  a  repertoire  of  bright  and  wicked  "  facts  " 
concerning  missionaries  and  their  work,  from  which  they  draw  in 
season  and  out  of  season  to  entertain  their  fellows,  and  they  would 
be  not  a  little  put  about  by  their  limitations  if  this  list  of  scandal 
were  stricken  out  of  their  budget.  It  is  not  for  the  instruction  of 
such  men  that  there  is  reason  for  writing  on  this  theme,  but  rather 
for  the  instruction  of  men  of  candid  minds,  who,  in  ignorance  of 
the  facts,  may  have  unconscLously  received  into  their  blood  the 
poison  of  these  widely  scattered  and  cunning  falsehoods. 


1900.]        MISSIONARIES   AND  CHRISTIAN   CONVERTS   IN  CHINA.         593 

A  serpent  does  not  walk  on  legs,  and  a  hypocrite  soon  reveals 
himself  to  men  of  fair  intelligence  by  his  sinuous  motions.  Mission- 
aries are  a  body  of  men  and  women  of  good  intelligence  and  of  pure 
motives.  Their  purpose  is  to  reproduce  their  lives  in  the  lives  of 
others.  In  China,  as  in  other  lands  where  Christianity  is  first 
introduced,  missionaries  find  it  necessary  to  cultivate  the  capacity  of 
aanctifiecl  atiapicion.  Like  the  two  forces  by  which  the  sun  holds 
the  planets  in  their  places,  the  wise  missionary  keeps  his  power  of 
attraction  and  repulsion  in  equilibrium,  and  thus  draws  to  himself 
men  whose  lives  revolve  in  true  orbit.  Mission  work  has  had  a 
slow  development  in  China.  The  reason  is  that  missionaries  have 
thoroughly  understood  that  the  future  success  of  their  work 
depended  upon  the  quality  and  not  upon  the  quantity  of  their 
first  converts.  No  especial  obloquy  attaches  to  a  man  among  his 
fellows  in  China  for  making  false  professions  to  a  foreigner  for 
the  sake  of  gain.  This  is  a  recognized  method  of  getting  on  in  life 
on  a  par  with  adulterating  food-material  and  deranging  weights  and 
measures.  "How  can  men  get  ahead  in  business  without  lying?" 
But  to  honestly  accept  the  "  foreign  religion,"  to  refuse  longer  to 
bow  the  knee  before  the  family  gods,  and  to  take  the  prescribed 
part  which  tradition  has  fixed  in  the  various  forms  of  idolatrous 
worship,  this  is  an  offence  against  the  living  and  the  dead  for  which 
there  is  no  forgiveness.  In  China,  not  the  individual  but  the  family 
is  the  unit.  What  right  has  a  man  or  woman  to  break  loose 
from  the  organism  of  which  he  or  she  forms  a  part  ?  To  thus  break 
loose,  at  the  outset  of  mission  work,  usually  means  rejection  from 
the  family  body  and  ostracism  from  society.  That  so  many  tens  of 
thousands  have  dared  to  make  this  supreme  sacrifice  for  the  sake  of 
their  faith  in  the  Christian's  God,  ought  to  impress  us  with  the 
power  of  Christian  truth  and  with  the  strength  of  Christian  purpose 
that  can  be  awakened  in  the  hearts  of  the  Chinese,  in  spite  of 
their  hereditary  sordidness  and  bondage  to  the  things  that  are 
pleasant  and  seen. 

This  wholesale  charge  against  the  character  of  native  Chris- 
tians in  China  seems  not  only  cruel  but  wicked  when  considered  in 
the  light  of  the  heroic  record  now  being  made  by  large  numbers  of 
them  as  they  meet  persecution  and  death  for  their  Christian 
profession.  In  the  opening  chapters  of  the  present  tragedy  in 
China  thousands  of  Christian  families  were  driven  from  their  homes 
in  the  fierce  cold  of  winter,  and  their  houses  and  belongings  were 
burned  before  their  eyes,  and  still  they  held  steadfastly  to  that 
which  they  regarded  of  greater  value  than  houses  or  belongings.  A 
missionary  from  the  midst  of  these  depressing  scenes  writes:  "Few 
have  recanted  their  Christian  faith."     When  foreigners  and  Chris- 


594  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [December, 

tian  converts  were  invested  in  Tientsin  and  in  Peking  by  Boxers  and 
Chinese  soldiers,  and  were  pressed  almost  to  the  point  of  despair  by  the 
obstinacy  of  the  attack,  the  native  Christians — scholars,  students, 
and  men  of  all  stations  in  life — worked  night  and  day,  exposing 
themselves  as  freely  as  did  the  foreigners  to  shot  and  shell,  building 
defences,  digging  trenches,  bringing  in  the  wounded,  and  holding 
themselves  in  readiness  for  any  service  that  would  contribute  help. 
Not  a  few  of  the  native  Christians,  without  thought  of  reward, 
jeopardized  their  liv«s  to  bring  intelligence  from  the  beleaguered 
foreigners  in  Peking  and  to  give  information  that  proved  of  the 
highest  value  concerning  the  strength  and  positions  of  Chinese 
troops.  The  above  are  but  a  few  of  the  recent  facts  that  have 
extorted  praise  from  even  unwilling  lips,  and  are  in  good  evidence 
as  to  the  character  of  the  Christian  converts  in  China. 

There  is  danger  of  injustice  when  a  Protestant  missionary 
attempts  to  write  concerning  the  character  of  the  work  of  Roman 
Catholic  missionaries.  The  representatives  of  the  Catholic  church 
must  magnify  the  power  and  prerogatives  of  the  Pope  as  the 
vicegerent  of  Christ  in  his  sacred  office.  Bishops  and  priests  take 
their  commands  from  the  Pope,  and  in  harmony  with  the  traditions 
of  the  church  emphasize  the  sacred  rites  of  worship  committed  to 
their  hands  and  exalt  their  office  as  the  dispensers  of  the  grace  of 
God.  Devout  Catholic  missionaries  seek  the  spiritual  good  of 
their  native  converts  as  truly  as  do  their  Protestant  brethren. 
Roman  Catholic  literature  in  the  Chinese  language,  in  spite 
of  its  faults  of  emphasizing  formalism  in  worship,  presents  the 
same  great  truths  relating  to  man's  redemption  that  are 
presented  in  Protestant  Christian  literature,  and  it  urges  the 
same  ultimate  motives  for  a  righteous  life.  It  is  generally 
believed  by  Protestants  in  China  that  Roman  Catholic  mission- 
aries are  not  sufficiently  careful  in  testing  the  motives  of  appli- 
cants for  membership  in  the  church,  and  that  the  great  body 
of  native  Christians  are  not  instructed  in  the  deeper  spiritual 
meaning  of  Christian  worship,  that  they  enter  the  church  regarding 
it  too  much  in  the  light  of  a  ship  that  is  sure  to  carry  them 
safely  across  the  stormy  waters  of  life,  and  not  rather  as  an  army  of 
which  they  have  been  made  members,  and  in  which  they  must 
fight  their  way  to  spiritual  victories  and  to  the  final  goal  in 
the  life  to  come.  The  best  guardians  of  the  purity  of  the  church, 
Protestant  or  Catholic,  are  fallible,  and  there  is  not  lacking 
*'  baptized  heathenism  "  in  every  branch  of  the  church.  (  Happily 
Protestant  missionaries  in  ('hina  are  too  busy  in  purging  out  this 
leaven  of  evil  in  their  own  work  to  give  much  time  to  criticising  the 
evil  in  the  work  of  Catholic  missionaries.) 


1900.]       MISSIONARIES  AND  CHRISTIAN  CONVERTS  IN  CHINA.         595 

Among  the  Protestant  churches,  except  in  cases  of  serious 
persecution  and  manifest  outrage,  the  missionaries  decline  to  appear 
before  officials  in  behalf  of  converts.  Their  uniform  instruction  to 
their  converts  is  that  they  should  suffer  serious  wrong  before 
appealing  for  official  redress.  Official  corruption  is  so  general  in 
China  that  such  appeals  usually  miscarry  and  bring  in  their  train 
more  serious  wrongs.  In  the  experience  of  the  writer  a  native 
Christian  of  excellent  character  was  robbed  by  a  neighbor,  and  when 
he  made  accusation  before  the  official  he  was  cruelly  beaten,  on  the 
testimony  of  neighbors  in  league  with  the  man  who  robbed  him,  that 
he  was  a  wicked  fellow  who  had  attached  himself  falsely  to  the 
Christian  church.  Only  foreign  expostulation  reversed  this  perverse 
decision.  It  is  feared  that  the  charge  against  the  Roman  Catholic 
church  in  China,  that  its  officers  interfere  in  behalf  of  its  converts  to 
help  them  in  their  litigations  when  such  help  should  not  be  given, 
is  not  wholly  without  just  foundation.  Prob.ably  the  evil,  where  it 
exists,  can  more  often  be  traced  to  the  hands  of  native  priests  than 
to  their  foreign  superiors.  Their  Christian  consciences  are  less 
developed,  and  their  springs  of  action  differ  less  widely  from  those 
of  men  outside  the  church.  Why  should  they  not  use  the  prestige 
of  their  office — they  can  easily  be  imagined  as  asking — to  strengthen 
the  hands  of  the  Christians  under  their  care,  and  when  trouble 
arises  with  enemies  of  the  church,  why  should  they  make  over-strict 
inquiries  as  to  the  question  of  right  in  the  matter  in  dispute  ?  It 
should  be  remembered,  where  these  evils  appear,  that  their  scource  is 
not  the  Catholic  church,  but  the  corrupt  conditions  of  Chinese 
society  and  of  judicial  administration.  Every  Yamen  is  a  den  of 
hungry  wolves,  and  every  city  and  village  has  material  out  of  which 
Boxers  can  be  manufactured,  who  in  peaceful  times — since  they  can- 
not work — must  hunt  for  openings  where  their  wits  will  yield  them 
an  adequate  living.  When  China  reforms  its  judicial  system,  and 
a  fair  measure  of  justice  is  administered  by  her  courts  of  law,  the 
evils  that  are  charged  against  the  Roman  Catholic  church  will 
disappear  of  themselves,  or  will  be  easily  overcome  by  the  officers  of 
government.  Then  Protestant  pastors  and  Catholic  bishops  and 
priests  will  confine  themselves  to  their  spiritual  work  of  winning 
converts  and  edifying  the  church. 

It  is  a  serious  wrong  to  throw  dust  in  the  eyes  of  the  public  at 
this  time,  and  so  prevent  men  from  seeing  the  real  issues  of  the 
present  conflict  in  China.  Missionaries  are  feared  and  hated  not 
because  of  their  religious  teachings,  but  because  they  are  thought 
to  be  political  emissaries.  Are  they  not  the  forerunners  of 
that  great  movement  of  Western  nations,  inspired  by  the  spirit  of 
conquest,  that  if  not  resisted  will  result  in  the  dismemberment  of 


596  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [December, 

China  ?  The  lesson  for  China  of  the  war  with  Japan  certainly  was, 
reform  or  perish  as  a  nation.  The  young  Emperor  learned  this 
lesson,  and  with  imperfect  counsel  set  out  on  the  line  of  reform ; 
but  his  work  was  too  precipitate,  and  there  were  too  many 
Mandarins  in  high  positions  blinded  to  all  thoughts  of  progress  by 
their  ignorance  and  conceit.  These  men,  like  the  fabled  toads  that 
resolved  to  swell  themselves  to  the  utmost  and  stop  the  movement 
of  the  oncoming  chariot,  resolved  in  their  inflated  stupidity  and 
self-appreciation  to  throw  themselves  in  the  way  of  the  oncoming 
chariot  of  modern  civilization ;  and,  like  the  toads,  their  bursting 
skins  are  now  the  penalty  of  their  folly,  and  the  movement  of  the 
chariot  is  still  onward  ! 

What  China  needs  most  of  all  is  men  of  wisdom^  virtue, 
courage,  patriotism,  men  who  are  true  in  word  and  deed,  men 
who  will  sacrifice  life  rather  than  righteousness.  How  can  such 
men  be  produced  ?  Four  thousand  years  of  Confucian  teachings 
have  not  developed  them.  "  The  fear  of  God  is  the  beginning  of 
wisdom,"  and  it  is  also  the  source  of  the  highest  form  of  virtue, 
and  courage,  and  patriotism.  Missionaries  are  laboring  in  China — 
and  with  success — to  produce  just  this  type  of  men.  No  body  of 
men  among  the  Chinese  so  love  and  pity  their  country  as  do  the 
native  Christians.  No  body  of  men  are  so  ready  to  make  sacrifices 
for  their  country's  good  They  are  the  material  out  of  which  are  to 
be  produced  the  statesmen  and  reformers  in  the  near  future ;  and  the 
very  trials  through  which  they  are  now  passing,  will  prove  to  have 
been  a  part  of  their  discipline  that  shall  fit  them  for  their  high 
responsibilities  as  leaders  of  their  people. 

Missionaries  have  gone  forth  to  China  not  to  please  themselves, 
but  to  bring  to  that  people  the  benefits  of  a  Christian  civilization, 
and  their  work  is  carried  forward  through  the  experience  of  hard- 
ships and  privations.  The  need  of  such  work  has  received 
peculiar  emphasis  from  the  savage  outbreak  of  treachery  and 
cruelty  on  the  part  of  the  rulers  of  China,  themselves  the  highest 
representatives  of  Confucian  civilization.  There  has  come  upon 
the  missionaries  and  their  native  converts  a  fierce  whirlwind  of 
persecution,  and  the  list  of  pure  and  noble  lives  that  have  been 
sacrificed  is  a  long  one.  Is  it  too  much  to  ask  that  intelligent 
men — men  who  owe  more  than  they  understand  for  what  is  best 
in  themselves  to  their  Christian  environment — should  strive  to 
guard  against  the  insidious  operation  of  prejudice  in  their  estimate 
of  missionaries  and  native  Christians  in  China,  and  to  give  to  them 
that  generous  sympathy  to  which  they  are  entitled  for  their  fidelity 
to  truth  and  for  their  patience  and  endurance  in  the  utmost 
extremities  of  peril  and  distress  ? 


1900.]  CHRISTIAN    LITERATURE.  597 

Christian  Literature* 

Written  by  request  for  the  New  York  Ecumenical  Conference  of  Mi»sion$,  A.D.  1900. 
REV.     TIMOTHY     RICHARD. 

WAS  asked  to    write  about   Christian   literature,  its    extent 


1 


and  value. 

I  would  define  Christian  literature  to  be  all  that  literature 
which  bust  enables  us  to  understand  the  will  of  the  Father  concern- 
ing us  in  all  our  relations  to  His  universe. 

I.  Its  Extent. 

Were  the  papers  of  this  Conference  intended  to  teach  the 
mass  of  Christian  church -members  Avho  have  not  deeply  studied  the 
methods  of  foreign  missions,  I  would  feel  constrained  to  illustrate 
at  some  length  the  necessity  of  a  wider  conception  of  the  scope  of 
Christian  literature. 

But  to  an  audience  of  Christian  leaders,  like  those  in  this 
Conference,  I  will  only  briefly  refer  to  four  points. 

1.  We  should  follow  the  example  of  the  Christian  church  at 
the  periods  of  its  greatest  vitality  in  the  past.  There  were,  in  the 
days  of  the  conversion  of  the  Roman  empire  and  also  in  the  days  of 
the  conversion  of  Northern  Europe,  as  Avell  as  in  the  days  of  the 
Reformation,  diverse  problems  which  the  Christian  church  discussed 
and  settled  by  its  literature.  There  are  world-wide  problems  of  our 
day  which  we  must  settle  by  our  writings ;  and  no  writings  of 
apostolic  fathers  or  of  medioaval  times  can  solve  problems  which 
were  not  in  those  days  in  sight. 

2.  Christian  literature  should  compass  the  solution  of  as  many 
of  the  problems  of  life  as  the  non-Christian  religions  attempt  to 
solve.  Brahman,  Buddhist,  Confucian,  Taoist,  Mohammedan,  and 
other  less  prominent  religions  collectively  attempt,  among  other 
things,  to  explain  the  philosophy  of  the  universe,  the  history  of  man, 
the  providence  of  God,  the  laws  of  nature,  and  the  laws  of  society. 
If  Christian  literature  does  not  attempt  to  solve  as  many  problems 


•  To  avert  the  imminent  peril  that  threatened  all  mission  work  in  China  the 
writer  got  the  approval  of  all  the  China  missionaries  he  had  opportunity  of 
consulting  at  the  New  York  Conference,  and  appealed  to  the  Executive  Committee 
of  the  Conference,  some  of  tiie  missionary  Boards,  and  finally  tlie  American  govern- 
ment in  Wasliington  early  in  May,  but  all  in  vain  ;  and  the  Chinese  missions  have 
been  wrecked.  If  wo  learn  the  lessons  which  God  in  His  providence  desires  us  to 
learn  then  this  terrible  calamity  will  not  have  been  iu  vaiu  oven  ior  us.     T.  R. 

Shanghai,  Oclobtr,  1900. 


598  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [November, 

as  do  the  non-Christian  religions,  and  does  not  give  clearer  solutions 
of  these  problems,  their  followers  will  assuredly  cling  to  their 
old  faiths. 

3.  Christian  literature  should  be  coextensive  with  the  works 
of  God. 

In  the  text-book  of  the  Christian  religion  we  have  an  account  of 
the  creation  of  all  things  in  the  heavens  above  and  in  the  earth 
beneath,  with  the  command  to  multiply  and  subdue,  so  that  man 
under  God  may  have  dominion  over  all  things. 

We  had  also  an  assurance  from  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  Himself 
that  the  Holy  Spirit  would  be  given  to  guide  us  into  all  truth.  Reve- 
lations of  truth  since  John  was  in  the  isle  of  Patmos,  are,  therefore, 
likewise  sacred  and  divine.  Modes  of  action  in  the  cosmic  forces, 
the  laws  governing  nature  and  the  progress  of  the  human  race  have 
been  revealed  to  us  in  profusion  during  recent  centuries,  and  have 
enabled  us  to  vastly  extend  our  dominion  over  the  earth.  To  call  this 
knowledge  secular  or  profane  is  not  Biblical.  It  is  even  a  profanity 
and  the  basest  ingratitude  to  God.  We  must  therefore  set  forth  in 
Christian  literature  all  enlightening  discoveries  concerning  tha 
works  of  God. 

4.  The  extent  of  Christian  literature  should  also  be  commen- 
surate with  the  needs  of  man. 

It  is  a  sad  fact  that,  although  the  earth  could  support  ten  times 
the  present  population,  millions  of  our  fellow-men  perish  from  slow 
starvation,  not  only  in  non-Christian  countries,  but  also  in  Christian 
lands.  Instead  of  devoting  their  energies  to  the  removal  of  causes  of 
suffering  and  crime,  the  greater  part  of  our  legislators  are  largely 
occupied  in  increasing  armaments,  intended  to  suppress  revolt  against 
present  conditions.  As  literature  was  enlisted  in  the  interest  of  the 
abolition  of  the  slave  trade  in  the  past,  the  literature  of  the  Christian 
church  must,  in  our  day,  discuss  measures  for  ameliorating  the  effect 
on  our  fellow-men  of  adverse  economic  conditions. 

In  all  successful  mission  work,  whether  in  barbarous  or  civilized 
countries,  the  Bible  has  had  to  be  supplemented  by  other  booka 
In  order  to  capture  the  attention  and  regard  of  the  best  minds 
in  non-Christian  lands,  we  must  offer  to  them  the  highest  products  of 
otir  best  intellects.  The  sort  of  education  which  we  give  our  own 
sons  and  daughters  must  be  supplied  to  leaders  of  thought  in  the 
unenlightened  nations.  Nothing  less  than  this  is  a  sufficient  exten- 
sion of  Christian  literature. 

II.  Its  Value. 

Compute  the  difference  between  the  national  revenues  of  Chris- 
tian countries  and  those  of  uon-Christian  countries,  and  you  will 


1900.]  CHRISTIAN   LITERATURE.  699 

find  in  that  difference  a  measure  of  the  superior  value  of  Christian 
literature  over  the  non-Christian. 

Or,  think  of  the  chief  factors  of  modern  progress,  material  develop- 
ment, social  and  international  institutions,  education  and  religion, 
and  they  are  summed  to  us  in  the  value  of  our  commerce.  The  aggre- 
gate commerce  of  the  world  to-day  is  eleven  times  as  much  as  it  was 
ninety  years  ago.  The  cause  of  this  vast  increase,  when  sought  in 
history,  is  found  to  be  inseparable  from  the  spread  of  new  ideas,  which 
may  be  justly  defined  as  a  wider  diffusion  of  Christian  knowledge. 

Our  Emmanuel  said,  "  What  does  it  profit  a  man  to  gain  the  whole 
world  and  lose  his  own  soul  ? "  Those  following  Him  have  striven 
to  save  souls,  esteeming  them  to  be  more  precious  than  aught  else 
in  the  whole  world. 

These  same  Christians  daily  pray,  "  Thy  kingdom  come."  That 
kingdom  is  to  consist  of  an  assemblage  of  souls  redeemed  out  of  all 
nations  and  tongues  and  tribes.  Who  can  estimate  the  value  in  the 
eyes  of  God  of  that  vast  throng  of  His  first-born  ?  Yet  the  salvation 
of  the  multitudes  in  each  of  the  tribes  and  kindreds  and  tongues 
must  be  through  saving  knowledge,  in  whose  conveyance  Christian 
literature  is  the  main  agency.  The  preacher  speaks  with  compara- 
tive in  frequency  and  to  comparatively  few.  When  a  nation  is  born  in 
a  day,  the  individuals  of  the  nation  must  have  been  previously 
instructed  by  the  printed  page.  In  the  process  of  conversion  and 
reformation  of  whole  nations  from  the  earliest  time  till  now,  a  chief 
and  abiding  influence  has  been  through  Christian  literature,  and  its 
value  in  the  process  can  scarcely  be  exaggerated. 

III.  These  Pri'nci'ples  Applied  to  China. 

Alas  !  if  one  takes  a  catalogue  of  Christian  literature,  published 
in  China,  and  sees  how  few  of  the  important  subjects  of  modern 
thought  and  life  are  dealt  with,  how  meager  the  handling  of  these  few, 
and  how  only  jive  per  one  thousand  of  our  missionaries  are 
wholly  devoted  to  literary  work  there,  one  cannot  help  blushing  with 
very  shame  that  the  value  of  the  press  should  be  so  far  ignored.  This 
is  a  much  smaller  proportion  of  literary  men  than  was  to  be  found 
among  the  apostles. 

Few  and  imperfect  as  were  the  books  first  published  in  China,  from 
the  moment  that  the  principles  advocated  in  this  paper  were  applied 
there,  the  results  were  surprising,  and  almost  staggered  us  by  their 
magnitude ;  for  instead  of  having  converts  by  the  hundreds  or  by  the 
thousands,  we  had  millions  who  sincerely  wished  for  the  prosperity 
of  the  Christian  church.  The  new  ideas  took  root  in  the  minds  of 
the  greatest  thinkers  of  the  land,  both  in  the  capital  and  in  the  prov- 
inces.   Their  disciples  also  adopted  these  new  ideas  with  such  rapidity 


600  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [December, 

that  within  three  years  an  immense  army  of  native  propagators  was 
formed.  Those  provinces  which  were  friendly  before,  became  far 
more  friendly  afterward.  Several  of  the  most  bitter  anti-foreign  and 
anti-Christian  provinces  in  the  empire,  such  as  Hunan,  Hupeh, 
Szechuen,  and  Kiangsi  became  very  friendly  to  foreigners  and  mis- 
sionareis.  Even  the  Emperor  broke  from  the  traditions  of  the  Chinese 
government,  which  for  more  than  a  century  had  been  anti-foreign 
and  anti-Christian,  and  advocated  reform  on  Christian  lines.  Before 
the  time  of  the  Emperor's  pro-reform  edicts,  onlj^  twenty  or  thirty 
percent,  of  the  literati  were  pro-reform,  but  thereafter  they  increased 
to  fifty  or  sixty  per  cent,  pro-reform,  and  among  the  foreign  advisers 
chosen  by  the  reformers  were  Christian  missionaries.  But  before 
these  advisers  had  taken  office,  the  anti-progressive  party  took  violent 
hold  of  the  reins  of  government,  and  checked  these  great  reforms. 
This  revealed  to  us  a  weakness  in  the  organization  of  missions,  and 
the  necessity  of  having  a  political  organization  of  international 
influence  which  should  protect  educational  effort  fram  disastrous 
hindrance. 

To  stop  here  with  a  mere  academic  discussion  of  Christian 
literature,  without  attempting  to  bring  it  to  bear  on  practical 
problems,  would  be  alien  to  the  spirit  of  this  Conference,  which 
desires  to  make  its  deliberations  of  practical  service  in  the  redemp- 
tion of  man. 

IV.  Three  New  Departures  now  Imperative. 

If  this  rediscovery  of  the  great  value  of  Christian  literature  in 
the  work  of  missions  be  of  such  importance  as  I  have  endeavored 
to  show,  then  we  should  pause  awhile  to  consider  its  bearings  on 
other  modern  movements  which  trend  in  the  same  direction. 

We  should  consider  the  solidarity  of  the  human  race,  and  that 
whatever  helps  one  nation  helps  others,  and  whatever  injures  one 
nation  injures  others,  compelling  us,  even  in  our  own  interests,  to  look 
after  the  best  interests  of  others.  We  should  consider  also  the  won- 
derful phrase,  "  the  parliament  of  man  and  the  federation  of 
the  world,"  Without  such  federation  all  nations  find  immense 
difficulties,  most  of  which  might  be  removed  if  we  had  one  central 
institution  to  deal  with  them. 

Consider  further  what  immense  strides  in  this  direction  this 
great  American  nation  has  lately  taken.  She  has  undertaken  the 
white  man's  burden,  to  lift  up  the  Cubans  and  the  Filipinos  and 
has,  last  of  all,  interested  herself  in  the  "open  door"  policy  in 
China.  Are  these  not  preparatory  steps  to  reach  the  goal  of  one 
universal  government  for  the  world  ?  If  so,  why  should  not  Christians 
who  have  been  actively  at  work  in.  all  parts  of  the  world  for  many 


1900.1  CHRISTIAN   LlTBRATmiE.  601 

centuries,  and  whose  daily  prayer  for  two  millenniums  has  been 
"  Thy  Kingdom  come,"  now  attempt  to  bring  about  a  reign  of  the 
Prince  of  Feaco  on  earth  ?  And  what  body  can  more  suitably 
inaugurate  such  a  scheme  than  an  Ecumenical  Conference  like  thi»? 

The  Parliament  should  include  at  least  three  sections: — 

a.  A  Literary  De])artment,  whose  duty  it  shall  be  to  secure 
the  most  enlightening  literature,  and  have  it  translated  into  all  the 
leading  languages  of  the  world,  suited  to  their  respective  stages  of 
development. 

h.  An  Educational  Department,  whose  duty  shall  be  to 
co-operate  with  the  Literary  Department,  and  with  the  various 
governments  of  the  world,  in  getting  these  books  taught  in  the 
educational  institutions  of  each  country  and  made  available  for  study 
through  public  libraries. 

c.  A  Political  Department,  whose  duty  shall  be  to  keep  before 
all  nations  the  highest  ideals  of  government,  to  take  measures  to 
translate  these  ideals  into  the  laws  and  institutions  of  every  country, 
and  to  secure  liberty  in  all  countries  for  everything  that  is  good. 

But  as  the  organization  of  the  Parliament  of  Man  cannot  be 
hastily  perfected,  it  appears  expedient  that  we  should  first  appeal  to 
all  the  missionary  Boards  to  increase  the  number  of  those  who 
produce  and  distribute  Christian  literature ;  and  that  we  should 
appeal  to  our  respective  governments  to  unite  in  protecting  from 
hostile  attacks  all  those  who  have  been  led  by  our  literature  into  a 
jmth  of  true  progress.  The  drafts  of  these  two  documents  we 
append  below,  not  for  the  Conference  to  adopt,  as  it  submits  no 
resolutions,  but  for  the  consideration  of  those  missionaries  from 
China  and  elsewhere  who  may  desire  tO'  co-operate. 

Resolution  in  Regard  to  Christian  Literature. 

Whereas,  a  large  percentage  of  the  prophets  and  apostles 
devoted  time  to  the  creation  of  literature,  which,  in  their  day,  acted 
powerfully  upon  the  minds  of  their  countrymen,  and  has  to  the 
present  age  influenced  generation  after  generation  of  men,  in  all 
countries  where  such  literature  has  been  disseminated,  and 

Whereas,  it  has  been  shown  that  in  different  periods  of  the 
world's  history,  literature  alone  has,  in  a  short  space  of  time,  effected 
changes  in  the  thought  of  millions,  and  that  the  foreign  missionary 
reaches  the  largest  number  when  he  transmits  through  iiative 
agencies,  adapted  to  their  race  and  country,  the  ideas  which  have- 
inspired  the  most  enlightened,  and 

Whereas,  thinkers  and  leaders  belonging  to  non-Christian 
nations  have  repeatedly  expressed  the  wish  lo  have  the  best  books 
bearing  upon  the  material,  the  social,  and  spiritual  interests  of  men. 


602  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [December, 

and  elucidating  all  laws  whereby  God  governs  the  world,  properly- 
reproduced  in  their  respective  language,  and 

Whereas,  the  funds,  now  expended  by  the  various  societies, 
could  be  more  economically  and  effectively  utilized  were  a  single 
society  formed  in  each  mission  field,  and  consisting  of  the  represent- 
atives of  the  various  societies,  to  prepare  literature  for  the  benefit 
of  all,  therefore 

Be  it  Resolved,  That  we  respectfully  ask  each  of  the  mis- 
sionary societies  in  Europe  and  America  to  set  apart  far  more 
men  and  women  of  ability  to  co-operate  with  missionaries  of  other 
societies  in  securing  the  most  enlightening  literature  and  in  having 
it  translated  into  the  leading  languages  of  the  world. 

THE  WORK  OF  THE  BOARDS  AND  THE  MISSIONARIES  CAN  BE  RENDERED 

EFFECTIVE    IN    CHINA,    ONLY    THROUGH    INTERNATIONAL 

HELP   FOR   THE  REFORMERS   THERE, 

I.  The  Situation. 

The  great  expansion  of  the  more  enlightened  nations,  such  as 
England,  America,  Russia,  France,  and  Germany  is  very  apparent. 

The  collapse  of  unenlightened  governments  in  Europe,  Asia, 
and  Africa  is  equally  manifest. 

Through  these  changing  conditions  there  arises  danger  of 
conflict  among  the  enlightened  nations  concerning  the  occupation  of 
the  territories  of  the  unenlightened.  Consequently  there  is  a 
continued  increase  in  the  enormous  burden  of  armament,  and  wars 
of  unprecedented  magnitude  are  to  be  apprehended. 

II,  Remedy. 

Let  the  enlightened  nations  agree  to  help  the  unenlightened  by 
allowing  national  interest  to  yield  to  consideration  of  the  universal 
good,  in  the  same  manner  that  local  and  provincial  interests  are  to- 
day made  to  give  way  to  national  well-being. 

Begin  this  course  by  uniting  the  leading  nations  in  a  represent- 
ation to  the  Chinese  government  that  they  desire  to  uphold  the 
integrity  of  its  empire  and  to  again  give  it  a  chance  of  adapting  it- 
self to  modern  requirements. 

Let  the  enlightened  nations  unitedly  cause  China  to  understand 
that  in  her  own  best  interest,  and  in  that  of  other  nations,  it  is 
imperatively  necessary  that  her  government  shall  henceforth  not 
only  cease  from  persecuting  her  native  reformers,,  but  shall  give  a 
hearty  support  to  all  true  reform. 

III.  Reasons  for  Supporting  the  Reformerg. 

They  are  the  leaders  of  one  of  the  greatest  movements  of  modern 
times,  and  are  friendly  to  foreign  nations. 


1900.]  A   NEW  MISSIONARY   PROPOSITION.  603 

Thoy  are  prepared  to  rightly  develop  aa  empire  containing  one- 
fourth  of  the  human  race. 

They  wish  to  improve  their  country  by  the  adoption  of  such 
public  utilities,  including  intellectual  and  moral  forces,  for  the 
regeneration  of  their  country,  as  are  common  in  the  leading  nations 
of  the  world. 

They  advocate  the  keeping  down  of  standing  armies  by  sub- 
mitting all  international  problems  to  a  supreme  court  of  arbitration. 

They  are  willing  to  abide  by  the  law  of  reciprocity  in  trade  and 
in  all  other  relations. 

IV.  Advantages. 

The  immense  advantage  of  adopting  such  a  policy  in  regard  to 
China  is  obvious. 

The  undersigned,  therefore,  respectfully  lay  this  matter  before 

the  government  of in  the  hope  that 

immediate  steps  may  be  taken  toward  international  agreement  upon 
taking  the  side  of  the  Reform  Party  in  China  that  a  world-wide 
calamity  may  be  averted. 


A  New  Missionary  Proposition. 

BY   ROBERT   E.  LEWIS,   M.A. 

T  this  time,  when  Christian  work  is  so  largely  suspended  in 
China,  a  new  book  bearing  the  title  "  The  Evangelization 
of  the  World  in  this  Generation"  makes  a  startling 
impression  upon  the  reader.  Mr.  John  R.  Mott,  M.A.,  General 
Secretary  of  the  World's  Student  Christian  Federation,  treats 
historically  and  practically  a  proposition  which  till  now  has  waited 
for  an  adequate  exposition. 

The  subject  of  the  book  in  question  is  the  watchword  of  the 
Student  Movements  of  Britain  and  America,  and  has  been  of  great 
power  in  enlisting  the  students  of  the  universities  of  various  lands 
in  the  foreign  missionary  enterprise.  The  fact  that  this  watchward 
has  gained  a  powerful  hold  upon  the  great  educational  seats  in 
Christian  lands,  suggests  that  it  should  receive  the  respectful 
consideration  of  all  thinking  men. 

In  his  chapter  on  "  Definition,"  Mr.  Mott  says :  "  In  such  a 
consideration  it  is  important  that  we  clearly  understand  at  the 
outset  what  is  meant  by  the  evangelization  of  the  world  in  this 
generation.  It  means  to  give  all  men  an  adequate  opportunity 
to   know  Jesus  Christ  as  their  Saviour  and    to  become   His  real 


604  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [December, 

disciples."  He  makes  it  clear  that  he  does  not  mean  "the  hasty 
or  superficial  preaching  of  the  gospel,"  '"  The  missionary  must 
reckon  with  and  surmount  difficulties  incident  to  language,  age, 
grade  of  intelligence,  heredity,  and  environment.  If  the  enterprise 
of  world  evangelization  calls  for  urgent  and  aggressive  action, 
with  equal  emphasis  it  calls  for  perseverance  and  thoroughness." 
Mr.  Mott  does  not  ask  for  the  Christianization  of  the  world 
in  this  generation, — "If  we  may  judge  by  history  that  would 
require  centuries."  "  Men  entertaining  widely  different  opinions 
as  to  the  second  advent  of  Christ  accept  alike  this  view  of  world- 
wide evangelization,"  and  therefore  Mr.  Mott  may  not  be  accused 
of  playing  into  the  hands  of  either  the  pre-  or  post-millenarians. 
Furthermore,  this  watchword  "does  not  minimize,  but  rather 
emphasises  the  regular  forms  of  missionary  work "...  as 
"  educational,  literary,  medical,  and  evangelistic."  The  author 
believes  that  "  the  evangelization  of  the  world  in  this  generation 
should  not  be  regarded  as  an  end  in  itself;  "  after  it  is  accomplished 
there  will  be  the  building  of  the  church  and  the  reaching  out 
after  the  new  generation. 

What  then  is  the  specific  end  of  such  a  daring  proposition  ? 
"  If  the  gospel  is  to  be  preached  to  all  men,  it  obviously  must 
be  done  while  they  are  living.  The  evangelization  of  the  world 
in  this  generation,  therefore,  means  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  to 
those  now  living.  To  those  who  are  responsible  for  preaching  the 
gospel  it  means  in  our  life-time;  to  those  to  whom  it  may  be 
preached  it  means  in  their  life-time.  The  unevangelized,  for  whom 
we  as  Christians  are  responsible,  live  in  this  generation,  and  the 
Christians  whose  duty  it  is  to  present  Christ  to  them  live  in  this 
generation." 

After  reading  the  third  chapter  of  this  book,  it  cannot  be  said 
that  Mr.  Mott  is  dreaming.  He  has  squarely  met  the  difficulties  on 
the  mission  field,  such  as  the  vast  numbers  of  heathen,  the  opposition 
of  Governments,  the  selfish  treatment  of  Eastern  by  Western  nations, 
the  non-Christian  example  of  many  foreign  residents  in  the  East, 
"  race  pride  and  prejudice,"  "the  tyranny  of  custom  and  opinion," 
caste,  illiteracy  of  many  who  must  be  reached,  linguistic  and 
language  problems,  the  strength  of  non-Christian  religions,  lack  of 
conscience,  etc.  He  confesses  the  shortcomings  of  many  native 
Christians  already  gathered  and  the  gulf  which  exists  between  the 
foreign  missionary  and  the  native,  even  under  favorable  conditions. 
Then  he  turns  to  the  difficulties  met  with  in  the  home  church, 
such  as  the  "  misconceptions  and  skepticism  among  Christians  at 
home  regarding  the  necessity  and  obligation  to  evangelize  the 
world,"  the  fact  that  "  very  many  Christians  entertain  the  belief 


1900.]  A  NEW  MISSIONARY  PROPOSITION.  605 

that  Christianity  is  not  the  absolute  religion,"  the  "  want  of 
unity  among  different  branches  of  the  church  at  home,"  the  lack  of 
pastors  with  the  missionary  spirit,  and  other  striking  obstacles. 

We  cannot  treat  adequately  a  volume  which  raises  and  which 
answere  so  many  questions  of  great  moment  to  missions.  In  the 
fourth  and  fifth  chapters  Mr.  Mott  argues  in  favor  of  his  proposition 
on  the  ground  of  the  "  achievements  of  the  first  generation  of 
Christians  "  and  "  in  view  of  some  modern  missionary  achievements." 
In  the  sixth  chapter  he  handles  the  **  opportunities,  facilities,  and 
resources  of  the  church,"  and  in  the  seventh  he  presents  the  sober 
judgment  of  many  prominent  leaders  of  the  church  in  various  landa. 
Upon  this  we  will  pause  for  a  moment. 

Attention  is  called  to  the  resolutions  bearing  on  this  subject 
passed  by  such  great  church  councils  or  conferences  as  the  General 
Conference  of  Protestant  Missionaries  in  China,  1877;  the  Centenary 
Conference  on  Foreign  Missions,  London,  1888;  the  Lambeth 
Conference  of  Bishops,  1897  ;  and  he  quotes  the  unanimously  adopted 
address  to  the  church  prepared  by  the  Ecumenical  Conference 
on  Missions  in  New  York  in  1900,  which  said  :  "  We  who  live 
now  and  have  this  message  must  carry  it  to  those  who  live 
now  and  are  without  it.  It  is  the  duty  of  each  generation  of 
Christians  to  make  Jesus  Christ  known  to  their  fellow-creatures. 
It  is  our  duty  through  our  own  preachers  and  those  forces  and 
institutions  which  grow  up  where  the  gospel  prevails,  to  attempt 
now  the  speedy  evangelization  of  the  whole  world." 

To  show  that  his  position  is  not  an  isolated  one,  and  that  many 
church  leaders  believe  in  the  proposition  which  he  advances,  Mr. 
Mott  cites  the  statements  of  the  Archbishop  of  Canterbury,  the 
Rev.  Dr.  MacKcnnal,  President  of  the  Free  Church  Council,  Rev. 
Dr.  George  Robson,  of  Scotland,  Rev.  Drs.  Josiah  Strong,  Joseph 
Angus,  Joel  Parker,  the  Earl  of  Shaftesbury,  and  the  Bishop  of  New- 
castle, as  well  as  missionaries  of  experience  and  sense  in  Japan, 
India,  Sandwich  Islands,  Africa,  and  other  lands. 

It  is  especially  interesting  to  us  to  note  some  of  the  names  of 
Christian  leaders  in  China  who  believe  the  church  should  under- 
take such  a  stupendous  work  as  Mr.  Mott  outlines:  Rev.  David 
Hill,  English  Wesleyan  ;  Rev.  Drs.  Griffith  John,  London  Mission; 
John  Ross,  U.  P.  Scotland,  Manchuria;  C.  Douglass,  English 
Presbyterian;  J.  H.  Taylor,  China  Inland  Mission;  A.  P.  Parker,  S. 
Methodist;  Archdeacon  Thomson,  and  Rev.  James  Jackson,  of  the 
Protestant  Episcopal ;  Chauncey  Goodrich,  of  the  American  Board ; 
and  many  others. 

In  line  with  this  policy  we  find  such  secretaries  of  great 
mission  societies  as  Mr.  Eugene  Stock,  of  the  Church  Missionary 


606  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [December, 

Society ;  Rev.  Dr.  Henry  C.  Mabie,  of  the  American  Baptist  Board ; 
Rev.  Dr.  Judson  Smith,  of  the  American  Board;  and  Mr.  Robert  E. 
Speer,  of  the  Presbyterian  Board. 

The  object  of  Mr.  Mott's  book  is  not  controversial,  though  it 
brings  into  the  forum  of  missionary  discussion  a  new  and  mighty 
question.  Its  purpose  is  to  state  the  position  of  several  thousands 
of  university  students,  calm,  thinking  men,  and  to  support  that 
position  by  facts  and  opinions  from  history  and  from  leaders  of  the 
churches  in  all  parts  of  the  world.  In  the  words  of  Principal  Moule, 
of  Cambridge,  the  proposition  seems  "  nobly  true  and  reasonable," 
and  it  can  be  realized  if  Christendom  with  its  wealth,  its  men,  and 
its  capacity  for  business,  really  engages  in  this  supreme  undertaking. 


Are  Missionmes  in  any  Way  Responsible  for  the 
Present  Disturbances  in  China  ? 

BY   HAMPDEN    C.   DUBOSE,   D.D.,   SOOCHOW. 

fHE  question  proposed  by  the  Executive  Committee  of  this 
Association*  closes  with  the  portentous  words,  "  The  present 
"  disturbances  in  China."  And  what  is  the  result  of  these 
present  disturbances  ?  The  refugee  court  at  the  old  capital  in  the 
Far  West  and  the  refugee  missionaries  at  the  new  metropolis  in  the 
Far  East.  The  hordes  of  the  Boxers  scattered  to  the  winds  and  the 
armies  of  the  Allies  gathered  in  the  capital.  The  ships  of  China  at 
anchor  up  the  Yangtse  while  the  navies  of  the  world  ride  triumph- 
antly in  the  China  waters.  The  Manchus  defying  the  civilized 
world  while  the  "  eight  banners "  are  trailing  in  the  dust.  The 
government  held  together  by  noble  viceroys  and  governors  while 
the  eighteen  provinces  are  threatened  with  anarchy  and  dismember- 
ment.    This  is  the  present  state  of  affairs  in  the  Middle  Kingdom. 

The  question  is  asked,  "Are  missionaries  in  any  way  respon- 
sible ?  "  If  we  consider  the  proportion  the  missionary  body  bears  to 
the  whole  foreign  population — about  one-third  of  the  Anglo-Saxons 
in  China — we  could  scarcely  throw  the  whole  burden  on  our  fellow- 
nationals  and  consider  ourselves  as  entirely  free  from  the  "  white 
man's  burden"  in  Eastern  Asia.  Again,  when  the  other  foreigners 
are  for  the  most  part  assembled  at  the  maritime  and  riverine  ports 
and  the  missionaries  are  scattered  throughout  the  Imperial  domains, 
it  is  right  to  presume  that  at  least  a  portion  of  the  responsibility 
must  be  laid  upon  their  shoulders. 

*Read  before  the  Shanghai   Missionary   Association   in   Union  Church  Hall, 
November  6th,  1900. 


1900.]        ARE  MISSIOJTARIES  IN   ANY  WAY  RESPONSIBLE,   ETC.        607 

There  are  two  high  witnesses  against  the  missionary  who  will  bo 
summoned  to  give  evidence  in  court.  The  first  is  the  former  Gor- 
man Minister  at  Peking,  Herr  Von  Brandt,  who  may  bo  considered 
a  representative  leader  in  anti-missionary  criticism.  He  is  reported 
to  have  said,  "  A  great  if  not  the  greatest  part  of  the  Chinese  hatred 
of  foreigners  may  be  traced  to  the  activity  of  Christian  missions  .  .  . 
If  no  changes  are  introduced  into  tht;  practices  of  missions,  then  in 
ten  years'  time  we  shall  be  confronted  anew  by  a  crisis  which  will 
exceed  the  present  crisis  in  extent  and  horror.  . .  It  has  been  a  piece 
of  madness  to  expect  from  the  Chinese  people  tolerance  of  Christian 
missions." 

The  second  witness  is  the  misinformed  Chinese  near  the  centres 
of  civilization.  We  do  not  specify  those  inimical  to  Christianity, 
but  the  plain  common-sense  bulk  of  semi-thinking  men.  They  say 
the  present  disturbances  have  not  arisen  at  the  ports  where  the 
merchants  reside,  but  in  the  interior  in  close  proximity  with  the 
missionary  stations;  ergo  the  church  must  be  responsible. 

Let  us  face  the  problem  and  as  wise  men  give  a  just  and  true 
answer  to  these  allegations. 

The  missionary  body  may  be  conveniently  divided  into  four 
ranks  :  writers,  teachers,  doctors  and  preachers.  As  for  the  third 
class, — their  work  is  so  purely  philanthropic,  "  opening  the  eyes  of 
the  blind  "  and  causing  the  "  lame  man  to  leap  as  an  hart,"  that  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  who  have  been  healed  look  upon  the  physician 
as  a  personal  benefactor,  and  we  fiiil  to  trace  any  direct  responsibility 
to  them.  Yet  it  must  be  remarked  that  the  doctors  are  the  most 
popular  of  missionaries,  that  their  associates  are  counted  by  the 
thousands,  and  that  many  of  the  gentry  who  would  consider  their 
position  compromised  by  visiting  the  preaching  missionary,  count  it 
an  honor  to  be  known  as  the  intimate  friend  of  the  practicing  mis- 
sionary, so,  for  aught  we  know,  their  influence  is  in  the  ascendency. 

THE  THREE  LINES  OF   WORK. 

As  to  the  first  class  their  position  in  reference  to  this  crisis  is 
well  defined;  "  the  pen  is  mightier  than  the  sword."  We  do  not 
include  that  section  of  the  literary  department  which  unfolds  the 
doctrines  of  Christianity,  but  specially  point  to  the  books  and  period- 
icals that  are  devoted  to  civilization  and  government  which  are 
prepared  or  edited  by  missionaries.  Leaving  the  masses  to  the  care 
of  the  evangelist,  their  cry  has  been,  "  Reach  the  Upper  Classes," 
*'  Influence  the  Mind  of  China."  Up  to  this  time  this  class  of 
writers  has  received  unstinted  praise  from  the  secular  press  and  by 
commercial  men  been  considered  the  leaders  in  the  sacramental  host. 
These  have  been  the  real  founders  of  the  reform  party,  the  expo- 


608  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [December, 

nents  of  the  new  thought  that  permeates  the  nation,  the  promoters  of 
a  great  scheme  for  westernizing  the  Orient.  Writers  on  these  lines 
have  attempted  to  thrust  upon  the  sluggish  Asiatic  hoary  systems 
which  have  in  Europe  been  the  growth  of  centuries.  Perhaps  they 
have  been  tempted  to  picture  the  ideal ;  ideal  rulers,  and  ideal 
laws,  and  ideal  states,  and  ideal  elections — for  at  this  very  hour  as 
the  sun  is  rising  upon  the  Western  hemisphere  the  American 
eagle  is  spreading  its  majestic  wings  o'er  a  calm  and  united  people 
marching  to  the  polls* — have  been  presented  before  the  people,  and 
all  they  had  to  do  was  to  accept  and  prosper.  It  is  a  matter  of  fact 
that  when  reform  was  in  the  air  and  the  barque  coming  in  under 
full  sail  with  the  tide  they  exclaimed,  "  Behold  what  our  books  and 
magazines  have  done  ; "  now  when  wind  and  wave  is  adverse,  let  not 
the  literati  Sinenses  who  spread  Christian  and  political  knowledge 
decline  to  accept  their  share  in  the  responsibility ! 

The  Educational  department  has  also  been  specially  aggressive, 
as  is  shown  in  its  thorough  organization,  its  triennial  conventions,  its 
monthly  department  in  the  Recorder,  its  long  list  of  publications, 
and  the  general  activity  everywhere  manifested.  It  builds  great 
scientific  halls,  and  from  the  third  floor  of  the  brilliantly  lighted 
quarters  the  student  looks  Avith  disdain  upon  the  native  graduate — 
recently  borne  in  an  official  chair,  preceded  by  lictors  carrying  the 
quickly  growing  bamboo  emblematic  of  "  shooting  genius  " — who  in 
a  little  dark  room  opposite  is  teaching  a  class  of  humming  boys.  It 
proposes  to  sweep  away  like  cobwebs  the  educational  system  of 
millenniums,  which  in  its  initial  stages  Dr.  Martin  has  styled 
"  mental  infanticide."  It  proposes  to  close  a  million  little  schools 
and  establish  a  few  great  colleges  and  universities,  with  a  system  of 
graded  and  high  schools  as  feeders.  It  says  to  the  graduate,  Your 
literary  essay  is  only  a  flowery  composition;  to  the  distinguished 
master  of  arts.  Your  erudition  is  but  a  degree  above  the  kinder- 
garten ;  to  the  learned  Hanlin,  Enter  our  halls  and  learn  the  rudi- 
ments of  knowledge ;  to  the  Senior  Wrangler,  Have  you  plucked  the 
royal  flower  that  blooms  but  once  in  three  years  in  the  Celestial 
Paradise  ?  Lo !  it  is  only  a  dandelion !  It  even  dethrones  the 
"throneless  king"  and  says  to  Cathay's  sage,  Carry  your  musty  old 
tomes  down  to  the  cellar.  Taking  this  position,  can  it  be  said  that 
missionary  educators  have  had  no  part  in  initiating  the  present 
disturbances  ? 

The  fourth  class,  composed  of  ministers  of  the  gospel  and 
Christian  workers,  has  literally  gone  to  "  the  ends  of  the  earth  "  in 
China ;  some  requiring  a  journey  of  two  or  three  months  to  reach 
their  stations  after  landing  at  Shanghai.    They  are  scattered  through- 

*  The  day  of  the  Presidential  Election  in  the  U.  S.  A. 


1900.]        ARE  MISSIONARIES  IN  ANY   WAY  RESPONSIBLE,   ETC.        609 

out  the  empire,  and  daily  come  in  contact  with  tens,  yea,  hundreds 
of  thousands!  The  merchant  is  by  treaty  limitation  kept  at  the 
thirty  ports  while  the  missionary  has  acquired  the  right  of  going  to 
every  city  and  town  and  village  and  hamlet  in  this  country.  We 
bring  a  religion  whose  outward  form  is  preaching  in  contnust  with 
bodily  prostrations  and  lighted  candles.  We  worship  the  one  living 
God  in  opposition  to  the  polytheism  of  heathenism.  We  point  to 
tJie  Redeemer's  death  as  of  more  avail  than  the  pilgrim's  merit. 
We  place  the  truth  as  standing  over  against  superstition  and  error. 
We  boldly  declare  that  ours  is  The  Way,  and  nought  else  leads 
to  heaven. 

Moreover,  men  consider  us  accredited  agents  of  the  home  gov- 
ernments. Hundreds  of  times  has  the  question  been  asked  nic, 
What  salary  does  the  Emperor  of  America  pay  you  ?  We  are  the 
forerunners  of  commerce  and  constantly  give  official  information  as 
to  agriculture,  manufactures  and  trade.  In  the  first  instance  the 
missionary  discovers  the  gold  and  silver,  iron  and  coal,  copper  and 
marble.  When  the  representative  of  the  Western  syndicate  arrives 
he  is  entertained  in  the  missionary's  home,  there  finds  out  the  local 
geography  and  obtains  suggestions  as  to  where  it  is  best  to  prospect. 
That  seems  very  much  as  if  we  were  a  part  of  the  great  civilization 
of  Europe,  and  so  in  the  estimation  of  the  masses  we  occupy  the 
place  of  intermediaries  between  Western  nations  and  the  partition 
of  China.     Next  comes 

THE  ROMAN  HIERARCHY 

with  its  political  exterior.  The  power  recently  conferred  upon  the 
priesthood  makes  them  "  thrones  and  dominions  and  principalities  and 
powers."  Their  rank  is  graded  with  Prefect  and  Taotai  and  Gover- 
nor and  Viceroy,  The  Protestant  missionary  takes  his  seat  by  the 
humblest  coolie  and  instructs  him  in  the  way  of  salvation.  Not  so 
the  Catholic  priest.  He  is  far  more  removed.  He  has  his  secretary 
and  clerk  and  something  of  the  paraphernalia  of  the  Yamen.  The 
native  priest  is  far  more  inaccessible  than  the  foreign,  so  the  people 
say.  The  disciple  comes  before  the  spiritual  father  on  bended  knee, 
and  when  he  deals  with  religion,  around  his  person  is  cast  just  a  little 
of  the  halo  that  pertains  to  the  august  presence  of  an  earthly  poten- 
tate. He  holds  his  court  and  decides  lawsuits  without  the  expense 
of  native  litigation.  He  imposes  fines  upon  his  converts  if  he 
judges  them  to  have  committed  wrong.  Thus  in  this  church  there 
is  a  court  of  monks :  first,  which  sits  in  secret ;  and  second  from  which 
there  is  no  appeal.  Is  it  not  plain  both  to  the  Chinese  official  and 
people  that  here  is  an  imperium  in  imperio  ?  Are  they  to  be  blam- 
ed for  making  a  distinction  between  the  chiao  and  the  ming,  the 
disciple  and  the  subject  ? 


610  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [December, 


THE  BIBLICAL  IDEA. 

The  Chinese  who  are  acquainted  with  the  Bible  can  also  point 
to  the  words  of  the  great  Master  in  Israel,  "  Think  not  that  I  am 
come  to  send  peace  on  earth :  I  came  not  to  send  peace,  but  a 
sword."  "  Ye  shall  hear  of  wars  and  rumors  of  wars  :  see  that  ye  be 
not  troubled,  for  all  these  things  must  come  to  pass."  What  caused 
the  riot  of  the  great  "  silversmith  guild  "  in  Ephesus  ?  Was  it  not 
the  preaching  of  the  apostle  to  the  Gentiles  ?  In  Thessalonica  did 
they  not  speak  of  the  first  preachers  of  the  gospel  as  "These  that 
have  turned  the  world  upside  down  ? "  What,  say  they,  is  the  mean- 
ing of  the  prophetic  words,  "  I  will  overturn,  overturn,  overturn  it 
and  it  shall  be  no  more,  until  He  come  whose  right  it  is ;  and  I  will 
give  it  to  him."  Surely  the  very  commission  of  the  missionary 
points  to  disturbances  past,  present,  and  future  among  the  nations 
of  the  world. 

Having  fully  discussed  the  ways  in  which  missionary  lines  may 
have  been  connected  with  reform,  the  misinterpretation  that  may 
have  been  placed  upon  our  methods  of  work  and  how  Protestant 
light  may  have  been  dimmed  by  the  mists  of  Rome,  we  now  begin  our 

APOLOGY. 

The  great  scholars  from  the  West,  at  the  close  of  the  Japanese 
war,  saw  their  opportunity.  "  Rescue  China,"  was  their  clarion  note. 
The  lessons  that  came  from  the  conflict  between  the  mighty 
empire  in  Eastern  Asia  and  the  little  Sunrise  Kingdom — a  struggle 
between  masses  and  civilization — were  a  mighty  lever  in  the  hands 
of  the  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Christian  Knowledge  and  they 
seized  the  opportunity  to  awaken  the  thinking  men  of  China  to  the 
helplessness  of  the  national  situation  and  to  demonstrate  that  unless 
China  brought  herself  into  accord  in  some  degree  with  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  West  that  she  would  be  first  partitioned  and  then  wholly 
devoured.  The  cry  met  with  a  ready  response  from  the  gentry;  for 
the  first  time  since  the  day  of  Yao  and  Shun  they  confessed  their 
ignorance  and  studied  the  great  question  of  political  science.  How 
can  a  weak  nation  become  strong  ?  Their  followers  became  a  great 
company  and  the  names  of  distinguished  missionary  leaders  were 
heralded  through  the  land.  We  are  not  discussing  whether  the 
reformation  of  Asiatic  governments  is  the  truest  domain  for  the 
messenger  of  the  churches,  but  simply  state  the  fact  that  the 
preachers  of  the  new  civilization  had  immense  audiences  who  listen- 
ed attentively  and  cheered  lustily. 

Then  what  for  the  educators  ?  They  did  not  seize  children  and 
compel  them  to  study  arithmetic  and  geography.      They  sat  still, 


b 


1900.]         ARE  MISSIONARIES   IN  ANY  WAY  RESPONSIULE,  ETC.        611 

charged  for  tuition,  and  the  streams  flowed  towards  them.  There 
were  constant  entreaties  to  establish  schools  of  learning.  I  speak 
from  experience.  For  two  years  I  was  constantly  urged  by  the  best 
people  in  Soochow  to  engage  in  teaching.  As  a  father — an  official  of 
prominence — said  to  me,  "  I  want  my  sons  to  study  Western  science. 
You  have  been  hero  nearly  thirty  years :  we  know  you :  I  wish  to 
entrust  my  sons  to  you."  This  implicit  confidence  was  certainly 
touching. 

.  When  my  brethren  of  the  American  Methodist  Mission  proposed 
to  further  their  wishes  by  establishing  a  college  of  high  grade,  the 
response  was  most  hearty.  The  late  literary  chancellor  of  Hunan, 
the  lamented  Kiang  Piao,  headed  the  movement.  The  governor, 
by  the  counsel  of  our  Consul-Gcncral,  Mr.  Goodnow,  gave  last  winter 
seven  acres  of  ground.  Subscriptions  of  $.500,  §1,000  and  l$l,. 500  came 
flowing  in.  The  superintendent  of  the  Cotton  Mills  gave  $6,100 
in  May,  and  a  young  man  at  Changsuh  subscribed  $7,100.  On 
one  day  $1,015  was  paid  in  advance  for  tuition  in  a  college  that 
had  not  been  built.  What  are  missions  to  do  when  these  calls  come 
to  them  ?  Is  it  not  something  if  those  who  are  to  influence  the 
nation  in  the  future  are  educated  by  the  Christian  scholars  ?  The 
question  has  been,  Shall  the  church  turn  a  deaf  ear  to  the  earnest 
calls  to  teach  ?  We  are  not  now  discussing  what  place  education 
should  have  in  missionary  work,  but  simply  to  state  that  the  Chinese 
loudly  call  upon  missionaries  to  open  Christian  schools  where 
the  Bible  may  be  taught  side  by  side  with  science.  Where  then 
is  the  responsibility  of  the  educators  for  the  present  state  of 
affairs? 

And  have  not  our  fellow-workers  (on  different  lines),  the 
Catholics  in  Shansi  and  Chihli,  been  a  suffering  church  ?  In  some 
places  bands  of  converts  have  barricaded  their  places  of  worship  and 
defended  their  lives  and  families,  while  in  other  sections  thousands 
have  perished  by  the  sword.  The  gallant  defence  of  the  Pei-tang 
cathedral  under  Bishop  Favier  during  a  siege  of  two  months,  amidst 
untold  hardships,  will  go  down  to  history  as  one  of  heroic  endurance 
and  undaunted  courage.  While  the  foreign  priests,  in  groups  of  two 
or  three,  or  of  ten  or  eleven,  have  been  put  to  death,  civilians  who 
have  lost  so  little  should  be  the  last  to  raise  the  voice  of  criticism, 
— and  few  there  are  in  China  who  do  not  feel  the  common  brother- 
hood— against  this  noble  band  of  heroes  who  have  endured  so  much 
for  the  sake  of  religion.  Let  the  world  honor  the  names  of  the 
devoted  dead,  men  who  stood  side  by  side  with  their  slaughtered 
converts  and  mth  the  chivalry  of  Christian  knighthood  made  theirs 
one  common  cause. 

But  where  stand  the 


612  THE  CHINESE  RECOEDEB.  [December, 

PROTESTANT  PREACHERS  OF  THE  CROSS 

in  regard  to  this  national  upheaval  ?  Are  the  people  embittered 
against  them  ?  Are  they  rejoiced  that  they  have  been  driven  from 
their  stations  ?  The  very  opposite  is  true,  and  were  the  three 
thousand  to  return  at  once  to  their  work,  it  would  be  hailed  by  the 
millions  as  an  auspicious  omen.  They  are  known  by  their  peace- 
able fruits  of  righteousness  all  throughout  this  land.  The  largest  of 
the  missions — nearly  one-third  of  the  whole  body — asks  nothing  from 
the  Consuls  or  officials.  Instead  of  depending  on  the  gunboat,  it 
takes  hundreds  of  missionaries  six  weeks,  or  two  months'  travel  to 
reach  a  gunboat.  Is  it  true,  as  affirmed  by  Alexander  Michie  and 
Sydney  Brooks,  that  "the  ordinary  foreigner  is  tolerated,  but  the 
missionary  is  hated  ? "  Why  then  after  an  absence  are  they  so 
kindly  greeted  as  they  walk  the  streets  of  their  adopted  cities  ? 
Because  they  boldly  and  fearlessly  in  the  chapels  declaim  against 
idolatry  the  people  believe  they  are  true  men.  Why  is  it  that  the 
daily  congregation  increases  as  the  years  roll  on  ?  Why  do  visitors 
crowd  the  missionaries'  parlor?  Why  do  the  Avomen  for  decades 
continue  to  come  to  the  home  of  the  foreigner  in  an  interor  city  ? 
Because  the  preachers  are  iconoclasts  it  is  not  to  be  asserted  that 
they  do  not  have  the  love  and  esteem  of  the  people.  They  know 
how  to  be  neighbourly  and  courteous,  sympathetic  and  kind,  and  thus 
win  the  hearts  of  those  with  whom  they  come  in  contact. 

Protestant  missionaries  have  rejected  the  proifered  privileges 
that  were  accorded  the  Romanists ;  when  seeing  the  high  mandarins 
on  business  they  are  particular  to  take  the  lower  seat ;  for  this  the 
officials  like  to  have  dealings  with  them.  Here  and  there  are 
men  who  are  troublesome  to  deal  with,  but  the  exception  proves 
the  rule,  and  an  early  recall  shows  what  class  of  men  the  societies 
desire  to  keep  in  the  field.  Because  the  executioner's  knife  in  the 
official's  hands  severs  his  head  from  the  body  it  is  no  proof  that 
thousands  of  the  natives  do  not  mourn  his  death.  As  we  cross  the 
Garden  Bridge  a  tall  shaft  of  marble,  guarded  by  the  British  lion 
and  with  hundreds  of  flowers  of  richest  hue  in  the  background, 
attracts  the  traveller's  attention.  Was  that  to  record  the  death  of  a 
missionary  ?  Nay,  the  young  and  gallant  Margary  was  slain,  and  by 
his  death  important  concessions  were  gained  for  China.  So  the  lives 
recently  laid  down  will  bring  untold  benefits  to  this  poor  people.  It 
has  been  repeatedly  proved  that  the  outbreaks  were  anti-foreign 
and  not  anti-missionary  and  that  the  two  nations  that  furnish  the 
missionaries — England  and  the  United  States — are  the  ones  praised 
by  the  Chinese,  while  others  who  send  no  missionaries  are  thor- 
oughly detested. 


1900.]        ARE  MISSIONARIES   IJJ  Al^Y   WAY   RESPONSIBLE,   ETC.         613 

Missions  are  the  great  conservators  of  civilization.  Oil  the  one 
hand,  is  the  pagan  with  his  prejudice ;  on  the  other,  the  navy  and  the 
hong.  The  missionary  stands  as  the  great  intermediary ;  he  softens 
the  feelings  of  the  native  population,  prepares  the  road  for  the 
merchant,  and  saves  the  man-of-war  from  belching  forth  the  missiles 
of  death.  If  missionaries  are  so  bad  let  them  sell  out  their  property 
and  return  to  their  native  lands ;  let  the  exodus  be  as  complete  as 
that  from  Egypt,  and  in  ten  years  the  nations  will  expend  more  in 
the  munitions  of  war  than  they  would  have  done  in  maintaining  the 
churches.  Christianity  brings  her  ships  laden  with  precious  spices — 
the  highest  virtues  of  heaven — which  are  not  stored  in  godowns  but 
in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  the  people,  and  the  sweet  fragrance  fills  all 
the  land.  Where  the  church  of  Christ  is  planted,  there  and  there 
only  will  the  people  learn  equity  and  have  peace  to  flow  as  a  river. 

The  clinching  argument  to  the  non-responsibility  of  mission- 
aries for  the  present  disturbances  is  to  briefly  point  out 

THE  CAUSES  WHICH   LED  TO  THIS  CRISIS. 

If  there  are  ten  causes  it  is  unphilosophical  to  point  to  one  and 
assign  to  it  the  entire  blame.  Look  at  foreign  trade  during  the 
Victorian  era.  What  are  the  wares  brought  to  these  shores  by  the 
merchant  ?  Does  he  seek  only  to  help  a  poor  heathen  people  ? 
Alas  !  poison  is  sold  in  great  chests  and  the  Westerner  rejoices  in 
seeing  the  poverty  and  suffering,  ruin  and  degradation  his  hand 
has  wrought.  In  health  or  wealth  opium  touches  one  hundred 
millions  of  the  Chinese.  For  this  the  Chinese  hate  the  foreigner 
with  an  intense  hatred.  Recently  the  "  Opinions  of  One  Hundred 
Physicians  on  the  Use  of  Opium  "  was  translated,  and  several  of  the 
silk  Tnerchants  in  Nan-tsin  proposed  to  issue  it  in  editions  of  ten 
thousand  and  scatter  it  through  the  empire.  When  the  book  was 
brought  before  the  Executive  Committee  the  prefaces  were  found 
most  denunciatory  of  England,  describing  side  by  side  in  all  their 
horrors  the  slave-trade  of  the  18th  century  and  the  opium  traffic  of 
the  19th.  For  two  hours  I  reasoned  with  a  high  official,  the 
representative  of  the  Nan-tsin  millionaires,  showing  that  the  case  was 
put  too  strongly.  "  Are  not  these  facts  true,"  he  said  ?  Let  all 
men  know  that  one  of  the  prominent  causes  of  the  present  disturb- 
ances is  OPIUM. 

Then  look  at  the  steady  progress  of  foreigners  for  the  last  sixty 
years.  The  Chinese  beholding  this  could  say  as  the  Jews :  "  The 
Romans  will  come  and  take  away  both  our  place  and  nation." 
Foreign  goods  and  mills  were  displacing  whole  classes  of  native 
fabrics.  Steam  was  disorganizing  the  old  methods  of  travel  and 
in  a  hundred  ways  economic  conditions  were  being  interfered  with. 


614  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [December, 

The  riots  started  on  the  line  of  the  new  trunk  railway.  The  sacred 
soil  of  China,  the  inheritance  of  ages,  as  they  looked  at  it,  was  being 
trodden  under  the  feet  of  foreign  despots.  Dr.  T.  P.  Crawford — 
soon  with  his  venerable  wife  to  celebrate  the  golden  wedding  in 
China — in  lecturing  on  the  Caucasian,  Mongolian,  and  Negro  races 
at  Wei-hai-wei  wittily  said  :  "  The  negro  steals  chickens,  but  he  does 
not  steal  ports  and  harbors."  By  the  active  exertions  of  the  Peking 
ministers  the  great  mineral  wealth  of  the  land  was  rapidly  passing 
into  the  hands  of  European  syndicates.  What  was  to  save  the 
nation  from  being  swallowed  up  by  the  insatiable  greed  of  the  "  red- 
haired  race  ? "  was  the  question  the  Celestial  asked. 

Then  the  Emperor,  wise  and  noble,  stepped  forth  as  the  leader 
of  the  Reformers.  The  government,  hoary  with  its  sacred  associa- 
tions, was  to  be  taken  to  pieces  and  a  new  administration  was  to  be 
inaugurated.  The  eunuchs  of  the  palace,  a  horde  of  trifling  villains, 
had  the  manipulation  of  the  vast  officialdom,  and  they  perceived  that 
their  power  was  speedily  to  wane.  The  hundred  thousand  military 
mandarins  were  to  be  ousted,  like  the  Daimios  in  Japan ;  and  they 
said :  "  To  dig  w.e  cannot,  and  to  beg  we  are  ashamed."  But  the 
most  tender  point  touched  by  Imperial  reform  was  finance.  A 
great  national  bank  was  to  pay  official  salaries,  and  there  was  to  be  an 

HONEST  GOVERNMENT. 

The  taxes  in  China  are  from  ten  to  twenty  times  as  high  as  those 
in  the  United  States,  and  form  a  revenue  which  would  support 
ten  ordinary  governments.  This  gives  an  immense  field  for  official 
peculation.  A  net  gain  of  Taels  10,000  per  annum,  above  all 
expenses,  satisfies  the  ordinary  Shanghai  merchant,  and  the  man  who 
can  retire,  after  twenty  years'  successful  labor,  with  Taels  200,000,  is 
considered  fortunate.  What  shall  we  think  of  the  Shanghai  Taotai 
who,  it  is  said,  pays  Taels  300,000  for  his  post  and  is  able,  from  the 
income  of  the  likin  stations  and  local  customs,  to  carry  away,  after 
four  years,  from  Taels  500,000  to  Taels  l,0U0,OO0  to  enable  him  to 
obtain  a  higher  office  which  will  supply  higher  emoluments  ?  The 
Chinese  ethical  literature  speaks  of  office  as  we  speak  of  heaven, 
as  the  object  of  the  highest  hopes  and  aspirations ;  Kwang  Hsii 
attempted  the  abolition  of  the  mandarin  heaven  and  failed.  Here 
was  the  great  cause  of  the  revolution  of  1898. 

Then  his  educational  edicts  were  most  drastic — in  a  day  to 
abolish  the  Chinese  classics  and  substitute  the  curriculum  of  the 
West.  The  Imperial  decree,  turning  all  the  minor  temples  through- 
out the  land  into  English  schools,  caused  the  idols  to  hasten  from 
their  shrines  and  show  their  shame-covered  faces  only  to  the  rats 
in  the  garrets.     The  masses  of  the  people  were  not  prepared  for 


1900.]       ARE  MISSIONARIES  IN   ANY  WAY  RESPONSIBLE,   ETC.         615 

this  sudden  emancipation,  and  the  coup  d'etat  of  the  reactionaries 
was  successfully  accomplished.  Here  was  the  time  for  the  foreign 
governments  to  save  the  Emperor  and  to  save  China,  but  they  were 
idle  spectators  ;  and  while  the  Ministers  sat  by  the  fireside  the 
Legation  ladies  were  admitted  to  audience  in  the  presence  of  the 
usurping  Empress.  The  battle  was  fought  two  years  ago,  and  the 
present  anarchy  and  bloodshed  is  simply  the  result  of  the  victory 
then  won  by  Manclui  conservatism.  Repeatedly  have  I  preached  in 
the.  great  congregation  the  potent  words — doubly  affirmed — of  the 
great  teacher  in  Israel,  ''And  if  a  kingdom  be  divided  against 
itself,  that  kingdom  cannot  stand.  And  if  a  house  be  divided 
against  itself,  that  house  cannot  stand."  The  recent  events  are  but 
the  fulfillment  of  prophesy. 

THE  ENGLISH,   FRENCH,  AND   AMERICAN  REVOLUTIONS. 

We  arc  not  to  consider  that  "  some  strange  thing  has  happened 
unto  us,"  It  is  the  dictum  of  history  that  great  national  changes 
are  preceded  by  civil  wars.  Refer  for  examples  to  the  English,  French, 
and  American  revolutions.  Take  Charles  I.,  styled  the  "  Sultan  of 
Turkey,''  who  was  on  the  throne  of  England.  Convening  Parliament 
and  dissolving  Parliament  at  will  and  allowing  no  Parliament  to  be 
held  for  eleven  years,  forbidding  the  peasantry  to  come  to  the  metro- 
polis, granting  monopolies  to  companies  in  defiance  of  the  law,  en- 
couraging the  "Star  Chamber"  to  dispense  with  the  jury,  make 
arrests  on  mere  rumor,  apply  torture  and  inflict  penalties,  inculcating 
celibacy  of  the  clergy,  auricular  confession,  prayers  for  the  dead  and 
the  doctrine  of  purgatory  and  commanding  Scotland  to  receive  a 
liturgy.  The  leaders  of  the  nation  opposed  his  ruinous  policy,  and 
John  Hampden,  by  his  resistance  to  the  payment  of  ship-money 
gained  for  his  name  the  lustre  which  it  has  never  since  lost ;  but 
it  was  not  till  Cromwell  with  his  invincible  Ironsides  in  many  a  con- 
flict led  the  van,  singing  psalms,  and  at  Marston  Moor  charged  the 
Prince's  army  with  such  invincible  force  that  they  were  swept  off 
the  field,  "  God  making  them,"  he  said,  "  as  stubble  to  our  swords," 
that  royalism  was  crushed  and  constitutional  liberty  established 
in  England. 

A  century  and  a  half  later,  cross  the  channel  and  there  was 
Lafayette,  fresh  from  the  American  war,  wined  and  dined,  and 
telling  with  matchless  eloquence  of  Jefferson's  Declaration  of 
Independence,  which  was  soon  followed  in  France  by  the  "  Declara- 
tion of  the  Rights  of  Man."  Then  began  the  struggle  between  the 
monarch  with  two  generations  of  Bourbon  tradition  behind  him, 
and  the  States-Oeneral.  Through  the  country  there  was  a  general 
feeling  of  misery,  oppression,  and  wrong,  crowds  of  desperate  country 


616  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [December, 

people  pressed  into  Paris ;  the  government  on  the  verge  of  bank- 
ruptcy ;  there  was  a  yawning  deficit  in  current  debts  of  the  crown ; 
the  Queen  tried  the  eastern  plan  of  recruiting  a  fallen  fortune — 
if  money  is  lacking  take  to  style ;  the  King  closed  the  hall  against 
the  representatives  and  dealt  in  a  narrow  and  hostile  way  with  his 
statesmen;  on  the  14th  of  July  the  Bastile  fell;  then  followed  the 
Jacobins  and  the  guillotine. 

Forty  years  ago,  cross  the  Atlantic  to  *'  the  land  of  the  free 
and  the  home  of  the  brave."  The  wildest  excitement  prevailed. 
The  president  elect  declared  "  the  country  could  not  stand  half  free 
and  half  slave."  In  the  south  the  two  or  three  hundred  thousand 
Africans,  under,  as  a  general  rule,  a  kind  and  humane  treatment,  be- 
came a  great  people  of  4,000,000.  The  voice  sounded  aloud,  "  If  these 
be  suddenly  freed  the  south  will  become  San  Domingo,"  and  acting 
under  their  interpretation  of  the  Constitution  they  withdrew  from 
the  Union.  The  north  cried  "  E  Pluribus  Unum."  The  clash 
of  arms  was  heard,  and  under  noble  leadership  for  two  years  victory 
for  the  most  part  was  perched  upon  the  southern  banners,  and  it 
was  not  till  a  grand  army  of  a  million  and  a  half  was  put  into  the 
field  that  her  fortunes  waned.  Then  after  the  sword  was  sheathed 
came  the  canker-worm  in  the  form  of  negro  domination,  and  it  was 
not  till  76,  the  centennial  era,  that  the  States  became  a  united  and 
happy  people  and  the  star-spangled  banner  was  equally  the  glory 
of  north  and  south, 

But  to  find  an  exact  counterpart  look  in  1868  at  the 

REVOLUTION   IN   JAPAN. 

The  leader  in  this  revolution,  according  to  the  line  of  argument 
of  modern  critics,  was  Commodore  Perry.  The  disturbances  began 
with  the  entrance  of  foreigners  and  the  trouble  arose  from  the  com- 
plications between  the  ruling  power  in  the  hands  of  the  Tycoon  and 
the  actual  power  in  the  hands  of  the  Mikado,  leading  the  foreign 
ministers  to  demand  that  treaties  be  signed  by  the  Mikado.  The 
Tycoon  in  1864  attempted  to  close  the  port  of  Yokohama  for  the 
reason  "  that  such  a  plan  had  been  found  after  long  deliberation  the 
only  one  calculated  to  calm  down  the  national  feelings."  The 
Prince  of  Tosa  led  the  liberal  party,  while  the  Reactionaries  used  an 
expression  familiar  in  China  and  said,  "  Why  are  we  not  led  out  in 
battle  array  to  sweep  foreigners  into  the  sea  ? "  In  1867  hostile 
troops  from  the  provinces  poured  into  Kioto  ;  the  palace  was  guard- 
ed by  the  Satsuma,  Tosa,  and  other  clans.  There  was  heavy  fight- 
ing at  Osaka  and  other  places. 

Sir  Harry  Parkes  urged,  "  That  they  should  attach  the  penalty 
of  au  ignominious  death  <?»  all  Samurai  who  committed  murderous 


1900.]  AN   ARGUMENT  AGAINST   INDEMNITY.  / 

attacks  on  foreigners  instead  of  an  honorable  death  by  disembi/.. . 
ment."  Quickly  the  feudal  system  was  overthrown  and  the  Mikado 
seated  on  his  throne  in  18(58.  Were  the  disturbances  in  Japan 
ever  put  to  the  account  of  the  missionaries  ?  No,  because  they  at 
that  time  numbered  only  about  a  dozen.  Why  do  the  enemies  of 
the  cross  charge  the  present  disturbances  to  us  ?  Simply  because 
we  are  *'a  great  host  like  the  host  of  God." 

This  argument  can  be  embraced  in  a  nutshell.  There  was  a 
mif^hty  woman  in  this  land  who  had  reigned  for  forty  years  and  who 
rolled  power  as  a  sweet  morsel  under  her  tongue.  Gifted,  talented, 
crafty,  unscrupulous,  like  Athaliah  of  old,  she  did  not  fear  "to  arise 
and  destroy  all  the  seed  royal."  If  the  views  of  the  common  people 
are  to  be  considered  true,  her  moral  character  was  pollution  and 
shame.  With  a  strong  hand  she  imprisoned  the  Emperor,  put  to  death 
his  wives,  seized  the  government,  beheaded  the  Reformers  and  put 
the  statesmen  under  the  cutting-knife.  She  is  the  Sanguinary  ^  j^ 
Tsi-shi,  "  Compassionate  Blessing  !  "  When  the  brave  young  Reformer 
T'an  Sze-t'ung  1^113  1^1'  ^^^  ^^^  ^^  *  great  governor,  was  executed, 
he  turned  around  and  cried,  "  We  die,  but  our  cause  lives."  Clothed 
in  emboidered  robes  of  State,  her  tiara  encircled  with  pearls  and 
flashing  with  diamonds,  she  sits  upon  the  dragon  throne,  but  her 
hands  are  dyed  red  with  the  blood  of  saints.  When  the  scroll  of 
history  is  unrolled,  few  names  will  bq  held  in  greater  execration  than 
that  of  Sanguinary  Tsi  Shi. 


An  Argument  Against  Indemnity. 

BY  MR.    A.    GOOLD. 

^^</^HRIST  also  sufifered  for  us,  leaving  us  an  example  that  we 
^5^/  should  follow  His"  steps."  It  behoves  us  to  find  out  what 
that  example  is,  and  then  to  act  in  accordance  with  it. 
We  find  from  the  context  of  the  above  Scripture  that  Christ  when 
He  suffered,  bore  it  patiently.  He  did  not  resist  evil,  but  endured 
it,  committing  His  cause  to  Him  that  judgeth  righteously.  He 
had  both  the  right  and  the  power  to  resist,  but  He  used  neither. 
And  this  was  in  accordance  with  His  teachings,  as,  for  instance,  the 
Sermon  on  the  Mount.  And  did  not  His  apostles  walk  in  His 
steps  ?  We  have  no  instance  of  Paul,  who  was  pre-eminent  in  his 
sufferings  and  persecutions  on  behalf  of  Christ,  ever  seeking  for 
redress.  And  so  Avith  Peter,  whose  First  Epistle  is  so  full  of  exhorta- 
tion and  instruction  to  persecuted  saints  that  not  only  should  they 
take  it  patiently,  but  they  should  even  rejoice  and  count  themselves 
happy  because  they  were  made   partakera   of  Christ's  sufferings. 


618  THE  CHINESE  EECORDER.  [December, 

Caa  we  imagine  that  the  apostle  contemplated  any  of  these  believers 
seeking  for  redress  ?  Such  a  thought  seems  to  be  entirely  foreign 
to  both  the  teaching  and  the  spirit  of  the  New  Testament.  The 
blessedness  of  suffering  loss  for  the  name  of  Christ  is  constantly 
brought  before  us,  and  many  there  were  who  took  joyfully  the 
spoiling  of  their  goods.  It  was  all  for  His  name's  sake,  and  they 
had  the  joy  of  having  fellowship  with  Him  in  suffering.  And  shall 
we  not  lose,  in  great  measure,  this  blessedness  and  this  joy  if  we 
accept  any  indemnity  from  the  Chinese  ?  Let  us  not  anticipate  the 
day  of  reward  and  compensation,  because  it  is  given  unto  us  not 
only  to  suffer  for  Christ,  but  also  to  reign  with  Hinj  in  glory. 

I  think  it  would  be  wrong  to  ask  for  an  indemnity  for  the 
following  reasons  : — 

1st.  The  almost  impossibility  of  getting  at  the  guilty  persons 
and  compelling  them  to  pay  for  these  outrages.  Whether  the 
indemnity  is  paid  in  the  first  instance  by  the  government  or  by  the 
local  officials,  it  is  certain  that  in  the  end  many  guiltless  persons  will 
have  to  contribute  towards  it. 

2nd.  The  hindrance  that  it  will  cause  to  the  gospel  in  all 
places  where  redress  is  demanded  and  given.  We  know  of  one  in- 
stance where  the  local  feeling  against  the  missionary  was  very  much 
embittered,  because  the  gentry  had  been  compelled  to  give  compen- 
sation for  losses  incurred  during  a  riot. 

3rd.  Because  the  seeking  for,  and  taking  of,  an  indemnity  will 
be  a  great  stumbling-block  to  many  of  the  Christians  and  also  to 
many  outside  the  church  who  are  acquainted  with  the  teachings 
of  Christianity.  There  are  not  a  few  intelligent  men  who  know  the 
doctrines  of  Christ  theoretically,  who  need  to  see  them  exemplified 
in  us.  I  ask,  would  not  a  heathen  Chinese,  after  the  reading  of  the 
New  Testament,  lay  down  the  book  with  this  thought  that  Christ 
taught  His  disciples,  both  by  precept  and  example,  to  endure  per- 
secutions, losses,  and  afflictions  for  His  name's  sake  without  any  hope 
of  present  redress  or  reward  ?  Missionaries  in  China  belong  to 
various  countries,  but  first  of  all  we  belong  to  Christ,  and  more 
than  that  we  are  here  in  China  as  His  ministers  and  as  His  repre- 
sentatives. Shall  we  not  give  to  the  Chinese  a  misconception  of  our 
Master  if  we  demand  from  them  an  indemnity  for  our  losses  at  the 
present  time  ?  Will  it  not  cause  them  to  blaspheme  His  holy 
name  and  all  who  bear  it  ?  Surely  this  should  weigh  with  us.  The 
pecuniary  loss  is  a  small  matter,  for  God  is  able  to  give  us  much 
more  than  this,  but  the  hindrance  to  the  work  will  be  very  real,  and, 
I  fear,  of  long  continuance. 

As  to  the  riots  being  anti-foreign  rather  than  anti-Christian,  that 
is  quite  beside  the  question.     The  persecution  and  losses  endured 


1900.]  THE  INSIGNIFICANT  MISSIONARY.  619 

by  our  fellow- workers  and  ourselves,  have  been  endured  for  the  sjike 
of  Christ  and  His  gospel.  Were  it  not  for  Him  neither  they  or  we 
would  have  come  to  this  land.  We  have  been  sent  here  by  Him, 
and  in  the  prosecution  of  His  work  here  we  have  met  with  these 
things,  and  no  man  may  dare  to  rob  us  of  our  joy  and  reward  for 
suffering  in  His  behalf 


The  InsigniiccWt  Missionary. 

fUST  exactly  what  are  we  to  think  of  the  misionary  in  a  heathen 
country  like  China  ? 

We  are  in  the  habit  of  hearing  much  from  his  critics,  from 
the  travellers  and  merchants,  who  declare  that  they  can  find  no 
evidence  of  his  influence,  that  he  is  a  narrow-minded  bigot,  a  half- 
educated  foreigner,  who  is  engaged  in  the  quixotic  enterprise  of  try- 
ing to  convert  Buddhists  and  Confucianists  who  have  more  culture 
and  sense  than  he  has;  and  that  he  only  succeeds  in  gathering 
around  him  a  few  "rice  Christians"  whom  he  buys  with  his  money, 
the  lowest  of  their  class,  and  that  it  is  absurd  to  imagine  that  he 
can  have  any  effect  on  the  ancient  civilization. 

But  now  here  comes  a  great  uprising,  a  fanatical  and  political 
outbreak,  and  presto !  the  voice  changes.  The  cause  of  all  this 
terrible  war  that  has  affrighted  Christendom  is — this  same  insignifi- 
cant missionary.  It  is  not,  they  say,  the  concessionnaires,  with  their 
railroads,  digging  up  the  bones  of  the  ancestors ;  nor  is  it  the  seizure 
of  Kiao-chau  and  Wei-hai-wei ;  nor  is  it  any  opium  importation  under 
protest,  or  other  insulting  aggressions  on  the  Chinese ;  it  is  all  the 
missionary.  This  missionary,  one  to  two  hundred  thousand  people, 
is  translating  a  foreign  Bible  and  foreign  text-books,  preaching  and 
proselyting,  building  schools  and  hospitals  with  foreign  money,  teach- 
ing foreign  languages,  foreign  science,  foreign  medicine,  foreign 
religion,  and  with  all  his  foreign  notions  stirring  up  such  a  terrible 
hostility  in  the  entire  Chinese  mind  that  this  ubiquitous  and 
iniquitous  missionary  who  goes  everywhere  and  does  everything  bad, 
ought  to  be  expelled  or  shut  up  in  the  treaty  ports,  so  that  the  in- 
nocent merchant  and  the  peaceful  envoys  and  the  harmless  concession- 
naire  might  be  left  to  sell  their  wares  and  build  their  railroads  and 
telegraphs  and  lease  ports  for  ninety-nine  years  without  disturbance. 

But  if  these  two  thousand  missionaries  have  stirred  up  all  this 
row,  what  a  mighty  body  of  men  they  must  be !  What  a  tremen- 
dous influence  they  must  be  exerting  in  these  teeming  millions! 
Verily,  the  pen  is  mightier  than  the  sword  or  the  gunboat.  Never 
again  let  us  hear — till  this  war  is  over — about  the  insignificance 
of  the  missionary. — The  Independent. 


620  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [Decembet, 

Rev.  E.  T.  Williams,  M.A.,  Editor. 

Published  ia  the  interests  of  the  "  Educational  Association  of  China." 

ScieuGe  for  the  Chinese. 

BY  PROP.  E.  R.   LYMAN. 

N  telling  how  any  given  piece  of  work  should  be  done  there 


J-jL  is  at  least  one  distinct  advantage  in  never  having  tried  to 
carry  out  your  own  plan  ;  it  conduces  to  the  symmetry  of  the 
plan.  For  even  the  most  perfect  plans  have  a  way  of  requiring  to 
be  modified  in  the  carrying  out.  It  is  this  thought  that  encourages 
me  to  air  my  opinions  as  to  how  science  should  be  taught  to 
the  Chinese. 

In  trying  to  solve  a  rather  difficult  educational  problem  of  my 
own,  it  has  been  my  privilege  to  visit  most  of  the  schools  of  college 
rank  in  China.  If  my  opinions  derived  therefrom  do  no  more  than 
excite  opposition  that  in  itself  will  be  a  distinct  good  ;  for  cut  off  as 
we  are  in  China  from  the  progressive  world  of  education  we  are  in 
danger  of  falling  into  stereotyped  ways  of  doing  things. 

It  will  be  convenient  to  consider  the  subject  under  the  heads  of 
Elementary,  Secondary,  and  Applied  Science.  By  secondary  science 
is  meant  such  as  is  being  given  by  the  average  Chinese  college  ;  for 
it  corresponds  very  closely  to  the  work  of  our  secondary  or  high 
schools  at  home.  Elementary  science  is  all  that  taught  in  schools 
of  lower  grade  than  the  colleges.  The  third  order  of  science, 
according  to  the  above  classification,  is  as  yet  almost  hypothetical 
so  far  as  China  is  concerned.  The  Imperial  Schools  of  Mining, 
Engineering,  and  Medicine  at  Tientsin  were  making  a  beginning  in 
this  work.  Otherwise  with  perhaps  the  exception  of  some  little 
done  in  connection  with  mission  hospitals,  this  sort  of  work  does 
not  exist  in  China. 

In  the  teaching  of  all  science  there  are  at  least  two  objects  : — to 
impart  knowledge  and  to  train  the^nind.  Neither  of  these  objects 
can  be  carried  out  independently  of  the  other,  but  the  character  of 
the  work  as  a  whole  will  depend  upon  which  of  these  objects  m 
emphasized. 

Within  the  last  few  years  the  teaching  of  science  in  America 
has  undergone  a  great  change.  Heretofore  it  has  been  the  first  of 
the  above  objects  which  has  been  emphasized.     Science  has  beea 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT.  621 

tanght  in  schools  and  colleges  to  give  the  stndents  certain  informa- 
tion which  it  was  considered  necessary  that  everyone  shonid  have. 
It  was  not  snpposed  that  science  possessed  the  same  disciplinary 
value  as  the  study  of  language  and  mathematics.  Just  as  the  study 
of  history  was  largely  the  .memorizing  of  chronological  facta,  so 
science  was  the  memorizing  of  scientific  facts.  Of  course  it  was 
not  science  at  all  but  only  knowledge  about  science. 

Now  all  this  is  being  changed.  Science  is  everywhere  being 
tanght  inductively,  and  it  is  considered  to  be  of  more  importance 
that  the  student  should  be  taught  how  to  reason  than  that  he 
should  accumulate  a  large  store  of  facts  which  he  does  not  under- 
stand well  enough  to  put  to  any  actual  use.  This  method  can  very 
easily  be  abused,  but  I  think  there  are  few  educators  now  who  will 
deny  that  it  is  fundamentally  sound. 

Is  this  method  applicable  to  China  ?  Let  us  see  how  it  will 
apply  to  elementary  science.  The  Chinese  student,  upon  being 
introduced  to  Western  learning,  is  brought  face  to  face  with  a  whole 
new  world  of  facts  and  ideas.  A  large  part  of  the  most  aggressive 
and  most  prominent  part  of  our  civilization  is  the  direct  result  of 
our  attainments  in  science  during  the  last  century.  The  boy  in 
Western  countries  is  brought  np  in  the  atmosphere  of  all  this  and 
accumulates  a  great  store  of  knowledge  which  the  teacher  can  use 
as  capital  when  the  boy  enters  school. 

With  the  Chinese  boy  all  is  different.  His  environment  has 
been  barely  tinged  by  Western  civilization,  and  the  teacher  finds  it 
next  to  impossible  to  speak  to  him  "in  terms  of  experience."  So 
far  as  our  science  is  concerned  he  has  little  or  no  experience.  It 
would  seem,  then,  that  the  object  of  teaching  elementary  science  to 
Chinese  should  be  to  supply  this  experience.  It  should  be  what  the 
Chinese  call  it,^  P^  ^^,  "  enter  the  door  "  science.  It  should  open  the 
door  for  them  to  an  understanding  of  some  of  the  most  obvious 
things  and  ideas  of  our  world.  To  do  this,  even  inadequately,  will 
require  more  than  the  usual  time  allowed  for  elementary  science. 
Hence  I  should  say  that  at  present  there  is  no  place  in  China  for  in- 
ductive elementary  science.  When  the  Chinese  has  by  meeting  the 
knowledge  of  the  outside  world  first  been  led  to  think,  then  it  will 
be  time  enough  to  teach  him  to  reason. 

This  time  has  arrived,  I  should  say,  when  the  student  enters 
college.  The  student  enters  college  with  the  intention  of 
remaining  several  years.  Hence  there  is  time  for  moulding  him 
and  forming  his  habits  of  thought.  He  has  already  had  his  interest 
aroused  in  things  Western,  and  so  far  as  facts  are  concerned  he  can 
inform  himself  further  by  reading.  The  college  should  do  vastly 
more  for  him  than  merely  add  to  his  fund  of  information.    It  should 


622  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [December, 

teach  him  to  reason  accnrately  from  cause  to  effect.  In  the  study 
of  history,  for  instance,  he  shonld  be  led  to  see  that  in  the  history 
of  nations,  certain  causes  have  always  led  to  definite  results.  That 
he  should  not  be  able  to  name  the  kings  of  England  is  of  small 
importance  if  he  understands  how  the  events  of  English  history 
have  contributed  to  the  growth  of  the  spirit  of  independence  and 
to  the  ability  to  use  that  independence. 

What  the  Chinese  student  needs  above  all  else  in  his  study  is 
the  scientific  method  of  study .  He  needs  no  cultivation  of  his 
memory.  This  is  an  "acquired  characteristic,"  iuherited  from 
generations  of  memorizing  ancestors.  What  he  does  need  is  the 
ability  to  deduce  correct  conclusions  from  new  facts  as  he  meets 
them.  The  whole  effect  of  the  Chinese  system  of  education  is  to 
incline  him  to  refer  to  precedent  to  determine  a  course  of  action 
whenever  he  meets  a  new  situation.  It  is  pretty  generally  admitted, 
I  think,  that  the  great  fault  of  the  Chinese  is  their  lack  of  moral  and 
mental  back-bone  and  of  the  power  of  initiative.  What  is  at  the 
root  of  these  qualities  ?  Is  it  not  mainly  the  consciousness  of 
power?  When  men  hesitate  is  it  not  because  they  are  not  sure  of 
themselves  ?  On  the  whole  the  better  trained  a  man's  mind  the 
more  confidence  he  will  have  in  its  decisions.  Whether  a  man  is  to 
be  a  minister,  a  lawyer,  an  engineer,  or  what  not,  it  is  this  same 
mental  self-reliance  which  will  enable  him  to  meet  any  difficulty  with 
composure.  This  should  be  our  aim  then  : — to  develop  a  spirit  of 
intellectual  independence  and  self-reliance.  For  this  end  there  is 
no  better  means  than  the  teaching  of  science, — if  it  is  properly 
taught.  Hence  I  would  plead  for  a  more  general  introduction  of 
the  inductive  method  of  science-teaching  in  the  colleges  of  this 
country. 

It  will  help  to  an  understanding  of  this  method  to  compare  the 
old  with  the  new  in  one  or  two  cases.  In  the  subject  of  chemistry, 
for  instance,  the  object  heretofore  has  been  to  familiarize  the  student 
with  some  of  the  most  common  facts  of  the  science,  such  as  the 
nature  of  burning,  the  composition  and  preparation  of  some  of  the 
most  common  substances,  as  water,  gunpowder,,  the  metals,  salt, 
etc.,  etc.  The  student  learns  to  talk  glibly  of  molecules  and  atoms 
and  to  use  formulaa  and  equations  with  considerable  skill ;  also  to 
do  simple  analysis  by  empirical  methods ;  all  of  which  is  purely 
memory-work,  given  with  the  idea  of  making  the  student  familiar 
with  the  whole  general  subject  of  chemistry. 

How  has  all  this  been  changed?  Now-a-days  the  student  is 
not  launched  at  once  into  definitions  of  molecules  and  atoms,  which 
are  mere  abstractions  to  him,  but  is  carefully  conducted  over  the 
road  which  chemists  have  followed  in  arriving  at  their  present  faith 


1900.]  EDUCATIONAL  DEPARTMENT.  623 

in  the  existence  of  the  hypothetical   molecules   and   atoms.     The 
path  which  chemists  have  foiiud  only  after  lonj;  and  patient  search 
is  all  made  plain  to  the  student.     After  he  has  been  led  to  dnter- 
mine  a  few  molecular  and  atomic  wei<,Mits  from  analytical  data  and 
to  derive  formulae  for  himself,  these  expressions  mean  something 
to  him,  and  he  lias  learned  the  method  of  reasoning,  which  has  led 
to  all  of  our  progress  in  science.     It  will  be  objected, — how  can  the 
student  with   his  limited  time  go  through  all  this  and  still  get  a 
knowledge  of  the  common  facts  of  the  science  P    The  answer  is  : — 
omit  the  greater  amount  of  the  facts  which  we  have  come  to  con- 
sider as  necessary.    Ta'ke  typical  facts  and  treat  them  thoroughly. 
In  chemistry,  for  instance,  the  analysis,  which  is  often  little  more 
than  playing  with  test-tubes,  might  very  well  be  omitted  and  the 
time  devoted  to  a  (ew  quantitative  experiments,  which  will  give  the 
student  some  idea  of  how  a  chemical  fact  is  determined.    Instead 
of  giving  the  student  a  law  to  memorize,  give  him   the  required 
data  and  guide  him  to  the  discovery  of  the  law.     If  he  does  this  in 
a  very  few  cases  he  will  obtain  a  conception  of,  and  respect  for,  law, 
that  he  could  not  get  in  committing  to  memory  every  known  law  of 
nature.     The  aggregate  of  scientific  knowledge  has  become  so  great 
that  we  are  lost  if  we  try  to  gain  more  than  a  knowledge  of  the 
general  principles  of  each   science.     If  in  our  teaching  we  restrict 
ourselves  to  those  facts  which  are  necessary  to  the  proper  under- 
standing of  these  general  principles  and  make  our  main   object 
mental  discipline,  we  may  be  sure  that  the  student  can  make  for  him- 
self such  additions  to  his  fund  of  information  as  he  may  wish  or  need, 
As  in  chemistry  so  iu  the  other  sciences.     If  it  is  physics,  why 
not  omit  those  facts  which  are  of  use  only  to  the  engineer  or  electric- 
ian ?     If  the  student  gets  a  clear  conception  of  the  general  laws  of 
mechanics,  hydraulics,  heat,  and  electricity,  and  of  the  unity  of  it  all, 
through  the  Law  of  the  Conservation  of  Energy,  it  will  be  of  more 
value  to  him  than  if  he  spends  his  time  puzzling  over  the  details 
of  an  electrie-machine,  a  dynamo,  or  a  thermo-pyle.     Similarly  in 
physiology  or  botany.     Of  what  educational  or  practical  value  can 
it  be  to  anyone  but  the  physician  or  the  botanist  to  be  able  to  name 
all  the  parts  iu  the  anatomy  of  an  animal  or  a  plant  ?     If  from  his 
study  of  biology  the  stndent  gets  a  clear  idea  of  some  of  the  funda- 
mental processes  of  life,  this  will  enable  him  to  understand  the  princi- 
ples of  hygiene  and  to  read  understaudingly  about  any  subject  of 
general  biological  interest.    You  may  insist  upon  his  knowing  the 
name  of  every  bone  in  the  body  and  of  every  part  of  a  flower,  and 
within  a  fortnight  after  his  final  examination  he  will  have  forgotten 
it  all  and  indeed  be  the  better  off  for  having  relieved  his  mind  of 
useless  lumber. 


624  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [December, 

la  the  teaching  of  science  inductively  ranch  depends  upon  the 
teacher.  Hence  details  for  teaching  any  particular  subject  are 
superfluous.  It  is  the  general  principle  which  I  would  insist 
upon  : — that  the  volume  of  facts  in  our  science  teaching  be  largely 
curtailed  and  the  time  gained  devoted  to  a  more  thorough  and 
philosophic  study  of  typical  facts. 

There  is  still  another  good  influence  which  this  method  of  study 
would  have  upon  the  Chinese  student.  The  Chinese  who  has 
attended  a  Western  school  knows  so  much  compared  with  the 
great  majority  of  his  fellows  who  have  not  been  so  fortunate^  that 
it  is  not  uncommon  for  him  to  be  insufferably  conceited.  He 
imagines  he  has  acquired  the  bulk  of  "Western  science.  Is  it  any 
wonder  that  Chinese  scholars  despise  Western  learning  which  can 
be  so  easily  mastered  ?  "A  little  knowledge  is  a  dangerous 
thing."  The  inductive  study  of  science  cultivates  modesty.  If 
the  student  learns  that  it  requires  several  years  to  acquire  the 
method  of  science,  to  say  nothing  of  any  particular  science  itself,  he 
is  a  much  more  hopeful  subject.  If  he  has  acquired  mental  power 
while  at  school,  rather  than  showy  facts,  he  is  in  little  danger  of 
going  to  pieces  on  the  rock  of  personal  conceit. 

In  the  School  of  Applied  Science  the  question  of  knowledge  of 
facts  becomes  of  more  importance  than  in  the  secondary  school.  The 
professional  school  is  to  educate  specialists  who  expect  to  devote  their 
time  to  one  branch  of  science.  The  students  are  supposed  to  have  had 
the  training  in  the  scientific  method  and  to  possess  a  general  knowl- 
edge of  science  as  a  whole,  and  now  wish  to  prepare  themselves  for 
physicians,  engineers,  mining  experts,  etc.  Hence  each  man  must 
know  the  detailed  facts  of  his  specialty  as  well  as  its  general  laws.  As 
for  the  methods  of  giving  such  instruction  it  is  as  yet  hardly  a  practical 
question  for  China.  It  seems  to  me  that  for  a  good  while  to  come,  those 
Chinese  who  wish  this  sort  of  special  training  must  get  it  through  a 
foreign  language  and  in  the  foreign  way.  The  time  will  undoubt- 
edly come,  as  it  has  already  come  to  Japan,  when  such  training  can 
be  given  in  the  language  of  the  country.  But  for  a  long  time  to 
come,  China  cannot  have  the  books  of  the  specialist ;  hence  if  she 
wishes  to  avail  herself  of  the  services  of  scientific  experts  in  de- 
veloping her  natural  resources,  she  must  employ  foreigners  or  give 
her  own  sons  foreign  training.  If  it  is  found  inexpedient  to  train 
specialists  in  England  and  America  without  a  reading  knowledge  of 
French  or  German  or  both,  it  is  clearly  out  of  the  question  to  limit 
the  Chinese  special  student  to  his  own  scientifically  barren  language. 
To  summarize,  then,  I  should  say  that  the  object  of  teaching 
science  in  elementary  schools  for  Chinese  should  lie  largely  to  famil- 
iarize the  students  with  the  most  common  facts  of  our  science ;  to 


1900.]  RESOLUTIONS  ON  THE  DEATH  OF  DR.   MUIRHEAD. 

give  them  ratiouftl  explanations  of  natural  phenomena  to  rep 
their  snperstitions  ideas. 

Iq  the  secondary  schools  or  colleges  the  controlling  idea  shonld 
be  discipline.  The  student  shonld  get  some  conception  of  the 
method  of  reasoning  from  a  basis  of  experimental  fact,  which  method 
has  led  to  onr  present  scientific  attainments.  He  shonld  acquire 
that  scientific  habit  of  mind  which  should  enable  him  to  act  wisely 
in  whatever  position  in  life  he  may  be  placed.  If  the  college  does 
this  for  him  it  will  have  done  far  more  than  if  it  only  makes 
a  walking  encyclopedia  of  him. 

Inductive  science  is  not  universal  as  yet,  even  in  America,  for  it 
is  only  the  development  of  the  last  few  years.  If,  however,  proof 
were  needed  that  the  method  is  applicable  to  China,  it  would  be 
sufficient  if  you  could  have  seen  the  good  results  obtained  through 
this  method  by  Mr.  Tewksbury  at  the  North  China  College,  Tung- 
cho.  This  good  beginning  has  fallen  a  victim  to  the  Boxer 
troubles,  but  may  we  not  hope  that  when  the  smoke  and  foul  odors 
of  this  whole  wretched  business  have  floated  away,  we  shall  find  that 
this  good  seed  and  many  another  sown  throughout  this  country,  has 
fallen  on  good  ground. 


Resolutions  on  the  Death  of  Br.  Muirhead. 

ADOPTED  BY   THE  SHANGHAI  MISSIONARY  ASSOCIATION,   TUESDAY 
EVENING,  NOVEMBER   6TH,   1900. 

,y  E  HAVE  heard  with  profound  regret  of  the  death  on 
October  3rd  of  our  oldest  member  and  one  who  had 
repeatedly  filled  the  office  of  chairman  of  our  Association, 
Dr.  William  Muirhead.  His  was  a  character  of  deep  spirituality  and 
devoted  zeal,  and  he  has  left  behind  him  a  bright  example  of  life- 
long consecration.  The  results  of  his  work,  continued  during  fifty- 
three  years,  as  a  Christian  missionary,  will  only  be  fully  known 
when  the  last  day  shall  reveal  the  secrets  of  the  hearts  of  his 
many  converts.  The  steps  of  a  good  man  are  ordered  by  the  Lord. 
Providence  guided  our  departed  friend  to  this  important  city  as  a 
sphere  of  labour,  and  strengthened  him  to  preach,  with  untiring 
vigour,  the  word  of  life,  and  to  tend  with  loving  care  the  flock  of 
God,  of  which  he  was  made  an  overseer. 

Eesolved,  therefore,  that  we,  as  an  Association,  record  with 
gratitude  to  that  God  who  imparts  all  useful  gifts  to  the  ministers  of 


•626  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [December, 

His  church,  our  appreciation  of  his  holy,  energetic,  and  effective 
labours  as  an  author,  a  preacher,  an  active  philanthropist,  and  a 
warm  friend.  We  fervently  hope  that  his  widow,  in  the  hours  of  her 
■bitter  sorrow,  will  be  consoled  by  the  thought  that  he  is  with  the 
Saviour  he  loved,  and  has  received  the  crown  of  righteousness  which 
a-waits  the  faithful  minister  and  all  who  love  his  appearing.  We 
earnestly  desire  that  she  and  his  fellow-workers  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society  will  derive  comfort  from  the  remembrance 
that  the  fruits  of  his  long  continued  labours  will  be  seen  in  coming 
years  in  the  consistent  lives  of  his  converts,  the  usefulness  of  his 
books,  and  the  affectionate  remembrance  of  his  fellow-missionaries. 


Topies  suggested  for  tlie  Week  of  Universal  Prayer. 

BY  THE  EVANGELICAL  ALLIANCE. 

January  6-1 S,  1901. 

JOtiier  needs,  due  to  national  or  local  circumstances  or  by  special  occurrences  at  the 
time  of  meeting,  will  naturally  be  added  by  those  leading  the  devotions  of  the 
assembled  believers.  And  for  tither  topics,  which  no  words  can  express, 
moments  of  silent  prayer  may  helpfully  be  given.  The  leaders  of  meetings  are, 
however,  requested  to  keep  to  the  general  headings  each  day.] 

Sunday,  January  6,  sermons. 

'<  Wait  upon  the  Lord  :  be  of  good  courage  and  He  shall  strengthen 
thine  heart.     Wait,  I  say,  on  the  Lord." — Ps.  xxvii.  14. 

"Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the 
name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost :  teaching 
them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded  you  :  and  lo,  I 
am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the  world."   Matt,  xxviii.  19,  20. 

Monday,  January  7.        the  church  universal. 

Praise  : — 

1.  For  the  love  of  God  in  Christ' and  the  gift  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

2.  For  the  wide  preaching  of  the  gospel,  and  reawakening  desires 
for  revival. 

3.  That  the  present  is  still  "  the  day  of  salvation." 
Confession  : — 

1.  Slothfulness  and  worldliness  amongst  Christians. 

2.  Prevalent  neglect  of  New  Testament  doctrine  and  practice. 

3.  Omission  by  churches  and  individuals  of  faithful  witnessing  before 
Jew  and  Gentile. 

Prayer  : — 

1.  For  greater  manifestation  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  lives  of 
Christians,  for  zeal  in  soul  winning,  and  for  recognition  of  the  unity  of 
all  believers. 

2.  For  more  entire  consecration  and  clearer  views  of  truth  amongst 
all  ministers,  teachers,  and  evangelists. 


1900.]  TOPICS  SUGGESTED  FOR  THE  WEEK  OF  PRAYER.  627 

3.  For  the  speedy  accoropHshraent  of  prophecy  and  earnest  prepara- 
tion for  Christ's  coming. 
Ps.  cxxxix.  1-12. 
Ps.  clxv.  1-13.     Ephes.  i.  3-12.    Col.  i.  9-20.     2  Pet.  iii.  11-14. 

Tuesday,  January  8.  ouu  own  land. 

CONFKSSION  : — 

1.  Of  national  sin  through  the  love  of  amusements,  neglect  of  the 
Lord's  day,  and  haste  to  get  rich. 

2.  Of  pride,  vainglory,  and  an  un-Christian  spirit  towards  other 
nations. 

Praise  : — 

1.  For  all  national  mercies,  for  Christian  work,  and  orderly  gorem- 
ment. 

2.  For  preservation  from  enemies,  and  special  mercies. 

Prayer : — 

1.  For  revival  of  family  religion,  preservation  of  the  young  from 
abounding  temptations,  and  for  all  in  distress. 

2.  For  schools  and  colleges  and  for  instruction  In  the  pure  Word 
of  God  therein. 

3.  For  special  blessing  of  the  Holy  Ghost  in  the  work  of  all  the 
churches  and  in  home  missions,  and  loyal  acceptance  of  the  Bible  as  the 
inspired  Word  of  God,  for  preservation  from  Romanism  and  ritualism, 
and  from  scepticism  and  infidelity. 

4.  For  those  in  authority,  that  they  may  be  guided  in  international 
afifairs  and  in  suppression  of  evils  whereby  other  nations  are  injured,  and 
for  united  prayerful  effort  against  national  sins. 

Ps.  xxxiii.  12;  cxliv.  15.  Prov.  xiv.  34.  Rom.  xiii.  1-7.  1  Tim. 
ii.  1-8.     Rev.  v.  9. 

Wednesday,  January  9.         other  nations. 

Praise  : — 

1.  For  the  extension  of  the  gospel  throughout  the  world. 

2.  For  the  wide  circulation  of  the  Word  of  God. 

3.  For  the  more  hearty  recognition  of  the  oneness  of  all  true 
believers  in  Christ, 

Prayer : — 

1.  For  righteous  government  in  all  nations  and  submission  to  it  on 
the  part  of  the  people,  liberty  for  Cliristian  work,  peace  throughout  the 
world,  and  a  cessation  of  all  that  leads  to  strife. 

2.  For  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  the  purification  of  all  Chris- 
tian churches,  and  in  the  wide  adoption  of  simple  evangelical  religion, 
and  for  patience  and  steadfastness  on  the  part  of  those  persecuted  for 
their  faith. 

3.  For  the  founding  and  growth  of  evangelical  churches  in  all  lands. 
John  xvii.  13-26.     Ephes.  iii.  14-21. 

Thursday,  January  10.         heathen  lands. 
Confession  : — 

1.  Of  past  neglect  in  evangelization. 

2.  That  self-aggrandisement,  ambition,  and  greed  have  outweighed 
concern  for  those  in  spiritual  darkness. 


628  THE  CHINESE  RECORDER.  [December, 

Praise  : — 

1.  For  the  opening  of  the  world  to  missionary  enterprise  and  for 
evidences  of  Christ's  power  to  "  save  to  the  uttermost." 

2.  For  a  revived  interest  in  foreign  missions,  especially  in  Colleges 
and  Universities. 

Prayer  : — 

1.  That  Christians  may  be  guided  by  the  Holy  Ghost  to  devote 
themselves  more  to  the  evangelization  of  the  world,  that  more  may  offer 
themselves  for  this  work,  and  that  needed  wisdom  be  given  to  missionary 
societies.  Boards,  and  committees. 

2.  For  increase  of  spiritual  life  amongst  missionaries  and  their  con- 
verts, for  more  sympathy  between  them  and  those  amongst  whom  they 
labour,  and  for  all  native  workers. 

3.  For  protection  of,  and  steadfastness  amongst,  converts  in  China, 
that  sound  reform  movements  may  be  permitted,  and  that  anti-foreign 
and  insurrectionary  societies  may  be  suppressed. 

4.  For  the  guidance  and  blessings  of  the  Holy  Spirit  in  all  work  in 
foreign  missions. 

Is.  Iv.     Ps.  xcviii.     Acts  i.  6-11.     Rom.  i.  18-32. 

Friday,  January  11.      the  Mohammedan  world. 
Confession  : — 

1.  Of  want  of  missionary  zeal  in  the  evangelization  of  Moham- 
medan lands. 

Praise  : — 

1.  For  the  safe  keeping  of  workers  in  Persia  and  elsewhere  from 
eJffects  of  fanaticism  and  hatred. 

2.  For  converts  in  India  and  those  in  other  countries  who  have  been 
faithful  unto  death. 

3.  For  blessing  given  to  work  in  Palestine. 

Prayer : — 

1.  For  Mohammedans  throughout  the  world,  that  they  may  be  will- 
ing to  listen  to  the  claims  of  Christ. 

2.  For  purity  of  doctrine  and  life  and  evangelizing  zeal  amongst 
Armenians,  Copts,  and  other  Christian  bodies  in  Mohammedan  countries, 
and  liberty  for  Christian  work  throughout  the  Turkish  empire. 

3.  That  the  Holy  Ghost  may  guide  medical,  female,  and  all  mis- 
sionary workers  and  raise  up  evangelists  and  pastors  in  the  native 
churches. 

Ps.  ii.     Rom.  x.  4-15.     1  Pet.  ii.  1-12. 

Saturday,  January  12,  the  jews. 

Confession  : — 

1.  Of  apathy  and  neglect  in  seeking  to  bring  Jews  into  the  true  fold. 

2.  Of  the  false  presentation  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  many  of  the 
lands  called  Christian. 

Praise  : — 

1.  For  the  awakening  of  the  Christian  church  to  the  position  of 
God's  beloved  and  elect  people. 

2.  For  the  many  who  have  confessed  Christ,  for  open  doors  and 
readiness  to  receive  Christian  literature. 


1900.] 


CORRESPONDENCE, 


629 


Prayer  : — 

1.  That  Christians  may  take  a  wider,  more  intellijjent,  and  more 
prayerful  iiitcrcsfc  in  Israel's  spiritual  good,  and  that  Anti-Seiuiiism  may 
cease  in  all  lands. 

2.  That  special  wisdom,  fitness,  spirituality,  and  acceptance  may,  by 
the  Holy  Spirit,  be  given  to  Jewish  missionaries  at  home  and  abroad,  for 
guidance  to  Committees  of  Societies,  and  for  blessing  on  all  missions 
to  the  Jews. 

3.  That  Hebrew  Christians  may  stand  fast,  and  seek  to  bring  in 
their  own  friends  and  relations. 

4.  For  the  accomplishment  of  God's  revealed  designs  as  to  tlie  Jews, 
and  for  a  deeper  longing  amongst  Jewish  and  Gentile  Christians  for  'the 
glorious  appearing  of  our  great  God  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ.' 

Is.  Ixii.     Luke  xi.  35.     Horn.  xi.  5,  25-36.     Titus  ii.  12-15. 

Sunday,  January  IS.  sermons. 

"This  same  Jesus  ....  shall  so  come  again  in  like  manner  as  ye 
have  seen  Him  go  into  heaven," — Acts  i.  11. 

"  After  this  I  beheld,  and,  lo,  a  great  multitude,  which  no  man  could 
number  .  .  .  stood  before  the  throne  and  before  the  Lamb." — Rev.  vii.  9. 


C0rusp0nkna. 


Dr.  Sheflfield  writes  from  Pe- 
king :— 

1  called  three  days  ago,  by  invita- 
tion, with  Mr.  Tewksbury,  on  Mr. 
Chang  Yen-niao,  who  is  appointed 
by  Li  Hung-chang  to  adjust  claims 
of  native  Christians  for  destruction 
of  property,  and  also  punish  leading 
Boxers  so  as  to  make  it  safe  for 
Christians  to  i-eturn  to  their  homes. 
He  had  heard  of  the  work  of  Mr. 
Tewksbury  about  Tung-clio  and 
wished  to  talk  through  the  method 
of  proceeding.  It  is  the  evident 
wish  of  Li  Hung-chang  to  get  a  good 
start  in  tiiis  adjustment  before 
settling  down  to  arranging  of  trea- 
ties. It  will  be  greatly  for  the 
advantage  of  the  Chinese  govern- 
ment to  be  able  to  say  that  it  is 
prepared  to  make  good  to  all 
sufferers  their  losses  in  this  up- 
heaval. Probably  there  is  little 
repentance  among  the  leaders  of 
this  great  wickedness,  but  there 
is  an  awakening  to  the  folly  of  the 
undertaking.  I  have  exchanged 
calls  with  Su  Ch'in-wang,  in  whose 
Fu    the    native     Christians    were 


quartered  during  the  siege.  He  is 
an  interesting  man,  35  years  old, 
and  evidently  fond  of  foreign  things 
and  prepared  to  learn  concerning 
the  outside  world. 


DR.    DUBOSES    PAMPHLET. 

To  the  Editor  of 

"  The  Chinese  Recorder," 

Dear  Sir  :  Now  that  Dr.  DuBose's 
paper,  read  before  the  Shanghai 
Missionary  Association,  is  to  be 
published  in  pamphlet  form,  we 
missionaries  will  have  a  good 
opportunity  of  helping  to  enlighten 
friends  and  opponents  of  missions 
as  to  liow  far  missionary  work  is 
responsible  for  the  troubles  in  China. 
Allow  me  to  suggest  that  we  all 
do  what  we  can  to  get  the  paper 
into  the  hands  of  influential  men 
living  in  our  various  home  dis- 
tricts. I  am  intending  to  send  a 
copy  to  each  of  the  four  members 
of  Parliament  for  the  city  of  Bristol 
and  to  each  of  the  editors  of  the 
Bristol  daily  papers. 


630 


THE  CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[December, 


I  venture  to  think  that  if  we  all 
adopt  some  such  plan  as  this,  a 
great  deal  of  the  anti-missionary 
agitation,  which  is  based  on  ignor- 
ance, would  be  effectually  met  and 
answered. 

Yours  sincerely, 

Cecil  Smith. 


INDEMNITIES. 

To  the  Editor  of 

"  The  Chinese  Recorder." 

Dear  Sir  ;  I  was  much  interested 
in  the  articles  in  the  last  number 
of  the  Recorder  on  the  subject  of 
Indemnities.  It  is  a  subject  which 
many  of  us  will  have  to  face  and 
which  may  well  engage  our  serious 
attention.  Some  very  good  ideas 
were  expressed  and  some  forcible 
arguments  given.  But  yet,  some- 
how, there  seemed  a  great  lack. 
There  was  little  or  no  appeal  to 
the  Word  of  God.  What  saith  the 
Scriptures  t  We  should  expect 
from  those  who  are  on  a  spiritual 
mission,  such  as  we  missionaries 
are  supposed  to  be,  that  an  appeal 
would  be  made  to  authoritj'^,  and 
that  not  human  but  divine.  And 
so,  Mr.  Editor,  since  reading  these 
articles  I  have  been  turning  over 
in  ray  mind  the  different  passages 
of  Scripture  bearing  on  the  subject, 
and  searching  for  others,  and  I 
seem  to  search  in  vain  for  anything 
which,  to  me,  seems  to  justify  the 
demanding  of  compensation  by  us, 
as  missionaries,  for  losses  sustained 
whilst  propagating  the  gospel. 
There  will  recur  to  us  all,  of  course, 
the  example  and  teachings  of  the 
Master.  I  think  we  will  nearly  all 
agree  that  it  would  seem  absurd,  not 
to  say  sacrilegious,  to  try  to  find 
anything  in  the  life  of  our  Lord  that 
would  justify  indemnities.  It  is 
written  of  Him  that  "when  He 
suffered  He  threatened  not,  but 
committed  Hhnselfto  Him  that  judg- 
eth  righteously."  Is  it  not  enough 
that  the  servant  be  as  his  Master? 
And  could  we  conceive  of  Paul'a 


asking  for  indemnity,  even  admit- 
ting that  there  had  been  any  hope 
of  obtaining  it  when  asked?  Or 
that  he  would  have  recommended 
his  converts  to  ask  for  it,  or  helped 
them  to  obtain  it  ?  "  Being  reviled, 
we  bless;  being  persecuted,  we  suffer 
it ;  being  defamed,  we  entreat ;  we 
are  made  as  the  filth  of  tiie  world, 
and  the  offscouring  of  all  things  to 
this  day."  Paul  gloried  in  these 
things.  And  of  his  converts  the 
most  that  we  can  learn  in  this  line 
is  that  they  "  took  joyfully  the  spoil- 
ing of  their  goods,  knowing  that 
in  themselves  they  had  in  heaven  a 
better  and  anenduringinheritance." 

But  again,  let  us  sit  down  and 
read  through  the  Gospels  and  the 
Epistles  and  endeavor  to  see  what 
is  the  spirit  which  we  imbibe  as 
we  read  them.  Can  we  imagine 
to  ourselves  a  man  saturated  with 
word,  tilled  with  the  spirit  of  the 
New  Testament,  going  to  his  gov- 
ernment and  asking  that,  by  force 
or  by  whatever  means,  the  losses 
he  and  his  converts  have  sustained, 
be  made  good  by  the  people  to 
whom  he  has  been  preaching  the 
gospel  of  peace  ?  We  must  always 
remember  that  to  ask  for  indemnity 
may  mean  war  and  bloodshed  in 
order  to  exact  it. 

Now,  Mr.  Editor,  I  am  far  from 
wishing  to  dogmatize  upon  this 
matter.  But  it  is  one  of  vital 
importance,  and  I  would  simply 
know  the  truth.  Christian  missions 
have  never  before  stood  face  to 
face  with  so  stupendous  a  matter. 
If  indemnities  are  right  and  best, 
let  us  by  all  means  have  them. 
But  if  by  accepting  them  we  dis- 
please our  Lordand  hamper  our  work 
for  many  years  to  come,  and  instil 
wrong  ideas  into  the  minds  of  our 
native  Christians,  then  better  far 
that  our  chapels  and  houses  remain 
in  ruins  and  our  beginnings  be  slow 
and  seemingly  protracted  for  want  of 
money.  It  will  pay  better  in  the  end. 
Yours,  etc., 

Enquirer. 


1900.] 


EDITORIAL  COMMENT. 


681 


(Sur  §00k  ®abk. 


£1  ±  nfll  JE  M  ;;$  18  l£  f?lJ-  Commentary 
on  Ezra — PbuIiiis.  i'>y  A.  J.  U.  Monle. 
Printed  at  tho  Piosbyterian  Mission 
PreBS. 

This  work  is  the  third  volume  of 
the  Cornraentary  on  the  Old  Tes- 
tament wljicli  Mr.  Moule  is  prepar- 
ing. It  is  a  work  of  118  leaves, 
all  comment  ;  tho  reader  being  ex- 
pected to  keep  his  Bible  before 
him  as  he  reads.  Tliis  is  an 
absolutu  necessity  in  a  Ciiinese 
commoniary  if  one  wishes  to  keep 
the  book  small  and  yet  give  any- 
thing btjyond  the  most  meagre 
explanation. 

Tills  work  commends  itself  to  the 
reader  by  its  style,  its  scope,  and 
its  directness.  The  desiderata  in 
a  commentary  may  be  sinnnied  up 
as  being,  1st,  a  combination  of 
brevity    with    comprehensiveness ; 


2nd,  adaptation  to  the  needs  of 
the  reader,  i.e.,  the  answering  of 
questions  which  the  reader  puts  to 
it,  either  as  to  tho  meaning  or  tho 
historical  setting  of  the  passage; 
and  3rd,  making  clear  the  spiritual 
teaching.  This  work  seems  to  meet 
these  three  tests  very  well ;  and 
also,  if  a  foreigner  can  judge  of  how 
any  work  will  act  upon  the  Chinese 
mind,  it  lias  a  fourth  merit,  that 
of  suggestiveness.  This  is  the 
only  way  in  which  to  combine 
beauty  with  comprehensiveness; 
to  give  a  hint  here,  a  preg- 
nant thought  there,  and  thus 
open  before  the  mind  a  new  path 
by  which  to  reach  the  inner  mean- 
ing of  the  word.  We  shall  bo  f^lad 
when  we  can  have  the  whole  of  the 
Old  Testament  comments  as  transla- 
ted and  elaborated  by  Mr.  Moule. 


^bit0rial  €amxamt 


Some  of  the  organs  of  Mission- 
ary Societies  at  home  have  been 
surprised  and  grieved  at  the  ac- 
tion taken  by  the  missionaries  in 
Shanghai,  in  calling  tho  atten- 
tion of  the  home  governments  to 
certain  essentials — as  they  seem  to 
the  missionaries  to  be — in  deal- 
ing with  the  present  crisis.  The 
chief  objection  brought  forward 
is,  that  the  missionaries  should 
not  be  mixed  up  in  any  sort  of 
political  action.  But  it  seems 
clear  that  at  heart,  our  friends 
at  home  have  grieved  at  finding 
missionaries  bent  on  vengeance, — 
calling  for  the  blood  of  our  ene- 
mies and  for  the  downfall  of  a 
hated  ruler ! 

But  this  is  the  very  point  at 
which    the   action   of  the    mis- 


sionary mass-meeting  was  mis- 
understood. We  do  not  dare  to 
say  that  no  missionary  in  all  our 
number  has  felt  any  indignant 
desire  that  the  brutal  destroyers 
of  brethren  and  sisters  beloved 
should  be  punished.  That  would 
be  to  say  that  missionaries  were 
better  than  angels.  But  we  do 
affirm,  and  unhositalingly,  that 
had  not  one  missionary  perished 
during  these  terrible  months, — 
had  the  victims  been  Ministers, 
or  Consuls,  or  merchants, — the 
missionaries  wouM  with  equal 
earnestness  have  set  their  seal  to 
those  resolutions.  The  action 
taken  was  not  a  desire  for  ven- 
geance ;  it  was  the  utterance,  by 
those  best  fitted  by  long  study 
of  the  country  to  know  China's 


632 


THE  CHINESE  RECORDEB. 


[December, 


need,  of  their  conscientious  opin- 
ion as  to  the  way  to  save  China. 
Not  the  spirifc  of  vengeance, — save 
perhaps  in  a  very  few  breasts, — 
but  a  deep,  heart-rending  pity 
moves  missionaries'  hearts  dur- 
ing these  days ;  and  this  very 
pity  sees  that  the  only  way  to 
save  China  from  a  long  anarchy 
and  a  more  terrible  cruelty,  is 
prompt,  decisive  and  unmistak- 
able action  on  the  part  of  the 
outside  Powers.  If  they  prefer 
to  leave  China  alone, — the  only 
other  alternative,  as  it  appears 
to  almost  all  China  residents. — 
then  the  missionaries  are  ready 
to  take  the  odds  and  face  the 
dangers.  But  if  the  Powers  do 
not  intend  to  retire  from  China, 
they  only  protract  her  agony  and 
add  to  their  own  difficulties  by 
half-way  measures.  This  knowl- 
edge, and  not  revengeful  feelings, 
led  the  missionaries  to  add  their 
voice  to  the  voices  of  all  other 
residents  in  China,  calling  on  our 
governments  to  save  China. 


quite  different.  He  and  we  are 
on  the  same  side  of  the  question 
as  to  our  duty  of  conciliating 
in  every  possible  way  those  whom 
we  desire  to  help.  But  it  is 
rather  hard  on  the  rank  and  file 
of  the  missionary  army  to  be 
read  out  of  the  ranks  as  being 
men  and  women  of  "  mediocre 
mental  character."  It  is  too  bad 
that  all  men  everywhere  can't  be 
born  geniuses.  But  as  some  are 
"  villagers,"  and  "  men  of  narrow 
horizon,*'  it  is  yet  again  a  pity 
that  the  people  at  home  don't  see 
the  necessity  of  keeping  them 
at  home  and  sending  only  men 
of  broad  learning,  cultured  habits, 
and  polish,  to  heathen  lands. 
Perhaps  the  trouble  is,  that  men 
of  that  kind  prefer  to  stay  where 
— but  we  will  not  be  satirical. 
Only,  our  literary  friends  who 
admire  the  "ancient,  polished 
and  highly  cultivated  "  character 
of  the  Chinese,  usually  prefer 
after  a  short  study  of  it  to  move 
off  to  quite  a  distance. 


Doubtless  most  missionaries 
who  have  read  Julian  Ralph "s 
articles  have  felt  grateful  to  him 
for  his  quite  evident  espousal  of 
the  cause  of  the  missionaries. 
Even  the  criticism  which  we 
quoted  in  our  last  issue  is  nob  a 
very  terrible  indictment  of  the 
missionary.  There  are  mistakes 
in  it, — the  greatest  one  being  his 
assumption  that  missionaries  are 
less  desirous  than  he  would  be 
not  to  hinder  their  own  work  by 
injudicious  parading  of  Western 
customs  and  manners  before  the 
scandalized  heathen.  He  takes  for 
granted  that  which  needs  proof. 
*  *  * 

But  the  point  where  we  must 
take   issue   with    Mr.    Ralph  is 


There  is  a  question  here  which 
goes  down  deep  into  the  philo- 
sophy of  human  life.  Is  it  true 
that  only  the  cultured,  the 
travelled,  the  broad-minded,  are 
of  use  in  the  world  ?  Being 
ourselves  of  the  missionary  per- 
suasion, we  will  not  try  to  make 
out  that  missionaries  are  all 
geniuses,  great  men,  or  even 
honor- men  in  schools  and  univer- 
sities. But,  we  ask  again,  are  the 
men  and  women  who  do  not  write 
greatly,  or  who  have  not  travelled 
widely,  or  who  have  not  had  the 
power  which  money  gives  to 
enter  the  reserved  seats  of  culture 
and  ultra  refinement, — are  these 
to  be  drummed  out  of  the  un- 
iverse ?  Who  are  the  workers  at 
home  ?     Who  carry  into  practice 


1900.] 


EDITORIAL  COMMENT. 


683 


the  great  suggestions  of  the  few 
geniuses  the  world  produces? 
Who  are  the  steady,  faithful 
plodders,  who  in  coniinerce  build 
up  a  nation's  wealth,  in  con- 
quest win  a  nation's  fame,  in  re- 
ligion conserve  a  nation's  consci- 
ence, and  change  its  life  ?  And  if 
all  classes  are  needed  at  home,  let 
not  the  hand  say  to  the  foot,  *  I 
have  no  need  of  thee.'  If  then  at 
home  the  less  talented  have  their 
work — and  in  faith  the  bulk  of 
the  work — to  do  ;  in  this  great 
enterprise  on  which  the  church 
has  entered,  of  bringing  the 
world  to  Christ,  they  have  like- 
wise a  large  share  By  all 
means,  let  the  home  lands  send 
the  best  they  have, — we  need 
the  best,  we  call  for  the  best,  we 
pray   for  the   best,    and    thank 

God,  we  have  some  of  the  best. 

*         »         # 

But  the  church  will  not,  cannot 
subscribe  to  this  view,  of  what 
the  world  rather  likes  to  call 
"  narrow-mindedness,"  "  medio- 
crity," being  an  impediment  in 
the  way  of  the  service  of  God. 
The  man  who,  when  he  first 
comes  to  the  field,  rather  thinks 
he  knows  just  how  it  is  all  to  be 
done,  and  is  very  decided  as  to 
what  he'll  have  and  what  he'll 
not  have  (vide  the  article  under 
discussion)  begins  to  broaden  as 
soon  as  he  touches  his  work. 
Mr.  Ralph  would  not  recognize 
him  for  the  same  man,  after  ten 
years.  And  the  cultured,  broad- 
minded,  able  man  that  comes  to 
China,  has  relatively  as  much 
to  learn  and  to  unlearn  in  order 
to  adjust  himself  to  his  work  in 
China,  as  the  "  villager,"  just 
fresh  from  his  "narrow  horizon." 

In  conclusion,  we  would  sug- 
gest a  view  of  this  matter, — and 


a  very  practical  one, — which  hiis 
always  been  enigmatical  to  the 
believers  in  culture  only,  but 
which  i)utH  an  entirely  different 
face  on  the  whole  question  of 
the  usefulness  of  the  mediocre. 
When  God  chooses  to  use  a  man, 
and  the  man  gives  himself  to  be 
used,  we  care  not  who  or  what 
he  is,  he  becomes  broader  and 
more  powerful  than  the  most 
cultured  speaker  or  writer  in  the 
world.  Who  was  Moody  ?  Peo- 
ple laughed  at  his  ungrammatical 
phrases,  and  lamented  his  harp- 
ing always  on  one  string  ;  but 
Moody  moved  conservative  Eng- 
land and  cavilling  America  as  no 
finished  orator  ever  could.  Why  ? 
Because  God  was  in  him.  This 
was  his  life, — to  save  soula 
When  he  accosted  a  man  on  the 
street,  asking  him  if  he  was 
saved,  and  the  man  said  roughly, 
"  That  is  none  of  your  business," 
he  simply  said, — "  Yes,  but  it  is 
my  business ! "  and  the  man 
turned  and  said,  "  Why,  then  you 
must  be  D.  L.  Moody  !  "  Charles 
Sheldon,  whose  books  sell  better 
than  novels,  and  whom  great 
crowds  go  to  hear  wherever  he 
preaches,  is  said  to  be  a  man 
of  restricted  vocabulary,  and  a 
narrow  range  of  thought.  And 
yet,  when  you  listen  to  him,  you 
know  you  are  in  the  presence 
of  a  prophet,  whom  God  has 
raised  up  to  meet  the  need  of 
this  generation  in  a  particular 
line.  Ah,  no.  Mr.  Ralph. — you 
must  not  despise  the  narrow  men 
the  men  of  one  idea. — nor  need 
you  tremble  for  the  safety  of  the 
ark  of  God  when  entrusted  to 
their  care.  They  come  to  China, 
to  India,  to  the  isles  of  the  sea, 
with  the  same  love  which  filled 
the  heart  of  Christ,  and  give 
themselves  for  the  world.     And 


634 


THE   CHINESE   RECORDER. 


[December, 


though  they  are  not  much  heard 
of  at  home,  except  when  some 
upheaval  suddenly  throws  them 
and  their  work  to  the  surface,  it 
is  their  work  in  heathen  as  in 
Christian    lands, — the    work   of 


the  God-called  rank  and  file, — 
that  will  be  most  manifest  and 
glorious  when  God  rewards  men 
according  to  the  deeds  done  in 
the  body. 


Illissianarn  i;efos* 


A  Voice  from  the  Grave, 

Among  all  the  sad  records  of  the 
present  war  few  are  more  patlietic 
than  the  following  letters  of  Mrs. 
Atwater,  written  shortly  before  she 
was  murdered  and  rlelivei'ed  to  a 
faithful  servant,  who  succeeded 
in  concealing  his  sacred  trust 
and  forwarding  them  through  his 
son  : — 

FEH-CHon-FU,  July  30th,  1900. 

Dear  ones  at  Taku  : — Mrs.  Clapp, 

RowE»A,  Louise. 

The  gentlemen's  letters  will  tell  you 
what  our  next  step  is,  so  I  won't  speak  of 
it.  This  last  news  from  you  confirming 
our  fears  concering  the  dear  ones  at  Tai- 
yuau  was  hard  ;  God  knows  how  hard  for 
ns  to  hear,  but  I  caiinot  write  of  it  yet. 
We  passed  a  terrible  night,  and  in  th« 
morning  there  was  the  very  li-hai  pro- 
clamation ordering  us  out  almost  at  once. 
I  could  do  nothing  but  cry  to  God  ;  it 
Beenied  as  if  I  could  bear  no  more  in 
my  present  condition.  No  one  talked  at 
meals.  We  seemed  to  be  waiting  for  the 
end,  and  I  for  my  part  longed  that  it 
might  come  speedily.  He  Kou  went  like 
a  lirave  fellow  to  the  yanien  to  at^k  if  we 
could  not  have  an  escort  to  the  river. 
We  could  hire  nothing  unless  the  Knan 
helped  us.  He  stayed  so  long  we  feared 
he  had  been  beaten,  but  our  fears  for  once 
were  groundless.  And  yet  although  an 
escort  has  been  promised,  I  feel  very  un- 
easy. The  new  Kuan  has  come,  but  the 
old  one  will  not  give  up  his  authority, 
and  there  is  considerable  friction  in  con- 
sequence. How  it  may  affect  our  going 
I  do  not  know.  We  are  in  the  Lord's 
hands.  What  will  you  plan  to  do?  We 
winli  we  could  know,  I  do  pray  you  may 
be  led  every  step-     I  wish  I  could  think 


it  safe  to  go  toward  Hankow,  It  seems 
such  a  risk,  but  there  seems  nothing  else 
for  it  now.  May  God  keep  each  one  of 
you.  He  is  our  only  help.  With  much 
love  to  each  of  you,  and  kindest,  regards 
to  Mr.  Davis,  Mr.  Clapp,  and  Mr. 
Williams. 

Ever  lovingly, 

Lizzie  Atwater. 

Later.  Snd  August,  1900. 

Our  plans  are  upset ;  we  do  not  think 
we  can  escape  from  the  city.  Several  of 
the  church  members  are  planning  to  con- 
ceal us  if  we  divide  up.  It  is  hard  to  do 
that.  Mr.  Lei  wishes  to  conceal  me  in 
his  home  right  here  in  the  city,  but  I  want 
to  stay  with  my  dear  husband  while  life 
is  given  to  ns.  Heaven  seems  very  near 
these  last  hours,  and  I  feel  quite  calm. 

There  will  be  a  joyful  welcome  for  us 
all  above.  I  am  fixing  my  thoughts  more 
and  more  on  the  glorious  hereafter,  and 
it  gives  me  wonderful  peace.  God 
bless  you  all. 

Yours   in  blessed  hope, 

L.  A. 

Note  on  the  envelope. — The  foreigners 
at  Taku,  six  in  number,  were  beheaded 
yesterday  (August  1st). 

Fen-chou-fo,  Srd  August,  1900. 

My  Dear,  Dear  Ones  :  I  have  tried  to 
gather  courage  to  write  to  you  once 
more.  How  am  I  to  write  all  the 
horrible  details  of  these  days.  1  would 
rather  spare  you.  The  dear  ones  at 
Shou-yang,  seven  in  all,  including  our 
lovely  girls,  were  taken  prisoners  and 
brought  to  T'ai-yuan  in  irons  and  there 
by  the  Governor's  orders  beheaded, 
together  with  the  T'ai-yuau  friends, 
thirty-three  souls.  The  following  day 
the  Roman  Catholic  priests  and  niuis 
from  T'ai-yuan,  were  also  beheaded  ;  ten 
souls    yesterday.     Three    weeks    after 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  NEWS. 


686 


thoBO  had  perished,  our  Mission  (it  Tiiku 
wa-<  attiickod,  and  our  six  friends  there 
and  several  bravo  Christians  who  stood 
by  them  wore  beheaded.  Wo  are  now 
waiting  our  call  home.  We  have  tried 
to  got  away  to  the  hills,  but  tlie  plans 
do  not  work.  Our  things  are  being 
stolen  right  and  loft,  for  the  people 
know  that  we  arc  condemned.  Why 
our  lives  have  been  spared  we  cannot 
tell.  The  proclamation  says  tliat 
whoever  kills  us  will  be  doing  the 
Governor  a  great  service.  Our  magis- 
trate has  kept  peace  so  far,  but  if  these 
men  come  from  Taku  there  is  not  much 
hope,  and  there  seems  none  any  way  we 
turn.  The  foreign  soldiers  are  in  Pao- 
ting.fn,  and  it  is  said  that  peace  is  made. 
This  would  save  us  in  any  civilised 
land,  uo  matter  what  people  may  say. 
The  Governor  seems  to  be  in  htiste  to 
finish  his  bloody  work,  for  which  there 
is  little  doubt  he  was  sent  to  Shan-si. 
Dear  ones,  I  long  for  a  sight  of  your 
dear  faces,  but  1  fear  we  shall  not  meet 
on  earth.  I  have  loved  you  all  so 
much,  and  know  you  will  not  forget  the 
one  who  lies  in  China.  There  never 
were  sisters  and  brothers  like  mine. 
I  am  preparing  for  the  end  very 
quietly  and  calmly.  The  Lord  is 
wonderfully  near,  and  He  will  not  fail 
me.  I  was  very  restless  and  excited 
while  there  seemed  a  chance  of  life,  but 
God  has  taken  away  that  feeling,  and 
now  I  jubt  pray  for  grace  to  meet  the 
terrible  end  bravely.  The  pain  will 
soon  be  over  and,  oh,  the  sweetness  of 
the  welcome  above. 

My  little  baby  will  go  with  me.  I 
think  God  will  give  it  to  me  in  heaven, 
and  my  dear  mother  will  be  so  glad  to 
see  us.  I  cannot  imagine  the  Saviour's 
welcome.  Oh,  that  will  compensate  for 
all  these  days  of  suspense.  Dear  ones, 
live  near  to  God  and  cling  less  closely  to 
earth.  There  is  no  other  way  by  which 
we  can  receive  that  peace  from  God 
which  passeth  understanding.  I  would 
like  to  send  a  special  message  to  each 
one  of  you,  but  it  tries  me  too  much. 
I  must  keep  calm  and  still  these  hours. 
I  do  not  regret  coming  to  China,  but  I 
am  sorry  I  have  done  so  little.  My 
married  life,  two  precious  years,  has 
been  so  very  full  of  happiness.  We  will 
die  together,  my  dear  husband  and  I. 

I  used  to  dread  separation.  If  we 
escape  now  it  will  be  a  miracle.  I  send 
my  love  to  you  all,  and  the  dear  friends 
who  remember  me. 

Your  loving  sister, 

Lizzie. 

Peking  and  Tientsin  Times. 


Missionary  Martyrs, 

Adultf.  Children. 

C.  I.  M 59  15 

A.  B.  C.  F.  M 13  5 

English  Baptist 13  3 

Shou-yang  Mission     ...    10  2 

American  Presbyterian     5  3 

S.  P.  G 3  ... 

B.  and  F.  B.  Society...     2  3 

Unconnected       2 

Swedish  Alliance        ...     9  6 

Swedish  Mongolian    ...     3  1 
Scandinavian    China")       p 

Alliance j 

Total,  125  38 


Grand  Total,     163 


Mission    Work  at  3Ianila, 

During  a  recent  visit  the  writer 
took  some  notes  on  the  subject 
heading  this  article. 

1.  Among  the  American  soldiers 
there  are  a  few  chaplains  who  come 
into  closest  contact  with  the  men — 
especially  is  this  true  of  those  in 
the  hospitals — butfiomall  accounts 
they  are  all  too  few,  and  of  this  few 
some  are  Roman  Catholics. 

The  Y.  M.  C.  A.  have  neat, 
comfortable  quarters,  with  reading 
rooms  and  writing  materials  at  the 
service  of  a  goodly  number,  who 
also  attend  evangelistic  services.  Of 
the  gymnasia  I  am  not  able  to  speak 
in  detail. 

The  Y.  P.  S.  C.  K  and  Brother- 
hood of  St.  Andrew  also  have  meet- 
ings in  connection  with  the  several 
church  organizations  already  exist- 
ing. Regular  church  services  are 
held  by  the  Presbyterians,  Me- 
thodists and  Episcopalians,  to  which 
soldiers  and  civilians  are  invited. 

A  Seaman's  Bethel  is  also  in 
existence  in  the  Binondo  district. 
A  strong  preacher  is  needed  to 
unify  this  work. 

2.  Among  the  Filipinos,  Spanish- 
speaking  foreign  missionaries  are 
already  at  work,  assisted  in  a  few 


636 


THE   CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[December, 


instances  by  Tagalo-speaking  na- 
tive helpers.  The  Methodists  and 
Presu)'^tHriaus  have  a  number  of 
preaching  places.  I  had  the  privilege 
of  attending  the  dedication  service 
in  a  new  church  erected  entirely  by 
tlie  Filipinos  in  the  villa2;e  of 
Baukfiosay,  a  suburb  of  Manila. 
The  structure  was  of  bamboo  poles, 
thatched  and  provided  with  camp 
stools.  The  singing  was  spirited, 
and  at  the  conclusion  very  hearty 
"Viva  America"  was  voiced  by 
men,  women  and  children. 

The  Baptists  have  gone  further 
south;  of  the  Episcopalian  effort  I 
was  not  fully  informed.  Other 
denominations  are  coming  in,  and 
I  was  told  that  an  amicable  divi- 
sion of  the  territory  is  in  prospect, 
if  not  yet  accomplished.  Present 
indications  make  this  one  of  the 
most   hopeful  of  all   mission   fields. 

3.  Among  the  Chinese  the  pro^ 
portion  seems  to  be  as  follows : 
Anioy  people  three-fifths ;  Can- 
tonese probably  three-tenths;  all 
other  dialects  possibly  the  other 
tenth. 

I  made  the  acquaintance  of  a  Mr. 
Wang  Chok-son,  a  Cantonese,  who 
has  travelled  over  much  of  the 
world,  speaks  English,  Spanish  and 
several  Chinese  dialects,  such  as 
Amoy,  Mandarin,  etc.  He  has  cut 
off  his  queue,  wears  European  cloth- 
ing and  is  now  acting  as  evangelist 
for  the  American  Presbyterians 
among  the  Chinese  in  Manila.  Oa 
one  occasion  I  heard  him  speak  in 
English,  which  was  translated  by  a 
Spanish-speaking  American  to  a 
Tagalo  audience.  Tliere  are  several 
Chinese  inquirers  already  ;  one,  at 
least,  having  been  baptized.  A  Mr. 
Ching,  of  Amoy,  working  with  the 
American  Dutch  Reformed  Presby- 
terian Mission,  is  contemplating 
removal  to  Manila.  A  spontaneous 
work  has  been  reported  among  the 
Chinese  at  Iloilo,  but  I  am  not 
acquainted  with  all  the  particulars. 

The  people  are  taking  advantage 
of   the  American   law  about   mar- 


riage. Missionaries  average  two  or 
three  couples  daily.  It  cost  nearly 
two  hundred  dollars  to  be  properly 
married  before;  now,  something  like 
two  dollars  is  sufficient.  It  seemed 
a  little  strange,  even  in  this  strange 
land,  to  see  a  mother  of  many  chil- 
dren happily  married  at  so  late  a  day 
to  the  natural  father  of  her  own 
offspring.  But  surely  in  such  cases 
late  marriage  is  better  than  none 
at  all. 

The  prospects  for  Protestant 
mission  work  seem  brighter  here 
than  in  any  other  Catholic  country. 

"W.  H.  Hudson. 


A  Stirring  Missionary 
Narrative, 

We  are  indebted  to  the  courtesy 
of  the  Rev.  J.  W  Stevenson,  De- 
puty Director  of  the  China  Inland 
Mission,  for  the  following  brief 
summary  of  Dr.  Hewett's  expe- 
riences in  Shan-si  and  during  the 
journey  to  Hankow  : — 

Towards  the  end  of  May,  at  Yu- 
wu,  we  had  a  visit  from  Mr.  Wm. 
Cooper,  who  was  accompanied  by 
Mr.  Barratt  and  Wong-teh.  Mr. 
Cooper  took  the  Saturday  night 
(May  26),  Sunday  morning  and 
afternoon  and  Monday  morning 
services.  On  Sunday  morning  the 
burden  of  his  address  was.  How 
much  the  Bible  .spoke  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  the  office  of  the  Holy 
Spirit. 

Early  in  July  there  were  a  great 
many  disturbing  rumours  about  and 
inflammatory  placards  distributed. 
The  Mandarin  was  appealed  to,  but 
he  would  take  no  notice  of  these 
tilings.  The  Magistrate  had  put 
out  a  proclamation  to  say  that  all 
Christians  were  to  recant,  otherwise 
they  would  be  treated  as  outlaws. 
On  Friday,  July  6,  I  went  to  Lu- 
ch'eng,  accompanied  by  one  man, 
and  leaving  Mr.  Barratt  at  Yu-wu. 
The  natives  niet  by  the  way  showed 
unusual  curiosity   to    see    another 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY   NEWS. 


637 


foreigner.  At  Lu-ch'eng  I  met  Mr. 
Suuiidors'  party,  who  had  come 
from  P'ing-iao.  About  midnight  a 
letter  came  from  Mr.  Barratt, 
giving  serious  news  with  regard  to 
trouble  at  T'ai-yuen,  and  saying 
that  he  was  that  morning  going 
to  flee  to  the  West,  to  Liiing-iiia, 
and  asking  mo  to  follow  him.  I 
then  called  Mr.  E.  J.  Cooper  and 
Mr.  Saunders;  and,  after  consulta- 
tion, it  was  decided  that  I  should 
go  back  to  Yu-wu  and  try  to  save 
the  premises,  as  it  was  thought  that 
if  one  station  in  the  district  was 
destroyed  tlie  others  would  soon 
follow.  I  therefore  started  before 
daylight,  and  on  arrival  at  Yu-wu 
found  our  place  deserted  and  the 
gates  padlocked  on  the  outside. 
Many  groups  of  natives  were  encir- 
cling the  premises  and  scanning  the 
walls.  I  waited  for  an  hour  with 
them,  until  one  or  two  Christians 
appeared  on  the  scene,  and  then  we 
got  over  the  wall  by  a  ladder. 

Having  to  leave  our  own  place 
later  on,  I  fled  to  the  homes  of  the 
Christians  in  the  neighbourhood, 
and  for  a  month  was  never  more 
than  30  li  away  from  Yu-wu.  I 
stayed  not  more  than  three  nights 
in  one  place  continuously,  and 
moved  at  night,  by  by-paths,  up 
hills  and  down  ravines.  On  one 
occasion  I  fell  down  a  sheer  pre- 
cipice about  twenty  feet,  but  re- 
ceived no  further  harm  than  a 
severe  shaking.  During  this  month 
I  had  only  one  night  out  in  the 
open,  in  a  cave  ;  but  sometimes  the 
whole  night  was  spent  in  going 
from  one  place  to  another.  I  had 
one  very  narrow  escape,  right  out 
of  the  hands  of  my  captors,  when 
I  found  a  hiding  in  a  ravine. 

At  the  end  of  the  month  I  was 
very  much  exhausted  and  was  feel- 
ing that  I  could  not  stand  the  strain 
any  more,  besides  which  there  was 
no  longer  any  native  who  wanted 
my  company.  Then  my  servant 
told  me  that  he  had  risked  his  head 
in  going  into  the  village  to  find  out 


the  truth  regarding  a  proclamation, 
in  which  it  was  stated  that  any- 
body harbouring  a  foreigner  would 
be  killed,  witli  his  faujily,  and  his 
hou.se  burned  over  him.  It  also 
provided  that  any  foieigner  was  to 
be  escorted  to  his  native  country. 
I  did  not  know  whether  it  was  a 
trap  or  not,  but  having  come  to  an 
end  of  my  resource.s,  1  determined 
to  deliver  myself  up  to  the  oflicials. 
So  I  returned  to  Yu-wu  in  the 
evening  and  saw  the  head  man  of 
the  village ;  and,  after  two  days, 
he  e.scorted  me,  with  the  five  chief 
men  of  the  village,  into  our  district 
Hsien  city,  T'uan-liu,  20  li  to  the 
east,  which  place  I  reached  on 
Sunday,  August  5.  There  I  was 
first  lodged  in  the  Pan-fang,  which 
corresponds  to  the  Police  OtHce  at 
home.  The  second  day  1  saw  the 
magistrate,  who  received  me  very 
civilly.  The  same  evening  the 
Chief  Secretary  sent  for  me  to  go 
to  his  private  house,  where  I  also 
saw  his  wife  and  child.  He  then 
told  me  that  the  proclamation  was 
but  a  trap,  and  that  if  I  left  the 
Yamen  I  should  be  killed.  He 
also  said  that  he  and  his  wife  !)ad 
not  slept  all  nii^ht,  thinking  what 
plan  they  could  adopt  to  save  my 
life.  Then  he  said,  "  If  the  Man- 
darin says  you  must  go,  by  no 
means  take  anything  with  you," 
but,  he  added,  "  Better  still,  go 
down  on  your  knees  and  tell  him 
you  will  not  go,  that,  if  you  must 
die,  you  would  rather  die  here." 
He  asked  me  if  I  wanted  money, 
but  I  said  I  had  better  not  have 
any,  as  long  as  they  fed  me.  I 
stayed  another  seven  days  in  the 
Pan-fang,  when  the  Secretary  called 
for  me  again  and  told  me  that  he 
had  thought  of  a  plan  and  had 
already  discussed  it  with  the  Manda- 
rin, which  was  as  follows  :  In  a 
few  days  the  Mandarin  would  call 
for  me  to  stand  before  him  in  the 
court,  and  would  ask  me  if  I  refused 
to  go  home  to  my  own  country. 
If    I   refused   he  must  chain   my 


638 


THE  CHINESE  RECORDER. 


[December, 


hands  and  feet  and  confine  me  in  pri- 
son ;  but  the  Secretary  assured  me 
not  to  fear  anything,  that  as  soon 
as  I  got  in  they  would  take  off  the 
chains  and  would  keep  me  in  safety 
until  peace  was  restored.  In  a  few 
days,  on  August  17th,  I  was  there- 
fore taken  to  the  court,  before  a 
large  crowd  of  people,  and  was  duly 
sentenced.  The  underlings  mean- 
while treated  me  in  a  kindly  man- 
ner and  assured  me  that  I  had  no 
cause  to  fear. 

For  two  months  I  was  in  the 
outer  court  of  the  prison,  separate 
from  the  common  prisoners.  My 
food  was  handed  to  me  through  a 
trap  door,  where  I  had  to  go  and 
receive  it  three  times  a  day.  I 
could  get  hot  water  from  the  keeper 
through  this  door  also.  The 
Secretary  often  sent  me  eggs  and 
sometimes  a  bowl  of  meat.  His 
little  girl  once  came  to  give  it  to 
me.  On  the  whole,  the  food  I 
received  was  fair  for  Chinese  and 
far  better  than  given  their  own 
criminals. 

The  head  man  of  the  village  man- 
aged to  get  me  a  few  of  my  books 
and  some  bedding ;  and  when  in 
the  Yamen,  I  requested  the  Manda- 
rin to  send  men  and  fetch  in  some 
of  my  other  things  which  Chris- 
tians had  secreted  for  me.  This  he 
did.  Thus  I  had  books  and  clothing 
and  was  able  fully  to  occupy  my 
time  every  day.  I  had  leisure  to 
study,  and  gave  special  attention 
to  reading  and  writing  Chinese 
character,  so  that  I  was  able  to 
write  letters  to  the  Secretary  and 
Mandarin,  which  proved  most  use- 
ful to  me.  I  was  perfectly  at  peace 
and  happy,  except  as  the  sun  set  I 
felt  an  irresistible  sense  of  depres- 
sion, and  I  was  very  grateful  to  have 
two  volumes  of  Spurgeon's  Autobi- 
ography to  turn  my  thoughts. 

During  the  latter  month  I  form- 
ed the  acquaintance  of  the  two 
prisoners  in  the  inner  prison,  with 
ore  of  whcm  I  struck  up  warm 
friendship,  and  was  able  to  show 


him  many  little  kindnesses,  in  giv- 
ing him  some  of  my  food  and  cloth- 
ing. I  taught  him  to  pray  and 
told  him  of  his  Saviour.  He  spoke 
longingly  of  seeing  me  when  he 
came  out  again,  and  of  being  one 
in  faith  with  us. 

Early  in  October  I  began  to  be 
anxious  to  go,  as  I  heard  that 
things  had  quieted  down.  I  there- 
fore wrote  a  letter  to  the  Chief 
Secretary,  with  the  result  that  on 
the  10th  October,  at  the  sunset  in- 
spection, he  came  along  and  saw 
me.  He  asked  me  when  I  wanted 
to  go,  to  which  I  replied  the  sooner 
the  better,  and  that  I  would  like 
to  go  to  Hankow.  He  promised 
to  let  me  go  on  Saturday,  the  13th, 
but  he  came  again  on  Thursday 
and  said  he  thouglit  I  had  better 
go  up  to  T'ai-yuen  and  from  there 
go  to  the  coast.  I  told  liim  I  could 
not  distrust  him,  remembering  his 
former  kindnesses,  and  would  put 
myself  into  his  hands ;  but  that 
night  I  could  not  sleep.  I  was  not 
at  rest  about  it,  and  thereupon  got 
up  and  wrote  another  letter,  re-  ' 
questing  him  very  earnestly  to  let 
me  go  by  the  Southern  route  to 
Hankow.  To  my  surprise,  the 
next  morning  (Friday),  a  messenger 
came  and  said,  "  Pack  up  your 
things,  a  cart  is  waiting  for  you," 
and  the  Mandarin  himself  came  to 
see  me  before  I  left. 

I  was  rather  surprised  that  the 
Chief  Secretary,  instead  of  giving 
me  a  good  passport,  simply  gave  me 
a  Convict's  Transport  Certificate, 
and  I  was  sent  out  without  food  or 
money  ;  but  I  went  back,  and  on 
requisition,  received  a  little  food. 
At  Pao-tien,  40  li  south,  I  was  able 
to  get  500  cash  of  ray  own  money 
from  the  Bank.  I  was  escorted 
from  Hsien  to  Hsien ;  at  night 
sleeping  in  the  Pan-fang.  I  was 
allowed  60  cash  (about  2d.  in 
English  money)  a  day  for  food,  but 
very  often  they  only  gave  me  30. 
Except  for  the  bullying  and  hector- 
ing done  by  the  underlings,  I  re- 


1900.] 


MISSIONARY  JOURNAL. 


639 


ceived  tolerable  treatment  on  the 
road  and  was  provided  with  a  cart 
all  the  way.  At  Lanjij-chae,  on  the 
border  of  Shansi  and  Honan,  I  was 
robbed  of  1,-500  cash  by  those  sent 
to  escort  ine.  On  complaining  of 
this  to  the  officials  I  was  unable 
to  get  any  satisfuction,  and  for  fear 
that  I  would  inform  on  them  at 
Hwai-ching  fu,  they  hindered  me 
from  going  on,  and  it  was  only  on  a 
promise  that  I  would  not  mention 
it  that  they  allowed  me  to  do  so, 
with  a  refund  of  400  odd  cash. 
At  U-tseh,  just  north  of  the  Yellow 
River,  I,  like  the  preceding  party, 
was  very  well  treated.  All  the 
officials,  up  to  the  Mandarin,  came 
to  see  me.  Previously  they  had 
had  intercourse  and  friendship  with 
foreigners.  The  Mandarin  insisted 
on  giving  me  20  oz.  of  silver  for 
road  expenses;  and  he  gave  me  a 


new  passport,  which  entitled  me  to 
respectful  treatment  and  removed 
roe  from  the  criminal  class.  la 
spite  of  this,  subsequently  I  was 
still  lodged  in  the  Pan-fang,  and 
they  oven  dared  to  put  a  criminal 
of  the  lowest  type  in  the  same  cart 
with  mo.  His  clothes  were  rags 
and  his  body  full  of  vermin.  For 
four  days  I  was  in  close  contact 
with  him. 

By  the  time  we  got  to  Hupeh  the 
complexion  of  things  wholly  altered, 
and  further  south  greater  respect 
and  kindness  were  shown  to  me,  so 
that  I  rode  in  the  Mandarin's  chair 
and  fed  at  the  Chief  Secretary's 
table.  From  Sin-iang-cheo,  South 
Honan,  on  the  1st  November,  I  was 
able  to  send  a  telegram  to  Han- 
kow ;  and,  on  the  6th,  I  arrived 
there  safely,  being  altogether  26 
days  on  the  road  from  T*uan-liu. 


issbniiriT  |0urnal 


MARRIAGE. 

At  Yokohama,   October   22nd,    C  W. 
Lack  and  Miss  Edni.  Bavin,  C.  I.  M. 

BIRTHS. 

At  Hamilton,  Ontario,  Canada,  October 

Ist,  the  wife  of  Dr.  Edobbton  Hart, 

M.  E.  M.,  of  a  son. 
At  Yokohama,  October  22nd,  the  wife 

of  Arch.  Obb-Ewing,  C.  I.  M.,  of  a 

daughter. 
At  Shanghai,  November  20th,  the  wife 

of  Rev.  W.  R.  SxoBiB,  W.  M.  F.  C, 

of  a  daughter. 

DEATH. 

At  Peckham,  London,  Alice  Beatrice, 
daughter  of  Rev.  Wm.  A.  Wills, 
E.  B,  M.,  aged  sixteen  years. 

ARRIVALS. 

At  Shanghai,  November  13th,  Mrs.  D, 
Z,  Sheffield  (returned),  A.  B.  F.  M. 


At  Shanghai,  November  18th,  C.  T.  and 

Mrs.  FiSHB,  from  England  (returned), 

for  C.  I.  M. 
At  Shanghai,  November  20th,  Rev.  G. 

Owen  (returned),  L.  M.  S. 
At  Shanghai,  November  29th,  Rev.  A. 

M.  and  Mrs.  Citnninoham  (returned), 

A.  P.  M. 

DEPARTURES. 

From  Shanghai,  November  5th,  J.  A. 
and  Mrs.  Heal  and  seven  children. 
Misses  KiNNAHAN,  Mdib  and  Elsib 
Kendall,  C.  I.  M.,  for  England. 

From  Shanghai,  November  10th,  Rev. 
A.  E.  Gloveb  and  two  children,  for 
England,  G.  A.  and  Mrs.  Staluamher, 
for  Sweden,  all  of  C<  I.  M. 

From  Shanghai,  November  19th,  Dr.  J. 
W.  Hewett,  Rev.  A.  R,  and  Mrs. 
Sacndebs  and  two  children,  Dr.  and 
Mrs.    Lawson,    G.    W.    Hchteb,   J. 


640                THE  CHINESE  RECOEDER.  [DeC,  1900.} 

Motes,    Edward    Pearse,    Jr.    and  Alice     Terrell,     M.    E.    M.,     for 

Misses  J.  F.  and  A.  Hoskyn,  for  Eng-  America. 

land,  E.  Amundsen  and  wife  for  India,  From  Shanghai,  November  24th,  Misses 

all  of  C.  I.  M.  La  Verne  Minniss  and  Stella  Reltea, 

From  Shanghai,  November  2lst,  Mrs.  J.  A.  B.  M.  U.,  for  America. 

L.  Mateer,  Ak  B.  F.  M.  ;  Miss  Grace  From  Shanghai,   November  28th,    Mrs. 

Newton,  A.  P.M. ;  Miss  C.  E.  Right-  Eliza  Lennox  and  Miss  Clara  Lennox, 

er,    a.     B,     M.     U.  ;     Mrs.    C.     M.  unconnected ;  Dr.  Rose  W.  Palmborg, 

Jewell,  Dr.    M.  A.  Gloss  and  Miss  S.  D.  B. 


IFlovember  3Bmc5  from  iprceb^tcrian  nDieelon  Ipre00. 


"S^  ^  fr  fl^«  Acts,  Easy  W^n-li.     B.  and  F.  B.  S. 

#J  il  5c  ^  IE-  Old  Testament  Lessons.     F.  L.  H.  Pott. 

M  M  ^  M-f^  ^-  Catechism  on  the  Life  of  Christ.     S.  M.  E.  M. 

^  &  ^  fi-  ^^^y   °^   Salvation.  C.  T.  S. 

[^  ^   a  ^,  Introduction  to  Christianity.  Do. 

J^  W  S  $M  l£  5^-  Commentary  on  Pentateuch.  Do. 

^  ^  ^  p&-  Introduction  to  Bible.  Do. 

S^ll#?bil^,  ^ng.    Woodcuts,  Vol.  IV.  Do. 

4*11  iiC'^i  H  H-      Calendar,  1901,  Illustrated. 

^  lltS  #  i    H  H-  Do.  Anti-Opium  Society,  Ningpo. 

M  m  ^  M  ^«         List  of  Oft-recurring  Characters.     Dr.  D.  Z.  Sheffield. 

Dictionary  of  Western  Mandarin.     A.  Grainger.  C.  I.  M. 

'6h  Lo-mo  z  Jvin  Fah  ;  Method  for  Ningpo  Romanized. 

Missionary  Diary  for  1 901. 

Minutes,  Annual  Meeting  of  North  Kiang-su  (South.  Presby.)  Mission,  1899-1900. 

Do.  Mid-China  Do. 

Are  Missionaries  Responsible  for  Recent  Disturbances  ?    Dr.  BuBose, 
Rules  of  Life  for  Christian  Women.     Private  Reprint. 
Chemical  Terms  in  Character.     Educational  Association. 
Sermon  in  Memory  of  William  Muirhead,  D.D.     By  Dr.  Edkins, 
S.  D.  C.  K.  Catalogue. 
St.  John's  Echo,  November-December. 
West  China  News.    Vol.  II,  No.  10. 
From  the  Front.     No.  11, 
Central  China  Christian.     No.  10. 
Animus.     November. 


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