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FOR PUBLIC DOMAIN ETEXTS*Ver.04.29.93*END* + + + + + +Scanned by Charles Keller for Sarah with OmniPage Professional OCR software + + + + + +New Forces in Old China + +An Inevitable Awakening + + +by ARTHUR JUDSON BROWN + + + + +To my Friends in China + + + +Preface + +THE object of this book is to describe the operation +upon and within old, conservative, exclusive China +of the three great transforming forces of the modern +world--Western trade, Western politics and Western religion. +These forces are producing stupendous changes in that hitherto +sluggish mass of humanity. The full significance of these +changes both to China and to the world cannot be comprehended +now. There is something fascinating and at the same +time something appalling in the spectacle of a nation numbering +nearly one-third of the human race slowly and majestically +rousing itself from the torpor of ages under the influence of +new and powerful revolutionary forces. No other movement +of our age is so colossal, no other is more pregnant with +meaning. In the words of D. C. Bougler, ``The grip of the outer +world has tightened round China. It will either strangle her +or galvanize her into fresh life.'' + +The immediate occasion of this volume was the invitation of +the faculty of Princeton Theological Seminary to deliver a +series of lectures on China on the Student Lectureship Foundation +and to publish them in book form. This will account in +part for the style of some passages. I have, however, added +considerable material which was not included in the lectures, +while some articles that were contributed to the Century Magazine, +the American Monthly Review of Reviews and other +magazines have been inserted in their proper place in the +discussion. The materials were gathered not only in study and +correspondence but in an extended tour of Asia in the years +1901 and 1902. In that tour, advantage was taken of every +opportunity to confer with Chinese of all classes, foreign +consuls, editors, business men and American, German and British +officials, as well as with missionaries of all denominations. +Everywhere I was cordially received, and, as I look at my +voluminous note-books, I am very grateful to the men of all +faiths and nationalities who so generously aided me in my +search for information. + +No one system of spelling Chinese names has been followed +for the simple reason that no one has been generally accepted. +The Chinese characters represent words and ideas rather than +letters and can only be phonetically reproduced in English. +Unfortunately, scholars differ widely as to this phonetic spelling, +while each nationality works in its own peculiarities wherever +practicable. And so we have Manchuria, Mantchuria and +Manchouria; Kiao-chou, Kiau-Tshou, Kiao-Chau, Kiau- +tschou and Kiao-chow; Chinan and Tsi-nan; Ychou, Ichow +and I-chou; Tsing-tau and Ching-Dao; while Mukden is confusingly +known as Moukden , Shen-Yang, Feng-tien-fu and Sheng- +king. As some authors follow one system, some another and some +none at all, and as usage varies in different parts of the Empire, +an attempt at uniformity would have involved the correction +of quotations and the changing of forms that have the sanction +of established usage as, for example, the alteration of +Chefoo to Chi-fu or Tshi-fu. I have deemed it wise, as a rule, +to omit the aspirate (e. g, Tai-shan instead of T'ai-shan) as +unintelligible to one who does not speak Chinese. Few +foreigners except missionaries can pronounce Chinese names +correctly anyway. Besides, no matter what the system of spelling, +the pronunciation differs, the Chinese themselves in various +parts of the Empire pronouncing the name of the Imperial +City Beh-ging, Bay-ging, Bai-ging and Bei-jing, while most +foreigners pronounce it Pe-kin or Pi-king. I have followed the +best obtainable advice in using the hyphen between the different +parts of many proper names. For the rest I join the +perplexed reader who devoutly hopes that the various commit- +tees that are at work on the Romanization of the Chinese language +may in time agree among themselves and evolve a system +that a plain, wayfaring man can understand without provocation +to wrath. + 156 Fifth Avenue, + New York City. + + + +Preface to the Second Edition + +THE author gratefully acknowledges the kindness with +which his book has been received not only in this +country but in England and China. In this edition +he has corrected a number of errors that appeared in the first +edition and has availed himself of later statistical information. +He is under special obligations to the Rev. W. A. P. Martin, +D. D., LL. D., of Wuchang, and the Rev. Arthur H. Smith, +D. D. LL. D., of Pang-chwang, for valuable counsel. These +distinguished authorities on China have been so kind as to +study the book with painstaking care and to give the author +the benefit of their suggestions. All these suggestions have +been incorporated in this edition to the great improvement of +its accuracy. + +The result of the Russia-Japan War is noticeably accelerating +the new movement in China. The Chinese have been as +much startled and impressed by the Japanese victory as the +rest of the world and they are more and more disposed to follow +the path which the Japanese have so successfully marked +out. The considerations presented in this book are therefore +even more true to-day than when they were first published. +The problem of the future is plainly the problem of China and +no thoughtful person can afford to be indifferent to the vast +transformation which is taking place as the result of the operation +of the great formative forces of the modern world. + + 156 Fifth Avenue, + New York City. + + + +Contents + +PART I + +OLD CHINA AND ITS PEOPLE + +I. THE ANCIENT EMPIRE . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 +II. DO WE RIGHTLY VIEW THE CHINESE . . . . . . 25 +III. ATTITUDE TOWARDS FOREIGNERS-CHARACTER AND + ACHIEVEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 +IV. A TYPICAL PROVINCE . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 +V. A SHENDZA IN SHANTUNG. . . . . . . . . . . 52 +VI. AT THE GRAVE OF CONFUCIUS. . . . . . . . . 65 +VII. SOME EXPERIENCES OF A TRAVELLER-FEASTS, INNS + AND SOLDIERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 + +PART II + +THE COMMERCIAL FORCE AND THE ECONOMIC +REVOLUTION + +VIII. WORLD CONDITIONS THAT ARE AFFECTING CHINA101 +IX. THE ECONOMIC REVOLUTION IN ASIA. . . . . .111 +X. FOREIGN TRADE AND FOREIGN VICES. . . . . .121 +XI. THE BUILDING OF RAILWAYS . . . . . . . . .130 + +PART III + +THE POLITICAL FORCE AND THE NATIONAL +PROTEST + +XII. THE AGGRESSIONS OF EUROPEAN POWERS . . . .145 +XIII. THE UNITED STATES AND CHINA. . . . . . .154 +XIV. DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS-TREATIES. . . . . . .165 +XV. RENEWED AGGRESSIONS. . . . . . . . . . . .174 +XVI. GROWING IRRITATION OF THE CHINESE--THE + REFORM PARTY . . . . . . . . . . . . . .184 +XVII. THE BOXER UPRISING . . . . . . . . . . .193 + +PART IV + +THE MISSIONARY FORCE AND THE CHINESE +CHURCH + +XVIII. BEGINNINGS OF THE MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE--THE + TAI-PING REBELLION AND THE LATER + DEVELOPMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .217 +XIX. MISSIONARIES AND NATIVE LAWSUITS . . . . .228 +XX. MISSIONARIES AND THEIR OWN GOVERNMENTS . .236 +XXI. RESPONSIBILITY OF MISSIONARIES FOR THE BOXER + UPRISING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .249 +XXII. THE CHINESE CHRISTIANS . . . . . . . . .268 +XXIII. THE STRAIN OF READJUSTMENT TO CHANGED + ECONOMIC CONDITIONS. . . . . . . . . . . .280 +XXIV. COMITY AND COOPERATION . . . . . . . . .290 + +PART V + +THE FUTURE OF CHINA AND OUR RELATION +TO IT + +XXV. IS THERE A YELLOW PERIL. . . . . . . . . .305 +XXVI. FRESH REASON TO HATE THE FOREIGNER . . .320 +XXVII. HOPEFUL SIGNS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .333 +XXVIII. THE PARAMOUNT DUTY OF CHRISTENDOM. . . . .351 +INDEX. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .371 + + + +List of Illustrations + Facing Page +Railway Station, Paoting-fu. . . . . . . . . .Title +View of Canton, Showing House Boats. . . . . . . . 22 +H. I. H. Prince Su and Attendants. . . . . . . . . 32 +A Rut in the Loess Region. . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 +Germans Building Railway Bridge in Shantung. . . . 56 +A Shendza in Shantung. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 +Climbing Tai-shan, the Sacred Mountain . . . . . . 70 +The Grave of Confucius . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 +Part of the Author's Escort of Chinese Cavalrymen. 92 +Watching the Author writing in his Diary at a noon stop + A Snap Shot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 +The Bund, Shanghai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .112 +American Cigarette Posters on a Chinese Bridge . .112 +The Chinese Cart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130 +The Old and The New. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .130 +French Military Post, Saigon . . . . . . . . . . .150 +German Soldiers on the Bund, Tien-tsin . . . . . .150 +The British Legation Guard, Peking . . . . . . . .174 +The Temple of Heaven, Peking . . . . . . . . . . .198 +Memorial Arch, Hall of the Classics, Peking. . . .228 +Graduating Class, Presbyterian Theological Seminary, + Canton, 1904. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .268 +Approach to the Imperial Palace in the Forbidden City, + Peking. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .320 +Two of China's Great Men Yuan Shih Kai and Chang + Chih-tung . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .344 +Map. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .370 + + + +PART I + +Old China and its People + + +I + +THE ANCIENT EMPIRE + +HE must be dead to all noble thoughts who can tread +the venerable continent of Asia without profound +emotion. Beyond any other part of the earth, its +soil teems with historic associations. Here was the birthplace +of the human race. Here first appeared civilization. Here +were born art and science, learning and philosophy. Here man +first engaged in commerce and manufacture. And here +emerged all the religious teachers who have most powerfully +influenced mankind, for it was in Asia in an unknown antiquity +that the Persian Zoroaster taught the dualism of good and +evil; that the Indian Gautama 600 years before Christ declared +that self-abnegation was the path to a dreamless Nirvana; that +less than a century later the Chinese Lao-tse enunciated the +mysteries of Taoism and Confucius uttered his maxims +regarding the five earthly relations of man, to be followed within +another century by the bold teaching of Mencius that kings +should rule in righteousness. In Asia it was 1,000 years +afterwards that the Arabian Mohammed proclaimed himself as the +authoritative prophet. There the God and Father of us all +revealed Himself to Hebrew sage and prophet in the night vision +and the angelic form and the still, small voice; and in Asia are +the village in which was cradled and the great altar of the +world on which was crucified the Son of God. + +We of the West boast of our national history. But how brief +is our day compared with the succession of world powers which +Asia has seen. + +Chaldea began the march of kingdoms 2,200 years before +Christ. Its proud king, Chedor-laomer, ruled from the Persian +Gulf to the sources of the Euphrates, and from the Zagros +Mountains to the Mediterranean. Then Egypt arose to rule +not only over the northeastern part of Africa, but over half of +Arabia and all of the preceding territory of Chaldea. Assyria +followed, stretching from the Black Sea nearly half-way down +the Persian Gulf and from the Mediterranean to the eastern +boundary of modern Persia. Babylon, too, was once a world +power whose monarch sat + + ``High on a throne of royal state, which far + Outshone the wealth of Ormus or of Ind.''[1] + + +[1] Milton, ``Paradise Lost,'' Book II. + +Persia was mightier still. Two thousand years before America +was heard of, while France and Germany, England and Spain, +were savage wildernesses, Persia was the abode of civilization +and culture, of learning and eloquence. Her empire extended +from the Indus to the Danube and from the Oxus to the Nile, +embracing twenty satrapies each one of whose governors was +well-nigh a king. Alexander the Great, too, at the head of +his invincible army, swept over vast areas of Asia, capturing +cities, unseating rulers, and bringing well-nigh all the civilized +world under his dominion. And was not Rome also an Asiatic +power, for it stretched not only from the firths of Scotland +on the north to the deserts of Africa on the south, but +from the Atlantic Ocean on the west to the River Euphrates on +the east. + +Altogether it is a majestic but awful procession, overwhelming +us by its grandeur and yet no less by its horror. It is +a kaleidoscope on a colossal scale, whose pieces appear like +fragments of a broken universe. Empires rise and fall. +Thrones are erected and overturned. The mightiest creations +of man vanish. Yea, they have all waxed ``old as doth a garment,'' +and ``as a vesture'' are they ``changed.'' + +But were these ancient nations the last of Asia? Has that +mighty continent nothing more to contribute to the world than +the memories of a mighty past? It is impossible to believe +that this is all. The historic review gives a momentum which +the mind cannot easily overcome. As we look towards the Far +East, we can plainly see that the evolution is incomplete. +Whatever purpose the Creator had in mind has certainly not yet been +accomplished. More than two-thirds of those innumerable +myriads have as yet never heard of those high ideals of life and +destiny which God Himself revealed to men. It is incredible +that a wise God should have made such a large part of the +world only to arrest its development at its present unfinished +stage, inconceivable that He should have made and preserved +so large a part of the human race for no other and higher purpose +than has yet been achieved. + +Within this generation, a new Asiatic power has suddenly +appeared in a part of Asia far removed from the region in which +the wise men of old lived and studied, and the might of +that nation is even now checking the progress of huge and +haughty Russia. But brilliant as has been the meteoric career +of Japan, there is another race in Asia, which, though now +moving more sluggishly, has possibilities of development that +may in time make it a dominant factor in the future of the +world. Great forces are now operating on that race and it is +the purpose of this book to give some account of those forces +and to indicate the stupendous transformation which they are +slowly but surely producing. + +The magnitude of China is almost overwhelming. In spite +of all that I had read, I was amazed by what I saw. To say +that the Empire has an area of 4,218,401 square miles is almost +like saying that it is 255,000,000,000 miles to the North Star; +the statement conveys no intelligible idea. The mind is only +confused by such enormous figures. But it may help us to remember +that China is one-third larger than all Europe, and that if the +United States and Alaska could be laid upon China there +would be room left for several Great Britains. Extending from +the fifty-fourth parallel of latitude southward to the eighteenth, +the Empire has every variety of climate from arctic cold to +tropic heat. It is a land of vast forests, of fertile soil, of rich +minerals, of navigable rivers. The very fact that it has so long +sustained such a vast population suggests the richness of its +resources. There are said to be 600,000,000 acres of arable soil, +and so thriftily is it cultivated that many parts of the Empire +are almost continuous gardens and fields. Four hundred and +nineteen thousand square miles are believed to be underlaid +with coal. Baron von Richthofen thinks that 600,000,000,000 +tons of it are anthracite, and that the single Province of Shen-si +could supply the entire world for a thousand years. When we +add to this supply of coal the apparently inexhaustible deposits +of iron ore, we have the two products on which material greatness +largely depends. + +The population proves to be even greater than was supposed, +for while 400,000,000 was formerly believed to be a maximum +estimate, the general census recently taken by the Chinese +Government for the purpose of assessing the war tax places the +population of the Empire at 426,000,000. This, however, +includes 8,500,000 in Manchuria, 2,580,000 in Mongolia, +6,430,020 in Tibet and 1,200,000 in Chinese Turkestan. +Some of these regions are only nominally Chinese. Those on +the western frontier were until comparatively recent years +almost as unknown as the poles. Sven Hedin's description of +those that he traversed is wonderfully fascinating. Only a +daring spirit, the explorer of the type that is born, not made, +could have pierced those vast solitudes and wrested from them +the secret of their existence. That Hedin had no money for +such a costly quest could not deter this Viking of the Northland. +Kings headed the subscription and others so eagerly followed +that ample funds were soon in hand. Princes helped with +equipment and counsel. The Czar made all Russian railways +free highways, and every local official and nomad chieftain +exerted himself to aid the expedition. Hedin does not claim +to give anything more than an ordered diary of his travels, +together with a description of the lands he explored and the +peoples he found. But what a diary it is! It takes the reader +away from the whirl of crowded cities and clanging trolley-cars +into the boundless, wind-swept desert and the solitude of +majestic mountains where the lonely traveller wanders with his +camels through untrodden wildernesses or floats down the +interminable stretches of unknown rivers, while night after +night he sleeps in his tiny tent or under the open sky. The +author failed to reach the long-sought Lassa, the suspicious +Dalai Lama refusing to be deceived or cajoled and sternly sending +the inquisitive traveller out of the country. But the expedition +of three years and three days was rich in other disclosures of +ruined cities and great watercourses and lofty plateaus and +majestic mountain ranges. The population is sparse in those +desolate wastes, and the scattered inhabitants are wild and +uncouth and free. + +Manchuria, however, is far from being the barren country +that so many imagine it to be. It is, in many respects, like +Canada, a region embracing about 370,000 square miles and of +almost boundless agricultural and mineral wealth. The +population, save in the southern parts, is not yet dense but it is +rapidly increasing. + +But in central and eastern China, the conditions are very +different. Here the population can only be indicated by a +figure so large that it is almost impossible for us to comprehend +it. Consider that the eighteen provinces alone, with an +area about equal to that part of the United States east of the +Mississippi River, have eight times the population of that +part of our country. + + +``There are twice as many people in China as on the four continents-- +Africa, North and South America and Oceanica. Every third person +who toils under the sun and sleeps under God's stars is a Chinese. +Every third child born into the world looks into the face of a Chinese +mother. Every third pair given in marriage plight their troth in a +Chinese cup of wine. Every third orphan weeping through the day +every third widow wailing through the night are in China. Put them in +rank, joining hands, and they will girdle the globe ten times at the +equator with living, beating human hearts. Constitute them pilgrims and let +two thousand go past every day and night under the sunlight and +under the solemn stars, and you must hear the ceaseless tramp, tramp, of +the weary, pressing, throbbing throng for five hundred years.''[2] + + +[2] The Rev. J. T. Gracey, D. D., ``China in Outline,'' p. 10. + + + +There is something amazing in the immensity of the population. +Great cities are surprisingly numerous. In America, a +city of nearly a million inhabitants is a wonderful place and all +the world is supposed to know about it. But while Canton and +Tien-tsin are tolerably familiar names, how many in the United +States ever heard of Hsiang-tan-hsien ? Yet Hsiang-tan- +hsien is said to have 1,000,000 inhabitants, while within comparatively +short distances are other great cities and innumerable +villages. In the Swatow region, within a territory a +hundred and fifty miles long and fifty miles wide, there are no +less than ten walled cities of from 40,000 to 250,000 inhabitants, +besides hundreds of towns and villages ranging from a few +hundred to 25,000 or 30,000 people. Men never tire of writing +about the population adjacent to New York, Boston and +Chicago. But in five weeks' constant journeying through the +interior of the Shantung Province, there was hardly an hour in +which multitudes were not in sight. There are no scattered +farmhouses as in America, but the people live in villages and +towns, the latter strongly walled and even the former often have +a mud wall. As the country is comparatively level, it was easy +to count them, and as a rule there were a dozen or more in +plain view. I recall a memorable morning. It was Friday, +June 28, 1901. We had risen early, and by daylight we had +breakfasted, and started our carts and litters. In our enjoyment +of the cool, delicious morning air, we walked for several +li. Just before the sun rose, we crossed a low ridge and from +its crest, I counted no less than thirty villages in front of us, +while behind there were about as many more, the average +population being apparently about 500 each. For days at a time, +my road lay through the narrow, crowded street of what seemed +to be an almost continuous village, the intervening farms being +often hardly more than a mile in width. + +Imagine half the population of the United States packed into +the single state of Missouri and an idea of the situation will be +obtained, for with an area almost equal to that of Missouri, +Shantung has no less than 38,247,900 inhabitants. It is the +most densely populated part of China. But the Province of +Shan-si is as thickly settled as Hungary. Fukien and Hupeh +have about as many inhabitants to the square mile as England. +Chih-li is as populous as France and Yun-nan as Bulgaria. + +The density of China's population may be better realized by +a glance at the following detailed comparison between the +population of Chinese provinces and the population of similar +areas in the United States: + + Area + Provinces Square miles Population + + Hupeh, 71,410 35,280,685 + Ohio and Indiana 76,670 5,864,720 + Honan, 67,940 35,316,800 + Missouri, 68,735 2,679,184 + Cheh-kiang, 36,670 11,580,692 + Kentucky, 40,000 1,858,635 + Kiang-si, 69,480 26,532,125 + Kentucky and Tennessee, 81,750 3,626,252 + Kwei-chou, 67,160 7,650,292 + Virginia and West Virginia, 64,770 2,418,774 + Yun-nan, 146,680 12,324,574 + Michigan and Wisconsin, 111,880 3,780,769 + Fukien, 46,320 22,876,540 + Ohio, 40,760 3,762,316 + Chih-li, 115,800 20,937,000 + Georgia, 50,980 1,837,353 + Shantung, 55,970 38,247,900 + New England, 62,000 4,700,945 + Shan-si, 81,830 12,200,456 + Illinois, 56,000 3,826,85l + Shen-si, 75,270 8,450,182 + Nebraska, 76,840 1,058,910 + Kan-su, 125,450 10,385,376 + California, 155,980 1,208,130 + Sze-chuen, 218,480 68,724,890 + Ohio, Ind., Ill., Ky., 173,430 11,350,219 + Ngan-hwei, 54,810 23,670,314 + New York, 47,600 5,997,853 + Klang-su, 38,600 13,980,235 + Pennsylvania, 44,985 5,258,014 + Kwan-tung and Hainan, 99,970 31,865,251 + Kansas, 81,700 1,427,096 + Kwang-si, 77,200 5,142,330 + Minnesota, 79,205 1,301,826 + Hunan, 83,380 22,169,673 + Louisiana, 45,000 1,110,569 + + +Perhaps the most thoroughly typical city in China is Canton. +The approach by way of the West River from Hongkong +gives the traveller a view of some of the finest scenery in China. +The green rice-fields, the villages nestling beneath the groves, +the stately palm-trees, the quaint pagodas, the broad, smooth +reaches of the river reflecting the glories of sunset and moon- +rises and the noble hills in the background combine to form a +scene worth journeying far to see. + +But Canton itself is unique among the world's great cities, +and the most sated traveller cannot fail to find much that will +interest him. After much journeying in China, we thought we +had seen its typical places, but no one has seen China until he +has visited Canton. With an estimated population of 1,800,000, +it is the metropolis of the Empire. The number of people +per acre may be less than in some parts of the East Side in New +York, for the houses are only one story in height. But the +crowding is amazing. The streets are mere alleys from four to +eight feet wide, lined with open-front shops, so filled overhead +with perpendicular signs and cross coverings of bamboo poles +and mattings that they are in as perpetual shade as an African +forest, and so choked with people that men often had to back +into a shop to let our chairs pass. No wheeled vehicle can +enter those corkscrew streets and we saw no animal of any kind +save two cows that were being led to slaughter. + +And the hubbub! Such shouting and yelling cannot be +heard anywhere else in the world. Our chair coolies were in a +constant state of objurgation in clearing a way. Everybody +seemed to be bellowing to everybody else and when two chairs +met, the din shattered the atmosphere. A foreigner excites a +surprising amount of curiosity, considering the number that +visit Canton. Troops of boys followed us and there was a good +deal of what sounded like cat-calling. But it was all good- +natured, or appeared to be. + +The unpretentious shop-fronts often beckon to mysteries that +are well worth penetrating--tobacco factories where coolies +stamp the leaves with bare feet; tea, gold, dye and embroidery +shops where designs of exquisite delicacy are exhibited; silk- +weaving factories where fine fabrics are made on the simplest of +looms; feather shops where breastpins and other ornaments +are made of tiny bits of feathers on a silver base--a work +requiring almost incredible nicety of vision and such strain upon +the eyes that the operators often become blind by forty. Another +curiosity is a shop where crickets are reared for fighting +as the Filipino fights cocks and the Anglo-Saxon fights dogs. +The Chinese gamble on the result and a good fighting cricket is +sometimes sold for $100. The attendant put a couple in a jar +for our alleged amusement and they began fighting fiercely. +But I promptly stopped the melee as I did not enjoy such sport. + +The river is one of the sights of China. It is crowded with +boats of all sizes. The owner of each lives on it with his +family, the babies having ropes tied to them so that if they +tumble into the water, they can be pulled out. + +Altogether, it is a remarkable city. Viewed from the famous +Five-Story Pagoda, on a high part of the old city wall, it is a +swarming hive of humanity. As one looks out on those myriads +of toiling, struggling, sorrowing men and women, he is +conscious of a new sense of the pathos and the tragedy of human +life. If I may adapt the words of the Rev. Dr. Richard S. +Storrs on the heights above Naples, at the Church of San Mar- +tino, on the way to St. Elmo--I suppose that every one who +has ever stood on the balcony of that lofty pagoda ``has +noticed, as I remember to have noticed, that all the sounds +coming up from that populous city, as they reached the upper +air, met and mingled on the minor key. There were the voices +of traffic, and the voices of command, the voices of affection +and the voices of rebuke, the shouts of sailors, and the cries of +itinerant venders in the street, with the chatter and the laugh +of childhood; but they all came up into this incessant moan in +the air. That is the voice of the world in the upper air, where +there are spirits to hear it. That is the cry of the world for +help.''[3] + +[3] ``Address on Foreign Missions,'' pp. 178, 179. + + + +II + +DO WE RIGHTLY VIEW THE CHINESE + +TOO much has been made of the peculiarities of the +Chinese, ignoring the fact that many customs and +traits that appear peculiar to us are simply the differences +developed by environment. Eliza Scidmore affirms that +``no one knows or ever really will know the Chinese, the most +comprehensible, inscrutable, contradictory, logical, illogical +people on earth.'' But a Chinese gentleman, who was +educated in the United States, justly retorts: ``Behold the +American as he is, as I honestly found him--great, small, good, bad, +self-glorious, egotistical, intellectual, supercilious, ignorant, +superstitious, vain and bombastic. In truth,'' he adds, ``so +very remarkable, so contradictory, so incongruous have I found +the American that I hesitate.''[4] + + +[4] ``As a Chinaman Saw Us,'' pp. 1, 2. + + +The Chinese are, indeed, very different from western peoples +in some of their customs. + + +``They mount a horse on the right side instead of the left. The old +men play marbles and fly kites, while children look gravely on. They +shake hands with themselves instead of with each other. What we call +the surname is written first and the other name afterwards. A coffin is a +very acceptable present to a rich parent in good health. In the north +they sail and pull their wheelbarrows in place of merely pushing them. + +China is a country where the roads have no carriages and the +ships have no keels; where the needle points to the south, the place of +honour is on the left hand, and the seat of intellect is supposed to lie in the +stomach; where it is rude to take off your hat, and to wear white clothes +is to go into mourning. Can one be astonished to find a literature without +an alphabet and a language without a grammar?''[5] + + +[5] Temple Bar, quoted in Smith's ``Rex Christus,'' p. 115. + +It would never occur to us to commit suicide in order to +spite another. But in China such suicides occur every day, +because it is believed that a death on the premises is a lasting +curse to the owner. And so the Chinese drowns himself in his +enemy's well or takes poison on his foe's door-step. Only a +few months ago, a rich Chinese murdered an employee in a +British colony, and knowing that inexorable British law would +not be satisfied until some one was punished, he hired a poor +Chinese named Sack Chum to confess to having committed the +murder and to permit himself to be hung, the real murderer +promising to give him a good funeral and to care for his family. +An Englishman who thought this an incredible story wrote a +letter of inquiry to an intelligent Chinese merchant of his +acquaintance and received the following reply: + + +``Nothing strange to Chinamen. Sack Chum, old man, no money, soon +die. Every day in China such thing. Chinaman not like white man-- +not afraid to die. Suppose some one pay his funeral, take care his family. +`I die,' he say. Chinaman know Sack Chum, we suppose, sell himself to +men who kill Ah Chee. Somebody must die for them. Sack Chum say +he do it. All right. Police got him. What for they want more?'' + + +These things appear odd from our view-point and there are +many other peculiarities that are equally strange to us. But it +may be wholesome for us to remember that some of our customs +impress the Chinese no less oddly. The Frankfurter Zeitung, +Germany, prints the following from a Chinese who had seen +much of the Europeans and Americans in Shanghai: + + +``We are always told that the countries of the foreign devils are grand +and rich; but that cannot be true, else what do they all come here for? +It is here that they grow rich. They jump around and kick balls as if +they were paid to do it. Again you will find them making long tramps +into the country; but that is probably a religious duty, for when they +tramp they wave sticks in the air, nobody knows why. They have no +sense of dignity, for they may be found walking with women. Yet the +women are to be pitied, too. On festive occasions they are dragged +around a room to the accompaniment of the most hellish music.'' + + +A Chinese resident in America wrote to his friends at home +a letter from which the following extract is taken: + + +``What is queerer still, men will stroll out in company with their wives +in broad daylight without a blush. And will you believe that men and +women take hold of each other's hands by way of salutation? Oh, I have +seen it myself more than once. After all, what can you expect of folk +who have been brought up in barbarous countries on the very verge of +the world? They have not been taught the maxims of our sages; they +never heard of the Rites; how can they know what good manners mean? +We often think them rude and insolent when I'm sure they don't mean it +they're ignorant, that's all.''[6] + +[6] Smith, ``Rex Christus,'' p. 116. + + +A call that I made upon a high official in an interior city +developed a curious interest. He was a pale, thin man, +apparently an opium smoker and a mandarin of the old school. +But he was intelligent enough to ask me not only about ``the +twenty-story buildings of New York,'' but ``the differences +between the various Protestant sects,'' and in particular about +``the Mormons and their strength!'' Who could have +imagined that the Latter Day Saints of Utah could be known to a +Chinese nobleman of Chih-li? Verily, our own idiosyncrasies +are known afar. + +It will thus be seen that mutual recriminations regarding +national peculiarities are not likely to be convincing to either +party. Human nature is much the same the world over. From +this view-point at least we may discreetly remember that + + ``There is so much bad in the best of us, + And so much good in the worst of us, + That it hardly behoves any of us + To talk about the rest of us.'' + + +I do not mean to give an exaggerated impression of the +virtues of the Chinese or what Mrs. Isabella Bird Bishop calls +``a milk-and-water idea'' of heathenism. Undoubtedly, they +have grave defects. Official corruption is well-nigh universal. +A correspondent of the North China Herald reports a well- +informed Chinese gentleman of the Province of Chih-li as +expressing the conviction that one-half the land tax never reaches +the Government. ``But that is not all,'' said he. + + +``There are other sources of income for the hsien official. Thus here +in this county, thirty-five or forty years ago, the Government imposed an +extra tax for the purpose of putting down the Tai-ping rebellion, and the +officials have continued to collect that tax ever since. Of course if the +literati should move in the matter and report to Paoting-fu, the magistrate +would be bounced at once; but they are not likely to do so. The tax is a +small one, my own share not being more than five dollars or so.'' + + +China's whole public service is rotten with corruption. +Offices with merely nominal salaries or none at all are usually +bought by the payment of a heavy bribe and held for a term of +three years, during which the incumbent seeks not only to +recoup himself but to make as large an additional sum as +possible. As the weakness of the Government and the absence of +an outspoken public press leave them free from restraint, China +is the very paradise of embezzlers. ``Any man who has had the +least occasion to deal with Chinese courts knows that `every +man has his price,' that not only every underling can be +bought, but that 999 out of every 1,000 officials, high or low, +will favour the man who offers the most money.''[7] Dishonesty +is not, as with the white race, simply the recourse in emergency +of the unscrupulous man. It is the habitual practice, the rule +of intercourse of all classes. The Chinese apparently have no +conscience on the subject, but appear to deem it quite praise- +worthy to deceive you if they can. + + +[7] Rev. Dr. C. H. Fenn, Peking. + + +Gambling is openly, shamelessly indulged in by all classes. +As for immorality, the Rev. Dr. J. Campbell Gibson of Swatow +says that ``while the Chinese are not a moral people, vice has +never in China as in India, been made a branch of religion.'' +But the Rev. Dr. C. H. Fenn, of Peking, declares ``that every +village and town and city--it would not be a very serious ex- +aggeration to say every home,--fairly reeks with impurity.'' +The Chinese are, indeed, less openly immoral than the Japanese, +while their venerated books abound with the praises of virtue. +But medical missionaries could tell a dark story of the extent +to which immorality eats into the very warp and woof of +Chinese society. The five hundred monks in the Lama +Temple in Peking are notorious not only for turbulence and +robbery, but for vice. The temple is in a spacious park and +includes many imposing buildings. The statue of Buddha is +said to be the largest in China--a gilded figure about sixty feet +high--colossal and rather awe-inspiring in ``the dim religious +light.'' But in one of the temple buildings, where the two +monks who accompanied us said that daily prayers were +chanted, I saw representations in brass and gilt that were as +filthily obscene as anything that I saw in India. There is +immorality in lands that are called Christian, but it is disavowed +by Christianity, ostracized by decent people and under the ban +of the civil law. But Buddhism puts immorality in its temples +and the Government supports it. This particular temple has +the yellow tiled roofs that are only allowed on buildings +associated with the Imperial Court or that are under special +Imperial protection. Mr. E. H. Parker, after twenty years' +experience in China, writes, + + +``The Chinese are undoubtedly a libidinous people, with a decided +inclination to be nasty about it. . . . Rich mandarins are the most +profligate class. . . . Next come the wealthy merchants. . . . The +crapulous leisured classes of Peking openly flaunt the worst of vices. + +Still, amongst all classes and ranks the moral sense is decidedly +weak. . . . Offenses which with us are regarded as almost capital-- +in any case as infamous crimes--do not count for as much as petty +misdemeanours in China.[8] + + +[8] ``China,'' pp. 272, 273 + + +More patent to the superficial observer is a cruelty which +appears to be callously indifferent to suffering. This manifests +itself not only in most barbarous punishments but in a thou- +sand incidents of daily life. The day I entered China at +Chefoo, I saw a dying man lying beside the road. Hundreds +of Chinese were passing and repassing on the crowded +thoroughfare. But none stopped to help or to pity and the sufferer +passed through his last agony absolutely uncared for and lay +with glazing eyes and stiffening form all unheeded by the +careless throng. Twenty-four hours afterwards, he was still lying +there with his dead face upturned to the silent sky, while the +world jostled by, buying, laughing, quarrelling, heedless of the +tragedy of human life so near. And when in Ching-chou-fu, I +stopped to see if I could not give some relief to a woman who +was writhing in the street, I was hastily warned that if I +touched her unasked, the populace might hold me responsible +in the event of her death and perhaps demand heavy damages, +if, indeed, it did not mob me on the spot. Undoubtedly the +Chinese are often deterred from aiding a sufferer because they +fear that if death occurs ``bad luck'' will follow them, a horde of +real or fictitious relatives will clamour for damages, and perhaps a +rapacious magistrate will take advantage of the opportunity to +make a criminal charge which can be removed only by a heavy +bribe. And so the sick and poor are often left to die uncared +for in crowded streets, and drowning children are allowed to +sink within a few yards of boats which might have rescued +them. But everywhere in China, little attention is paid to +suffering and many customs seem utterly heartless. + +In spite, too, of the agnostic teachings of Confucius and +their own practical temperament, the Chinese are a very +superstitious people and live in constant terror of evil spirits. The +grossest superstitions prevail among them, while beyond any +other people known to us they are stagnant, spiritually dead, +densely ignorant of those higher levels of thought and life to +which Christianity has raised whole classes in Europe and +America. + +Some people who are ignorant of the real situation in China +are being misled by an anonymous little book entitled ``Letters +From a Chinese Official.'' The author insists that Anglo-Saxon +institutions are far inferior to the institutions of China. He +declares that ``our religion (Chinese) is more rational than +yours, our morality higher and our institutions more perfect,'' +and that there is less real happiness in Europe and America +than in China. As for Christianity, he regards it as quite +impracticable. He holds that Confucianism is feasible and that +Christianity is not, and much more to the same effect. There +is strong internal evidence that the author is not a Chinese at all, +but a cynical European. At any rate, the book is an ex parte +statement of the most glaring kind, omitting the good in +Europe and America and the bad in China. One who has +visited the Celestial Empire gasps when he reads that the +Chinese houses are ``cheerful and clean,'' that the Chinese live the +life of the mind and the spirit to a far higher degree than the +Christian peoples of the West, and that Chinese life has a +dignity and peace and beauty which Europe cannot equal. ``Such +silence! Such sounds! Such perfume! Such colour!'' +the author rhapsodizes. Bishop Graves, of Shanghai, who has +spent a quarter of a century in China and who is therefore +presumably competent to speak, declares: + + +``Far be it from me to belittle the beauty of the Chinese landscape; +but why did he not leave out that about the perfume? Why, you can +smell China out at sea! However, it is just as easy to imagine the +perfume as the rest of it, while you are writing. . . . Exaggeration is +the most conspicuous note of these `Letters.' Any one who has not +seen China can test whether this book is true to fact by comparing it with +any narrative of sober travel, and if he happens to live in China, his own +nose and eyes are a sufficient witness. . . . The writer takes the +worst of our morals, the weakest of our religion, the most debasing of our +industrial conditions, the most pernicious of our vices, and against them +he sets not the best that China can show, but an exaggerated picture +which is false to fact. This is not argument but trickery, because it +presumes on the fact that one's readers will know no better.'' + + +Indeed, the Rev. Dr. C. H. Fenn, who has resided in +Peking for ten years, writes that he cannot believe that the +author of ``Letters from a Chinese Official'' is a sincere man. +He continues: + + +``I would be almost willing to assert that it is impossible for a man, +brought up in China, then spending many years abroad, to return to China +and write such a book in honesty and sincerity of heart. He could not +possibly help knowing that nine-tenths of what he was writing about +China was absolutely untrue, that her political, legal, social, domestic and +personal life are rotten to the core, and that only in a few exceptional +cases is any pretence even made of living according to the ethics of +Confucius. It might be possible for an educated man, whose surroundings +had always been of an exceptionally good character, and who had never +gone outside of his own province or studied foreign books, to write with +some enthusiasm of the beauties of Chinese life, but not for any one else.'' + + +Still, at a time when the Chinese are being vociferously +abused, it is only fair that we should give them credit for the +good qualities which they do possess. I ask with Dr. William +Elliott Griffis: ``In talking of our brother men, what shall +be our general principle, detraction or fair play? Because +lackadaisical writers picture the Christless nations as in the +innocence of Eden, shall we, at the antipodes of fact and +truth, proceed to blacken their characters? Shall we compare +the worst in Canton, Benares or Zululand, with the best in London, +Berlin or Philadelphia? Surely God cannot look with +complacency or hear with delight much of the practical slander +spoken among white folks and Anglo-Saxons of His children +and our brothers.'' + +There has been too much of a disposition to think of the +Chinese as a mass, almost as we would regard immense herds +of cattle or shoals of fish. Why not rather think of the +Chinese as an individual, as a man of like passions with +ourselves? Physically, mentally, and morally he differs from us +only in degree, not in kind. He has essentially the same hopes +and fears, the same joys and sorrows, the same susceptibility to +pain and the same capacity for happiness. Are we not told +that God ``hath made of one blood all nations of men''? +We complacently imagine that we are superior to the Chinese. +But discussing the question as to what constitutes superiority +and inferiority of race, Benjamin Kidd declares that ``we shall +have to set aside many of our old ideas on the subject. Neither +in respect alone of colour, nor of descent, nor even of the +possession of high intellectual capacity, can science give us any +warrant for speaking of one race as superior to another.'' Real +superiority is the result, not so much of anything inherent in +one race as distinguished from another, as of the operation +upon a race and within it of certain uplifting forces. Any +superiority that we now possess is due to the action upon us of +these forces. But they can be brought to bear upon the +Chinese as well as upon us. We should avoid the popular +mistake of looking at the Chinese ``as if they were merely +animals with a toilet, and never see the great soul in a man's +face.''[9] ``There is nothing,'' says Stopford Brooke, ``that needs +so much patience as just judgment of a man. We ought to +know his education, the circumstances of his life, the friends +he has made or lost, his temperament, his daily work, the +motives which filled the act, the health he had at the time--we +ought to have the knowledge of God to judge him justly.'' + + +[9] George Eliot. + + +We need in this study a truer idea of the worth and dignity +of man as man, a realization that back of almond eyes and under +a yellow skin are all the faculties and the possibilities of a +human soul, to grasp the great thought that the Chinese is not +only a man, but our brother man, made like ourselves in the +image of God. Let us have the charity which sees beneath all +external peculiarities our common humanity, which leads us to +respect a man because he is a man; which, no matter what +complexion he may have, no matter where he lives, no matter +to what degradation he has fallen, will take him by the hand +and endeavour to elevate him to a higher plane of life. For +him we need an enthusiasm for humanity which shall not be a +sentimental rhetoric, but a catholic, throbbing love, remembering +that he is + + ``Heir of the same inheritance, + Child of the self-same God, + He hath but stumbled in the path + We have in weakness trod.'' + + +Ruskin reminds us that the filthy mud from the street of a +manufacturing town is composed of clay, sand, soot and water; +that the clay may be purified into the radiance of the sapphire; +that the sand may be developed into the beauty of the opal; that +the soot may be crystallized into the glory of the diamond and +that the water may be changed into a star of snow. So man in +Asia as well as in America may, by the transforming power of +God's Spirit, be ennobled into the kingly dignity of divine +sonship. We shall get along best with the Chinese if we remember +that he is a human being like ourselves, responsive to kindness, +appreciative of justice and capable of moral transformation +under the influence of the Gospel. He differs from us not +in the fundamental things that make for manhood, but only in +the superficial things that are the result of environment. From +this view-point, we can say with Shakespeare:-- + + ``There is some sort of goodness in things evil, + Would men observingly distil it out.'' + + +Those who are wont to refer so contemptuously to the Chinese +might profitably recall that when, in Dickens' ``Christmas +Carol,'' the misanthropic Scrooge says of the poor and suffering: +``If he be like to die, he had better do it and decrease +the surplus population,''--the Ghost sternly replies:-- + +``Man, if man you be at heart, not adamant, forbear that wicked cant +until you have discovered what the surplus is and where it is. Will you +decide what men shall live, what men shall die? It may be that in the +sight of heaven, you are more worthless and less fit to live than millions +like this poor man's child. Ah, God! to hear the insect on the leaf +pronouncing on the too much life among his hungry brothers in the dust!'' + + + +III + +ATTITUDE TOWARDS FOREIGNERS--CHARACTER +AND ACHIEVEMENTS + +TO understand China's attitude towards foreigners, the +following considerations must be borne in mind:-- + +First, the conservative temperament of the Chinese. +It is true but misleading, to say that they have ``no word or +written character for patriotism, but 150 ways of writing the +characters for good luck and longlife.'' For while the Chinese +may have little love for country, they have an intense +devotion to their own customs. For nearly 5,000 years, while +other empires have risen, flourished and fallen, they have lived +apart, sufficient unto themselves, cherishing their own ideals, +plodding along their well-worn paths, ignorant of or indifferent +to the progress of the Western world, mechanically memorizing +dead classics, and standing still comparatively amid the +tremendous onrush of modern civilization. I say comparatively +still, for if we carefully study Chinese history, we shall find +that this vast nation has not been so inert as we have long +supposed. The very revolutions and internal commotions of all +kinds through which China has passed would have prevented +mere inertia. But when we compare these movements and the +changes that they have wrought with the kaleidoscopic +transformations in Europe and America, China appears the most +stationary of nations. She has moved less in centuries than +western peoples have in decades. The restless Anglo-Saxon is +alternately irritated and awed by this massive solidity, not to +say stolidity. There is, after all, something impressive about +it, the impressiveness of a mighty glacier which moves, indeed, +but so slowly and majestically that the duration of an ordinary +nation's life appears insignificant as compared with the almost +timeless majesty of the Chinese Empire. + +Second, the vastness of China. Her territory and population +are so enormous that her people found sufficient scope for +their energies within their own borders. They therefore felt +independent of outsiders. The typical European nation is so +limited in area and is so near to equally civilized and powerful +peoples that it could not if it would live unto itself. The +situation of most nations forces them into relations with others. +But China had a third of the human race and a tenth of the +habitable globe entirely to herself, with no neighbours who had +anything that she really cared for. It was inevitable, therefore, +that a naturally conservative people should become a self- +centred and self-satisfied people. + +Third, the character of adjacent nations. None of them +were equal to the Chinese in civilization and learning, while in +territory and population, they were relatively insignificant. +Even Japan, by far the most powerful of them, has only a tenth +of China's population, while her remarkable progress in intelligence +and power is a matter of less than a couple generations. +Until recently, indeed, Japan was as backward as China and +was not ashamed to receive many of her ideas from her larger +neighbour, as the number of Chinese characters in the Japanese +language plainly show. As for China's other neighbours, who +were they? Weak nations which abjectly sent tribute by +commissioners who grovelled before the august Emperor of the +Middle Kingdom, or barbarous tribes which the Chinese +regarded about as Americans regard the aboriginal Indians. +Gibson translates the following passage from a Chinese historian +as illustrative at once of China's haughty contempt of +outsiders and of her reasons for it: + + +``The former kings in measuring out the land put the Imperial territory +in the centre. Inside was the Chinese Empire, and outside were the +barbarous nations. The barbarians are covetous and greedy of gain. Their +hair hangs down over their bodies, and their coats are buttoned on the +left side. They have human faces, but the hearts of beasts. They are +distinguished from the natives of the Empire both by their manners and +their dress. They differ both in their customs and their food, and in +language they are utterly unintelligible. . . . On this account the ancient +sage kings treated them like birds and beasts. They did not contract +treaties, nor did they attack them. To form a treaty is simply to spend +treasure and to be deceived; to attack them is simply to wear out the +troops and provoke raids. . . . Thus the outer are not to be brought +inside. They must be held at a distance, avoiding familiarity. . . . If +they show a leaning towards right principles and present tributary +offerings, they should be treated with a yielding etiquette; but bridling and +repression must never be relaxed for conforming to circumstance. Such +was the constant principle of the sage monarchs in ruling and controlling +the barbarian tribes.'' + + +It is not surprising, therefore, that when foreigners +from the distant West sought to force their way into +China, the Chinese, knowing nothing of the countries +from which they came, should have regarded them in accordance +with their traditional belief and policy regarding the +inferiority of all outsiders. + +The resultant difficulty was intensified by the +indifference, to use no harsher term, of the foreigner to +the fact that the Chinese are a very ceremonious people, +extremely punctilious in all social relations and disposed to +regard a breach of etiquette as a cardinal sin. ``Face'' is a +national institution which must be preserved at all hazards. +No one can get along with the Chinese who does not respect it. + + +``It is an integral part of both Chinese theory and practice that realities +are of much less importance than appearances. If the latter can be +saved, the former may be altogether surrendered. This is the essence of +that mysterious `face' of which we are never done hearing in China. +The line of Pope might be the Chinese national motto: `Act well your +part, there all the honour lies'; not, be it observed, doing well what is to be +done, but consummate acting, contriving to convey the appearance of a +thing or a fact, whatever the realities may be. This is Chinese high art; +this is success. It is self-respect, and it involves and implies the respect +of others. It is, in a word, `face.' The preservation of `face' +frequently requires that one should behave in an arbitrary and violent +manner merely to emphasize his protests against the course of current events. +He or she must fly into a violent rage, he or she must use reviling and +perhaps imprecatory language, else it will not be evident to the spectators +of the drama, in which he is at the moment acting, that he is aware just +what ought to be done by a person in his precise situation; and then he +will have `no way to descend from the stage,' or in other words, he will +have lost `face.' ''[10] + +[10] Smith, ``Rex Christus,'' pp. 107, 108. + + +Even in death this remains the ruling passion. Chinese +coffins require much wood and are an expensive +burden in this land where timber is scarce, for Confucius said +that a coffin should be five inches thick. So the poorer +Chinese thriftily meet this requirement by making the sides and +ends hollow! Thus ``face'' is saved. + +In these circumstances, it was very important that the +relations of Europeans to China should be characterized not only +by justice but by tact and at least decent respect for the +feelings and customs of the people. The chief cause of China's +hostility to foreigners undoubtedly lies in the notorious and +often contemptuous disregard of these things by the majority +of the white men who have entered China and by the Governments +which have backed them. + +There is much in the Chinese that is worthy of our respectful +recognition. Multitudes are indeed, stolid and ignorant, +but multitudes, too, have strong, intelligent features. Thousands +of children have faces as bright and winning as those of +American children. More strongly than ever do I feel that +Europe and America have not done justice to the character of +the Chinese. I do not refer to the bigoted and corrupt Manchu +officials, or to the lawless barbarians who, like the ``lewd fellows +of the baser sort'' in other lands, are ever ready to follow the +leadership of a demagogue. But I refer to the Chinese people +as a whole. Their view-point is so radically different from +ours that we have often harshly misjudged them, when the real +trouble has lain in our failure to understand them. + +Let us be free enough from prejudice and passion to respect +a people whose national existence has survived the mutations +of a definitely known historic period of thirty-seven centuries +and of an additional legendary period that runs back no man +knows how far into the haze of a hoary antiquity; who are +frugal, patient, industrious and respectful to parents, as we are +not; whose astronomers made accurate recorded observations +200 years before Abraham left Ur; who used firearms at the +beginning of the Christian era; who first grew tea, manufactured +gunpowder, made pottery, glue and gelatine; who wore +silk and lived in houses when our ancestors wore the undressed +skins of wild animals and slept in caves; who invented printing +by movable types 500 years before that art was known in +Europe; who discovered the principles of the mariner's compass +without which the oceans could not be crossed, conceived +the idea of artificial inland waterways and dug a canal 600 +miles long; who made mountain roads which, in the opinion of +Dr. S. Wells Williams, ``when new probably equalled in +engineering and construction anything of the kind ever built by +Romans;'' and who invented the arch to which our modern +architecture is so greatly indebted. + +In the Great Bell Temple two miles from Peking is one of +the wonderful bells of the world. It is fourteen feet high, +thirty-four feet in circumference at the rim, nine inches thick +and weighs 120,000 pounds. It is literally covered inside and +out with Chinese characters consisting of extracts from the +sacred writings, and the Rev. Dr. John Wherry, who is an +expert in the Chinese language, says that there is ``not one +imperfect character among them.'' The bell when struck by +the big wooden clapper emits a deep musical note that can be +heard for miles. Such a magnificent bell vividly illustrates +the stage of civilization reached by the Chinese while Europe +was comparatively barbarous, for the bell was cast as far back +as 1406 in the reign of Yung-loh, and the present temple buildings +were erected about it in 1578. The Germans began using +paper in 1190, but Sven Hedin found Chinese paper 1,650 +years old and there is evidence that paper was in common use +by the Chinese 150 years before Christ. Until a few hundred +years ago, European business was conducted on the basis of +coin or barter. But long before that, the Chinese had banks +and issued bills of exchange. There has recently been placed +in the British Museum a bank-note issued by Hung-Wu, Emperor +of China, in 1368. + +The Chinese exalt learning and, alone among the nations of +the earth, make scholarship a test of fitness for official position. +True, that scholarship moves along narrow lines of Confucian +classics, but surely such knowledge is a higher qualification for +office than the brute strength which for centuries gave precedence +among our ancestors. A Chinese writer explains as follows +the gradations in relative worth as they are esteemed by +his countrymen: ``First the scholar: because mind is superior +to wealth, and it is the intellect that distinguishes man above +the lower orders of beings, and enables him to provide food +and raiment and shelter for himself and for other creatures. +Second, the farmer: because the mind cannot act without the +body, and the body cannot exist without food, so that farming +is essential to the existence of man, especially in civilized +society. Third, the mechanic: because next to food, shelter +is a necessity, and the man who builds a house comes next in +honour to the man who provides food. Fourth, the tradesman: +because, as society increases and its wants are multiplied, +men to carry on exchange and barter become a necessity, +and so the merchant comes into existence. His occupation +--shaving both sides, the producer and consumer--tempts him +to act dishonestly; hence his low grade. Fifth, the soldier +stands last and lowest in the list, because his business is to +destroy and not to build up society. He consumes what others +produce, but produces nothing himself that can benefit mankind. +He is, perhaps, a necessary evil.''[11] + + +[11] Quoted by Beach, ``Dawn on the Hills of T'ang,'' pp. 45, 46. + + +While the Government of China is a paternal despotism in +form and while it is always weak and corrupt and often cruel +and tyrannical in practice, nevertheless there is a larger measure +of individual freedom than might be supposed. ``There are +no passports, no restraints on liberty, no frontiers, no caste +prejudices, no food scruples, no sanitary measures, no laws +except popular customs and criminal statutes. China is in +many senses one vast republic, in which personal restraints +have no existence.''[12] + + +[12] E. H Parker, ``China.'' + + +We must not form our opinion from the Chinese whom we +see in the United States. True, most of them are kindly, +patient and industrious, while some are highly intelligent. +But, with comparatively few exceptions, they are from the +lower classes of a single province of Kwan-tung--Cantonese +coolies. The Chinese might as fairly form their opinion of +Americans from our day-labourers. But there are able men in +the Celestial Empire. Bishop Andrews returned from China +to characterize the Chinese as ``a people of brains.'' When +Viceroy Li Hung Chang visited this country, all who met him +unhesitatingly pronounced him a great man. The New York +Tribune characterizes the late Liu Kun Yi, Viceroy of Nanking, +as a man who ``rendered inestimable services to China and to +the whole world,'' ``a man of action, who acted with a strong +hand and masterful leadership and at the same time with a +justice and a generosity that made him at once feared, respected +and loved.'' + +After General Grant's tour around the world, he told Senator +Stewart that the most astonishing thing which he had seen was +that wherever the Chinese had come into competition with the +Jew, the Chinese had driven out the Jew. We know the +persistence of the Jew, that he has held his own against every +other people. Despite the fact that he has no home and no +Government, that he has been ridiculed and persecuted by all +men, that everywhere he is an alien in race, country and +religion, he has laboured on, patiently, resolutely, distancing +every rival, surmounting every obstacle, compelling even his +enemies to acknowledge his shrewdness and his determination +till to-day in Russia, in Austria, in Germany, in England, the +Jew is bitterly conceded to be master in the editorial chair, at +the bar, in the universities, in the counting-house and in the +banking office; while the proudest of monarchs will undertake +no enterprise requiring large expenditure until he is assured of +the support of the keen-eyed, swarthy-visaged men who control +the sinews of war. Generations of exclusion from agriculture +and the mechanical arts and of devotion to commerce, have +developed and inbred in the Jew a marvellous facility for trade. + +And yet this race, which has so abundantly demonstrated its +ability to cope with the Greek, the Slav and the Teuton, finds +itself outreached in cunning, outworn in persistence and over- +matched in strength by an olive-complexioned, almond-eyed +fellow with felt shoes, baggy trousers, loose tunic, round cap +and swishing queue, who represents such swarming myriads +that the mind is confused in the attempt to comprehend the +enormous number. The canny Scotchman and the shrewd +Yankee are alike discomfited by the Chinese. Those who do +not believe it should ask the American and European traders +who are being crowded out of Saigon, Shanghai, Bangkok, +Singapore, Penang, Batavia and Manila. In many of the ports +of Asia outside of China, the Chinese have shown themselves +to be successful colonizers, able to meet competition, so that +to-day they own the most valuable property and control the +bulk of the trade. It is true that the Chinese are inordinately +conceited; but shades of the Fourth of July orator, screams of +the American eagle! it requires considerable self-possession in +a Yankee to criticize any one else on the planet for conceit. +The Chinese have not, at least, padded a census to make the +world believe that they are greater than they really are. In +June, 1903, the same New York newspaper that gave the horrible +details of the burning of a negro by an American mob +within thirty miles of Philadelphia announced that a Chinese, +Chung Hui Wang, had taken the highest honours in the graduating +class at Yale University. Another New York journal, in +commenting on the fact that Chao Chu, son of the former +Chinese minister, Wu Ting Fang, was graduated in 1904 at +the Atlantic City High School as the valedictorian of a class of +thirty-one, remarked: + + +``At every commencement there are honours enough to go around, and +those won by the Celestial contestants will not be begrudged them. Yet +it is not exactly flattering to smart American youth to realize that +representatives of an effete civilization after a few years' acquaintance with +western ways can meet our home talent on its own ground and carry off +the prizes of scholarship.'' + + +A British consular official, who spent many years in China and +who speaks the language, declares that in his experience of the +Chinese their fidelity is extraordinary, their sense of responsibility +in positions of trust very keen, and that they have a +very high standard of gratitude and honour. ``I cannot +recall a case,'' he says, ``where any Chinese friend has left +me in the lurch or played me a dirty trick, and few of us +can say the same of our own colleagues and countrymen.'' +The Hon. Chester Holcombe, who quotes this, adds--``The +writer, after years of experience and intimate acquaintance +with all classes of Chinese from every part of the Empire, is +convinced that the characterization of the race as thus given +by those who at least are not over-friendly does it only scant +justice.''[13] + + +[13] The Outlook, February 13, 1904. + + +Many quote against the Chinese the familiar lines-- + + ``----for ways that are dark + And for tricks that are vain, + The heathen Chinee is peculiar.'' + +But whoever reads the whole poem will see the force of the +London Spectator's opinion that it is a ``satire of the American +selfishness which is the main strength of the cry against the +cheap labour of the Chinese,'' and that ``it would not be easy +for a moderately intelligent man to avoid seeing that Mr. Bret +Harte wished to delineate the Chinese simply as beating the +Yankee at his own evil game, and to delineate the Yankee as +not at all disposed to take offense at the ``cheap labour'' of his +Oriental rival, until he discovered that he could not cheat the +cheap labourer half so completely as the cheap labourer could +cheat him.'' + +It is common for people to praise the Japanese and to sneer +at the Chinese. All honour to the Japanese for their splendid +achievements. With marvellous celerity they have adopted +many modern ideas and inventions. They are worthy of the +respect they receive. But those who have made a close study +of both peoples unhesitatingly assert that the Chinese have +more solid elements of permanence and power. The Japanese +have the quickness, the enthusiasm, the intelligence of the +French; but the Chinese unite to equal intelligence the plodding +persistence of the Germans, and the old fable of the tortoise +and the hare is as true of nations as it is of individuals. +Unquestionably, the Chinese are the most virile race in Asia +``Wherever a Chinese can get a foot of ground and a quart of +water he will make something grow.'' Colquhoun quotes +Richthofen as saying that ``among the various races of +mankind, the Chinese is the only one which in all climates, the +hottest and the coldest, is capable of great and lasting activity.'' +And he states as his own opinion: ``She has all the elements +to build up a great living force. One thing alone is wanted-- +the will, the directing power. That supplied, there are to be +found in abundance in China the capacity to carry out, the +brains to plan, the hands to work.'' + + + +IV + +A TYPICAL PROVINCE + +SHANTUNG is not only one of the greatest, but it is in +many respects one of the most interesting of all the +provinces of China. Its length east and west is about +543 miles and in area it is nearly as large as the whole of New +England. The name, Shantung, signifies ``east of the mountains.'' +Forests once existed, but tillable land has become so +valuable that trees are now comparatively few save in the +villages and temples and about the graves of the rich. But for the +most part, Shantung resembles the great prairie regions of the +western part of the United States, broken by occasional ranges +of hills and low mountains. The soil is generally fertile, +though in the southwestern part I found some stony regions +where the soil is thin and poor. South of Chinan-fu one finds +the loess, a light friable earth which yields so easily to wheel +and hoof and wind and water that the stream of travel through +successive generations has worn deep cuts in which the traveller +may journey for hours and sometimes for days so far below the +general level of the country that he can see nothing but the +sides of the cut and in turn cannot be seen by others. The +character of the soil and the power of the wind and rain have +combined not only to excavate these long passages, but to cast +up innumerable mounds and hills, often of such fantastic shapes +that one is reminded of the quaint and curious formations in +the Bad Lands of the Missouri, though the loess hillocks lack +the brilliant colouring of the American formations. + +Throughout the province as a whole, almost every possible +square rod of ground is carefully cultivated by the industrious +people, so that in the summer time the whole country appears +to be continuous gardens and farms dotted with innumerable +villages. Wheat appears to be the chief crop and, as in the +Dakotas, the entire landscape seems to be one splendid field of +waving, yellowing grain. But early in June the wheat disappears +as if by magic, for the whole population apparently, men, +women and children, turn out and harvest it with amazing +quickness in spite of the fact that everything is done by hand. +Men and donkeys carry the grain to smooth, hard ground +spaces, where it is threshed by a heavy roller stone drawn by a +donkey or an ox or by men, and several times I saw it drawn +by women. Then it is winnowed by being pitched into the +air for the wind to drive out the feathery chaff. The methods +vividly illustrate the first Psalm and other Bible references-- +gleaning, muzzling ``the ox when he treadeth out the corn,'' +the threshing floor and ``the chaff which the wind driveth +away.'' + +One might suppose that after the wheat harvest, stubble +fields would be much in evidence. But they are not, for the +millet promptly appears. It is hardly noticeable when the +wheat is standing. But it grows rapidly, and as soon as the +wheat is out of the way, it covers great areas with its refreshing +green, looking in its earlier stages like young corn. It is of +two varieties. One is a little higher than wheat, with hanging +head and a small yellow grain. The other is the kao-liang, +which grows to a height of about twelve feet. When small, it +is thinned out to one stalk or sometimes two in a hill so that it +can develop freely. This stalk is to the common people almost +as serviceable as the bamboo to tropical dwellers. It is used +for fences, ceilings, walls and many other purposes. The grain +of the two varieties is the staple food, few but the richer +classes eating rice which is not raised in the north and is high +in price. A third species of millet, shu-shu, is used chiefly +for distilling a whiskey that is largely used but almost always +at home and at night so that little drunkenness is seen by the +traveller. + +Fuel is very scarce, trees being few and coal, though +abundant, not being mined to any extent. So the people cook +with stalks, straw, roots, etc., and in winter pile on additional +layers of wadded cotton garments. Chinese houses are not +heated as ours are, though the flues from the cooking fire, running +under the brick kang, give some heat, too much at times. + +Silk is produced in large quantities and mulberry trees are +so common as to add greatly to the beauty of the country. As +the cocoons cannot be left on the trees for fear of thieves, the +leaves are picked off and taken into houses where the worms +are kept. + +Poppy fields, too, are numerous. The flowers are gloriously +beautiful. I often saw men gathering the opium in the early +morning. After the blossoms fall off, the pod is slit and the +whitish juice, oozing out, is carefully scraped off. High hills +rising to low mountains add beauty to the western part of Shantung, +while the more numerous trees scattered over the fields as +well as in the villages make extensive regions look like vast +parks. + +The people are among the finest types of the Chinese, +tall, strong and, in many instances, of marked intellectual +power. To the Chinese, Shantung is the most sacred of the +provinces, for here were born the two mighty sages, Confucius +and Mencius. + +Politically, the Province is divided into ten prefectures, each +under a prefectural magistrate, called a Chih-fu, and with a +capital which has the termination ``fu.'' I-chou-fu, for example, +is a prefectural city. Each fu is subdivided into ten districts +under a district magistrate or Chih-hsien, the capital, or +county seat as we should call it, having the termination ``hsien'' +or ``hien'' as for example Wei-hsien. There are 108 of these +hsien cities. Between the fu and the hsien cities are a few chou +cities as Chining-chou. They are practically small fus, Chining- +chou having four hsiens under it. The magistrate is called a Chou- +kwan and is responsible directly to a Tao-tai who is an official +between the prefectural magistrate or Chih-fu and the Governor. +There are three Tao-tais in the province. At the +provincial capital are the treasurer or Fan-tai, the Nieh-tai or +judge, the Hueh-tai or commissioner of education and the salt +commissioner, Yen-yuen. These are all high officials. Over +all is the Governor, virtually a monarch subject only to the +nominal supervision of the Imperial Government at Peking. +He is appointed and may at any time be removed by the +Emperor, but during his tenure of office he has almost unlimited +power. + +My tour of China included two interesting months in this +great province. As I approached Chefoo on the steamer from +Korea, I was impressed by the beauty of the scene. The water +was smooth and sparkling in the bright spring sunshine. The +harbour is exceptionally lovely. The shore lines are irregular, +terminating in a high promonotory on which are situated the +buildings of the various consulates. To the right, as the +traveller faces the city, is the business section with its wharves +and well-constructed commercial buildings, while on the left is +the wide curve of a fine beach on which front the foreign hotel +and the handsome buildings of the China Inland Mission. +Beyond the city, rises a noble hill on the slopes of which stand +the buildings of the Presbyterian Mission. From the water, +Chefoo is one of the most charming cities in all China. + +Big, lusty Chinese in their wide, clumsy boats called sampans, +swarmed in the harbour. Sculling alongside, the boatman +caught the rail of the steamer with his boat-hook and with +the agility of a monkey scrambled up the long pole, dropped it +into the water and began to hustle for business. The babel of +voices bidding for passengers was like the tumult of Niagara +hack-drivers, but we were so fortunate as to be met by Dr. W. +F. Faries and the Rev. W. O. Elterich of the Presbyterian +Mission and under their skillful guidance, we were soon taken +ashore. + +A closer view of the Chinese city proved less attractive than +the captivating one from the harbour. The population long +ago over-ran the limits of the old city so that to-day most of +the people are outside the walls. Within those ancient battlements, +the streets are narrow and crooked, while the filth is +indescribable. The visitor who wishes to see something of the +work and to enjoy the hospitality of the noble company of +Presbyterian missionaries on Temple Hill must either pass through +that reeking mess or go around it. There is, after all, not +much choice in the routes, for the Chinese population outside +the walls has simply squatted there without much order, and +the corkscrew streets are not only thronged with people and +donkeys and mules, but malodorous with ditches through which +all the nastiness of the crowded habitations trickles. Why +pestilence does not carry off the whole population is a mystery +to the visitor from the West, especially as he sees the pools out +of which the people drink, their shores lined with washerwomen +and the water dark and thick with the dirt of decades. Byron's +words in ``Childe Harold'' are as true of Chefoo as of Lisbon: + + ``But whoso entereth within this town, + That, sheening far, a celestial seems to be, + Disconsolate will wander up and down + 'Mid many things unsightly to strange e'e; + For hut and palace show like filthily. + The dingy denizens are reared in dirt, + No personage of high or mean degree + Doth care for cleanness of surtout, or shirt, + Though shent with Egypt's plague, unkempt, unwashed, unhurt!'' + + +The first open port of Shantung was Teng-chou-fu, a quaint +old city on the far northeastern point of the Shantung promontory. +It has been outstripped in importance by its later +rival, Chefoo, and is now ignored by the through steamers and +seldom visited by travellers. As the trip from Chefoo by land +requires two long hard days over a mountain range and as time +was precious, I decided to go by water. The regular coasting +steamer was not running on account of danger from pirates, +who had been unusually bold and murderous in attacking passing +vessels. But I succeeded in hiring a small launch. It was +a trip of fifty-five miles along the coast on the open sea, but the +weather was good and so we risked it. Several of the missionaries +took advantage of the occasion to visit friends in Tengchou-fu +so that a pleasant little party was formed. + +We had intended to start at 7:30 A. M., but some of our luggage +and chair coolies, who had been engaged to take us from +Temple Hill to the launch at 6:30, did not come, and we had +to press into service some untrained ``boys.'' Then, our chair +coolies, who had been carefully instructed as to their destination +and who had solemnly asserted that they knew just where to go, +got separated from the others and calmly took us to the Union +Church. We appreciated their apparent conviction that we +needed to go to church, but we vainly tried to make them +understand that we wanted to go somewhere else. The delay +would have become exasperating if a small English boy who +knew Chinese had not helped us out. Then the two coolies +who were carrying our valises and the lunch-baskets went +another way and sat down en route ``to rest.'' They would +doubtless be sitting there yet if, after waiting till our patience +was exhausted, we had not sent men to find them. But that is +Asia. + +However, all arrived at last and at 8:20 A. M. we cast off. +The day was glorious and as the sea was not rough enough to +make any one ill, we had a delightful trip along the coast with +its bare, brown hills so much resembling the scenery of California. +We reached Teng-chou-fu at 3:15 and that the pirates +were not imaginary was evident for as we entered the harbour, +they made a dash and captured a junk less than a mile away. +An alarm cannon was fired and soldiers were running to the +beach as we landed. + +While in Teng-chou-fu, we witnessed a pathetic ceremony. +There had been no rain for several weeks. The kao-liang was +withering and the farmers could not plant their beans on the +ground from which the winter wheat had been cut. The people +had become alarmed as the drought continued, and they +were parading the streets bearing banners, wearing chaplets of +withered leaves on their heads to remind the gods that the +vegetation was dying, beating drums to attract the attention of +the god, and ever and anon falling on their knees and praying +--``O Great Dragon! send us rain.'' It was pitiful. This +country is fertile but the population is so enormous that, in the +absence of any manufacturing or mining, the people even in the +most favoured seasons live from hand to mouth, and a drought +means the starvation of multitudes. + + + +V + +A SHENDZA IN SHANTUNG + +THE spring of 1901 was not the most propitious time +for a tour of the province of Shantung. It was +shortly after the suppression of the Boxer outbreak +and the country was still in an unsettled condition. The +veteran Dr. Hunter Corbett, who had resided in the province +for a generation said, ``We are living on a volcano and we do +not know at what moment another eruption will occur.'' +Students returning from the examinations at the capitol told the +people that the Boxers were to rise again and kill all the foreigners +and Chinese Christians. The missionaries did not believe +the report, but they said that it might be believed by the +people and cause a renewal of agitation as such rumours the +year before had been an important factor in inciting the populace +to violence. But the interior of this great province was +one of the objective points of my tour and I could not miss it. +Besides, if the missionaries could go, I could. Wives, however, +were resolutely debarred. No woman had yet ventured +into the interior and the authorities refused to approve their +going. In case of trouble, a man can fight or run, but a +woman is peculiarly helpless. Nor could we forget that the +Chinese during the Boxer outbreak treated foreign women who +fell into their hands with horrible atrocity. So the wives, rather +against their will, remained in the ports. + +Arrangements are apt to move slowly in this land of deliberation. +The genial and efficient United States Consul at Chefoo, +the Hon. John Fowler, joked me a little about my hurry to +start, laughingly remarking that this was Asia and not New +York, and that I must not expect things to be done on the +touch of a button as at home. But finding that a German +steamer was to leave the next day for Tsing-tau, the starting +point for the interior, the energetic missionaries helped me to +``hustle the East'' to get off on it. The Chinese tailor gasped +when I told him that I must have a khaki suit by six the following +evening, but when he learned that I was to sail and +therefore could not wait, he promised rather than lose the job. +The next day the steamer agent notified me that the sailing +hour had been changed to four o'clock. I sent word to the +tailor with faint hope of ever seeing that suit, and when a later +message gave three o'clock as the real time, I abandoned hope. +But the enterprising Celestial made his fingers fly, finished the +suit by 2:50 P. M., and took it to the house of my hostess. +Finding that I had already gone to the steamer, he hurried off +to the wharf, hired a sampan, sculled a mile and panting but +triumphant placed the suit in my hands just as the steamer was +getting under way. His charge for the suit, including all his +trouble and the cost of the sampan, was $7 Mexican ($3.50). + +Saturday found me in Tsing-tau, and Monday, I turned my +face inland, accompanied by the Rev. J. H. Laughlin and Dr. +Charles H. Lyon, and, as far as Wei-hsien, by the Rev. Frank +Chalfant, all of the Presbyterian mission, besides Mr. William +Shipway of the English Baptist mission, who was to accompany +us as far as Ching-chou-fu. To-day, the traveller can journey +to Chinan-fu, the capital, in a comfortable railway +car, but I shall always be glad that my visit occurred in the old +days when the native methods of transportation were the sole +dependence, for at that time the new German railway was in +operation only forty-six miles to the old city of Kiao-chou. + +The modes of conveyance in the interior of China are five-- +the donkey, the sedan chair, the wheelbarrow, the cart and the +shendza (mule litter), and naturally the first problem of the +traveller is to decide which one he shall adopt. + +The donkey is all right to one accustomed to horseback +riding. But there is no protection from the sun and rain and +foreign saddles are scarce. The traveller piles his bedding +on the animal's back and climbs on top, sitting either astride +or sideways. In either case, the feet dangle unsupported by +stirrups. It is hard to make long trips in this way, to say +nothing of the consideration that a man feels like an idiot in +such circumstances. ``The outside of a horse is indeed good +for the inside of a man,'' but a mattress on top of a donkey is +a different matter. + +The chair is comfortable for short distances, but it is comparatively +expensive and, as no change of position is possible, +one soon becomes tired sitting in the fixed attitude. In pity to +your coolies, you walk up-hill and you are exposed to inclement +weather unless you hire a covered chair. This, however, +is not only hot and stuffy, but it makes people think you an +aristocrat, as only officials or the rich use such chairs in the +country, though in cities they are a common means of conveyance. +Besides, I had travelled in a chair in Korea and I +wished to try something else in China. + +The Chinese wheelbarrow is a clumsy affair with a narrow +seat on each side of a central partition. When large and with +an awning, it is not so uncomfortable, but it is not well adapted +to a long journey as it is slow and toilsome. When the mud is +deep, progress is almost impossible. Moreover, the labour of +the barrow-men constantly excites the sympathy of the humane +traveller and the dismal screech of the wheel revolving upon +its unoiled axle is worse than the rasp of filing a saw. The +Chinese depend upon the shrieks of the wheel to tell them how +the axle is wearing, but the disconsolate foreigner finds that his +nerves wear out much faster than the wooden axle. In Tsing- +tau, that agonizing screech proved too much even for the stolid +Germans and they posted an ordinance to the effect that all +barrow axles must be greased. The Chinese demurred, but a +few arrests taught them obedience, so that now the streets of +the German metropolis no longer resound with the hysterical +wails and moans so dear to the heart of the Celestial. + +The Chinese cart is a curious affair. There are no roads in +the interior of China, except the ruts that have been made by +the passing of many feet and wheels for generations. In dry +weather, they are thick with dust and in the wet season they +are fathomless with mud. Almost everywhere they are distractingly +crooked, and in many places they are plentifully bestrewn +with boulders of varying sizes. Instead of spending +money in making roads, the Chinese have applied their ingenuity +to making an indestructible cart. They build it of heavy +timbers, with massive wheels, thick spokes and ponderous hubs, +and as no springs could survive the jolting of such a vehicle, +the body of the cart is placed directly upon the huge axle. +Then a couple of big mules are hitched up tandem and driven +at breakneck speed. A runaway in an American farmer's +wagon over a corduroy road but feebly suggests the miseries of +travel in a Chinese cart. It may be good for a dyspeptic, but +it is about the most uncomfortable conveyance that the ingenuity +of man has yet devised. The unhappy passenger is +hurled against the wooden top and sides and is so jolted and +bumped that, as the small boy said in his composition, ``his +heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, stomach, bones and brains are all +mixed up.'' I tried the cart for a while and gently but firmly +intimated that if nothing better was available, I would walk. I +am satisfied that nothing short of a modern battleship under +full steam could make the slightest impression on the typical +Chinese cart. In my humble opinion, a Chinese cart is like +any other misfortune in life. When necessary, it should be +taken uncomplainingly. But the person who takes it unnecessarily +has not reached the years of discretion and should be +assigned a guardian. + +I therefore turned to the shendza. All things considered, it +is the best conveyance for a long interior journey in China. +It consists of a couple long poles with a rope basket work in the +middle and a cover of matting. It is borne by two mules, and +has the advantage of protecting the traveller from the sun and +from light rains. An opening in the back gives him the benefit +of any breeze while it is possible to get occasional relief by +changing position, as he can either sit upright or lounge. +Moreover, he can keep his bedding and a little food with him. +He need not walk up hills in mercy to weary coolies and he +can make the longer daily journeys which the superior endurance +of mules permits. In ordinary conditions on level ground, +my mules averaged about four miles an hour. The motion is a +kind of sieve-and-pepper-box shaking that is not so bad, +provided the mules behave themselves, which is not often. +My rear mule had a meek and quiet spirit. He was a discouraged +animal upon which the sorrows of life had told +heavily and which had reached that age when he appeared to +have no ambition in life except to stop and think or to lie down +and rest. The lead mule, however, was a cantankerous beast +that wanted to fight everything within reach and went into +hysterics every time any other animal passed him. As this occurred +a score of times a day, the uncertainties of the situation +were interesting, especially when the rear mule paused or +laid down without having previously notified the lead mule. +At such times, the sudden stoppage of the power behind and +the plunging of the power in front threatened the dislocation +of the entire apparatus, and as there is no way for the traveller +to get out except over the heels of a mule, life in a shendza is +not always uneventful. But I soon got used to the motion and +to the mules, and even learned to read and to doze in comparative +comfort while the long-eared animals plodded and +jerked on in their own way. + +The most trying thing to the humane traveller is the soreness +of the mules' backs. I insisted on having mules whose +backs were sound, but was told by both missionaries and +Chinese that they could not be had, especially in summer, as +the swaying and jerking of the shendza and the sweat and +dust under the heavy pack-saddle always make sores. It was +all too true. I examined scores of mules and every one had +raw and bleeding abrasions and, in some cases, suppurating +ulcers. For a Chinese, our head muleteer was careful of his +animals and washed them occasionally, but no practicable care +apparently can prevent a shendza from making a sore back. +The only solace I had was the evident indifference of the +mules themselves. They had never known anything better, +and seemed to take misery as a matter of course. + +Our party, with the goods we had to carry, for my missionary +friends were returning to their stations with the expectation +of remaining, included three shendzas, two carts and a +pack-mule for our provisions. But the ``mule'' turned out to +be a donkey and unable to carry all we had planned for a larger +animal. While wondering how we were to get our supplies +carried, we learned that a construction train was about to start +for the end of the track, which was said to be Kaomi, fifty- +five li[14] beyond Kiao-chou. We got permission to ride on the +flat car. In the hope that we might be able to secure a mule or +another donkey in Kaomi, we got aboard, leaving our shendzas +and carts to follow. After a lovely ride of an hour through +wheat-fields interspersed with villages, our train stopped twelve +li from Kaomi, an unfinished culvert making further progress +impossible. As our caravan had gone by a different route and +as no coolies could be hired where we were, the question was +how to get our goods transported. Fortunately, a German +Roman Catholic priest, who was also on the construction +train and who had wheelbarrows for his own goods, cordially +told us to pile our luggage on top of his. We gratefully accepted +this kind offer, and giving his coolies some extra cash +for their labour, they good-naturedly accepted the additional +burden, while we footed the twelve li to Kaomi. + + +[14] A li is about a third of a mile. + + +But the progress of the barrows was slow and it was half- +past eight when we reached Kaomi. In the darkness we could +not find the inn which the magistrate had set aside for foreigners +and the Chinese whom we met gave conflicting replies. +But at that moment, two resident Roman Catholic priests, +Austrians, appeared and one of them recognized Mr. Laughlin +as the associate of Dr. Van Schoick, a Presbyterian medical +missionary who had sympathetically treated a fellow priest during +a long and dangerous illness several years before. He +promptly invited us to go with him, declaring that Dr. Van +Schoick had saved the life of his dearest friend. He was +so cordially insistent that we accepted his invitation. Our +shendzas, carts and pack-mule were we knew not where, and +we were hungry after our long day. Warned by my experience +in Korea that the traveller should never trust to the +punctuality of natives and pack-animals, I had insisted on +taking our bedding and a little food on the flat car. It was +well that I did, for we did not see our shendzas that night as +they arrived after the city gates had been shut so that they +could not get in. But we had a little cocoa, tinned corn beef, +condensed milk, butter and marmalade. Same German soldiers +sent three loaves of coarse bread. Our priestly host added +some Chinese bread, and so had a good supper and afterwards +a sound sleep. + +At half-past four the next morning, Mr. Laughlin remarked +in a forty-horse power tone of voice that it was time to get up. +By the time the reverberations had died away, we were so wide +awake that further sleep was out of the question. Our cook +was nowhere in sight, so we prepared our own breakfast from +the remains of last night's meal. + +Bidding a grateful farewell to our hospitable priests, we rode +across an ancient lake bottom, low, flat, wheat-covered and hot +enough to broil meat. At half-past ten o'clock, we reached +Fau-chia-chiu, the boundary of the hinterland, where, near a +temple just outside the wall, we found Governor Yuan Shih +Kai's military escort awaiting us. It was after sundown when +we reached Liu-chia-chuang, and we felt half inclined to spend +the night there with some genial German military engineers, +but our party had become separated during the day and as +the others had taken a road that did not pass through Liu- +chia-chuang, we pushed on to Hsi-an-tai, which we reached by +a little after ten o'clock. By that time, it was so dark that it +was impossible to go further and we found lodgment in a good- +sized building which smelled to heaven. The odour was like +that of a decomposing body. However, it was too late and we +were too weary either to hunt up smells or to seek another lodging +place. So after a hasty supper out of our tinned food, we +put up our cots and went to bed, Mr. Chalfant making a few +pleasant remarks about the bedbugs that always swarm in such +a building, the centipedes that sometimes crawl into the ears or +nostrils of sleepers and the scorpions that occasionally fall from +the millet-stalk ceiling on to the bed or scuttle across the floor +to bite the person who unwarily walks in his bare feet. Under +the influence of such a soporific, I soon fell asleep. The next +morning we rose early, and while the cook was preparing our +coffee and eggs, we followed the trail of that awful odour to a +corner of the building, where, under some millet stalks, we +found a rude coffin which we had not noticed in the dim candlelight +of the night before. A Chinese of whom we inquired +said that it was empty. We could not in courtesy open a +coffin before dozens of interested Chinese, but it was very +plain to our olfactories that such an odour required a prompt +funeral. + +As usual, a great but silent crowd watched me as I wrote +while the mules were being fed and at Hsien-chung, where +we stopped at noon to repair a shendza, Mr. Chalfant translated +a proclamation on a wall stating that an indemnity of +110,000 taels had to be paid for damage to the railway during +the Boxer outbreak and that 14,773 taels had been assessed on +Wei County. The people read it with scowling faces, but they +said nothing to us, though they looked as if they wanted to. + +At two o'clock, we entered the ruined Presbyterian compound, +a mile southeast of the city of Wei-hsien. It was +thrilling to hear on the scene of the riot Mr. Chalfant's +account of the attack by about a thousand furious Boxers; +to see the place just outside the gate where single-handed and +with no weapon but a small revolver, he had heroically held +the mob at bay for several hours until the swarming Boxers, +awed by his splendid courage, divided, and while several +hundred held his attention, the rest climbed over the wall at +another place and fired the mission buildings. That the three +missionaries escaped with their lives is a wonder. But Mr. +Chalfant quickly ran to the house where Miss Hawes and Miss +Boughton were awaiting him, hurried them down-stairs, +and while the Boxers were smashing the furniture on the other +side of a closed door, snatched up a ladder, assisted them over +the compound wall at a point that was providentially unguarded +and hid them in a field of grain until darkness +enabled them to make their way exhausted but unhurt to a camp +of German soldiers and engineers nine miles distant and to +escape with them to Tsing-tau. It was a remarkable experience. +If that door had not happened to be closed, and if +a ladder had not been carelessly left by a servant beside the +house, and if the attack itself had not occurred just before +dark, undoubtedly all three would have been killed. On each +of those three ifs, lives depended. + +Mr. Fitch cordially welcomed us. Mr. Chalfant killed a +centipede and various insects crawling on the walls near my +cot and a little after nine I was asleep. The next day we +took a walk through the city, impressed by its imposing wall +and the throngs of people who followed us and watched every +movement. Outside the wall, we saw a ``baby house,'' a +small stone building in which the dead children of the poor +are thrown to be eaten by dogs! I wanted to examine it, but +was warned not to do so, as the Chinese imagine that +foreigners make their medicine out of children's eyes and +brains, and our crowds of watching Chinese might quickly become +an infuriated mob. + +Immediately on our arrival, we had sent our cards to the +district magistrate and in the afternoon he sent us an elaborate +feast. As we were about to retire that evening, he called in a +gorgeous chair with a retinue of twenty attendants. He stayed +half an hour and was very cordial, and we had a pleasant interview. +Wei-hsien is famous for its embroideries, and great +quantities are made, the women workers receiving about fifty +small cash a day (less than two cents). It was not necessary +to go to the stores as in America. The shopkeepers brought a +great number of pieces to our inn, covering the kang and every +available table, chair and box with exquisite bits of handiwork. +Lured by the sight I became reckless and bought four +handsome pieces for 19,800 small cash ($6.06). + +Resuming our journey on a warm, sunny day, we entered +Chiang-loa at noon. It was market day, and the greatest +crowd yet fairly blocked the streets. The soldiers had difficulty +in clearing a way for us. But while much curiosity +was expressed, there was no sign of hostility. Then we +journeyed on through the interminable fields of ripening wheat. +Soon, mountains, which we had dimly seen for several hours, +grew more distinct and as we approached Ching-chou-fu towards +evening, the scene was one of great beauty--the yellowing +grain gently undulating in the soft breeze, the mountains +not really more than 3,000 feet in height, but from our stand +on the plain looking lofty, massive and delightfully refreshing +to the eye after our hot and dusty journeying. The city has a +population of about 25,000 and its numerous trees look so invitingly +green that the traveller is eager to enter. + +But in this case also, distance lent enchantment, for within, +while there was not the filth of a Korean village, yet the narrow +streets were far from clean. Not a blade of grass relieved the +bare, dusty ground trampled by many feet, while the low, mud- +plastered houses were not inviting. A Chinese seldom thinks +of making repairs. He builds once, usually with rough stone +plastered with mud or with sun-dried brick. The roof is +thatched and the floor is the beaten earth, although in the +better houses it is stone or brick. In time, the mud-plaster +or, if the walls are of sun-dried brick, the wall itself begins to +disintegrate. But it is let alone, as long as it does not make +the house uninhabitable, while paint is unknown. So the general +appearance of a Chinese town is squalid and tumbledown. +Even the yamen of a district magistrate presents +crumbling walls, unkempt courtyards, rickety buildings and +paper-covered windows full of holes. The palaces of the rich +are often expensive, but the Asiatic has little of our ideas of +comfort and order. + +The Rev. J. P. Bruce and Mr. R. C. Forsyth, of the English +Baptist mission, the only members of the station who were +present, gave us a hearty welcome. The green shrubbery, +the bath-tub, the dinner of roast beef and the clean bedroom, +were like a bit of hospitable old England set down in China. +None of the buildings here were injured by the Boxers. But +the marauders took whatever they could use, as dishes, utensils, +glass, linen, clothes, silver and plated ware, jewelry, etc., the +total loss being <Pd>4,000, including <Pd>1,000 for machinery. +That machinery has an interesting history. One of the members +of the mission, Mr. A. G. Jones, conceived the idea of +relieving the poverty of the Chinese by introducing cotton +weaving. Having some private means and being a mechanical +genius, he spent two years and <Pd>1,000 in devising the +necessary machinery, much of which he made himself. He +had completed the plant and was trying to induce the Chinese +to organize a company of Christians who would operate the +factory, when the building was burned by the Boxers and the +machinery reduced to a heap of twisted scrap-iron. + +The women we met in these interior districts had only +partially bound feet, though they were still far from the natural +size. It was surprising to see how freely the women walked, +especially as several that I saw were carrying babies. But it +was rather a stumpy walk. Women of the higher class have +smaller feet and never walk in the public streets. + +We left Ching-chou-fu Monday morning, our genial hosts, +including Mr. Shipway, who remained here, accompanying us +a couple of miles. The trees were more numerous, and as the +weather was cool, I greatly enjoyed the day. But the next +day, we plodded under dripping skies and through sticky mud +to Chang-tien, where a night of unusual discomfort in an inn +literally alive with fleas and mosquitoes prepared us to enjoy a +tiffin with a lonely English Baptist outpost, the genial Rev. +William A. Wills, at Chou-tsun, which we reached at noon +the following day, and then, thirty li further on, the gracious +hospitality of the main station at Chou-ping. Only three men +were present of the regular station force of seven families and +two single women, but they gave us all the more abundant +welcome in their isolation and loneliness. Of the 2,577 +Chinese Christians of this station, 132 were murdered by the +Boxers and seventy or more died from consequent exposure and +injuries. + +A vast, low lying plain begins forty li north of Chou-ping +and extends northeastward as far as Tien-tsin. This plain is subject +to destructive inundations from the Yellow River and the +scenes of ruin and suffering are sometimes appalling. Our unattractive +inn the next night was a two-story brick building +with iron doors, stone floors, walls two and a-half feet thick and +rooms dark, gloomy, ill-smelling as a dungeon and of course +swarming with vermin, as savage bites promptly testified. My +missionary companion said that it was probably an old pawnshop. +Pawnbroking is esteemed an honourable, as well as +lucrative, business in China, and the brokers are influential +men and often have considerable property in their shops. The +people are so poor that they sometimes pawn their winter clothes +in summer and their summer ones in winter. + +At noon the next day, we reached Chinan-fu, having made +seventy li in six hours over muddy roads. Dr. James B. Neal +of the Presbyterian mission was alone in the city and gave us +hospitable welcome to his home and to the splendid missionary +work of the station, though he rather suggestively stopped our +coolies when they were about to carry our bedding into the +house. He was wise, too, for that bedding had been used in +too many native inns to be prudently admitted to a well- +ordered household. + +As we walked through the city, the narrow streets were +literally jammed, for it was market day. Foreigners had been +scarce since the Boxer outbreak a year before. Besides, many +of the people were from the country where foreigners are +seldom seen anyway. So we made as great a sensation as a +circus in an American city. A multitude followed us, and +wherever we stopped hundreds packed the narrow streets. +Our soldiers cleared the way, but they had no difficulty, for +though the people were inquisitive they were not hostile. +Three magnificent springs burst forth in the heart of the city, +one as large as the famous spring in Roanoke, Virginia, which +supplies all that city with water. It was about a hundred feet +across. The water might easily be piped all over Chinan-fu. +But this is China, and so the people patiently walk to the +springs for their daily supply. + + + +VI + +AT THE GRAVE OF CONFUCIUS + +WE were now approaching the most sacred places of +China. On a hot July afternoon of the second day +from Chinan-fu, the capital of the province, we saw +the noble proportions of Tai-shan, the holy mountain. The +Chinese have five sacred mountains, but this is the most venerated +of all. Its altitude is not great, only a little over 4,000 +feet, but it rises so directly from the plain and its outlines are +so majestic that it is really imposing. To the Chinese its +height is awe-inspiring, for in all the eighteen provinces there +is no loftier peak. + +Stopping for the night at the ancient city of Tai-an-fu at the +base of the mountain, we set out at six the next morning in +chairs swung between poles borne by stalwart coolies. My +curiosity was aroused when I found that they were Mohammedans +and, as they cordially responded to my questionings, I +found them very interesting. Centuries ago, their ancestors +came to China as mercenaries, and taking Chinese wives settled +in the country. But they have never intermarried since. +They have adopted the dress and language of the Chinese, but +otherwise they continue almost as distinct as the Jews in +America. They instruct their children in the doctrines of +Islam, though the Mohammedan rule that the Koran must not +be translated has prevented all but a few literati from obtaining +any knowledge of the book itself. They have done little +proselyting, but natural increase, occasional reenforcements +and the adoption of famine children have gradually swelled +their ranks until they now number many millions in various +parts of China. In some provinces they are very strong, particularly +in Yun-nan and Kan-su where they are said to form a +majority of the population. They are notorious for turbulence +and are popularly known as ``Mohammedan thieves.'' It +must be admitted that they not infrequently justify their reputation +for robbery, murder and counterfeiting. More than +once they have fomented bloody revolutions, one of them, the +great Panthay rebellion of 1885-1874, costing the lives of no +less than two million Moslems before it was suppressed. + +But those who bore me up the long slope of Tai-shan were +as good-natured as they were muscular. There is no difficulty +about ascending the mountain, for a stone-paved path about +ten feet wide runs from base to summit. The maker of this +road is unknown as the earliest records and monuments refer +only to repairs. But he builded well and evidently with ``an +unlimited command of naked human strength,'' for the blocks +of stone are heavy and the masonry of the walls and bridges is +still massive. + +As the slope becomes steeper, the path merges into long +flights of solid stone steps. Near the summit, these steps +become so precipitous that the traveller is apt to feel a little +dizzy, especially in descending, for the chair coolies race down +the steep stairway in a way that suggests alarming possibilities +in the event of a misstep or a broken rope. But the men are +sure-footed and mishaps seldom occur. The path is bordered +by a low wall and lined with noble old trees. Ancient temples, +quaint hamlets, numerous tea-houses and a few nunneries with +vicious women are scattered along the route. A beautiful +stream tumbles noisily down the mountainside close at hand, +alternating swift rapids and deep, quiet pools, while as the +traveller rises, he gains magnificent vistas of the adjacent mountains +and the wide cultivated plain, yellow with ripening wheat, +green with growing millet, and thickly dotted with the groves +beneath which cluster the low houses of the villages. + +Up this long, steep pathway to the Buddhist temples on the +summit, multitudes of Chinese pilgrims toil each year, firmly +believing that the journey will bring them merit. We reflected +with a feeling of awe that + + +``The path by which we ascended has been trodden by the feet of men for +more than four thousand years. One hundred and fifty generations have +come and gone since the great Shun here offered up his yearly sacrifice to +heaven. Fifteen hundred years before the bard of Greece composed his +Epic, nearly one thousand years before Moses stood on Pisgah's mount +and gazed over into the promised land, far back through the centuries +when the world was young and humanity yet in its cradle, did the children +of men ascend the vast shaggy sides of this same mountain, probably +by this same path, and always to worship.''[15] + + +[15] The Rev. Dr. Paul D. Bergen, pamphlet. + + +After a night at Hsia-chang, we resumed our journey a little +after daylight. The early morning air was delightfully cool +and bracing, but the sun's rays became fierce as we entered the +dry, sandy bed of the Wen River. By the time we reached the +broad, shallow stream itself, I envied the two mules and the +donkey that managed to fall into a hole, though I would have +been happier if they had been thoughtful enough to discard my +spare clothes and my food box before they tumbled into the +muddy water. The whole day was unusually hot so that by +the time we reached Ning-yang, we were ready for a night's +rest which even fighting mules, vicious vermin, and quarrelling +Chinese gamblers in the inn courtyard could not entirely +destroy. + +As we approached Chining-chou, the country became almost +perfectly flat, a vast prairie. It was carefully cultivated +everywhere, the kao-liang and poppy predominating. The soil was +apparently rich, and the landscape was relieved from monotony +by the green of the cultivated fields and the foliage of the village +trees. Dominating all is the rather imposing walled city +of Chining-chou. The high, strong wall, the handsome gates +and towers, the trees bordering the little stream and the +crowded streets looked quite metropolitan. With its imme- +diate suburbs built Chinese fashion close to the wall, Chining- +chou has 150,000 inhabitants. It is a business city with a +considerable trade, the produce of a wide adjacent region +being brought to it for shipment, as it is on the Grand Canal +which gives easy and cheap facilities for exporting and importing +freight. There is, moreover, no loss in exchange as the +danger of shipping bullion silver makes the Chining business +men eager to accept drafts for use in paying for the goods they +buy in Shanghai. Consequently there is a better price for +silver here than anywhere else in Shantung. The main street +is narrow, shaded by matting laid on kao-liang stalks and +lined with busy shops. Along the Grand Canal, there is a +veritable ``Vanity Fair'' filled with clothing booths and deafening +with the cries of itinerant vendors. + +But the loneliness of the missionary in Chining-chou is +great, for he is far from congenial companionship. The tragedies +of life are particularly heavy at such an isolated post. +Mr. Laughlin showed me the house where his wife's body lay +for a month after her death in May, 1899. Then, with his +nine-year old daughter, he took the body in a house-boat down +the Grand Canal to Chin-kiang, a journey of sixteen days. +What a heart-breaking journey it must have been as the clumsy +boat crept slowly along the sluggish canal and the silent stars +looked down on the lonely husband beside the coffin of his +beloved wife. Yet he bravely returned to Chining-chou and +while I travelled on, he remained with only Dr. Lyon for a +companion. I was sorry to part with them for we had shared +many long-to-be-remembered experiences, while at that time +there was believed to be no small risk in remaining at such an +isolated post. But Dr. Johnson and I had to go, and so early +on the morning of June 17, we bade the brave fellows an affectionate +good-bye and left them in that far interior city, standing +at the East Gate till we were out of sight. + +Fortunately, the day was fine for rain would have made the +flat, black soil almost impassible. But as it was, we had a +comfortable, dustless ride of sixty li to Yen-chou-fu, a city of +unusually massive walls, whose 60,000 people are reputed to be +the most fiercely anti-foreign in Shantung. Comparatively few +foreigners had been seen in this region and many of them had +been mobbed. The Roman Catholic priests, who are the only +missionaries here, have repeatedly been attacked, while an English +traveller was also savagely assaulted by these turbulent conservatives. +But the Roman Catholics with characteristic determination +fought it out, the German consul coming from +Peking to support them, and at the time of my visit, they were +building a splendid church, the money like that for the Chining-chou +cathedral, coming from the indemnity for the murder +of the two priests in 1897, which was in this diocese. Though +great crowds stared silently at us, no disrespect was shown. +On the contrary, we found that by order of the district magistrate +an inn had been specially prepared for us, with a plentiful +supply of rugs and cushions and screens, while a few minutes +after our arrival, the magistrate sent with his compliments a +feast of twenty-five dishes. Another stage of nine miles +brought us at four o'clock to the famous holy city of China, +Ku-fu, the home and the grave of Confucius. + +Leaving our shendzas at an inn, we mounted the cavalry +horses of our escort and hurried to the celebrated temple which +stands on the site of Confucius' house. But to our keen +disappointment, the massive gates were closed. The keeper, in +response to our knocks, peered through a crevice, and explained +that it was the great feast of the fifth day of the fifth +month, that the Duke was offering sacrifices, and that no one, +not even officials, could enter till the sacrifices were completed. +``When will that be?'' we queried. ``They will continue all +night and all day to-morrow,'' was the reply. We urged the +shortness of our stay and solemnly promised to keep out of the +Duke's way. The keeper's eyes watered as he imagined a +present, but he replied that he did not dare let us in as his +orders were strict and disobedience might cost him his position +if not his life. So we sorrowfully turned away, and pushing +through the dense throng which had swiftly assembled at the +sight of a foreigner, we rode through the city and along the far- +famed Spirit Road to the Most Holy Grove in which lies the +body of Confucius. It is three li, about a mile, from the city +gate. The road is shaded by ancient cedars and is called the +Spirit Road because the spirit of Confucius is believed to walk +back and forth upon it by night. + +The famous cemetery is in three parts. The outer is said to +be fifteen miles in circumference and is the burial-place of all +who bear the honoured name of Confucius. Within, there is +a smaller enclosure of about ten acres, which is the family burial +place of the dukes who are lineal descendants of Confucius, +mighty men who rank with the proudest governors of provinces. +Within this second enclosure, is the Most Holy Cemetery itself, +a plot of about two acres, shaded like the others by fine old +cedars and cypresses. Here are only three graves, marked by +huge mounds under which lie the dust of Confucius, his son +and his grandson. That of the Sage, we estimated to be +twenty-five feet high and 250 feet in circumference. In front +of it is a stone monument about fifteen feet high, four feet wide +and sixteen inches thick. Lying prone before that is another +stone of nearly the same size supported by a heavy stone +pedestal. There is no name, but on the upright monument are +Chinese characters which Dr. Charles Johnson, my travelling +companion, translated: ``The Acme of Perfection and Learning- +Promoting King,'' or more freely--``The Most Illustrious +Sage and Princely Teacher.'' + +Uncut grass and weeds grew rankly upon the mounds and all +over the cemetery, giving everything an unkempt appearance. +One species is said to grow nowhere else in China and to have +such magical power in interpreting truth that if a leaf is laid +upon an abstruse passage of Confucius, the meaning will immediately +become clear. There are several small buildings in +the enclosure, but dust and decay reign in all, for there is no +merit in repairing a building that some one else has erected. +As with his house, the Chinese will spend money freely to build +a temple, but after that he does nothing. So even in the most +sacred places, arches and walls and columns are usually crumbling, +grounds are dirty and pavement stones out of place. + +A feeling of awe came over me as I remembered that, with the +possible exception of Buddha, the man whose dust lay before +me had probably influenced more human beings than any other +man whom the world has seen. Even Christ Himself has thus +far not been known to so many people as Confucius, nor has +any nation in which Christ is known so thoroughly accepted +His teachings as China has accepted those of Confucius. Dr. +Legge indeed declares that ``after long study of his character +and opinions, I am unable to regard him as a great man,'' +while Dr. Gibson ``seeks in vain in his recorded life and words +for the secret of his power,'' and can only conjecture in explanation +that ``he is for all time the typical Chinaman; but +his greatness lies in his displaying the type on a grand scale, +not in creating it.'' But it is difficult even for the non-Chinese +mind to look at such a man with unbiassed eyes. Surely we +need not begrudge the meed of greatness to one who has +moulded so many hundreds of millions of human beings for +2,400 years and who is more influential at the end of that period +than at its beginning. Grant that ``he is for all time the +typical Chinaman.'' Could a small man have incarnated ``for +all time'' the spirit of one-third of the human race? All over +China the evidences of Confucius' power can be seen. Temples +rise on every hand. Ancestral tablets adorn every house. +The writings of the sage are diligently studied by the whole +population. When, centuries ago, a jealous Emperor ruthlessly +burned the Confucian books, patient scholars reproduced +them, and to prevent a recurrence of such iconoclastic fury, the +Great Confucian Temple and the Hall of Classics in Peking +were erected and the books were inscribed on long rows of stone +monuments so that they could never be destroyed again. As a +token of the present attitude of the Imperial family, the Emperor +once in a decade proceeds in solemn state to this temple +and enthroned there expounds a passage of the sacred writings. +For more than two millenniums, the boys of the most numerous +people in the world have committed to memory the Confucian +primer which declares that ``affection between father and son, +concord between husband and wife, kindness on the part of the +elder brother and deference on the part of the younger, order +between seniors and juniors, sincerity between friends and associates, +respect on the part of the ruler and loyalty on that of +the minister--these are the ten righteous courses equally binding +on all men;'' that ``the five regular constituents of our +moral nature are benevolence, righteousness, propriety, knowledge, +and truth;'' and that ``the five blessings are long life +wealth, tranquillity, desire for virtue and a natural death.'' + +Surely these are noble principles. That their influence has +been beneficial in many respects, it would be folly to deny. +They have lifted the Chinese above the level of many other +Asiatic nations by creating a more stable social order, by inculcating +respect for parents and rulers, and by so honouring the +mother that woman has a higher position in China than in most +other non-Christian lands. + +And yet Confucianism has been and is the most formidable +obstacle to the regeneration of China. While it teaches some +great truths, it ignores others that are vital. It has lifted the +Chinese above the level of barbarism only to fix them almost +immovably upon a plane considerably lower than Christianity. +It has developed such a smug satisfaction with existing conditions +that millions are well-nigh impervious to the influences +of the modern world. It has debased respect for parents into +a blind worship of ancestors so that a dead father, who may +have been an ignorant and vicious man, takes the place of the +living and righteous God. It has fostered not only premature +marriages but concubinage in the anxiety to have sons who +will care for parents in age and minister to them after death. +It makes the child virtually a slave to the caprice or passion of +the parent. It leads to a reverence for the past that makes +change a disrespect to the dead, so that all progress is made +exceedingly difficult and society becomes fossilized. ``Whatever +is is right'' and ``custom'' is sacred. Man is led so to +centralize his thought on his own family that he becomes selfish +and provincial in spirit and conduct, with no outlook beyond +his own narrow sphere. Expenditures which the poor can ill- +afford are remorselessly exacted for the maintenance of ancestral +worship so that the living are often impoverished for the sake +of the dead. $151,752,000 annually, ancestral worship is said +to cost--a heavy drain upon a people the majority of whom +spend their lives in the most abject poverty, while the development +of true patriotism and a strong and well-governed State has +been effectively prevented by making the individual solicitous +only for his own family and callously indifferent to the welfare +of his country. Confucianism therefore is China's weakness +as well as China's strength, the foe of all progress, the stagnation +of all life. + +Confucianism, too, halts on the threshold of life's profoundest +problems. It has only dead maxims for the hour of deepest +need. It gives no vision of a future beyond the grave. It is +virtually an agnostic code of morals with some racial variations. +Wu Ting Fang, formerly Chinese Minister to the +United States, frankly declares that ``Confucianism is not a religion +in the practical sense of the word,'' and that ``Confucius +would be called an agnostic in these days.'' To ``the +Venerable Teacher'' himself, philosophy opened no door of +hope. Asked about this one day by a troubled inquirer, he +dismissed the question with the characteristic aphorism-- +``Imperfectly acquainted with life, how can we know death?'' +And there the myriad millions of Confucianists have dully +stood ever since, their faces towards the dead past, the future +a darkness out of which no voice comes. + +But just because their illustrious guide took them to the +verge of the dark unknown and left them there, other teachers +came in to occupy the region left so invitingly open. Less +rational than Confucius, their success showed anew that the +human mind cannot rest in a spiritual vacuum and that if +faith does not enter, superstition will. Taoism and Buddhism +proceeded to people the air and the future with strange and +awful shapes. Popular Chinese belief as to the future is gruesomely +illustrated in the Temple of Horrors in Canton with its +formidable collection of wooden figures illustrating the various +modes of punishment--sawing, decapitation, boiling in oil, +covering with a hot bell, etc. At funerals, bits of perforated +paper are freely scattered about in the hope that the inquisitive +spirits will stop to examine them and thus give the body a +chance to pass. In any Chinese cemetery, one may see little +tables in front of the graves covered with tea, sweetmeats and +sheets of gilt and silver paper, so that if a spirit is hungry, +thirsty or in need of funds, it can get drink, food or money +from the gold or silver mines (paper). + +In the Temple for Sickness, in Canton, where multitudes of +sufferers pray to the gods for healing, we saw an old woman +kneeling before a statue of Buddha, holding aloft two blocks of +wood and then throwing them to the floor. If the flat side of +one and the oval side of the other were uppermost, the omen +was good, but if the same sides were up, it was bad. Others +shook a box of numbered sticks till one popped out and then +a paper bearing the corresponding number gave the issue of the +disease. The stones of the court were worn by many feet and +the pathos of the place was pitiful. + +Theoretically, ``Confucianism is a system of morals, Taoism +a deification of nature and Buddhism a system of metaphysics. +But in practice all three have undergone many modifications. + +With every age the character of Taoism has changed. +The philosophy of its founder is now only an antiquarian curiosity. +Modern Taoism is of such a motley character as almost +to defy any attempt to educe a well-ordered system from its +chaos.''[16] As for Buddhism, its founder would not recognize +it, if he could visit China to-day. The lines:-- + + ``Ten Buddhist nuns, and nine are bad; + The odd one left is doubtless mad----'' + +are suggestive of the depth to which the religion of Guatama +has fallen. + + +[16] Smith, ``Rex Christus,'' pp. 62, 72. + + +Indeed, it would be a mistake to suppose that the Chinese +people are divided into three religious bodies as, for example, +Americans are divided into Protestants, Roman Catholics and +Jews. Each individual Chinese is at the same time a Confucian, +a Buddhist and a Taoist, observing the ceremonies of +all three faiths as circumstances may require, a Confucian +when he worships his ancestors, a Buddhist when he implores +the aid of the Goddess of Mercy, and a Taoist when he seeks +to propitiate the omnipresent fung-shuy (spirits of wind and +water), and he has no more thought of inconsistency than an +American who is at the same time a Methodist, a Republican +and a Mason. Dr. S. H. Chester says that when he was in +Shanghai, he saw a Taoist priest conducting Confucian worship +in a Buddhist temple. Even if inconsistency were proved to +the Chinese, he would not be in the least disturbed for he cares +nothing for such considerations. ``Hence it is that the Chinese +religion of to-day has become an inextricable blending of +the three systems.''[17] ``The ancient simplicity of the state religion +has been so far corrupted as to combine in one ritual +gods, ghosts, flags and cannon. It has become at once essentially +polytheistic and pantheistic.''[18] + + +[17] Gibson, ``Mission Methods and Mission Policy in South China.'' + +[18] Williams, ``Middle Kingdom.'' + + +The result is that the average Chinese lives a life of terror +under the sway of imaginary demons. He erects a rectangular +pillar in front of his door so that the dreaded spirits cannot +enter his house without making an impossible turn. He gives +his tiled roof an upward slant at each of the eaves so that any +spirit attempting to descend will be shunted off into space. +Nor is this superstition confined to the lower classes. The +haughty, foreign-travelled Li Hung Chang abjectly grovelled +on the bank of the Yellow River to propitiate an alleged demon +that was believed to be the cause of a disastrous flood, and as +late as June 4, 1903, the North-China Daily News published +the following imperial decree: + + +``Owing to the continued drought, in spite of our prayers for rain, we +hereby command Chen Pih, Governor of Peking, to proceed to the Dragon +temple at Kanshan-hsien, Chih-li Province, and bring from thence to +Peking an iron tablet possessing rain-producing virtues, which we will +place up for adoration and thereby bring forth the much-desired rain.'' + + +And so the followers of the most ``rational'' of teachers are +among the most superstitious people in the world. In attempting +to clear the mind of error, the great agnostic simply left it +``empty, swept and garnished for seven other spirits worse than +the first.'' + +As in the deepening twilight we thoughtfully left the last +resting-place of the mighty dead, a platoon of thirty Chinese +soldiers approached, drew their swords, dropped upon one +knee and shouted. The movement was so unexpected and the +shout so startlingly strident that my horse shied in terror and I +had visions of immediate massacre. But having learned that +politeness is current coin the world over, as soon as I could +control my prancing horse, I raised my hat and bowed. +Whereupon the soldiers rose, wheeled into line and marched +ahead of us to our inn in the city. Dr. Johnson explained that +the words shouted in unison were: ``May the Great Man have +Peace,'' and that the platoon was an escort of honour from the +yamen of the district magistrate! + +On the way, we stopped to visit the temple of Yen, the +favorite disciple whose early death left Confucius disconsolate. +The grounds are spacious. There is a remarkably fine +tree, tall, graceful and with silvery white bark. A huge stone +turtle was reverently kissed by one of our escort, who fondly +believed that he who kissed the turtle's mouth would never be +ill. But as usual in China, the temple itself, though originally +it must have been beautiful, is now crumbling in decay. + +It was late when we returned, and as we were about to retire, +wearied with the toils of the day, the district magistrate called +with an imposing retinue and cordially inquired whether we +had seen all that we wished to see. When we replied that we +had been unable to enter the great temple, he graciously said +that he would have pleasure in informing the Duke, who would +be sure to arrange for our visit. The result was a message at +two o'clock in the morning to the effect that we might visit the +temple at daylight in the interval between the cessation of the +sacrifices of the night and their resumption at seven o'clock in +the morning. Accordingly we rose at three o'clock, and after +a hurried breakfast by candle-light, we proceeded to the temple. +About a hundred Chinese were awaiting us, among them two +men in official dress. We did not deem it courteous to ask +who or what they were, but we supposed them to be from the +magistrate's yamen, and as they were evidently familiar with +the temple, we gladly complied with their cordial invitation to +follow them. + +I wish I had power to describe adequately all we saw in that +vast enclosure of about thirty acres, with its stately trees, its +paved avenues, its massive monuments, and, above all, its +imposing temple and scores of related buildings. One was the +Lieh Kew Kwei Chang Tien, the Temple of the Wall of the +Many Countries. Here are 120 tablets, each about sixteen by +twenty-two inches, and in the centre three larger ones measuring +two feet in width by four and a-half feet in height. In +front of these is a stone three and a-half feet by four and a-half, +and bearing the inscription: ``Tribute from the Ten Thousand +Countries of the World.'' The Chinese solemnly believe that +in these tablets all the nations of the earth have acknowledged +the preeminence of Confucius. + +Then we visited three gloomy buildings where the animals for +sacrifice are killed--one for cattle, one for sheep and one for +pigs. Beyond them, we entered temples to the wife of Confucius, +to his parents and to the ``Five Generations of +Ancestors,'' though the last-mentioned contains tablets to nine +generations instead of five. On every side are scores of monuments, +erected by or in honour of famous kings, some of them +by the monarchs of dynasties which flourished before the Christian +era. + +Most notable of all is the great temple of the sage himself, +standing well back on a spacious stone-paved terrace, around +which runs a handsome marble balustrade. The eye is at once +arrested by the twenty-eight noble marble pillars, ten in front, +ten in the rear and four at each end. The ten in front are +round and elaborately carved, as magnificent a series of columns +as I ever saw. The others are smooth, octagonal pillars, but +traced with various designs in black. + +Within, there are twelve other columns about four feet in +diameter and twenty-five feet high, each cut from a single tree +and beautifully polished. Naturally, the central object of +interest is a figure of Confucius of heroic size but impossible +features. In front is the tablet with costly lacquered ornaments +and pedestals, and an altar on which were a bullock and +two pigs, each carefully scraped and dressed and lying with +heads towards the statue and tablet. In several other temples, +notably in the one to the Five Generations of Ancestors, other +animals were lying, some evidently offered the day before and +others awaiting the worship of the day now beginning. +Altogether I counted nineteen sacrificial animals--one bullock, +eight sheep and ten pigs. The great temple is of noble proportions, +with an overhanging roof of enormous size but constructed +on such graceful lines as to be exquisitely beautiful. +But within dust reigns, while without as usual the grass and +weeds grow unchecked. + +Last of all we visited the library, though the name is a +misnomer, for there are no books in it and our courteous guides +said there never had been. We ascended the narrow stairs +leading from the vast, empty, dusty room on the lower floor +through an equally empty second story to the third and topmost +story, which is the home of hundreds of doves. Going +out on the narrow balustrade under the eaves in the gray dawn +of the morning, I looked upon the gorgeous gilded roof of the +temple near by and then down upon the many ancient buildings, +the darkly solemn pines, the massive monuments resting +on ponderous stone turtles, and the group of Chinese standing +among the shadows and with faces turned curiously upward. +Suddenly a dove flew over my head and then the sun rose +slowly and majestically above the sombre tree-tops, throwing +splendid floods of light upon us who stood aloft. But the +Chinese below were in the sombre shades of a night that for +them had not yet fully ended. I would fain believe that the +physical was a parable of the spiritual. All the maxims of the +Acme of Perfection and Learning-Promoting King have not +brought the Chinese out of moral twilight. After all these +centuries of ceaseless toil, they still remain amid the mists and +shadows. But their faces are beginning to turn towards the +light of a day whose sun already touches the mountain-tops. +Some even now are in that ``marvellous light,'' and it cannot +be long before shining hosts of God shall pour down the +mountain-sides, chasing on noiseless feet and across wide plains +the swiftly retreating night ``until the day dawn and the +shadows flee away.'' + +At the outer gate, we bade good-bye to the dignified officials +who had so hospitably conducted us through this venerable and +historic place and who had taken such kindly pains to explain +its ancient relics and customs. Who were they? we secretly +wondered. Imagine our feelings when the lieutenant in command +of our escort afterwards informed us that they were the +guardian of the temple and the Duke himself! + +Leaving the city of the mighty dead, we journeyed through +a lovely region guarded by distant mountains. At the walled +city of Si-sui, sixty li distant, soldiers met us and apparently +the whole population lined the streets as we rode to our inn, +where the yamen secretary was awaiting us with a feast. +This inn, too, had been specially cleaned, and there were +cushions, red cloths for the seats, and a screen for the door. +In the afternoon, the country became rougher. But while the +soil was thinner, the scenery was finer, an undulating region +traversed by a shining river and bounded by mountains +which gradually drew nearer. One hundred and ten li from +Ku-fu, we stopped for the night at Pien-kiao, a small city with +an unusually poor inn but a magnificent spring. It gushed up +over an area twenty-five feet square and with such volume that +the stream ran away like a mill-race. The Emperor Kien Lung +built a retaining wall about the spring and a temple and summer- +house adjoining. The wall is as solid as ever, but only a +few crumbling pillars and fragments remain of the temple and +pavilion. The Emperor affirmed that he was told in a vision +that if he would build a stone boat, the waters of the spring +would float it to Nanking whither he wished to go. So he +built the boat of heavy cut stone, with a twelve-foot beam and +a length of fifty-five feet. It is still there with the prow five +feet above the ground, but the rest of the boat has sunk almost +to the level of the earth about it. Is the old Emperor's idea any +more absurd to us than our iron boats would have been to him? + +The sun struggled long with heavy mists the following morning +and the air was so cool that I had to wrap myself in a +blanket in the shendza. By eight, the sun gained the victory +and we had another breezy, perfect June day. But the road +was stony and trying beyond anything we had yet seen. The +villages were evidently poorer, as might be expected on such a +rocky soil. The people stared silently and did not so often return +my smiles. Whether they were sullen or simply boorish +and unaccustomed to foreigners I could only conjecture. Few +white men had been seen there. + +A hard day's journey of 140 li through a rocky region +brought us to Fei-hsien. Rain was falling the next morning +and the Chinese muleteers do not like to travel in rain. But +the prospect was for a steady pour and as we were in a wretched +inn and only ninety li from Ichou-fu, we wanted to go on. +A present of 600 small cash for each muleteer (twenty +cents) overcame all scruples. Just as I had comfortably +ensconced myself in my shendza with an oilcloth on top and a +rubber blanket in front, I saw a centipede on my leg, but I +managed to slay him before he bit me. By nine, the rain +ceased and though the clouds still threatened, we had a cool +and comfortable ride through hundreds of fields of peanuts, +indigo and millet to I-tang, where we stopped for tiffin at a +squalid inn kept by a tall, dilapidated looking Chinese, who rejoiced +in the name of Confucius. He was really a descendant +of the sage and was very proud of the fact that his bones were +in due time to rest in the sacred cemetery at Ku-fu. + +By 5:40 P. M. we reached Ichou-fu, where the solitary Rev. +W. W. Faris was glad to see another white man. A +stay of several days was marked by many pleasant incidents. +There was much of interest for a visitor to see. The mission +work at Ichou-fu, Presbyterian, includes two hospitals, one for +men and one for women, a chapel and separate day schools for +boys and girls. The church has about a hundred members +and in the outstations there are ten other organized churches +besides ten unorganized congregations. All these churches +and congregations provide their own chapels and pay their own +running expenses. Here also the officials were most courteous. +The Prefect, who promptly called with a retinue of fifty +soldiers and attendants, was a masterful looking man who +conversed with intelligence on a wide variety of topics. The +day before our departure, we gave a feast to the leading men +of the city in return for their many courtesies. Every invitation +was accepted and thirty-five guests were present. They +remained till late and were apparently highly pleased. + +Late in the evening, a youth who had painfully walked 180 +li, came to Dr. Johnson's dispensary and presented the following +note of introduction: + +``Our office a servant who getting a yellow sick, which +suffered a few year and cured for nothing. he trusted me to +beg you to save his sick and I now ordered him to going before +you to beg you remedy facely. With many thanks to you, + ``Yours sincerely, + ``V. T. GEE.'' + + +Having done all that was possible in so short a time to +``save his sick,'' we resumed our journey, thirty Chinese +Christians accompanying us to the River I, a li from the city. +The atmosphere was gloriously clear and on the second day +out, crossing some high ridges, we had superb views of wide +cultivated valleys, and of Ku-chou, a famous city that is said +to contain more literary graduates than any other city of its +size in the province. + +Then followed a more level country with interminable fields +of kao-liang and many orchards of walnuts, pears and cherries, +while low mountains rose in the background. Men and horses +were tired after our long and hard journey, and the mules' +backs were becoming very sore. But the end drew near and +the fifth day from Ichow-fu we reached Yueh-kou, the border +of the German hinterland. The German line is near Kiaochou, +but the rule is that Chinese soldiers must not come beyond +this point, 100 li from the line, and that German +soldiers shall not cross it going the other way except on the line +of the railroad. Here therefore our escort had to leave us, as +Chinese and Germans have agreed that any armed men crossing +the line may be fired on, and even if there should be no +casualty, both the German and Chinese authorities might justly +have protested if Americans violated the compact. I suggested +going on without an escort to our proposed night stop thirty +li further. But my more experienced companions thought it +dangerous to spend the night alone at an inn within this belt, +as the villagers near the line were as bitter against foreigners +as any in the province, the German brusqueness and ruthlessness +having greatly exasperated them. + +So we spent the night at Yueh-kou. No one interfered with +us the next day and by getting an early start, we covered ninety +long li to Kiao-chou by noon. After five weeks in a mule +litter, it seemed wonderful to make 138 li in three hours in a +railway car. By 6:50 P. M., we reached Tsing-tau, having, +the missionaries said, succeeded in ``hustling the East to a +remarkable degree.'' My note-book reads--``A bath, clean +clothes, a hot supper and a good night's sleep removed the +last vestige of weariness.'' + + + +VII + +SOME EXPERIENCES OF A TRAVELLER--FEASTS, +INNS AND SOLDIERS + +THE hardships of interior travelling were less than I +had supposed. It is true that there were many +experiences which, if enumerated, would make a formidable +list. But each as it arose appeared insignificant. As a +whole, the trip was as enjoyable as any vacation tour. The +weather was as a rule fine. The sun was often hot in the +middle of the day, but cool breezes usually tempered the heat +of the afternoon, while the nights required the protection of +blankets. There was some rain at times, but not enough to +impede seriously our progress. It was altogether the most +perfect May and June weather I have ever seen. Nor was it +exceptional, according to Dr. Charles Johnson who has spent +many years in North China. But of course I saw Shantung +at its most favourable period. July and August are wet and +hot, while the winters are clear and cold. + +I found a trunk an unmitigated nuisance. Though it was +made to order for a pack-mule, no pack-mules could be hired in +that harvest season, and the trunk was too heavy for one side +of a donkey, even after transferring all practicable articles to +the shendza. So it had to be put in a cart, and as a cart cannot +keep up with a shendza, I was often separated from my +trunk for days at a time. Besides, a couple valises would have +held all necessary clothing anyway. I took a light folding cot +and a bag held a thin mattress, small pillow, sheets and two +light blankets, so that I had a very comfortable bed under the +always necessary mosquito net. + +We also took a supply of tinned food to which we could +usually add by purchase en route chickens and eggs, while occasionally +in the proper season, we could secure string-beans, +onions, cucumbers, apricots, peanuts, walnuts and radishes. +So we fared well. The native food cannot be wisely depended +upon by a foreigner. He cannot maintain his strength, as the +poorer Chinese do, on a diet of rice and unleavened bread, +while the food of the well-to-do classes, when it can be had, is +apt to be so greasy and peculiar as to incite his digestive apparatus +to revolt. Indeed, a Chinese feast is one of his most +serious experiences. Most heartily, indeed, did I appreciate +the kindly motives of the magistrates who invited me to these +feasts, for their purpose was as generously hospitable as the +purpose of any American who invites a visitor to dinner. But +the Chinese bill-of-fare includes dishes that are rather trying to +a Christian palate, and good form requires the guest to taste at +least each dish, for if he fails to do so, he makes his host +``lose face''--a serious breach of etiquette in China. For +example, here is the menu of a typical Chinese feast to which +I was invited, the dishes being served in the order given, +sweets coming first and soup towards the last in this land of +topsy-turveydom: + +1. Small cakes (five kinds), sliced pears, candied peanuts, +raw water-chestnuts, cooked water-chestnuts, hard-boiled ducks' +eggs (cut into small pieces), candied walnuts, honied walnuts, +shredded chicken, apricot seeds, sliced pickled plums, sliced +dried smoked ham (cut into tiny pieces), shredded sea moss, +watermelon seeds, shrimps, bamboo sprouts, jellied haws. All +the above dishes were cold. Then followed hot: + +2. Shrimps served in the shell with vinegar, sea-slugs with +shredded chicken, bits of sweetened pork and shredded dough +--the pork and sea-slugs being cooked and served in fragrant +oil. + +3. Bamboo sprouts, stewed chicken kidneys. + +4. Spring chicken cooked crisp in oil. + +5. Stewed sea-slugs with ginger root and bean curd, +stewed fungus with reed roots and ginger tops (all hot). + +6. Tarts with candied jelly, sugar dumplings with dates. + +7. Hot pudding made of ``the eight precious vegetables,'' +consisting of dates, watermelon seeds, chopped walnuts, chopped +chestnuts, preserved oranges, lotus seeds, and two kinds of rice, +all mixed and served in syrup--a delicious dish. + +8. Shelled shrimps with roots of reeds and bits of hard- +boiled eggs, all in one bowl with fragrant oil, biscuits coated +with sweet seeds. + +9. Glutinous rice in little layers with browned sugar between, +minced pork dumplings, steamed biscuits. + +10. Omelette with sea-slugs and bamboo sprouts, all in oil, +bits of chicken stewed in oil, pork with small dumplings of +flour and starch. + +11. Stewed pigs' kidneys, shrimps stewed in oil, date pie. + +12. Vermicelli and egg soup. + +13. Stewed pork balls, reed roots, bits of hard-boiled yolks +of eggs, all in oil. + +14. Birds' nest soup. + +The appetite being pretty well sated by this time, the following +delicacies were served to taper off with: + +15. Chicken boiled in oil, pork swimming in a great bowl +of its own fat, stewed fish stomachs, egg soup. + +16. Steamed biscuit. + +Tea was served from the beginning and throughout the feast. +It was made on the table by pouring hot water into a small pot +half full of tea leaves, the pot being refilled as needed. The +tea was served without cream or sugar, and was mild and delicious. +Rice whiskey in tiny cups is usually served at feasts, +though it was often omitted from the feasts given to us. The +Chinese assert that the alcohol is necessary ``to cut the grease.'' +There is certainly enough grease to cut. + +The guests sit at small round tables, each accommodating +about four. There are, of course, no plates or knives or forks +though small china spoons are used for the soups. All the +food is cut into small pieces before being brought to the table, +so that no further cutting is supposed to be necessary. Each +article of food is brought on in a single dish, which is placed +in the centre of the table, and then each guest helps himself +out of the common dish with his chop-sticks, the same chop- +sticks being used during the entire meal. It is considered a +mark of distinguished courtesy for the host to fish around in +the dish with his own chop-sticks for a choice morsel and place +it in front of the guest. With profound emotion, at almost +every feast that I attended in China, I saw my considerate +hosts take the chop-sticks which had made many trips to their +own mouths, stir around in the central dish for a particularly fine +titbit and deposit it on the table before me. And of course, +not to be outdone in politeness, I ate these dainty morsels with +smiles of gratified pride. As each of the Chinese at the table +deemed himself my host, and as the Chinese are extremely +polite and attentive to their guests, the table soon became wet +and greasy from the pieces of pork, slugs and chicken placed +upon it as well as from the drippings from the chop-sticks in +their constant trips from the serving bowls. + +However, two small brass bowls, fitting together, are placed +beside each guest, who is expected to sip a little water from the +upper one, rinse his mouth with it and expectorate it into the +lower one. The emotion of the foreign visitor is intensified +when he learns that it is counted polite to make all the noise +possible by smacking the lips as a sign that the food is delicious, +sucking the tea or soup noisily from the spoon to show +that it is hot, and belching to show that it is enjoyed. Often, +a dignified official would let his tea stand until it was cold, but +when he took it up, he would suck it with a loud noise as if it +were scalding hot, as he was too polite to act as if it were cold. + +But the American or European, who inwardly groans at a +Chinese repast and who felicitates himself on the alleged +superior methods of his own race, may well consider how his +own customs impress a Celestial. A Chinese gentleman who +was making a tour of Europe and America wrote to a relative +in China as follows: + + +``You cannot civilize these foreign devils. They are beyond redemption. +They will live for weeks and months without touching a mouthful +of rice, but they eat the flesh of bullocks and sheep in enormous quantities. +That is why they smell so badly; they smell like sheep themselves. +Every day they take a bath to rid themselves of their disagreeable odours +but they do not succeed. Nor do they eat their meat cooked in small +pieces. It is carried into the room in large chunks, often half raw, and +they cut and slash and tear it apart. They eat with knives and prongs. +It makes a civilized being perfectly nervous. One fancies himself in the +presence of sword-swallowers. They even sit down at the same table with +women, and the latter are served first, reversing the order of nature.'' + + +So I humbly adapted myself as best I could to Chinese customs +and learned to like many of the natives' dishes, though to +the last, there were some that I merely nibbled to ``save the +face'' of mine host. Some of the dishes were really excellent +and as a rule all were well-cooked, although the oil in which +much of the food was steeped made it rather greasy. My digestive +apparatus is pretty good, but it would take a copper- +lined stomach to partake without disaster of a typical Chinese +feast. But for that matter so it would to eat a traditional New +England dinner of boiled salt pork, corned beef, cabbage, turnips, +onions and potatoes, followed by a desert of mince pie +and plum pudding and all washed down by copious draughts +of hard cider. + +Chinese inns do not impoverish even the economical traveller. +Our bill for our tiffin stop was usually 100 small cash, a little +more than three cents, for our entire party of about a score of +men and animals. For the night, the common charge was 700 +cash, twenty-three cents. Travellers are expected to provide +their own food and bedding and to pay a small extra sum for +the rice and fodder used by their servants and mules, but even +then the cost appears ridiculously small to a foreigner. Still, +the most thoroughly seasoned traveller can hardly consider a +Chinese inn a comfortable residence. It is simply a rough, +one-story building enclosing an open courtyard. The rooms +are destitute of furniture except occasionally a rude table. The +floor is the beaten earth, foul with the use of scores and perhaps +hundreds of years. The windows are covered with oiled +paper which admits only a dim light and no air at all. The +walls are begrimed with smoke and covered with cobwebs. +Across the end of the room is the inevitable kang--a brick platform +under which the cooking fire is built and on which the +traveller squats by day and sleeps by night. The unhappy +white man who has not been prudent enough to bring a cot +with him feels as if he were sleeping on a hot stove with ``the +lid off.'' + +The inns between Ichou-fu and Chining-chou were the poorest +I saw, and if a man has stopped in one of them, he has been +fairly initiated into the discomforts of travelling in China. But +wherever one goes, the heat and smoke and bad air, together +with the vermin which literally swarms on the kang and floor +and walls, combine to make a night in a Chinese inn an experience +that is not easily forgotten. However, the foreign +traveller soon learns, perforce, to be less fastidious than at home +and I found myself hungry enough to eat heartily and tired +enough to sleep soundly in spite of the dirt and bugs. But the +heat and bad air as the summer advanced were not so easily +mastered, and so I began to sleep in the open courtyard, finding +chattering Chinese and squealing mules less objectionable +than the foul-smelling, vermin-infested inns, since outside I had +at least plenty of cool, fresh air. + +There is no privacy in a Chinese inn. The doors, when +there are any, are innocent of locks and keys, while the Chinese +guests as well as the innkeeper's family and the people of the +neighbourhood have an inquisitiveness that is not in the least +tempered by bashfulness. But nothing was ever stolen, though +some of our supplies must have been attractive to many of the +poverty stricken men who crowded about us. On one occasion, +an inn-employee, who was sent to exchange a bank-note +for cash, did not return. There was much excited jabbering, +but Mr. Laughlin firmly though kindly held the innkeeper responsible +and that worthy admitted that he knew who had taken +the money and refunded it. So all was peace. The innkeeper +was probably in collusion with the thief. This was our +only trouble of the kind, though we slept night after night in +the public inns with all our goods lying about wholly unprotected. +Occasionally, especially in the larger towns, there was +a night watchman. But he was a noisy nuisance. To convince +his employers that he was awake, he frequently clapped +together two pieces of wood. All night long that strident +clack, clack, clack, resounded every few seconds. It is an odd +custom, for of course it advertises to thieves the location of the +watchman. But there is much in China that is odd to an +American. + +On a tour in Asia, the foreigner who does not wish to be ill +will exercise reasonable care. It looks smart to take insufficient +sleep, snatch a hurried meal out of a tin can, drink unboiled +water and walk or ride in the sun without a pith hat or an +umbrella. Some foreigners who ought to know better are careless +about these things and good-naturedly chaff one who is +more particular. But while one should not be unnecessarily +fussy, yet if he is courageous enough to be sensible, he will not +only preserve his health, but be physically benefited by his +tour, while the heedless man will probably be floored by dysentery +or even if he escapes that scourge will reach his destination +so worn out that he must take days or perhaps weeks to recuperate. +I was not ill a day, made what Dr. Bergen called +``the record tour of Shantung,'' and came out in splendid +health and spirits just because I had nerve enough to insist on +taking reasonable time for eating and sleeping, boiling my +drinking water, and buying the fresh vegetables and fruit with +which the country abounded. From this view-point, Dr. +Charles F. Johnson, who escorted me from Chining-chou to +Tsing-tau, was a model. With no loss of time, with but trifling +additional expense and with comparatively little extra trouble, +he had an appetizing table, while water bottles and fruit tins +were always cooled in buckets of well water so that they were +grateful to a dusty, thirsty throat. It is not difficult to make +oneself fairly comfortable in travelling even when nearly all +modern conveniences are wanting and it pays to take the necessary +trouble. + +Throughout the tour, we were watched in a way that was +suggestive. When United States Consul Fowler first told me +that Governor Yuan Shih Kai would send a military escort +with me, I said that I was not proud, that I did not care to go +through Shantung with the pomp and panoply of war, that I +was on a peaceful, conciliatory errand, and preferred to travel +with only my missionary companions. But he replied that +while the province was then quiet, no one could tell what an +hour might bring forth, that in the tension that existed even a +local and sporadic attack on a foreigner might be a signal for a +new outbreak, that the Governor was trying to keep the people +in hand, and that as he was held responsible for consequences +he must be allowed to have his own men in charge of a foreign +party that purposed to journey so far into the interior. So, of +course, I yielded. + +When I lifted up my eyes and looked on the escort at Kiao- +chou, I felt that my fears of pomp and panoply had been +groundless, for the ``escort'' consisted of two disreputable- +looking coolies who had apparently been picked up on the +street and who were armed with antiquated flint-locks that +were more dangerous to their bearers than to an enemy. I am +sure that these ``guards'' would have been the first to run at +the slightest sign of danger. We did not see them again till +we reached Kaomi, where we gave them a present and sent +them back, glad to be rid of them. We afterwards learned +that they were only the retainers of the local Kiao-chou yamen +to see us to the border of the hinterland, which Governor +Yuan's troops were not permitted to cross. + +But the men who met us at the border were soldiers of +another type--powerful looking cavalrymen on excellent horses. +Remembering the stories we had heard regarding the murder +of foreigners by Chinese troops who had been sent ostensibly +to guard them, we were relieved to find that there were only +three of them, and as there were three of us, we felt safe, for we +believed that in an emergency we could whip them. When +on leaving Wei-hsien the number increased to five and then to +six, we became dubious. But we concluded that as we were +active, stalwart men, we might in a pinch manage twice our +number of Chinese soldiers or, if worst came to worst, as we +were unencumbered by women, children or luggage, we could +sprint, on the old maxim, + + ``He that fights and runs away + Will live to fight another day.'' + +But when a little later, the force grew to eleven and then to +fifteen, we were hopelessly out-classed, especially as they were +well-mounted and armed not only with swords but with modern +magazine rifles. + +The result, however, proved that our fears were groundless, +for the men were good soldiers, intelligent, respectful, well- +drilled, and thoroughly disciplined. They treated us with +strict military etiquette, standing at attention and saluting in +the most approved military fashion whenever they spoke to us +or we to them. I was not accustomed to travelling in such +state. Our three shendzas meant six mules and three muleteers, +one for each shendza. Our cook and ``boy'' each had +a donkey, and a pack-mule was necessary for our food supplies. +So including the men and horses of the escort, we +usually had nineteen men and twenty animals and a part of the +time we had even a larger number. We therefore made quite +a procession, and attracted considerable attention. I suspect, +however, that some of those shrewd Chinese were not deceived +as to my humble station at home for one man asked the missionary +who accompanied me whether I travelled with an escort +in America! + +The lieutenant commanding our escort said that he received +forty-two taels a month,[19] the sergeants eleven taels, and the +privates nine taels. The men buy their own food, but their +clothing, horses, provender, etc., are furnished by the Government. +This is big pay for China. The lieutenant further said +that Governor Yuan Shih Kai had thirty regiments of a nominal +strength of 500 each and an actual strength of 250, making +a total of 7,500, and that the soldiers had been drilled by +German officers at Tien-tsin. There are no foreign officers +now connected with the force, but there are two foreign educated +Chinese who receive 300 taels a month each. He further +said that all the men with us had killed Boxers and that he +was confident that they could rout 1,000 of them. An illustration +of the reputation of these troops occurred during my +visit in Paoting-fu a little later. A messenger breathlessly +reported that the Allied Villagers, who had banded themselves +together to resist the collection of indemnity, had captured a +city only ninety li southward and that they intended to march +on Paoting-fu itself. Three thousand of Yuan Shih Kai's +troops had been ordered to go to Peking to prepare for the +return of the Emperor and Empress Dowager, but the French +general at Paoting-fu had forbade them coming beyond a point +a hundred li south of Paoting-fu, so that they were then encamped +there awaiting further orders. The Prefect hastily wired +Viceroy Li Hung Chang in Peking asking him to order these +troops to retake the recaptured city, as the Imperial troops were +``needed here,'' a euphemism for saying that they were useless. +Li Hung Chang gave the desired order and the seasoned troops +of Yuan Shih Kai made short work of the Allied Villagers. + + +[19] A tael equals sixty-five cents at the present rate of exchange. + + +At any rate, those who escorted me through Shantung were +certainly good soldiers. They had splendid horses and took +good care of them, while several evenings they gave us as fine +exhibitions of sword drill as I ever saw. I was interested to +find that seven of them belonged to a total abstinence society, +though none of them were Christians. I became really attached +to them. They were very patient, although my journey +compelled them to make a long and hard march for which they +received no extra pay. On the last evening of the trip, I gave +them a feast in the most approved Chinese style. I made a +little farewell address and gave the officer in charge the following +letter which seemed to please them greatly:-- + + ``June 27th, 1901. + ``To His Excellency, + ``General Yuan Shih Kai, + + ``Governor of the Province of Shantung, China, + ``SIR: + ``In completing my tour of the Province of Shantung, I have pleasure +in expressing my high appreciation, and that of the missionaries of the +Presbyterian Church who accompanied me, of the excellent conduct of the +soldiers who formed our escort under the command of (Lieutenant) Wang +Pa Chung. Both he and his troopers were courteous and faithful, attentive +to every duty and meriting our admiration for the perfection of their +discipline. + +``We regret the death of one of their horses, but we are satisfied that +the soldier was in no way to blame. The animal died in the inn courtyard +early in the morning. + +``I have had pleasure in giving the officer and his men a feast. In +addition I offered them a present, but the Wang Pa Chung declined to +accept it. + +``Thanking you for your courtesy in detailing such good soldiers for +our escort, + +``I have, sir, the honour to be + ``Your obedient servant, + (Signed) ``ARTHUR J. BROWN.'' + + +I was impressed by the refusal to accept the present, which +was a considerable sum to Chinese. But the men were evidently +under strict orders. The lieutenant was polite and +grateful, but he said that he ``could not accept a gift if it were +ten thousand taels.'' + +During the whole tour, these soldiers watched us with a fidelity +that was almost embarrassing at times. Not for a moment +did they lose sight of us except when we were in the mission +compounds. If we took a walk about a village, they followed +us. Eating, sleeping or travelling, we were always watched. +Several times we tried to escape such espionage, or to induce +the soldiers to turn back. We did not feel our need of them, +nor did I desire my peaceful mission to be associated with military +display. Besides, if hostility had been manifested, a +dozen Chinese soldiers would have been of little avail among +those swarming millions. But our efforts and protests were +vain and we had no alternative but to submit with the best +grace possible. + +Nor was this all, for many of the magistrates whose districts +we crossed en route added other attentions. Indeed, they appeared +to be almost nervously anxious that no mishap should +befall us. I had sent no announcement of my coming to any +one except my missionary friends, nor had I asked for any favour +or protection save the usual passport through the United States +Consul. But the first Tao-tai I met politely inquired about my +route, and, as I afterwards learned, sent word to the next +magistrate. He in turn forwarded the word to the one beyond, +and so on throughout the whole trip. As we approached a +city, uniformed attendants from the chief magistrate's yamen +usually met us and escorted us, sometimes with much display +of banners and trumpets and armed guards, to an inn which +had been prepared for our reception by having a little of its +dirt swept into the corners and a few of its bugs killed. Then +would come a feast of many courses of Chinese delicacies. A +call from the magistrate himself often followed, and he would +chat amicably while great crowds stood silently about. + +There was something half pathetic about the attentions we +received. Our journey was like a triumphal procession. For +example, twenty li from Chang Ku a messenger on horseback +met us. He had evidently been on the watch, for after kneeling +he galloped back with the news of our approach. Soon +a dozen soldiers in scarlet uniforms appeared, saluted, wheeled +and marched before us to an inn where we found rugs on the +floor and kangs, a cloth on the table and two elevated seats +covered with scarlet robes. Attendants from the yamen with +their red tasselled helmets were numerous and attentive. +Basins of water were brought and presently the magistrate sent +an elaborate feast. As we finished the repast, the magistrate +himself called. He was very affable and made quite a long +call. In like manner the district magistrate of Fei-hsien sent +his secretary, personal flags and twenty soldiers twenty li to +meet us. They knelt as we approached and shouted in +unison--``We wish the great man peace!'' So as usual we +entered the town with pomp and circumstance, our own escort +added to the local one making a brave show. + +And these were typical experiences. We could not prevent +them and to resent them would have made the official ``lose +face'' and so embittered him. At Pien-kiao, where a hundred +of Governor Yuan Shih Kai's troops were stationed, the whole +garrison turned out, meeting us a couple of miles from the city +and escorting us to our inn with blares of trumpets which +Dr. Johnson said were only sounded for high officials. +We were awakened at three o'clock the next morning by the +bellowing of calves and the braying of mules in the inn courtyard, +and as we had our longest day's journey ahead of us, we +rose, breakfasted at four by candle-light and were on the road +at a quarter of five. But in spite of the early hour, the whole +garrison again turned out and lined the road at ``present +arms'' as we passed. + +Think of the mayor of an American city of fifty or a hundred +thousand habitants hastening to call in state on three +unknown travellers, who were simply stopping for luncheon at a +hotel, and sending a couple dozen policemen to escort them in +and out of town! The Shantung Chinese are a strong, proud, +independent people, and it must have cost them something to be +so effusive to foreigners. There was doubtless in it some real +regard for Americans and American missionaries. But policy +was probably also a factor. The officials felt that any further +attack on foreigners would be a pretext for further foreign +aggression, an excuse for Germany to advance from Kiao-chou, +and they were anxious not to give occasion for it. Each +official was apparently determined to make it plain that he was +doing his duty in trying to protect these foreigners so that if +they got hurt it would not be his fault. Perhaps, too, he was +not averse to showing the populace that foreigners had to be +guarded. I was half ashamed to travel in that way. But I +could not help myself. Sometimes I felt that the guard was not +so much for us as for the Chinese, assuring nervous officials that +foreigners should have no further excuse for aggression and +warning the evil-disposed that they must not commit acts +which might get the officials into trouble. + +Whatever the reasons were, they were plainly impersonal. +No one of us had any official status nor were we as individuals +of any consequence whatever to Chinese officials. We were +simply white men and as such we were regarded as representatives +of a race which had made its power felt. Perhaps +the soldiers and the orders of Governor Yuan Shih Kai had +much to do with the quietness of the people, but some way +I felt perfectly safe. Whether any attack would have been +made if I had been allowed to journey quietly with my one or +two missionary companions, I am not competent to judge. +Foreigners who had lived many years in China told me before +starting that my life would not be safe beyond rifle shot. +They have told me since that the profuse attentions that we received +were mere pretence, that the very officials who welcomed +us as honoured guests probably cursed our race as soon +as our backs were turned, and that if the people had not understood +from the presence of troops and from the magistrates' +marked personal attentions that we were not to be molested, +we might have met with violence in a dozen places. The +opinions of such experienced men were not to be lightly set +aside. + +All I can say is that on these suppositions the Chinese are +masters of the art of dissimulation, for in all our journeyings +through the very heart of the region where the Boxers originated, +and where the anti-foreign hatred was said to be bitterest, +we saw not a sign of unfriendliness. The typical official received +us with the courtesy of a ``gentleman of the old school.'' +The vast throngs that quickly assembled at every stopping +place, while silent, were respectful. We tried to behave decently +ourselves, to speak kindly to every man, to pay fair +prices for what we bought; in short, to act just as we would +have acted in America. And every man to whom we smiled, +smiled in return. Wherever we asked a civil question we got +a civil answer. Coolies would stop their barrows, farmers +leave their fields to direct us aright. In all our travelling in +the interior, amid a population so dense that we constantly +marvelled, we never heard a rude word or saw a hostile sign. +I naturally find it difficult to believe that those pleasant, +obliging people would have killed us if they had not been restrained +by their magistrates, and that the officials who exerted +themselves to show us all possible honour would have gladly +murdered us if they had dared. + +And yet less than a year before, the Chinese had angrily destroyed +the property and venomously sought the lives of foreigners +who were as peaceably disposed as we were, ruthlessly +hunting men and women who had never done them wrong, and +who had devoted their lives to teaching the young and healing +the sick and preaching the gospel of love and good will. Why +they did this we shall have occasion to observe in a later +chapter. + + + +PART II + +The Commercial Force and the Economic +Revolution + + + +VIII + +WORLD CONDITIONS THAT ARE AFFECTING CHINA[20] + + +[20] Part of this chapter appeared as an article in the American Monthly +Review of Reviews, October, 1904. + + +SEVERAL outside forces have pressed steadily and heavily +upon the exclusiveness and conservatism of the +Chinese, and though they have not yet succeeded in +changing the essential character of the nation, they have set +in motion vast movements which have already convulsed great +sections of the Empire and which are destined to affect stupendous +transformations. The first of these forces is foreign +commerce. + +To understand the operation of this force, we must consider +that its impact has been enormously increased by the extension +of facilities for intercommunication. The extent to which these +have revolutionized the world is one of the most extraordinary +features of our extraordinary age. It is startlingly significant +of the change that has taken place that Russia and Japan, nations +7,000 miles apart by land and a still greater distance by +water, are able in the opening years of the twentieth century +to wage war in a region which one army can reach in four +weeks and the other in four days, and that all the rest of the +world can receive daily information as to the progress of the +conflict. A half century ago, Russia could no more have sent +a large army to Manchuria than to the moon, while down to +the opening of her ports by Commodore Perry in 1854, the few +wooden vessels that made the long journey to Japan found an +unprogressive and bitterly anti-foreign heathen nation with an +edict issued in 1638 still on its statute books declaring--``So +long as the sun shall continue to warm the earth, let no Christian +be so bold as to come to Japan; and let all know that the +King of Spain himself, or the Christian's God, or the great God +of all, if He dare violate this command, shall pay for it with +his head.'' + +Nor were other far-eastern peoples any more hospitable. +China, save for a few port cities, was as impenetrable as when +in 1552 the dying Xavier had cried--``O Rock, Rock, when +wilt thou open!'' Siam excluded all foreigners until the century's +first quarter had passed, and Laos saw no white man till +1868. A handful of British traders were so greedily determined +to keep all India as a private commercial preserve that, +forgetting their own indebtedness to Christianity, they sneered +at the proposal to send missionaries to India as ``the maddest, +most expensive, most unwarranted project ever proposed by a +lunatic enthusiast,'' while as late as 1857, a director of the +East India Company declared that ``he would rather see a band +of devils in India than a band of missionaries.'' Korea was +rightly called ``the hermit nation'' until 1882; and as for +Africa, it was not till 1873 that the world learned of that part +of it in which the heroic Livingstone died on his knees, not till +1877 that Stanley staggered into a West Coast settlement after +a desperate journey of 999 days from Zanzibar through Central +Africa, not till 1884 that the Berlin Conference formed the +International Association of the Congo guaranteeing that which +has not yet been realized ``liberty of conscience'' and ``the +free and public exercise of every creed.'' + +Even in America within the memory of men still living, the +lumbering, white-topped ``prairie schooner'' was the only +conveyance for the tedious overland journey to California. +Hardy frontiersmen were fighting Indians in the Mississippi +Valley, and the bold Whitman was ``half a year'' in bearing a +message from Oregon to Washington. + +The Hon. John W. Foster tells us in his ``Century of American +Diplomacy'' that ``General Lane, the first territorial governor +of Oregon, left his home in Indiana, August 27, 1848, +and desiring to reach his destination as soon as possible, travelling +overland to San Francisco and thence by ship, reached his +post on the first of March following--the journey occupying +six months. At the time our treaty of peace and independence +was signed in 1783, two stage-coaches were sufficient for all the +passengers and nearly all the freight between New York and +Boston.'' It is only seventy years since the Rev. John Lowrie, +with his bride and Mr. and Mrs. Reed, rode horseback from +Pittsburg through flooded rivers and over the Allegheny +Mountains to Philadelphia, whence it took them four and +a-half months to reach Calcutta. + +Nor was this all, for scores of the conveniences and even +necessities of our modern life were unknown at the beginning +of the nineteenth century. To get some idea of the vastness +of the revolution in the conditions of living, we have but to +remind ourselves that ``in the year 1800 no steamer ploughed +the waters; no locomotive traversed an inch of soil; no photographic +plate had ever been kissed by sunlight; no telephone +had ever talked from town to town; steam had never driven +mighty mills and electric currents had never been harnessed +into telegraph and trolley wires.''[21] ``In all the land there was no +power loom, no power press, no large manufactory in textiles, +wood or iron, no canal. The possibilities of electricity in +light, heat and power were unknown and unsuspected. The +cotton gin had just begun its revolutionary work. Intercommunication +was difficult, the postal service slow and costly, +literature scanty and mostly of inferior quality.''[22] + + +[21] The Rev. Dr. Theodore Cuyler. + +[22] Address of the Bishops of the M. E. Church, 1900. + + +How marvellously the application of steam as a motive +power has united once widely separated regions. So swiftly +have the changes come and so quickly have we adapted ourselves +to them that it is difficult to realize the magnitude of the +transformation that has been achieved. We can ride from +Pittsburg to Philadelphia in eight hours and to Calcutta in +twenty-two days. The journey across our own continent is no +longer marked by the ox-cart and the campfire and the bones +of perished expeditions. It is simply a pleasant trip of less +than a week, and in an emergency in August, 1903, Henry P. +Lowe travelled from New York to Los Angeles, 3,241 miles, in +seventy-three hours and twenty-one minutes. Populous states +covered with a network of railway and telegraph lines invite +the nations of the world to join them in celebrating at St. +Louis the ``Purchase'' of a region which a hundred years ago +was as foreign to the American people as the Philippines now +are. The Rev. Dr. Calvin Mateer, who in 1863 was six +months in reaching Chefoo, China, on a voyage from whose +hardships his wife never fully recovered, returned in a comfortable +journey of one month in 1902. To-day, for all practical +purposes, China is nearer New York than California once +was. + +No waters are too remote for the modern steamer. Its smoke +trails across every sea and far up every navigable stream. Ten +mail steamers regularly run on the Siberian Yenisei, while the +Obi, flowing from the snows of the Little Altai Mountains, +bears 302 steam vessels on various parts of its 2,000-mile +journey to the Obi Gulf on the Arctic Ocean. Stanley could +now go from Glasgow to Stanley Falls in forty-three days. +Already there are forty-six steamers on the Upper Congo. +From Cape Town, a railway 2,000 miles long runs via Bulawayo +to Beira on the Portuguese coast, while branch lines reach +several formerly inaccessible mining and agricultural regions. +June 22, 1904, almost the whole population of Cape Town +cheered the departure of the first through train for Victoria +Falls, where the British Association for the Advancement of +Science has been invited to meet in 1905. Uganda is reached +by rail. Five hundred and eighty miles of track unite Mombasa +and Victoria Nyanza. Sleeping and dining cars safely +run the 575 miles from Cairo to Khartoum where only five +years ago Lord Kitchener fought the savage hordes of the +Mahdi. The Englishman's dream of a railroad from Cairo to +the Cape is more than half realized, for 2,800 miles are already +completed. In 1903, Japan had 4,237 miles of well managed +railways which in 1902 carried 111,211,208 passengers +14,409,752 tons of freight. India is gridironed by 25,373 +miles of steel rails which in 1901 carried 195,000,000 passengers. +A railroad parallels the Burmese Irrawaddy to Bhamo and +Mandalay. In Siam you can ride by rail from Bangkok northward +to Korat and westward to Petchaburee. The Trans- +Siberian Railway now connects St. Petersburg and Peking. In +Korea, the line from Chemulpho to Seoul connects with lines +under construction both southward and northward, so that ere +long one can journey by rail from Fusan on the Korean Strait +to Wiju on the Yalu River. As the former is but ten hours by +sea from Japan and as the latter is to form a junction with the +Trans-Siberian Railway, a land journey in a sleeping car will +soon be practicable from London and Paris to the capitals of +China and Korea, and, save for the ferry across the Korean +Strait, to any part of the Mikado's kingdom. The locomotive +runs noisily from Jaffa to venerable Jerusalem and from Beirut +over the passes of Lebanon to Damascus, the oldest city in the +world. A projected line will run from there to the Mohammedan +Mecca, so that soon the Moslem pilgrims will abandon +the camel for the passenger coach. Most wonderful of all is +the Anatolian Railway which is to run through the heart of +Asia Minor, traversing the Karamanian plateau, the Taurus +Mountains and the Cilician valleys to Haran where Abraham +tarried, and Nineveh where Jonah preached, and Babylon +where Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, and Bagdad +where Haroun-al-Raschid ruled, to Koweit on the Persian Gulf. + +In a single month forty-five Philadelphia engines have been +ordered for India. The American locomotive is to-day speeding +across the steppes of Siberia, through the valleys of Japan, +across the uplands of Burmah and around the mountainsides +of South America. ``Yankee bridge-builders have cast up a +highway in the desert where the chariot of Cambyses was +swallowed up by the sands. The steel of Pennsylvania spans +the Atbara, makes a road to Meroe,'' and crosses the rivers of +Peru. Trains on the two imperial highways of Africa--the +one from Cairo to the Cape and the other from the upper Nile +to the Red Sea--are to be hauled by American engines over +American bridges, while the ``forty centuries'' which Napoleon +Bonaparte said looked down from the pyramids see not the +soldiers of France, but the manufacturing agents of Europe and +America. Whether or not we are to have a political imperialism, +we already have an industrial imperialism. + +Walter J. Ballard declares[23] that the aggregate capital invested +in railways at the end of 1902 was $36,850,000,000 and +that the total mileage was 532,500 distributed as follows:-- + Miles + United States ................... 202,471 + Europe .......................... 180,708 + Asia ............................ 41,814 + South America ................... 28,654 + North America (Except U. S.) .... 24,032 + Australia ....................... 15,649 + Africa .......................... 14,187 + + +[23] New York Sun, July 13, 1903. + + +Jules Verne's story, ``Around the World in Eighty Days'' +was deemed fantastic in 1873. But in 1903, James Willis +Sayre of Seattle, Washington, travelled completely around the +world in fifty-four days and nine hours, while the Russian +Minister of Railroads issues the following schedule of +possibilities when the Trans-Siberian Railroad has completed its +plans:-- + + From St. Petersburg to Vladivostok ..... 10 days + `` Vladivostok to San Francisco ....... 10 `` + `` San Francisco to New York .......... 4<1/2> `` + `` New York to Bremen ................. 7 `` + `` Bremen to St. Petersburg ........... 1<1/2> `` + ----- + Total ............................. 33 days + +As for the risks incident to such a tour, it is significant that +for my own journey around the world, a conservative insurance +company, for a consideration of only fifty dollars, guaranteed +for a year to indemnify me in case of incapacitating accident to +the extent of fifty dollars a week and in case of death to pay +my heirs $10,000. And the company made money on the +arrangement, for I met with neither illness nor accident. With +a very few unimportant exceptions, there are now no hermit +nations, for the remotest lands are within quick and easy reach. + +And now electricity has ushered in an era more wondrous +still. Trolley cars run through the streets of Seoul and +Bangkok. The Empress Dowager of China wires her decrees +to the Provincial Governors. Telegraph lines belt the globe, +enabling even the provincial journal to print the news of the +entire world during the preceding twenty-four hours. We +know to-day what occurred yesterday in Tokyo and Beirut, +Shanghai and Batanga. The total length of all telegraph +lines in the world is 4,908,921 miles,--the nerves of our +modern civilization. And it is remarkable not only that +Europe has 1,764,790 miles, America 2,516,548 miles and +Australia 277,419 miles, but that Africa has 99,409 miles and +Asia 310,685 miles, Japan alone having, in 1903, 84,000 miles +beside 108,000 miles of telephone wires. + +I found the telegraph in Siam and Korea, in China and the +Philippines, in Burma, India, Arabia, Egypt and Palestine. +Camping one night in far Northern Laos after a toilsome ride +on elephants, I realized that I was 12,500 miles from home, at +as remote a point almost as it would be possible for man to +reach. All about was the wilderness, relieved only by the few +houses of a small village. But walking into that tiny hamlet, I +found at the police station a telephone connecting with the +telegraph office at Chieng-mai, so that, though I was on the +other side of the planet, I could have sent a telegram to my +New York office in a few minutes. Nor was this an exceptional +experience, for the telegraph is all over Laos, as indeed +it is over many other Asiatic lands. + +From the recesses of Africa comes the report that the Congo +telegraph line, which will ultimately stretch across the entire +belt of Central Africa, already runs 800 miles up the Congo +River from the ocean to Kwamouth, the junction of the +Kassai and Congo Rivers. A Belgian paper states that ``a +telegram dispatched from Kwamouth on January 15th was +delivered at Boma half an hour later. For the future, the +Kassai is thus placed in direct and rapid communication with +the seat of Government, and Europe is also brought close to the +centre of Africa. Only a few years ago, news took at least two +months to reach Boma from the Kassai, and the reply would +not be received under another two months, and this only if the +parties were available and the steamer ready to start.'' + +More significant still are the submarine cables which aggregate +1,751 in number and over 200,000 miles in length and +which annually transmit more than 6,000,000 messages, +annihilating the time and distance which formerly separated +nations. When King William IV of England died in 1837, +the news was thirty-five days in reaching America. But when +Queen Victoria passed away January 22, 1901, at 6:30 P. M., +the afternoon papers describing the event were being sold in +the streets of New York at 3:30 P. M. of the same day! As I +rose to address a union meeting of the English speaking residents +of Canton, China, on that fateful September day of 1901, +a message was handed me which read, ``President McKinley is +dead.'' So that by means of the submarine cable, that little +company of Englishmen and Americans in far-off China bowed +in grief and prayer simultaneously with multitudes in the home +land. + +Not only Europe and America, but Siberia and Australia, +New Zealand and New Caledonia, Korea and the Kameruns, +Laos and Persia are within the sweep of this modern system of +intercommunication. The latest as well as one of the most +important links in this world system is the Commercial +Pacific Cable between Manila and San Francisco. + +President Roosevelt gave a significant illustration of the perfection +of this system when, on the completion of the +Commercial Pacific Cable July 4, 1903, he flashed a message +around the earth in twelve minutes, while a second message +sent by Clarence H. Mackay, President of the Pacific Cable +Company, made the circuit of the earth in nine minutes. + +What additional possibilities are involved in the wireless +system of telegraphy we can only conjecture, but it is already +apparent that this system has passed the experimental stage +and that it is destined to achieve still more amazing results. A +startling illustration of its possibilities was given by the +Japanese fleet March 22, 1904. A cruiser lay off Port Arthur +and by wireless messages enabled battleships, riding safely +eight miles away, to bombard fortifications which they could +not see and which could not see them. + +Commerce has taken swift and massive advantages of these +facilities for intercommunication. Its ships whiten every sea. +The products of European and American manufacture are +flooding the earth. The United States Treasury Bureau of +Statistics (1903) estimates that the value of the manufactured +articles which enter into the international commerce of the +world is four billions of dollars and that of this vast total, the +United States furnishes 400,000,000, its foreign trade having +increased over 100 per cent. since 1895. While the bulk of +the foreign trade of the United States is with Europe, American +business men are gradually awaking to the greatness of their +opportunity in Asia. A characteristic example of their aggressiveness +was given when President James J. Hill, of the Great +Northern Railroad, testified before a Government Commission, +October 20, 1902:-- + + +``We arranged with a line of steamers to connect with our road so that +we could get the Oriental outlet. I remember when the Japanese were +going to buy rails, I asked them where they were going to buy, and they +said in England or Belgium. I asked them to wait until I telegraphed. +I wired and made the rates, so that we made the price $1.50 a ton lower +and sold for America 40,000 tons of rails. Then I got them to try a little +of the American cotton, telling them if it was not satisfactory I would pay +for the cotton, and the result was satisfactory.'' + + +In these ways, the interrelation of nations is becoming +closer and closer, their separation from the world's life more +and more difficult. Dr. Josiah Strong well observes:-- + + +``Until the nineteenth century, there was but little contact between +different peoples throughout the world. They were separated, not only +by distances hard to overcome, but by differences of speech, of faith, of +mental habit and mode of life, of custom and costume, of government and +law, and isolation tended steadily to emphasize the divergence which already +existed. Thus increasing differences of environment perpetuated +and intensified the differences of civilization which they had created. In +other words, until the nineteenth century, the stream of tendency down +all the ages was towards diversity. Then came the change, the results +of which are, in their magnitude and importance, beyond calculation. +Steam annihilated nine-tenths of space, and electricity has cancelled the +remainder. Isolation is, therefore, becoming impossible, for the world is +now a neighbourhood. This means that differences of environment will, +from this time on, become constantly less. The swift ships of commerce +are mighty shuttles which are weaving the nations together into one great +web of life.'' + + + +IX + +THE ECONOMIC REVOLUTION IN ASIA[24] + +THE result of the operation of this commercial force is +an economic revolution of vast proportions. When +ever I went in Asia, I found wider interest in this subject +than in the aggressions of European nations. The reason +is obvious. The common people in Asia care little for politics, +but the price of food and raiment touches every man, woman +and child at a sensitive point. Almost everywhere, the old +days of cheap living are passing away. Steamers, railways, +telegraphs, newspapers, labour-saving machinery, and the introduction +of western ideas are slowly but surely revolutionizing +the Orient. Shantung wheat, which formerly had no market +beyond a radius of a few dozen miles from the wheat-field, can +now be shipped by railroad and steamship to any part of the +world, and every Chinese buyer has to pay more for it in consequence. +In like manner new facilities for export have doubled, +trebled and, in some places, quadrupled the price of rice in +China, Siam and Japan. The Consul-General of the United +States at Shanghai reports that the prices of seventeen staple +articles of export have increased sixteen per cent. in twenty +years while in Japan the increase in the same articles for the +same period was thirty-one per cent.[25] + + +[24] Part of this chapter appeared as an article in the Century Magazine, +March, 1904. +[25] ``Commercial China,'' p. 2902. + + +The depreciation in the value of silver has still further complicated +the situation. The common Chinese tael, which formerly +bought from 1,500 to 1,800 cash (the current coin of +China), now buys only 950 cash. The Shanghai tael brings +897 cash, and the Mexican dollar only 665. This of course, +means that the common people, who use only cash, have to pay +a larger number of them for the necessaries of life. The same +difficulty is being felt to a greater or less extent in many other +countries of Asia, while in China, an already serious advance +in prices is being heightened by the heavy import taxes which +have been levied to meet the indemnity imposed by the Western +Powers on account of the Boxer outbreak. + +The prices of labour and materials have sharply advanced in +consequence of the enormous demands incident to the construction +of railways, with their stations, shops and round-houses, +the vast engineering schemes of the Germans at Tsing-tau, the +British at Wei-hai Wei and the Russians at Port Arthur, the +extensive scale on which the Legations have rebuilt in Peking, +the reconstruction of virtually the entire business portions of +both Peking and Tien-tsin, as well as the coincident rebuilding +of the mission stations of all denominations, Protestant and +Catholic. It will be readily understood what all this activity +means in a land where there are as yet but limited supplies of +the kind of skilled labourers required for foreign buildings, and +where the requisite materials must be imported from Europe +and America by firms who ``are not in China for their health.'' + +It is futile to hope that the competition will be materially less +next year, or the year after, or the year after that. Commerce +and politics are planning works in China which will not be completed +for many years. Railway officials told me of projected +lines which will require decades for construction. China has +entered upon an era of commercial development. The Western +world has come to stay, and while there may be temporary +reactions, as there have been at home, prices are not likely to +return to their former level. There are vast interior regions +which will not be affected for an indefinite period, but for the +coast provinces, primitive conditions are passing forever. + +The knowledge of modern inventions and of other foods +and articles has created new wants. The Chinese peasant is no +longer content to burn bean oil; he wants kerosene. In +scores of humble Laos homes and markets I saw American +lamps costing twenty rupees apiece, and a magistrate proudly +showed me a collection of nineteen of these shining articles. +Forty thousand dollars worth of these lamps were sold in Siam +last year. The narrow streets of Canton are brilliant with German +chandeliers and myriads of private houses throughout the +Empire are lighted by foreign lamps. The desire of the +Asiatic to possess foreign lamps is only equalled by his passion +for foreign clocks. I counted twenty-seven in the private +apartments of the Emperor of China and my wife counted +nineteen in a single room of the Empress Dowager's palace, +while cheaper ones tick to the delighted wonder of myriads of +humbler people. The ambitious Syrian scorns the mud roof +of his ancestors and will only be satisfied with bright red tiles +imported from France. In almost every Asiatic city I visited, +I found shops crowded with articles of foreign manufacture. +``Made in Germany'' is as familiar a phrase in Siam as in +America. Many children in China are arrayed only in the atmosphere, +but when I was in Taian-fu, in the far interior of +Shantung, hundreds of parents were in consternation because +the magistrate had just placarded the walls with an edict announcing +that hereafter boys and girls must wear clothes and +that they would be arrested if found on the streets naked. At +a banquet given to the foreign ministers by the Emperor and +the Empress Dowager in the famous Summer Palace twelve +miles from Peking, the distinguished guests cut York ham with +Sheffield knives and drank French wines out of German glasses. +Everywhere articles of foreign manufacture are in demand, +and shrewd Chinese merchants are stocking their shops with +increasing quantities of European and American goods. The +new Chinese Presbyterian Church at Wei-hsien typifies the elements +that are entering Asia for it contains Chinese brick, +Oregon fir beams, German steel binding-plates and rods, Belgian +glass, Manchurian pine pews, and British cement. + +India is eagerly buying American rifles, tools, boots and +shoes, while vast regions which depend upon irrigation are becoming +interested in American well-boring outfits. Persia is +demanding increasing quantities of American padlocks, sewing- +machines and agricultural implements. German, English and +American machinery is equipping great cotton factories in +Japan. I saw Russian and American oil tins in the remotest +villages of Korea. Strolling along the river bank one evening +in Paknampo, Siam, I heard a familiar whirring sound and +entering found a bare-legged Siamese busily at work on a sewing- +machine of American make. Nearly five hundred of them +are sold in Siam every year, and I found them in most of the +cities that I visited in other Asiatic countries. When I left +Lampoon on an elephant, six hundred miles north of Bangkok, +a Laos gentleman rode beside me for several miles on an American +bicycle. There are thousands of them in Siam. His +Majesty himself frequently rides one and His Royal Highness, +Prince Damrong, is president of a bicycle club of four hundred +members. The king's palace is lighted by electricity and the +Government buildings are equipped with telephones, and as the +nobles and merchants see the brilliancy of the former and the +convenience of the latter, they want them, too. In many +parts of Asia people, who but a decade or two ago were satisfied +with the crudest appliances of primitive life, are now +learning to use steam and electrical machinery, to like Oregon +flour, Chicago beef, Pittsburg pickles and London jam, and to +see the utility of foreign wire, nails, cutlery, drugs, paints and +chemicals. + +Many other illustrations of a changed condition might be +cited. Knowledge increases wants and the Oriental is acquiring +knowledge. He demands a hundred things to-day that his +grandfather never heard of, and when he goes to the shops to +buy his daily food, he finds that the new market for it which +the foreigner has opened has increased the price. + +Americans are the very last people who can consistently +criticise this tendency in Asia. It is the foreigner who has +created it, and the American is the most prodigal of all foreigners. +I never realized until I visited other lands how extravagant +is the scale of American life, not only among the +rich, but the so-called poor. My morning walk to my New +York office takes me along Christopher Street, and I have often +seen in the garbage cans of tenement houses pieces of bread +and meat and half-eaten vegetables and fruit that would give +the average Asiatic the feast of a lifetime. In Europe, Americans +are notorious as spendthrifts. In the Philippine Islands, +they have thrown about their money in a way which has inaugurated +an era of reckless lavishness comparable only to the +California days of ``forty-nine.'' In the port cities of China, +the porters asked me extortionate prices because I was an +American. Two or three coolies would seize a suit case or +change it from man to man every few minutes, on the pretense +that it was heavy. In Tien-tsin, you hire a jinrikisha and +presently you find a second man pushing behind, though the +road is smooth as a floor. In a few minutes a third appears to +push on the other side, and once a fourth took hold between +the second and third. All of course demand pay, and it is +difficult to shake them off. They do not understand your protests, +or they pretend not to, and you have to be emphatic to +get rid of them. At Tong-ku, my sampan men calmly insisted +on two dollars for a service that was worth but forty cents. +Everywhere, I found that it was wiser to make all purchases +and bargains through trusty native Christians, or to ascertain +in advance what a given service was really worth, pay it and +walk off, deaf to all protestations and complaints, even though +as in Seoul, Korea, the men plaintively sat around for hours. +In Cairo, a certain hotel charged me on the supposition that +because I was an American, I was a millionaire or a fool--perhaps +both. True, we have hack-drivers and hotel-keepers in +America who are equally rapacious, and a New Yorker in particular +need not go away from home to be overcharged. But +it is just because we have become so accustomed to this careless +profusion at home that we exhibit it abroad. + +But it is useless to protest against the increased cost of living +in Asia. It is as much beyond individual control as the tides. +The causes which are producing it are not even national but +cosmopolitan. + +Nor should we ignore the fact that this movement is, in +some respects at least, beneficial. It means a higher and +broader scale of life and such a life always costs more than a +low and narrow one. This economic revolution in Asia is a +concomitant of a Christian civilization which brings not only +higher prices but wider intellectual and spiritual horizons, a +general enlarging and uplifting of the whole range of life. +There are indeed some vicious influences accompanying this +movement, as brighter lights usually have deeper shadows. + +But surely it is for good and not for evil that the farmers of +Hunan can now ship their peanuts to England and with the +proceeds vary the eternal monotony of a rice-diet; that the +girls of Siam are being taught by missionary example that +modesty requires the purchase of a garment for street wear +which will cover at least the breasts; that the Korean should +learn that it is better to have a larger house so that the girls of +the family need not sleep in the same room as the boys; and +that all China should discover the advantages of roads over +rutty, corkscrew paths, of sanitation over heaps of putrid garbage +and of wooden floors over filth-encrusted ground. Christianity +inevitably involves some of these things, and to some +extent the awakening of Asia to the need of them is a part of +the beneficent influence of a gospel which always and everywhere +renders men dissatisfied with a narrow, squalid existence. +To make a man decent morally is to beget in him a +desire to be decent physically. + +The native Christians, especially the pastors and teachers, +are the very ones who first feel this movement towards a +higher physical life. Nor should we repress it in them, for it +means an environment more favourable to morals and to the +stability of Christian character as well as a healthful example +to the community in which they live. To say, therefore, that +the average annual income of a Hindu is rupees twenty-seven +(nine dollars) is not to adduce a reason for holding the pastors +and evangelists of India down to that scale. They should, indeed, +live near enough to the plane of their countrymen to keep +in sympathetic touch with them. But they should not be expected +or allowed to huddle in the dark, unventilated hovels of +the masses of the people, or, by confining themselves to one +scanty meal a day, have that gaunt, half-famished look which +makes my heart ache every time I think of the walking skeletons +I saw in India. I am not ashamed but proud of the fact +that it costs the average Christian more to live in Asia than it +costs the average heathen, that the houses of the Laos Christians +are better than the single-roomed sheds about them, that +the graduates of our Siam mission schools for girls wear shirt +waists instead of sunshine, that the members of any one of our +Korean churches spend more money on soap than a whole village +of their heathen neighbours whose bodies are caked with +the accumulations of years of neglect, that the sessions of our +Syrian churches are Christian gentlemen in appearance as well +as in fact, and that the houses of our Chinese Christians do not +mix pigs, chickens and babies in one lousy, malodorous +company. + +But these altered conditions have not yet brought the ability +to meet them. The cost of living has increased faster than the +resources of the people. Only France and Russia are primarily +political in their foreign policy. England, Germany and +the United States are avowedly commercial. They talk incessantly +about ``the open door.'' Their supreme object in Asia +is to ``extend their markets.'' They are producing more than +they can use themselves, and they seek an opportunity to dispose +of their surplus products. They are less concerned to +bring the products of Asia into their own territories. +Indeed, Germany and particularly the United States have +built a tariff wall about themselves, expressly to protect +home industries from outside competition, and not a few +American manufacturers have recently been on the verge of +panic on account of Japanese competition. Europe and America +are trying to force their own manufactures on to Asia and +to take in return only what they please. + +In time, this will probably right itself, in part at least. +While the farmers of the Mississippi Valley find living much +more expensive than it was two generations ago, they also find +that they get more for their wheat and that they eat better food +and wear better clothes and build better houses than their +grandfathers. The era of railroads ended the days of cheap +living, but it ended as well days when the farmer had to confine +himself to a diet of corn-bread and salt pork, when his +home was destitute of comforts and his children had little +schooling and no books. So the American working man of today +has to pay more for the necessaries of life than the working +man of Europe, but he is nevertheless the best paid, the +best fed, the best clothed and the best housed working man in +the world, a far better and more intelligent citizen because of +these very conditions. + +The same changes will doubtless take place in Asia. That +great continent is capable of producing enormous quantities of +food, minerals and both raw and manufactured articles which +the rest of the world will sooner or later want. Already this +foreign demand is bringing comparative wealth to the rug +dealers of Syria, the silk embroiderers of China and the cloisonne' +and porcelain makers of Japan. But only an infinitesimal +part of the total population has thus far profited largely by +this wider market. Where one man amasses wealth in this +way, 100,000 men find that aggressive foreign traders exploit +their wares by flooding the shops with tempting articles which +they can ill-afford to buy. The difficulty is rapidly becoming +acute. My inquiries in Japan led me to the conclusion that +while the cost of the staple articles of living has increased +nearly 100 per cent. in the last twenty years, the financial ability +of the average Japanese has not increased thirty per cent. +In China, Siam, India, the Philippine Islands, and Syria I +found substantially similar anxieties though the proportions +naturally varied. ``True, there has been commerce since the +early ages, but caravans could afford to carry only precious +goods, like fine fabrics, spices and gems. These luxuries did +not reach the multitude, and could not materially change environment. +But modern commerce scatters over all the world +the products of every climate, in ever increasing quantities.'' + +So the economic revolution in Asia is characterized, as such +revolutions usually are in Europe and America, by wide-spread +unrest and, in some places, by violence. The oldest of continents +is the latest to undergo the throes of the stupendous +transformation from which the newest is slowly beginning to +emerge. The transition period in Asia will be longer and perhaps +more trying, as the numbers involved are vaster and more +conservative; but the ultimate result cannot fail to be beneficial +both to Asia and to the whole world. + +It is therefore too late to discuss the question whether the +character and religions of these nations should be disturbed. +They have already been disturbed by the inrush of new ideas +and by the ways as well as by the products of the white man. +Like their ancient temples, the religions of Asia are cracking +from pinnacle to foundation. The natives themselves realize +that the old days are passing forever. India is in a ferment. +Japan has leaped to world prominence. The power of the +Mahdi has been broken and the Soudan has been opened to +civilization. The King of Siam has made Sunday a legal holiday +and is frightening his conservative subjects by his revolutionary +changes, while Korea is changing with kaleidoscopic +rapidity. + +Whereas the opening years of the sixteenth century saw the +struggle for civilization, of the seventeenth century for religious +liberty, of the eighteenth century for constitutional government, +of the nineteenth century for political freedom, the +opening years of the twentieth century witness what Lowell +would have called:-- + + ``One death-grapple in the darkness 'twixt + Old systems and the word.'' + + + +X + +FOREIGN TRADE AND FOREIGN VICES + +THE influences that are thus surging into the Middle +Kingdom are tremendous. The beginnings of China's +foreign trade date back to the third century, though +it was not until comparatively recent years that it grew to large +proportions. To-day the leading seaports of China have many +great business houses handling vast quantities of European and +American goods. The most persistent effort is made to extend +commerce with the Chinese. That the effort is successful is +shown by the fact that the foreign trade of China increased +from 217,183,960 taels in 1888 to 583,547,291 taels in 1904. +This shows the enormous gain of 168 per cent., though this is +slightly modified by the fact that the report for 1904 includes +goods to the value of 402,639 taels carried by Chinese vessels +which, though plying between native and foreign ports, were +not formerly reported through the customs. According to +official reports,[26] the foreign trade of China has been growing +rapidly during recent years, the only falling off having been +in the Boxer outbreak year 1900. In 1891, the imports into +China were, in round numbers, 134,000,000 taels and the +exports were 101,000,000, a total of 235,000,000, and an +excess of imports of 33 per cent. In 1904 the imports had +advanced to 344,060,608 taels and the exports to 239,486,683 +taels, a total of 583,547,291 taels, an increase of 148 per cent. +and an excess of imports of 44 per cent. In 1899 the total +foreign trade of China had reached 460,000,000 taels. The +next year it dropped to 370,000,000 taels, but in 1901 it sprang +to 438,000,000 taels, and has advanced nearly 150,000,000 +taels within the past three years.[27] + + +[26] ``Returns of Trade for 1904,'' published by the Maritime Customs +Department of China. + +[27] ``Returns of Trade for 1904,'' published by the Maritime Customs +Department of China. + + +The share of the United States is larger than one might infer +from the reports, as no inconsiderable part of our trade goes to +China by way of England and Hongkong and is often credited to +the British total instead of to ours. American trade has, moreover, +rapidly increased since 1900. We now sell more cotton +goods to China than to all other countries combined, the exports +having increased from $5,195,845 in 1898 to $27,000,000 +in 1905.[28] In the year 1904, 63,529,623 gallons of kerosene +oil valued at $7,202,110 were shipped from the United States +to China. The development of the flour trade has been extraordinary, +the sales having risen from $89,305 in 1898 to +$5,360,139 in 1904. + + +[28] Year ending June, 1905. + + +In Hongkong, I found American flour controlling the +market. I learned on inquiry that years before, a firm in +Portland, Oregon, had sent an agent to introduce its flour. +The rice-eating Chinese did not want it, but the agent stayed, +gave away samples, explained its use and pushed his goods so +energetically and persistently that after years of labour and the +expenditure of tens of thousands of dollars a market was created. +Now that firm sells in such enormous quantities that its +numerous mills must run day and night to supply the demand, +and the annual profits run into six figures. That city of Portland +alone exported to Asia, chiefly China, in 1903:-- + 849,360 barrels flour $2,974,620 + 522,887 bushels wheat 413,901 + 46,847,975 feet lumber 647,355 + Miscellaneous merchandise 352,879 + ------- + Total $4,414,651 + + +While cotton goods, kerosene oil and flour are our chief exports +to China, there is a growing demand for many other +American products. The utility of the American locomotive +has become so apparent that in 1899, engines costing $732,212 +were sent to China and additional orders are received every +few months. With the enormous forests bordering the Pacific +Ocean in the states of Oregon and Washington, and with the +development of cheap water transportation, there is a rapidly +widening market in China for American lumber. Eastern Asia +is too densely peopled to have large forests, and those she has +are not within easy reach. Native lumber, therefore, is scarce +and often small and crooked. That in common use comes +from Manchuria and Korea. I was impressed in Tsing-tau to +find that the Germans are using Oregon lumber and to be told +that it is considered the best, and in the long run, the cheapest. +Oregon pine costs more than the Korean and Manchurian, but +it is superior in size and quality. The transportation charges +to the interior, however, are a heavy addition. Manchurian +pine can be delivered at such an interior city as Wei-hsien, via +the junk port of Yang-chia-ko and thence by land, for twenty +dollars, gold, per thousand square feet, which is considerably +less than the Tsing-tau retail price for Asiatic lumber. Oregon +lumber costs in Shanghai, thirty-two dollars gold, per thousand, +but an importer estimated that it could be delivered at Tsingtau +for twenty-five dollars gold per thousand in large quantities. + +The exports of the United States to China, according to the +reports of Consul-General Goodnow of Shanghai, increased +from $11,081,146 in 1900 to $18,175,484 in 1901 and $22,698,282 +in 1902, while for 1904 they reached the total of about +$24,000,000, a gain of nearly 125 per cent. since 1900 and of +several hundred per cent. as compared with 1894. + +Meantime, the United States imported from China goods to +the value of $30,872,244 in 1904, which is an increase of $14,255,956 +over the imports for 1901. Silk and tea are the principal +items in this trade, the figures for the former being $10,220,543 +and for the latter $7,294,570, though of goatskins we +took $2,556,541, wool $2,325,445, and matting $1,615,838. +The United States is now the third nation in trade relations +with China. This is the more remarkable when we consider +the statement of the late Mr. Everett Frazar of the American +Asiatic Association that in January, 1901, there were only four +American business firms in all China. When our business men +establish their own houses in China instead of dealing as now +through European and Chinese firms, it is not unreasonable to +expect that the United States will outstrip its larger rivals Great +Britain and France, though, as I have already intimated, it is +one thing to ship foreign goods to China and quite another +thing to control them after their arrival, for the Chinese are +disposed to manage that trade themselves and they know how +to do it. + +Unfortunately the stream of foreign trade with China has +been contaminated by many of the vices which disgrace our +civilization. The pioneer traders were, as a rule, pirates and +adventurers, who cheated and abused the Chinese most flagrantly. +Gorst says that ``rapine, murder and a constant appeal +to force chiefly characterized the commencement of Europe's +commercial intercourse with China.'' There are many +men of high character engaged in business in the great cities +of China. I would not speak any disparaging word of those +who are worthy of all respect. But it is all too evident that +``many Americans and Europeans doing business in Asia are +living the life of the prodigal son who has not yet come to himself.'' +Profane, intemperate, immoral, not living among the +Chinese, but segregating themselves in foreign communities in +the treaty ports, not speaking the Chinese language, frequently +beating and cursing those who are in their employ, regarding +the Chinese with hatred and contempt,--it is no wonder that +they are hated in return and that their conduct has done much +to justify the Chinese distrust of the foreigner. The foreign +settlements in the port cities of China are notorious for their +profligacy. Intemperance and immorality, gambling and Sabbath +desecration run riot. When after his return from a long +journey in Asia, the Rev. Dr. George Pentecost was asked-- +``What are the darkest spots in the missionary outlook?'' he +replied:-- + + +``In lands of spiritual darkness, it is difficult to speak of `darkest +spots.' I should say, however, that if there is a darkness more dark +than other darkness, it is that which is cast into heathen darkness +by the ungodliness of the American and European communities that +have invaded the East for the sake of trade and empire. The corruption +of Western godliness is the worst evil in the East. Of course there are +noble exceptions among western commercial men and their families, but +as a rule the European and American resident in the East is a constant +contradiction to all and everything which the missionary stands for.'' + + +Most of the criticisms of missionaries which find their way +into the daily papers emanate from such men. The missionaries +do not gamble or drink whiskey, nor will their wives and +daughters attend or reciprocate entertainments at which wine, +cards and dancing are the chief features. So, of course, the +missionaries are ``canting hypocrites,'' and are believed to be +doing no good, because the foreigner who has never visited a +Chinese Christian Church, school or hospital in his life, does +not see the evidences of missionary work in his immediate +neighbourhood. The editor of the Japan Daily Mail justly +says:--[29] + + +[29] April 7, 1901 + + +``We do not suggest that these newspapers which denounce the missionaries +so vehemently desire to be unjust or have any suspicion that they +are unjust. But we do assert that they have manifestly taken on the colour +of that section of every far eastern community whose units, for some +strange reason, entertain an inveterate prejudice against the missionary +and his works. Were it possible for these persons to give an intelligent +explanation of the dislike with which the missionary inspires them, their +opinions would command more respect. But they have never succeeded +in making any logical presentment of their case, and no choice offers except +to regard them as the victims of an antipathy which has no basis in +reason or reflection, That a man should be anti-Christian and should de- +vote his pen to propagating his views is strictly within his right, and we +must not be understood as suggesting that the smallest reproach attaches +to such a person. But on the other hand, it is within the right of the +missionary to protest against being arraigned before judges habitually hostile +to him, and it is within the right of the public to scrutinize the +pronouncements of such judges with much suspicion.'' + + +Charles Darwin did not hesitate to put the matter more +bluntly still. He will surely not be deemed a prejudiced witness, +but he plainly said of the traders and travellers who attack +missionaries:-- + + +``It is useless to argue against such reasoners. I believe that, +disappointed in not finding the field of licentiousness quite so open as +formerly, they will not give credit to a morality which they do not wish to +practice, or to a religion which they undervalue or despise.'' + + +These facts are a suggestive commentary on the popular notion +that civilization should precede Christianity. The Rev. Dr. +James Stewart, the veteran missionary of South Africa, says that +it is an ``unpleasant and startling statement, unfortunately +true, that contact with European nations seems always to have +resulted in further deterioration of the African races. . . . +Trade and commerce have been on the West Coast of Africa +for more than three centuries. What have they made of that +region? Some of its tribes are more hopeless, more sunken +morally and socially, and rapidly becoming more commercially +valueless, than any tribes that may be found throughout the +whole of the continent. Mere commercial influence by its example +or its teaching during all that time has had little effect +on the cruelty and reckless shedding of blood and the human +sacrifices of the besotted paganism which still exists near that +coast.'' Of his experience in New Guinea, James Chalmers +declared:--``I have had twenty-one years' experience among +natives. I have lived with the Christian native, and I have +lived, and dined, and slept with cannibals. But I have never +yet met with a single man or woman, or with a single people, +that civilization without Christianity has civilized.'' + +Substantially similar statements might be made regarding +other lands. + + +``The more we open the world to what we call civilization, and the more +education we give it of the kind we call scientific, the greater are the +dangers to modern society, unless in some way we contrive to make all +the world better. Brigands armed with repeating rifles and supplied with +smokeless gunpowder are brigands still, but ten times more dangerous than +before. The vaste hordes of human beings in Asia and Africa, so long as +they are left in seclusion, are dangerous to their immediate neighbours; +but, when they have railroads, steamboats, tariffs, and machine guns, while +they retain their savage ideals and barbarous customs, they become dangerous +to all the rest of the world.''[30] + +[30] Christian Register, December 3, 1903. + + +A Christless civilization is always and everywhere a curse +rather than a blessing. From the Garden of Eden down, the +fall of man has resulted from ``the increase of knowledge and +of power unaccompanied by reverence.... No evolution +is stable which neglects the moral factor or seeks to shake +itself free from the eternal duties of obedience and of faith. +. . . The Song of Lamech echoes from a remote antiquity +the savage truth that `the first results of civilization are to +equip hatred and render revenge more deadly, . . . a +savage exultation in the fresh power of vengeance which all the +novel instruments have placed in their inventor's hands.' ''[31] + + +[31] The Rev. Dr. George Adam Smith, D. D., ``Yale Lectures,'' pp. 95-97. + + +What is civilization without the gospel? The essential elements +of our civilization are the fruits of Christianity, and the +tree cannot be transplanted without its roots. Can a railroad +or a plow convert a man? They can add to his material comfort; +they can enlarge the opportunities of the gospel, but are +they the gospel itself? What does civilization without Christianity +mean? It means the lust of the European and American +soldiers which is rotting the native Hawaiians, the European and +American liquor which is debauching the Africans, the opium +which is enervating the Chinese, 6,000 tons a year coming from +India at a profit of $32,000,000 to the English Government.[32] + + +[32] The Rev. Dr. Henry van Dyke, Sermon. + + +How can such a civilization prepare the way for Christianity? +As a matter of fact, the Chinese already have a civilization, +and if our civilization is considered apart from its distinctively +Christian elements, it is not so much superior to the Chinese +as we are apt to imagine. The differences are chiefly matters +of taste and education. The truth is that always and everywhere,-- + +``civilization, so far from obliterating iniquity, imports into the world +iniquities of its own. It changes to some degree the aspects of iniquity, but +does not make them less. Further than that its effect is rather regularly +to dress iniquity in a less repulsive and more attractive form, and in that +way makes it more difficult to get rid of than before. There is no sin so +insinuating as refined and elegant sin, and of that civilization is the expert +patron and champion. The sin that is the devil's chief stock in trade +is not what is going on in Hester Street, but on the polite avenues. +. . . Evangelization conducts to civilization, but civilization has no +necessary bearing on evangelization; that is to say, there is in civilization +no energy inherently calculated to yield gospel facts. By carrying schools +and arts, trade and manufacture, among people that are now savages you +may be able to refine the quality of their deviltry, but that is not even +the first step towards making angels, or even saints of them.''[33] + + +[33] The Rev. Dr. Charles H. Parkhurst, Sermon. + + +Lowell is said to have administered the following stinging +rebuke to the skeptical critics who sneered about missionaries +and declared the adequacy of civilization without them:-- + + +``When the microscopic search of skepticism, which has hunted the +heavens and sounded the seas to disprove the existence of a Creator, has +turned its attention to human society and has found a place on this planet +ten miles square where a decent man can live in decency, comfort and +security, supporting and educating his children unspoiled and unpolluted; +a place where age is reverenced, manhood respected, womanhood honoured, +and human life held in due regard; when skeptics can find such +a place ten miles square on this globe where the gospel of Christ has +not gone and cleared the way, and laid the foundation and made decency +and security possible, it will then be in order for the skeptical literati +to move thither and there ventilate their views.'' + + +But we may add Darwin's conjecture that ``should a voyager +chance to be at the point of shipwreck on some unknown +coast, he will devoutly pray that the lesson of the missionary +may have extended thus far.'' Bishop Thoburn says that no +nation without Christianity has ever advanced a step, and that +while in Washington there are 6,000 models of plows invented +by Americans, India is using the same plow as in the days of +David and Solomon. But wherever Christ's gospel goes, true +civilization appears. ``A better soul will soon make better +circumstances; but better circumstances will not necessarily make +a better soul.''[34] + + +[34] The Rev. Dr. James H. Snowden. + + ``We must be here to work, + And men who work can only work for men, + And not to work in vain must comprehend + Humanity, and so work humanly, + And raise men's bodies still by raising souls.'' + + + +XI + +THE BUILDING OF RAILWAYS[35] + + +[35] Part of this chapter appeared as an article in the American Monthly +Review of Reviews, February, 1904. + +THE extension of trade has naturally been accompanied +not only by the increase of foreign steamship +lines to the numerous port cities of China, but by the +development of almost innumerable coastwise and river vessels. +Many of these are owned and operated by the Chinese themselves, +but as steamers came with the foreigners and as they +drive out the native junks and bring beggary to their owners, +the masses of the Chinese cannot be expected to feel kindly +towards such competition, however desirable the steamer may +appear to be from the view-point of a more disinterested +observer. But this interference with native customs has been far +less revolutionary than that of the railways. + +The pressure of foreign commerce upon China has naturally +resulted in demands for concessions to build railways, in order +that the country might be opened up for traffic and the products +of the interior be more easily and quickly brought to the coast. +The first railroad in China was built by British promoters in +1876. It ran from Shanghai to Woosung, only fourteen miles. +Great was the excitement of the populace, and no sooner was +it completed than the Government bought it, tore up the road- +bed, and dumped the engines into the river. That ended +railway-building till 1881, when, largely through the influence +of Wu Ting-fang, late Chinese Minister to the United States, +the Chinese themselves, under the guidance of an English +engineer, built a little line from the Kai-ping coal mines to +Taku, at the mouth of the Pei-ho River and the ocean gate +way to the capital. Seeing the benefit of this road, the Chinese +raised further funds, borrowed more from the English, and +gradually extended it 144 miles to Shan-hai Kwan on the +north, while they ran another line to Tien-tsin, twenty-seven +miles from Tong-ku, and thence onward seventy-nine miles +direct to Peking. This system forms the Imperial Railway and +belongs to the Chinese Government, though bonds are held by +the English, who loaned money for construction, and though +English and American engineers built and superintended the +system. The local staff, however, is Chinese. + +No more concessions were granted to foreigners till 1895, +but then they were given so rapidly that, in 1899 when the +Boxer Society first began to attract attention, there were, including +the Imperial Railway, not only 566 miles in operation, +but 6,000 miles were projected, and engineers were surveying +rights of way through whole provinces. Much of the completed +work was undone during the destructive madness of the +Boxer uprising, but reconstruction began as soon as the tumult +was quelled. According to the Archiv fur Eisenbahnwesen of +Germany, the total length of the railways in use in 1903 in +China was 1,236 kilometers or about 742 miles. + +Several foreign nations have taken an aggressive part in this +movement. In the north, Russia, not satisfied with a terminus +at cold Vladivostok where ice closes the harbour nearly half +the year, steadily demanded concessions which would enable +her Trans-Siberian Railway to reach an ice-free winter port, +and thus give her a commanding position in the Pacific and a +channel through which the trade of northern Asia might reach +and enrich Russia's vast possessions in Siberia and Europe. +So Russian diplomacy rested not till it had secured the right to +extend the Trans-Siberian Railway southward from Sungari +through Manchuria to Tachi-chao near Mukden. From there +one branch runs southward to Port Arthur and Dalny and +another southwestward to Shan-hai Kwan, where the great +Wall of China touches the sea. As connection is made at that +point with the Imperial Railway to Taku, Tien-tsin and Peking, +Moscow 5,746 miles away, is brought within seventeen days of +Peking. Thus, Russian influence had an almost unrestricted +entrance to China on the North, while a third branch from +Mukden to Wiju, on the Korean frontier, will connect with a +projected line running from that point southward to Seoul, the +capital of Korea. A St. Petersburg dispatch, dated November +26, 1903, states that a survey has just been completed from +Kiakhta, Siberia, to Peking by way of Gugon, a distance of +about a thousand miles. This road, if built, will give the Russians +a short cut direct to the capital. + +In the populous province of Shantung, a German railroad, +opened April 8, 1901, runs from Tsing-tau on Kiao-chou Bay +into the heart of the populous Shantung Province via Weihsien. +The line already reaches the capital, Chinan-fu, while +ulterior plans include a line from Tsing-tau via Ichou-fu to +Chinan-fu, so that German lines will ere long completely encircle +this mighty Province. At Chinan-fu, this road will meet +another great trunk line, partly German and partly English, +which is being pushed southward from Tien-tsin to Chin-kiang. +An English sydicate, known as the British-Chinese Corporation, +is to control a route from Shanghai via Soochow and +Chin-kiang to Nanking and Soochow via Hangchow to Ningpo, +while the Anglo-Chinese Railway Syndicate of London is said +to be planning a railway from Canton to Cheng-tu-fu, the provincial +capital of Sze-chuen. Meanwhile, the original line from +Shanghai to Wu-sung has been reconstructed by the English. + +One of the most valuable concessions in China has been obtained +by the Anglo-Italian Syndicate in the Provinces of +Shan-si and Shen-si for it gives the right to construct railways +and to operate coal mines in a region where some of the most +extensive anthracite deposits in the world are located. A beginning +has already been made, and when the lines are completed, +the industrial revolution in China will be mightily advanced. + +An alleged Belgian syndicate, to which was formed with then +wholly disinterested assistance of the French and Russian legations, +obtained in 1896 a concession to construct the Lu Han +Railway from Peking 750 miles southward to Hankow, the +commercial metropolis on the middle Yang-tze River. It is significant, +however, that while the Belgian syndicate was temporarily +embarrassed, the Russo-Chinese Bank of Peking aided +the Chinese Director-General of Railways to begin the section +running from Peking to Paoting-fu. The road is open to +Shunte-fu, 300 miles south of Peking and to Hsu-chou, 434 +kilometers north of Hankow. The Russo-Chinese Bank is +building a branch line from Ching-ting via Tai-yuen-fu to Singan-fu +in Shen-si, where it will be well started on the beaten +caravan route between north China and Russian Central Asia. +On November 13, 1903, the Belgian International Eastern +Company signed a contract to construct a railway from Kai- +feng-fu, the capital of the Province of Honan, 110 miles west +to Honan-fu. + +I found the line running south from Peking well-built with +solid road-bed, massive stone culverts, iron bridges, and heavy +steel rails. The first and second class coaches are not attractive +in appearance, and though the fare for the former is double +that of the latter, the chief discernible difference is that in the +first class compartment, which is usually in one end of a second- +class car, the seats are curved and the passengers fewer in +number, while in the second-class the seats are straight boards +and are apt to be crowded with Chinese coolies. Neither class +is upholstered and neither would be considered comfortable in +America, but after the weeks I had spent in a mule-litter, anything +on rails seemed luxurious. Our train was a mixed one,-- +the first-class compartments containing a few French officers, +the second-class filled with Chinese coolies and French soldiers, +while a half-dozen flat cars were loaded with horses and mules. +A large Roger's locomotive from Paterson, New Jersey, drew +our long train smoothly and easily, though the schedule was so +slow and the stops so long that we were seven hours and a half +in making a run of a hundred miles. + +Railway-building in South China, outside of French territory, +began with a line from Canton to Hankow which was projected +in 1895 by Senator Calvin S. Brice, William Barclay +Parsons being the engineer. The usual governmental difficulties +were encountered, but in 1902 an imperial decree gave the +concession to the American-China Development Company. +American capital was to finance the road, though with some +European aid. The company had the power, under its concession, +to issue fifty-year five per cent. gold bonds to the amount +of $42,500,000, the interest being guaranteed by the Chinese +Government. The main line will be 700 miles long, and +branches will increase the total mileage to 900. On November +15, 1903, a section ten miles long from Canton to Fat-shan was +formally opened for traffic in the presence of the Hon. Francis +May, colonial secretary and registrar-general of the Hongkong +Government, a large number of Europeans and Americans, and +immense crowds of Chinese who manifested their excitement by +an almost incessant rattle of fire-crackers. By October, 1904, +trains were running regularly to Sam-shui, about twenty-five +miles beyond Fat-shan. This is a branch line. The main +line will run on the other side of the West River. In 1905, +the government decided to complete the line itself and cancelled +the concession, paying the company as indemnity $6,750,000. +A line from Kowloon to Canton has been planned for some +time and it is likely to be hastened by the announcement in the +South China Morning Post, May 12, 1904, that an American- +Chinese syndicate had obtained a concession, granted to the +authorities of Macao by China through a special Portuguese +Minister, to construct a railway from Macao to Canton. The +syndicate hopes to secure American capital and the British +merchants of Hongkong are a little nervous as they think of the +possibility of an independent outlet for the Canton-Hankow +Railway at Macao. + +It will thus be seen that if these vast schemes can be realized +there will not only be numerous lines running from the +coast into the interior, but a great trunk line from Canton +through the very heart of the Empire to Peking, where other +roads can be taken not only to Manchuria and Korea but to +any part of Europe. + +In the farther south, the French are equally busy. By the +Franco-Chinese Convention of June 20, 1895, a French +company secured the right to construct a railroad from Lao- +kai to Yun-nan-fu. The French had a road from Hai-fong in +Tong-king to Sang-chou at the Chinese frontier, and in 1896 +they obtained from China a concession to extend it to Nanning- +fu, on the West River. This privilege has since been enlarged +so that the line will be continued to the treaty port of Pak-hoi +on the Gulf of Tong-king. The French fondly dream of the +time when they can extend their Yun-nan Railway northward +till it taps and makes tributary to French Indo-China the vast +and fertile valley of the upper Yang-tze River. Meanwhile, +the English talk of a line from Kowloon, opposite Hongkong, +to Canton, and of connecting their Burma Railroad, which +already runs from Rangoon to Kun-long ferry, with the +Yang-tze valley, so that the enormous trade of southern interior +China may not flow into a French port, as the French so +ardently desire, but into an English city. + +It would be impossible to describe adequately the far- +reaching effect upon China and the Chinese of this extension of +modern railways. We have had an illustration of its meaning +in America, where the transcontinental railroads resulted in +the amazing development of our western plains and of the +Pacific Coast. The effect of such a development in China can +hardly be overestimated, for China has more than ten times the +population of the trans-Mississippi region while its territory is +vaster and equally rich in natural resources. As I travelled +through the land, it seemed to me that almost the whole +northern part of the Empire was composed of illimitable fields +of wheat and millet, and that in the south the millions of paddy +plots formed a rice-field of continental proportions. Hidden +away in China's mountains and underlying her boundless +plateaus are immense deposits of coal and iron; while above +any other country on the globe, China has the labour for the +development of agriculture and manufacture. Think of the +influence not only upon the Chinese but the whole world, +when railroads not only carry the corn of Hunan to the famine +sufferers in Shantung, but when they bring the coal, iron and +other products of Chinese soil and industry within reach of +steamship lines running to Europe and America. To make +all these resources available to the rest of the world, and in turn +to introduce among the 426,000,000 of the Chinese the products +and inventions of Europe and America, is to bring about +an economic transformation of stupendous proportions. + +Imagine, too, what changes are involved in the substitution +of the locomotive for the coolie as a motive power, the +freight car for the wheelbarrow in the shipment of produce, +and the passenger coach for the cart and the mule-litter in the +transportation of people. Railways will inevitably inaugurate +in China a new era, and when a new era is inaugurated for +one-third of the human race the other two-thirds are certain to +be affected in many ways. + +That the transformation is attended by outbreaks of violence +is natural enough. Even such a people as the English and the +Scotch were at first inimical to railroads, and it is notorious +that the great Stephenson had to meet not only ridicule but +strenuous opposition. Everybody knows, too, that in the +United States stage companies and stage drivers did all they +could to prevent the building of railroads, and that learned +gentlemen made eloquent speeches which proved to the entire +satisfaction of their authors that railways would disarrange all +the conditions of society and business and bring untold evils +in their train. If the alert and progressive Anglo-Saxon took +this initial position, is it surprising that it should be taken with +far greater intensity by Orientals who for uncounted centuries +have plodded along in perfect contentment, and who now find +that the whole order of living to which they and their fathers +have become adapted is being shaken to its foundation by the +iron horse of the foreigner? Millions of coolies earn a living +by carrying merchandise in baskets or wheeling it in barrows +at five cents a day. A single railroad train does the work of a +thousand coolies, and thus deprives them of their means of +support. Myriads of farmers grew the beans and peanuts out +of which illuminating oil was made. But since American +kerosene was introduced in 1864, its use has become well-nigh +universal, and the families who depended upon the bean-oil and +peanut-oil market are starving. Cotton clothing is generally +worn in China, except by the better classes, and China +formerly made her own cotton cloth. Now American manufacturers +can sell cotton in China cheaper than the Chinese can +make it themselves. + +All this is, of course, inevitable. It is indeed for the best interests +of the people of China themselves, but it enables us to +understand why so many of the Chinese resent the introduction +of foreign goods. That much of this business is passing into +the hands of the Chinese themselves does not help the matter, +for the people know that the goods are foreign, and that the +foreigners are responsible for their introduction. + +Nor are racial prejudices and vested interests the only foes +which the railway has to encounter in China. As we have +seen, the Chinese, while not very religious, are very superstitious. +They people the earth and air with spirits, who, in their +judgment, have baleful power over man. Before these spirits +they tremble in terror, and no inconsiderable part of their +time and labour is devoted to outwitting them, for the Chinese +do not worship the spirits, except to propitiate and deceive +them. They believe that the spirits cannot turn a corner, but +must move in a straight line. Accordingly, in China you do +not often find one window opposite another window, lest the +spirits may pass through. You will seldom find a straight +road from one village to another village, but only a distractingly +circuitous path, while the roads are not only crooked, but +so atrociously bad that it is difficult for the foreign traveller to +keep his temper. The Chinese do not count their own inconvenience +if they can only baffle their demoniac foes. It is the +custom of the Chinese to bury their dead wherever a geomancer +indicates a ``lucky'' place. So particular are they about +this that the bodies of the wealthy are often kept for a considerable +period while a suitable place of interment is being +found. In Canton there is a spacious enclosure where the +coffins sometimes lie for years, each in a room more or less +elaborate according to the taste or ability of the family. The +place once chosen immediately becomes sacred. In a land +which has been so densely populated for thousands of years, +graves are therefore not only innumerable but omnipresent. +In my travels in China, I was hardly ever out of sight of these +conical mounds of the dead, and as a rule I could count hundreds +of them from my shendza. + +Every visitor to Canton and Chefoo will recall the hilly +regions just outside of the old city walls that are literally covered +with graves, those of the richer classes being marked by +small stone or brick amphitheatres. Yet these are cemeteries +not because they have been set apart for that purpose, but because +graves have gradually filled all available spaces. + +The Chinese reverence their dead and venerate the spots in +which they lie. From a Chinese view-point it is an awful thing +to desecrate them. Not only property and those sacred feelings +with which all peoples regard their dead are involved but +also the vital religious question of ancestral worship. Accordingly +Chinese law protects all graves by heavy sanctions, imposing +the death penalty by strangling on the malefactor who +opens a grave without the permission of the owner, and by decapitation +if in doing so the coffin is opened or broken so as +to expose the body to view. Imagine then their feelings +when they see haughty foreigners run a railroad straight as an +arrow from city to city, opening a highway over which the +dreaded spirits may run, and ruthlessly tearing through the +tombs hallowed by the most sacred associations. + +No degree of care can avoid the irritations caused by railway +construction. In building the line from Tsing-tau to Kiao-chou, +a distance of forty-six miles, the Germans, as far as practicable, +ran around the places most thickly covered with graves. +But in spite of this, no less than 3,000 graves had to be removed. +It was impossible to settle with the individual owners, +as it was difficult in many cases to ascertain who they were, +most of the graves being unmarked, and some of the families +concerned having died out or moved away. Moreover, the +Oriental has no idea of time, and dearly loves to haggle, +especially with a foreigner whom he feels no compunction in +swindling. So the railway company made its negotiations +with the local magistrates, showing them the routes, indicating +the graves that were in the way, and paying them an +average of $3 (Mexican) for removing each grave, they to +find and settle with the owners. This was believed to be fair, +for $3 is a large sum where the coin in common circulation +is the copper ``cash,'' so small in value that 1,600 of them +equal a gold dollar, and where a few dozen cash will buy a +day's food for an adult. But while some of the Chinese were +glad to accept this arrangement, others were not. They wanted +more, or they had special affection for the dead, or that particular +spot had been carefully selected because it was favoured +by the spirits. Besides, the magistrates doubtless kept a part +of the price as their share. Chinese officials are underpaid, +are expected to ``squeeze'' commissions, and no funds can +pass through their hands without a percentage of loss. Then, +as the Asiatic is very deliberate, the company was obliged to +specify a date by which all designated graves must be removed. +As many of the bodies were not taken up within that time, +the company had to remove them. + +In these circumstances, we should not be surprised that +some of the most furiously anti-foreign feeling in China was in +the villages along the line of that railroad. Why should the +hated foreigner force his line through their country when the +people did not want it? Of course, it would save time, but, +as an official naively said, ``We are not in a hurry.'' So the +villagers watched the construction with ill-concealed anger, +and to-day that railroad, as well as most other railroads in +North China, can only be kept open by detachments of foreign +soldiers at all the important stations. I saw them at almost +every stop,--German soldiers from Tsing-tau to Kiao-chou, +British from Tong-ku to Peking, French from Peking to Paoting-fu, +etc. + +Nevertheless, railways in China are usually profitable. It is +true that the opposition to the building of a railroad is apt to +be bitter, that mobs are occasionally destructive, and that locomotives +and other rolling stock rapidly deteriorate under native +handling unless closely watched by foreign superintendents. +But, on the other hand, the Government is usually forced to +pay indemnities for losses resulting from violence. The road, +too, once built, is in time appreciated by the thrifty Chinese, +who swallow their prejudices and patronize it in such enormous +numbers, and ship by it such quantities of their produce, that +the business speedily becomes remunerative, while the population +and the resources of the country are so great as to afford +almost unlimited opportunity for the development of traffic. + +As a rule, on all the roads, the first-class compartments, +when there are any, have comparatively few passengers, chiefly +officials and foreigners. The second-class cars are well filled +with respectable-looking people, who are apparently small merchants, +students, minor officials, etc. The third-class cars, +which are usually more numerous, are packed with chattering +peasants. The first-class fares are about the same as ordinary +rates in the United States. The second-class are about half +the first-class rates, and the third-class are often less than the +equivalent of a cent a mile. This is a wise adjustment in a +land where the average man is so thrifty and so poor that he +would not and could not pay a price which would be deemed +moderate in America, and where his scale of living makes him +content with the rudest accommodations. Very little baggage +is carried free, twenty pounds only on the German lines, so +that excess baggage charges amount to more than in America. + +The freight cars, during my visit, were, for the most part, +loaded with the materials and supplies necessitated by the work +of railway-construction and by the extensive rebuilding of the +native and foreign property which had been destroyed by the +Boxers. But in normal conditions the railways carry inland a +large number of foreign manufactured articles, and in turn +bring to the ports the wheat, rice, peanuts, ore, coal, pelts, +silk, wool, cotton, matting, paper, straw-braid, earthenware, +sugar, tea, tobacco, fireworks, fruit, vegetables, and other +products of the interior. Short hauls are the rule, thus far, +both for passengers and freight. This is partly because the +long-distance lines within the Empire are not yet completed, +and partly because the typical Chinese of the lower classes in +the interior provinces has never been a score of miles away from +his native village in his life, and has been so accustomed to +regard a wheelbarrow trip of a dozen miles as a long journey +that he is a little cautious, at first, in lengthening his radius of +movement. But he soon learns, especially as the struggle for +existence in an overcrowded country begets a desire to take advantage +of an opportunity to better his condition elsewhere. +Once fairly started, he is apt to go far, as the numbers of +Chinese in Siam, the Philippines, and America clearly show. +The literary and official classes are less apt to go abroad, but +they are more accustomed to moving about within the limits +of the Empire, as they must go to the central cities for their +examinations, and as offices are held for such short terms that +magistrates are frequently shifted from province to province. +When this vast population of naturally industrious and commer- +cial people becomes accustomed to railways and gets to moving +freely upon them, stupendous things are likely to happen, +both for China and for the world. + +And so the foreign syndicates relentlessly continue the work +of railway-construction. Trade cannot be checked. It advances +by an inherent energy which it is futile to ignore. And +it ought to advance for the result will inevitably be to the advantage +of China. A locomotive brings intellectual and physical +benefits, the appliances which mitigate the poverty and +barrenness of existence and increase the ability to provide for +the necessities and the comforts of life. In one of our great +locomotive works in America I once saw twelve engines in construction +for China, and my imagination kindled as I thought +what a locomotive means amid that stagnant swarm of humanity, +how impossible it is that any village through which it has +once run should continue to be what it was before, how its +whistle puts to flight a whole brood of hoary superstitions and +summons a long-slumbering people to new life. We need regret +only that these benefits are so often accompanied by the +evils which disgrace our civilization. + + + + +PART III + +The Political Force and the National +Protest + + + +XII + +THE AGGRESSIONS OF EUROPEAN POWERS + +THE political force was set in motion partly by the +ambitions of European powers to extend their +influence in Asia, and partly by the necessity for protecting +the commercial interests referred to in the preceding +chapters. The conservatism and exclusiveness of the Chinese, +the disturbance of economic conditions caused by the introduction +of foreign goods, and the greed and brutality of foreign +traders combined to arouse a fierce opposition to the lodgment +of the foreigner. The early trading ships were usually armed, +and exasperated by the haughtiness and duplicity of the Chinese +officials and their greedy disposition to mulct the white +trader, they did not hesitate to use force in effecting their purpose. + +But the nations of Europe, becoming more and more convinced +of the magnitude of the Chinese market, pressed resolutely +on; and with the hope of creating a better understanding +and of opening the ports to trade, they sent envoys to +China. The arrival of these envoys precipitated a new controversy, +for the Chinese Government from time immemorial +considered itself the supreme government of the world, and, +not being accustomed to receive the agents of other nations except +as inferiors, was not disposed to accord the white man +any different treatment. The result was a series of collisions +followed by territorial aggressions that were numerous enough +to infuriate a more peaceably disposed people than the +Chinese. + +The Portuguese were the first to come, a ship of those ven- +turesome traders appearing near Canton in 1516. Its reception +was kindly, but when the next year brought eight armed +vessels and an envoy, the friendliness of the Chinese changed +to suspicion which ripened into hostility when the Portuguese +became overbearing and threatening. Violence met with +violence. It is said that armed parties of Portuguese went into +villages and carried off Chinese women. Feuds multiplied and +became more bloody. At Ningpo, the Chinese made awful reprisal +by destroying thirty-five Portuguese ships and killing 800 +of their crews. The execution of one or more of the members +of a delegation to Peking brought matters to a crisis, and in +1534, the Portuguese transferred their factories to Macao, +which they have ever since held, though it was not till 1887 +that their position there was officially recognized. Portuguese +power has waned and Macao to-day is an unimportant place +politically, but it is significant that this early foreign settlement +in China has been and still is such a moral plague spot that +the Chinese may be pardoned if their first impressions of the +white man were unfavourable. + +The Spaniards were the next Europeans with whom the +Chinese came into contact. In this case, however, the contact +was due not so much to the coming of the Spaniards to China +as to their occupation in 1543 of the Philippine Islands, with +which the Chinese had long traded and where they had already +settled in considerable numbers. Mutual jealousies resulted +and Castilian arrogance and brutality ere long engendered such +bitterness that massacre after massacre of the Chinese occurred, +that of 1603 almost exterminating the Chinese population of +Manila. + +The growing demand for coffee, which Europeans had first +received in 1580 from Arabia, brought Dutch ships into Asiatic +waters in 1598. After hostile experiences with the Portuguese +at Macao, they seized the Pescadores Islands in 1622. But the +opposition of the Chinese led the Dutch to withdraw to Formosa, +where their stormy relations with natives, Chinese from +the mainland and Japanese finally resulted in their expulsion in +1662. Since then the Dutch have contented themselves with a +few trading factories chiefly at Canton and with their possessions +in Malaysia, so that they have been less aggressive in China +than several other European nations. + +A more formidable power appeared on the scene in 1635, +when four ships[36] of the English East India Company sailed up +the Pearl River. The temper of the newcomers was quickly +shown when the Chinese, incited by the jealous Portuguese, +sought to prevent their lodgment, for the English, so the record +quaintly runs, ``did on a sudden display their bloody ensigns, +and . . . each ship began to play furiously upon the forts +with their broadsides . . . put on board all their ordnance, +fired the council-house, and demolished all they could.'' +Then they sailed on to Canton, and when their peremptory demand +for trading privileges was met with evasion and excuses, +they ``pillaged and burned many vessels and villages . . . +spreading destruction with fire and sword.'' Describing this +incident, Sir George Staunton, Secretary of the first British +embassy to China, naively remarked--``The unfortunate circumstances +under which the English first got footing in China +must have operated to their disadvantage and rendered their +situation for some time peculiarly unpleasant.''[37] But as early +as 1684, they had established themselves in Canton. + + +[36] Parker, ``China,'' p. 9, places the number of ships at five and the date +as 1637. + +[37] Foster, ``American Diplomacy in the Orient,'' p. 5. + + +June 15, 1834, a British Commission headed by Lord Napier +arrived at Macao, and the 25th of the same month proceeded +to Canton empowered by an act of Parliament to negotiate +with the Chinese regarding trade ``to and from the dominions +of the Emperor of China, and for the purpose of protecting and +promoting such trade.''[38] The government of Canton, however, +refused to receive Lord Napier's letter for the character- +istic reason that it did not purport to be a petition from an inferior +to a superior. In explaining the matter to the Hong +merchants with a view to their bringing the explanation to the +attention of Lord Napier, the haughty Governor reminded them +that foreigners were allowed in China only as trading agents, +and that no functionary of any political rank could be allowed +to enter the Empire unless special permission were given by the +Imperial Government in response to a respectful petition. He +added:-- + + +[38] Foster, p. 57. + + +``To sum up the whole matter, the nation has its laws. Even +England has its laws. How much more the Celestial Empire! How +flaming bright are its great laws and ordinances. More terrible than +the awful thunderbolts! Under this whole bright heaven, none dares +to disobey them. Under its shelter are the four seas. Subject to its +soothing care are ten thousand kingdoms. The said barbarian eye (Lord +Napier), having come over a sea of several myriads of miles in extent to +examine and have superintendence of affairs, must be a man thoroughly +acquainted with the principles of high dignity.''[39] + + +[39] Foster, p. 59. + + +As might be expected, the equally haughty British representative +indignantly protested; but without avail. He was asked +to return to Macao, and was informed that the Governor could +not have any further communication with him except through +the Hong merchants, and in the form of a respectful petition. +The Governor indignantly declared:-- + + +``There has never been such a thing as outside barbarians sending a +letter. . . . It is contrary to everything of dignity and decorum. The +thing is most decidedly impossible. . . . The barbarians of this nation +(Great Britain) coming to or leaving Canton have beyond their trade +not any public business; and the commissioned officers of the Celestial +Empire never take cognizance of the trivial affairs of trade. . . . The +some hundreds of thousands of commercial duties yearly coming from the +said nation concern not the Celestial Empire to the extent of a hair or a +feather's down. The possession or absence of them is utterly unworthy +of one careful thought.''[40] + + +[40] Ibid, p. 60. + +Whereupon the proud Briton published and distributed a review +of the case, as he saw it, which closed as follows:-- + + +``Governor Loo has the assurance to state in the edict of the 2d instant +that `the King (my master) has hitherto been reverently obedient.' I +must now request you to declare to them (the Hong merchants) that His +Majesty, the King of England, is a great and powerful monarch, that he +rules over an extent of territory in the four quarters of the world more +comprehensive in space and infinitely more so in power than the whole +empire of China; that he commands armies of bold and fierce soldiers, +who have conquered wherever they went; and that he is possessed of +great ships, where no native of China has ever yet dared to show his face. +Let the Governor then judge if such a monarch will be `reverently obedient' +to any one.''[41] + + +[41] Foster, pp. 61, 62. + + +The result of the increasing irritation was a decree by the +Governor of Canton peremptorily forbidding all further trade +with the English, and in retaliation the landing of a British +force, the sailing of British war-ships up the river and a battle +at the Bogue Forts which guarded the entrance of Canton. A +truce was finally arranged and Lord Napier's commission left +for Macao, August 21st, where he died September 11th of an +illness which his physician declared was directly due to the +nervous strain and the many humiliations which he had suffered +in his intercourse with the Chinese authorities. The +Governor meantime complacently reported to Peking that he had +driven off the barbarians! + +The strain was intensified by the determination of the +British to bring opium into China. The Chinese authorities +protested and in 1839 the Chinese destroyed 22,299 chests +of opium valued at $9,000,000, from motives about as +laudable as those which led our revolutionary sires to empty +English tea into Boston Harbor. England responded by +making war, the result of which was to force the drug upon an +unwilling people, so that the vice which is to-day doing more +to ruin the Chinese than all other vices combined is directly +traceable to the conduct of a Christian nation, though the +England of to-day is presumably ashamed of this crime of the +England of two generations ago. + +It would, however, be inaccurate to represent Chinese objection +to British opium as the sole cause of the ``Opium War'' +of 1840, for the indignities to which foreign traders and foreign +diplomats were continually subjected in their efforts to establish +commercial and political relations with the Chinese were rapidly +drifting the two nations into war. Still, it was peculiarly +unfortunate and it put foreigners grievously in the wrong before +the Chinese that the overt act which developed the long- +gathering bitterness into open rupture was the righteous if irregular +seizure by the Chinese of a poison that the English +from motives of unscrupulous greed were determined to force +upon an unwilling people. The probability that war would +have broken out in time even if there had been no dispute +about opium does not mitigate the fact that from the beginning, +foreign intercourse with China was so identified with an iniquitous +traffic that the Chinese had ample cause to distrust and +dislike the white man. + +This hostility was intensified when the war resulted in the +defeat of the Chinese and the treaty of Nanking in 1842 with +its repudiation of all their demands, the compulsory cession of +the island of Hongkong, the opening of not only Canton but +Amoy, Foochow, Shanghai, and Ningpo as treaty ports, the +location of a British Consul in each port, and, most necessary +but most humiliating of all, the recognition of the extra-territorial +rights of all foreigners so that no matter what their crime, +they could not be tried by Chinese courts but only by their +own consuls. This treaty contributed so much to the opening +of China that Dr. S. Wells Williams characterized it as ``one +of the turning points in the history of mankind, involving the +welfare of all nations in its wide-reaching consequences.'' It +was therefore a lasting benefit to China and to the world. But +the Chinese did not then and do not yet appreciate the benefit, +especially as they saw clearly enough that the motive of the +conqueror was his own aggrandizement. + +Unhappily, too, the next war between England and China, +though fundamentally due to the same conditions as the +``Opium War,'' was again precipitated by a quarrel over +opium, the lorcha Arrow loaded with the obnoxious drug and +flying the British flag being seized by the Chinese. Once +more they suffered sore defeat and humiliating terms of peace +in the treaty of 1858. The effort of the Peking Government to +close the Pei-ho River against an armed force caused a third +war in 1860 in which the British and French captured Peking, +and by their excesses and cruelties still further added to the +already long list of reasons why the Chinese should hate their +European foes. + +Nor did foreign aggression stop with this war. In 1861, +England, in order to protect her interests at Hongkong, wrested +from China the adjacent peninsula of Kowloon. In 1886, she +took Upper Burma, which China regarded as one of her dependencies. +In 1898, finding that Hongkong was still within +the range of modern cannon in Chinese waters seven miles +away, England calmly took 400 square miles of additional territory, +including Mirs and Deep Bays. + +The visitor does not wonder that the British coveted Hongkong, +for it is one of the best harbours in the world. Certainly +no other is more impressive. Noble hills, almost mountains, +for many are over 1,000 feet and the highest is 3,200, rise on +every side. Crafts of all kinds, from sampans and slipper- +boats to ocean liners and war-ships, crowd the waters, for this +is the third greatest port in the world, being exceeded in the +amount of its tonnage only by Liverpool and New York. The +city is very attractive from the water as it lies at the foot and +on the slopes of the famous Peak. The Chinese are said to +number, as in Shanghai, over 300,000, while the foreign population +is only 5,000. But to the superficial observer the proportions +appear reversed as the foreign buildings are so spa- +cious and handsome that they almost fill the foreground. The +business section of the city is hot and steaming, but an inclined +tramway makes the Peak accessible and many of the +British merchants have built handsome villas on that cooler, +breezier summit, 1,800 feet above the sea. The view is superb, +a majestic panorama of mountains, harbour, shipping, islands, +ocean and city. By its possession and fortification of this +island of Hongkong, England to-day so completely controls +the gateway to South China that the Chinese cannot get access +to Canton, the largest city in the Empire, without running the +gauntlet of British guns and mines which could easily sink any +ships that the Peking Government could send against it, and +the whole of the vast and populous basin of the Pearl or West +River is at the mercy of the British whenever they care to take +it. When we add to these invaluable holdings, the rights that +England has acquired in the Yang-tze Valley and at Wei-hai +Wei in Shantung, we do not wonder that Mr. E. H. Parker, +formerly British Consul at Kiung-Chou, rather naively remarks:-- + + +``In view of all this, no one will say, however much in matters of detail +we may have erred in judgment, that Great Britain has failed to secure +for herself, on the whole, a considerable number of miscellaneous commercial +and political advantages from the facheuse situation arising out +of an attitude on the part of the Chinese so hostile to progress.''[42] + + +[42] ``China,'' pp. 95, 96. + + +France, as far back as 1787, obtained the Peninsula of +Tourane and the Island of Pulu Condore by ``treaty'' with +the King of Cochin-China. The French soon began to regard +Annam as within their sphere of influence. In 1858, they +seized Saigon and from it as a base extended French power +throughout Cochin-China and Cambodia, the treaty of 1862 +giving an enforced legal sanction to these extensive claims. +Not content with this, France steadily pushed her conquests +northward, compelling one concession after another until in +1882, she coolly decided to annex Tong-king. The Chinese +objected, but the war ended in a treaty, signed June 9, 1885, +which gave France the coveted region. These vast regions, +which China had for centuries regarded as tributary provinces, +are now virtually French territory and are openly governed as +such. + +The beginnings of Russia's designs upon China are lost in +the haze of mediaeval antiquity. Russian imperial guards are +frequently mentioned at the Mongol Court of Peking in the +thirteenth century.[43] In 1652, the Russians definitely began +their struggle with the Manchus for the Valley of the Amur, a +struggle which in spite of temporary defeats and innumerable +disputes Russia steadily and relentlessly continued until she +obtained the Lower Amur in 1855, the Ussuri district in 1860 +and finally, by the Cassini Convention of September, 1896, +the right to extend the Siberian Railway from Nerchinsk +through Manchuria. How Russia pressed her aggressions in +this region we shall have occasion to note in a later chapter. + +[43] Parker, ``China,'' p. 96. + + + +XIII + +THE UNITED STATES AND CHINA + +THE relations of the United States with China have, +as a rule, been more sympathetic than those of +European nations. Americans have not sought territorial +advantage in China and on more than one occasion, our +Government has exerted its influence in favour of peace and +justice for the sorely beset Celestials. + +The flag of the United States first appeared in Chinese +waters on a trading ship in 1785. From the beginning, Americans +had less trouble with the Chinese than Europeans had +experienced, partly because they had recently been at war with +the English whom the Chinese hated and feared, and partly +because they were less violently aggressive in dealing with the +Chinese. By the treaties of July and October, 1844, the +United States peacefully reaped the advantages which England +had obtained at the cost of war. November 17, 1856, two +American ships were fired upon by the Bogue Forts, but in +spite of the hostilities which resulted, the representatives of the +United States appeared to find more favour with the Chinese +than those of any other power in the negotiations at Tien-tsin +in 1858, and their treaty was signed a week before those of the +French and the British. Article X provided that the ``United +States shall have the right to appoint consuls and other commercial +agents, to reside at such places in the dominions of +China as shall be agreed to be opened''; and Article XXX +that, + +``should at any time the Ta-Tsing Empire grant to any nation or the +merchants or citizens of any nation any right, privileges or favour connected +with either navigation, commerce, political or other intercourse which is +not conferred by this treaty, such right, privilege and favour shall at once +freely inure to the benefit of the United States, its public officers, +merchants and citizens.'' + + +In the settlement of damages, the Chinese agreed to pay to +the United States half a million taels, then worth $735,288. +When the adjustments with individual claimants left a balance +of $453,400 in the treasury, Congress, to the unbounded and +grateful surprise of the Chinese, gave it back to them. Mr. Burlingame, +the celebrated United States Minister to China, became +the most popular foreign minister in Peking within a +short time after his arrival in 1862, and so highly did the +Chinese Government appreciate his efforts in its behalf that +during the American Civil War it promptly complied with his +request to issue an edict forbidding all Confederate ships of +war from entering Chinese ports. Mr. Foster declares that +``such an order enforced by the governments of Europe would +have saved the American commercial marine from destruction +and shortened the Civil War.''[44] + + +[44] Foster, ``American Diplomacy in the Orient,'' p. 259. + + +The treaty of Washington in 1868 gave great satisfaction to +the Chinese Government as it contained pacific and, appreciative +references to China, an express disclaimer of any designs +upon the Empire and a willingness to admit Chinese to the +United States. The treaty of 1880, however, considerably +modified this willingness and the treaty of 1894 rather sharply +restricted further immigration. But in the commercial treaty +of 1880, the United States, at the request of the Chinese Government, +agreed to a clause peremptorily forbidding any citizen +of the United States from engaging in the opium traffic with +the Chinese or in any Chinese port. + +Our national policy was admirably expressed in the note sent +by the Hon. Frederick F. Low, United States Minister at +Peking, to the Tsung-li Yamen, March 20, 1871:-- + + +``To assure peace in the future, the people must be better informed of +the purposes of foreigners. They must be taught that merchants are +engaged in trade which cannot but be beneficial to both native and +foreigner, and that missionaries seek only the welfare of the people, and +are engaged in no political plots or intrigues against the Government. +Whenever cases occur in which the missionaries overstep the bounds of +decorum, or interfere in matters with which they have no proper concern, +let each case be reported promptly to the Minister of the country to which +it belongs. Such isolated instances should not produce prejudice or engender +hatred against those who observe their obligations, nor should +sweeping complaints be made against all on this account. Those from +the United States sincerely desire the reformation of those whom they +teach, and to do this they urge the examination of the Holy Scriptures, +wherein the great doctrines of the present and a future state, and also the +resurrection of the soul, are set forth, with the obligation of repentance, +belief in the Saviour, and the duties of man to himself and others. It is +owing, in a great degree, to the prevalence of a belief in the truth of +the Scnptures that Western nations have attained their power and prosperity. +To enlighten the people is a duty which the officials owe to the +people, to foreigners, and themselves; for if, in consequence of ignorance, +the people grow discontented, and insurrection and riots occur, and the +lives and property of foreigners are destroyed or imperilled, the Government +cannot escape its responsibility for these unlawful acts.'' + + +Referring to this note, the Hon. J. C. B. Davis, acting +Secretary of State, wrote to Mr. Low, October 19, 1871:-- + + +``The President regards it (your note to the Tsung-li Yamen) as wise +and judicious. . . . Your prompt and able answer to these propositions +leaves little to be said by the Department. . . . We stand upon +our treaty rights; we ask no more, we expect no less. If other nations +demand more, if they advance pretensions inconsistent with the dignity +of China as an independent Power, we are no parties to such acts. Our +influence, so far as it may be legitimately and peacefully exerted, will be +used to prevent such demands or pretensions, should there be serious reason +to apprehend that they will be put forth. We feel that the Government +of the Emperor is actuated by friendly feelings towards the United +States.'' + + +But while the Government of the United States has been +thus considerate and just in its dealings with the Chinese in +China, it has, singularly enough, been most inconsiderate and +unjust in its treatment of Chinese in its own territory, and its +policy in this respect has done not a little to exasperate the +Chinese. The Chinese began to come to America in 1848, +when two men and one woman arrived in San Francisco on +the brig Eagle. The discovery of gold soon brought multitudes, +the year 1852 alone seeing 2,026 arrivals. There are +now about 45,000 Chinese in California and 14,000 in Oregon +and Washington. New York has about 6,300 Chinese, Philadelphia +1,150, Boston 1,250, and many other cities have little +groups, while individual Chinese are scattered all over the +country, though the total for the United States, excluding +Alaska and Hawaii, is only 89,863. + +The attitude of the people of the Pacific coast towards the +the Chinese is an interesting study. At first, they welcomed +their Oriental visitors. In January, 1853, the Hon. H. H. +Haight, afterwards Governor of California, offered at a representative +meeting of San Francisco citizens this resolution-- +``Resolved that we regard with pleasure the presence of greater +numbers of these people (Chinese) among us as affording the +best opportunity of doing them good and through them of +exerting our influence in their native land.'' And this resolution +was unanimously adopted. Moreover in a new country, +where there was much manual labour to be done in developing +resources and constructing railways, and where there were +comparatively few white labourers, the Chinese speedily proved +to be a valuable factor. They were frugal, patient, willing, +industrious and cheap, and so the corporations in particular +encouraged them to come. + +But as the number of immigrants increased, first dislike, +then irritation and finally alarm developed, particularly among +the working classes who found their means of livelihood +threatened by the competition of cheaper labour. The newspapers +began to give sensational accounts of the ``yellow +deluge'' that might ``swamp our institutions'' and to enlarge +upon the danger that white labourers would not come to California +on account of the presence of Chinese. The ``sand +lot orator'' appeared with his frenized harangues and the +political demagogue sought favour with the multitudes by +pandering to their passions. Race prejudice, moreover, must +always be taken into account, especially when two races +attempt to live together. The terms Jew and Gentile, Greek +and barbarian, Roman and enemy are suggestive of the distrust +with which one race usually regards another. Christianity +has done much to moderate it, but it still exists, and let the +resident of the North and East who remembers the recent race +riots in Illinois and Ohio and New York think charitably of +his brethren who are confronted by the Chinese problem in +California. So May 6, 1882, Congress passed the Restriction +Act, which, as amended July 5, 1884, and reenacted in +1903, is now in force. + +There are thousands of high-minded Christian people who +are unselfishly and lovingly toiling for the temporal and +spiritual welfare of this Asiatic population in America. They +rightly feel that the people of the United States have a special +duty towards these Orientals, that the purifying power of +Christianity can remove the dangers incident to their presence +in our communities, and that if we treat them aright they will, +on their return to China, mightily influence their countrymen. +But the kindly efforts of these Christian people are unfortunately +insufficient to offset the general policy of the American people +as a whole, especially as that policy is embodied in a stern law +that is most harshly enforced. + +Americans are apt to think of themselves as China's best +friends and the facts stated show that there is some ground +for the claim. But before we exalt ourselves overmuch, we +might profitably read the correspondence between the Chinese +Ministers at Washington and our Secretaries of State regarding +the outrages upon Chinese in the United States. Many +Chinese have suffered from mob violence in San Francisco and +Tacoma and other Pacific Coast cities almost as sorely as +Americans have suffered in China. Some years ago, they +were wantonly butchered in Rock Springs, Wyoming, and it +was as difficult for the Chinese to get indemnity out of our +Government as it was for the Powers to get indemnity out of +China for the Boxer outrages. + +President Cleveland, in a message to Congress in 1885, felt +obliged to make an allusion to this that was doubtless as humiliating +to him as it was to decent Americans everywhere. The +Chinese Minister to the United States, in his presentation of +the case to Secretary of State Bayard, ``massed the evidence +going to show that the massacre of the subjects of a friendly +Power, residing in this country, was as unprovoked as it was +brutal; that the Governor and Prosecuting Attorney of the Territory +openly declared that no man could be punished for the +crime, though the murderers attempted no concealment; and +that all the pretended judicial proceedings were a burlesque.'' +All this Mr. Bayard was forced to admit. Indeed he did not +hesitate to characterize the proceedings as ``the wretched +travesty of the forms of justice,'' nor did he conceal his +``indignation at the bloody outrages and shocking wrongs inflicted +upon a body of your countrymen,'' and his mortification +that ``such a blot should have been cast upon the record of our +Government.'' There was sarcastic significance in the cartoon +of the Chicago Inter-Ocean representing a Chinese reading a +daily paper one of whose columns was headed ``Massacre of +Americans in China,'' while the other column bore the heading, +``Massacre of Chinese in America.'' Uncle Sam stands at his +elbow and ejaculates, ``Horrible, isn't it?'' To which the +Celestial blandly inquires, ``Which?'' + +In the North American Review for March, 1904, Mr. +Wong Kai Kah, an educated Chinese gentleman, plainly but +courteously discusses this subject under the caption of ``A +Menace to America's Oriental Trade.'' He justly complains +that though the exclusion law expressly exempts Chinese +merchants, students and travellers, yet as a matter of fact a +Chinese gentleman is treated on his arrival as if he were a +criminal and is ``detained in the pen on the steamship wharf +or imprisoned like a felon until the customs officials are +satisfied.'' + +The Hon. Chester Holcombe, formerly Secretary of the +American Legation at Peking and a member of the Chinese +Immigration Commission of 1880, cites some illlustrations of +the harshness and unreasonableness of the exclusion law.[45] A +Chinese merchant of San Francisco visited his native land and +brought back a bride, only to find that she was forbidden to +land on American soil. Another Chinese merchant and wife, +of unquestioned standing in San Francisco, made a trip to +China, and while there a child was born. On returning to +their home in America, the sapient officials could interpose no +objection to the readmission of the parents, but peremptorily +refused to admit the three-months old baby, as, never having +been in this country, it had no right to enter it! Neither of +these preposterous decisions could be charged to the stupidity +or malice of the local officials, for both were appealed to the +Secretary of the Treasury in Washington and were officially +sustained by him as in accordance with the law, though in the +latter case, the Secretary, then the Hon. Daniel Manning, in +approving the action, had the courageous good sense to write: +``Burn all this correspondence, let the poor little baby go +ashore, and don't make a fool of yourself.'' + + +[45] Article in The Outlook, April 23, 1904. + + +Still more irritating and insulting, if that were possible, was +the treatment of the Chinese exhibitors at the Louisiana Purchase +Exposition at St. Louis in 1904. Our Government +formally invited China to participate, sending a special +commission to Peking to urge acceptance. China accepted in +good faith, and then the Treasury Department in Washington +drew up a series of regulations requiring +``that each exhibitor, upon arrival at any seaport in this country, should +be photographed three times for purposes of identification, and should +file a bond in the penal sum of $5,000, the conditions of which were that +he would proceed directly and by the shortest route to St. Louis, would +not leave the Exposition grounds at any time after his arrival there, and +would depart for China by the first steamer sailing after the close of the +Exposition. Thus a sort of Chinese rogues' gallery was to be established +at each port, and the Fair grounds were to be made a prison pen for +those who had come here as invited guests of the nation, whose +presence and aid were needed to make the display a success. It is only +just to add that, upon a most vigorous protest made against these courteous(?) +regulations by the Chinese Government and a threat to cancel their acceptance +or our invitation, the rules were withdrawn and others more decent +substituted. But the fact that they were prepared and seriously presented +to China shows to what an extent of injustice and discourtesy our mistaken +attitude and action in regard to Chinese immigration has carried +us.'' + + +No right-minded American can read without poignant shame, +Luella Miner's recent account[46] of the experiences of Fay Chi +Ho and Kung Hsiang Hsi, two Chinese students who, after +showing magnificent devotion to American missionaries during +the horrors of the Boxer massacres, sought to enter the United +States. They were young men of education and Christian +character who wished to complete their education at Oberlin +College, but they were treated by the United States officials at +San Francisco and other cities with a suspicion and brutality +that were ``more worthy of Turkey than of free Christian +America.'' Arriving at the Golden Gate, September 12, 1901, +it was not until January 10, 1903, that they succeeded in +reaching Oberlin, and those sixteen months were filled with indignities +from which all the efforts of influential friends and of +the Chinese Minister to the United States were unable to protect +them. Whatever reasons there may be for excluding +coolie labourers, there can be none for excluding the bright +young men who come here to study. ``An open door for our +merchants, our railway projectors, our missionaries, we cry, +and at the same time we slam the door in the faces of Chinese +merchants and travellers and students--the best classes who +seek our shores.'' + + +[46] ``Two Heroes of Cathay,'' p. 223 sq. + + +The fear that the Chinese would inundate the United States +if they were permitted to come under the same conditions as +Europeans is not justified by the numbers that came before the +exclusion laws became so stringent, the total Chinese population +of the United States up to 1880, when there was no obstacle +to their coming except the general immigration law, being +only 105,465--the merest handful among our scores of +millions of people. The objections that they are addicted to +gambling and immorality, that they come only for temporary +mercenary purposes and that they do not become members of +the body politic but segregate themselves in special communities, +might be urged with equal justice by the Chinese +against the foreign communities in the port cities of China. +Segregating themselves, indeed! How can the Chinese help +themselves, when they are not allowed to become naturalized +and are treated with a dislike and contempt which force them +back upon one another? + +As for the charge that they teach the opium habit to white +boys and girls, it may be safely affirmed that all the Americans +who have acquired that dread habit from the Chinese are not +equal to a tenth of the number of Chinese women and girls +who have been given foul diseases by white men in China. +Mr. Holcombe declares:-- + + +``Our unfair treatment of China in this business will some day return +to plague us. Entirely aside from the cavalier and insulting manner with +which we have dealt with China, and the inevitably injurious effect upon +our relations and interests there, it must be said that our action has been +undignified, unworthy of any great nation, a sad criticism upon our sense +of power and ability to rule our affairs with wisdom and moderation, and +unbecoming our high position among the leading governments of the +world. . . . We have treated Chinese immigrants--never more than +a handful when compared with our population--as though we were in a +frenzy of fear of them. We have forsaken our wits in this question, +abandoned all self-control, and belittled our manhood by treating each +incoming Chinaman as though he were the embodiment of some huge and +hideous power which, once landed upon our shores, could not be dealt +with or kept within bounds. Yet in point of fact he is far more easily +kept in bounds and held obedient to law than some immigrants from Europe. +. . . It must be admitted as beyond question that the coming +of the Chinese to these shores should be held under constant supervision +and strict limitations. And so should immigration from all other countries. +The time has come when we ought to pick and choose with far +greater care than is exercised, and to exclude large numbers who are now +admitted.... It is this discrimination alone which is unjust to +China, which she naturally resents, and which does us serious harm in our +relations with her people.'' + + +Commenting on the regulations promulgated by the Secretary +of Commerce and Labour, July 27, 1903, regarding the +admission of Chinese, the Hon. David J. Brewer, Associate +Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, declared:-- + + +``Can anything be more harsh and arbitrary? Coming into a port of +the United States, as these petitioners did into the port of Malone, placed +as they were in a house of detention, shut off from communication with +friends and counsel, examined before an inspector with no one to advise or +counsel, only such witnesses present as the inspector may designate, and +upon an adverse decision compelled to give notice of appeal within two +days, within three days the transcript forwarded to the Commissioner- +General, and nothing to be considered by him except the testimony obtained +in this star chamber proceeding. This is called due process of +law to protect the rights of an American citizen, and sufficient to prevent +inquiry in the courts.... + +``Must an American citizen, seeking to return to this his native land, be +compelled to bring with him two witnesses to prove the place of his birth +or else be denied his right to return, and all opportunity of establishing +his citizenship in the courts of his country? No such rule is enforced +against an American citizen of Anglo-Saxon descent, and if this be, as +claimed, a government of laws and not of men, I do not think it should +be enforced against American citizens of Chinese descent.... + +``Finally, let me say that the time has been when many young men +from China came to our educational institutions to pursue their studies +when her commerce sought our shores and her people came to build our +railroads, and when China looked upon this country as her best friend. +If all this be reversed and the most populous nation on earth becomes the +great antagonist of this Republic, the careful student of history will recall +the words of Scripture, `they have sown the wind, and they shall reap +the whirlwind,' and for cause of such antagonism need look no further +than the treatment accorded during the last twenty years by this country +to the people of that nation.''[47] + + +[47] Dissenting opinion in the case of the United States, Petitioner vs. +Sing Tuck or King Do and thirty-one others, April 25, 1904. + + +It is not surprising that while Chinese students are turning +in large numbers to other lands, there are only 146 in the +United States. It is a serious matter and it may have a far +reaching effect upon the future of China and of mankind when +the coming men of the Far East, desiring to place themselves in +touch with modern conditions, are compelled to avoid the one +Christian nation in all the world which boasts the most enlightened +institutions and the highest development of liberty. + + +Meanwhile, Mr. E. H. Parker rather sarcastically remarks:-- + + +``The United States have always been somewhat prone to pose as the good +and disinterested friend of China, who does not sell opium or exercise any +undue political influence. These claims to the exceptional status of all +honest broker have been a little shaken by the sharp treatment of Chinese +in the United States, Honolulu and Manila.''[48] + + +[48] ``China,'' p. 105. + + +The Chinese Government long expostulated against the barbarity +and injustice of the exclusion laws and finally, finding +expostulations of no avail, the scholars and merchants of China +organized in 1905 a boycott against American trade. This +quickly brought public feeling in the United States to its +senses. President Roosevelt sternly ordered all local officials +to be humane and sensible in their enforcement of the law under +pain of instant dismissal, and the press began to demand a new +treaty. It is gratifying to know that in the future Chinese +immigrants are likely to be more justly treated, but it is not +pleasant to reflect that the American people apparently cared +little about the iniquity of their anti-Chinese laws until Chinese +resentment touched their pockets. + + + +XIV + +DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS--TREATIES + +IN view of some of the facts presented in the two preceding +chapters, it is not surprising that the efforts of foreign +powers to establish diplomatic relations with the Chinese +Government were rather tempestuous. A full account of the +negotiations would require a separate volume. For two generations, +nation after nation sought to protect its growing interests +in China and to secure recognition from the Chinese Government, +only to be met by opposition that was sometimes courteous +and sometimes sullen, but always inflexible until it was +broken down by force. Each envoy on presenting his letters +was politely told in substance that the Chinese official concerned +was extremely busy, that to his deep regret it would not +be possible to grant an immediate conference, but that as soon +as possible he would have pleasure in selecting a ``felicitous +day'' on which they could hold a ``pleasant interview'';[49] and +when the envoys, worn out by the never-ending procrastination, +finally gave up in disgust and announced their intention of returning +home, the typical Chinese official blandly replied, as +the notorious Yeh did to United States Minister Marshall in +January, 1854,--``I avail myself of the occasion to present my +compliments, and trust that, of late, your blessings have been +increasingly tranquil.''[50] + + +[49] Foster, ``American Diplomacy in the Orient,'' p. 205, + +[50] Foster, p. 213. + + + +Scores of European and American diplomatic agents had +substantially the same experience. United States Minister +Reed, in 1858, truly said that the replies of the Chinese to the +memorials and letters of the foreign envoys were characterized +by ``the same unmeaning profession, the same dexterous +sophistry; and, what is more material, the same passive resistance; +the same stolid refusal to yield any point of substance.''[51] + + +[51] Foster, p. 236. + + +Nor can it be denied that the Chinese had some ground for +holding foreign nations at arms' length as long as they could, +for with a few exceptions, prominent among whom were some +American ministers, notably Mr. Burlingame, the foreign +envoys were far from being tactful and conciliatory in their +methods of approach to a proud and ancient people. Mr. +Foster reminds us that in the negotiations which terminated in +the treaty of 1858, + + +``The British were pushing demands not insisted upon by the other +Powers, and they could only be obtained by coercive measures. The reports +in the Blue Books and the London newspapers show that Mr. Lay, +who personally conducted the negotiations for Lord Elgin, when he found +the Chinese commissioners obdurate, was accustomed to raise his voice, +charge them with having `violated their pledged word,' and threaten +them with Lord Elgin's displeasure and the march of the British troops to +Peking. And when this failed to bring them to terms, a strong detachment +of the British army was marched through Tien-tsin to strike terror +into its officials and inhabitants. Lord Elgin in his diary records the climax +of these demonstrations: `I have not written for some days, but they +have been busy ones. We went on fighting and bullying, and getting the +poor commissioners to concede one point after another, till Friday the +25th.' The next day the treaty was signed, and he closes the record as +follows: `Though I have been forced to act almost brutally, I am China's +friend in all this.' There can be no doubt that notwithstanding the seeming +paradox, Lord Elgin was thoroughly sincere in this declaration, and +that his entire conduct was influenced by a high sense of duty and by +what he regarded as the best interests of China.''[52] + + +[52] ``American Diplomacy in the Orient,'' pp. 241, 242. + + +But can we wonder that the Chinese were irritated and humiliated +by the method adopted? + +That treaty of 1858 gave some notable advantages to foreigners, +for it conceded the rights of foreign nations to send diplomatic +representatives to Peking, the rights of foreigners to +travel, trade, buy, sell and reside in an increasing number of +places, and on the persistent initiative of the French envoy, +powerfully supported by the famous Dr. S. Wells Williams, +Christianity was especially recognized, and the protection, not +only of missionaries but all Chinese converts to Christianity, +was specifically guaranteed. Of course, by the convenient +``most favoured nation clause'' any concession obtained by +one country, was immediately claimed by all other countries. + +It was this treaty which included the famous Toleration +Clause regarding Christian missions as follows: + + +``The principles of the Christian religion, as professed by the Protestant +and Roman Catholic Churches, are recognized as teaching men to do good, +and to do to others as they would have others do to them. Hereafter +those who quietly profess and teach these doctrines shall not be harassed +or persecuted on account of their faith. Any person, whether citizen of the +United States or Chinese convert, who, according to these tenets, shall +peaceably teach and practice the principles of Christianity shall in no +case be interfered with or molested.'' + + +The charge has been made that the toleration clauses were +smuggled into the treaties without the knowledge of the Chinese, +so that the claims to recognition and protection which were +subsequently based upon it rest upon an unfair foundation. It +is indeed possible, as Dr. S. Wells Williams, the author, frankly +admits[53] ``that if the Chinese had at all comprehended what +was involved in these four toleration articles, they would never +have signed one of them.'' But perhaps the same thing might +be said of most treaties that have been signed in Asia. The +fact remains, however, that the articles referred to were not +placed in them without the knowledge of the Chinese. Dr. +Williams explicitly states that he and the Rev. Dr. W. A. P. +Martin, called upon the Chinese Commissioners and that + +``some of the articles of our draft were passed without objection, those +relating to toleration (of Christianity in China) and the payment of claims +were copied off to show the Commissioner, those permitting and regulating +visits to Peking were rejected, and others were amended, the colloquy +being conducted with considerable animation and constant good humour +on his part.''[54] + + +[53] ``The Life and Letters of Samuel Wells Williams, LL. D.,'' p. 271. + +[54] ``The Life and Letters of Samuel Wells Williams, LL. D.,'' p. 261. + + +In a letter written many years afterwards and dated New +Haven, September 12, 1878, Dr. Williams states that the first +draft of the Toleration Clauses was rejected by the Chinese +Commissioners, as he believes at the instigation of the French +Legation, because the clause recognized Protestant missions. +Dr. Williams then states that as soon as he could, he drew up +another form of the same article and laid it before the Chinese +Imperial Commissioners. He writes:-- + + +``It was quite the same article as before, but they accepted it without +any further discussion or alteration; however, the word `whoever' in +my English version was altered by Mr. Reed to `any person, whether citizen +of the United States, or Chinese convert, who'--because he wished +every part of the treaty to refer to United States citizens, and cared not +very much whether it had a toleration article or not. I did care, and was +thankful to God that it was inserted. It is the only treaty in existence +which contains the royal law.'' + + +In Dr. Williams' Journal for June 18, 1858, the following +record appears: + + +``I went to sleep last night with the impression that after such a reply +from the Minister it would be vain to urge a new draft, but after a restless +sleep I awoke to the idea of trying once more, this time saying nothing +about foreign missionaries. The article was sketched as soon as I could +write it and sent off by a messenger before breakfast; it was a last +chance, and every hope went with it for success. At half-past nine an +answer came. Permission for Christians meeting for worship and the distribution +of books was erased, while the words open ports were inserted +in such a connection that it was rendered illegal for any one, native or +otherwise, to profess Christianity anywhere else. The design was merely +to restrict missionaries to the ports, but the effect would be detrimental in +the highest degree to natives. I decided at once to go to see the Viscount +and try to settle the question with him personally. Chairs were +called, whose bearers seemed to Martin and me an eternity in coming, but +at last we reached the house where Captain Du Pont and his marines so +unexpectedly turned up last Saturday. Our amendment was handed to +Chang, who began to cavil at it, but he was promptly told that he must +take it to the Commissioners for approval as it stood, since this was the +form we were decided on. Our labour and anxiety were all repaid, and +ended by his return in a few minutes announcing Kweilang's assent to +the article as it now stands in the treaty.'' + + +In order to settle this point beyond all possible doubt, I recently +wrote to the Rev. Dr. W. A. P. Martin, now in China, +asking him to give me his recollection of the incident. He replied +as follows:-- + + +``The charge that the toleration article was `smuggled into the treaty +of 1858' is so far from the truth that those who make it can be shown to +be either superficial or uncandid. If it means that `the Chinese did not +know what they were agreeing to, I answer that they could have no +excuse for ignorance. An edict granting toleration had been issued as +early as 1845. This had been followed by more than ten years of missionary +work at the newly opened ports--quite sufficient to make them +acquainted with the character of Protestant missions. Of Roman Catholic +missions prior to the edict, they had centuries of experience. Moreover, +during our negotiations at Tien-tsin, they had ample time for a fresh study +of the subject, the draft of our treaty being under daily discussion for more +than a week before it was signed. Nor was our draft the first to bring up +the question of toleration. The Russian Treaty signed on June 13th (five +days in advance of ours) contained one explicit provision for the toleration +of Christianity under the form of the Greek Church; but it made no +reference to Protestant or Roman Catholic. Not only was the American +Treaty the first to give these a legal status, it gives the Chinese a sample +of Christian teaching in the Golden Rule, which Dr. Williams inserted in +the article expressly to show them what they were agreeing to. Never +were negotiations more open and above board. In their earlier stages I +gave a copy of my book on the Evidences of Christianity to Jushon, one of +the deputies, who was so much pleased with it, that he became my friend +and greeted me warmly on my removal to Peking. That the Chinese +Ministers had any conception of the new force they were admitting into +their country, I do not assert; but I hold strongly that this spiritual force +is the only thing that can raise the Chinese people out of their present +state of semi-barbarism. + ``W. A. P. MARTIN. + + +``Wuchang, China, February 18, 1904.'' + + +It was not until 1861, that legations were established in +Peking. But while this gave foreign nations a solid foothold +at the capital, it did not by any means give them the recognition +that they demanded, for their intercourse with the court +was still hedged about with innumerable exactions and indignities. +The Hon. Thomas Francis Wade, British Minister at +Peking, in a long note to the Chinese Minister Wen Hsiang, +dated June 18, 1871, discussing the troubles that had arisen +between the Chinese and foreigners, justly said: + + +``It is quite impossible that China should ever attain to a just appreciation +of what foreign Powers expect of her, or that she should insure from +foreign Powers what she conceives due to her, until she have honestly +accepted the conditions of official intercourse which are the sole guarantees +against international differences. The chief of these is an interchange +of representatives. I do not say that it is a panacea for all evil; but it is +incontestable that without it wars would be of far more frequent recurrence, +and till China is represented in the West, I see no hope of our ever +having done with the incessant recriminations and bickerings between the +Yamen and foreign legations, by which the lives of diplomatic agents in +Peking are made weary. If China is wronged, she must make herself +heard; and, on the other hand, if she would abstain from giving offense, +she must learn what is passing in the world beyond her.'' + +The Chinese Government was slow in coming to this view, +but western nations steadily persisted. One by one new concessions +were wrung from the reluctant Chinese. Mr. E. H. +Parker[55] has tabulated as follows the treaties of foreign powers +with China from 1689 to 1898:-- + + +[55] ``China,'' pp. 113-115. + + +{Pages 171 to 173 are these tables... They are formatted landscape-wise on +the pages and should be typed in a viewable format or added as an image file.} + + + +XV + +RENEWED AGGRESSIONS + +NOT content with innumerable aggressions and +extorted treaty concessions, Western nations boldly +discussed the dismemberment of China as certain to +come, and authors and journalists disputed as to which country +should possess the richest parts of the Empire whose impotence +to defend itself was taken for granted. Chinese ministers in +Europe and America reported these discussions to their superiors +in Peking. The English papers in China republished +some of the articles and added many effective ones of their +own, so that speedily all the better-informed Chinese came to +know that foreigners regarded China as ``the carcass of the +East.'' + +Nor was all this talk empty boasting. China saw that France +was absorbing Siam and had designs on Syria; that Britain was +already lord of India and Egypt and the Straits Settlements; +that Germany was pressing her claims in Asiatic Turkey; that +Russia had absorbed Siberia and was striving to obtain control +of Palestine, Persia and Korea; and that Italy was trying to +take Abyssinia. Moreover the Chinese perceived that of the +numerous islands of the world, France had the Loyalty, Society, +Marquesas, New Hebrides and New Caledonia groups, and +claimed the Taumotu or Low Archipelago; that Great Britain +had the Fiji, Cook, Gilbert, Ellice, Phoenix, Tokelan and New +Zealand groups, with northern Borneo, Tasmania, and the +whole of continental Australia, besides a large assortment of +miscellaneous islands scattered over the world wherever they +would do the most good; that Germany possessed the Marshall +group and Northeast New Guinea, and divided with England +the Solomons; that Spain had the Ladrones, the 652 islands +of the Carolines, the 1,725 more or less of the Philippines, +beside some enormously valuable holdings in the West Indies; +that the Dutch absolutely ruled Java, Sumatra, the greater part +of Borneo, all of Celebes and the hundreds of islands eastward +to New Guinea, half of which was under the Dutch flag; that +the new world power on the American continent took the +Hawaiian Islands and in two swift campaigns drove Spain out +of the West Indies and the Philippines, not to return them to +their inhabitants but to keep them herself; and that in the +Samoan and Friendly Islands, resident foreigners owned about +everything worth having and left to the native chiefs only what +the foreigners did not want or could not agree upon. As for +mighty Africa, the Berlin Conference of 1884 was the signal +for a game of grab on so colossal a scale that to-day out of +Africa's 11,980,000 square miles, France owns 3,074,000, +Great Britain 2,818,000, Turkey 1,672,000, Belgium 900,000, +Portugal 834,000, Germany 864,000, Italy 596,000, and Spain +263,000,--a total of 10,980,000, or ten-elevenths of the whole +continent, and doubtless the Powers will take the remaining +eleventh whenever they feel like it. Well does the Rev. Dr. +James Stewart call this ``the most stupendous and unparalleled +partition of the earth's surface ever known in the world's +history. . . . The vast area was partitioned, annexed, appropriated, +or converted into `spheres of influence,' or `spheres +of interest'; whatever may be the exact words we may use, +the result is the same. Coast lands and hinterlands all went +in this great appropriation, and mild is the term for the deed.''[56] + + +[56] ``Dawn in the Dark Continent,'' pp. 17, 18. + + +``Gobbling the globe,'' this process has been forcefully if +inelegantly termed. No wonder that the white race has been +bitterly described as ``the most arrogant and rapacious, the +most exclusive and intolerant race in history.'' + +We can understand, therefore, the alarm of the Chinese as +they saw the greedy foreigners descend upon their own shores +in such ways as to justify the fear that what remained of the +Celestial Empire, too, would be speedily reduced to vassalage. +Germany, which was among the last of the European powers +to obtain a foothold in China, but which had been growing +more and more uneasy as she saw the acquisitions of her rivals, +suddenly found her opportunity in the murder of two German +Roman Catholic priests in the province of Shantung, December +1897, and on the 14th of that month Admiral Diedrich landed +marines at Kiao-chou Bay. At that time nothing but a few +straggling, poverty-stricken Chinese villages were to be seen at +the foot of the barren hills bordering the bay. But the keen +eye of Germany had detected the possibilities of the place and +early in the following year, under the forms of an enforced +ninety-nine year lease, Germany took this splendid harbour +and the territory bordering it, and at Tsing-tau began to push +her interests so aggressively that the whole province of Shantung +was thrown into the most intense excitement and alarm. + +Knowing how recently the city had been founded, I looked +upon it with wonder. It was only three years and a half since +the Germans had taken possession, but no boom city in the +United States ever made more rapid progress in so short a +period. Not a Chinese house could be seen, except a village +in the distance. But along the shores rose a city of modern +buildings with banks, department stores, public buildings, comfortable +residences, a large church and imposing marine barracks. +Landing, I found broad streets, some of them already +well paved and others being paved by removing the dirt to a +depth of twelve inches and then filling the excavation solid +with broken rock. The gutters were wide and of stone, the +sewers deep and, in some cases, cut through the solid rock. + +The city was under naval control, the German Governor +being a naval officer. Several war-ships were lying in the harbour. +A large force of marines was on shore, and the hills +commanding the city and harbour were bristling with cannon. +The Germans were spending money without stint. No less +than 11,000,000 marks were being expended that year for +streets, sewers, water and electric light works, barracks, fortifications, +wharves, a handsome hotel and public buildings, while +the Government had appropriated 50,000,000 Mex. (5,000,000 +a year for ten years) for deepening and enlarging the inner +harbour. But in addition to these Government expenditures, +many enterprising business men were undertaking large enterprises +on their own account. It was apparent to the most +casual observer that Germany had entered Shantung to stay +and that she considered the whole vast province of Shantung +as her sphere of influence. The railway, already referred to +in a former chapter, was being constructed into the interior +with solid road-bed, steel ties and substantial stone stations. +German mining engineers were prospecting for minerals and +everything indicated large plans for a permanent occupation. + +The site of Tsing-tau is beautiful and exceptionally healthful. +While the ports of Teng-chou and Chefoo are also in Shantung, +the first is now of little importance, for it is on the northeastern +part of the promontory with a mountain range behind +it so that it is difficult of access from the interior. Chefoo, +which was not opened as a port until later, rapidly superseded +Teng-chou in importance and continues to grow with great +rapidity. But it is plain that the Germans intend to make +Tsing-tau, only twenty hours distant by steamer, the chief port +of Shantung, and as they have the railroad, they will doubtless +succeed. + +From hundreds of outlying villages, the Chinese are flocking +into Tsing-tau, attracted by the remunerative employment +which the Germans offer, for of course, tens of thousands of +labourers are necessary to carry out the extensive improvements +that are planned. The thrifty Chinese are quite willing to +take the foreigner's money, however much they may dislike +him. Since the white man is here, we might as well get what +we can out of him, the Celestials philosophically argue. And +so the Germans, who had ruthlessly destroyed the old, unsani- +tary Chinese villages which they had found on their arrival, +laid out model Chinese villages on the outskirts of the city. +The new Chinese city is about two and a half miles from the +foreign city and is connected with it by a splendid macadamized +road for which the Germans filled ravines, cut through +the solid rock of the hillsides and made retaining walls and +culverts of solid masonry. Some of the old stone houses were +allowed to remain, but many of the poorer houses were demolished, +streets were straightened and the whole city placed under +strict sanitary supervision. The Chinese as they came in were +told where and how their houses must be erected on the regularly +laid out streets. The houses are numbered and many +of the stores have signs in both German and Chinese. At the +time of my visit, the Chinese city had a population of 8,000, +the streets were crowded, and marketing, picture and theatrical +exhibitions and all the forms of life, so common in Chinese +cities, were to be seen on every side. Since then, the population +has greatly increased, while another Chinese city has been +laid out on the open ground on the other side of the foreign +city. There is every indication that Tsing-tau is to become +one of the great port cities of China, and the opportunities for +trade, the coming of steamships and the construction of the +railway are making it an attractive place to multitudes of +ambitious Chinese. + +The German Government owns all the land in and about +Tsing-tau, and will not sell save on condition that approved +buildings are erected within three years. The single tax +plan has been adopted, that is, there is no tax on buildings +but there is a six per cent. tax on all land that is sold. This +shuts out the land speculator who has injured so many American +cities. No man can buy cheap land and let it lie idle while +it rises in value as the result of his neighbour's improvements and +the growth of the community. The German Government will +do its own speculating and reap for itself the increment of its +costly and elaborate improvements. It is making a noble city. +Streets, sewers, buildings, docks, sea walls, harbour-dredging, +tree planting--all point to great and far-reaching plans, while +under pretext of guarding the railroad, troops are being gradually +pushed into the interior. The Kaomi garrison, in the hinterland +eighteen miles beyond the Kiao-chou city line and sixty- +four from Tsing-tau, consisted of 100 men when I was there +in the spring of 1901. A few months later it was 1,000. +Plainly the Germans are moving in. + +The ease and dispatch with which Germany succeeded in +obtaining an enormously valuable strategic point in the rich +province of Shangtung aroused the cupidity of rival nations, +and they threw off all pretense to decency in their scramble for +further territories. Russian statesmen had long ago seen that +the Pacific Ocean was to be the arena of world events of colossal +significance to the race. We have noted in a former chapter +how she had already extended her territory till she touched +the Pacific Ocean on the far north and how, partly that she +might develop it, but primarily that she might have a highway +through it to the great ocean which lies beyond, she had begun +the construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway, the late Czar, +Alexander III, guaranteeing out of his own private funds +350,000,000 rubles towards the necessary expense. The most +southern port of Russia on the Pacific Ocean was Vladivostok, +which was therefore made the terminus of the line and rapidly +and strongly fortified. But Russia was not content with a +harbour which is closed by ice six months in the year. She +therefore began to press her way southward through Manchuria. +In November, 1894, Japan had wrested from China the peninsula +terminating in Port Arthur, and the treaty of Shimonoseki, +at the close of the war, had given Japan the Liao-tung peninsula, +opened four Manchurian ports to foreign trade, and conceded +to Japan valuable commercial rights in Manchuria, +rights which gave the Japanese virtual ascendancy. Ostensibly +in the interests of China, but really of her own ambition, +Russia gravely said that it would never do to permit Japan to +remain in Manchuria, virtuously declaring that ``the integrity +of China must be preserved at all costs.'' She persuaded +France and Germany to join her in notifying the Japanese +Government that ``it would not be permitted to retain permanent +possession of any portion of the mainland of Asia.'' +Japan, feeling at that time unprepared to fight three European +powers, was forced to relinquish the prize of victory. The +solicitude of Russia for the integrity of helpless China was +quite touching, but it did not prevent her from making one +encroachment after another upon the coveted territory until +March 8, 1898, to the rage and chagrin of Japan, she peremptorily +demanded for herself and March 27th of the same year +obtained Port Arthur including Ta-lien-wan and 800 square +miles of adjoining territory. She speciously declared that +``her occupation of Port Arthur was merely temporary and +only to secure a harbour for wintering the Russian fleet.'' But +grim significance was given to her action by the prompt appearance +at Port Arthur of 20,000 Russian soldiers and 90,000 +coolies who were set to work developing a great modern fortification +almost under the eyes of the Chinese capital. + +As it was expedient, however, to have a commercial city on +the peninsula as well as a fortification, as the harbour of Port +Arthur was not large enough for both naval and commercial +purposes, and as the Russians did not wish anyway to make +their fortified base accessible to the rest of the world, they decided +to build a city forty-five miles north of Port Arthur and +call it Dalny, which quite appropriately means ``far away.'' +Most cities grow, but this was too slow a method for the +purpose of the Slav, and therefore, a metropolis was forthwith +made to order as a result of an edict issued by the Czar, +July 30, 1899. + +The harbour of Dalny is an exceptionally fine one with over +thirty feet of water at low tide so that the largest vessels can +lie alongside the docks and transfer their cargoes directly to +trains for Europe. Great piers were constructed; enormous +warehouses and elevators erected; gas, electric light, water and +street-car plants installed; wide and well-sewered streets laid +out; and a thoroughly modern and handsome city planned in +four sections, the first of which was administrative, the second +mercantile, the third residence, and the fourth Chinese. The +Russians were sparing neither labour nor expense in the construction +of this ambitious city which, by January, 1904, already +had a population of over 50,000, and represented a reported +expenditure of about $150,000,000. April 9, 1902, +Russia solemnly promised to evacuate Manchuria October 8, +1903. But when that day came, she remained, as every one +knew that she would, under the unblushing pretext that Manchuria +was not yet sufficiently pacified to justify her withdrawal +from a region where her interests were so great. As +Manchuria was at the time as quiet as some of Russia's +European provinces, the reason alleged reminds one of the +Arab's reply to a man who wished to borrow his rope--``I +need it myself to tie up some sand with.'' ``But,'' expostulated +the would-be borrower, ``that is a poor excuse for you +cannot tie up sand with a rope.'' ``I know that,'' was the +calm rejoinder, ``but any excuse will serve when I don't want +to do a thing.'' So to the concern of China, the envy of +Europe and the wrath of Japan, Manchuria practically became +a Russian province until Japan, unable to restrain her exasperation +longer and feeling that Russia's plans were a menace to +her own safety, had developed her army and navy and begun +the war which not only arrested the advance of the Slav but +expelled him from most of the territory he had seized. + +Not to be outdone by Germany and Russia, other nations +made haste to seize what they could find. April 2, 1898, +England secured the lease of Lin-kung, with all the islands +and a strip ten miles wide on the mainland, thus giving the +British a strong post at Wei-hai Wei. April 22d, France peremptorily +demanded, and May 2d obtained, the bay of Kwangchou-wan, +while Japan found her share in a concession for +Foochow, Woosung, Fan-ning, Yo-chou and Chung-wan-tao. +By 1899, in all China's 3,000 miles of coast line, there was not +a harbour in which she could mobilize her own ships without +the consent of the hated foreigner. + +A clever Chinese artist in Hongkong grimly drew a cartoon +of the situation of his country as he and his countrymen +saw it. The Russian Bear, coming down from the north, +his feet planted in Manchuria and northern Korea, sees +the British Bulldog seated in southern China, while ``The +Sun Elf'' ( Japan), sitting upon its Island Kingdom, +proclaims that ``John Bull and I will watch the Bear.'' +The German Sausage around Kiau-chou makes no sign of life, +but the French Frog, jumping about in Tonquin and Annam +and branded ``Fashoda and Colonial Expansion,'' tries to +stretch a friendly hand to the Bear over the Bulldog's head. +Then, to offset this proffered assistance to the Bear, the Chinese +artist, with characteristic cunning, brings in the New World +power. He places the American Eagle over the Philippines, +its beak extended towards the Bulldog, and writes upon it the +phrase, ``Blood is thicker than water.''[57] + + +[57] Reproduced in the Newark, N. J., Evening News, January 9, 1904 + + +As far as Americans have any sympathy at all with European +schemes for conquest in China, they naturally look with more +favour on England and Germany than on France and Russia. +The reason is apparent. England establishes honest and +beneficent government wherever she goes and makes its advantages +freely accessible to the citizens of other nations, so +that an American is not only as safe but as unrestricted in all +his legitimate activities as he would be in his own land. +Germany, too, while not so hospitable as England, is nevertheless +a Teutonic, Protestant power under whose ascendancy in +Shantung our missionaries find ample freedom. But France +and Russia are more narrowly and jealously national in their +aims. Their possessions are openly regarded as assets to be +managed for their own interests rather than for those of the na- +tives or of the world. The colonial attitude of the former towards +all Protestant missionary work is dictated by the Roman +Catholic Church and is therefore hostile to Protestants, while +the Russian Greek Church tolerates no other form of religion +that it can repress. A recent traveller reports that Russia has +put every possible obstruction in the way of reopening the mission +stations that were abandoned during the Boxer outbreak. +She has already put Manchuria under the Greek archimandrite +of Peking, and has sought to limit all Christian teaching to the +members of the Orthodox Greek Church. It is significant that +Russia is strenuously opposing, under a variety of pretexts, the +``open door'' which Secretary Hay obtained from China in +Manchuria, while there is ground for suspecting that Russian +influence in Constantinople is preventing, or at least delaying +as long as possible, that legal recognition of American rights +in Turkey which the Sultan has already granted to several +other nations. As for Russian ascendancy in Manchuria, +everybody knows that it is inimical to the interests of other +countries and that there will be little freedom of trade if Russia +can prevent it. + + + +XVI + +GROWING IRRITATION OF THE CHINESE--THE +REFORM PARTY + +THE effect of the operation of these commercial and +political forces upon a conservative and exclusive +people was of course to exasperate to a high degree. +A proud people were wounded in their most sensitive place by +the ruthless and arrogant way in which foreigners broke down +their cherished wall of separation from the rest of the world and +trampled upon their highly-prized customs and institutions. + +It must be admitted that the history of the dealings of the +Christian powers with China is not altogether pleasant reading. +The provocation was indeed great, but the retaliation was +heavy. And all the time foreign nations refused to grant to the +Chinese the privileges which they forced them to grant to others. +We sometimes imagine that the Golden Rule is peculiar to +Christianity. It is indeed in its highest form, but its spirit +was recognized by Confucius five centuries before Christ. His +expression of it was negative, but it gave the Chinese some +idea of the principle. They were not, therefore, pleasantly impressed +when they found the alleged Christian nations violating +that principle. Even Christian America has not been an exception. +We have Chinese exclusion laws, but we will not +allow China to exclude Americans. We sail our gunboats up +her rivers, but we would not allow China to sail gunboats into +ours. If a Chinese commits a crime in America, he is amenable +to American law as interpreted by an American court. But if +an American commits a crime in China, he can be tried only +by his consul; not a Chinese court in the Empire has jurisdiction +over him, and the people naturally infer from this that +we have no confidence in their sense of justice or in their +administration of it. + +This law of extra-territoriality is one of the chief sources of +irritation against foreigners, for it not only implies contempt, +but it makes foreigners a privileged class. Said Minister Wen +Hsiang in 1868:--``Take away your extra-territorial clause, +and merchant and missionary may settle anywhere and everywhere. +But retain it, and we must do our best to confine you +and our trouble to the treaty ports.'' But unfortunately this +is a cause of resentment that Western nations cannot prudently +remove in the near future. While we can understand the resentment +of the Chinese magistrates as they see their methods +discredited by the foreigner, it would not do to subject Europeans +and Americans to Chinese legal procedure. The language +of Mr. Wade, the British Minister, to Minister Wen +Hsiang in June, 1, is still applicable:-- + + +``Experience has shown that, in many cases, the latter (law of China) +will condemn a prisoner to death, where the law of England would be +satisfied by a penalty far less severe, if indeed, it were possible to punish +the man at all. It is to be deplored that misunderstandings should arise +from a difference in our codes; but I see no remedy for this until China +shall see fit to revise the process of investigation now common in her +courts. So long as evidence is wrung from witnesses by torture, it is +scarcely possible for the authorities of a foreign power to associate +themselves with those of China in the trial of a criminal case; and unless the +authorities of both nationalities are present, there will always be a suspicion +of unfairness on one side or the other. This difficulty surmounted, +there would be none in the way of providing a code of laws to affect +mixed cases; none, certainly, on the part of England; none, in my belief, +either, on the part of any other Power.''[58] + + +[58] Correspondence Respecting the Circular of the Chinese Government +of February 9, 1871, Relating to Missionaries. Presented to both +Houses of Parliament by command of Her Majesty, 1872. + + +Meantime, as the Hon. Frederick F. Low, United States +Minister at Peking, wrote to the State Department at Wash- +ington, March 20, 1871:--``The dictates of humanity will +not permit the renunciation of the right for all foreigners that +they shall be governed and punished by their own laws.'' + +But the Chinese do not see the question in that light. Their +methods of legal procedure are sanctioned in their eyes by immemorial +custom and they fail to understand why forms that, +in their judgment, are good enough for Chinese are not also good +enough for despised foreigners. When we take into consideration +the further fact that the typical white man, the world +over, acts as if he were a lord of creation, and treats Asiatics +with more or less condescension as if they were his inferiors, we +can understand the very natural resentment of the Chinese, +who have just as much pride of race as we have, and who indeed +consider themselves the most highly civilized people in +the world. The fact that foreign nations are able to thrash +them does not convince them that those nations are superior, +any more than a gentleman's physical defeat by a pugilist would +satisfy him that the pugilist is a better man. It is not without +significance that the white man is generally designated in China +as ``the foreign devil.'' + +The natural resentment of the Chinese in such circumstances +was intensified by the conduct of the foreign soldiery. Army +life is not a school of virtue anywhere, particularly in Asia where +a comparatively defenseless people open wide opportunities for +evil practices and where Asiatic methods of opposition infuriate +men. In almost every place where the soldiers of +Europe landed, they pillaged and burned and raped and +slaughtered like incarnate fiends. Chefoo to-day is an illustration +of the effect. It is a city where foreigners have resided +for forty years, where there are consuls of all nations and +extensive business relations with other ports, where foreign +steamers regularly touch and where war-ships frequently lie. +There were five formidable cruisers there during my visit. +Surely the Chinese of Chefoo should understand the situation. +But during the troubles of 1860, French troops were quartered +there and their conduct was so atrociously brutal and lustful +that Chefoo has ever since been bitterly anti-foreign. The +Presbyterian missionaries have repeatedly tried to do Christian +work in the old walled city, but have never succeeded in gaining +a foothold, and all their local missionary work is confined +to the numerous population which has come from other parts of +the province and settled around Chefoo proper. Nothing but +battleships in the harbour kept that old city from attacking +foreigners during the Boxer outbreak. Even to-day the cry +``kill, kill'' is sometimes raised as a foreigner walks through +the streets, and inflammatory placards are often posted on the +walls. + +With the record of foreign aggressions in China before us, +can we wonder that the Chinese became restive? The New +York Sun truly says: ``It was while Chinese territory was +thus virtually being given away that the people became uneasy +and riots were started; the people felt that their land had been +despoiled.'' The Hon. Chester Holcombe truly remarks:-- + + +``Those who desire to know more particularly what the Chinese +think about it, how they regard the proposed dismemberment of the +Empire and the extinction of their national life, are referred to the +Boxer movement as furnishing a practical exposition of their views. It +contained the concentrated wrath and hate of sixty years' slow growth. +And it had the hearty sympathy of many, many millions of Chinese, who +took no active part in it. For, beyond a doubt, it represented to them a +patriotic effort to save their country from foreign aggression and ultimate +destruction.... The European Powers have only themselves to +thank for the bitter hatred of the Chinese and the crash in which it +culminated. Governmental policies outrageous and beyond excuse, +scandalous diplomacy, and unprovoked attacks upon the rights and +possessions of China, have been at the root of all the trouble.''[59] + + +[59] Article in The Outlook, February 13, 1904, + + +And shall we pretend innocent surprise that the irritation of +the Chinese rapidly grew? Suppose that after the murder of +the Chinese in Rock Springs, Wyoming, a Chinese fleet +had been able to seize New York and Boston Harbours, and +suppose our Government had been weak enough to acquiesce. +Would the American people have made any protest? +Would the lives of Chinese have been safe on our streets? And +was it an entirely base impulse that led the men of China violently +to oppose the forcible seizure of their country by aliens? +The Empress Dowager declared in her now famous edict:-- + + +``The various Powers cast upon us looks of tiger-like voracity, hustling +each other in their endeavours to be first to seize upon our innermost +territories. They think that China, having neither money nor troops, would +never venture to go to war with them. They fail to understand, however, +that there are certain things which this Empire can never consent to, and +that, if hard pressed, we have no alternative but to rely upon the justice +of our cause, the knowledge of which in our breasts strengthens our resolves +and steels us to present a united front against our aggressors.'' + +That would probably be called patriotic if it had emanated +from the ruler of any other people. + +When with Russia in Manchuria, Germany in Shantung, +England in the valleys of the Yang-tze and the Pearl, France +in Tonquin and Japan in Formosa, the whole Empire appeared +to be in imminent danger of absorption, the United States again +showed itself the friend of China by trying to stem the tide. +Our great Secretary of State, John Hay, sent to the European +capitals that famous note of September, 1899, which none of +them wanted to answer but which none of them dared to refuse, +inviting them to join the United States in assuring the +apprehensive Chinese that the Governments of Europe and +America had no designs upon China's territorial integrity, but +simply desired an ``open door'' for commerce, and that any +claims by one nation of ``sphere of influence'' would ``in no +way interfere with any treaty port or any vested interest'' +within that sphere, but that all nations should continue to enjoy +equality of treatment. In response, the Russian Government, +December 30, 1899, through Count Mouravieff, suavely declared:-- + + +``The Imperial Government has already demonstrated its firm intention +to follow the policy of the `open door.' . . . As to the ports now +opened or hereafter to be opened to foreign commerce by the Chinese +Government, . . . the Imperial Government has no intention whatever +of claiming any privileges for its own subjects to the exclusion of +other foreigners.'' + + +The other Powers also assented. But it was all in vain. +Matters had already gone too far, and, beside, the Chinese +knew well enough that the Powers were not to be trusted beyond +the limits of self-interest. + +Some of the Chinese, it is true, had the intelligence to see +that changes were inevitable, and the result was the development +of a Reform Party among the Chinese themselves. It +was not large, but it included some influential men, though, +unfortunately, their zeal was not always tempered by discretion. +The war with Japan powerfully aided them. True, many of +the Chinese do not yet know that there was such a war, for +news travels slowly in a land whose railway and telegraph lines, +newspapers and post-offices are yet few, and whose average +inhabitant has never been twenty miles from the village in which +he was born. But some who did know realized that Japan had +won by the aid of Western methods. An eagerness to acquire +those methods resulted. Missionaries were besieged by Chinese +who wished to learn English. Modern books were given a +wide circulation. Several of the influential advisers of the +Emperor became students of Occidental science and political +economy. In five years, 1893-1898, the book sales of one +society--that for the Diffusion of Christian and General Knowledge +Among the Chinese--leaped from $817 to $18,457, while +every mission press was run to its utmost capacity to supply the +new demands. + +A powerful exponent of the new ideas appeared in the great +Viceroy, Chang Chih-tung. He wrote a book, entitled +``China's Only Hope,'' exposing the causes of China's weakness +and advocating radical reforms. The book was printed +by the Tsung-li Yamen, and by royal command copies were +sent to the high officials of the Empire. Big yellow posters advertised +it from the walls of leading cities, and in a short time +a million copies were sold. It is hardly an exaggeration to say +that ``this book made more history in a shorter time than any +other modern piece of literature, that it astonished a kingdom, +convulsed an Empire and brought on a war.'' + +The Reform Party urged the young Emperor to use the imperial +power for the advancement of his people. He yielded to +the pressure and became an eager and diligent student of the +Western learning and methods. In the opening months of the +year 1898, he bought no less than 129 foreign books, including +a Bible and several scientific works, besides maps, globes, and +wind and current charts. Nor did he stop with this, but with +the ardour of a new convert issued the now famous reform +edicts, which, if they could have been carried into effect, would +have revolutionized China and started her on the high road to +national greatness. These memorable decrees have been summarized +as follows: + + +1. Establishing a university at Peking. + +2. Sending imperial clansmen to study European and American Governments. + +3. Encouraging art, science and modern agriculture + +4. Expressing the willingness of the Emperor to hear the objections +of the conservatives to progress and reform. + +5. Abolishing the literary essay as a prominent part of the Government +examinations + +6. Censuring those who attempted to delay the establishment of the +Peking Imperial University. + +7. Directing that the construction of the Lu Han railway be carried +on with more vigour. + +8. Advising the adoption of Western arms and drill for all the Tartar +troops. + +9. Ordering the establishment of agricultural schools in the provinces +to teach improved methods of agriculture. + +10. Ordering the introduction of patent and copyright laws. + +11. Ordering the Board of War and the Foreign Office to report on +the reform of the military examinations. + +12. Offering special rewards to inventors and authors. + +13. Ordering officials to encourage trade and assist merchants. + +14. Ordering the foundation of school boards in every city in the +Empire. + +15. Establishing a Bureau of Mines and Railroads. + +16. Encouraging journalists to write on all political subjects. + +17. Establishing naval academies and training ships. + +18. Summoning the ministers and provincial authorities to assist the +Emperor in his work of reform. + +19. Directing that schools be founded in connection with all the Chinese +legations in foreign countries for the benefit of the children of Chinese +in those countries. + +20. Establishing commercial bureaus in Shanghai for the encouragement +of trade. + +21. Abolishing six useless Boards in Peking. + +22. Granting the right to memorialize the Throne by sealed memorials. + +23. Dismissing two presidents and four vice-presidents of the Board +of Rites for disobeying the Emperor's orders that memorials should be +presented to him unopened. + +24. Abolishing the governorships of Hupeh, Kwang-tung and Yun-nan +as a useless expense to the country. + +25. Establishing schools for instruction in the preparation of tea and +silk. + +20, Abolishing the slow courier posts in favour of the Imperial +Customs' Post. + +27 Approving a system of budgets as in Western countries. + + +But, alas, it is disastrous to try to ``hustle the East.'' The +Chinese are phlegmatic and will endure much, but this was a +little too much. Myriads of scholars and officials, who saw +their hopes and positions jeopardized by the new tests, protested +with all the virulence of the silversmiths of Ephesus, and +all the conservatism of China rallied to their support. + +Meantime, the Yellow River, aptly named ``China's Sorrow,'' +again overflowed its banks, devastating a region 100 +miles long and varying from twenty-five to fifty miles wide. +Three hundred villages were swept away and 1,000,000 people +made homeless. Famine and pestilence speedily followed, so +that the whole catastrophe assumed appalling proportions. +Even American communities are apt to become reckless and +riotous in time of calamity, and in China this tendency of human +nature was intensified by a superstition which led the people +to believe that the disaster was due to the baleful influence +of the foreigners, or that it was a punishment for their failure +to resist them, while in the farther north a drought led to +equally superstitious fury against ``the foreign devils.'' + +The virile and resolute Empress-Dowager headed the reaction +against the headlong progressiveness of the young +Emperor. September 22, 1898, the world was startled by an +Imperial Decree which read in part as follows:-- + + +``Her Imperial Majesty the Empress-Dowager, Tze Hsi, since the first +years of the reign of the late Emperor Tung Chih down to our present +reign, has twice ably filled the regency of the Empire, and never did her +Majesty fail in happily bringing to a successful issue even the most difficult +problems of government. In all things we have ever placed the +interests of our Empire before those of others, and, looking back at her +Majesty's successful handiwork, we are now led to beseech, for a third +time, for this assistance from her Imperial majesty, so that we may benefit +from her wise and kindly advice in all matters of State. Having now +obtained her Majesty's gracious consent, we truly consider this to be a great +boon both to ourselves as well as to the people of our Empire. Hence we +now command that from henceforth, commencing with this morning, the +affairs of state shall be transacted in the ordinary Throne Hall, and that +to-morrow (23rd) we shall, at the head of the Princes and Nobles and +Ministers of our Court, attend in full dress in the Ching-cheng Throne +Hall, to pay ceremonial obeisance to her Imperial Majesty the Empress- +Dowager. Let the Board of Rites draw up for our perusal the ceremonies +to be observed on the above occasion.''[60] + + +[60] Pott, ``The Outbreak in China,'' pp. 56, 57. + + +The youthful son of Toanwong was appointed heir to the +throne and the ambitious father immediately proceeded to use +his enhanced prestige to set the Empire in a blaze. + + + +XVII + +THE BOXER UPRISING + +THE now famous Boxers were members of two of the +secret societies which have long flourished in China. +To the Chinese they are known as League of United +Patriots, Great Sword Society, Righteous Harmony Fists' +Association and kindred names. Originally, they were hostile +to the foreign Manchu dynasty. When Germany made the +murder of two Roman Catholic missionaries a pretext for pushing +her political ambitions, the Boxers naturally arrayed themselves +against them. As the champions of the national spirit +against the foreigners, the membership rapidly increased. +Supernatural power was claimed. Temples were converted into +meeting-places, and soon excited men were drilling in every +village. + +The real ruler of China at this time, as all the world knows, +was the Empress Dowager, who has been characterized as +``the only man in China.'' At any rate, she is a woman of +extraordinary force of character. She was astute enough to +encourage the Boxers, and thus turn one of the most troublesome +foes of the Manchu throne against the common enemy, +the foreigner. Under her influence, the depredations of the +Boxers, which were at first confined to the Shantung Province, +spread with the swiftness of a prairie fire, until in the spring of +1900 the most important provinces of the Empire were ablaze +and the legations in Peking were closely besieged. In the +heat of the conflict and under the agonizing strain of anxiety +for imperilled loved ones, many hard things were said and +written about the officials who allied themselves with the +Boxers. But Sir Robert Hart, who personally knew them and +who suffered as much as any one from their fury, candidly +wrote after the siege: ``These men were eminent in their own +country for their learning and services, were animated by +patriotism, were enraged by foreign dictation, and had the +courage of their convictions. We must do them the justice of +allowing that they were actuated by high motives and love of +country,'' though he adds, ``that does not always or necessarily +mean political ability or highest wisdom.'' + +And so the irrepressible conflict broke out. It had to come, +a conflict between conservatism and progress, between race +prejudice and brotherhood, between superstition and Christianity, +the tremendous conflict of ages which every nation has +had to fight, and which in China was not different in kind, +but only on a more colossal scale because there it involved +half the human race at once. Of course it was impossible +for so vast a nation permanently to segregate itself. The river +of progress cannot be permanently stayed. It will gather force +behind an obstacle until it is able to sweep it away. The +Boxer uprising was the breaking up of this fossilized conservatism. +It was such a tumultuous upheaval as the crusades +caused in breaking up the stagnation of mediaeval Europe. As +France opposed the new ideas, which in England were quietly +accepted, only to have them surge over her in the frightful +flood of the revolution, so China entered with the violence always +inseparable from resistance the transition which Japan +welcomed with a more open mind. + +Though missionaries were not the real cause of the Boxer +uprising, its horrors fell most heavily upon them. This was +partly because many of them were living at exposed points in +the interior while most other foreigners were assembled in the +treaty ports where they were better protected; partly because +the movement developed such hysterical frenzy that it attacked +with blind, unreasoning fury every available foreigner, and +partly because in most places the actual killing and pillaging +were not done by the people who best knew the missionaries +but by mobs from the slums, ruffians from other villages, or, +as in Paoting-fu and Shan-si, in obedience to the direct orders +of bigoted officials. + +And so it came to pass that the innocent suffered more than +the guilty. Dr. A. H. Smith[61] concluded after careful inquiry +that ``the devastating Boxer cyclone cost the lives of 135 adult +Protestant missionaries and fifty-three children and of thirty- +five Roman Catholic Fathers and nine Sisters. The Protestants +were in connection with ten different missions, one being +unconnected. They were murdered in four provinces and in +Mongolia, and belonged to Great Britain, the United States and +Sweden. No such outbreak against Christianity has been +seen in modern times. The destruction of property was on +the same continental scale. Generally speaking, all mission +stations north of the Yellow River, with all their dwelling-houses, +chapels, hospitals, dispensaries, schools, and buildings of every +description were totally destroyed, though there were occasional +exceptions, of which the village where these pages are written +was one. The central and southern portions of the Empire +were only partially affected by the anti-foreign madness, not +because they were under different conditions, but mainly +through the strong repressive measures of four men, Liu Kun +Yi and Chang Chih-tung, Governors-General of the four great +provinces in the Yang-tse Valley; Yuan Shih Kai in Shantung, +and a Manchu, Tuan Fang, in Shen-si. The jurisdiction of +this quartette made an impassable barrier across which the +movement was unable to project itself in force, but much mischief +in an isolated way was wrought in nearly every part of +China not rigorously controlled.'' + + +[61] ``Rex Christus,'' p. 210. + + +So many volumes have been written about the Boxer Uprising +that it is not necessary to double the size of this book in +order to recount the details. For the full narrative, the reader +is referred to the books mentioned below.[62] But I cannot for- +bear some description of the scenes of massacre that I personally +visited. I was unable to go to the remoter province of +Shan-si where so many devoted men and women laid down +their lives and where many who escaped death endured indescribable +hardships. But in the province of Shantung, where +the Boxer Uprising originated, I was witness to the ruin that +was wrought in many places, though the iron hand of the +great Governor, Yuan Shih Kai, prevented much bloodshed. +Then I turned to the northern province of Chih-li where official +hands, instead of restraining, actually guided and goaded the +maddened rioters. + + +[62] ``China in Convulsion,'' Arthur H. Smith; ``The Outbreak in China,'' +F. L. Hawks Pott; ``The World Crisis in China, 1900,'' Allen S. Will; +``Siege Days,'' A. H. Mateer; ``The Siege of Peking,'' Wm. A. P. +Martin; ``The Providence of God in the Siege of Peking,'' C. H. Fenn; +``The Tragedy of Paoting-fu,'' Isaac C. Ketler; ``The China Martyrs of +1900,'' Robert C. Forsythe; ``China,'' James H. Wilson, ``China's Book +of Martyrs,'' Luella Miner; ``Two Heroes of Cathay,'' Luella Miner; +``Through Fire and Sword in Shan-si,'' E. H. Edwards; ``Chinese +Heroes,'' I. T. Headland; ``Martyred Missionaries of the C. I. M.,'' +Broomhall; ``The Crisis in China,'' G. B. Smith and others. + + +After a delightful voyage of eighteen hours from Chefoo +over a smooth sea, we anchored outside the bar, nine miles +from shore, the tide not permitting our steamer to cross with +its heavy load. A tug took us off and entering the Pei-ho +River, we passed the famous Taku forts to the railway wharf at +Tong-ku. It was significant to find foreign flags flying over the +Taku forts and also over the mud-walled villages near by. +Scores of merchant steamers, transports and war vessels were +lying off Taku as well as hundreds of junks. The river was +full of smaller craft among which were several Japanese and +American gunboats. The railroad station presented a motley +appearance. A regiment of Japanese had just arrived and +while we were waiting, three train-loads of British Sikhs and +several cars of Austrian marines and British ``Tommy Atkins'' +came in. The platform was thronged with officers and soldiers +of various nationalities, including a few Russians. + +Nothing could be more dreary than the mud flats that the +traveller to the imperial city first sees. The greater part of the +way from Taku to Peking, the soil is poor and little cultivated. +But as we advanced, kao-liang fields were more frequent, +though the growth was far behind that in Shantung at the same +season. Small trees were numerous during the latter half of +the trip. The soil being too thin for good crops, the people +grow more fuel and fruit. + +Evidences of the great catastrophe were seen long before +reaching the capital. Burned villages and battered buildings +lined the route. At Tien-tsin several of the foreign buildings +had shell holes. One corrugated iron building near the railway +station was pierced like a sieve and thousands of native +houses were in ruins. The city wall had been razed to the +ground and a highway made where it had stood--an unspeakable +humiliation to the proud commercial metropolis. The Japanese +soldiers teased the citizens by telling them that ``a city +without a wall is like a woman without clothes,'' and the +people keenly felt the shame implied in the taunt. + +In Peking, the very fact that the railroad train on which we +travelled rushed noisily through a ragged chasm in the wall of +the Chinese city, and stopped at the entrance of the Temple of +Heaven, was suggestive of the consequences of war. The +city, as a whole, was not as badly injured as I had expected to +find it, but the ravages of war were evident enough. Wrecked +shops, crumbled houses, shot-torn walls were on every side, +while the most sacred places to a Chinese and a Manchu had +been profaned. At other times the Purple Forbidden City, +the Winter and Summer Palaces, the Temple of Heaven and +kindred imperial enclosures are inaccessible to the foreigner. +But a pass from the military authorities opened to us every door. +We walked freely through the extensive grounds and into all +the famous buildings--including the throne rooms which the +highest Chinese official can approach only upon his knees and +with his face abjectly on the stone pavement--and the private +apartments of the Emperor and the Empress Dowager. I was +impressed by the vastness of the Palace buildings and grounds, +the carvings of stone and wood, and the number of articles of +foreign manufacture. But thousands of Americans in moderate +circumstances have more spacious and comfortable bedrooms +than those of the Emperor and Empress Dowager of +China. All the living apartments looked cheerless. The +floors were of artificial stone or brick in squares of about +20 x 20 inches and of course everything was covered with dust. +The far-famed Temple of Heaven is the most artistic building +in China, a dream of beauty, colour and grace. For a generation +before the siege of Peking, no foreigner except General +Grant had entered that sacred enclosure, and the Chinese raised +a furore because Li Hung Chang admitted even the distinguished +American. As I freely walked about the place, photographed +the Temple and stood on the circular altar that is supposed to +be the centre of the earth and where the Emperor worships +alone at the winter solstice, British Sikhs lounged under the +trees, army mules munched the luxuriant grass and quartermasters' +wagons stood in long rows near the sacred spot +where a Chinese would prostrate himself in reverence and fear. + +We rode past innumerable ruined buildings and through +motley throngs of Manchus, Chinese, German, French, Italian, +British and Japanese soldiers to the Presbyterian compound at +Duck Lane, which, though narrow, is not so unimportant a +street as its name implies. But where devoted missionaries +had so long lived and toiled, we saw only shapeless heaps of +broken bricks and a few tottering fragments of walls. At the +Second Street compound there was even greater ruin, if that +were possible. Silently we stood beside the great hole which +had once been the hospital cistern and from which the Japanese +soldiers, after the siege, had taken the bodies of a hundred +murdered Chinese. Not all had been Christians, for in that +carnival of blood, many who were merely suspected of being +friendly to foreigners were killed, while foes took advantage of +the tumult to pay off old scores of hate. + +The first reports that had come to New York were that four- +fifths of the Chinese Christians and three-fourths of the boys and +girls in the boarding-schools had been killed or had died under +the awful hardships of that fatal summer. But as the months +passed, first one and then another and another were found. +Husbands searched for wives, parents for children, brothers +for sisters, until a considerable number of the missing ones had +been found, though the number of the lost was still great. + +About two hundred of these surviving Christians and their +families were living together in native buildings adjoining the +residence in which we were entertained. Their history was +one of agony and bereavement. Including those who fell at +Paoting-fu, 191 of their fellow Christians had received the +crown of martyrdom, so that almost every survivor had lost +father or mother, brother or sister or friend. The Chinese are +supposed to be a phlegmatic people and not given to emotion. +But never have I met a congregation more swiftly responsive +than this one in Peking as I bore to them kindly messages from +many friends in other lands. + +The Roman Catholic Cathedral was immortalized by Bishop +Favier's defense during the memorable siege. The mission +buildings occupy a spacious and strongly-walled compound in +the Manchu city. Hundreds of bullet and shell holes in the roofs +and walls were suggestive evidences of the fury of the Boxer +attack, while great pits marked the spots where mines had +been exploded. + +I called on the famous Bishop. He was, for he has since +died, a burly, heavily-bearded Frenchman of about sixty-five +apparently. He received us most cordially and readily talked +of the siege. He said that of the eighty Europeans and 3,400 +Christians with him in the siege, 2,700 were women and children. +Four hundred were buried, of whom forty were killed +by bullets, twenty-five by one explosion, eighty-one by another +and one by another. Of the rest, some died of disease but the +greater part of starvation. Twenty-one children were buried +at one time in one grave. Beside these 400 who were killed +or who died, many more were blown to pieces in explosions so +that nothing could be found to bury. Fifty-one children disappeared +in this way and not a fragment remained. + +The first month of the siege, the food allowance was half a +pound a day. The first half of the second month, it was reduced +to four ounces, but for the second half only two ounces +could be served and the people had to eat roots, bark and the +leaves of trees and shrubs. Eighteen mules were eaten during +the siege. The Bishop said that in the diocese outside of +Peking, 6,000 Chinese Catholics, including three native priests, +were killed by the Boxers. Only four European priests were +killed, one in Peking and three outside. ``Not one foreign +priest left the diocese during the troubles,'' a statement that is +equally true of the Presbyterian missionaries and, so far as I +know, of those of other churches. + +Clouds lowered as we left Peking, July 6th, on the Peking and +Hankow Railway for Paoting-fu, that city of sacred and painful +interest to every American Christian. Soon rain began to +fall, and it steadily continued while we rode over the vast level +plain, through unending fields of kao-liang, interspersed with +plots of beans, peanuts, melons and cucumbers, and mud and +brick-walled villages whose squalid wretchedness was hidden +by the abundant foliage of the trees, which are the only beauty +of Chinese cities. At almost every railway station, roofless +buildings, crumbling walls and broken water tanks bore painful +witness to the rage of the Boxers. At Liang-hsiang-hsien the +first foreign property was destroyed, and all along the line +outrages were perpetrated on the inoffensive native Christians. +Nowhere else in China was the hatred of the foreigner more +violent, for here hereditary pride and bigoted conservatism, +unusually intense even for China, were reinforced by Boxer +chiefs from the neighbouring province of Shantung, and were +particularly irritated by the aggressiveness of Roman Catholic +priests and by the construction of the railroad. It is only 110 +miles from Peking to Paoting-fu. But the schedule was slow +and the stops long, so that we were six hours in making the +journey. Arriving at the large, well-built brick station, we +bumped and splashed in a Chinese cart through narrow, muddy +streets to the residence of a wealthy Chinese family that had +deemed a hasty departure expedient when the French and +British forces entered the city, and whose house had been +assigned by the magistrate as temporary quarters for the Presbyterian +missionaries. + +Protestant mission work at Paoting-fu was begun only about +thirty years ago by the American Board. The station was +never a large one, the total nominal force of missionaries up +to the Boxer outbreak being two ordained married men, Ewing +and Pitkin, one physician, Dr. Noble, and two single women, +the Misses Morrill and Gould. In the whole station field +including the out-stations, there were not more than 300 Christians +and those were south of a line drawn through the centre +of the city of Paoting-fu. There were two boarding-schools, +one for boys and one for girls, both small, and a general +hospital. + +The China Inland Mission had no mission work at Paoting-fu, +but as the city is at the head of navigation of the Paoting-fu +River from Tien-tsin and was also at that time the terminus of +the Peking and Hankow Railway, the Mission made it a point +of trans-shipment and of formation of cart and shendza trains +for its extensive work in the Shan-si and Shen-si provinces, and +kept a forwarding agent there, Mr. Benjamin Bagnall. + +The Presbyterian station was not opened till 1893, and the +force at the time of the outbreak consisted of three ordained +men, the Revs. J. Walter Lowrie, J. A. Miller, and F. E. +Simcox, two medical men, George Yardley Taylor and C. V. R. +Hodge, and one single woman, Dr. Maud A. Mackay. All +of the men except Lowrie and Taylor were married, and the +former had his mother, Mrs. Amelia P. Lowrie, with him. +With the exception of a dispensary and street chapel in rented +quarters in the city, the station plant was at the compound +where, on a level tract 660 feet in length by 210 feet in width, +there were four residences and a hospital and chapel combined, +with, of course, the usual smaller outbuildings. The only +educational work, beside one out-station day-school, was a small +boarding-school for girls recently started and occupying a little +building originally intended for a stable. + +This was the situation up to the fateful month of June, 1900. +Rumours of impending trouble were numerous, but missionaries +in China become accustomed to threatening placards and +slanderous reports. Though it was evident that the opposition +was becoming more bitter, the missionaries did not feel that +they would be justified in abandoning their work. Several, +however, were temporarily absent for other reasons. Of the +Congregational missionaries, Dr. and Mrs. Noble and Mrs. +Pitkin were on furlough in America and Mr. and Mrs. Ewing +were spending a few weeks at the seaside resort, Pei-tai-ho, +so that Mr. Pitkin, Miss Morrill and Miss Gould were the only +ones left at the station. Of the Presbyterian missionaries +Mr. and Mrs. Miller were also at Pei-tai-ho, Mrs. Lowrie had +sailed for America the 26th of May, and Mr. Lowrie, who had +accompanied her to Shanghai, was at Tien-tsin on his way +back to Paoting-fu. The missionaries remaining at the station +were thus five,--Dr. Taylor, Mr. and Mrs. Simcox and their +three children, and Dr. and Mrs. Hodge. The China Inland +forwarding agent, Mr. Bagnall, with his wife and little girl, +was in his house south of the city wall near the American Board +compound, and with him was the Rev. William Cooper, who +was on his way to Shanghai after a visit to the Shan-si Mission +and whose family was then at Chefoo. + +It is impossible to ascertain all the details of the massacre. +None of the foreigners live to tell the painful story. No other +foreigners reached Paoting-fu until the arrival of the military +expedition in October, three and a half months later. The +Chinese who had participated in the massacre were then in +hiding. Spectators were afraid to talk lest they, too, might be +held guilty. Most of the Chinese Christians who had been +with the missionaries were killed, while others were so panic- +stricken that they could remember only the particular scenes +with which they were directly connected. Moreover, in those +three and a half months such battles and national commotions +had occurred, including the capture of Peking and the flight of +the Emperor, that the people of Paoting-fu had half forgotten +the murder of a few missionaries in June. + +In these circumstances, full information will probably never +be obtained, though additional facts may yet turn up from +time to time. But from all that can be learned, and from the +piecing together of the scattered fragments of information carefully +collected by Mr. Lowrie, who accompanied the expedition, +it appears that Thursday, June 28th, several Chinese young men +who had been studying medicine under Dr. Taylor came to +him at the city dispensary, warned him of the impending +danger and urged him to leave. When he refused they besought +him to yield, and though several of them were not +Christians, so strong was their attachment to their teacher that +they shed tears. + +Dr. Taylor placed the dispensary and its contents, together +with the adjacent street chapel, in charge of the district magistrate +and returned to the mission compound outside the city. +That very afternoon startling proof was given that foreboding +was not ill-founded, for the Rev. Meng Chi Hsien, the native +pastor of the Congregational Church, was seized while in the +city, his hands cut off, and the next morning he was beheaded. + +The missionaries then decided to leave, drew their silver +from the local bank and hired carts. But an official assured +them that there would be no further trouble, and they concluded +to remain. It is doubtful whether they could have escaped +anyway, for the very next afternoon, Saturday, June 30th, +a mob left the west gate of the city, and marching northward +parallel to the railroad, turned eastward through a small village +near the mission compound, which has always been the resort +of bad characters, and attacked the mission between five and +six o'clock. + +The first report that all the missionaries were together in the +house of Mr. Simcox is now believed to have been erroneous. +The Hodges were there, but Dr. Taylor was in his own room +in the second story of Mr. Lowrie's house. Seizing a magazine +rifle belonging to Mr. Lowrie, he showed it to the mob and +warned them not to come nearer. But the Boxers pressed furiously +on, in the superstitious belief that the foreigner's bullet +could not harm them. Then, being alone, and with the traditions +of a Quaker ancestry strong within him, he chose rather +to die himself than to inflict death upon the people he had +come to save. The Boxers set fire to the house, and the beloved +physician, throwing the rifle to the floor, disappeared amid +the flame and smoke. But the body was not consumed, for a +Chinese living in a neighbouring village said afterwards that +he saw it lying in the ruins of the house several days +later, and that he gave it decent burial in a field near by. But +there are hundreds of unmarked mounds in that region, and +when the foreign expedition arrived in October, he was unable +to indicate the particular one which he had made for Dr. Taylor's +remains. Mr. Lowrie made diligent search and opened a +number of graves, but found nothing that could be identified. + +In the Simcox house, however, the two men were charged +with the defense of women and children, and to protect them if +possible from unspeakable outrage, when they realized that persuasion +was vain, they felt justified as a last desperate resort +in using force. The testimony of natives is to the effect +that at least two Boxers were killed in the attack, one of them +the Boxer chief, Chu Tu Tze, who that very day had received +the rank of the gilt button from the Provincial Judge as a recognition +of his anti-foreign zeal and an encouragement to continue +it. He was shot through the head while vociferously +urging the assault from the top of a large grave mound near +the compound wall. + +The story that little Paul and Francis Simcox, frightened +by the heat and smoke, ran out of the house and were despatched +by the crowd and their bodies thrown into a well +now appears to be unfounded. All died together, Mr. and +Mrs. Simcox and their three children, and Dr. and Mrs. +Hodge; Mr. Simcox being last seen walking up and down +holding the hand of one of his children. + +It is at least some comfort that they were spared the outrages +and mutilations inflicted on so many of the martyrs of +that awful summer, for unless some were struck by bullets, +death came by suffocation in burning houses--swiftly and +mercifully. No Boxer hand touched them, living or dead, but +within less than an hour from the beginning of the attack, the +end came, and the flames did their work so completely that, +save in the case of Dr. Taylor, nothing remained upon which +fiendish hate could wreak itself. Husbands and wives died as +they could have wished to die--together, and at the post of +duty. + +The next morning the Boxers, jubilant over their success of +the night before, trooped out to the American Board compound +in the south suburb. The two ladies took refuge in the chapel, +while Mr. Pitkin remained outside to do what he could to keep +back the mob. But he was speedily shot and then decapitated. +His body, together with the bodies of several of the members +of the Meng family, was thrown into a hastily-dug pit just outside +the wall of the compound, but his head was borne in +triumph to the Provincial Judge, who was the prime mover in +the outbreak. He caused it to be fixed on the inside of the +city wall, not far from the southeast corner and nearly opposite +the temple in which the remaining missionaries were imprisoned. +There, the Chinese say, it remained for two or +three weeks, a ghastly evidence of the callous cruelty of a +people many of whom must have known Mr. Pitkin and the +good work done at the mission compound not far distant. +When sorrowing friends arrived in October, the head could +not be found, but it has since been recovered and buried with +the bodies of the other martyrs. + +The fate of the young women, Miss Morrill and Miss Gould, +thus deprived of their only protector, was not long deferred. +After the fall of Mr. Pitkin, they were seized, stripped of all +their clothing except one upper and one lower garment, and +led by the howling crowd along a path leading diagonally from +the entrance of the compound to the road just east of it. Miss +Gould did not die of fright as she was taken from the chapel, as +was at first reported, but at the point where the path enters the +road, a few hundred yards from the chapel, she fainted. Her +ankles were then tied together, and another cord lashed her +wrists in front of her body. A pole was thrust between legs and +arms, and she was carried the rest of the way, while Miss Morrill +walked, characteristically giving to a beggar the little money at +her waist, talking to the people, and with extraordinary self- +possession endeavouring to convince her persecutors of their folly. +And so the procession of bloodthirsty men, exulting in the +possession of two defenseless women one of them unconscious, +wended its way northward to the river bank, westward to the +stone bridge, over it and to a temple within the city, not far +from the southeast corner of the wall. + +Meantime, Mr. Cooper, Mr. and Mrs. Bagnall and their little +daughter had begun the day in Mr. Bagnall's house, which +was a short distance east of the American Board compound, +and on the same road. Seeing the flames of the hospital, +which was the first building fired by the Boxers, they fled eastward +along the road to a Chinese military camp, about a +quarter of a mile distant, whose commanding officer had been +on friendly terms with Mr. Bagnall. But in the hour of need +he arrested them, ruthlessly despoiled them of their valuables, +and sent them under a guard to the arch conspirator, the Provincial +Judge. It is pitiful to hear of the innocent child cling- +ing in terror to her mother's dress. But there was no pity in +the heart of the brutal judge, and the little party was sent to +the temple where the Misses Morrill and Gould were already +imprisoned. + +All this was in the morning. A pretended trial was held, +and about four in the afternoon of the same day, all were +taken to a spot outside the southeast corner of the city wall, +and there, before the graves of two Boxers, they were beheaded +and their bodies thrown into a pit. + +Months passed before any effort was made by the foreign +armies in Peking to reach Paoting-fu. Shortly after the occupation +of the capital, I wrote to the Secretary of State in Washington +reminding him again of the American citizens who at +last accounts were at Paoting-fu, and urging that the United +States commander in Peking be instructed to send an expedition +there, not to punish for I did not deem it my duty to discuss +that phase of the question, but to ascertain whether any +Americans were yet living and to make an investigation as to +what had happened. + +Secretary Hay promptly cabled Minister Conger, who soon +wired back that all the Americans at Paoting-fu had been +killed. The United States forces took no part in the punitive +expeditions sent out by the European commanders, partly, no +doubt, because our Government preferred to act on the theory +that it would be wiser to give the Chinese Government an opportunity +to punish the guilty, and partly because the Administration +did not desire the United States to be identified with +the expeditions which were reputed to equal the Boxers in the +merciless barbarity of burning, pillaging, ravishing and +killing. + +Still, it is not pleasing to reflect that though there was an +ample American force in Peking only 110 miles away, we +were indebted to a British general for the opportunity to acquire +any accurate information as to the fate of eleven Americans. +An expedition of inquiry, at least, might have been sent. But +as it was, it was not till October that three columns of Europeans +(still no Americans) left for Paoting-fu. One column was +French, under General Baillard. The second was British and +German under Generals Campbell and Von Ketteler, both of +these columns starting from Tien-tsin. The third column left +Peking and was composed of British and Italians led by General +Gaselee. The plan was for the three columns to unite as +they approached the city. But General Baillard made forced +marches and reached Paoting-fu October 15th, so that when +General Gaselee arrived on the 17th, he found, to his surprise +and chagrin, that the French had already taken bloodless possession +of the city. The British and German columns from +Tien-tsin did not arrive till the 20th and 21st. With them +came the Rev. J. Walter Lowrie, who had obtained permission +to accompany it as an interpreter for the British. + +The allied Generals immediately made stern inquisitions into +the outrages that had been committed, which, of course, included +those upon Roman Catholics as well as upon Protestants. +Mr. Lowrie, as the only man who could speak Chinese, +and the only one, too, who personally knew the Chinese, at +once came into prominence. To the people, he appeared to +have the power of life and death. All examinations had to be +conducted through him. All accusations and evidence had to +be sifted by him. The guilty tried to shift the blame upon the +innocent, and enemies sought to pay off old scores of hatred +upon their foes by charging them with complicity in the massacres. +It would have accorded with Chinese custom if Mr. +Lowrie had availed himself to the utmost of his opportunity to +punish the antagonists of the missionaries, especially as his +dearest friends had been remorselessly murdered and all of his +personal property destroyed. It was not in human nature to +be lenient in such circumstances, and the Chinese fully expected +awful vengeance. + +Great was their amazement when they saw the man whom +they had so grievously wronged acting not only with modera- +tion and strict justice, but in a kind and forgiving spirit. +Every scrap of testimony was carefully analyzed in order that +no innocent man might suffer. Instead of securing the execution +of hundreds of smaller officials and common people, as is +customary in China in such circumstances, Mr. Lowrie counselled +the Generals to try Ting Jung, who at the time of the +massacre was Provincial Judge but who had since been promoted +to the post of Provincial Treasurer and acting Viceroy; +Kwei Heng the commander of the Manchu garrison, and Weng +Chan Kwei the colonel in command of the Chinese Imperial +forces who had seized the escaping Bagnall party and sent them +back to their doom. The evidence plainly showed that these +high officials were the direct and responsible instigators of the +uprising, that they had ordered every movement, and that the +crowd of smaller officials, Boxers and common people had simply +obeyed their orders. The three dignitaries were found +guilty and condemned to death. + +Was ever retributive justice more signally illustrated than in +the place in which they were imprisoned pending Count von +Waldersee's approval of the sentence? The military authorities +selected the place, not with reference to its former uses, of +which indeed they were ignorant, but simply because it was +convenient, empty and clean. But it was the Presbyterian +chapel and dispensary in which Mr. Lowrie had so often +preached the gospel of peace and good will and the martyred +Dr. Taylor had so often healed the sick in the name of Christ. + +Not long afterwards, the three officials were led to a level, +open space, just east of a little clump of trees not far from the +southwest corner of the city wall, and as near as practicable to +the place where the missionaries had been beheaded, and there, +in the presence of all the foreign soldiers, they were themselves +beheaded. + +Nor was this all, for Chinese officials are never natives of the +cities they govern, but are sent to them from other provinces. +Moreover, they usually remain in one place only a few years. +The people fear and obey them as long as they are officials, but +often care little what becomes of them afterwards. They had +not befriended them during their trial and they did not attend +their execution. The Generals therefore felt that some punishment +must be inflicted upon the city. A Chinese city is proud +of the stately and ponderous towers which ornament the gates +and corners of its massive wall and protect the inhabitants +from foes, human and demoniac. All of these, but two +comparatively small ones, were blown up by order of the +foreign generals. The temples which the Boxers had used for +their meetings, including the one in which the American +Board and China Inland missionaries had been imprisoned, +were also destroyed, while the splendid official temple of the city, +dedicated to its patron deity, was utterly wrecked by dynamite. + +Not till March 23d could memorial services be held. Then +a party of missionaries and friends came down from Peking. +The surviving Christians assembled. The new city officials +erected a temporary pavilion on the site of the Presbyterian +compound, writing over the entrance arch: ``They held the +truth unto death.'' Within, potted flowers and decorated +banners adorned the tables and walls. The scene was solemnly +impressive. Mr. Lowrie, Dr. Wherry and Mr. Killie and +others made appropriate addresses to an audience in which +there were, besides themselves, fifteen missionaries representing +four denominations, German and French army officers, Chinese +officials and Chinese Christians. A German military band +furnished appropriate music and two Roman Catholic priests +of the city sent flowers and kind letters. The following day +a similar service was held on the site of the American Board +compound. + +We sadly visited all these places. It was about the hour of +the attack that we approached the Presbyterian compound. Of +the once pleasant homes and mission buildings, not even ruins +were left. A few hundred yards away, the site could not +have been distinguished from the rest of the open fields if my +companions had not pointed out marks mournfully intelligible +to them but hardy recognizable by a stranger. The very +foundations had been dug up by Chinese hunting for silver, and +every scrap of material had been carried away. Even the +trees and bushes had been removed by the roots and used +for firewood. In front of the site of the Simcox house are a +few unmarked mounds. All but one contain the fragments of +the bodies of the Chinese helpers and Christians, and that one, +the largest, holds the few pieces of bones which were all that +could be found in the ruins of the house in which the missionaries +perished. A few more may yet be found. We ourselves +discovered five small pieces which Dr. Charles Lewis afterwards +identified as human bones. But their charred and +broken condition showed how completely the merciful fire had +done its work of keeping the sacred remains from the hands of +those who would have shamefully misused them. The +American Board and China Inland Mission compounds were +also in ruins, a chaos of desolation. But as the martyred +missionaries and native Christians were beheaded and not +burned, their bodies have been recovered and interred in a long +row of twenty-three graves. + +The negotiations of foreign Powers with the Chinese regarding +the payment of indemnity were, as might be expected, protracted +and full of difficulties. Some of the Powers favoured +extreme demands which, if acceded to, would have ruined the +Empire or resulted in its immediate partition, even if they did +not cause a new and more bitter outbreak of hostilities. Other +Powers, notably the United States, favoured moderate terms, +holding that China should not be asked to pay sums that were +clearly beyond her ability. After almost interminable disputes, +the total sum to be paid by China was, by the final protocol +signed September 7, 1901, fixed at 450,000,000 taels to be +paid in thirty-nine annual installments with interest at four per +cent. on the deferred payments and to be distributed as follows: + + Country taels + Germany 90,070,515 + Austria-Hungary 4,003,920 + Belgium 8,484,345 + Spain 135,315 + United States 32,939,055[63] + France 70,878,240 + Portugal 92,250 + Great Britain 50,712,795 + Italy 26,617,005 + Japan 34,793,100 + Netherlands 782,100 + Russia 230,371,120 + +International (Sweden and Norway, $62,820) 212,490 + ------------ + 450,000,000 + +[63] The equivalent of $24,168,357. + + +The treaty was not calculated to make the Chinese think +more kindly of their conquerors. Besides the payment of the +heavy indemnity, the Powers exacted apologies to Germany +for the murder of its minister and to Japan for the assassination +of the chancellor of its legation, the erection of monuments in +foreign cemeteries and the making of new commercial treaties. +The Chinese were cut to the quick by being told, among other +things, that they must not import firearms for two years; +that no official examinations would be held for five years in the +cities where foreigners had been attacked; that an important +part of the imperial capital would be added to the already +spacious grounds of the foreign legations and that the whole +would be fortified and garrisoned by foreign guards; that the +Taku forts which defended the entrance to Peking would be +razed and the railway from the sea to the capital occupied by +foreign troops; that members of anti-foreign societies were to be +executed; that magistrates even though they were viceroys +were to be summarily dismissed and disgraced if they did not +prevent anti-foreign outbreaks and sternly punish their ring- +leaders; that court ceremonies in relation to foreign ministers +must be conformed to Western ideas; that the Tsung-li Yamen +(Foreign Office) must be abolished and a new ministry of +foreign affairs erected, the Wai-wu Pu, which must be regarded +as the highest of the departments instead of the lowest. +China's cup of humiliation was indeed full. + + + +PART IV + +The Missionary Force and the Chinese +Church + + +XVIII + +BEGINNINGS OF THE MISSIONARY ENTERPRISE-- +THE TAI-PING REBELLION AND THE LATER +DEVELOPMENT + + +THE first definite knowledge of the true God appears +to have come to China with some Jews who are said +to have entered the Empire in the third century. +Conjecture has long been busy with the circumstances of that +ancient migration. That the colony became fairly numerous +may be inferred from the fact that in 1329 and again in 1354, +the Jews are mentioned in the Chinese records of the Mongol +dynasty, while early in the seventeenth century Father Ricci +claimed to have discovered a synagogue built in 1183. In +1866, the Rev. Dr. W. A. P. Martin, then President of the +Tung-wen College at Peking, visited Kai-fung-fu, the centre of +this Jewish colony, and on a monument he found an inscription +which included the following passage:-- + + +``With respect to the religion of Israel, we find that our first ancestor +was Adam. The founder of the religion was Abraham; then came Moses +who established the law, and handed down the sacred writings. During +the dynasty of Han (B. C. 200-A, D. 226) this religion entered China. +In the second year of Hiao-tsung, of the Sung dynasty (A. D. 1164), a +synagogue was erected in Kai-fung fu. Those who attempt to represent +God by images or pictures do but vainly occupy themselves with empty +forms. Those who honour and obey the sacred writings know the origin +of all things. Eternal reason and the sacred writings mutually sustain +each other in testifying whence men derived their being. All those who +profess this religion aim at the practice of goodness and avoid the commission +of vice.''[64] + + +[64] Martin, ``A Cycle of Cathay,'' p. 275. + + +Dr. Martin writes that he inquired in the market-place:-- + + +``Are there among you any of the family of Israel?'' ``I am one,'' +responded a young man, whose face corroborated his assertion; and then +another and another stepped forth until I saw before me representatives +of six out of the seven families into which the colony is divided. They +confessed with shame and grief that their holy and beautiful house had +been demolished by their own hands. It had for a long time, they said, +been in a ruinous condition; they had no money to make repairs; they +had, moreover, lost all knowledge of the sacred tongue; the traditions of +the fathers were no longer handed down and their ritual worship had +ceased to be observed. In this state of things they had yielded to the +pressure of necessity and disposed of the timbers and stones of that venerable +edifice to obtain relief for their bodily wants. . . . Their number +they estimated, though not very exactly, at from three to four hundred. +. . . No bond of union remains, and they are in danger of being +speedily absorbed by Mohammedanism or heathenism.''[65] + + +[65] Martin, ``A Cycle of Cathay,'' pp. 275, 276, 277. + + +There is something pathetic about that forlorn remnant of the +Hebrew race. ``A rock rent from the side of Mount Zion +by some great national catastrophe and projected into the central +plain of China, it has stood there while the centuries rolled +by, sublime in its antiquity and solitude.''[66] + + +[66] Martin, p. 278. + + +In his Life of Morrison, Townsend reminds us that the Christian +Church early realized that it could not ignore so vast a +nation, while its very exclusiveness attracted bold spirits. As +far back as the first decade of the sixth century (505 A. D.), +Nestorian monks appear to have begun a mission in China. +Romance and tragedy are suggested by the few known facts +regarding that early movement. Partly impelled by conviction, +partly driven by persecution, those faithful souls travelled beyond +the bounds of the Roman Empire, and rested not till they +had made the formidable journey across burning deserts and +savage mountains to the land of Sinim. That some measure +of success attended their effort is probable. Indeed there are +hints in the ancient records of numerous churches and of the +favour of the great Emperor Tai Tsung in 635. But however +zealous the Nestorians may have been for a time, it is evident +that they were finally submerged in the sea of Chinese superstition. +A quaint monument, discovered in 1625 at Hsi-an-fu, +the capital of Shen-si, on which is inscribed an outline of the +Nestorian effort from the year 630 to 781, is the only trace that +remains of what must have been an interesting and perhaps a +thrilling missionary enterprise. + +The Roman Catholic effort began in 1293, when John de +Corvino succeeded in reaching Peking. Though he was elevated +to an Archbishopric and reinforced by several priests, +this effort, too, proved a failure and was abandoned. + +Two and a-half centuries of silence followed, and then in +1552, the heroic Francis Xavier set his face towards China, +only to be prostrated by fever on the Island of Sancian. As +he despairingly realized that he would never be able to set his +foot on that still impenetrable land, he moaned: ``Oh, Rock, +Rock, when wilt thou open!'' and passed away. + +But in 1581, another Jesuit, the learned and astute Matteo +Ricci, entered Canton in the guise of a Buddhist priest. He +managed to remain, and twenty years later he went to Peking +in the dress of a literary gentleman. In him Roman Catholicism +gained a permanent foothold in China, and although it +was often fiercely persecuted and at times reduced to feebleness, +it never became wholly extinct. Gradually it extended +its influence until in 1672 the priests reported 300,000 baptized +Chinese, including children. In the nineteenth century, +the growth of the Roman Church was rapid. It is now +strongly entrenched in all the provinces, and in most of the +leading cities its power is great. There are twenty-seven bishops +and about six hundred foreign priests. The number of communicants +is variously estimated, but in 1897 the Vicar Apostolic +of Che-kiang, though admitting that he could not secure +accurate statistics, estimated the Roman Catholic population +at 750,000. + +It is not to the credit of Protestantism that it was centuries +behind the Roman Church in the attempt to Christianize +China. It was not till 1807, that the first Protestant missionary +arrived. January 31st, of that year, Robert Morrison, then a +youth of twenty-five, sailed alone from London under appointment +of the London Missionary Society (Congregational). As +the hostile East India Company would not allow a missionary +on any of its ships, Morrison had to go to New York in order +to secure passage on an American vessel. As he paid his fare +in the New York ship owner's office, the merchant said with +a sneer: ``And so, Mr. Morrison, you really expect that you +will make an impression on the idolatry of the great Chinese +Empire?'' ``No, sir,'' was the ringing reply, ``I expect God +will.'' + +The ship Trident left New York about May 15th and did +not reach Canton till September 8th. For two years Morrison +had to live and study in Canton and the Portuguese settlement +of Macao with the utmost secrecy, dreading constantly that he +might be forced to leave. For a time, he never walked the +streets by daylight for fear of attracting attention, but exercised +by night. His own countrymen were hostile to his purpose +and his Chinese language teachers were impatient and insolent. +It was not till February 20, 1809, the date of his marriage to +Miss Morton, that his employment as translator by the East +India Company gave him a secure residence. Still, however, +he could not do open missionary work, but was obliged to present +Christianity behind locked doors to the few Chinese whom +he dared to approach. In these circumstances, he naturally +gave his energies largely to language study and translation, +and in 1810 he had the joy of issuing a thousand copies of a +Chinese version of the Book of Acts. + +Seven weary, discouraging years passed before Morrison baptized +his first convert, July 16, 1814, and even then he had to +administer the sacrament at a lonely spot where unfriendly eyes +could not look. At his death in 1834, there were only three +Chinese Christians in the whole Empire. Successors carried +on the effort, but the door was not yet open, and the work was +done against many obstacles and chiefly in secret till the treaty +of Nanking, in 1842, opened the five ports of Amoy, Canton, +Foochow, Ningpo and Shanghai. Missionaries who had been +waiting and watching in the neighbouring islands promptly entered +these cities. Eagerly they looked to the great populations +in the interior, but they were practically confined to the +ports named till 1858, when the treaty of Tien-tsin opened +other cities and officially conceded the rights of missionary residence +and labour. + +The work now spread more rapidly, not only because it was +conducted in more centres and by a larger force of missionaries, +but because it was carried into the interior regions by +Chinese who had heard the gospel in the ports. + +The Tai-ping Rebellion soon gave startling illustration of the +perversion of the new force. Begun in 1850 by an alleged +Christian convert who claimed to have a special revelation from +heaven as a younger brother of Christ, it spread with amazing +rapidity until in 1853 it had overrun almost all that part of +China south of the Yang-tze-kiang, had occupied Nanking and +Shanghai, and had made such rapid progress northward that it +threatened the capital itself. It was the most stupendous revolution +in history, shaking to its foundations a vast and ancient +empire, involving the destruction of an almost inconceivable +amount of property and, it is said, of the lives of twenty millions +of human beings. + +If this great rebellion had been wisely guided, it would +undoubtedly have changed the history of China and perhaps, by +this time, of the greater part of Asia, for it proposed to overthrow +idolatry, to unseat the Manchu dynasty, and to found an +empire on the principles of the Christian religion. So nearly +indeed did it attain success that if it had not been opposed by +European nations, it would probably have attained its object. +But the weight of their influence was thrown in favour of the +Government. The American Frederick T. Ward and the +English Charles George Gordon organized and led the ``Ever +Victorious Army'' of Chinese troops against the revolutionists. +Most significant of all, the leaders of the rebellion itself, freed +from the restraint which foreigners might perhaps have exerted, +quickly discarded whatever Christian principles they had started +with and rapidly demoralized the movement at its centre by +giving themselves up to an arrogance, vice, and cruelty which +were worse than those of the government they sought to overturn. +Mr. McLane, then United States Minister, truly +reported to Washington:-- + + +``Whatever may have been the hopes of the enlightened and civilized +nations of the earth, in regard to this movement, it is now apparent that +they neither profess nor apprehend Christianity, and whatever may be the +true judgment to form of their political power, it can no longer be doubted +that intercourse cannot be established or maintained on terms of equality.'' + + +The recapture of Nanking in 1864 marked the final turning +of the tide, and in an incredibly short time the whole insurrection +collapsed. The rebellion, vast as it was, is now after +all but an episode in the history of the great Empire. But the +fact that any man on such a platform could so quickly develop +an insurrection of such appalling proportions significantly +suggests the possibilities of change in China when new movements +are rightly directed. + +Freed from this gigantic travesty of its true character, the +growth of Christianity in China became more rapid. The +following table is eloquent: + + 1807 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 communicants + 1814 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 `` + 1834 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 `` + 1842 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 `` + 1853 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 350 `` + 1857 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000 `` + 1865 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,000 `` + 1876. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,515 `` + 1886 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,000 communicants + 1889 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37,287 `` + 1893 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55,093 `` + 1887 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80,682 `` + 1903 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112,808 `` + + +The number of Protestant missionaries is 2,950, of whom +1,233 are men, 868 are wives and 849 are single women. Of +the whole number, 1,483 are from Great Britain, 1,117 from +America and 350 from continental Europe. Other interesting +statistics are 5,000,000 adherents, 2,500 stations and out- +stations, 6,388 Chinese pastors and helpers, 1,819 day-schools and +170 higher institutions of learning, twenty-three mission presses +with an annual Output Of 107,149,738 pages, thirty-two periodicals, +124 hospitals and dispensaries treating in a single year +1,700,452 patients; while the asylums for the orphaned and +blind and deaf number thirty-two. + +It will thus be seen that Christian missions in China are +being conducted upon a large scale. It would be difficult to +overestimate the silent and yet mighty energy represented by +such work, steadily continued through a long series of years, +and representing the life labours of thousands of devoted men +and women and an annual expenditure of hundreds of thousands +of dollars. + +True, the number of Christians is small in comparison with +the population of the Empire, but the gospel has been aptly +compared to a seed. It is indeed small, but seeds generally +are. Lodged in a crevice of a rock, a seed will thrust its +thread-like roots into fissures so tiny that they are hardly +noticeable. Yet in time they will rend the rock asunder and +firmly hold a stately tree. Now the seed of the gospel has been +fairly lodged in the Chinese Empire. It is a seed of indestructible +vitality and irresistible transforming power. It has taken +root, and it is destined to produce mighty changes. It was not +without reason that Christianity was spoken of as a force that +``turned the world upside down,'' though it only does this +where the world was wrong side up. It is significant that the +word translated ``power'' in Romans 1:16, ``The gospel is +the power of God,'' is in the Greek the word that we have +anglicized in common speech as ``dynamite.'' We might, +therefore, literally translate Paul's statement: ``The gospel is +the dynamite of God.'' That dynamite has been placed under +the crust of China's conservatism, and the extraordinary +transformations that are taking place in China are, in part at least, +the results of its tremendous explosive force. + +The scope of this book does not permit an extended account +of the missionary movement in China. It has been given in +many volumes that are easily accessible.''[67] Nearly all of the +Protestant churches, European and American, are represented +and their missionaries are teaching the young, healing +the sick, translating the Word of God, creating a wholesome +literature, and preaching everywhere and with a fidelity beyond +all praise the truths of the Christian religion. Self-sacrificing +devotion and patient persistence in well-doing are written on +every page of the history of missions in China, while emergencies +have developed deeds of magnificent heroism. Men and +women have repeatedly endured persecution of the most virulent +kind rather than forsake their converts, and a number ``of +whom the world was not worthy'' have laid down their lives +for conscience' sake. There are few places in all the world +that are more depressing to a white man than a Chinese city. +The dreary monotony and squalor of its life are simply indescribable. +Chefoo is usually considered one of the most attractive +cities in China, and the missionaries who reside there +are regarded as fortunate above their brethren. But even a +brief stay will convince the most sceptical that nothing but the +strongest considerations of duty could induce one who has +freedom of choice to remain any longer than is absolutely +necessary. Yet for forty-two years, missionaries have lived +and toiled amid these unattractive surroundings, their houses +on Temple Hill in the midst of the innumerable graves which +occupy almost every possible space not actually covered by the +mission buildings and grounds. But steadily the missionaries +have toiled on, with faith and courage and love, and they are +slowly but surely effecting marked changes. One by one, the +Chinese are being led to loftier views of life and while the old +city still continues to live in the ancient way, hundreds of +Chinese families, amid the numerous population outside of the +walls and in the outlying villages, have begun to conform +themselves to the new and higher conditions of life represented +by the Christian missionaries. + + +[67] The reader is referred to ``The Middle Kingdom,'' Williams; +``Christian Progress in China,'' Foster (1889); ``Story of the China Inland +Mission,'' Guinness; ``China and Formosa,'' Johnston (1897); +Record of the General Conference of the Protestant Missionaries of +China held in Shanghai, 1890; Report of the Ecumenical Missionary +Conference held in New York, 1900; ``Mission Problems +and Mission Methods in South China,'' Gibson; ``Mission Methods in +Manchuria,'' Ross; ``Women of the Middle Kingdom,'' McNabb; +``Among the Mongols,'' Gilmour; ``East of the Barrier,'' Graham; ``In +the Far East,'' Guinness; ``The Cross and the Dragon,'' Henry; ``From +Far Formosa,'' Mackay; ``Dawn on the Hills of T'ang,'' Beach; ``China +and the Chinese,'' Nevius; ``Our Life in China,'' Mrs. Nevius; ``Life of +John Livingston Nevius,'' Nevius; ``Rex Christus,'' Smith; ``John +Kenneth Mackenzie,'' Bryson; ``Princely Men in the Heavenly Kingdom,'' +Beach; ``James Gilmour of Mongolia,'' Lovett; ``Griffith John,'' +Robson; ``Robert Morrison,'' Townsend; ``With the Tibetans in Tent +and Temple,'' Rijnhart. + + +Several schools, a handsome church, a hospital, the only +institution for deaf mutes in China and a wide-reaching itinerating +work, are features of the mission enterprise in Chefoo. +The visitor will be particularly interested in Dr. Hunter Corbett's +street chapel and museum. The building is situated +opposite the Chinese theatre and is well adapted to its purpose. +Dr. Corbett and a helper stand at the door and invite passers-by, +while a blind boy plays on a baby organ and sings. +The chapel, which holds about sixty or seventy, is soon filled. +Dr. Corbett preaches to the people for half an hour and then ad- +mits them to the museum which occupies several rooms in the +rear. It is a wonderful place to the Chinese who never weary +of watching the stuffed tiger, the model railway and the scores +of interesting objects and specimens that Dr. Corbett has collected +from various lands. Then the people leave by a door +opening on the back street, another service being held with +them in the last room. Several audiences a day are thus +handled. It is hard work, for the men as a rule are from many +outlying villages, unaccustomed to listening and knowing nothing +of Christianity. But Dr. Corbett speaks with such animation +and eloquence that not an eye is taken from him. Few +are converted in the chapel, but friendships are gained, doors +of opportunity opened, tracts distributed, men led to think, +and on country tours Dr. Corbett invariably meets people who +have been to the museum and who cordially welcome him to +their homes. He declares that after thirty years' experience, +he thoroughly believes in such work when followed up by +faithful itineration. Seventy-two thousand attended the chapel +and museum in the year 1900 in spite of the Boxer troubles. +The chapel is open every day, except that the museum +is closed on Sundays, and the attendance is now larger than +ever. + +After dinner, we strolled down to Dr. Nevius' famous orchard. +It is a beautiful spot. Here the great missionary +found his recreation after his arduous labours. Yet even in his +hours of rest, he was eminently practical. Seeing that the +Chinese had very little good fruit and believing that he might +show them how to secure it, he brought from America seeds +and cuttings, carefully cultivated them and, when they were +grown, freely distributed the new seeds and cuttings to the +Chinese, explaining to them the methods of cultivation. Today, +as the result of his forethought and generosity, several +foreign fruits have become common throughout North China. +But the orchard is deteriorating as the Chinese will not prune +the trees. They are so greedy for returns that they do not like +to diminish the number of apples or plums in the interest of +quality. + +At sunset, I made a pilgrimage with Mrs. Nevius to the +cemetery, where, after forty years of herculean toil, the mighty +missionary sleeps. We sat for a long time beside the grave, and +the aged widow, speaking of her own end, which she appeared +to feel could not be far distant, said that she wished to be buried +beside her husband and that for this reason she did not want +to go to the United States, preferring to remain in Chefoo until +her summons came. + +The scene was very beautiful as the sun set and the moon +rose above the quiet sea. Standing beside the grave of the +honoured dead and under the solemn pines, the traveller gains +a new sense of the beneficence and dignity of the missionary +force that is operating through such consecrated lives of the +living and the dead. + + + +XIX + +MISSIONARIES AND NATIVE LAWSUITS + +IN considering the effects of the operation of this missionary +force, we are at once confronted by the complaint of +many Chinese that missionaries interfere on behalf of their +converts in lawsuits. This complaint has been taken up and +circulated by foreign critics until it has become one of the most +formidable of the objections to missionary work. The difficulty +will be understood when we remember that, though the Chinese +are not a warlike people, they are litigious to an extraordinary +degree. The struggle for existence in such a densely populated +country often results in real or fancied entanglements of rights. +So the Chinese are forever disputing about something, and the +magistrates and village headmen are beset by clamorous hordes +who demand a settlement of their alleged grievances. Naturally +the Chinese Christians do not at once outgrow this national +disposition. Whether they do or not, their profession of Christianity +makes them an easy mark for the greedy and envious. +Jealousy and dislike of the native who abandons the faith of his +fathers and espouses ``the foreigner's religion'' frequently +hale him into court on trumped-up charges and the notorious +prejudice and corruption of the average magistrate often +result in grievous persecution. The terrified Christian naturally +implores the missionary to save him. It is hard to +resist such an appeal. But the defendant is not always so +innocent as he appears to be, and whether innocent or guilty, +the interference of the foreigner irritates both magistrate +and prosecutor, while it not infrequently arouses the resentment +of the whole community by giving the idea that +the Christians are a privileged class who are not amenable +to the ordinary laws of the land. When, as sometimes happens, +the Christians themselves get that idea and presume upon +it, the difficulty becomes acute. Speaking of the Chinese +talent for indirection, the Rev. Dr. Arthur H. Smith +says:-- + + +``It is this which makes it so difficult for the most conscientious and +discreet missionary to be quite sure that he is in possession of all the +needed data in any given case. The difficulty in getting at the bottom +facts frequently is that there are no facts available, and, as the pilots say, +`no bottom.' Every Protestant missionary is anxious to have his flock of +Christians such as fear God and work righteousness, but in the effort to +compass this end he not infrequently finds that when endeavouring to +investigate the `facts' in any case he is chasing a school of cuttlefish +through seas of ink.''[68] + + +[68] ``Rex Christus,'' pp. 103, 107. + + +An illustration of this occurred during my visit in Ichou-fu. +A magistrate who needed some wheelbarrows sent out his men +to impress them. The rule in such cases is that only empty +barrows can be seized. But the yamen underlings found the +father of a mission helper with loaded barrows at an inn, stole +his goods and forced him to pay them a sum of money for the +privilege of keeping his barrows. The helper complained and +Dr. C. F. Johnson yielded only so far as to write a guarded +letter to the magistrate simply stating his confidence that if the +magistrate found that injustice had been done, he would +remedy it. But that letter brought the missionary into the +case and he found himself forced to see it through or ``lose +face'' with the Chinese Christians and especially the helper +who was the son of the man robbed. He soon discovered, +moreover, that the wronged man was telling contradictory +stories about the value of goods stolen and the amount of +money he had to pay to save his barrows. The situation +speedily became embarrassing and the sorely-tried missionary, +though he had acted from the best of motives and in the most +conservative way, vowed that he would never interfere again +in such disputes, as irritation and harm were almost certain to +result. + +I asked Sir Robert Hart whether in his opinion a missionary +should seek to obtain justice for a persecuted man or should +remain silent? He replied:-- + + +``Intervention in matters litigated ought to be absolutely eschewed. Let +the missionary content himself with making his disciples good men and +good citizens, and let him leave it to the duly authorized officials to +interpret and apply the law and administer their affairs in their own way. +Individual Christianity has as many shades and degrees as men's faces. +There are converts and converts, but even the most godly of them may +give his neighbour just reason to take offense, and the most saintly among +them may get involved in the meshes of the law. In such cases let the +missionary stand aloof. There is, too, such a thing as hypocrisy, much +better let the schemer get his deserts than hurt the church's character by +following sentiment into interference. You ask what is to be done when +there is persecution to be dealt with? First of all, I would advise the +individual or the community to live it down, and, as a last resort, report +the fact with appropriate detail and proof to the Legation in Peking for +the assistance and advice of the minister. `Watch thou in all things, +endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy +ministry.' '' + + +It is customary for the friends of Protestant missionaries to +answer the critic's charge of interference in native lawsuits by +stating that it does not justly lie against them, but only against +the Roman Catholics, the rule of the Protestant missionaries +being to avoid such interference save in rare and extreme cases. +Mr. Alexander Michie, however, declares that Protestant missionaries +are not entitled to such exemption, and that, while +they may not interfere so frequently as the Catholics, they +nevertheless interfere often enough to bring them under the +same condemnation.[69] + + +[69] Address in Shanghai, 1901. + + +There are undoubtedly cases of imprudence, but after diligent +inquiry, I am persuaded that the Protestant missionaries +as a class are keenly alive to the risks of interference in native +lawsuits and that they are increasingly careful in this respect. +They feel with the Rev. J. C. Garritt of Hangchow that ``the +most important form which prejudice has taken of late is the +belief that foreigners aid or at least countenance their converts +in the carrying of lawsuits through the yamens, or in the +business of private settlement of disputes, and that if we can +only practically demonstrate to the public that we are not in +that business, we shall have overcome one very serious obstacle +to our work.'' + +``The policy of the Chinese Government during the past +few years has been to avoid trouble by letting the foreigner +have his own way whenever possible. More than once the +Chinese official has said in substance to non-Christian litigants: +`You are right and your Christian accusers are wrong; but if +I decide in your favour the foreigner will appeal the case to the +Governor or to the Peking foreign office and I shall suffer.' +Such things are charged, justly or unjustly, to the account of +both Protestant and Romanist.''[70] + + +[70] The Rev. Dr. L. J. Davies, Tsing-tau. + + +A broad induction as to the facts has been made by the +Rev. Dr. Paul D. Bergen, President of Shantung Protestant +University. He wrote to a large number of missionaries representing +all Protestant denominations as to their practice and +convictions regarding this subject. Seventy-three answered +and Dr. Bergen tabulated their replies. As to the results of +the concrete cases of intervention cited, fifty-three are reported +to have been beneficial, twenty-six are characterized as doubtful, +four as mixed and sixty-seven as bad. This leaves the +remaining cases ``suspended in the air,'' and Dr. Bergen conjectures +that ``perhaps the missionary felt in such a confused +mental state at their conclusion, that he was quite unable to +work out the complicated equation of their results.'' + +``But surely the result that only fifty-three cases are reported +to have been of unmistakable benefit, while sixty-seven are set +down as resulting in evil, ought to give us thought. In short, +in the yamen intercession in behalf of prosecuted Christians, +it is the deliberate opinion of seventy-three missionaries that, as +a matter of personal experience, sixty-seven cases have wrought +only evil, while only fifty-three have been productive of good. +The balance is on the wrong side. We must decide, in view +of these replies, that there exists in general rather a pessimistic +opinion as to the advantages of applying to the yamen in behalf +of Christians.'' + +Summing up briefly the results of this inquiry, we note the +following points, which will embody the views of a very large +majority of the Protestant missionaries of experience in the +Empire:-- + + +``First,--That it is highly desirable to keep church troubles out of the +yamen, but that there are times when we cannot do so without violating +our sense of justice and our sense of duty towards an injured brother. + +``Second,--Official assistance is to be sought in such troubles only when +all other means of relief have been tried in vain. Always seek to settle +these difficulties out of court. + +``Third,--When official assistance is requested, our bearing should be +friendly and courteous in the spirit, at least in the first instance, of asking +a favour of the official, rather than demanding a right.... We +should be extremely careful about trying to bring pressure to bear on an +official. + +``Fourth,--In the presence of the native Christian, and especially of +those chiefly concerned, as well as in our own closets, we should cherish +a deep sense of our absolute dependence on heavenly rather than on +earthly protection, and remind the Christians that, as Dr. Taylor has so +tersely put it, their duty is `to do good, suffer for it and take it patiently.' + +``Fifth,--Only in grave cases should matters be pushed to the point of +controversy or formal appeal. + +``Sixth,--Christians and evangelists should be solemnly warned against +betraying an arrogant spirit upon the successful termination of any +trouble. + +``Seventh,--Previous to the carrying of a case before the official, let the +missionary be sure of his facts. Each case should be patiently, thoroughly +and firmly examined. Receive individual testimony with judicious reserve. +Be not easily blinded by appeals to the emotions. Be especially +ready to receive any one from the opposition, and give his words due +weight. Do not be too exclusively influenced by the judgment of any one +man, however trusted. + +``Eighth,--In the course of negotiation beware of insisting on monetary +compensation for the injured Christian. In greatly aggravated cases this +may occasionally be unavoidable. But should it be made a condition of +settlement, see to it that the damages are under, rather than over, what +might have been demanded. It is almost sure to cause subsequent +trouble, both within and without, if a Christian receives money under +such circumstances. + +``Ninth,--When unhappily involved in a persecution case with the official, +we should remember that we are not lawyers, and therefore make no +stand on legal technicalities, nor allow ourselves to take a threatening +attitude, although we may be subjected to provocation; we should be +patient, dignified and strong in the truth, making it clear to the official that +this is all that we seek in order that the ends of justice may be satisfied. + +``Tenth,--It would be well on every fitting occasion to exhort those under +our care to avoid frequenting yamens or cultivating intimacy with +their inhabitants, unless, indeed, we feel assured that their motive is the +same as that animating our Lord when He mingled with publicans and +sinners.'' + + +A widely representative conference of Protestant missionaries +issued in 1903 the following manifesto and sent copies in +Chinese to all officials throughout the Empire: + + +``Chinese Christians, though church-members, remain in every respect +Chinese citizens, and are subject to the properly constituted Chinese +authorities. The sacred Scriptures and the doctrines of the church teach +obedience to all lawful authority and exhort to good citizenship; and these +doctrines are preached in all Protestant churches. The relation of a missionary +to his converts is thus that of a teacher to his disciples, and he +does not desire to arrogate to himself the position or power of a magistrate. + +``Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that unworthy men, by making insincere +professions, enter the church and seek to use this connection to +interfere with the ordinary course of law in China. We all agree that +such conduct is entirely reprehensible, and we desire it to be known that +we give no support to this unwarrantable practice + +``On this account we desire to state that for the information of all that: +(a) The Protestant Church does not wish to interfere in law cases. All +cases between Christians and non-Christians must be settled in the courts +in the ordinary way. Officials are called upon to administer fearlessly and +impartially justice to all within their jurisdiction. (b) Native Christians +are strictly forbidden to use the name of the church or its officers in the +hope of strengthening their positions when they appear before magistrates. +The native pastors and preachers are appointed for teaching and exhortation, +and are chosen because of their worthy character to carry on this +work. To prevent abuses in the future, all officials are respectfully requested +to report to the missionary every case in which letters or cards using +the name of the church or any of its officers are brought into court. +Then proper inquiry will be made and the truth become clear.'' + + +The policy of the British Government on this subject was +clearly expressed by Earl Granville in his note of August 21, +1871, to the British Minister at Peking: + + +``The policy and practice of the Government of Great Britain have been +unmistakable. They have uniformly declared, and now repeat, that they +do not claim to afford any species of protection to Chinese Christians +which may be construed as withdrawing them from their native allegiance, +nor do they desire to secure to British missionaries any privileges +or immunities beyond those granted by treaty to other British subjects. +The Bishop of Victoria was requested to intimate this to the Protestant +missionary societies in the letter addressed to him by Mr. Hammond by +the Earl of Clarendon's direction on the 13th of November, 1869, and to +point out that they would `do well to warn converts that although the +Chinese Government may be bound by treaty not to persecute, on account +of their conversion, Chinese subjects who may embrace Christianity, +there is no provision in the treaty by which a claim can be made on behalf +of converts for exemption from the obligations of their natural allegiance, +and from the jurisdiction of the local authorities. Under the creed +of their adoption, as under that of their birth, Chinese converts to Christianity +still owe obedience to the law of China, and if they assume to set +themselves above those laws, in reliance upon foreign protection, they +must take the consequence of their own indiscretion, for no British authority, +at all events, can interfere to save them.' '' + + +The policy of the United States Government was stated with +equal clearness in a note of the Hon. Frederick F. Low, +United States Minister at Peking, to the Tsung-li Yamen, dated +March 20, 1871: + + +``The Government of the United States, while it claims to exercise, under +and by virtue of the stipulations of treaty, the exclusive right of judging +of the wrongful acts of its citizens resident in China, and of punishing +them when found guilty according to its own laws, does not assume to +claim or exercise any authority or control over the natives of China. This +rule applies equally to merchants and missionaries, and, so far as I know, +all foreign Governments having treaties with China adhere strictly to this +rule. In case, however, missionaries see that native Christians are being +persecuted by the local officials on account of their religious opinions, in +violation of the letter and spirit of the twenty-ninth article of the treaty +between the United States and China, it would be proper, and entirely in +accordance with the principles of humanity and the teachings of their religion, +to make respectful representation of the facts in such cases to the +local authorities direct, or through their diplomatic representative to the +foreign office; for it cannot be presumed that the Imperial Government +would sanction any violation of treaty engagement, or that the local officials +would allow persecutions for opinion's sake, when once the facts are +made known to them. In doing this the missionaries should conform to +Chinese custom and etiquette, so far as it can be done without assuming +an attitude that would be humiliating and degrading to themselves.'' + + +The question is one of the most difficult and delicate of all +the questions with which the missionary must deal. On the +one hand, every impulse of justice and humanity prompts him +to befriend a good man who is being persecuted for righteousness' +sake. But on the other hand, sore experience has +taught him the necessity of caution. The pressure upon him is +so frequent and trying that it becomes the bete noire of his life. +The outsider may wisely hesitate before he adds to that pressure. +The citations that have been given show that the missionaries +themselves understand the question quite as well as +any one else and that they are competent to deal with it. + + + +XX + +MISSIONARIES AND THEIR OWN GOVERNMENTS + +THE relation of the missionary to the consular and +diplomatic representatives of his own government is +another topic of perennial criticism. Some European +Governments have persistently and notoriously sought to advance +their national interest through their missionaries. France +and Russia have been particularly active in this way, the +former claiming large rights by virtue of its position as ``the +protector of Catholic missions.'' The result is that the +average Chinese official regards all missionaries as political +agents who are to be watched and feared. Dr. L. J. Davies, a +Presbyterian missionary, says that he has been repeatedly asked +his rank as ``an American official,'' whether he ``reported in +person'' to his ``emperor'' on his return to his native land, +how much salary his government allowed him, and many +other questions the import of which was manifest. + +The typical consul and minister, moreover, find that no +small part of their business relates to matters that are brought to +their attention by missionaries. Sometimes they manifest impatience +on this account. One consul profanely complained to +me that three-fourths of his business related to the missionary +question. He forgot, however, that nine-tenths of the nationals +under his jurisdiction were missionaries, so that in proportion to +their numbers, the missionaries gave him less trouble than the +non-missionary Americans. In answer to an inquiry by the +Rev. Dr. Paul D. Bergen, of the Presbyterian Mission, seventy- +three missionaries, of from five to thirty years' experience, and +representing most of the Protestant boards, reported a total of +only fifty-two applications through consul or minister. The +Hon. John Barrett, formerly Minister of the United States to +Siam, writes: ``Let us be fair in judging the missionaries. +Let the complaining merchant, traveller or clubman take the +beam from his own eye before he demands that the mote be +taken from the missionary's eye. In my diplomatic experience +in Siam, 150 missionaries gave me less trouble in five years +than fifteen merchants gave me in five months.'' + +Doubtless some diplomats would be glad to have the missionaries +expatriate themselves. In the United States Senate +the Hon. John Sherman is reported to have said that ``if our +citizens go to a far-distant country, semi-civilized and bitterly +opposed to their movements, we cannot follow them there and +protect them. They ought to come home.'' Is, then, the +missionary's business less legitimate than the trader's? Is a +man entitled to the protection of his country if he goes to the +Orient to sell whiskey and rifles, but does he forfeit that protection +if he goes there to preach the gospel of temperance and +peace? + +Critics may be reminded that missionaries are American citizens; +that when gamblers and drunkards and adventurers and +distillery agents in China claim the rights of citizenship, the +missionary does not forfeit his rights by a residence in China +for the purpose of teaching the young, healing the sick, distributing +the Bible and preaching the gospel of Christ, particularly +when treaties expressly guarantee him protection in the +exercise of these very privileges. It is odd to find some people +insisting that a dissolute trader should be allowed to go +wherever he pleases and raising a tremendous hubbub if a hair +of his head is injured, while at the same time they appear to +deem it an unwarranted thing for a decent man to go to China +on a mission of peace and good-will. + +While the individual missionary is, of course, free to +renounce his claim to the protection of home citizenship, +such renunciation is neither necessary nor expedient. There +is not the slightest probability that our Government will require +it, and if it should, the public sentiment of the United States +would not tolerate such an order for a week. No self-respecting +nation can expatriate its citizens who go abroad to do good. +The policy of the United States was indicated in the note of +the Hon. J. C. B. Davis, acting Secretary of State, to the +United States Minister at Peking, October 19, 1871. + + +``The rights of citizens of the United States in China are well defined +by treaty. So long as they attend peaceably to their affairs they are to +be placed on a common footing of amity and good-will with subjects of +China, and are to receive and enjoy for themselves, and everything appertaining +to them, protection and defense from all insults and injuries. +They have the right to reside at any of the ports open to foreign commerce, +to rent houses and places of business, or to build such upon sites +which they have the right to hire. They have secured to them the right +to build churches and cemeteries, and they may teach or worship in those +churches without being harassed, persecuted, interfered with, or molested. +These are some of the rights which are expressly and in terms granted to +the United States, for their citizens, by the Treaty of 1858. If I rightly +apprehend the spirit of the note of the Foreign Office, and of the regulations +which accompany it, there is, to state it in the least objectionable +form, an apprehension in the yamen that it may become necessary to curtail +some of these rights, in consequence of the alleged conduct of French +missionaries. This idea cannot be entertained for one moment by the +United States.'' + + +This position was given new emphasis by the note sent by +Secretary of State John Hay to the Hon. Horace Porter, United +States Ambassador to France, in response to a communication +from the American Chamber of Commerce in Paris in 1903. +In this note Mr. Hay said: + + +``The Government holds that every citizen sojourning or travelling +abroad in pursuit of his lawful affairs is entitled to a passport, and the +duration of such sojourn the department does not arrogate to itself the right +to limit or prescribe.'' + + +The governments of continental Europe have repeatedly +shown themselves quick to resent an infringement upon the +treaty rights of their subjects who are in China as missionaries. +The Hon. Thomas Francis Wade, British Minister at Peking, +wrote to Minister Wen Hsiang in June, 1871:--``The British +Government draws no distinction between the missionaries and +any other of its non-official subjects.'' This sentiment was emphatically +reiterated by Earl Granville in a note from the foreign +office in London to Mr. Wade dated August 21, 1871: + + +``Her Majesty's Government cannot allow the claim that the missionaries +residing in China must conform to the laws and customs of China to +pass unchallenged. It is the duty of a missionary, as of every other British +subject, to avoid giving offense as far as possible to the Chinese authorities +or people, but he does not forfeit the rights to which he is entitled under +the treaty as a British subject because of his missionary character.'' + + +But while this is the only possible policy for a government, +it is surely reasonable to expect that the persons concerned will +exercise moderation and prudence in their demands. The +China Island Mission does not permit its missionaries to appeal +to their Government officials without special permission from +headquarters. Many missionaries of other societies would +probably resent such a limitation of their liberty as citizens. +But as the act of the individual often involves others, it might +be well to make the approval of the station necessary, and, +wherever practicable, of the mission. Nine-tenths of the +missionaries do not and will not unnecessarily write or +telegraph for the intervention of minister or consul. But the +tenth man may be benefited by the counsel of his colleagues +who know or who may be easily acquainted with the facts. +The American Presbyterian Board in a formal action has expressed +the wise judgment that ``appeals to the secular arm +should always and everywhere be as few as possible.'' It is +not in the civil or military power of a country to give the +missionary success. In the crude condition of heathen +society, the temptation is sometimes strong to appeal for aid to +``the secular arm'' of the home government. Occasions may +possibly arise in which it will be necessary to insist upon rights. +Nevertheless, as a rule, it will be well to remember that ``the +weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through +God,'' and that ``the servant of the Lord must not strive, but +be gentle unto all men.'' The argument of the sword is +Mohammedan, not Christian. The veteran Rev. J. Hudson +Taylor holds that in the long run appeals to home governments +do nothing but harm. He says he has known of many riots +that have never been reported and of much suffering endured +in silence which have ``fallen out rather to the furtherance of +the gospel,'' and that ``if we leave God to vindicate our +cause, the issue is sure to prove marvellous in spirituality.'' + +The critics have vociferously charged that after the suppression +of the Boxer uprising, the missionaries greatly embarrassed +their governments by demanding bloody vengeance +upon the Chinese. It may indeed be true that among the +thousands of Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries in +China, some temporarily lost their self-control and gave way to +anger under the awful provocation of ruined work, burned +homes, outraged women and butchered Chinese Christians. +How many at home would or could have remained calm in +such circumstances? But it is grossly unjust to treat such +excited utterances as representative of the great body of +missionary opinion. The missionaries went to China and +they propose to stay there because they love and believe in the +Chinese, and it is very far from their thought to demand undue +punishment for those who oppose them. They sensibly +expected a certain amount of opposition from tradition, +heathenism, superstition and corruption, and they are not disposed +to call for unmanly or unchristian measures when that +trouble falls upon them which fell in even greater measure on +the Master Himself. + +It is true that some of the missionaries felt that the ring- +leaders of the Boxers, including those in high official position +who more or less secretly incited them to violence, should be +punished. But they were not thinking of revenge, so much as +of the welfare of China, the restoration to power of the best element +among the Chinese, and the reasonable security of +Chinese Christians and of foreigners who have treaty rights. +Many missionaries feel that there is no hope for China save in +the predominance of the Reform Party, and that if the reactionaries +are to remain in control, the outlook is dark indeed, +not so much for the foreigner as for China itself. The men +who were guilty of the atrocities perpetrated in the summer of +1900 violated every law, human and divine, and some of the +missionaries demanded their punishment only in the same +spirit as the ministers and Christian people of the United +States who with united voice demanded the punishment of the +four young men in Paterson, New Jersey, who had been +systematically outraging young girls. + +Nevertheless, as to the whole subject of the policy which +should be adopted by our Government in China, I believe that +it would be wise for both the missionaries and the mission +boards to be cautious in proffering advice, and to leave the +responsibility for action with the lawfully constituted civil +authorities upon whom the people have placed it. Governments +have better facilities for acquiring accurate information +as to political questions than missionaries have. They can see +the bearings of movements more clearly than those who are +not in political life and can discern elements in the situation +that are not so apparent to others. Moreover, they must bear +the blame or praise for consequences. They can ask for +missionary opinion if they want it. Generations of protest +against priestly domination, chiefly by Protestant ministers +themselves, have developed in both Europe and America a disposition +to resent clerical interference in political questions. +This is particularly true of matters in Asia, where the political +situation is so delicate. The opinions publicly expressed by +the missionaries as to the policy, which, in their judgment, +should be adopted by our Government and by the European +Powers have included not only many articles of individual +missionaries in newspapers and magazines, but formal communications +of bodies or committees of missionaries. Conspicuous +examples are the protests of missionaries assembled in +Chefoo and Shanghai in 1900 against the decision of the +American Government to withdraw its troops from Peking, to +recognize the Empress Dowager and to omit certain officials +from the list of those who were to be executed or banished, and, +in particular, the letter addressed by ``the undersigned +British and American missionaries representative of societies +and organizations that have wide interests in China to their +Excellencies the Plenipotentiaries of Great Britain and the +United States accredited to the Chinese Government.'' + +These actions were taken by men whose character, ability +and knowledge of the Chinese entitle them to great weight, and +who were personally affected in the security of their lives and +property and in the interests of their life-work by the policy +adopted by their respective Governments. All were citizens who +did not abdicate their citizenship by becoming missionaries, +and whose status and rights in China, as such, have been +specifically recognized by treaty. All, moreover, expressed +their views with clearness, dignity and force. From the viewpoint +of right and privilege, and, indeed, political duty as +citizens, they were abundantly justified in expressing their +opinions. + +On the other hand, there are many friends of missions who +doubt whether formal declarations of judgment ``as missionaries,'' +on political and military questions, were accorded much +influence by diplomats; whether they did not increase the +popular criticism of missionaries to an extent which more than +counterbalanced any good that they accomplished; whether +they did not identify the missionary cause with ``the consul +and gunboat'' policy which Lord Salisbury charged upon it; +and whether they did not prejudice their own future influence +over the Chinese and strengthen the impression that the mis- +sionaries are ``political emissaries.'' In reply to my inquiry as +to his opinion, Sir Robert Hart expressed himself as follows:-- + + +``As for punitive measures, etc., I have really no personal knowledge +of the action taken by American missionaries, and hearsay is not a good +foundation for opinion. It is said that vindictive feeling rather than tender +mercy has been noticed. But even if so, it cannot be wondered at, so +cruel were the Chinese assailants when they had the upper hand. The +occasion has been altogether anomalous, and it is only at the parting of +the ways the difference of view comes in. That what was done merited +almost wholesale punishment is a view most will agree in--eyes turned to +the past--but when discussion tries to argue out what will be best for the +future, some will vote for striking terror, and others for trusting more to +the more slowly working but longer lasting effect of mercy. I do not believe +any missionary has brought anybody to punishment who did not +richly deserve it. But some people seem to feel it would have been wiser +for ministers of the gospel to have left to `governors' the `punishment of +evil-doers.' For my part, I cannot blame them, for without their assistance +much that is known would not have been known, and, although numbers +of possibly innocent, inoffensive and non-hostile people may have been +overwhelmed in this last year's avalanche of disaster, there are still at +large a lot of men whose punishment would probably have been a good +thing for the future. One can only hope that their good luck in escaping +may lead them to take a new departure, and with their heads in the right +direction.''[71] + + +[71] Letter to the author with permission to print, July, 1901. + + +Wisely or unwisely--the former, I venture to think--the +interdenominational conference of American mission boards having +work in China, held in 1900, declined to make representations +to our Government on questions of policy during the Boxer +uprising. They necessarily had much correspondence with +Washington regarding the safety of missionaries during the +siege, but when I inquired of Secretary of State Hay as to the +accuracy of the later newspaper charges that mission boards +were urging the Government to retaliatory measures, he promptly +replied: ``No communications of this nature have been received +from the great mission boards or from their authorized +representatives.'' + +But let us hear the missionaries themselves on this subject. +An interdenominational committee, headed by the Rev. Dr. +Calvin W. Mateer, prepared a reply to this criticism, which has +been circulated throughout China and has received the assent +of so large a number of missionaries of all churches and nationalities +that it may be taken as representing the views of fully +nine-tenths of the whole body of Protestant missionaries in the +Empire. This letter should be given the widest possible currency, +as expressing the views of men who are the peers of any +equal number of Christian workers in the world. It is dated +May 24, 1901, and, after discussing the question of the responsibility +for the Boxer uprising, the letter continues: + + +``With reference to the second point--that we have manifested an unchristian +spirit in suggesting the punishment of those who were guilty of +the massacre of foreigners and native Christians--we understand that the +criticism applies chiefly to the message sent by the public meeting held in +Shanghai in September last. + +``1. It should, in the first place, be borne in mind that the resolutions +passed at that meeting were called for by the proposal of the Allies to +evacuate Peking immediately after the relief of the Legations. It was +felt, not only by missionaries but by the whole of the foreign residents in +China, that such a course would be fraught with the greatest disaster, inasmuch +as it would give sanction to further lawlessness. + +``2. Further it must be remembered that, while suggesting that a satisfactory +settlement `should include the adequate punishment of all who +were guilty of the recent murders of foreigners and native Christians,' +it was left to the Powers to decide what that `adequate punishment' +should be. Moreover, when taking such measures as were necessary, +they were urged to `make every effort to avoid all needless and +indiscriminate slaughter of Chinese and destruction of their property.' + +``3. By a strange misunderstanding we find that this suggestion has +been interpreted as though it were animated by an unchristian spirit of +revenge. With the loss of scores of friends and colleagues still fresh upon +us, and with stories of cruel massacres reaching us day by day, it would +not have been surprising had we been betrayed into intemperate expressions; +but we entirely repudiate the idea which has been read into our +words. If governments are the ministers of God's righteousness, then +surely it is the duty of every Christian Government not only to uphold the +right but to put down the wrong, and equally the duty of all Christian +subjects to support them in so doing. For China, as for Western nations, +anarchy is the only alternative to law. Both justice and mercy require +the judicial punishment of the wrong-doers in the recent outrages. For +the good of the people themselves, for the upholding of that standard of +righteousness which they acknowledge and respect, for the strengthening +and encouragement of those officials whose sympathies have been throughout +on the side of law and order, and for the protection of our own helpless +women and children and the equally helpless sons and daughters of +the Church, we think that such violations of treaty obligations, and such +heartless and unprovoked massacres as have been carried out by official +authority or sanction, should not be allowed to pass unpunished. It is +not of our personal wrongs that we think, but of the maintenance of law +and order, and of the future safety of all foreigners residing in the interior +of China, who, it must be remembered, are not under the jurisdiction of +Chinese law, but, according to the treaties, are immediately responsible to, +and under the protection of, their respective Governments.'' + + +The reply rather pathetically concludes: + + +``It is unhappily the lot of missionaries to be misunderstood and spoken +against, and we are aware that in any explanation we now offer we add +to the risk of further misunderstanding; but we cast ourselves on the forbearance +of our friends, and beg them to refrain from hasty and ill-formed +judgments. If, on our part, there have been extreme statements, if individual +missionaries have used intemperate words or have made demands +out of harmony with the spirit of our Divine Lord, is it too much to ask +that the anguish and peril through which so many of our number have +gone during the last six months should be remembered, and that the whole +body should not be made responsible for the hasty utterances of the +few?'' + + +A perplexing phase of the relation of missionaries to their +own governments develops in times of disturbance. Should +missionaries remain at their stations when their minister or consul +think that they ought to withdraw to the port where they +can be more easily protected? Should they make journeys +that the consul deems imprudent or return to an abandoned +station before he regards the trouble as ended? This question +became acute in connection with the Boxer outbreak when mis- +sionaries sometimes differed with ministers or consuls as to +whether they should go or stay. On the one hand it may be +urged that missionaries are under strong obligations to attach +great weight to the judgment of their minister or consul. If +they receive the benefits and protection of citizenship, and if +by their acts they may involve their governments, they should +recognize the right of the authorized representatives of those +governments to counsel them. The presumption should be in +favour of obedience to that counsel, and it should not be disregarded +without clear and strong reasons. + +But the fact cannot be ignored that, whatever may be the +personal sympathies of individual ministers or consuls, diplomacy +as such considers only the secondary results of missions, +and not the primary ones. Government officials, speaking on +missionary work, almost invariably dwell on its material and +civilizing rather than its spiritual aspects. They do not, as +officials, feel that the salvation of men from sin and the command +of Christ to evangelize all nations are within their sphere. +Moreover, diplomacy is proverbially and necessarily cautious. +Its business is to avoid risks, and, of course, to advise others to +avoid them. The political situation, too, was undeniably uncertain +and delicate. The future was big with possibility of peril. +In such circumstances, we should expect diplomacy to be anxious +and to look at the whole question from the prudential viewpoint. + +But the missionary, like the soldier, must take some risks. +From Paul down, missionaries have not hesitated to face them. +Christ did not condition His great command upon the approval +of Caesar. It was not safe for Morrison to enter China, and for +many years missionaries in the interior were in grave jeopardy. +But devoted men and women accepted the risk in the past, and +they will accept it in the future. They must exercise common +sense. And yet this enterprise is unworldly as well as worldly, +and when the soldier boldly faces every physical peril, when +the trader unflinchingly jeopardizes life and limb in the pursuit +of gold--I found a German mining engineer and his wife living +alone in a remote village soon after the Boxer excitement-- +should the missionary be held back? + +If, however, after full and careful deliberation, missionaries feel +that it is their duty to disregard the advice of their minister or +consul, they should consult their respective boards and if the +boards sustain them, all concerned should accept responsibility +for the risks involved. + +But if missionaries do not permit governments to control +their movements, they should not be too exacting in their +demands on them when trouble comes. The Rev. Dr. Henry +M. Field once said:-- + + +``A foreign missionary is one who goes to a strange country to preach +the gospel of our salvation. That is his errand and his defense. The +civil authorities are not presumed to be on his side. If he offends the +sensibilities of the people to whom he preaches, he is supposed to face +the consequences. If he cannot win men by the Word and his own love +for their souls, he cannot call on the civil or military powers to convert +them. Nor is the missionary a merchant, in the sense that he must have +ready recourse to the courts for a recouping of losses or the recovery of +damages. Commercial treaties cannot cover all our missionary enterprises. +Confusion of ideas here has confounded a good many fine plans +and zealous men. It is a tremendous begging of the whole question to +insist on the nation's protection of the men who are to subvert the +national faith. Property rights and preaching rights get closely entwined, +and it is difficult to untangle them at times, but the distinction +is definite and the difference often fundamental. By confusing +them we weaken the claims of both. And when our Christian preachers +get behind a mere property right in order to defend their right to preach +a new religion, they dishonour themselves and defame the faith they +profess. To get behind diplomatic guaranties in order to evangelize the +nations is to mistake the sword for the Spirit, to rely on the arm of flesh +and put aside the help of the Almighty.'' + + +That is, in my judgment, stating the case rather strongly. +Doubtless Dr. Field did not mean that governments would be +justified in discriminating against missionaries and he would +probably have been one of the first to protest if they had done +so. He was addressing missionaries, reminding them that they +could do in liberty what the governments could not do in law, +and exhorting against any disposition to depend unduly upon +the sword of the secular arm. At any rate, he was a devoted +friend of missions and as such his words are deserving of +thoughtful consideration. + + + +XXI + +RESPONSIBILITY OF MISSIONARIES FOR THE +BOXER UPRISING + +CRITICS vociferously assert that the missionaries were +chiefly responsible for the Boxer uprising and for most +of the prejudice of the Chinese against foreigners. As +to the general accuracy of this charge, the reader has doubtless +formed some impression from what has been said in the preceding +chapters regarding the objects and methods of foreign +trade and foreign politics. Still, it is but fair to remember that +there are 3,854 missionaries in China, representing almost every +European and American nationality and no less than nine +Roman Catholic and sixty-seven Protestant boards.[72] As might +be expected, the standard of appointment varies. A few +boards, while insisting upon high spiritual qualifications, do +not insist upon equal qualifications of some other kinds, while +in all societies an occasional missionary proves to be visionary +and ill-balanced. But in the great majority of the boards, +the standard of appointment is very high, and while occasional +mistakes are made, yet as a rule the missionaries represent the +best type of Protestant Christianity. They are, as a class, +men and women of education, refinement and ability--in every +respect the equals and as a rule the superiors of the best class +of non-missionary Europeans and Americans in China. + + +[72] The Chinese Recorder. + + +Now it is manifest that criticisms which may be true of some +missionaries may not be true of the missionary body as a +whole. As a matter of fact, the average critic has in mind +either the Roman Catholic priests or the members of some +independent society. This is notably true of Michie. Many +of the charges are not true even of them, but of the charges +that I have seen that have any foundation at all, nine-tenths +do not apply to the missionaries of church boards. It is always +fair, therefore, to ask a critic, ``To which class of missionaries +do you refer?'' + +The clearest line of distinction is between the Protestants +and the Roman Catholics. The latter number 904. They +have been in China the longest. They have the largest following,[73] +and their methods are radically different from those of the +Protestant missionaries. It is not denied that some of the +priests are high-minded, intelligent men and that some of the +Protestants lack wisdom. But comparing the two classes +broadly, no one who is at all conversant with the facts will regard +the Protestants as inferior. I do not wish to be unjust to +the Roman Catholic missionaries in China. Many good things +might be said regarding the work which some of them are doing. +I personally called at several Roman Catholic stations in +various parts of the Empire and I have vivid recollections of +the kindness with which I was received, while more than once +I was impressed by the unmistakable evidences of devotion and +self-sacrifice. It was pleasant to hear many Protestant missionaries +declare that they had never heard a suspicion as to the +moral character of the priests. I did not hear any in all north +China. The lives of the Roman Catholic missionaries are hard +and narrow and they have no relief in the companionships of +wife and children, in furloughs or in medical attendance, for +they have no medical missionaries, while not infrequently the +priest lives alone in a village. Dead to the world, with no +families and no expectation of returning to their native land, +trained from boyhood to a monastic life, drilled to unquestioning +obedience and to few personal needs, their ambition is not +to get anything for themselves but to strengthen the Church +for which the individual priest unhesitatingly sacrifices himself, +content if by his complete submergence of his own interests he +has helped to make her great. With such men, Rome is a +mighty power in Asia. But the sincere, devoted man may be +even more dangerous if his zeal is wrongly directed, and the +question under discussion now is not the personal character of +individuals, but the general policy of the Church. As to +the character and effects of this policy I found a remarkable +unanimity of opinion in China, and I could easily produce +from my note-books the names of scores of credible witnesses +to the substantial accuracy of my position. + + +[73] 720,540 Roman Catholics--compare p. 223 for Protestants. + + +Whatever may be said in favour of the Roman Catholics, it +is unquestionable that their methods are far more irritating to +the Chinese than the methods of the Protestants. Led by able +and energetic bishops, the priests acquire all possible business +property, demand large rentals, build imposing religious plants, +and baptize or enroll as catechumens all sorts of people. It is +notorious that the Roman Catholic priests quite generally +adopt the policy of interference on behalf of their converts. +Through the Minister of France at Peking they obtained an +Imperial Edict, dated March 15, 1899, granting them official +status, so that the local priest is on a footing of equality with +the local magistrate, and has the right of full access to him at +any time. Whether or not intended by the Roman Catholic +Church, the impression is almost universal in China among +natives and foreigners alike that, if a Chinese becomes a +Catholic, the Church will stand by him through thick and +thin, in time and in eternity. There are, indeed, exceptions. +Dr. Johnson, of Ichou-fu, told me of a Roman Catholic Christian +who, during the Boxer troubles, stealthily moved his goods +into Ichou-fu, burned his house, and then put in a claim for +indemnity. The heathen neighbours, when asked to pay, informed +the priest. He summoned the man, who confusedly +said that if he had not burned the house, the Boxers would have +done so, and he thought he had better do it at a convenient +time as it was sure to be burned anyway. The priest promptly +decided that he must suffer the loss himself. So the priests do +not always stand by their converts whether right or wrong. + +No one, however, who is familiar with the general course of +the Roman Catholic Church in China, will deny that, as a +rule, the priests boldly champion the cause of their converts. +This is one secret of Rome's great and rapidly growing power +in China, and unquestionably, too, it is one of the chief causes +of Chinese hostility to missions. After many years of observation, +Dr. J. Campbell Gibson writes:-- + + +``In the missions of the Church of Rome, they (treaty rights) are +systematically, and I am afraid one must say unscrupulously, used for the +gathering in of large numbers of nominal converts, whose only claim to +the Christian name is their registration in lists kept by native catechists, +in which they are entered on payment of a small fee, without regard to +their possession of any degree of Christian knowledge or character. In +the event of their being involved in any dispute or lawsuit, the native +catechists or priests, and even the foreign Roman Catholic missionaries, +take up their cause and press it upon the native magistrates. Not infrequently +a still worse course is pursued. Intimation is sent round the +villages in which there are large numbers of so-called Catholic converts +and these assemble under arms to support by force the feuds of their +co-religionists. The consequence is that the Catholic missions in southern +China, and I believe in the north also, are bitterly hated by the Chinese +people and by their magistrates. By terrorizing both magistrates and +people, they have secured in many places a large amount of apparent +popularity; but they are sowing the seeds of a harvest of hatred and bitterness +which may be reaped in deplorable forms in years to come.''[74] + + +[74] ``Mission Problems and Mission Methods in South China,'' pp. 309, +310. + + +In my own interviews with Chinese officials, it was my custom +to lead the conversation towards the motives of those who had +attacked foreigners during the Boxer uprising, and without exception +the officials mentioned, among other causes, the interference +of Roman Catholic priests with the administration of +the law in cases affecting their converts. In several places in +the interior, this was the only reason assigned. + +Said an intelligent Chinese official in Shantung: ``The +whole trouble is not with the Protestants but with the Catholics. +Protestant Christians do not go to law so often, and when they +do, the Protestant missionary does not, as a rule, interfere unless +he is sure they are right. But the Catholic Christians are +constantly involved in lawsuits, and the priests invariably stand +by them right or wrong. The priests seem to think that their +converts cannot be wrong. The result is that many Chinese +join the Roman Catholic Church to get the help of the priests +in the innumerable lawsuits that the Chinese are always waging. +And it is not surprising in such circumstances that Catholic +Christians are a bad lot.'' When I asked the magistrate of +Paoting-fu why the people had killed such kindly and helpful +neighbours as the Congregational and Presbyterian missionaries, +he replied:--``The people were angered by the interference +of the Roman Catholics in their lawsuits. They felt +that they could not obtain justice against them, and in their +frenzy they did not distinguish between Catholics and Protestants.'' +The Roman Catholic Mission in the prefecture of +Paoting-fu, it should be remembered, is about two centuries +old, and the Catholic population is about 12,000, so that the +few hundreds of converts who have been gathered in the recent +work of the Protestants are very small in comparison, while the +splendid cathedral of the Roman Church, the spectacular character +of its services and the official status and aggressiveness +of its priests intensify the disproportion. The term Christian, +therefore, to the average man of Paoting-fu naturally means a +Roman Catholic rather than a Protestant. + +Perhaps we should make some allowance for Oriental forms +of statement to one who was known to be a Protestant. The +politeness of an Oriental host to a guest is not always limited +by veracity, and it is possible that to Roman Catholics the +officials may blame the Protestants. But such unanimity of +testimony among so many independent and widely separated +officials must surely count for something, especially when the +grounds for it are so notorious. Undoubtedly, there are many +sincere Christians among the Roman Catholic Chinese, but +judging from the almost universal testimony that I heard in +China, the Roman Church is a veritable cave of Adullam for +unscrupulous and revengeful Chinese. + +The evidence does not rest upon the testimony of Protestants +alone. If any one will take the trouble to look up the diplomatic +correspondence on this subject, he will find ample and +convincing testimony. February 9, 1871, the Tsung-li Yamen +addressed to the Foreign Legations at Peking a memorandum +together with eight propositions, the whole embodying the +complaints and objections of the Chinese Government to missionaries +and their work in China, and suggesting certain regulations +for the future. This memorandum included the following +paragraph:-- + + +``The missionary question affects the whole question of pacific relations +with foreign powers--the whole question of their trade. As the Minister +addressed cannot but be well aware, wherever missionaries of the Romish +profession appear, ill-feeling begins between them and the people, and for +years past, in one case or another, points of all kinds on which they are +at issue have been presenting themselves. In earlier times when the +Romish missionaries first came to China, styled, as they were, `Si Ju,' +the Scholars of the West, their converts no doubt for the most part were +persons of good character; but since the change of ratifications in 1860, +the converts have in general not been of a moral class. The result has +been that the religion that professes to exhort men to virtue has come to +be lightly thought of; it is in consequence, unpopular, and its unpopularity +is greatly increased by the conduct of the converts who, relying on the +influence of the missionaries, oppress and take advantage of the common +people (the non-Christians): and yet more by the conduct of the missionaries +themselves, who, when collisions between Christians and the people +occur, and the authorities are engaged in dealing with them, take part +with the Christians, and uphold them in their opposition to the authorities. +This undiscriminating enlistment of proselytes has gone so far that +rebels and criminals of China, pettifoggers and mischief-makers, and such +like, take refuge in the profession of Christianity, and covered by this +position, create disorder. This has deeply dissatisfied the people, and +their dissatisfaction long felt grows into animosity, and their animosity +into deadly hostility. The populations of different localities are not aware +that Protestantism and Romanism are distinct. They include both under +the latter denomination. They do not know that there is any distinction +between the nations of the West. They include them all under one denomination +of foreigners, and thus any serious collision that occurs equally +compromises all foreigners in China. Even in the provinces not concerned, +doubt and misgiving are certain to be largely generated.'' + + +The memorandum and its attached propositions are interesting +reading as showing the impression which the Chinese Government +had of Roman Catholic missionary work. The third +proposition included the following statement:-- + + +``They (Roman Catholic converts) even go so far as to coerce the authorities +and cheat and oppress the people. And the foreign missionaries, +without inquiring into facts, conceal in every case the Christian evil-doer, +and refuse to surrender him to the authorities for punishment. It has +even occurred that malefactors who have been guilty of the gravest +crimes have thrown themselves into the profession of Christianity, and +have been at once accepted and screened (from justice). In every province +do the foreign missionaries interfere at the offices of the local authorities +in lawsuits in which native Christians are concerned. For example +in a case that occurred in Sze-chuen in which some native Christian +women defrauded certain persons (non-Christians) of the rent owing to +them, and actually had these persons wounded and killed, the French +Bishop took on himself to write in official form (to the authorities) pleading +in their favour. None of these women were sentenced to forfeit life +for life taken, and the resentment of the people of Sze-chuen in consequence +remains unabated.'' + + +Mr. Wade, the British Minister at Peking, in reporting this +memorandum and its appended propositions to Earl Granville, +June 8, 1871, said: + + +``The promiscuous enlistment of evil men as well as good by the +Romish missionaries, and their advocacy of the claims advanced by these +ill-conditioned converts, has made Romanism most unpopular; and the +people at large do not distinguish between Romanist and Protestant, nor +between foreigner and foreigner; not that Government has made no effort +to instruct the people, but China is a large Empire.... Three- +fourths of the Romish missionaries in China, in all, between 400 and 500 +persons, are French; and Romanism in the mouths of non-Christian +Chinese is as popularly termed the religion of the French as the religion +of the Lord of Heaven.'' + + +June 27th of that year, Earl Granville wrote to Lord Lyons +that he had said to the French Charge d'Affaires:-- + + +``I told M. Gavard that I could not pretend to think that the conduct +of the French missionaries, stimulated by the highest and most laudable +object, had been prudent in the interest of Christianity itself, and that the +support which had been given by the representatives of France to their +pretensions was dangerous to the future relations of Europe with China.'' + + +The Hon. Frederick F. Low, United States Minister at +Peking, in communicating that memorandum and the attached +propositions to the State Department in Washington, March +20, 1871, said:-- + + +``A careful reading of the Memorandum clearly proves that the great, +if not only, cause of complaint against the missionaries comes from the +action of the Roman Catholic priests and the native Christians of that +faith.... Had they (the Chinese Goverment) stated their complaints +in brief, without circumlocution, and stripped of all useless verbiage, +they would have charged that the Roman Catholic missionaries, +when residing away from the open ports, claim to occupy a semi-official +position, which places them on an equality with the provincial officer; +that they deny the authority of the Chinese officials over native Christians, +which practically removes this class from the jurisdiction of their own +rulers; that their action in this regard shields the native Christians from +the penalties of the law, and thus holds out inducements for the lawless +to join the Catholic Church, which is largely taken advantage of; that +orphan asylums are filled with children, by the use of improper means, +against the will of the people; and when parents, guardians, and friends +visit these institutions for the purpose of reclaiming children, their requests +for examination and restitution are denied, and lastly, that the French +Government, while it does not claim for its missionaries any rights of this +nature by virtue of treaty, its agents and representatives wink at these +unlawful acts, and secretly uphold the missionaries. . . . I do not +believe, and, therefore I cannot affirm, that all the complaints made +against Catholic missionaries are founded in truth, reason, or justice; at +the same time, I believe that there is foundation for some of their charges. +My opinions, as expressed in former despatches touching this matter, are +confirmed by further investigation. . . .'' + + +On the same date, Minister Low wrote to the Tsung-li +Yamen:-- + + +``It is a noticeable fact, that among all the cases cited there does not +appear to be one in which Protestant missionaries are charged with violating +treaty, law or custom. So far as I can ascertain, your complaints +are chiefly against the action and attitude of the missionaries of the +Roman Catholic faith; and, as these are under the exclusive protection +and control of the Government of France, I might with great propriety +decline to discuss a matter with which the Government of the United +States has no direct interest or concern, for the reason that none of its +citizens are charged with violating treaty or local law, and thus causing +trouble.'' + + +This tendency of the Chinese to confuse Roman Catholics +and Protestants is further illustrated by the note addressed by +Minister Wen Hsiang to Sir R. Alcock:-- + + +``Extreme indeed would be the danger if, popular indignation having +been once aroused by this opposition to the authorities, the hatred of the +whole population of China were excited like that of the people of Tientsin +against foreigners, and orders, though issued by the Government, +could not be for all that put in force. . . . Although the creeds of the +various foreign countries differ in their origin and development from each +other, the natives of China are unable to see the distinction between +them. In their eyes all (teachers of religion) are `missionaries from the +West,' and directly they hear a lying story (about any of these missionaries), +without making further and minute inquiry (into its truth), they +rise in a body to molest him.'' + + +As for Protestant missionaries, it would be useless to assert +that every one of the 2,950 has always been blameless in +this matter. Moreover, it must be borne in mind that there is +a sense in which the gospel is a revolutionary force. Christ +Himself said that He came not to send peace on earth but a +sword, and to set a man at variance against his father. There +is usually more or less of a protest in a heathen land when a +man turns from the old faith to the new one. The refusal to +contribute to the temple sacrifices and to worship the ancestral +tablets is sure to be followed by a furious outcry. The convert +is apt to be assailed as a traitor to the national custom and +as having entered into league with the foreigner. + +To the Chinese, moreover, all white men are ``Christians'' +and ``foreign devils,'' and all alike stand for the effort to foreignize +and despoil China. Except where personal acquaintance +has taught certain communities that there is a difference +between white men, the evil acts of one foreigner or of one aggressive +foreign Government are charged against all the members +of the race, just as in the pioneer days in the American +colonies, a settler whose wife had been killed by an Indian took +his revenge by indiscriminately shooting all the other Indians +he could find. Any hatred that the Chinese may have against +Christianity is due, not so much to its religious teachings, as to +its identification with the foreign nations whose religion +Christianity is supposed to be and whose aggressions the Chinese +have so much reason to fear and to hate. + +For this reason, the introduction of Buddhism and Mohammedanism +is not parallel, and to base an argument against +Christianity on the alleged fact that the other faiths easily succeeded +in domesticating themselves in China is to confuse facts. +Neither Buddhism nor Mohammedanism entered China as an +aggressive propaganda by foreigners. The Chinese themselves +brought in Buddhism, and it spread chiefly because it grafted +into itself many Chinese superstitions and did not oppose +Chinese vices, but rather assimilated them. Why should the +people have opposed a religion which interfered with nothing +that they valued and reenforced their darling prejudices? As +for Islam, we have already seen[75] that it is the faith of early immigrants +and their descendants, that its followers do not propagate +it, that they live in separate communities, are disliked by +the Chinese and are often at open war with them. Christianity, +on the contrary, comes to China with foreigners who +have no intention of settling down as permanent members of +Chinese society, who are classed as representatives of nations +which are regarded as more or less hostile and unjust, and who +preach their religion as a vital spiritual faith which opposes all +wrong, uproots all superstition and aims at the moral reconstruction +of every man. Of course, therefore, Christianity must expect +a reception different in some respects from that which was +given to Buddhism and Mohammedanism. + + +[75] Chapter VI. + + +It is the shallowest of all objections to missions that +Mr. Francis Nichols urged in the North American Review +when he insisted that ``the missionary is not engaged to be a +reformer,'' but that ``his mission is to preach the gospel-- +nothing more.'' + + +``Is the gospel then simply a patent arrangement by which idolaters +can get to heaven, without disturbing their idolatry or the vices associated +with it? was not Christ a reformer? and Paul also, and his successors, +who, by their preaching, gave the idols of Rome to the moles and the +bats, and robbed the Coliseum of its gladiatorial shows? It is the glory +of Christianity that on questions of truth and righteousness it makes no +compromise. Its mission is to save the world by reforming it.... +Who that understands the genius of Christianity can fail to see that China +Christianized must be very different from China as it now is?''[76] + + +[76] The Rev. Dr. Calvin Mateer, Teng chou. + + +After making all due allowance for these things, however, +the fact still remains that opposition of this sort in +China is usually local and sporadic. It affects a greater +or less number of individuals and families and occasionally +a community, but it does not move a whole population to +the frenzy of a national uprising. The anti-foreign hatred +of the Boxers was fierce in thousands of cities and villages +where there were no missionaries or Chinese Christians at +all. In the sphere of religion proper, the Chinese are not an +intolerant people. They are almost wholly devoid of sec- +tarian spirit. The coming of another religion would not of +itself excite serious opposition, for having become accustomed +to the presence and intermingling of several religions, it would +not antecedently occur to the Chinese that a fourth faith would +involve the abandonment of the others. They would be more +apt to infer that the new could be accepted in harmony with +the old in the established way. So the worst foe that the +Christian missionary has to encounter is not hostility but indifference. + +As a rule, the Chinese have not strenuously objected to the +Protestant missionaries as missionaries. It is the policy of the +mission boards to avoid all unnecessary interference with native +customs. So far from coveting official equality with Chinese +magistrates, an overwhelming majority of the Protestant missionaries +throughout the Empire expressly declined to avail +themselves of the offer of the Chinese Government to give them +the same privileges and official status that was accorded to the +Roman Catholic priests and bishops in the Imperial decree of +March 15, 1899. + +``The very thing which missionaries seek to avoid is +denationalizing their converts. So far as mission schools at the +ports are concerned, it is not the missionary who is chiefly +responsible for what foreignizing is done. The Chinese who +patronize these schools want their children to learn foreign +accomplishments. Such schools, however, form but a very small +part of the extensive educational work done by American +missionaries in China.''[77] + + +[77] The Rev. Dr. Calvin H. Mateer. + + +Many of the missionaries, especially in the interior stations, +don Chinese clothing, shave their heads and wear a queue. +Everywhere the missionaries learn the Chinese language, try to +get into sympathy with the people, teach the young, heal the sick, +comfort the dying, distribute relief in time of famine, preach the +gospel of peace and good-will, and, in the opinion of unprejudiced +judges, are upright, sensible and useful workers. Not +only men but women travel far into the interior, the former +frequently alone and unarmed. They go into the homes of the +people, preach in village streets, sleep unprotected in Chinese +houses, and receive much personal kindness from all classes. + +The experience of the Presbyterian mission at Chining-chou +is an illustration of what has occurred in scores of communities. +When Dr. Stephen A. Hunter and the Rev. William Lane tried +to open a station in 1890, they were mobbed and driven out, +barely escaping with their lives. But in June, 1892, the Rev. +J. A. Laughlin arrived and was permitted to buy property and, +in September, to bring his family and begin permanent residence. +There are hereditary bands of robbers in the neighbourhood, +and more than once they attacked the mission compound. +But gradually the peaceful purpose and the beneficent +life of the missionaries became known and active opposition +ceased. When the Boxer outbreak occurred, there were about +150 baptized adults, besides a considerable number of children +and adherents. During the troubles, only two of the Christians +recanted, the rest holding together and continuing regular services. +The mission property was undisturbed during the +whole period. It is true, the officials were friendly; but even +Governor Yuan Shih Kai's influence could not prevent some +loss in his own capital. In Chining-chou not a thing was +touched, a striking testimony to the friendliness of the people +towards the missionaries whom they had learned to love. As +I approached the city with the returning missionaries, a group +of thirty met us with beaming faces. For nearly a year, they +had been without a missionary and their joy at seeing Mr. +Laughlin was unmistakable. As we passed through the city to +the mission-compound in the southeast suburb, people in almost +every door and window smiled and bowed a welcome. +Nor was this cordiality confined to the Christians; many of all +classes being outspoken in their manifestations of respect and +affection. + +Nor is it true that the Chinese sense of propriety is so out- +raged, as some critics would have us believe, by the coming of +single-women missionaries. It is true that in a land where all +women are supposed to marry at an early age and where their +freedom of movement is rigidly circumscribed, the position of +the unmarried woman, however discreet she may be, is sometimes +embarrassingly misunderstood until the community becomes +better acquainted with her mission and character. But +the opposition of the Chinese on this account has been grossly +exaggerated by those whose prior hostility to all missionary +work predisposed them to make as much capital as possible out +of the small gossip on this subject. Even if the misunderstanding +were as general and as bitter as some allege, it would not +follow that single women should be withdrawn, for such misunderstanding +grows out of a false and vicious conception of +the female sex and its relation to man and society, and it is +just that conception which Christianity should and does correct. +For that matter, the position of the single man is also +misunderstood, while no other person in all China is more +fiercely hated by the Chinese than the white traders in the +treaty ports who are the chief source of the criticisms upon +missionaries. The experience of every mission board operating +in China has shown that a Chinese town soon learns that the +single-woman missionary is a pure-minded, large-hearted and +unselfish worker, who from the loftiest of motives devotes herself +to the teaching of women and children and to self-sacrificing +ministries to the sick and suffering. No other foreigners +are more beloved by the people than the single-women missionaries. + +It is simply foolish to say that the missionary is responsible +for the prompt appearance of the consul and the gunboat. +The true missionary goes forth without either consul or gunboat. +He devotes his life to ameliorating the sad conditions +which prevail in heathen communities. His reliance is not +upon man, but upon God. But as soon as his work begins to +tell, the trader appears to buy and sell in the new market. +The statesman casts covetous eyes on the newly opened territory. +Christianity civilizes, and civilization increases wants, +stimulates trade and breaks down barriers. The conditions of +modern civilization are developed. Then the consul is sent, +not because the missionary asks for him, but because his +government chooses to send him. Sooner or later some local +trouble occurs, and the Government takes advantage of the opportunity +to further its territorial or commercial ambitions. +``Missionaries responsible, indeed!'' writes Dr. H. H. Jessup. +``The diplomats of Europe know better. Had there been no +grabbing of seaports and hinterlands, no forcing modern improvements +and European goods down the throats of the Chinese, +the missionaries would have been let alone now as in the +past.'' + +It is the foreign idea that the Chinese dislikes, the interference +with his cherished customs and traditions. A railroad +alarms and angers him more than half a hundred missionaries. +A plowshare cuts through more of his superstitions than a mission +school. He does not want the methods of our western +civilization, and he resents the attempt to push them upon him. +If no other force had been at work than the foreign missionary, +the anti-foreign agitation would never have started. It is significant +that those who protest that we ought not to force our religion +upon the Chinese do not appear to think that there is +anything objectionable in forcing our trade upon them. The +animosity of the Chinese has been primarily excited, not by the +missionary, but by the trader and the politician, and the missionary +suffers chiefly because he comes from the country of +the trader and the politician and is identified with them as a +member of the hated race of foreigners. + +On this whole subject, I have been at some pains to collect +the testimony of men whose positions are a guarantee not only +of knowledge but of impartiality. + +The Hon. George F. Seward, formerly United States +Minister to Chipa, declares:-- + + +``The people at large make too much of missionary work as an occasion +for trouble. There are missionaries who are iconoclasts, but this is not +their spirit. In great measure, they are men of education and judgment. +They depend upon spiritual weapons and good works. For every enemy +a missionary makes, he makes fifty friends. The one enemy may arouse +an ignorant rabble to attack him. While I was in China, I always +congratulated myself on the fact that the missionaries were there. There +were good men and able men among the merchants and officials, but it +was the missionary who exhibited the foreigner in benevolent work as +having other aims than those which may justly be called selfish. The +good done by missionaries in the way of education, of medical relief and +of other charities cannot be overstated. If in China there were none +other than missionary influences, the upbuilding of that great people +would go forward securely. . . . I am not a church member, but I +have the profoundest admiration for the missionary as I have known him +in China. He is a power for good and for peace, not for evil.'' + + +President James B. Angell, also formerly United States +Minister to China, replies as follows to the question, ``Are +the Chinese averse to the introduction of the Christian +religion'':-- + + +``No, not in that broad sense. They do not seem to fear for the permanency +of their own religion. It is not that they object to missionaries +and the Christian religion as much as it is that the missionaries are +foreigners. A more serious cause of the uprising is the wide-spread +suspicion among the natives, since the Japanese war, that the foreigners +are going to partition China. It is not strange that all these conditions +cause friction and excitement. The Chinese want to be left to themselves +and the one word `foreigners' sums up the great cause of the present +trouble.'' + + +The Hon. Charles Denby, after thirteen years' experience as +United States Minister to China, wrote:-- + + +``I unqualifiedly, and in the strongest language that tongue can +utter, give to these men and women who are living and dying in China +and the Far East my full and unadulterated commendation. . . . No +one can controvert the fact that the Chinese are enormously benefited by +the labours of the missionaries. Foreign hospitals are a great boon to the +sick. In the matter of education, the movement is immense. There are +schools and colleges all over China taught by the missionaries. There are +also many foreign asylums in various cities which take care of thousands +of waifs. The missionaries translate into Chinese many scientific and +philosophical works. There are various anti-opium hospitals where the +victims of this vice are cured. There are industrial schools and workshops. +There are many native Christian churches. The converts seem to be as +devout as people of any other race. As far as my knowledge extends, I +can and do say that the missionaries in China are self-sacrificing; that +their lives are pure; that they are devoted to their work; that their +influence is beneficial to the natives; that the arts and sciences and +civilization are greatly spread by their efforts; that many useful western +books are translated by them into Chinese; that they are the leaders in all +charitable work, giving largely themselves and personally disbursing the +funds with which they are intrusted; that they do make converts, and +such converts are mentally benefited by conversion.'' And after the +Boxer outbreak he added:--``I do not believe that the uprising in China +was due to hatred of the missionaries or of the Christian religion. The +Chinese are a philosophic people, and rarely act without reasoning upon +the causes and results of their actions. They have seen their land disappearing +and becoming the property of foreigners, and it was this that +awakened hatred of foreigners and not the actions of the missionaries or +the doctrines that they teach.'' + + +The present United States Minister, the Hon. Edwin H. +Conger, has repeatedly borne similar testimony, publicly +assuring the missionaries of his ``personal respect and profound +gratitude for their noble conduct.'' + +The Hon. John W. Foster, ex-Secretary of State and +counsel for the Chinese Government in the settlement with +Japan, writes:-- + + +``The opinion formed by me after careful inquiry and observation is +that the mass of the population of China, particularly the common people, +are not specially hostile to the missionaries and their work. Occasional +riots have occurred, but they are almost invariably traced to the literati or +prospective office-holders and the ruling classes. These are often bigoted +and conceited to the highest degree, and regard the teachings of the +missionaries as tending to overthrow the existing order of Government and +society, which they look upon as a perfect system, and sanctified by great +antiquity. . . . The Chinese, as a class, are not fanatics in religion +and if other causes had not operated to awaken a national hostility to +foreigners, the missionaries would have been left free to combat +Buddhism and Taoism, and carry on their work of establishing schools +and hospitals.'' + + +Wu Ting-fang, Chinese Minister to Washington during the +Boxer uprising, while frankly stating that ``missionaries are +placed in a very delicate situation,'' and that ``we must not +be blind to the fact that some, in their excessive zeal, have +been indiscreet,'' nevertheless as frankly added:-- + + +``It has been commonly supposed that missionaries are the sole cause +of anti-foreign feeling in China. This charge is unfair. Missionaries +have done a great deal of good in China. They have translated useful +works into the Chinese language, published scientific and educational +journals and established schools in the country. Medical missionaries +especially have been remarkably successful in their philanthropic work.'' + + +The Hon. Benjamin Harrison, late President of the United +States, replied to my inquiry in the terse remark:--``If what +Lord Salisbury says were true, the reflection would not be upon +the missionaries, but upon the premiers.'' + +General James H. Wilson, of the United States Army, the +second in command of the American forces in Peking, adds +his testimony:-- + + +``Our missionaries, after the earlier Jesuits, were almost the first in +that wide field (China). They were generally men of great piety and +learning, like Morrison, Brown, Martin and Williams, and did all in their +power as genuine men of God to show the heathen that the stranger was +not necessarily a public enemy, but might be an evangel of a higher and +better civilization. These men and their co-labourers have established +hospitals, schools and colleges in various cities and provinces of the +Empire, which are everywhere recognized by intelligent Chinamen as +centres of unmitigated blessing to the people. Millions of dollars have +been spent in this beneficent work, and the result is slowly but surely +spreading the conviction that foreign arts and sciences are superior to +`fung shuy' and native superstition.'' + + +The Hon. John Goodnow, American Consul-General at +Shanghai, emphatically declares:--``It is absurd to charge +the missionaries with causing the Boxer War. They are +simply hated by the Chinese as one part of a great foreign element +that threatened to upset the national institutions.'' + +Viceroy Yuan Shih Kai when Governor of Shantung, in the +spring of 1901, wrote to the Baptist and Presbyterian +missionaries of the province as follows: + + +``You, reverend sirs, have been preaching in China for many years, +and, without exception, exhort men concerning righteousness. Your +church customs are strict and correct, and all your converts may well +observe them. In establishing your customs you have been careful to see +that Chinese law was observed. How, then, can it be said that there is +disloyalty? To meet this sort of calumny, I have instructed that +proclamations be put out. I purpose, hereafter, to have lasting peace. +Church interests may then prosper and your idea of preaching +righteousness I can promote. The present upheaval is of a most +extraordinary character. It forced you, reverend sirs, by land and water to +go long journeys, and subjected you to alarm and danger, causing me +many qualms of conscience.'' + + +A charge which has been so completely demolished by such +competent and unprejudiced witnesses can only be renewed at +the expense of either intelligence or candour. Dr. Arthur H. +Smith truly says that ``amid the varied action of so many +agents it is vain to deny that Christianity has sometimes been so +presented as to be misrepresented, but on the whole there had +for some time been a marked and a growing friendliness on the +part of both people and officials. . . . The convulsion which +shook China to its foundations was due to general causes, slow +in their operations, but inevitable in their results. It was the +impact of the Middle Ages with the developed Christian commercial +civilization of the nineteenth century, albeit accompanied +with many incidental elements which were neither Christian +nor in the true sense civilized. If Christianity had never come +to China at all, some such collision must have occurred.''[78] + + +[78] ``Rex Christus,'' pp. 204-206. + + + +XXII + +THE CHINESE CHRISTIANS + +THE real effect of the operation of the missionary +force is to be seen in the Chinese who have accepted +Christianity. As the commercial force is causing an +economic revolution and as the political force resulted in the +Boxer uprising, so the missionary force is developing a great +spiritual movement which is crystallizing into a Chinese Church. +Much has been said about the character of the Chinese Christians +and doubts have been cast on the genuineness of their faith. +It is admitted that they sometimes try the patience of the missionary. +But is the home pastor never distressed by the conduct +of his members? I am inclined to believe that the Christians in +China would compare favourably with the same number selected +at random in America. A Chinese laundryman posted on his +door this significant notice to his foreign customers:--``Please +help us to remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy by bringing +your clothes to the laundry before ten o'clock on Saturdays,'' +while in another place a Chinese servant left the morning +after a card party at which much money had changed +hands, stating to his mistress in explanation, ``Me Clistian; +me no stay in heathen house!'' The Chinese Christian does +not content himself with church attendance once a week when +the weather is pleasant or an attractive theme is announced. +He does not find himself in vigorous health for an evening entertainment, +and with a bad headache on prayer-meeting night. +There are of course exceptions, but as a rule, the Chinese +Christians worship God with regularity in all kinds of weather. +A missionary told me that the attendance at his mid-week +meeting was as large as at his Sunday morning service, that +every member of his church asked a blessing at the table, had +family prayers and tried to bring his unconverted friends to +Christ. If there is a pastor in America who can say that of his +people, he has modestly refrained from making it public. + +But such comparisons are, after all, unfair to the Chinese +Christian for he should be compared, not with Europeans and +Americans who have had far greater advantages, but with the +people of his own country. ``At home, you have the ripe +fruits of a Christianity which was planted more than a thousand +years ago. The Word of God has been among you all +these Christian centuries. You have in every part of the +country a highly trained ministry, a gifted and devoted eldership, +and a whole army of Christian workers of all ranks. You +work in the atmosphere of a Christian society, and under a +settled Christian government. You have an immense and +varied Christian literature, and notwithstanding all defects and +drawbacks, you have on your side a weight of Christian tradition +and a wealth of Christian example. Under such circumstances +and in such an atmosphere, what are we not entitled to +expect of those who bear the Christian name? What justice is +there, or what reasonableness, in demanding as a test of genuineness +the same degree of attainment on the part of Christian +people, many of them uneducated, who are only just emerging +from the deadness and insensibility of heathenism?''[79] + + +[79] Gibson, pp. 239, 240. + + +The real question is this:--Is the Christian Chinese a better +man than the non-Christian Chinese--more moral, more truthful, +more just, more reliable? The answer is so patent that no +one who knows the facts can doubt it for a moment. The best +men and women in China to-day are the Protestant Christians. +This is not saying that all converts are good or that all non- +Christian Chinese are bad. But it is saying that comparing +the average Christian with the average heathen, the superiority +of the former in those things which make character and conduct +is immeasurable. ``The conscience of those who have been +born into a new life is not suddenly transformed, yet the change +does take place and upon a larger scale. When once it has +been accomplished, a new force has been introduced into the +Chinese Empire, a salt to preserve, a leaven to pervade, a seed +to bring forth after its kind in perpetually augmenting abundance +and fertility.''[80] + + +[80] Smith, ``Rex Christus,'' p. 107. + + +The character of the Chinese Christian will appear in still +more striking relief if we consider the circumstances in which +he hears the gospel and the difficulties which he has to overcome. +On this subject the following remarkable passage from +Dr. Gibson is worth quoting entire:-- + + +``Out there the great issue is tried with all external helps removed. +The gospel goes to China with no subsidiary aids. It is spoken to the +people by the stammering lips of aliens. Those who accept it do so with +no prospect of temporal gain. They go counter to all their own preconceptions, +and to all the prejudices of their people. Try as we may to become +all things to all men, we can but little accommodate our teaching to +their thought. . . . Often and often have I looked into the faces of a crowd +of non-Christian Chinese and felt keenly how many barriers lay between +their minds and mine. Reasoning that seems to me conclusive makes no +appeal to them. Even the words we use to convey religious ideas do not +bear to their minds one-hundredth part of the meaning we wish to put into +them. I have often thought that if I were to expend all my energies to +persuade one Chinaman to change the cut of his coat, or to try some new +experiment in agriculture, I should certainly plead in vain. And yet I +stand up to beg him to change the habits of a lifetime, to break away +from the whole accumulated outcome of heredity, to make himself a target +for the scorn of the world in which he lives, to break off from the consolidated +social system which has shaped his being, and on the bare word of +an unknown stranger to plunge into the hazardous experiment of a new +and untried life, to be lived on a moral plane still almost inconceivable to +him, whose sanctions and rewards are higher than his thoughts as heaven +is higher than earth. While I despair of inducing him by my reasonings +to make the smallest change in the least of his habits, I ask him, not with +a light heart, but with a hopeful one, to submit his whole being to a change +that is for him the making of his whole world anew. `Credo quia impossis- +ble,' I believe it can be done because I know I cannot do it, and the smallest +success is proof of the working of the divine power. The missionary must +either confess himself helpless, or he must to the last fibre of his being believe +in the Holy Ghost. I choose to believe, nay I am shut up to believe, +by what my eyes have seen. + + +``I do not mean that one sees the results of preaching directly on the +spot. In China at least one seldom does. But by the power of God the +results come. We have seen unclean lives made pure, the broken-hearted +made glad, the false and crooked made upright and true, the harsh and +cruel made kindly and gentle. I have seen old women, seventy, eighty, +eighty-five years of age, throwing away the superstitions of a lifetime, the +accumulated merit of years of toilsome and expensive worship, and when +almost on the brink of the grave, venturing all upon a new-preached faith +and a new-found Saviour. We have seen the abandoned gambler become +a faithful and zealous preacher of the gospel. We have seen the poor +giving out of their poverty help to others, poorer still. We see many +Chinese Christians who were once narrow and avaricious, giving out of +their hard-earned month's wages, or more, yearly, to help the church's +work. We see dull and uneducated people drinking in new ideas, mysteriously +growing in their knowledge of Christian truth, and learning to +shape their lives by its teachings. We have seen proud, passionate men, +whose word was formerly law in their village, submit to injury, loss and +insult, because of their Christian profession, until even their enemies were +put to shame by their gentleness, and were made to be at peace with them. +And the men and women and children who are passing through these experiences +are gathering in others, and building up one by one a Christian +community which is becoming a power on the side of all that is good in +the non-Christian communities around them. . . . Everything is hostile +to it. It is striking its roots in an uncongenial soil, and breathes a +polluted air. It may justly claim for itself the beautiful emblem so happily +seized, though so poorly justified, by Buddhism--the emblem of the +lotus. It roots itself in rotten mud, thrusts up the spears of its leaves and +blossoms through the foul and stagnant water, and lifts its spotless petals +over all, holding them up pure, stainless and fragrant, in the face of a +burning and pitiless sun. So it is with the Christian life in China Its +existence there is a continuous miracle of life, of life more abundant.''[81] + + +[81] ``Mission Problems and Mission Methods in South China,'' pp. 29-31, +240. + + +Is it said that these Asiatics have become Christians for +gain? Then how shall we account for the fact that out of +their deep poverty they gave for church work last year $2.50 +per capita, which is more in proportion to ability than Christians +at home gave? The impoverished Tu-kon farmers rented +a piece of land and worked it in common for the support of +the Lord's work; the Peking school-girls went without their +breakfasts to save money for their church, and eight graduates +of Shantung College refused high salaries as teachers, and accepted +low salaries as pastors of self-supporting churches. +``Rice Christians?'' Doubtless in some instances, just as at +home some people join American churches for business or +social ends. But those Chinese Christians are receiving less +and less from abroad and yet their number grows. + +And it costs something to be a Christian in China. All +hope of official preferment must be abandoned, for the duties +of every magistrate include temple ceremonies that no Christian +could conduct. For the average Christian, loss of business, +social ostracism, bitter hatred, are the common price. +Near Peking, a young man was thrice beaten and denied the +use of the village well, mill and field insurance, because he became +a Christian. A widow was dragged through the streets +with a rope about her neck and beaten with iron rods which +cut her body to the bone, while her fiendish persecutors yelled:-- +``You will follow the foreign devils, will you!'' And that +Chinese saint replied that she was not following foreigners but +Jesus Christ and that she would not deny Him! + +And so on every hand there are evidences of fidelity in service, +of tribulation joyfully borne, of systematic giving out of +scanty resources. While sapient critics are telling us that the +heathen cannot be converted, the heathen are not only being +converted but are manifesting a consecration and self-denial +which should shame many in Christian lands. At a Presbyterial +meeting in north China, the native ministers held a two- +hours' prayer-meeting before daylight. Such prayer-meetings +are not common in America. Is it surprising that in that +little North China Presbytery 292 baptisms were recorded that +year? + +Nor is this a solitary instance. Every Sunday the little +congregations gather. Every day the native helpers tell the +Bible-story to their listening countrymen. + +The history of missions in China has shown that it requires +more time to convert a Chinese to Christianity than some other +heathen, but that he can be converted and that when he is +converted, he holds to his new faith with a tenacity and fortitude +which the most awful persecution seldom shakes. The +behaviour of the Chinese Christians under the baptism of blood +and fire to which they were subjected in the Boxer uprising +eloquently testified to the genuineness of their faith. That +some should have fallen away was to be expected. Not every +Christian, even in the United States, can ``endure hardness.'' +Let a hundred men anywhere be told that if they do not abandon +their faith, their homes will be burned, their business +ruined, their wives ravished, their children brained, and they +themselves scourged and beheaded, and a proportion of them +will flinch. + +It was to be expected, too, that when, after the uprising, the +Christians found their supporters triumphing over a prostrate +foe, some of them should unduly exult and take advantage of +the opportunity to punish their enemies or to collect money +from them as the price of protection. The spirit of retaliation +is strong in human nature in China as well as in America. +When the armies of the Allies, led by educated and experienced +officers, and controlled by diplomats from old-established +Christian countries, gave way under the provocation of the +time to unmeasured greed and vindictive cruelty, it is not surprising +that some of the Chinese Christians, only just emerged +from heathenism, should betray a revengeful spirit towards +men who had destroyed their property, slaughtered their wives +and children, and hunted the survivors with the ferocity of +wild beasts. In some places, the missionaries had a hard task +in restraining this spirit. It was inevitable, also, that in the +confusion which followed the victory of the foreigners, some +``wolves'' should put on ``sheep's clothing,'' and, under the +pretense of being Christians, extort money from the terror- +stricken villagers, or try to deceive the foreigner with false +claims for indemnity. + +But as I visited the scenes of disaster, saw the frightful ruin, +heard the stories of Christians and missionaries, faced the +little companies of survivors and learned more of the awful +ordeal through which they had passed, I marvelled, not that +some yielded, but that so many stood steadfast. Edicts were +issued commanding them to recant on pain of dire punishment, +but promising protection to those who obeyed. The following +proclamation posted on the wall of the yamen at Ching-chou-fu +is a sample of hundreds:-- + + +``The Taku forts have been retaken by the Chinese. Gen. +Tung Fu Shiang has led the Boxers and the goddesses, and +has destroyed twenty foreign men-of-war, killing 6,000 foreign +soldiers. The seven devilish countries' consuls came to beg for +peace. General Tung now has killed all the foreign soldiers. +The secondary devils (the native Christians) must die. General +Tung has ordered the Boxers to go to the foreign countries +and bring out their devil emperors from their holes. One foreigner +must not be allowed to live. All who are not Chinese +must be destroyed.'' + +It requires no large knowledge of Chinese character to calculate +the effect of such official utterances on the minds of lawless +men. + +Word sped from a Chinese city that on a certain day all +Christians who had not recanted could be pillaged. From +every quarter, the lawless streamed in, eager for the shambles. +Ruffians pointed out the women they intended to take. And +there was no foreigner to protect, no regiment or battleship +for the Chinese Christian. + +Those poor people, hardly out of their spiritual infancy, +stood in that awful emergency absolutely alone. Could an +American congregation have endured such a strain without +flinching? Let those who can safely worship God according +to the dictates of their own consciences be thankful that the +genuineness of their faith has never been subjected to that +supreme test. + +Those were grievous days for the Christians of China. +Two graduates of Teng-chou College remained for weary +weeks in a filthy dungeon when they might have purchased freedom +at any moment by renouncing Christianity. Pastor Meng +of Paoting-fu, a direct descendant of Mencius, was 120 miles +from home when the outbreak occurred. He was safe where +he was, but he hurried back to die with his flock. He was +stabbed, his arm twisted out of joint and his back scorched +with burning candles in the effort to make him recant. But +he steadfastly refused to compromise either himself or his +people and was finally beheaded. + +The uneducated peasant was no whit behind his cultivated +countrymen in devotion to duty. A poor cook was seized and +beaten, his ears were cut off, his mouth and cheeks gashed +with a sword and other unspeakable mutilations inflicted. Yet +he stood as firmly as any martyr of the early Church. + +One of the Chinese preachers, on refusing to apostatize, +received a hundred blows upon his bare back, and then the +bleeding sufferer was told to choose between obedience and +another hundred blows. What would we have answered? Let +us, who have never been called on to suffer for Him, be modest +in saying what we would have done. But that mangled, half- +dead Chinese gasped:--``I value Jesus Christ more than life, +and I will never deny Him.'' Before all of the second hundred +blows could be inflicted, unconsciousness came and he +was left for dead. But a friend took him away by night, +bathed his wounds and secretly nursed him to recovery. I saw +him, when I was in China, and I looked reverently upon the +back that was seamed and scarred with ``the marks of the +Lord Jesus.'' Of the hundreds of Christians who were taken +inside the legation grounds in Peking, not one proved false to +their benefactors. ``In the midday heat, in the drenching +night rains, under storms of shot and shell, they fought, filled +sand-bags, built barricades, dug trenches, sang hymns and +offered prayers to the God whom the foreigner had taught +them to love.'' Even the children were faithful. During the +scream of deadly bullets, and the roar of burning buildings, +the voices of the Junior Christian Endeavour Society were +heard singing:-- + + ``There'll be no dark valley when Jesus comes.'' + + +Such instances could be multiplied almost indefinitely from +the experiences of Chinese Christians during the Boxer uprising. +Indeed the fortitude of the persecuted Christians was so remarkable +that in many cases the Boxers cut out the hearts of +their victims to find the secret of such sublime faith, declaring: +``They have eaten the foreigner's medicine.'' In those humble +Chinese the world has again seen a vital faith, again seen +that the age of heroism has not passed, again seen that men +and women are willing to die for Christ. Multitudes withstood +a persecution as frightful as that of the early disciples in +the gardens and arenas of Nero. If they were hypocrites why +did they not recant? As Dr. Maltbie Babcock truly said:-- +``One-tenth of the hypocrisy with which they were charged +would have saved them from martyrdom.'' But thousands +of them died rather than abjure their faith, and thousands +more ``had trial of mockings and scourgings, yea, moreover +of bonds and imprisonment; they were stoned, they were +sawn asunder, they were tempted, they were slain with the +sword; they went about in sheepskins, in goatskins; being +destitute, afflicted, ill-treated; wandering in deserts and +mountains and caves and the holes of the earth.'' + +Col. Charles Denby, late United States Minister to China, +declared:--``Not two per cent. of the Chinese Christians proved +recreant to their faith and many meet death as martyrs. Let +us not call them `Rice Christians' any more. Their conduct +at the British Legation and the Peitang is deserving of all +praise.''[82] Beyond question, the Chinese Christians as a body +stood the test of fire and blood quite as well as an equal +number of American Christians would have stood it. + + +[82] Letter, April 28, 1902. + + +One of the most trying experiences of the missionaries +has been the dealing with those who did recant. Some of the +cases were pitiful. Poor, ignorant men, confessed their sin +with streaming eyes, saying that they did not mean to deny +their Lord, but that they could not see their wives outraged +and their babies' heads crushed against stone walls. Others +admitted that, though they stood firm while one hundred blows +were rained upon their bare backs, yet after that they became +confused and were only dimly conscious of what they said to +escape further agony than flesh and blood could endure. +Still others made a distinction, unfamiliar to us, but quite in +harmony with Oriental hereditary notions, between the convictions +of the heart and the profession of the lips, so that they +externally and temporarily bowed their heads to the storm +without feeling that they were thereby renouncing their faith. +One of the best Chinese ministers in Shantung, after 200 +lashes, which pounded his back into a pulp, feebly muttered +an affirmative to the question: ``Will you leave the devils' +church?'' But he explained afterwards that while he promised +to leave ``the devils' church,'' he did not promise to +leave Christ's Church. The deception was not as apparent to +him as it is to us whose moral perceptions have been sharpened +by centuries of Christian nurture which have been denied +to the Chinese. + +When the proclamation ordering the extermination of all +foreigners and Christians was posted on the walls of Ching- +chou-fu, a friendly official hinted that if the Chinese pastors +would sign a document to the effect that they would ``no +longer practice the foreign religion,'' he would accept it as +sufficient on behalf of all their flocks, and not enforce the +order. Warrants for the arrest of every Christian had already +been written. Scoundrels were hurrying in from distant villages +to join in the riot of plunder and lust. Two women +had already been killed. What were the pastors to do? +There was no missionary to guide them, for long before the +consuls had ordered all foreigners out of the interior. The +agonized pastors determined to sacrifice themselves for their +innocent people, to go through the form of giving up the +``foreign'' religion. That word ``foreign'' must be emphasized +to understand their temptation, for the Chinese Christians +do not feel that Christianity is foreign, but that it is +theirs as well as ours. Moreover, the pastors were made to +understand that it was simply a legal fiction, not affecting +the religion of their hearts, but only a temporary expedient +that the friendly magistrate might have a pretext for giving +his protection to the Christians. They were not asked to +engage in any idolatrous rite or to make any public apostasy, +but simply to sign a statement ``no longer to practice the +foreign religion.'' ``So far from recanting,'' it was urged +upon them, ``you are preventing recanting.'' + +Their decision may be best given in the words of Pastor +Wu Chien Cheng: ``When I thought of these people,'' he +said, his emotion being so great that the tears were running down +his face, ``in most cases with children and aged parents dependent +upon them, and thought of all that was involved for +them if I refused to sign the paper--well, I couldn't help it. +I decided to take on myself the shame and the sin.'' + +As the Rev. J. P. Bruce, of the English Baptist Mission, +who told me of this incident, truly says: ``Who could listen +to such a narrative--so sad and painful and yet not without +much that was noble--without sympathy and tears?'' In this +spirit of tenderness, so marked in the Lord's dealings with +sinful Peter, the missionaries dealt with the recanting Christians. +With the impostors, indeed, they had less mercy. The +Rev. R. M. Mateer secured the arrest of two scapegraces who, +under pretense of being Christians, had blackmailed innocent +villagers. Very plainly, too, did the missionaries deal with +Christians, who, like some people in the United States after a +fire, placed an extravagant valuation upon what they had lost. +But these were exceptional cases. + +On the whole, Christians in Europe and America may well +have stronger sympathy and respect for their fellow-Christians +in China who have suffered so much for conscience' sake. +Purified and chastened by the fearful holocaust through which +they have passed, they are stronger spiritually than ever before. +Like the apostles after Pentecost, they are giving ``with great +power their witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus.'' +``The Chinese Church is not yet strong enough to stand +entirely alone, but it is far stronger and more self-conscious of +the eternal indwelling Spirit than ever before. It has learned +the power of God to keep the soul in times of deadly peril, +and to enable the weakest to give the strongest testimony. It +has learned by humiliation and confession to put away its sins, +and to gird itself for new conflicts and new victories.... +Its ablest leaders are more trustworthy men than before their +trials, and the body of believers has a unity and a cohesiveness +which will certainly bear fruit in the not distant future.''[83] + + +[83] Smith, ``Rex Christus,'' p. 212. + + + +XXIII + +THE STRAIN OF READJUSTMENT TO CHANGED +ECONOMIC CONDITIONS + +THE economic revolution in Asia, discussed in a +preceding chapter,[84] bears heavily on the Chinese +Christians. So far as the pressure affects the rank and file +of the membership, the mission boards cannot give adequate +relief. Abroad as well as at home, it must remain the inexorable +rule that a Christian must live within his income and buy +new things only as he can pay for them. Any other policy +would mean utter ruin. Here also, men must ``work out their +own salvation''; and the missionary, while trying to lift men +out of barbarous social conditions on the one hand, should on +the other resolutely oppose the improvident eagerness which +leads a blanketed Sioux Indian to buy on credit a rubber-tired +surrey. + + +[84] Chapter IX. + + +But what about the native ministers and teachers, who find +it impossible to live on the salaries of a decade ago? The +problem of the ordinary helper is not so difficult. Springing +from the common people, accustomed from childhood to a +meagre scale of living, the small salaries which the people can +pay either in full or in large part are usually equal to the +income which they would have had if they had not become +Christians. But some native ministers come from a higher +social grade. They are men of education and refinement. +They cannot live in a mud hut, go barefooted, wear a loin cloth +and subsist on a few cents' worth of rice a day. They must not +only have better houses and food and clothing, but they must +have books and periodicals and the other apparatus of educated +men. These things are not only necessary to their own maintenance, +but they are essential to the work, for these men are +the main reliance for influencing the upper classes in favour of +Christianity. It is not a question of luxury or self-indulgence, +but of bare respectability, of the simple decencies of life which +are enjoyed by an American mechanic as distinguished from +the poverty which, for a cultivated family, falls below the level +of self-respect. But this requires a salary which, save in a +very few places, cannot at present be paid by the churches. +``Our pastors,'' writes a missionary, ``are supposed to live as +the middle-class of their people do, but of late years, with the +great rise in prices, they are living below the middle-class.'' + +The consequences are not only pinching poverty but sometimes +a feeling of wrong, and, in some cases, a yielding to +temptation. One Chinese pastor, for example, who was trying +to support a wife and five children on $10 Mex. ($5) a month, +shipwrecked his influence by trying to supplement his scanty +income by helping in lawsuits. Can we wonder that he felt +obliged to do something, almost anything? + +But who is to pay the higher salaries that are now so necessary? +The first impulse is to look to the mission boards in +Europe and America, and accordingly missionaries and Christians +are importunately calling for increased appropriations. +But whatever temporary and occasional relief may be given in +this way, as a permanent remedy, it is plainly impossible. If +the conditions were simply sporadic and local, the case might +be different. But they are universal, or fast becoming so, and +they will be permanent. It is quite visionary to suppose that the +income of the mission boards will permit them to meet the +whole or even the larger part of the increased cost of living +among the myriads of ministers, teachers and helpers in the +growing churches of China. American Christians cannot be +reasonably expected to add such an enormous burden to the +already large responsibilities which they are carrying in their +varied forms of home work and the present scale of foreign +missionary expenditure. Even if they could and would, it +would be at the expense of all further enlargement of the work, +and at the same time it would still further weaken an already +weak sense of self-reliance among the native ministers and +helpers of Asia. + +Moreover, the average Christian giver in America is feeling +the same strain himself. The so-called ``era of prosperity'' +has given more steady employment to the mechanic, has given +better markets to the producer, and has enormously increased +the wealth of many who were already rich. But the men on +fixed salaries find that ``prosperity'' has increased the prices +of commodities without proportionately increasing earnings. +Millions of American church members find it harder to give +than they did ten years ago, for while their incomes are about +the same, they must pay higher prices for meats, groceries and +clothing. True, many salaries were cut down during the financial +stringency of 1896-1897, but while some of them have +been restored to their former figure, few have been raised above +their original level, while others are still below it. Meantime +official statistics show that the average cost of food is 10.9 per +cent. higher than the average for the decade between 1890 and +1899, and that there has been an increase of 16.1 per cent. as +compared with 1896, the year of lowest prices.[85] It is urged that +the wages of workmen have increased in proportion. But however +true this may be of organized labour, it is palpably untrue of +the great middle-class who are neither capitalists nor members +of labour unions. They form the bulk of the church membership +and to them ``Mr. Wright's statement will carry no reassurance. +It is they who have been hit hardest by the increased +cost of living for their incomes have not kept pace with it. +Indeed, they are actually worse off to-day than they were +eight, ten or fifteen years ago.''[86] Dun's Review, an acknowledged +authority, declares that not in twenty years has it cost +so much to live as now, and that March 1, 1904, the average +prices of breadstuffs were thirty per cent. higher than they were +seven years ago. + + +[85] Report of the Hon. Carroll D. Wright, Commissioner of Labour, 1903 + +[86] The Youth's Companion, October 29, 1903. + + +In such circumstances, it is clearly out of the question for +the Christians of the United States to meet these enlarged demands +for the support of their own families and, in addition, +meet them for the churches in China. + +If then, the problem of the increased cost of living in Asia +cannot be solved by increased gifts from America, what other +solutions are possible? As an experienced missionary says:-- +``To ask for more from America seems like a step backward; +but to leave matters as they are is to see our churches seriously +crippled.'' Four possible solutions may be mentioned. + +First:--Stop all expansion of the work and use any increase +in receipts to raise salaries. This is undoubtedly worthy of +thoughtful consideration. To what extent is it right to open +new fields and enlarge old ones when the workers now employed +are inadequately paid? Plainly, the mission boards +should carefully consider this aspect of the question. As a +matter of fact, many of them have already considered it. The +Presbyterian Board has repeatedly declined urgent requests to +establish new stations on the ground that it could not do so in +justice to its existing work. But as a practicable solution, this +method is open to serious difficulties. A living work must grow, +and the living forces which govern that growth are more or less +beyond the control of the boards. The boards are amenable +to their constituencies and those constituencies sometimes imperatively +demand the occupation of a new field, as, for example, +they did in the case of the Philippine Islands, some +boards which at first decided not to enter the Philippines being +afterwards forced into them by a pressure of denominational +opinion that they could not ignore. Moreover, the missionaries +themselves are equally insistent in their demands for enlargement. +Some boards are literally deluged with such appeals. +The missionaries who have most strenuously insisted on +the policy of no further expansion till the existing work is better +sustained have sometimes been the very ones who have +strongly urged that an exception should be made in their particular +fields, without realizing that the argument from ``exceptions'' +is so often pressed that it is really the rule and not the +exception at all. And the churches and missionaries are +usually right. God is calling His people to go forward. His +voice is frequently very plain, and the boards, with all their +care and conservatism, are then obliged to expand. + +Second:--Diminish the number of native pastors, helpers and +teachers and increase their work. In some places, this might +be done by grouping congregations and fields. But the places +where this could be wisely effected are so few that the relief to +the situation as a whole would not be appreciable, especially as +the native Christians would not give so liberally under such an +arrangement. Their sense of responsibility would be weakened +if they had only a half or a quarter of a pastor's time instead +of the whole of it. Besides, the native force is far too +small now. Instead of being diminished it should be largely +increased. The great work of the future must be done by native +ministers. If China is ever to be evangelized, it must +be to a large degree by Chinese evangelists. To adopt deliberately +the policy of restricting the number of such evangelists +and teachers would be suicidal. As a solution, therefore, this +method is quite impracticable, as it would be a relief at the expense +of efficiency. + +Third:--Require native leaders to earn their own living either +wholly or in part. There is Pauline example for this method. +Some of the Presbyterian missionaries in Laos have adopted it +by inducing the members of a congregation to secure a ricefield +and a humble house for their minister. The Korea missionaries +have very successfully worked this method by insisting +that the leaders of groups shall continue in their former occupations +and give their services to Christian work without pay, +in some such way as Sunday-school superintendents and other +unpaid workers do in America. This method is deserving of +wider adoption. It would give considerable relief in many +other fields. It was probably the way that the early church +grew. + + +``Two opinions,'' says Dr. J. J. Lucas, ``have been held in regard to +the basis on which the salaries of native agents should be fixed. One is +that such a salary should be paid as would remove all excuse for engaging +in secular work, demanding all the time of the pastor for spiritual work; +another is, that acknowledging the salary to be insufficient, the pastors be +expected to supplement it by what they can get from field and vineyard. +If self-support is to be aimed at, at all cost, then the latter plan is the only +feasible one, with the dangers of its abuse. There is no doubt, however, +that a man who loves the gospel ministry and is devoted to it can, without +the neglect of spiritual affairs, do enough outside to lessen materially the +burden that would fall on the church in his support.'' + + +But this method of itself would hardly solve the problem. +However well adapted to the beginnings of mission work, it +fails to provide a properly qualified native leadership. To do +efficient work, a native pastor must give his whole time to it, +and to that end he must have a salary that will make him ``free +from worldly cares and avocations.'' We insist on this in the +United States and the reasons for such a policy are as strong +on the foreign field. The minister in Asia as well as the minister +in America must have a salary. The labourer is worthy of +his hire. + +Fourth:--Insist upon a larger measure of self-support. The +native churches must be led to a fuller responsibility in this +matter. Grave as are the temporary embarrassments which the +increased cost of living is forcing upon them and trying as is +the permanent distress of some of them, yet as a whole the +economic revolution will undoubtedly enlarge the earning +capacity of the native Christians. Indeed, the new principles +of life which the gospel brings should make them among the +first to profit by the changed conditions, and as their wealth +increases, their spirit of giving should, and under the wise lead- +ership of the missionaries undoubtedly will, increase. For +these reasons, the Presbyterian Board of Foreign Missions took +the following action July 2, 1900:-- + + +``As having reference to the question of self-support of the native +churches on the mission field, and in view of the fact that some of its missions +are proposing to increase the salaries of native preachers and helpers +on account of the increased cost of living, the Board is constrained to look +with no little apprehension upon the prospect of continuing and increasing +demands of foreign aid in proportion to the contributions made by the +churches themselves. Increased intercourse of eastern nations with those +of the west has led and will still further lead to a gradual assimilation to +western ways and western prices, and unless the self-reliant spirit of the +churches can be stimulated to a proportionate advance, there is a sure +prospect that the drafts upon mission funds will be larger and larger in +proportion to the amount of work accomplished. In view of these considerations, +it was resolved that the missions in which such increase is +proposed be earnestly requested to arouse the churches to the purpose and +the endeavour to meet this increased expenditure instead of laying still +larger burdens upon the resources of foreign funds. The Board deems +this necessary not merely to the interest of its expanding work but to the +self-reliant character, the future stability and self-propagating power of +the churches themselves.'' + + +There appears to be no alternative. And yet this policy, +while adhered to, should be enforced with reasonable discretion +and due regard to ``this present distress.'' How can Christians, +who can barely live themselves and pay a half or two- +thirds of their pastor's present support, suddenly meet this call +for enlarged salaries? For reasons already given, it is harder +for them to make ends meet now than it was in the old days +of primitive simplicity, while in many places a profession of +Christianity is followed by the loss of property and employment +so that the Christian is impoverished by the loss of the income +that he already had. In these circumstances, both boards and +missions must simply do the best they can, and neither allow +the emergency to sweep them into a mistaken charity that + +would be fatal to the ultimate interests of the cause nor allow a +valuable native worker to suffer for the necessaries of life. + + +``We need to bear in mind that the low salaries of China are not the +product of Christianity, but of heathenism, and the ability to live on five +or six Mexicans per month is not the result of a laudable economy unknown +to Christian countries, so much as it is the result of a degradation +of manhood to the level of beasts. The church is responsible for +the knowledge of a better way of living. We have created the desire for +a clean house, clean clothing, healthful food, and books, on the part of our +educated young men. Shall we implant this desire for six or eight years +and take the rest of the man's life in trying to squelch it? We have come +as apostles of truth to a mighty empire, to the great and the small, to the +rich and the poor, and if we had a native ministry which could appeal to +a different class of men than most of them are now appealing to, would +not the day of self-support be hastened beyond what we dare to hope? Is +there not a feeling out for something better on the part of the well-to-do, +the more intelligent, just as really as there is on the part of the lowest +classes? Do not we have a mission to the man who can pay $100.00 +a year to the church just as really as to the one who pays 100 cash? +There is nothing so costly as cheap men. Let us have a higher grade of +men and we shall have a higher grade of church-membership. Is it not +true that nothing more stands in the way of self-support than some of our +native clergy? We must not turn down better men because they must +have a little more to live upon than poor men.''[87] + + +[87] Mr. F. S. Brockman, Address--``How to Retain to the Church the +Services of English-Speaking Christians,'' Shanghai, 1904. + + +It is idle, however, to urge as a reason for increasing the salaries +of Chinese ministers that a qualified Asiatic can earn more +in commercial life than in the ministry. Such arguments often +come to mission boards. But religious work cannot compete +with business in financial inducements either at home or +abroad. It is notorious that in America, ministers and church +workers generally do not receive the compensation which they +could command in secular employments or professions. The +qualities that bring success in the ministry are, as a rule, far +more liberally remunerated in secular life. The preacher who +can command $6,000 or $8,000 in the pulpit could probably +command three or four times that amount in the law or in +business. Men who are as eminent in other professions and in +the commercial world as the most eminent clergymen are in the +ministry usually have incomes ranging from $20,000 to $100,000 +a year and have no ``dead line'' of age either. As for +others, the Rev. Dr. B. L. Agnew, Secretary of the Presbyterian +Board of Ministerial Relief, is authority for the statement +that the average salary of Presbyterian ministers is $700 and +that for all denominations it does not equal the wages of the average +mechanic. A missionary writes:--``Practically all our native +pastors are underpaid.'' The same thing might be said of all +the home missionaries and of most of the pastors of non-missionary +churches at home, one-third of whom receive only +$500 or less. + +The churches of America cannot, or at any rate will not, do +for the native ministers of Asia what they are not doing for +their own ministers. The world over, the rewards of Christ's +service are not financial. Those who seek that service must be +content with modest support, sometimes even with poverty. +This is not a reason for the home churches to be content with +their present scale of missionary giving, nor does it mean that +mission boards are disposed to refuse requests for appropriations. +The boards are straining every nerve to secure a more +generous support and they will gladly send all they can to the +missions on the field. But it is a reason for impressing more +strongly upon the young men in the churches of Asia that they +should consecrate themselves to the Master's service from a +higher motive than financial support and that while the boards +will continue to give all the assistance that is in their power, +yet that the permanent dependence of the ministers of China +must be in increasing measure upon the Christians of China and +not upon the Christians of America. Hundreds of native pastors +are already realizing this and are manifesting a self-sacrificing +courage and devotion that are beyond all praise. Said Mr. +Fitch of Ningpo to a Chinese youth of fine education and exceptional +ability:--``Suppose a business man should offer you +$100.00 a month and at the same time you had the way opened +to you to study for the ministry, and after entering it, to get +from $20.00 to $30.00 a month, which would you take?'' +And the youth answered--``I would enter the ministry.'' +``He is now teaching a mission school at $12.00 a month, +though he could easily command $30.00 a month in a business +position.'' The hope of the churches of China is in such men. +Mr. F. S. Brockman declares:-- + + +``There is a wide-spread conviction among missionaries that the allurements +of wealth alone are keeping English-speaking young men from the +ministry. The facts do not bear out this belief. . . . In order to hold +them in the ministry we need not appeal to their love of money. It is +death to the ministry when we do it; we have opened the vial of their +fiercest passion; we are doing what Jesus Christ never did; we are working +absolutely contrary to the fundamental laws of the kingdom of God. +. . . We must teach prospective ministers to look upon their lives as +an unselfish expenditure of God-given power. For once make the allurement +of the ministry the allurement of comfort, ease, or wealth, and we +have closed up every fountain of the minister's power.'' + + + +XXIV + +COMITY AND COOPERATION + +THE Hon. Charles Denby, then United States Minister +at Peking, wrote in 1900:-- + + +``With all due deference to the great missionary societie, +who have these matters in charge, my judgment is that missionary work +in China has been overdone. Take Peking as an example. There are located +at Peking the following Protestant missions: American Boards +American Presbyterian, American Methodist, Christian and Missionary +Alliance, International Y. M. C. A., London Missionary Society, Society +for the Propagation of the Gospel, International Institute, Mission for +Chinese Blind, Scotch Bible Society, and the Society for the Diffusion of +Christian Knowledge. To these must be added the Church of England +Mission, the English Baptist Mission and the Swedish Mission. The +above list shows that of American societies alone there are seven in Peking, +not counting the Peking University, and that all western Powers +taken collectively were represented by about twenty missions. A careful +study of the situation would seem to suggest that no two American societies +should occupy the same district.''[88] + + +[88] Missionary Review of the World, October, 1900. + + +It may be well to examine this criticism, partly because it +was made by an able man of known sympathy with mission +work, and partly because it relates to the city where, if anywhere, +in China, overcrowding exists. In considering Peking, +therefore, we are really considering the broad question of the +practicability of withdrawing some missionary agencies in the +interest of comity and efficiency. The Presbyterian missionaries +themselves opened the way for the discussion of the +question by proposing to the Congregational missionaries, after +the Boxer uprising had been quelled, ``an exchange of all work +and fields of our Presbyterian Church in the province of +Chih-li in return for the work and fields of the American +Board in the province of Shantung, subject to the approval of +our respective Boards.'' The Mission added:-- + + +``It means no little sacrifice to sever attachments made in long years of +service in fields and among a people whom God has enabled us to lead to +Christ, but we feel that a high spirit of loyalty to Christ and His cause, +inspiring all concerned, will lead us to set aside personal preferences and +attachments, if thereby the greater interests of His Church in China can be +conserved.'' + + +The whole question was thoroughly discussed during my +visit in Peking. Much time was spent traversing the entire +ground. Then a meeting was called of the leading missionaries +of all the Protestant agencies represented in Peking. + +The result of all these conferences was the unanimous and +emphatic judgment of the missionaries of all the boards concerned +that there is not ``a congestion of missionary societies +in Peking,'' and that no one board could be spared without +serious injury to the cause. In reply to the proposal of the +Presbyterian missionaries, the North China Mission of the +American Board wrote-- + + +``After considering the matter in all its bearings we are constrained to +say that we contemplate with regret any plan which looks to the withdrawal +of the Presbyterian Mission from the field which they have so long +occupied in northern Chih-li. We think that instead of illustrating comity +this would appear as if comity was not to be attained without a violent +dislocation from long-established foundations, and that in this particular +there would be a definite loss all around. . . . We further deprecate the +proposed step because there is now an excellent opportunity for the adoption +or actual measures of cooperation between our respective missions. . . . +We are ready to readjust boundaries in such a way as to remedy the waste +of effort in the crossing of one another's territory. . . . We are confident +that the ultimate outcome could not fail to be a greater benefit than the sudden +rupture of long-existing relations for the sake of mere geographical +contiguity of the work of missions like yours and ours, each keeping its own +district, careful not to encroach upon the other. In the higher unity here +suggested we should expect to realize larger results in the promotion of +comity not only, but also in the best interests of that kingdom of God for +which we are each labouring. + ``ARTHUR H. SMITH, + ``D. Z. SHEFFIELD, + ``Committee.'' + + +Moreover, several of the agencies enumerated by Colonel +Denby, such as the Y. M. C. A., the International Institute, +the Mission to the Blind, the various Bible Societies, and the +Society for the Diffusion of Christian Knowledge, are not +competing missionary agencies at all, but are doing a special +work along such separate lines that it is unfair to take them +into consideration. As a matter of fact, with the exception of +a comparatively small work by the Society for the Propagation +of the Gospel, the real missionary work in Peking is being done +by only four Boards,--The American, Methodist, London, and +Presbyterian. This is not a disproportionate number, considering +the fact that Peking is one of the great cities of the world +and the capital of the Empire. It is of the utmost importance +that a strong Christian influence should be exerted in such a +centre. Indeed, if there is any place in all China where this influence +ought to be intensified, it is Peking. It is granted that +Christian work is more difficult in a great city, that it is harder +to convert a man there than in a country village. But, on the +other hand, he is more influential when he is converted. +Peking is the heart of China. Alone of all its cities, it is +visited sooner or later by every ambitious scholar and prominent +official. The examinations for the higher degrees bring +to it myriads of the brightest young men of the country. The +moral effect of a strong Christian Church in Peking will be felt +in every province. If Christianity is to be a positive regenerative +force in China it cannot afford to weaken its hold in the +very citadel of China's power. + +It should be borne in mind that the work of the missionaries +stationed at Peking is not confined to the city, but that Peking +is a base from which they work out on the east and south till +they reach the boundaries of the Tien-tsin and Paoting-fu +station fields, while on the north and west a vast and populous +region for an indefinite distance is wholly dependent upon them +for Christian teaching. Extensive and densely inhabited areas +of the province are not being worked by any board. The Rev. +Dr. John Wherry, who has lived there for a generation, says +that there are a hundred times as many people in the Peking +region as are now being reached, and that there are 20,000,000 +in the province who have never yet heard of Christ. For this +enormous field the missionary agencies now at work are really +few. Hundreds of American cities of half a million inhabitants +have a greater number of ordained workers than this entire +province of Chih-li with a population nearly half as large as that +of the United States. Indeed there is room for a great extension +of the work without overcrowding. + +Each denomination occupies a large and distinct geographical +field in this province. For example, all that portion of the city +and suburbs of Peking north of the line of the Forbidden City, +with a population of about 200,000, is considered Presbyterian +territory. No other missionaries are located in +that part of Peking. In the country, the counties of San-ho, +Huai-jou, Pao-ti, to the north and east of Peking, are also +understood to be distinctively Presbyterian ground. San-ho +County alone is said to have 1,200 towns and villages, while +the other counties are also very populous. No other Protestant +denomination is working in any of these counties. At Paoting-fu, +the Congregationalists and Presbyterians have made a +division of the field, the former taking everything south of a +line drawn through the centre of the city and the latter everything +north of that line. Each denomination thus has wholly +to itself half the city of Paoting-fu and about a dozen outlying +counties. + +The missionaries of the three other boards concerned plainly +stated that, in the event of the withdrawal of the Presbyterians, +they would not be able to care for the work that would be left. +They declared that they were not able adequately to sustain +the work they already had and that there was not the slightest +reason to hope that their home boards would find it possible to +give them the reinforcements in men and money which would +be required if their present responsibilities were to be increased. +The large district now occupied by any given board would simply +be vacated if its missionaries were transferred to other regions. +The ties formed with the Chinese Christians and people +in more than a generation of continuous missionary work +would be broken and the influence acquired by faithful missionaries +in long years of toil would be lost. + +In these circumstances, would it be right for any one of +these four boards to withdraw? There will, indeed, come a +time when it will be the duty of the missionary to leave the +Chinese church to itself. But is this the time to go, when the +native church, instead of being strong and able to care for +itself, is torn and bleeding after frightful persecution? These +Christians look to the missionaries, who have hitherto led them, +as spiritual fathers who will guide them in the future. They +feel that the time has come for a new consecration to the task +of evangelizing all their people. As directed by the missionaries, +they may become a great influence for the conversion +of their countrymen. Should they be left when other missionaries +expressly state that they cannot care for them? + +The question of closer cooperation, however, is worthy of +careful consideration. At a conference of representatives of +foreign mission boards of the United States and Canada having +work in China, held in New York, September 21, 1900, +the following resolution was unanimously adopted: + + +``It is the judgment of this conference that the resumption of mission +work in those parts of China where it has been interrupted would afford a +favourable opportunity for putting into practice some of the principles of +mission comity which have been approved by a general concensus of +opinion among missionaries and boards, especially in regard to the over +lapping of fields and such work as printing and publishing, higher +education and hospital work, and the conference would commend the subject +to the favourable consideration and action of the various boards and their +missionaries.'' + + +Christian America, which ought to set the example of +comity, is distractingly divided. Should it not learn something +from its experience at home and, as far as possible, organize +its work abroad in such a way as to avoid perpetuating +unnecessary divisions? Should it not at least carefully consider +whether a limited force cannot be used to better advantage +for China and for Christ? I admire the ingenuity of those +at home who can find good reasons for having half a dozen +denominations in a town of a few thousand inhabitants. But on +the foreign field, we should adopt a different policy. In the +large cities--the Londons, and Berlins, and New Yorks, and +Chicagos, of Asia, it is conceded that more than one Board +may properly work. But with such exceptions, it should be +the rule not to enter fields where other evangelical bodies are +already established. Indeed it is already the rule. The +Shanghai Conference of 1900 voted that missionary agencies +should not be multiplied in small places, though that cities of +prefectural rank should not be considered the exclusive territory +of any one board. The American Presbyterian Board declared +in 1900, and its action was specifically approved by the +General Assembly of that year:--``The time has come for a +larger union and cooperation in mission work, and where +church union cannot be attained, the Board and the missions +will seek such divisions of territory as will leave as large districts +as possible to the exclusive care and development of separate +agencies.'' + +In several places, boards and missions are moving actively in +this direction. In 1902, the American and Presbyterian Boards +entered into a union in educational work in the province of +Chih-li by which the Presbyterians conduct a union boarding- +school for girls in Paoting-fu and for boys in Peking, while the +Congregationalists educate the boys of both denominations in +Paoting-fu and the girls in Peking. A medical college in +Peking was agreed upon in 1903, to be supported and taught +jointly by the London, American and Presbyterian missions. +In the province of Shantung, a notable union in both educational +and medical work was effected in 1903 between English +Baptists and American Presbyterians. Instead of developing +duplicate institutions with all the large expenditure of men and +money that would be involved, the boards and missions concerned +are uniting in the development of the Shantung Protestant +University with the Arts College on the Presbyterian +compound at Wei-hsien and the Theological and Normal +School on the Baptist compound at Ching-chou-fu. The +medical class will be taught alternately at the Baptist and +Presbyterian stations until funds warrant the erection of suitable +buildings, probably at Chinan-fu, the capital of the province. In +Shanghai, the Northern and Southern Methodists established a +union publishing house in 1902, and in several other parts of +China, plans for union of various kinds are being discussed. + +All these enterprises met with opposition at first. There was, +indeed, little objection to union in medical education, for few +questions of a denominational character are involved in the +training of medical students. But it was urged by some that +it would not be expedient to press consolidation in educational +work, as the chief object of such work was held to be the +training of a native ministry and each mission could best educate +its own helpers and should do so in the interest of self- +preservation. The example of the Meiji Gakuin in Tokio, Japan, +which is supported by the Presbyterian and Reformed Boards, +was not deemed determinative as in Japan but one native +church is involved, so that the cases are not parallel. Moreover, +it was thought that in a large school there would not be as +good an opportunity for that close personal contact between +missionary and pupil which is so desirable. + +These difficulties, however, are believed by many of the mis- +sionaries to be more theoretical than practical, or, at any rate, +not sufficiently formidable to prevent a more effective cooperation. +No plan will be free from all objections and a good effort +should not be abandoned because they are found to confront +it. The defects in union are less grave than those that experience +has shown to be inherent in the old method of numerous +weak and struggling institutions whose support requires a +ruinous proportion of the mission force and the mission funds +that might otherwise be available, in part at least, for the enlargement +of the evangelistic work. ``It certainly seems unnecessary +that two missions should maintain distinct high +schools looking towards a college grade side by side, when the +whole number of pupils in both could be instructed more +economically and perhaps more efficiently in one institution.'' + +Nor is this all, for, wherever practicable, union of allied +churches is being sought. I know we are told that Christ's +words do not call for this. But when I hear the laboured arguments +which defend the splitting of American Presbyterianism +into more than a dozen sects, I sympathize with the child who, +after a sermon in which the minister had eloquently urged that +the unity for which the Lord prayed was consistent with +separation, said: ``Mamma, if Christ didn't mean what He +said, why didn't He say what He meant?'' + +Premature and impracticable efforts should indeed be +avoided. The deeply rooted differences of centuries are not to +be eradicated in a day. We must feel our way along with +caution and wisdom. To attempt too much at first would be +to accomplish nothing. Work abroad is necessarily a projection +of the work at home and it will be more or less hampered by +our American divisions. A prominent clergyman told me that +he doubted the wisdom of a union of the Asiatic churches as he +feared that such a union would weaken the sense of responsibility +of the home churches. He thought that a denomination +in America would take a deeper interest in a comparatively +small native church wholly dependent upon it than it would in +an indeterminate part of a larger church. Must the unity of +the foreign church be sacrificed to the divisions of the home +church? Perhaps there is some ground for anticipating such +objections from home. But if they are found to exist, we +should not cease seeking union in Asia, but begin preaching +juster views in America. + +I must not be understood as depreciating the historic differences +of Christendom. I am aware that each of the +great religious bodies stands for some cardinal principle that +is not emphasized to the same degree by others. The freedom +of any given number of believers to witness to a specific +truth should not be and need not be limited by union. +The contention here is that the differences of the West +should not be forced upon the East but that the churches of +Asia should be given a fair chance to develop a unity large +enough to comprehend these various forms. If they must be +divided, let them separate later along their own lines of +cleavage, not on lines extended from western nations. In one +place, I met a swarthy Asiatic who knew just enough English +to be able to tell me that he was a Scotch Presbyterian. Are +we then to have a Scotch Presbyterian Church in Asia, and a +Canadian Presbyterian Church, and an Australian Presbyterian +Church? Is the American Civil War forever to divide +communities of Chinese believers into American Northern +Presbyterians and American Southern Presbyterians? Why +should we force our unhappy quarrel of a generation ago +upon them? The American Presbyterian Board has truly +declared that ``the object of the foreign missionary enterprise +is not to perpetuate on the mission field the denominational +distinctions of Christendom but to build up on Scriptural lines +and according to Scriptural principles and methods the +Kingdom of Our Lord Jesus Christ.'' It has advised all its +missions that ``we encourage as far as practicable the formation +of union churches in which the results of the mission +work of all allied evangelical churches should be gathered, and +that they (the missions) observe everywhere the most generous +principles of missionary comity.'' The specific approval of +this declaration, by the General Assembly of 1900, makes this +the authoritative policy of the Presbyterian Church in the +United States of America. + +In harmony with this general position, several significant +efforts towards union are being made. The first movements, +naturally, are towards a union of communions that are substantially +alike in polity and doctrine. Already all the Presbyterian +and Reformed Boards operating in Japan, Korea, +Mexico and India have joined in the support of a united native +church in those lands, and similar movements are in progress +in other lands and in several churches, notably the Protestant +Episcopal and the Methodist Episcopal. In China, the +representatives of the eight Presbyterian denominations of +Europe and America have met in loving conference and +planned to unite all the native Christians connected with their +respective missions into one magnificent and commanding +Church. + +And now unions of wholly different denominations are being +discussed. The American Board missionaries intimated to the +Presbyterian Mission in 1901 that there might be ``no inherent +difficulty in uniting the membership of the Presbyterian and +Congregational churches in Chih-li in one common body.'' A +similar question is being informally discussed by the American +Presbyterian missionaries and those of the English Baptist +Mission in Shantung. The fellowship between the two bodies +there, as between Presbyterians and Congregationalists in +Chih-li, is close. + +The local difficulties do not appear to be serious. An +English Baptist missionary frankly stated in an open conference +of missionaries of various boards in Chefoo, that his mission, +with the full knowledge of the home society, took the position +that the Chinese Christians are not yet fit for congregational +government, being, as a rule, comparatively ignorant farmers +just out of heathenism; that it had been found necessary to +select the best men in a local church and give them powers +which, for all practical purposes, constituted them a session, +and that the native church as a whole was being more and +more directed by a body consisting of representatives from such +sessions. An American Board missionary told me substantially +the same thing regarding the churches of his mission. We +should not infer too much from such admissions. Both Baptists +and Congregationalists are loyally attached to their independent +policy. Both referred, of course, to the temporary +adaptions necessary in the present stage of mission work. +As for Presbyterians, their Board's Committee on Policy and +Methods declared, March 6, 1899:-- + + +``It is inexpedient to give formal organization to churches and Presbyteries +after American models unless there is manifest need therefor, and +such forms are shown to be best adapted to the people and circumstances. +In general, the ends of the work will be best attained by simple and +flexible organizations adapted to the characteristic and real needs of the +people and designed to develop and utilize spiritual power rather than +merely or primarily to secure proper ecclesiastical procedure.'' + + +As a matter of fact, neither the representative nor the independent +forms of church government are yet in unmodified +operation on any mission fields, except perhaps in Japan, for +the simple reason that the typical foreign missionary has thus +far necessarily exercised the functions of a superintendent or +bishop of the native churches. Undoubtedly, however, the +Asiatic churches are being educated to expect self-government +as soon as they are competent to exercise it. + +Doctrinal differences may present greater difficulties. And +yet there is a remarkable unanimity of teaching among the +missionaries of the various denominations in China. However +widely they may differ among themselves, nearly all agree in +preaching to the Chinese the great central truths of Christianity +so that most of the native Christians know little of the sectarian +distinctions that are so well-understood in America. Such +differences as are necessary in China might be provided for by +recognizing the liberty of the local church and the individual +believer to hold whichever phase of the truth might be preferred. +The China Inland Mission has shown that this plan +is feasible. It is composed of missionaries of all Protestant +denominations, but they work in harmony and build up a +Chinese church by recognizing the right of brethren to differ +in the same organization. + +Doubtless isolated cases of embarrassment would occur, but +they would be insignificant in comparison with the embarrassments +inherent in sectarian divisions. Denominational uniformity +is bought at bitter cost when it separates Christians +into rival camps. Unity in essentials and liberty in non-essentials +are far better than a slavery to non-essentials which +destroys that oneness of believers for which our Lord prayed. +In the presence of a vast heathen population, let Christians at +least remember that their points of disagreement are less vital +than their points of agreement, that Christianity should, as far +as possible, present a solid front, and let them devoutly join +the Conference of Protestant missionaries in Japan in the ringing +proclamation:--``That all those who are one with Christ by +faith are one body, and that all who love the Lord Jesus and +His Church in sincerity and truth should pray and labour for +the full realization of such a corporate oneness as the Master +Himself prayed for in the night in which He was betrayed.'' + +It is true that an advanced position on comity sometimes +operates to the disadvantage of the denomination that espouses +it. But let us be true to our ideals even if some whom we might +have reached do go to heaven by another route. Other +churches are preaching the gospel and those who accept it +at their hands will be saved. We are in Asia to preach +Christ, to preach Him as we understand Him, but if any +one else insists on preaching Him in a given place and +will do so with equal fidelity to His divinity and atone- +ment, let us cooperate with them, or federate with them, or +combine with them, or give up the field to them, as the +circumstances may require. The problem before us is not simply +where we can do good, but where we can do the most good, +how use to the best advantage the limited resources at our +command. Givers at home have a right to demand this. +Many of their gifts involve self-sacrifice, and they should be +used where a real need exists. ``There remains yet very much +land to be possessed.'' I have seen enough of it to burden my +heart as long as I live, toiling, sorrowing, sin-laden multitudes, +who might be better Christians than we are if they had our +chance, but who are scattered abroad as sheep having no shepherd. +And shall we multiply missionaries in places already +occupied and dispute as to who shall preach in a given fields +when these millions are dying without the gospel? + + + +PART V +The Future of China And Our Relation +To It + + + +XXV + +IS THERE A YELLOW PERIL + +WILL China ever be able to menace the nations of +the West? This is the startling question that many +sober-minded men are asking. Some writers, indeed, +make light of the ``yellow peril,'' characterizing it ``a +mere bugaboo of an excited imagination,'' because, as they +allege, China has neither the organization nor the valour to +fight Europe, and because, if it had, it could not transport its +army and navy so vast a distance. + +But surely organization and valour can be acquired by the +Chinese as well as by any other people. Their present helplessness +before the aggressive foreigner is rapidly teaching them +the necessity for the former. As for the latter, it is well known +that the most dangerous fighter is the strong but peaceably- +disposed man who has been goaded to desperation by long- +continued insult and injustice. Americans may discreetly remember +that they themselves were once sneeringly described +as ``a nation of shopkeepers who wouldn't and couldn't +fight.'' + +It is easy to be deceived by the result of the China-Japan +War of 1894. The Japanese were successful, not because they +are abler, but because they had more swiftly responded to the +touch of the modern world and had organized their government, +their army and their navy in accordance with scientific +methods. More bulky and phlegmatic China was caught napping +by her enterprising enemy. Despising the profession of +arms, China gave her energies to scholarship and commerce, +and filled her regiments and ships with paupers, criminals and +opium fiends, who were as destitute of courage, intelligence +and patriotism as the darky who explained his flight from the +battle-field by saying that he would rather be a live coward +than a dead hero. As for the men above them, a Chinese officer +admitted to a friend of mine that at the outbreak of the +war with Japan, the army contractors bought a lot of old rifles +in Germany, which had long before been discarded as worthless +by the German army, paying two ounces of silver for each +gun, and thriftily charging the Government nine ounces. Then +they bought a cargo of cartridges that did not fit the guns and +that had been lying in damp cellars for twenty years, and put +the whole equipment into the hands of raw recruits commanded +by opium-smokers. + +It is not surprising, therefore, that the Chinese were worsted +before the onset of the wide-awake Japanese, and that the +unorganized mobs with which they blindly tried to drive out +foreigners in 1900 were easily crushed by the armies of the +West. But it would be folly to imagine that this is the end. +It takes a nation of 426,000,000 phlegmatic people longer to +get under way than a nation of 43,000,000 nervous people, +but when they do get started, their momentum is proportionately +greater. China has plenty of men who can fight, and +when they are well commanded, they make as good soldiers as +there are in the world, as ``Chinese Gordon'' showed. Was +not his force called the ``Ever Victorious Army,'' because it +was never defeated? Did not Lord Charles Beresford, of the +English navy, say, after personal inspection of many of the +troops of China:--``I am convinced that properly armed, disciplined +and led, there could be no better material than the +Chinese soldiers''? Did not Admiral Dewey report that the +fifty Chinese who served under him in the battle of Manila Bay +fought so magnificently that they proved themselves equal in +courage to American sailors and that they should be made +American citizens by special enactment? During my tour of +Asia, I saw the soldiers of England, France, Germany, Italy, +Austria, Belgium, Russia, America and Japan. But the Chinese +cavalrymen of Governor Yuan Shih Kai, whom I have described +elsewhere,[89] were as fine troops as I saw anywhere. +They would be a foe not to be despised. When Bishop Potter +returned from his tour of Asia, he declared that ``when Japan +has taught China the art of war, neither England nor Russia +nor Germany will decide the fate of the East.'' + + +[89] Chapter VII. + + +It is odd that any intelligent person should suppose that distance +is an effectual barrier against an aroused and organized +Asia. It is no farther from China to Europe than from Europe +to China, and Europe has not found the distance a barrier to +its designs on China. England, Germany, France, Russia, +and even little Holland and Portugal, have all managed to +send ships and troops to the Far East, to seize territory and to +subjugate the inhabitants. Why should it be deemed impossible +for China, which alone is larger than all these nations +combined, to do what they have done? + +The absorption of China by Russia or any other single European +power is not possible for the reason that the attempt +would be resisted by all the other Powers, including the United +States and Japan. The world will never permit one of its +nations to make China what Great Britain has made India. A +half dozen Powers are determined to have a share if the break +up comes. + +The real partition of the Empire, however, is hardly probable +as the case stands to-day. The Powers dread the task of +administering a population that is not only huge but of such a +stubborn character that enormous military expenditures might +be required to prevent constant rebellions. A still more potent +reason lies in the fact that the European nations that covet +portions of China could not agree among themselves as to the +division of the spoil. There is, indeed, apparent acquiescence +in Russian influence in Manchuria, German in Shantung, +British in the valleys of the Yang-tze and the Pearl, and French +in Tonquin. But no one nation is quite satisfied with this +division. Each has thus far taken what it could get; but Germany, +France and Russia are far from pleased to see Great +Britain take the lion's share that she has marked out for herself. +Moreover, there are important provinces that are now +common ground, like the imperial province of Chih-li, or +unappropriated, like several of the interior provinces. Actual +partition would mean a scramble that would precipitate a general +war, and such a war would involve so many uncertainties +not only as to the result in China but as to possible readjustments +in Europe itself, that the Powers wisely shrink from it. +So they prefer for the present, at least, the policy of ``spheres +of influence'' as giving them a commercial foothold and political +influence with less risk of trouble. + +Besides, Great Britain, the United States and Japan are all +opposed to partition. England's chief interest in China is +commercial, and it quite naturally prefers to trade with the +whole of China rather than be confined to a particular section +of it, for it knows that there would be little trade with any +parts of China that Russia, France and Germany absolutely +controlled. So England insists on the integrity of China and +the open door.'' + +The United States has the same commercial interest in this +respect as Great Britain, with the added motive that partition +would give her nothing at all in China; while Japan feels the +most strongly of all for she has both the reasons that actuate +the United States and also the vital one of self-preservation. +The Hon. Chester Holcombe says that several years ago, in an +interview with an influential member of the Japanese Cabinet +in Tokio, the conversation turned upon the aggressions of +European Powers and the weakness of Korea, which had +recently declared its independence. + + +``The Japanese Minister was greatly disturbed at the prospect for the +future. He insisted that the action taken by Korea, under the guidance +of China, would not save that little kingdom from attack and absorption. +Holding up one hand, and separating the first and second fingers as widely +as possible from the third and fourth, he said:--`Here is the situation. +Those four fingers represent the four great European Powers, Great +Britain, Germany, France and Russia. In the open space between them +lie Japan, China and Korea.' Then, with really dramatic force, he added: +`Like the jaws of a huge vise, those fingers are slowly closing, and unless +some supreme effort is made, they will certainly crush the national life out +of all three.' '' + + +So Japan must be reckoned with in any plans which the +western nations may make for China, and that Japan is a +factor not to be despised, the Russians have learned to their +sorrow. Japan believes that she has found the way to make +her opposition so formidable that all Europe cannot overcome it. +Beyond any other people in the world, the Chinese furnish the +raw materials for a world power. All they need is capable +leadership. This is the gigantic task to which Japan has set +herself. The alert and enterprising Islanders have entered +upon a career of national aggrandizement. They realize that +with their limited territory and population, they can hardly +hope to become a power of the first class and make headway +against the tremendous forces of western nations unless they can +ally themselves with their larger continental neighbour. They +clearly see their own superiority in organization, discipline and +modern spirit, and they see also the stupendous power of China +if it can be aroused and effectively directed. The Japanese +have never been accused of undue modesty and they firmly +believe that they are just the people to do this work. This is +not simply because they are ambitious, but because they see +that unless Asia can be thus solidified against Europe, the +whole mighty continent will fall under the control of the white +men who already dominate so large a part of it. Accordingly +the Japanese have entered upon the definite policy of not only +absorbing Korea, but of cultivating the closest possible alliance +with their former foe. + +The Hon. Augustin Heard, formerly United States Minister +to Korea, represents Japan as whispering to the sorely beset +Celestials:-- + + +``Why shouldn't we work together? I hate the foreigner as much as +you do, and should be as glad to get rid of him. Together we can do +great things; separate we are feeble. I am too small, and you are, so to +speak, too big. You are unorganized. Let us join hands and I will do +what I can to help you get ready; and when we are ready we will drive +these insolent fellows into the sea. I have a big army and navy and I +have learned all the foreigners have to teach. This knowledge I will pass +on to you. We have great advantages over them. In the first place they +are a long way from their supplies, and every move they make costs a +great deal of money. Our men can fight as well as theirs, if they are +shown how, and there are a great many more of them. They can march +as well, will require to carry almost no baggage, and do not cost half as +much to feed. Our wounded men, too, in their own country and climate +will get well, while theirs will die.'' + + +To this suggestion China listens and ponders:-- + + +``What are the objections? There is, first, the contempt which our +people feel for them; but that is rapidly dying out. The Japanese +showed in our last war that small men can fight as well as big ones; and +a rifle in the hands of the small man will carry as far and as true as in the +hands of a larger one. Then, when we have once got rid of the foreigner +will Japan not try to keep the leadership and supremacy? Very likely +but then we shall be armed and organized; we have as able men as they +and with our overwhelming numbers shall we not be capable of holding +our own--nay, if we wish, of taking possession of her?''[90] + +[90] Article in The New York Tribune, September 7, 1903. + + +Undoubtedly this imaginary conversation voices the ambition +of the Japanese and the inclination of an increasing number of +Chinese. At any rate, the possibilities which such an alliance +suggests are almost overwhelming. Japan undoubtedly has the +intelligence and the executive ability to organize as no other +power could the vast latent forces of China. If any one +doubts her fitness to discipline and lead, he might obtain some +heartfelt information from the Russians. Says Mr. George +Lynch in the Nineteenth Century:-- + + +``I know of no movement more pregnant with possibilities than this +now in progress which makes towards the Japanization of China. There +will be great changes in the government and life of that great Empire just +as soon as the Empress Dowager dies, and she is now an old woman. In +the upheaval of change, if the industrious, persistent, far-sighted efforts of +her neighbours bear fruit, we may witness quite a rapid transformation in +the life of the Empire. That clever conspirator, Sen Yat Sen, said to me +that, once the Chinese made up their minds to change, they would effect +in fifteen years as much as it has taken Japan thirty to accomplish. There +are some men in the East who affect to regard this rapprochement between +Japan and China with alarm, as carrying in its development the menace +of a really genuine `yellow peril.' '' + + +It certainly needs no argument to prove that if the 426,000,000 +Chinese are once fairly committed to the skillful leadership +of the Japanese, a force will be set in motion which could +be withstood only by the united efforts of all the rest of the +world. + +The task to which Japan has set herself, however, will not be +easily achieved. To say nothing of other nations, the Russians +are not at all disposed to sit quietly by while their foes cajole +the Chinese. Russia has some designs of her own on China. +Half Asiatic and semi-barbarous herself, past master in all the +arts of Oriental diplomacy, patient, stubborn and untroubled +by scruples, she is a formidable competitor for the leadership +of China. In Persia, the Russian political policy works largely +through the missionaries of the Greek Church, whose propaganda +is political as well as religious. The same tactics are +now being employed in China. The Chih-li correspondent of +the North China Herald reports that the Holy Russian branch +of the Greek Church is becoming suspiciously active in North +China. + + +``Their work is spreading, and the methods adopted are such as to attract +all the worst characters of the districts in which they operate. In a +little town near the Great Wall, where in June there were about a dozen +converts to the Greek Church, there are now over eighty. Any and all +are welcome. Their families no less than the men themselves are reck- +oned as belonging to the Church. The priest has made a round of several +towns, and, though he speaks no Chinese, by unhesitatingly giving protection +and assistance in any case of dispute or litigation, he has made it +clearly evident that for any man in any way under a cloud there is nothing +better than to join the Greek Church.... The impression +among European onlookers is that Russia is preparing to extend her arms +over Chih-li, and is beginning to smooth her way by gaining over the people +in the eastern marches of the province. It is a significant fact that the +Greek Church is known among the people as a `Kuo Chiao' (National +Church), a charge from which the Protestants are considered to be entirely, +and the Roman Catholics partially, free.'' + +China, moreover, will be slow to respond to the overtures of +Japan, partly because her bulk and phlegmatic disposition and +lack of public spirit make it difficult for her to act quickly and +unitedly in anything, partly because Chinese pride and prejudice +will not easily yield to the leadership of the haughty little +island whose people as well as whose territory have long been +contemptuously regarded as dwarfish and inferior. + +But the shrewd Japanese are making more progress than is +commonly supposed. Not only have they already obtained the +great island of Formosa, but they have for years been quietly +making their commercial interests paramount in Korea. Their +first move in the war with Russia was to occupy that strategic +peninsula with a large military force and to secure a treaty with +the Emperor which gives Japan a virtual protectorate over the +Land of the Morning Calm. The promise to respect the independence +of Korea of course deceives no one. It is probably +sincere, as diplomatic promises go; but he is innocent indeed +who imagines that Korea will be free to do anything that Japan +disapproves. The freedom will doubtless be of the kind that +Cuba enjoys--a freedom which gives large liberty in matters +of internal administration, which relieves the protecting country +of any trouble or responsibility that it may deem inconvenient, +but which does not permit any alliance with a third +nation, and which, for all important international purposes, especially +of a military character, regards the ``independent'' +nation as really dependent. It is quite safe to predict that no +European power will be unsophisticated enough to assume that +Korea is ``a free and independent nation.'' The arrangement +will be in every way to the advantage of the Koreans, who have +suffered grievously from the pulling and hauling of contending +powers and from many evils from which the abler and wiser +Japanese will, in a measure at least, protect them. + +For a long time, too, the Japanese have been strengthening +the ties which bind them to China. The brainy Japanese +can be seen to-day in almost all the leading cities of the Middle +Kingdom. There is a Japanese colony of 200 souls in +Chefoo and of 1,400 in Tien-tsin. Already the Japanese are +advising China's government, reorganizing her army, drafting +her laws and teaching in her university. Even more distant +countries are not beyond the range of their ambition. The +leaders of India, restive under British rule, are beginning to +look with eager sympathy to Japan as the rising Asiatic power. +Even the Grand Vizier of Persia has paid a state visit to Japan. +Any hopes of India and Persia are likely to be vain, for Britain +has a hold upon the former and Russia upon the latter which +it would be Quixotic in the Japanese to attempt to break. The +Islanders are not fools. But the Siamese, helplessly exasperated +by the encroachments of the French, would doubtless be +glad enough to enter into an alliance with Japan and China. +In 1902, the Crown Prince of Siam visited Japan, where he +was most graciously welcomed, and increasing numbers of Japanese +who know what they are about are obtaining increasing +influence in the Land of the White Elephant. + +Nor is it simply by sending Japanese to neighbouring countries +that Japan is extending her power. She is encouraging +Chinese students to come to her shores. Dr. David S. Spencer +of Japan declares that 300 Chinese are studying the art of +war in Japanese barracks. Dr. Sydney L. Gulick says that +5,000 Chinese are being trained in the schools of Japan for +positions of future power in their own country. It is significant that +Viceroy Yuan Shih Kai, the ablest and most far-seeing statesman +in China, is reported in the telegraphic despatches of +February 5, 1904, as having memorialized the Throne in favour +of an offensive and defensive alliance with Japan to regain +Manchuria from the Russians, while the North China Daily +News represents Prince Su, Prince Ching, Na Tung, President +of the Wai-wu-pu, and Tieh Liang as in favour of the same +policy. Mr. Holcombe is of the opinion that ``the brightest +spot in the outlook for China is in the increasing probability of alliance +and affiliation with Japan. . . . Together these two +great nations of the Far East may, and it is confidently hoped +will, safely confront those Governments whose schemes are hostile +to both, and prove their right to manage their own affairs +and determine their own destinies.''[91] + + +[91] Article in The Outlook, February 13, 1904. + + +But whatever the immediate future may be, it is not probable +that so huge and virile a population as the Chinese will be +permanently led by a foreign nation. Even if partition should +come, it would only hasten the development of those teeming +millions of people, for foreign domination would mean more +railway, telegraph and steamship lines. It would mean the +opening of mines, the development of the press, the complete +ascendency of Western ideas. Though China as a political organism +might be divided, the Chinese people would remain-- +the most virile, industrious, untiring people of Asia, and perhaps, +after due tutelage, a coming power of the world. China's +assimilative power is enormous. The black man may be dominated +by the white and the Hindu by the English, but China is +neither Africa nor India. It is true that the present dynasty is +Manchu, but the Manchus are more akin to the Chinese than +either the Russians or the Japanese. Moreover the Manchus +have not tried to rule China from the outside, but have permanently +settled in China, and while they have succeeded as a +rule in maintaining a separate name, they have not made the +Chinese Manchus, but instead they have themselves been prac- +tically merged into the engulfing mass of China. ``Those who +imagine that the vast population of the Empire will submit +quietly to the partition of their country, or that any military +force of moderate size could force it to acquiesce in such a +scheme, know but little of the Chinese character, of their intense +love of country, or of their unconquerable tenacity of +purpose.''[92] The foreign nation that gets the Chinese, or even +any considerable portion of them, will probably find that it has +assumed a burden in comparison with which the Egyptian +trouble with the Israelites was insignificant, and it is not +improbable that the conqueror will some day find himself +conquered. + + +[92] Chester Holcombe, article in The Outlook, February 13, 1904. + + +At any rate, portentous possibilities are conjured up by the +contemplation of this mighty nation! There are upheavals +compared with which our revolutions are but spasms. There +are religions whose adherents outnumber ours two to one. +There is a civilization which was old before ours was born. +Are we to believe that these swarming legions were created for +no purpose? Are their generations to appear and fall and rot +unnoticed, like the leaves of the forest? Degraded, superstitious, +many of them still are. But they need only to be organized +and directed to do untold mischief. More than once +already has a similar catastrophe occurred. Some prodigy of +skill and genius has seized such enormous forces, given them +discipline and coherency and hurled them like a thunderbolt +upon Christendom. Sometimes the shock has been frightful, +and before it the proudest of empires and the stateliest of +institutions have reeled and fallen. This was the Titan-like +achievement of Alaric, of Genseric, of Attila, and of Mohammed. +Yet Goths and Vandals, Huns and Mohammedans, +combined, had not half the numbers upon which we now look. +Give the 426,000,000 Chinese the results of modern discovery +and invention, and imagination falters. They have the territory. +They have the resources. They have the population +and they are now acquiring the knowledge. China will fight +no more like the barbarians of old with spears and bows and +arrows, for despite the treaty of 1900 prohibiting the importation +of arms, the Chinese are buying repeating rifles and Maxim +guns, while in their own arsenals they are turning out vast +quantities of munitions of war. The American consul at Leipsic, +Germany, reports to the State Department that an Austrian +company has just received an order for so large a number of +small arms for the Chinese Government that it will take several +years to fill it, even with additional forces of men to whom it +has given employment. This is only one of many reports +received in Washington within recent months that the factories +of both Germany and Austria are busy supplying the Chinese +with modern arms and ammunition. The armies of China +will soon be as well equipped as the armies of Europe. + +Incredible as it may seem, up to the year 1901, promotion +in the army was often determined by trials of strength with +stone weights, dexterity in sword exercises and skill in the use +of the bow and arrow. But in that year, an Imperial Decree +declared that such tests ``have no relation to strategy and to +that military science which is indispensable for military officers,'' +commanded that they be abolished and that military +academies should be established in the provincial capitals in +which the science of modern war should be diligently studied. +Not content with this, forty young men were sent to Europe +in 1903 for the express purpose of studying the latest military +and naval methods of the white man. And now Sir Robert +Hart proposes not only a reorganization of China's civil service +but the building of a first-class navy of thirty battleships and +cruisers, and he thinks that the enormous sum of $200,000,000 +a year can be obtained for this purpose by an increase in the +land tax. Then, he declares, China will be enabled ``not +only to make her voice heard, but to take an effective share in +the settlement of questions in the Far East.'' The London +Times rather contemptuously asserts that ``the entire project +in its present shape is visionary from beginning to end.'' +But Sir Robert Hart has spent fifty years in China, having +entered the British consular service in 1854 and become +Inspector-General of Maritime Customs in 1863. During the +greater part of this long period, he has been an adviser of +the Chinese Government and the most influential foreigner in +the Empire. The recommendation of such a man is not to be +lightly dismissed as ``visionary,'' especially when it is made to +a people who have been taught by bitter experience that a +modern armament is their only hope of defense against the +foreigner. As late as the beginning of the year 1904, Russia +ridiculed the idea that Japan could do anything against a +western power, and all the rest of Europe as well as America, +while admiring the pluck of the Japanese, confidently expected +them to be crushed by the Slav. Wise men will think twice in +the future before they sneer at the yellow race. If Japan in +half a century could go from junks and cloisonne to battleships +and magazine rifles, and to the handling of them, too, +more scientifically and effectively than they were ever handled +by a white man, why should it be deemed chimerical that China, +with equal ability and greater resources and certainly no less +provocation, should in time achieve even vaster results, particularly +as Japan is not only willing but eager to teach her? ``We +do not lack either men of intellect or brilliant talents, capable +of learning and doing anything they please; but their movements +have hitherto been hampered by old prejudices,'' said +the Emperor Kuang Hsii. Precisely, and the stern, relentless +pressure of necessity is now shattering some of those ``old +prejudices.'' ``You urge us to move faster,'' said a Chinese +magistrate to a foreigner. ``We are slow to respond for we +are a conservative people; but if you force us to start, we may +move faster and farther than you like.'' + +Some things may yet occur undreampt of in all our philosophy. +We observe the changing march of world powers, +the majestic procession in which the pomp and glitter of +thrones are mingled with the tears and blood of calamity +and war. What a pageant! Yesterday, Chaldea, Egypt, Assyria, +Babylon, Persia, Greece, Rome! To-day, England, +Germany, Russia, Japan, the United States! To-morrow, +what? What, indeed, if not some of these now awakening +nations! It is by no means impossible that some new +Jenghiz Khan or Tamerlane may arise, and with the weapons +of modern warfare in his hands, and these uncounted millions +at his command, gaze about on the pygmies that we call the +Powers! Christendom has too long regarded heathen nations +with a pity not unmingled with contempt. It is now beginning +to regard them with a respect not unmingled with fear. +There is not a statesman in Europe to-day who is not troubled +with dire forebodings regarding these teeming hordes, that appear +to be just awakening from the torpor of ages, and some +thoughtful observers fear that a movement has already begun +which will lead to great wars whose issue no man can foresee, +and to stupendous reconstructions of the map of the +world. The Emperor of Germany has painted a picture which +has startled not so much by its art as by its meaning. ``On a +projecting rock, illuminated by a shining cross, stand the allegorical +figures of the civilized nations. At the feet of this +rocky eminence lies the wide plain of European culture, from +which rise countless cities and the steeples and spires of +churches of every denomination. But ominous clouds are +gathering over this peaceful landscape. A stifling gloom +o'erspreads the sky. The glare of burning cities lights up the +road by which the barbaric hordes of Asia are approaching. +The Archangel Michael points to the fearsome foe, waving the +nations on to do battle in a sacred cause. Underneath are +the words--`Peoples of Europe, keep guard over your most +sacred treasures!' '' + +Making all due allowance for the exuberance of Emperor +William's imagination, the fact remains that his picture represents +the thought that is uppermost to-day in the minds of the +world's thinkers. All see that the next few decades are big +with possibilities of peril. + + ``The rudiments of Empire here + Are plastic yet and warm, + The chaos of a mighty world + Is rounding into form.'' + + +One thinks instinctively of the words of Isaiah: ``The +noise of a multitude in the mountains, like as of a great people; +a tumultuous noise of the kingdoms of nations gathered +together; the Lord of hosts mustereth the hosts of the battle.'' +Plainly, the overshadowing problem of the present age is the +relation of China to the world's future. Whether recent events +have lessened the danger, we shall see in the next chapter. + + + +XXVI + +FRESH REASON TO HATE THE FOREIGNER + +OF course, the victorious march of the Allies upon +Peking, the capture of the city, the flight of the +Emperor and the Empress Dowager and the humiliating +terms of peace taught the Chinese anew their helplessness before +the modern equipment of western nations and the necessity +of learning the methods of the white man if they were ever +to hold their own against him. But defeat, while always hard +to bear, does not always embitter the conquered against the +conqueror. On the contrary, there are evidences that the +Chinese respect and like the Japanese far more since they were +soundly whipped by them in 1894 and 1895. In considering, +therefore, the effect upon the Chinese of the suppression of the +Boxer uprising, we must bear in mind not so much the fact of +victory by the Allies as the treatment which they accorded their +prostrate foe. Was that treatment dignified and just? Did +the soldiers of alleged Christian nations behave with the sobriety +and fairness which so eminently characterized the Japanese +troops after the China-Japan War? Have the Chinese reason +to regard foreigners in the future as men who will sternly +punish injustice and treachery, but who are at the same time as +moral and humane and trustworthy as might be reasonably expected +of the representatives of a higher civilization and a +purer religion? For answer, let us turn to the conduct of the +allied armies, led by experienced officers of high rank and +working in harmony with diplomatic officials who were supposed +to incarnate the spirit and methods of the most enlightened +nations of the earth. The testimony of witnesses will be +interesting. + + +Dr. Arthur H. Smith, who was in Peking at the time, +writes:-- + + +``Bating all exaggerations, it remains true that scores of walled cities +have been visited by armed bodies of foreign soldiers, the district magistrate-- +and sometimes the Prefect--held up and bullied to force him to +pay a large sum of money, with no other reason than the imperative demand +and the threat of dire consequences on refusal. In one case the +Russians kidnapped the Prefect of Yung-ping-fu and carried him off to Port +Arthur. At Ting-chou the French did the same to the sub-prefect, the only +energetic magistrate in all that region, bearing him in triumph to Paoting-fu +and leaving the district to Boxers and to chaos. At Tsang-chou +the Germans came in force, looted the yamen of General Mei, the only +Chinese officer of rank who had been constantly fighting and destroying +Boxers for nearly a year, drove him away and released all the Boxer +prisoners in the jails of the city, plundering the yamen of the friendly and +efficient sub-prefect who had saved the lives of the foreign families close +by the city. Is it any wonder that General Mei complained that s on eight +sides he had no face left.' . . . The robbery of Chinese on the way +home with the avails of their day's work has been systematically carried +on by some of the soldiers from Christian lands. Even foreigners are +`held up' on the street by drunken soldiers, and it is becoming necessary +never to go out without one's revolver--a weapon generally quite superfluous +in almost any part of China.'' + + +Bishop D. H. Moore, of the Methodist Church, who hurried +to Peking as soon as the way was open, wrote:-- + + +``You can hardly form any conception of the exposure and hardships +under any but the American and Japanese flags. The English have +scarcely any but the Sikhs, who are lustful and lootful to a degree. The +Russians are brutal and the Germans deserve their reputation for brutality. +With Lowry and Hobart, I responded to the agonizing appeal of a husband +to drive out a German corporal who, on duty and armed, had run +him off and was mistreating his wife. The instance is but one of hundreds +of daily occurrence. The French are very devils at this sort of outrage. +On the advance to Peking, beyond Tung-chou, they found married families-- +men, women and children--cowering in barges on the canal and +volleyed into them. Every man, every cart, every boat must fly a flag. +Coolies are cruelly impressed and often cruelly mistreated. The great +Christian nations of the world are being represented in China by robbing, +raping, looting soldiery. This is part of China's punishment; but what +will she think of Christianity? Of course, our soldiers are the best behaved; +but there are desperate characters in every army.'' + + +Captain Frank Brinkley, the editor of the Japan Weekly +Mail, penned the following indignant paragraph:-- + + +``It sends a thrill of horror through every white man's bosom to learn +that forty missionary women and twenty-five little children were butchered +by the Boxers. But in Tung-chou alone, a city where the Chinese made +no resistance and where there was no fighting, 573 Chinese women of the +upper classes committed suicide rather than survive the indignities they +had suffered. Women of the lower classes fared similarly at the hands of +the soldiers, but were not unwilling to survive their shame. With what +show of consistency is the Occident to denounce the barbarity of the Chinese, +when Occidental soldiers go to China and perpetrate the very acts +which constitute the very basis of barbarity?'' + + +When I asked the Rev. Dr. D. Z. Sheffield, for many years +a missionary of the American Board in Tung-chou, whether +this statement was accurate, he replied that it was not only true, +but that it was an understatement of the truth. + +Fay Chi Ho, an intelligent and reliable Chinese Christian, +gives the following account of what he personally saw:-- + + +``I travelled with a British convoy going by boat, occupying quarters +on a Major's boat with his Sikh soldiers and cook. I know that the +Major was not a Christian man, for he smoked and drank all day long +and was constantly cursing, striking and kicking his men, especially his +cook. He also gave his orders in loud tones, with fierce mien and glaring +eyes, and we all feared him exceedingly. Every day at noon the +Major would take four Sikhs and go to villages several miles from the +river for loot, always compelling me to accompany him as interpreter. +He would catch the first man whom he saw in a village and compel him +to act as guide to the homes of the rich. So successful was he on these +raids that by the time he reached Tung-chou, he had three new carts, +three donkeys, five or six sheep, and much clothing and bric-a-brac. + +``One day about noon, we reached a village from which most of the +people had fled, and entering a home of wealth found there only a man +about fifty or sixty years old who received us very courteously. Immedi- +ately the Major demanded money, and the old man replied that though +he had money it was not at hand. The Major then commanded his soldiers +to bind him, while he himself went into the house to search for money. +He found several weapons, among them a revolver and a sword with a +red scarf bound on the handle. So he insisted that the old man must be +a Boxer, and shot him with his own hand as he lay bound. As usual he +impressed ten or more young men in the village to carry his loot, then +compelled the strongest of them to remain and drag his boats.... +Later, my brother told me in detail how some Sikhs had come to the village +one day, and, seizing him and several neighbours, had tied a rope to +their queues, then stringing them together like mules, with men leading in +front and driving behind, had taken them to the river bank to drag boats. +My brother had never done such work before. Wading in mud and +water, sometimes up to his waist, with the whip lash to urge him on, he +had dragged until nightfall, and then, not being allowed to sleep on the +boat, had lain down on the wet river bank.''[93] + + +[93] ``Two Heroes of Cathay,'' pp. 154, 155, 158. + + +During my own visit in north China in the summer of 1901, I +visited the hospital of the London Mission in Tien-tsin, immortalized +by John Kenneth Mackenzie. I found that it was being +used as a hospital for British soldiers who were suffering +from venereal diseases. What a spectacle for the Chinese! +What a coarse travesty of the religion of the pure Nazarene +that the land from which the great British missionary came +should crowd with foul white men the hospital that he had built +with faith and love and prayer! In the same city, the fine +Y. M. C. A. building was almost deserted by the Chinese because +it was so situated that to reach it they would have to pass +through the Taku Road in the Foreign Settlement, a street +which was a cesspool of vice, lined with saloons, dance halls +and gambling hells, and its sidewalks so crowded with fast +women--French, German, American and Japanese--and with +drunken, quarrelling foreign soldiers, that no respectable Chinese, +or for that matter no decent foreign woman, could traverse +it without fear of insult or abuse. + +In Peking for several months after the relief of the legations, +even respectable American ladies, to say nothing of Chinese +women, could not prudently ride out except in closed carts, so +great was the probability of indignity at the hands of foreign +soldiers; while at the entrance of famous palaces, the ``public +is politely requested not to kick the Chinese attendants because +they decline to open doors which they are forbidden to unlock'' +--a request that the conduct of foreigners had shown to +be far from unnecessary. + +In the pillaging of property, savages could not have been +more lawless than the white men from ``the highly civilized +nations of the West.'' + + +``It is not literally true that every house in Peking was looted. There +were some places in obscure alleys, and in many of the innumerable and almost +impenetrable cul-de-sacs with which the capital abounds, that escaped. +But persistent inquiry appears to leave no doubt of the fact that practically +every yamen in the city has been rummaged, and practically there is nothing +left of the contents of any of them.''[94] + + +[94] North China Daily News. + + +Words fail me to describe the beauties of the famous Summer +Palace outside the city. With its gardens, temples, pagodas, +bridges, lotus-ponds, statues, colonnades, walks and +drives, it would do credit to the most highly civilized nation +of Europe. A barbarous people could never have made such +a paradise. The British and French in 1860 burned a considerable +part of it, but the enclosure is so vast (twelve square +miles) and the buildings are so numerous that the destroyed +section appears almost insignificant. Within the grounds is a +beautiful lake, fed by great springs and bordered by temples +and avenues of trees and the yellow-roofed palaces of the +Emperor, while near by rise the Western Hills. + +This Palace is the favourite residence of the Empress Dowager +and she spends long summers there. Here, too, the Emperor +loves to come during the heated term and both have +followed the example of their imperial predecessors in lavishing +great sums upon its adornment. + +After the siege the Russians occupied it at first, and when +they left, the British and Italians took possession. Between +the three so little was left that I found devastation reigning in +that once splendidly-furnished Palace. All the rare and costly +bric-a-brac had been carried away, the mirrors had been broken +and the permanent ornaments defaced. A noble bronze statue +of Buddha, in the temple crowning the summit of the hill, was +lying ignominiously on the floor among a pile of debris, one +dark hand stiffly pointing into the air. In a stately pavilion, I +saw two superb golden statues of Buddha standing upright and +looking unusually dignified, but on going behind them, I found +that great holes had been punched in their backs. + +Even the places dedicated to science and religion were not +spared. At the celebrated Astronomical Observatory not an +instrument was left. Every one had been carried off by the +orders of men high in authority at the French and German +Legations, and the whole place was totally wrecked. What +possible excuse could there have been for destroying a place for +studying the heavens? At the Examination Grounds, consecrated +for centuries to learning and memorable for the myriads +of China's brightest men who have there demonstrated their +fitness, according to China's methods, for high preferment--at +these Examination Grounds, most of the 8,500 cells had been +stripped of their woodwork to cook the rations of the European +armies, roofs had been torn off and even stone walls had been +injured in sheer wantonness. + +The Temple to the Gods of Land and Grain and the Temple +for Rain are sacred places to the Chinese. To the latter the +Emperor comes in solemn state in time of drought to pray for +rain, or, if he cannot come, he sends the highest official of his +realm. It is in a spacious park and the buildings must have +been stately and handsome before the Boxer outbreak. But +when I saw them, they were sadly defaced. The stone balus- +trades and ornaments had been broken off, the walls had been +injured and one of the buildings was in ruins. + +It was, of course, inevitable that much havoc should be +wrought in the tumult of war. It was necessary that supplies +for half-naked and famished besieged thousands should be taken +from deserted grain and clothing-shops. It was expedient that +certain public buildings should be destroyed by order of the +allied generals as a warning for the future. But why were +soldiers and thieves allowed to steal the bric-a-brac and furniture +and break the mirrors of the Emperor's personal apartments, +wantonly to shatter beautiful columns, deface rare +works of art, punch holes in gilded statues, maliciously smash +the heads of thousands of exquisitely-carved figures and +lions, and wreck venerable places associated with learning and +art? The world is poorer for some of this havoc, and it will +be a generation before it can be remedied, if indeed, some of +the edifices are ever restored to their former beauty. Can we +wonder that the Chinese continue to hate and fear the foreigner? +The New York Times declared that ``every outrage +perpetrated on foreigners in China has been repaid tenfold by +the brutalities perpetrated by the allied armies. It is,'' added +the editor, ``simply monstrous that the armies of Christian +nations, sent out to punish barbarism and protect the rights of +foreigners in China, should themselves be guilty of barbarism. +Revenge has been accompanied by mean and cruel and flagrant +robbery. The story is one to fill all rational minds with disgust +and shame.'' + +The exasperation of the Chinese has not been diminished by +the virtual fortifications which the foreign Powers have erected +in the imperial capital since the crushing of the Boxer uprising. +Most of the Legations took advantage of the panic and confusion +which followed the raising of the siege, to seize large +tracts adjoining their former compounds. The native buildings +upon them were demolished. Massive walls were erected and +cannon mounted upon them. Over the water-gate in the city +wall, through which the allied troops entered the city, the +Powers have cut a new gateway which they hold and guard. +In addition, they have taken possession of all that part of the +city wall which commands Legation Street, made barricades +and built a fort upon it opposite the German Legation. Foreign +soldiers patrol that wall night and day. On the other +side of the Legations, a wide space has been cleared by destroying +hundreds of Chinese dwellings and shops, and no buildings +or trees or obstructions of any kind are allowed on that space, +which can thus be swept by rifle and Gatling-gun fire in the +event of any future trouble. Within, ample stores of arms, +ammunition and food have been stored so that if another outbreak +should occur, the Legations cannot be besieged as they +were in the memorable summer of 1900. + +All this, of course, is perfectly natural and perhaps necessary. +The Legations would be deemed lacking in ordinary +prudence if they did not guard against the repetition of their +grievous experiences during the Boxer uprising. But looking +at the matter from the view-point of the Chinese, can we marvel +that it is resented? Would not a European government be +stung to the quick if other nations were to fortify themselves +in that fashion at its capital? Would Americans endure it for +a day at Washington? + +Altogether, it must be admitted that the writer of ``Letters +of a Chinese Official'' has all too much reason to arraign +western civilization as sordid, arrogant and cruel and to assert +that Europeans and Americans, while pretending to follow the +teachings of Christ, are really ignoring them. His words are +bitter:-- + + +``Yes, it is we who do not accept it that practice the gospel of peace; +it is you who accept it that trample it under foot. And irony of ironies! +--it is the nations of Christendom who have come to us to teach us by +sword and fire that Right in this world is powerless unless it be supported +by Might. Oh, do not doubt that we shall learn the lesson! And woe +to Europe when we have acquired it. You are arming a nation of four +hundred millions, a nation which, until you came, had no better wish +than to live at peace with themselves and all the world. In the name of +Christ you have sounded the call to arms! In the name of Confucius +we respond!''[95] + + +[95] ``Letters of a Chinese Official,'' pp. 64, 65. + + +And he closes the book as follows:-- + + +``Unless you of the West will come to realize the truth, unless you +will understand that the events which have shaken Europe are the +Nemesis of a long course of injustice and oppression; unless you will learn +that the profound opposition between your civilization and ours gives no +more ground why you should regard us as barbarians than we you, unless +you will treat us as a civilized power and respect our customs and our +laws; unless you will accord us the treatment you would accord to any +European nation and refrain from exacting conditions you would never +dream of imposing on a Western power--unless you will do this, there is no +hope of any peace between us. You have humiliated the proudest nation +in the world; you have outraged the most upright and just; with what +results is now abundantly manifest.'' + + +Whether the author is really a Chinese official as he claims +to be, or a European resident in China writing under a Chinese +pseudonym, there can be no doubt that he fairly represents the +opinions of the old, conservative, ferociously irreconcilable +mandarin class regarding the white man. Western nations, in +their plans regarding the future of China, must take into +consideration the existence of that spirit and the acts which, +while not creating it, have intensified and inflamed it till it has +come to be something to be reckoned with. Undoubtedly, one +of the lessons that the Chinese have learned from defeat is +bitterer hatred of the alien whose vandalisms and atrocities +were so shameful as to nullify, in part at least, the benefit that +might otherwise have resulted. + +I am glad to report that, with the single exception of the +Japanese who were universally assigned the first place from the +view-point of good behaviour, I heard fewer complaints regarding +the American troops than any other. One Colonel, indeed, +lamented that his regiment ``was thoroughly demoralized,'' +and there were some instances of intemperance and lawlessness, +in one case a Japanese patrol bringing in several American +soldiers who had been found at midnight in a Chinese house. +But as a whole, the conduct of the Americans was much better +than that of most of the Europeans. That the Chinese felt the +difference was apparent in the number of American flags that +they raised over their houses and shops. It was significant, +too, that the districts of the city that were occupied by +European regiments were avoided, as far as possible, by the +Chinese, while the district controlled by the Americans was +thronged. + +Nor need any American be ashamed of the policy of his +Government. It is true that the majority of the Americans +in China believe that our national policy, prior to and +during the Boxer uprising, was weak and short-sighted. They +spoke highly of Minister Conger and several of the American +Consuls, particularly of Consul John Fowler, at Chefoo. But +I was repeatedly told that our Government did not appear to +realize that there were any other American citizens or +properties in China than those in the Peking Legation; that it +did practically nothing to rescue its citizens in the prefecture of +Paoting-fu and the province of Shan-si; that, while Americans +condemn the policy of the European Powers, they have been +for years sponging benefits secured by them for all foreigners; +and that, if it had not been for their control of the situation, +not an American could have lived in China. The opinion was +well-nigh universal that the Washington Administration was +too much influenced by the astute Chinese Minister, Wu Ting- +fang, who was believed to be an adept in ``the ways that are +dark and the tricks that are vain,'' and whose alleged success +in ``hoodwinking the Government and people of the United +States'' provoked the average foreigner in the Far East to the +use of strong language. + +Though I confess that I am not able satisfactorily to explain +the course of our Government in some important particulars, +it seems to me that these sweeping criticisms are too severe. +During the dark days of the siege of Peking, I was brought +into frequent correspondence with President McKinley and +Secretary of State Hay, and I vividly and gratefully remember +the sympathy and cooperation which they invariably +gave. They were as anxious as any one, and tried to do their +best in circumstances new, strange and of extraordinary difficulty. +As for the Chinese Minister to the United States, of +course he did what he could to ``save face'' for his country. +That was an essential part of his duty. But while we cannot +always agree with him, we should, as friends of China +recognize the fact that by his ability and tact, he largely +increased popular interest in and respect for the Chinese +people. + +Taking our Government's policy as a whole, I believe that it +has been more in accord with Christian principles than that of +any other nation. If our Government has erred in trusting the +Chinese too much, that is ,at least better than erring by trusting +them too little. If it has failed to do for its own citizens +all that it ought to have done, it has not wronged or humiliated +the Chinese Government. There is no blood of Chinese +women and children on the hands of Americans in China. No +record of outrage and iniquity blackens the page on which the +American part of the Boxer outbreak is written. If our nation +has been unjust to any, it has been to its own. Generations +will pass before the northern provinces will forget the bitterness +of resentment which they now feel towards the European +Powers. But already the Chinese are beginning to understand +that the American Government is a friend; that it does not +seek their territory; that it will not be a party to extortion; +that it does not want to destroy China but to save her; that its +object is not to rule her, but to fit her to rule herself, and that it +desires only freedom for its citizens to trade and to communicate +those ideas of religion which we ourselves originally +received from the East, which have brought to us inestimable +blessings, and which will, in China as in America, result in the +noblest character for the individual and the most stable +institutions for the state. + +The Chinese keenly appreciate the fresh evidence of America's +spirit of justice in connection with the payment of +the indemnity. When, before the payment of the first installment +in 1902, the fall in the value of the silver tael led the +European Powers to insist that China should pay in gold, +thereby virtually increasing the indemnity, it was the United +States again which did everything in its power to moderate the +demands of the European nations. If the legislative branch of +the American Government would only deal as justly with the +Chinese in the United States as the State Department deals +with the Chinese in China, the era of good feeling would be +greatly promoted. + +But America is not prominent enough in China to make her +example a determinate factor in the attitude of the Empire +towards foreigners, nor are the people as a whole likely to +discriminate in favour of a few Americans among the hosts of +aggressive, grasping, domineering Europeans. + +Moreover, the majority of the Chinese hear only what their +scholars and officials tell them, and these worthies are careful +to adjust the account to suit their own purposes, and to save +the national ``face.'' They blandly assure the credulous people +that the foreign armies did not follow the court because they +dared not; that the alien troops left the capital because they +were driven out by Chinese patriots; and that the Boxers inflicted +crushing defeat upon their foes. During my visit in Tsing- +tau, the Germans were digging sewers, broad and deep, with +laterals to every house and public building, and many of the +Chinese actually believed that these sewers were intended to +be underground passageways, down which the foreigners could +flee to their boats when they were assailed by the redoubtable +Boxers! The best-informed men I met in China, from Sir +Robert Hart down, were fearful that the end was not near, and +that an official order might repeat the whole bloody history. +At a conference with forty representative missionaries of all +denominations in Shanghai, August, 1901, a very large majority +agreed with the Rev. Dr. Parker, of the Southern Methodist +Church, in the statement: ``We are not out of the trouble +yet; the reactonaries are in the minority, but they are in +power. They have learned nothing and they will try again +to drive us out unless the Powers unseat them and reinstate the +Emperor and the Reform Party.'' + + + +XXVII + +HOPEFUL SIGNS + +THE future is not necessarily so doubtful as the facts +and opinions cited in the preceding chapter might in +themselves seem to indicate. It is true that the daily +press often contains accounts of tumults and revolutions in +China. But an Empire a third larger than all Europe, with +an enormous population, a weak central Government, corrupt +local officials, few railroads and frequent floods, famines and +epidemics, is certain to have uprisings somewhere most of the +time. A European reading in the daily despatches from the +United States of strikes, riots, martial law, the burning of +negroes, the mobbing of Chinese and the corruption of cities, +might with equal justice get the impression that our own +country is in continual turmoil. The Imperial Government in +China pays little attention to what is going on in other parts +of the country. + + +``Each province has its own army, navy, and system of taxation. . . . +So long as the provincial government sends its Peking supplies, administers +a reasonable sop to its clamorous provincial duns, quells incipient +insurrections, gives employment to its army of expectants, staves off +foreign demands, avoids rows of all kinds, and, in a word, keeps up a +decent external surface of respectability, no questions are asked; all reports +and promotions are passed; the Viceroy and his colleagues `enjoy +happiness,' and every one makes his `pile.' The Peking Government +makes no new laws, does nothing of any kind for any class of persons, +leaves each province to its own devices, and, like the general staff of an +army organization, both absorbs successful men, and gives out needy or +able men to go forth and do likewise.''[96] + + +[96] E. H. Parker, ``China,'' pp. 167, 169. + +In these circumstances, the governors of provinces have considerable +independent power in internal affairs, and a rebellion +even of formidable proportions is often ignored by the Imperial +Government in Peking as a purely local matter to be dealt with +by the provincial authorities, much as the United States Government +leaves riots and mobs to the State officials. + +Moreover, to a greater extent than any other people, the +Chinese are led by their officials, and some of the highest +officials in Peking and the coast provinces have learned that +massacres of foreigners result in the coming of more foreigners, +in the capture and destruction of cities, in humiliating terms +of peace, in heavy indemnities, in large losses of territory and +in the degradation and perhaps the execution of the magistrates +within whose jurisdiction the troubles occur. + +There are, moreover, unmistakable indications of a new +movement among the Chinese. One reason why they have +been so ignorant of the rest of the world and even of distant +parts of their own country was the lack of any facilities for +transmitting mail. The only way that the missionaries in the +interior could get their letters was by employing private messengers +or availing themselves of a chance traveller. But now +a modern post-office system, superintended by Sir Robert Hart, +already includes 500 of the principal cities of the Empire and +is being rapidly extended to others. + +Teu years ago, there were practically no newspapers in China +except those published by foreigners in the ports, all of which +were in English save one which was in the German language. +The only periodicals in Chinese were a few issued by the +missionaries with, of course, a very limited circulation, chiefly +among the Christians. There was no such thing as a Chinese +press in the proper sense of the term. Now, besides a French, +a Russian and a second German paper, there are nearly a hundred +Chinese newspapers, many of them edited by the Chinese +themselves and others by Japanese, and all, aided by the railway, +the telegraph and the post-office, bringing new ideas to +multitudes. On the basis of a joint report to the Throne by +Viceroy Chang Chih-tung and Chang Pei-hsi, chancellor of the +Peking University, an imperial decree has ordered the inauguration +of a new system of education. The plan is to have a +university in the capital of each province, with auxiliary prefectural +and district colleges and schools and the whole system +to culminate in the Imperial University in Peking. In all these +institutions western arts and sciences are to be taught side by +side with the old Confucian classics. ``The Viceroys and +Governors of provinces are commanded to order their subordinates +to hasten the establishment of these schools. Let this +decree be published through the Empire.'' + +Nor have the new imperial decrees stopped here. A few +decades ago, ambitious Chinese youths who sought an education +abroad at their own expense were imprisoned on their return +to their native land. One whom I met in Shantung gave +me a vivid account of his arrest and incarceration in a filthy +dungeon as if he had been a common criminal. But a recent +edict of the Emperor directs the provincial Governors to select +young men of ability and send them to Europe for special training +with a view to their occupying high posts on their return. + +One of the most firmly rooted customs of old China was the +examination essay for literary degrees on some purely Chinese +subject relating to a remote past. But August 29, 1901, to the +amazement of the literati, an imperial edict abolished that +time-honoured custom and directed that in the future candidates +for degrees as well as for office should submit short essays +on such modern topics as Western science, governments, laws, +and kindred subjects. The following extracts from the examination +questions for the Chu Jen (M. A.) degree in 1903 +will indicate the extraordinary character of this change. + +Honen-- ``What improvements are to be derived from the +study of foreign agriculture, commerce, and postal +systems? + +Kwang-sg and An-huei--``What are the chief ideas underlying +Austrian and German prosperity? How do foreigners +regulate the press, post-office, commerce, +railways, banks, bank-notes, commercial schools, +taxation--and how do they get faithful men? +Where is the Caucasus and how does Russia rule +it? + +Kiang-si--``How many sciences theoretical and practical are +there? In what order should they be studied? +Explain free trade and protection. What are the +military services of the world? What is the bearing +of the Congress of Vienna, the Treaty of Berlin +and the Monroe Doctrine on the Far East? +Wherein lies the naval supremacy of Great Britain? +What is the bearing of the Siberian Railway and +Nicaragua Canal on China? + +Shuntung--``What is Herbert Spencer's philosophy of sociology? +Define the relations of land, labour and capital. +State how best to develop the resources of China +by mines and railway? How best to modify our +civil and criminal laws to regain authority over +those now under extra-territoriality privileges? +How best to guard land and sea frontiers from the +advance of foreign Powers? + +Fukien--``Which Western nations have paid most attention to +education and what is the result? State the leading +features of the military systems of Great Britain, +Germany, Russia, and France. Which are the +best colonizers? How should tea and silk be +properly cultivated? What is the government, +industries and education of Switzerland which, +though small, is independent of surrounding great +powers? + +Kwang-tung--(Canton)--``What should be our best coinage, +gold, silver and copper like other Western countries, +or what? How could the workhouse system +be started throughout China? How to fortify +Kwang-tung province? How to get funds and +professors for the new education? How to pro- +mote Chinese international commerce, new industries +and savings-banks, versus the gambling houses +of China? + +Hunan--``What is the policy of Japan--only following other +nations or what? How to choose competent diplomatic +men? Why does China feel its small national +debt so heavy, while England and France +with far greater debts do not feel it? + +Hupch--``State the educational systems of Sparta and Athens. +What are the naval strategic points of Great Britain +and which should be those of China? Which nation +has the best system of stamp duty? State +briefly the geological ages of the earth, and the +bronze and iron ages. Trace the origin of Egyptian, +Babylonian and Chinese writings.''[97] + + +[97] Report of the Society for the Diffusion of Christian and General +Knowledge Among the Chinese, Shanghai, 1903. + + +The result of these edicts is that the Chinese are buying +Western books as never before. Examinations cannot be passed +without them. The mission presses, though run to their full +capacity, cannot keep up with the demand for their publications. +Dr. Timothy Richard of Shanghai reports that a quarter +of a million dollars' worth of text-books were sold in that city +in 1902, a single order received by the Presbyterian Press +involving a bill of $328 for postage alone, as the buyer insisted +that the books should be sent by mail. Mission schools that +teach the English language are thronged with students, many +of them from the higher classes, and every foreigner who is +willing to teach Western learning finds his services eagerly +sought. + +China cannot be reformed by paper edicts even though they +are written by an Emperor. Many reforms have been solemnly +proclaimed in former years that accomplished little except to +``save face'' for the Government. We need not therefore +imagine that the millennium is to come in China this year. +But it is impossible to doubt that the reform decrees that have +been issued since the Boxer uprising mean something more +and are achieving something more than any other reform movements +that China ever saw before. Dr. Arthur H. Smith, who +knows China and the Chinese as thoroughly as any other living +man, writes:-- + + +``We behold the kernel of the reforms ordered by His Majesty, Kuang +Hsum in 1898, and which led to his dethronement and imprisonment, +substantially adopted less than three years later by the Empress Dowager and +her advisers. . . . The bare notation of the tenor of these far-reaching +edicts gives to the Occidental reader but a vague notion of the tremendous +intellectual revolution which they connote. Never before was +there such an order from any government involving the reconstruction of +the views of so many millions, by the study of the methods of government +in other nations. . . . It is obvious to one who knows anything of the +Chinese educational system of the past millennium that the introduction +of the new methods will involve its radical reconstruction from top to bottom. +Western geography, mathematics, science, history, and philosophy +will be everywhere studied. The result cannot fail to be an expansion of +the intellectual horizon of the Chinese race comparable to that which in +Europe followed the Crusades. This will be a long process and a slow +one, but it is a certain one. . . . All signs indicate that China is open +as never before.'' + + +Undoubtedly the most powerful present factor in the policy +of the Empire, and at the same time one of the best types of the +educated Chinese, is Yuan Shih Kai, Viceroy of Chih-li and +Commander-in-Chief of the Chinese army. He is not a Manchu, +like many of the high officials of China, but a pure Chinese +like Li Hung Chang. Born in the Province of Honan, +he quickly developed unusual abilities. After a brilliant record +for a young man in his native land, he was sent to Korea as the +representative of the Emperor of China and for nine years he +was a conspicuous member of the diplomatic corps of the +Korean capital. Returning to China in 1895, he was made +commander of a division of the ``New Imperial Army''--a +post in which he manifested high military and administrative +qualities. He organized and equipped his troops after the best +foreign models and they speedily became so effective that, if +they had been more numerous and if he had been given a free +hand in using them in Peking, the history of 1900 might have +been different. I have had occasion elsewhere[98] to give some +account of the soldiers who escorted me through the interior. +December, 1900, he was appointed Governor of the great province +of Shantung. It was here that I met him, residing at Chinan-fu, +the capital of the province. As soon as possible after +my arrival, I sent my card and letters of introduction to the +famous Governor, and he promptly replied that he would receive +me at one o'clock the following day. At the appointed +hour, we called. With true courtesy, he met us at the entrance +of the palace grounds and escorted us into his private room, +which was neatly but very plainly furnished. He impressed +me as a remarkable man. He was then forty-one years of age, +of medium height, rather stout, with a strong face, a clear, +frank eye, and a most engaging manner. He would be considered +a man of striking appearance anywhere. + + +[98] Chapter VII. + + +He was very cordial, and we had a long and interesting conversation. +He surprised me by his familiarity with America, +especially as he spoke no English and had never been out of +Asia. + +Partly at this interview and partly from other sources, I +heard more of his plan to start a daily newspaper, a Military +Academy and a Literary College. His idea was to have in +each institution two students from each of the 108 counties in +the province, and thus train a body of men who would be able +to carry ``light and learning'' into their respective districts. +He appeared to feel that the only hope of averting such catastrophes +as the Boxer uprising lay in enlightening the people. +In answer to a question as to the teaching of foreign languages, +he said that English, French and German would be taught, but +that German would probably be the most useful of the foreign +tongues on account of the number of Germans in the eastern +part of the province. + +The Governor had shown the breadth of his intelligence, and +at the same time his appreciation of the high character of Protestant +missionaries, by inviting one of them, the Rev. Dr. Watson +M. Hayes, then President of the Presbyterian Mission College +at Teng-chou, to become the President of the Literary +College. I may anticipate so far as to state that Dr. Hayes +accepted the invitation and began his work with every promise +of large success. But unfortunately the rigid requirement of +the Government that each student should worship the tablet of +Confucius at stated intervals and the refusal of Yuan Shih Kai's +successor to exempt Christian students made Dr. Hayes feel +that he had no alternative but to resign. Whether Yuan Shih +Kai, if he had remained in Shantung, would have been more +lenient, it is, of course, impossible to say. I cherish the hope +that he would have been, for he is a large-minded man and he +discerns the signs of the times more clearly than many of his +countrymen. But he is nevertheless a loyal disciple of Confucius +and he might also have felt that questions of state policy +were involved. It is suggestive, however, that in the spring of +1898 Yuan Shih Kai had selected a Protestant minister, the +Rev. Herbert E. House, D. D., (now of the Canton Christian +College) as the tutor of his own son, Yuen Yen Tai. Dr. +House says, by the way, that he found the youth ``wonderfully +pure in his thought, high in his ambition and intense in his +passion for knowledge--the most patient and diligent student I +ever knew.'' + +But to return to the interview with Yuan Shih Kai. The +only other Chinese present was Tang Hsiao-chuan, a man of +about thirty-five, who was in charge of the Provincial Foreign +Office with the rank of Tao-tai. He had spent two years at +Columbia University in New York City, spoke English fluently +and impressed me as a fine man. Like the Governor, his manners +were courtly and refined. He appeared to be a man of +the diplomatic type and worthy of the promotion that he will +doubtless receive. + +Early the next morning Captain Wang came on behalf of the +Governor to return our visit. He was the translator of the +Foreign Office and the tutor of one of the Governor's sons whom +he was teaching English grammar, arithmetic, geography and +history. I was interested to find that he had spent eight years +at Philips Academy, Massachusetts, and that he spoke English +with the grace of a cultured gentleman. + +The policy of Yuan Shih Kai during the Boxer troubles indicated +the wisdom and the courage of the man. Disturbances +had already begun when he assumed office. It was not far +southwest of Chinan-fu that Brooks, the devoted English missionary, +was murdered by the Boxers. Yu Hsien was then +Governor of Shantung but about that time was transferred to +Shan-si, Yuan Shih Kai taking his place. If the notorious +foreign-hating Yu Hsien had remained in Shantung, probably he +would have massacred the Shantung missionaries as he did +those of Shan-si, where he invited them all to his yamen, and +then began the butchery by killing three missionaries with his +own hand. But Yuan Shih Kai foresaw the inevitable result +of such barbarity and determined to restrain the Boxers and +protect foreigners. He succeeded with the foreigners, not one +being killed after he took control, and all being helped as far +as possible to escape. As soon as the storm had passed, he +officially wrote to the missionaries who had taken refuge at the +ports:-- + + +``Everything is now quiet. If you, reverend sirs, wish to return to the +interior, I would beg you first give me word that I may most certainly +order the military everywhere most carefully to protect and escort.'' + + +This apparently pro-foreign policy brought upon the Governor, +for a time, no small obloquy from the fiercely-fanatical +conservatives who wanted to murder every foreigner within +reach. Indeed the fury of the populace was so great that he +was bitterly reviled as ``a secondary devil,'' and his life was +repeatedly threatened. But despite the clamour of the mob +and the opposition of his associates in the government of the +province, he maintained his position with iron inflexibility. +Afterwards, however, the people as well as his official subordinates +realized that he had saved them from the awful punishment +that was inflicted upon the neighbouring province of +Chih-li, and his power and prestige became greater than ever. + +During my visit in Chining-chou, in the remote southwestern +part of the province, an incident occurred which illustrated at +once the power of Yuan Shih Kai's name and the heroic devotion +of the missionaries. The day after our arrival, a friendly +Chinese official brought word that Governor Yuan Shih Kai's +mother had died the day before. Chinese custom in such circumstances +required him to resign his office and go into retirement +for three years. Now Consul Fowler and all the foreigners +whom I had met in the ports had declared that the safety +of foreigners in Shantung depended on the Governor, that as +long as he was in power white men were safe, but that his death +or removal might bring another tumult of anti-foreign fury. +On the strength of his known friendship, mission work was +being resumed and the missionaries were returning to the interior. + +Now this man, on whose continuance in office so much depended, +was apparently to retire and the future made all uncertain +again. The Empress Dowager might give the post to a +foreign-hater. An indifferent or even a weak pro-foreign Governor +would be little better, for a strong man was needed to +hold the population of Shantung in hand. The Chinese quickly +take their cue from a high official and even a suspicion that he +would not interfere might again loose the dogs of war. True, +we had seen no signs of enmity, but appearances are deceptive +in Asia. The smile of the mighty Governor meant a smile +from every one. But what fires were smouldering beneath no +one could know. Even in America, there are lawless men who +would mob Chinese in a minute if they knew that the police +were weak or indifferent. + +I did not fear for myself, for my plans compelled me to +journey on to Ichou-fu anyway. But I did not like to leave +Mr. Laughlin and Dr. Lyon, who had come with the intention +of remaining to reopen the mission work at Chining-chou. +But with the true missionary spirit, they bravely decided to +stay. A week later, they learned that in view of the importance +of the province and his confidence in the great Governor, the +Emperor had by a special dispensation shortened the period of +official mourning from three years to one hundred days. During +that time, the Fan-tai (treasurer) would be the nominal head +of the province, though it was quietly understood that even +then the Governor would be the ``power behind the throne.'' +But as this was not known when the decision to remain was +made, the heroism of the missionaries was none the less +striking. + +The attitude of Yuan Shih Kai is fairly indicated in the regulations +which he caused to be widely published after the Boxer +outbreak. Some of these were as follows:-- + + +``In order to protect foreigners from violence and all mission property +from burning and other destruction, all civil and military officials with all +their subordinates (including literati, constables, village elders, et al.), +must use their utmost endeavours to insure their protection. Persons refusing +to submit to officials in these matters may be instantly executed +without further reference to the Governor, and any one who rescues foreigners +from violence will be amply rewarded. + +``Any persons having been found guilty of destroying mission property +or using violence to foreigners shall be severely dealt with according to +the laws which refer to highway robbers, and in addition to this their +goods and property shall be confiscated for the public use. + +``If injury to missionaries or destruction of property occurs in any district +whatever, both civil and military officials of said district shall be degraded +and reported to the Throne. + +``The elders, constables, et al., of every village shall do their utmost to +protect missionaries and their property. If in the future there occurs in +any village destruction of property or violence to a missionary, the headmen +of such village shall be dealt with according to the edict issued +during the twenty-second year of the present Emperor. And, in addition +to this they shall be required to present themselves to the yamen and +make good all losses. The constables of such villages shall be severely +dealt with and expelled from office forever. + +``All civil and military officials in whose districts none of these offenses +named above occur in one year shall be rewarded with the third degree +of merit, and three years of such freedom shall entitle the same officials to +promotion. + +``Rewards will also be given to village elders and constables in whose +district no disturbance occurs.'' + + +These are rather remarkable words from a high Chinese +official. Now their author occupies a position of even greater +authority, for after the death of Li Hung Chang, he was appointed +to succeed him as Viceroy of Chih-li in November, +1901. Chih-li is not only one of the greatest provinces of the +Empire with a population of 20,937,000, but it includes the +imperial city of Peking and the ports of Tong-ku and Tien- +tsin, the gateways to the capital. The Viceroy thus controls +all avenues of approach to the Throne and is, in a sense, +charged with the protection of the royal family. He has free +access at all times to the Emperor and the Empress Dowager +with whom he is a prime favourite. It was this position of high +vantage which enabled Li Hung Chang to become well-nigh +omnipotent in China. Yuan Shih Kai is not such a wily +schemer as his distinguished predecessor and he is not likely to +use his position for self-aggrandizement to the extent that Li +Hung Chang did. But he is quite as able a man and more +frank and reliable. He has enemies, as every public man has, +especially in Asia. Some can never forgive him for his supposed +part in the virtual dethronement of the Emperor several years +ago. It is alleged that the Emperor counted on the army of +Yuan Shih Kai to support him in his reform policy, but that +Yuan consulted with Jung Lu, who was then the Viceroy of +Chih-li, and that that worthy promptly laid the whole matter +before the Empress Dowager; the result being that the young +Emperor awoke one morning to find himself practically stripped +of his imperial power.[99] Yuan has been freely charged with +treachery in this coup d'etat. Others hold that he did not intend +treachery but only consultation with his superior officer +as to what ought to be done in a grave crisis which was in +itself revolutionary in character. Yuan was far from being a +reactionary, but he was wise enough to see that China could +not be suddenly transformed, and he naturally hesitated to lend +himself to an enterprise which he believed to be premature and +to be destined to result in certain failure. The soundness of +his judgment is now generally recognized, and the Emperor himself +is said to be almost as friendly towards him as the Empress +Dowager, who counts him one of her ablest supporters. + + +[99] Cf. Imperial Decree of Sept. 22, 1898, quoted in Pott, ``The Outbreak +in China,'' pp. 55sq, + + +In the present critical condition of far eastern politics, much +depends upon the policy of Yuan Shih Kai. With exalted +rank, the ear of the Empress Dowager and the command of the +only real soldiers that China possesses, he can do more than +any other man to influence the course of the Empire. Of +course, one official, however powerful, cannot absolutely control +national conditions. The forces at work both within and without +the Empire are too vast and too complicated. Nevertheless, +the fact that such an able and far-seeing man as Yuan +Shih Kai is now the most influential Viceroy in China, the +Commander-in-Chief of the Army, and the trusted adviser of the +Empress Dowager may be fairly included among the hopeful +signs for the future. + +Most significant of all is the development of missionary work +since the Boxer outbreak. Not only have all the destroyed +churches and chapels been rebuilt, but they are, as a rule, +crowded with worshippers. In the Wei-hsien station field in +Shantung, where every missionary was driven out and all the +mission property destroyed, 569 Chinese were baptized last +year. In Peking, the large new Presbyterian church, though +erected near that great cistern in which nearly 100 bodies were +found after the siege, is filled at almost every service and the +churches of other denominations are also largely attended. At +a single service, Dr. Pentecost preached to 800 attentive Chinese +young men. Even in Paoting-fu, where every remaining +missionary and scores of Chinese Christians were killed, and +where one might suppose that no Chinese would ever dare to +confess Christ, even in bloodstained Paoting-fu, the missionaries +are preaching daily to throngs of attentive Chinese in the city, +while at the spacious new compounds outside the walls the +schools and hospitals and churches are taxed to care for the +hundreds who go to them. In the Canton field, long known +for its anti-foreign feeling, 1,564 Chinese were baptized last +year by the Presbyterians alone and the missionaries are importunately +calling for reinforcements to enable them to meet +the multiplied demands upon them. Even the province of +Hunan, which a decade ago was almost as inhospitable to foreigners +as Thibet, now has half a hundred Protestant and Catholic +missionaries developing a prosperous work. Bishop Graves, +of the Protestant Episcopal Church, returned recently from an +episcopal visitation with this inspiring message:-- + + +``The condition and outlook of the Church's work in the province of +Kiang-su are more encouraging than ever before. Hitherto we have had +to persuade people to be taught. Now they come to us themselves, not +one by one, but in numbers. . . . That there is a strong movement +towards Christianity setting in is evident.''[100] + + +[100] ``The Spirit of Missions,'' July, 1904. + + +Not only has the old work been resumed with vigour but much +new work has been opened. Within a year and a quarter after +the relief of the Legations by the Allies, twenty-five new mission +stations had been opened and 373 new missionaries had +entered China, and each succeeding year has seen considerable +additions to the number. The Rev. Dr. George F. Pentecost, +who visited China in 1903, writes-- + + +``The outlook seems to me most encouraging. I find the more thoughtful +missionaries enthusiastic in their forecast for the future. My own +judgment is that the cause of missions, so far as foundation work and increased +power for work, has been advanced at least twenty-five years by +the massacres of 1900. I think the common people are thoroughly convinced +that missions cannot be destroyed, and I am equally convinced +that the authorities are also convinced that it is vain for them to rage and +set themselves against Christianity. The one thing which an Asiatic +recognizes is power and facts accomplished, and in the rebuilding of our +missions and the awakening already begun and the reinforcement of the +missions in men and material means they see and recognize power. Their +own temples are falling into decay and ruin and our new buildings are +rising in prominence and beauty. Their ignorant priesthood is sinking +deeper and deeper into degradation, while our missionaries are every +where known and recognized as men of `light and learning.' . . . +It seems to me from all I can learn that there is no fear of another anti- +foreign outbreak.'' + + +And these are but a few of the many illustrations that could +be given. Everywhere, the doors are open and Chinese are +now being baptized by Protestant missionaries at the rate of +about 15,000 a year, while a far larger number are enrolled as +inquirers or catechumens. The interdenominational conference +of missionaries at Kuling, August 7, 1903, declared:-- + + +``It is now a fact that there is not one of the more than nineteen +hundred counties of China and Manchuria from which we are shut out, and +before the hundredth year of our work begins, we can say that if the gospel +is not preached to every creature in China, the reason must be sought outside +China. The opportunities of work are varied in their kind, vast in +their extent. Never before have men crowded to hear the gospel as they +are crowding now in the open air and indoors; in our chapels and in our +guest-rooms we have opportunities to preach Christ such as can scarcely +be found outside China. Never before has there been such an eager desire +for education as there is now; our schools, both of elementary and of +higher grades, are full, and everywhere applicants have to be refused. +Never before has there been such a demand for Christian literature as +there is now; our tract societies and all engaged in supplying converts +and inquirers with reading material are doing their utmost, but are not +able to overtake the demand; and the demand is certain to increase, for +it comes from the largest number of people in the world reading one language. +The medical work has from the first found an entrance into hearts +that were closed against other forms of work. Its sphere of influence +grows ever wider and is practically unlimited. Unique opportunities of +service are afforded us by the large number of blind people, by lepers, +and those suffering from incurable diseases; by the deaf and dumb, the +insane and other afflicted people. In China the poor are always with us, +and whensoever we will we may do them good.'' + + +Not least among the hopeful signs for the future is the new +treaty between the United States and China which was signed +at Shanghai, October 8, 1903, and unanimously ratified by the +United States Senate December 18, 1903. It not only secured +an ``open door'' in China for Americans, but, if the veteran +``most favoured nation'' clause is again pressed into service, a +priceless benefit to the whole civilized world as well as to +China herself. For this treaty abolished the exasperating +``likin'' (the inland tax heretofore exacted by local officials on +goods in transit through their territories); confirmed the right +of American citizens to trade, reside, travel, and own property +in China; extended to China the United States' copyright +laws; gained a promise from the Chinese Government to establish +a patent office in which the inventions of United States' +citizens may be protected; and made valuable regulations regarding +trade-marks, mining concessions, judicial tribunals for +the hearing of complaints, diplomatic intercourse, and several +other matters which, though sanctioned by custom, were often +abridged or violated. + +The treaty, moreover, called for the opening of two additional +treaty ports, one of which is at Feng-tien-fu, more generally +known as Mukden, important not only as a city of 200,000 inhabitants +but as the capital of Manchuria and with both rail +and river connection with the Gulf of Pe-chi-li and the imperial +province of Chih-li. The other is at An-tung, which is important +because of its situation on the Yalu River opposite the +Korean frontier. Of course, the Russia-Japan War has post- +poned the opening of these ports, but the recognition of China's +right to open them by treaty with the United States is none the +less significant. + +Most important of all, the treaty removes, so far as any such +enactment can remove, the last barrier to the extension of Christianity +throughout China. In Article XIII of the English treaty +with China, September 5, 1902, Great Britain agreed to join +in a commission to secure peaceable relationships between converts +and non-converts in China. But the American treaty +goes much farther, as the following extract (Article XIV) will +show:-- + + +``The principles of the Christian religion, as professed by the Protestant +and Roman Catholic Churches, are recognized as teaching men to do good +and to do to others as they would have others do to them. Those who +quietly profess and teach these doctrines shall not be harassed or persecuted +on account of their faith. Any person, whether citizen of the +United States or Chinese convert, who, according to these tenets, peaceably +teaches and practices the principles of Christianity shall in no case +be interfered with or molested therefor. No restrictions shall be placed +on Chinese joining Christian churches. Converts and non-converts, being +Chinese subjects, shall alike conform to the laws of China, and shall +pay due respect to those in authority, living together in peace and amity; +and the fact of being converts shall not protect them from the consequences +of any offense they may have committed before or may commit after their +admission into the church, or exempt them from paying legal taxes levied +on Chinese subjects generally, except taxes levied and contributions for +the support of religious customs and practices contrary to their religion. +Missionaries shall not interfere with the exercise by the native authorities +of their jurisdiction over Chinese subjects; nor shall the native authorities +make any distinction between converts and non-converts, but shall administer +the laws without partiality, so that both classes can live together in +peace. + +``Missionary societies of the United States shall be permitted to rent +and to lease in perpetuity as the property of such societies, buildings or +lands in all parts of the Empire for missionary purposes and, after the +title-deeds have been found in order and duly stamped by the local authorities, +to erect such suitable buildings as may be required for carrying on +their good work.'' + +This gives new prestige to American missionary effort and +legally confirms the opening of the Empire from end to end to +missionary residence, activity and toleration. All that France +harshly obtained for Roman Catholic missions by the Berthemy +convention of 1865 and by the haughty ultimatum of M. +Gerard at the close of the war with Japan, the United States +has now peacefully secured with the apparent good-will of the +Chinese Government. + + + +XXVIII + +THE PARAMOUNT DUTY OF CHRISTENDOM + +IT would be unwise to underestimate the gravity of the +situation, or to assume that the most numerous and conservative +nation on the globe has been suddenly transformed +from foreign haters to foreign lovers. The world may +again have occasion to realize that the momentum of countless +myriads is an awful force even against the resources of a +higher civilization, as the Romans found to their consternation +when the barbarian hordes overran the Empire. We do not +know what disturbances may yet occur or what proportions +they may assume. It may be that much blood will yet be +shed. Inflamed passions will certainly be slow in subsiding. +Men who are identified with the old era will not give up without +a struggle. It took 300 years to bring England from pagan +barbarism to Christian civilization, and China is vaster far +and more conservative than England. The world moves faster +now, and the change-producing forces of the present exceed +those of former centuries as a modern steam hammer exceeds a +wooden sledge. But China is ponderous, and a few decades +are short for so gigantic a transformation. + +Meantime, much depends on the future conduct of foreigners. +It is hard enough for the proud-spirited Chinese to see the +aliens coming in greater numbers than ever and entrenching +themselves more and more impregnably, and a continuance of +the policy of greed and injustice will deepen an already deep +resentment. The almost invincible prejudice against the foreigner +is a serious hindrance to the regeneration of China. +``This fact emphasizes the need for using every means possible +for the breaking down of such a prejudice. Every careless or +willful wound to Chinese susceptibilities, or unnecessary crossing +of Chinese superstitions, retards our own work and increases +the dead wall of opposition on the part of this people.''[101] + + +[101] The Rev. Dr. J. C. Garritt, Hang chou. + + +The proper way to deal with the Chinese was illustrated by +the Rev. J. Walter Lowrie of the Presbyterian Mission at +Paoting-fu when, as a token of appreciation for his services to +the city in connection with the retaliatory measures of the +foreign troops shortly after the Boxer outbreak, the magistrate +raised a special fund among wealthy Chinese, bought a fine +tract of sixteen acres and presented it to the mission as a gift. +The tract had been occupied for many years by several +families of tenants who had built their own houses, but who +were now to be evicted. Of course, Mr. Lowrie was not +responsible for them. But he insisted that they should be +dealt with fairly, and be paid a reasonable price for their homes +and the improvements that they had made so that they could +rent land and establish themselves elsewhere. In addition, he +was at pains to find work for them until their new crops became +available. Their affectionate greeting of Mr. Lowrie as +we walked about the place clearly showed their gratification. +There is not the slightest trouble with the Chinese when they +are treated with ordinary decency as brother men. + +At any rate, in the name of that civilization and Christianity +which we profess, as well of common humanity, let foreign +nations abandon the methods of brutality and rapine. If we +expect to convert the Chinese, we must exemplify the principles +we teach. It is not true that the Chinese cannot understand +justice and magnanimity. Even if it were true, it does not +follow that we should be unjust and pitiless. Let us instruct +them in the higher things. How are they ever to learn, if we +do not teach them? But as a matter of fact, the Chinese are +as amenable to reason as any people in the world. Their +temperament and inertia and long isolation from the remainder +of mankind have made them slow to grasp a new idea. But +they will get it if they are given reasonable time, and when +they do once get it, they will hold it. Whether, therefore, +further trouble occurs, depends in part upon the conduct of +foreign nations. Justice and humanity in all dealings with the +Chinese, while not perhaps wholly preventing outbreaks of +hostility, will at least give less occasion for them. + +But however trying the period of transition may be, the issue is +not for a moment doubtful. Progress invariably wins the victory +over blind conservatism. The higher idea is sure to conquer +the lower. With all their admixture of selfishness and +violence, the fact remains that the forces operating on China +to-day include the vital regenerative element for human +society. It is futile to expect that China could ever regenerate +herself without outside aid. Spontaneous regeneration is +an exploded theory in society as well as in biology. Life always +comes from without. + +The spirit of China's new system of education shows that +there is imminent danger of the misuse of modern methods, +even when they have been adopted. All her institutions are +conducted on principles which virtually debar Christians +either as students or professors. Infidelity, however, has free +entrance as long as it conforms to the external forms imposed +by the State. ``Anti-conservative but anti-Christian,'' the +educational movement has been characterized by Dr. W. M. +Hayes of Teng-chou. Dr. W. A. P. Martin, so long President +of the Imperial Chinese University, declares that ``if +Christians at home only knew what a determined effort is being +made to exclude Christian teachers and Christian text-books +from Chinese Government schools, from the Imperial University +down, they would exert themselves to give a Christian +education to the youth of China.'' A single mission institution, +like the Shantung Protestant University, with its +union of the best educational methods and the highest ideals +of Christian character, will do more for the real enlightenment +of China than a dozen provincial colleges where gambling, +irreligion and opium smoking are freely tolerated and a failure +to worship the tablet of Confucius is deemed the only +cardinal sin. + +In view of all these things, the regeneration of China becomes +a question of transcendent importance, a question demanding +the broadest statesmanship and the supremest effort; a question +involving the future destinies of the race. ``On account of its +mass, its homogeneity, its high intellectual and moral qualities, +its past history, its present and prospective relations to the +whole world, the conversion of the Chinese people to Christianity +is the most important aggressive enterprise now laid upon +the Church of Christ.''[102] It would be a calamity to the whole +world if the dominant powers of Asia should continue to be +heathen. But if they are not to be, immediate and herculean +efforts must be made to regenerate them. Sir Robert Hart +declares that the only hope of averting ``the yellow peril'' lies +either in partition among the great Powers, which he regards as +so difficult as to be impracticable, or in a miraculous spread of +Christianity which will transform the Empire. Beyond +question, Sir Robert Hart is right. It is too late now to avoid +the issue. The impact of new forces is rousing this gigantic +nation, and Western nations must either conquer or convert. +Conquering is out of the question for reasons already given.[103] +The only alternative is conversion. In these circumstances +``the yellow peril becomes the golden opportunity of Christendom.''[104] + + +[102] Smith, ``Rex Christus,'' p. 237 + +[103] Chapter XXV. + +[104] The Rev. Dr. Maltbie D. Babcock. + + +And by conversion is not meant ``civilization.'' Here is +the fundamental error of the pseudonymous writer of ``Letters +From a Chinese Official.'' He evidently knows little or nothing +of the missionary force or of the motives which control it. He +writes as a man who has lived in a commercial and political atmosphere, +and who feels outraged, and with some justice, by the +policy which European nations have adopted towards +China. From this view-point, it was easy for the quick- +witted author to satirize our defects and to laud the virtues, +some of them unquestionably real, of his native land. But it +does not follow that his indictment holds against the Christian +people of the West, who reprobate as strongly as the author +the duplicity and brutality of foreign nations in their dealings +with China. The West has something more to offer China +than a civilization. As a matter of fact, the best people of the +West are not trying to give China a civilization at all, but a +gospel. With whatever is good in Chinese civilization, they +have no wish to interfere. It is true that some changes in +society invariably follow the acceptance of Christianity, but +these changes relate only to those things that are always and +everywhere inherently wrong, irrespective of the civilization to +which they appear to belong. The gospel transformed ``the +Five Points'' in New York not because they were uncivilized +but because they were evil. It will do in China only what it +does in America--fight vice, cleanse foulness, dispel superstition. +Christianity is the only power which does this. It has +transformed every people among whom it has had free course. +It has purified society. It has promoted intelligence. It has +elevated woman. It has fitted for wise and beneficent use of +power. Of those who deny this, Lowell says: + + +``So long as these very men are dependent for every privilege they enjoy +upon that religion which they discard, they may well hesitate a little +before seeking to rob the Christian of his faith and humanity of its hope in +that Saviour who alone has given to man that hope of eternal life which +makes life tolerable and society possible, and robs death of its terrors and +the grave of its gloom.'' + + +No degradation is beyond the reach of its regenerating power. +Witness the New Hebrides, Metlakatla, the Fiji, Georgia and +Friendly Islands. Even England, Germany and America +themselves are in evidence. Christianity lifted them out of a +barbarism and superstition as dense as any prevailing among +the heathen nations of this age. It can effect like changes in +China if it is given the opportunity. + +But it is said that the Chinese do not want to be converted. +A distinguished General of the United States army declared, +after his return from Peking in 1900:--``I must say that I did +not meet a single intelligent Chinaman who expressed a desire +to embrace the Christian religion. The masses are against +Christianity.''[105] It is pleasant to know that it is so common +for unconverted Americans to go to that army officer for +spiritual guidance that the failure of the Chinese to do so +disappointed him. Most men would hardly have expected a +people who were smarting under defeat to open their hearts to +a commander of the conquering army. But hundreds of other +foreigners in China, myself included, can testify that they have +heard intelligent Chinese express a desire to embrace the Christian +religion, and the fact that there are in China to-day over a +hundred thousand Chinese, to say nothing of myriads of enrolled +catechumens, who have publicly confessed their faith in +Christ and who have tenaciously adhered to it under sore persecution +is tangible evidence that some Chinese at least are disposed +to accept Christianity. + + +[105] The Christian Advocate, New York, June 11, 1903. + + +Do they want Him? ``It would please you,'' a missionary +writes, ``to see these poor people feeling after God, and their +eagerness to learn more and more.'' It is not uncommon for +converts to travel ten, fifteen and even twenty miles to attend +service. The Sunday I was in Ichou-fu, I met a fine-looking +young man, named Yao Chao Feng, who had walked sixteen +miles to receive Christian baptism, and several other Chinese +were present who had journeyed on foot from seventeen to +thirty-three miles. In Paoting-fu, I heard of a mother and +daughter who had painfully hobbled on bound feet thirteen +miles that they might learn more about the new faith. In +another city, 800 opium-smokers kneeled in a church and +asked God to help them break the chains of that frightful +habit. Surely He who puts His fatherly arms around the +prodigal and kissed him was in that humble church and answered +the prayer of those poor, sin-cursed men. It would +be easy to fill a book with such instances. + +But suppose the Chinese do not want Christ. What of it? +Did they want the distinguished General? On the contrary, he +had to fight his way into Peking at the mouth of the cannon +and the point of the bayonet, over the dead bodies of Chinese +and through the ruins of Chinese towns. Do ``the masses'' +desire Christ anywhere? Mr. Moody used to say that the +people of the United States did not want Christ and would +probably reject Him if He came to them as He came to the +Jews of old. + +The question is not at all whether the Chinese or anybody +else desire Christ, but whether they need Him, and a man's +answer to that question largely depends upon his own relations +to Christ. If we need Him, the Chinese do. If He has done +anything for us, if He has brought any dignity and power and +peace into our lives, the probabilities are that He can do as +much for the Chinese. + + +``Be assured that the Christ who cannot save a Chinaman in longitude +117'0 East is a Christ who cannot save you in longitude 3'0 west. The +question about missions would not be so lightly put, nor the answer so +lightly listened to, if men realized that what is at stake is not a mere +scheme of us missionaries, but the validity of their own hope of eternal +life. Yet I am bound to say that the questions put to me, on returning +from the mission field, by professedly Christian people often shake my +faith, not in missions, but in their Christian profession. What kind of +grasp of the gospel have men got, who doubt whether it is to-day, under +any skies, the power of God unto salvation?''[106] + + +[106] Gibson, pp. 11, 12. + + +It passes comprehension that any one who has even a superficial +knowledge of the real China can doubt for a moment its +vital need of the gospel. The wretchedness of its life appalls an +American who goes back into the unmodified conditions of the +interior or even into the old Chinese city of proud Shanghai. +As I journeyed through those vast throngs, climbed many hilltops +and looked out upon the innumerable villages, which +thickly dotted the plain as far as the eye could reach, as I saw +the unrelieved pain and the crushing poverty and the abject +fear of evil spirits, I felt that in China is seen in literal truth +``The Man with the Hoe.'' + + ``Bowed by the weight of centuries, he leans + Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground, + The emptiness of ages in his face, + And on his back the burden of the world. + + ``What gulfs between him and the seraphim, + Slave of the wheel of labour, what to him + Are Plato and the swing of Pleiades? + What the long reaches of the peaks of song, + The rift of dawn, the reddening of the rose? + Through this dread shape the suffering ages look; + Time's tragedy is in that aching stoop.'' + + +This is the need to which the churches of Europe and +America are addressing themselves through the boards and +societies of foreign missions. These boards are the channels +through which the highest type of Christian civilization is +communicated to pagan peoples, the agencies which gather up all +that is best and truest in our modern life and concentrate it +upon the conditions of China. From this view-point, foreign +missions is not only a question of religion, but a problem of +statesmanship, and one of overshadowing magnitude. As +such, it merits the sympathy and cooperation of every intelligent +and broad-minded man, irrespective of his religious affiliations. +Its spiritual aims are supreme and sufficient for every +true disciple of Christ, but apart from them its social and educational +value and its relation to the welfare of the race justly +claim the interest and support of all. In this work the Church +is saving both individuals and nations, and for time as well as +for eternity. It holds no pessimistic views of the future. It +denies that the development of the race has ended. It frankly +concedes the existence of vice and superstition. But it believes +that the gospel of Jesus Christ is able to subdue that +vice, and to dispel that superstition. So it founds schools and +colleges for the education of the young; establishes hospitals +and dispensaries for the care of the sick and suffering; operates +printing-presses for the dissemination of the Bible and a Christian +literature; maintains churches for the worship of the true +God, and in and through all it preaches to lost men the transforming +and uplifting gospel of Him who alone can ``speak +peace to the heathen.'' + +But some are saying that the Boxer outbreak has destroyed +their confidence in the practicability of the effort to evangelize +the Chinese. They are asking: ``Why should we send any +more missionaries to China?'' + +I reply: ``Why send any more merchants, any more consuls, +any more oil, flour, cotton? Shall we continue our commercial +and political relations with China and discontinue our +religious relations; allow the lower influences to flow on unchecked, +but withhold the spiritual forces which would purify +trade and politics, which have made us what we are, and which +alone can regenerate the millions of China?'' + +Is disaster a reason for withdrawal? When the American +colonists found themselves involved in the horrors of the Revolution, +did they say that it would have been better to remain +the subjects of Great Britain? When, a generation ago, +our land was drenched with the blood of the Civil War, did +men think that they ought to have tolerated secession and +slavery? When the Maine was blown up in Havana Harbour +and Lawton was killed in Luzon, did we demand withdrawal +from Cuba and the Philippines? When Liscum fell under the +walls of Tien-tsin, did we insist that the attempt to relieve the +Legations should be abandoned? Or did not the American +people, in every one of these instances, find in the very agonies +of struggle and bloodshed a decisive reason for advance? Did +they not sternly resolve that there should be men, that there +should be money, and that the war should be pressed to victory +whatever the sacrifice that might be involved? + +And shall the Church of God weakly, timidly yield because +the very troubles have occurred which Christ Himself predicted? +He frankly said that there should ``be wars and +rumors of wars''; that His disciples should ``be hated of all +men''; that He sent them ``forth as sheep in the midst of +wolves,'' and that the brother should ``deliver up the brother +to death and the father the child.'' But in that very discourse +He also said: ``He that taketh not his cross and followeth +after me is not worthy of me.'' ``Go, preach,'' He commanded. +``Woe is me if I preach not,'' cried Paul. Hostile rulers and +priests and mobs and the bitter Cross did not swerve Him a +hairbreadth from His purpose; nor did the rending of the early +disciples in the arenas of Nero, the burning of a Huss and a +Savonarola, the pyres of Smithfield, the dungeons of the +Tolbooth and the thumb-screws of the Inquisition quench the +zeal of His followers. + +And in the like manner, the ashes of mission buildings and +the blood of devoted missionaries and the tumult of furious +men have led multitudes at home to form a high and holy resolve +to send more missionaries, to give more money and to +press the whole majestic enterprise with new faith and power +until all China has been electrified by the vital spiritual force +of a nobler faith. God summons Christendom to a forward +movement in the land whose soil has been forever consecrated +by the martyrdom of the beloved dead. Instead of retreating, +``we should,'' in the immortal words of Lincoln at Gettysburg, +``be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us; that +from these honoured dead we take increased devotion to that +cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; +that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died +in vain.'' + +It may be said that this is a purely sentimental consideration. +But so may love for country, for liberty, for wife and children, +be called a sentiment. God forbid that the time should ever +come when men will not be influenced by sentiment. The intuitions +of the heart are as apt to be correct as the dictates of the +head. I candidly admit that as I stood amid the ruins of the +mission buildings in China, as I faced the surviving Christians +and remembered what they had suffered, the property they had +lost and the dear ones they had seen murdered,--as I stood with +bared head on the spot where devoted missionaries had perished, +I was conscious of a deeper consecration to the task of +uplifting China. And I am not willing to admit that such a +dedication of the living to the continuance of the work of the +dead is a mere sentiment. + +We are not wise above what is written when we declare that +the eternal purpose of God comprehends China as well as +Europe and America. He did not create those hundreds of +millions of human beings simply to fertilize the soil in which +their bodies will decay. He has not preserved China as a nation +for nearly half a hundred centuries for nothing. Out of +the apparent wreck, the new dispensation will come, is already +coming. Frightened men thought that the fall of Rome meant +the end of the world, but we can see that it only cleared the +way for a better world. Pessimists feared that the violence and +blood of the Crusades would ruin Europe, but instead they +broke up the stagnation of the Middle Ages and made possible +the rise of modern Europe. The faint-hearted said that the +India mutiny of 1857 and the Syria massacres of 1860 ended +all hope of regenerating those countries, but in both they ushered +in the most successful era of missions. + +So the barriers which have separated China from the rest of +the world must, like the medieval wall of Tien-tsin, be cast down +and over them a highway for all men be made. No one sup- +posed that the process would be so sudden and violent. But +in the Boxer uprising the hammer of God did in months what +would otherwise have taken weary generations. Some were +discouraged because the air was filled with the deafening tumult +and the blinding dust and the flying debris. Many lost +heart and wanted to sound a retreat because some of God's +chosen ones were crushed in the awful rending. But the wiser +and more far-seeing heard a new call to utilize the larger opportunity +which resulted. Up to this time we have been playing +with foreign missions. It is now time for Christendom +to understand that its great work in the twentieth century is to +plan this movement on a scale gigantic in comparison with +anything it has yet done, and to grapple intelligently, generously +and resolutely, with the stupendous task of Christianizing +China. + +But we are sometimes told that the churches should not be +allowed to go on; that one of the conditions of good feeling +will be the exclusion of missionaries from China. On this +point, I venture three suggestions:-- + +First,--No administration that can ever be elected in the +United States will thus interfere with the liberty of the +churches. It will never say, in effect, that arms' manufacturing +companies can send agents to Peking and distilleries send +drummers to Shanghai, but that the Church of God cannot +send devoted, intelligent men and women to found schools and +hospitals and printing-presses and to preach the gospel of +Jesus Christ. It will never say that American gamblers in +Tien-tsin and American prostitutes in Hongkong shall be protected +by all the might of the American army and navy, but +that the pure, high-minded missionary, who represents the +noblest motives and ideals of our American life, shall be expatriated, +a man without a country. + +This is, however, a problem for the nation, rather than for +the boards. The American missionary went to Asia before his +Government did, and until recently he saw very little of the +American flag. European nations have protected their citizens, +whether they were missionaries or traders. In the United +States Senate Mr. Frye once reminded the nation that about +twenty years ago England sent an army of 15,000 men down +to the African coast, across 700 miles of burning sand, to batter +down iron gates and stone walls, reach down into an +Abyssinian dungeon and lift out of it one British subject who +had been unlawfully imprisoned. It cost England $25,000,000 +to do it, but it made a highway over this planet for every common +son of Britain, and the words, ``I am an English citizen,'' +more potent than the sceptre of a king. And because of that +reputation American missionaries have more than once been +saved by the intervention of British ministers and consuls who +have not forgotten that ``blood is thicker than water.'' Shall +we vociferously curse England one day and the next supinely +depend upon her representatives to help us out when our citizens +are endangered? + +This is not a question of ``jingoism,'' whatever that may be. +It is not a question of making unreasonable complaints to home +governments. It is not a question of religion or of missions. +It is a question of treaties, of citizenship, of national honour +and of self-respect. Let the nation settle it from that viewpoint. +The missionary asks no special privileges. He can +stand it to go on as before, if the nation can stand it to have +him. + +Second,--If China should ever make such a demand in +repudiation of the treaties which she herself has expressly +acknowledged to be valid, and if all the Powers should support +her in that demand, does anybody doubt what the missionary +would say? We know at any rate what he has said in similar +circumstances. When Peter and John were scourged and forbidden +to preach any more in the name of Jesus, friendless and penniless +though they were, they ringingly answered: ``Whether +it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than +unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things +which we have seen and heard.'' When Martin Luther was +arraigned before the most powerful tribunal in Europe, he declared: +``Here I stand. God help me. I can do no other.'' +When the Russian Minister in Constantinople haughtily said to +Dr. Schauffler, ``My master, the Czar of all the Russias, will +not let you put foot on that territory,''--the intrepid missionary +replied: ``My Master, the Lord Jesus Christ, will never +ask the Czar of all the Russias where He shall put His foot.'' +Scores of missionaries have not hesitated to say to hostile +authorities: ``I did not receive my commission from any earthly +potentate but from the King of Kings, and I shall, I must go +on.'' + +Some will say that this is madness. So of old men said of +Christ, ``He hath a demon''; so they said of Paul, ``Thou +art beside thyself.'' If magnificent moral courage and +unyielding devotion to duty are ``madness,'' then the more the +world has of it the better. + +The effort to minimize the significance of the missionary +force in China will be made only by those who, destitute of any +vital religious faith themselves, of course see no reason for +communicating it to others, or by those who are strangely blind +and deaf to the real issues of the age. In the words of Benjamin +Kidd, ``it is not improbable that, to a future observer, +one of the most curious features of our time will appear to be +the prevailing unconsciousness of the real nature of the issues +in the midst of which we are living.'' + + +``No more did the statesmen and the philosophers of Rome understand +the character and issues of that greatest movement of all history, of which +their literature takes so little notice. That the greatest religious change +in the history of mankind should have taken place under the eyes of a +brilliant galaxy of philosophers and historians who were profoundly conscious +of decomposition around them; that all these writers should have +utterly failed to predict the issue of the movement they were then observing; +and that during the space of three centuries they should have treated +as simply contemptible an agency which all men must now admit to have +been, for good or evil, the most powerful moral lever that has ever been +applied to the affairs of men, are facts well worthy of meditation in every +period of religious transition.''[107] + + +[107] Lecky, ``History of European Morals,'' Vol. 1, p. 359. + + +Does any sane man imagine that the Church could cease to +be missionary and remain a Church? It has been well said +that the Christian nations might as well face the utter futility +of any hypothesis based upon the supposition that they can +remain away from the Orient. The occurrences of recent years +have made changes in their relation to the world which they can +no more recall than they can alter the course of a planet. It is +idle for doctrinaires to tell us from the quiet comfort of home +libraries, that we should ``keep hands off.'' We can no more +keep hands off than our country could keep hands off slavery +in the South, no more than New York could keep hands off a +borough infected with smallpox. The world has passed the +point where one-third of its population can be allowed to breed +miasma which the other two-thirds must breathe. Both for +China's sake and for our own, we must continue this work. If +this is true in the political and commercial realms, much more +is it true in the religious. Chalmer's notable sermon on the +``Expulsive Power of a New Affection'' enunciates a permanent +principle. When a man's soul is once thrilled with the +conviction that he has found God, he must declare that sublime +truth, + + ``To doubt would be disloyalty, + To falter would be sin.'' + + +I confess to a feeling of impatience when I am told that all +missionary plans for China must be contingent ``upon the +settlement of political negotiations,'' ``the overthrow of the +Empress Dowager and her reactionary advisers,'' ``the reestablishment +of the Emperor on his rightful throne,'' ``the continuance +in power of Viceroy Yuan Shih Kai,'' ``the mainte- +nance of a strong foreign military and naval force in China,'' +``the thwarting of Russia's plans for supremacy,'' and several +other events. + +All these things have been said and more. Is the Church +then despairingly to resign her commission from Jesus Christ +and humbly ask a new one from Caesar? Not so did the +apostolic missionaries, and not so, I am persuaded, will their +modern successors do. They cannot, indeed, be indifferent to +the course of political events or to their bearing upon the +missionary problem. But, on the other hand, they cannot +make their obedience to Christ and their duty to their fellow men +dependent upon political considerations. For Christian men +to wait until China is pacified by the Powers, or ``until she is +enlightened by the dissemination of truer conceptions of the +Western world,'' would be to abdicate their responsibility as +the chief factor in bringing about a better state of affairs. Is +the Church prepared to abandon the field to the diplomat, the +soldier, the trader? How soon is China likely to be pacified +by them, judging from their past acts? The gospel is the +primary need of China to-day, not the tertiary. The period +of unrest is not the time for the messenger of Christ to hold +his peace, but to declare with new zeal and fidelity his ministry +of reconciliation. To leave the field to the politician, the +soldier and the trader would be to dishonour Christ, to fail to +utilize an unprecedented opportunity, to abandon the Chinese +Christians in their hour of special need and to prejudice missionary +influence at home and abroad for a generation. + +But the numbers at work are painfully inadequate. To say +that there are 2,950 Protestant foreign missionaries in China is +apt to give a distorted idea of the real situation unless one +remembers the immensity of the population. A station is considered +well-manned when it has four families and a couple +of single women. But what are they among those swarming +myriads? The proportion of Protestant missionaries to the +population, which is commonly quoted, needs revision. There +is one to about every 144,000 souls. But that, too, requires +modification, for it counts the sick, the aged, recruits who are +learning the language, wives whose time is absorbed by household +cares, and those who are absent on furloughs, the last +class alone being often about ten per cent. of the total enrollment. +The actual working force, therefore, is far smaller than +the statistics suggest. + +Of China as a whole, it is said that ``some of the missionaries +and some of the converts are to be found in every one of +the provinces, both of China and Manchuria. But in the +1,900 odd counties into which the provinces are divided, each +with one important town and a large part of them with more +than one, there are but some 400 stations. That is to say, at +least four-fifths of the counties of China are almost entirely +unprovided with the means of hearing the gospel.''[108] Of all the +walled cities in the Empire, less than 300 are occupied by missionaries. +There are literally tens of thousands of communities +that have not yet been touched by the gospel. Plainly, the +missionary force must be largely augmented if the work is to +be adequately done. The home churches have gone too far to +stop without going farther. ``Those who undertake to carry +on mission work among great peoples undertake great responsibilities. +We have no right to penetrate these nations with a +revolutionary gospel of enormous power, unless we are prepared +to make every sacrifice and every effort for the proper care and +the wise training of the organization of the Christian community +itself which, while it must become increasingly a source +of revolutionary thought and movement, is also the only body +that can by the help and grace of God give these far-reaching +movements a healthy direction and lead them to safe and happy +issues.''[109] + + +[108] ``China's Call for a Three Years' Enterprise,'' 1903. + +[109] Gibson, p. 277. + + +Grant that the work of evangelization must be chiefly done +by Chinese preachers; there is still much for the missionary to +do. Allowing for those who, on account of illness, furlough or +other duties, are temporarily non-effective, 10,000 missionaries +for China would not give a working average of one for every +50,000 of the population. In these circumstances, the union +conference of missionaries at Kuling, August 7, 1903, was +surely within reasonable bounds when, in urging the Protestant +churches to celebrate in 1907 the one hundredth anniversary +of the sending forth of Robert Morrison, it declared:-- + + +``. . . In view of the vastness of the field that lies open before us, +and of the immense opportunities for good which China offers the Christian +Church--opportunities so many of which have been quite recently +opened to us and which were won by the blood of the martyrs of 1900-- +we appeal to the boards and committees of our respective societies, and +individually to all our brethren and sisters in the home churches, to say if we +are unreasonable in asking that the last object of the Three Years' +Enterprise be to double the number of missionaries now working in +China.'' + + +The time has come to ``attempt great things for God, expect +great things from God.'' When in 1806, those five +students in Williamstown, Massachusetts, held that immortal +conference in the lee of a haystack, talked of the mighty task of +world evangelization and wondered whether it could be accomplished, +it was given to Samuel J. Mills to cry out: ``We +can if we will!'' And the little company took up the cry and +literally shouted it to the heavens: ``We can if we will!'' +``A growing church among a strong people burdened by a +decadent Empire--the spirit of life working against the forces +of death and decay in the one great Pagan Empire which the +wrecks of millenniums have left on the earth--surely there is a +call to service that might fire the spirit of the dullest of us.''[110] +The obstacles are indeed formidable, but he who can look beneath +the eddying flotsam and jetsam of the surface to the +mighty undercurrents which are sweeping majestically onward +can exclaim with Gladstone:-- + + +``Time is on our side. The great social forces which move onward in +their might and majesty, and which the tumults of these strifes do not for +a moment impede or disturb--those forces are marshalled in our support. +And the banner which we now carry in the fight, though perhaps at some +moment of the struggle it may droop over our sinking hearts, yet will +float again in the eye of heaven and will be borne, perhaps not to an easy, +but to a certain and to a not distant victory.''[111] + + + +[110] Gibson, p. 331. + +[111] Speech on the Reform Bill. + + +In a famous art gallery, there is a famous painting called +``Anno Domini.'' It represents an Egyptian temple, from +whose spacious courts a brilliant procession of soldiers, statesmen, +philosophers, artists, musicians and priests is advancing +in triumphal march, bearing a huge idol, the challenge and the +boast of heathenism. Across the pathway of the procession is +an ass, whose bridle is held by a reverent looking man and +upon whose back is a fair young mother with her infant child. +It is Jesus, entering Egypt in flight from the wrath of Herod, +and thus crossing the path of aggressive heathenism. Then +the clock strikes and the Christian era begins. + +It is a noble parable. Its fulfillment has been long delayed +till the Child has become a Man, crucified, risen, crowned. +But now in majesty and power, He stands across the pathway +of advancing heathenism in China. There may be confusion +and tumult for a time. The heathen may rage, ``and the +rulers take counsel together against the Lord.'' But the idol +shall be broken ``with a rod of iron,'' and the King upon his +holy hill shall have ``the heathen for `his' inheritance and the +uttermost parts of the earth for `his' possession.'' + +For a consummation so majestic in its character and so vital +to the welfare not only of China but of the whole human race +we may well make our own the organ-voiced invocation of +Milton:-- + + +``Come, O Thou that hast the seven stars in Thy right hand, +appoint Thy chosen priests according to their order and courses +of old, to minister before Thee, and duly to dress and pour out +the consecrated oil into Thy holy and ever burning lamps. +Thou hast sent out the spirit of prayer upon Thy servants over +all the earth to this effect, and stored up their voices as the +sound of many waters about Thy throne. . . . O perfect +and accomplish Thy glorious acts; for men may leave their +works unfinished, but Thou art a God; Thy nature is perfection. +. . . The times and seasons pass along under Thy +feet, to go and come at Thy bidding; and as Thou didst +dignify our fathers' days with many revelations, above all their +foregoing ages since Thou tookest the flesh, so Thou canst +vouchsafe to us, though unworthy, as large a portion of Thy +Spirit as Thou pleasest; for who shall prejudice Thy all-governing +will? Seeing the power of Thy grace is not passed +away with the primitive times, as fond and faithless men +imagine, but Thy kingdom is now at hand, and Thou standing +at the door, come forth out of Thy royal chambers, O Prince +of all the kings of the earth; put on the visible robes of Thy +imperial majesty, take up that unlimited sceptre which Thy Almighty +Father hath bequeathed Thee; for now the voice of +Thy bride calls Thee, and all creatures sigh to be renewed.''[112] + + +[112] Milton, ``Prose Works.'' + + +INDEX +{Raw OCR from here to the end, needs proof-read and formatted} + +ABRAHAM, 39 +Abyssinia, 363 +Academy, Military, 339 +Achievements of Chinese, 39sq. +Africa, 16, 19, 102, 106, 107, 108, +126, 128, 175, 314 +Agnew, Rev. Dr., B. L., 288 +Agnosticism, 73 +Agriculture, 136; implements of, +129 +Alaric, 315 +Alaska, 17 +Alexander the Great, 16 + +Allied armies, 1900, 207sq., 273, +320 C~. + +Altai Mountains, Little, 104 +America, 19, 20, 30, 355 +American-China Development Co., +134 +American Board, 201sq., 290, 292, +293, 295, 296, 299, 300 + +American Christians, 281sq. + +American manufacturers, lo5, 106, +114, 133 +American mobs, 43 +American troops, 207, 327, 328, +329 +Americans in China, 25, 26, 27, +87, 88, 114, 115, 124-126, 131, +134, 154sq., 182, 305, 348 +Amoy, 150, 221 +Amur, valley of, 153 +Anatolian railway, 105 +Ancestral worship, 72sq., 138, 340 +Andrews, Bishop, 41 +Angel1, Pres. James B., 264 +Anglo-Chinese railway syndicate, +132 +Anglo-Italian syndicate, 132 +Anglo-Saxon, 35 +An-huei, 336 +Annam, 152 + +``Anno Domini,'' painting, 369 +Anti-foreign sentiment, 136sq. +An-tung, 348 +Arabia, 16, 107 +Arch, 39 +Area of China, 17, 36 +Armies, Allied, 207sq., 273, 320ch. +Army, Chinese, 92sq., 305, 306, +316, 333, 338, 339, 345 +Arrow War, 151 +``As a Chinaman Saw Us,'' 25 +Asia, 15, 16, to5, 106, 107, 111; +changes in, I l lsq.; religions of, +119 +Assyria, 16 +Astronomical observatory, 325 +Astronomy, 39 +Attila, 315 +Attitude towards foreigners, 231, +258-267, 270, 320ch., 328, 330, +335Sq., 341, 3429 344, 35 1 +Australia, 106, 107, 108, 174 +Austria, 41, 172, 212, 316 +Awakening of China, 7 + +BABCOCK, REV. DR. MALTBIE, 276 +Baby house, 60 +Babylon, 16 +Bagnall, Mr. Benjamin, 201, 206 +Baillard, General, 208 +Ballard, Walter J., 106 +Bangkok, 42, los, 107 +Banks, 40 +Baptists, 62, 63, 296-299, 300 +Barrett, Hon. John, 237 +Batavia, 42 +Bayard, Hon. Thos. F., 159 +Beirut, los +Belgians International Eastern Co., +133 +Belgium, 133, 171, 175~ 212 +Bells, 39 +l +372 It + +Benares, 32 +Benevolence, 72 +Beresford, Lord Charles, 306 +Bergen, Rev Dr. Paul D., 67, +23lsq., 236 +Berlin Conference, 102, 175 +Bible translation, 220 +Bicycles, 114 +Bishop, Mrs. Isabella Bird, 27 +Black Sea, 16 +Blind asylum, 223 +Boards, mission, 243, 247, 249, +281sq-, 290, 349, 358 +Boats, 23 +Bogue forts, 149, 154 +Boma, 107 + +Books on China, 195, 196, 224 +Boston, 20, 157 +Boughton, Miss Emma, 60 +Bougler, D. C., 7 +Boxers and Boxer Uprising, 52, 59, +60, 62, 63, 98, 131, 187, 193 ch. +202sq,, 240, 249 ch., 259, 261 +265, 273sq., 330, 331, 339, 341, +345. 359, 362 +Brazil, 172 +Brewer, Hon. David J., 163 +Brice, Senator Calvin S., 134 +Brinkley, Capt. Frank, 125, 322 +British-Chinese corporation, 132 +British in China, 130, 131, 134, +135, 140, 208 +British Government, 234 +British Museum, 40 +Brockman, Mr. F. S., 287, 289 +Brooke, Rev Dr. Stopford, 33 +Buddha, 15 +Buddhism, 29, 66, 74sq., 258, 259, +271 +Bulgaria, 21 +Burial, 138 +Burlingame, Hon. Anson, 155, 160 +Burma, lo5, 107, 151 +Byron, 49 +CABLES, 108, log +Calcutta, 103 +California, 22, 102, 157 +Cambodia, 152 +Canada, 19 + +Canals, 39, 68 + +Canton, 20, 22-24, 32, 41, 132, 134, +138, 146sq., 152, 220, 221, 337, +346 + +Canton-Hankow R. R., 134 + +Cape to Cairo R. R., 104, 106 +Cape Town, 104 +Carts, 53-55, 84 +Cash, Chinese, 61, 139 + +Cassini Convention, 153 +Cemeteries, 70, 74 + +Chairs. 53, 54 +Chaldea, 15, 16 . + +Chalfant, Rev. Frank, 53, 59, 60 +Chalmers, Rev. Dr. James, 126 +Chang Chih-tung, 189, 195, 335 +Chang Pei-hsi, 335 + +Chao Chu, 43 +Charity, 33, 34 +Chedor-laomer, 16 + +Chefoo, 3, 13, 30, 48, 49, 138, 177s +186, 187, 225-227 + +Cheh-kiang, 21 + +Chester, Rev. Dr S. H., 75 +Chieng-mai, 107 + +Chih li, 21, 196, 293, 308, 342, +344, 348 + +Children, Chinese, 19, 23, 38, 72, + +China, 107; achievements, 3gsq.; +area, 17, 36; army, 316, 345; +attitude towards foreigners, 35 sq +ch., 69, 145, 147, 148, 231, 258, +267, 270, 320, 328, 330, 335Sq341-344, +351; awakening, 7, +changes in, 112, character of +people, 2Ssq. ch., 35sq. ch., 47; +civilization, 23, 2Ssq. ch., 35sq. +ch., llo, 112, 116, 119, 315; +climate, 18; colonies, 42, 44 +, 154 ch.; conservatism, 35, +19v; customs, 2Ssq., 73, 8Ssq.; +defects, 27sq.; fertility, 136; foreign +trade, 1215q.; future, 305sq., +331, 332, 333 ch.; Government, +28, 29, 41, 47, 48, 130-145, 333 +338 ; history, 39; language, 8 +25; learning, 40; life in, 358, +opening, 102; partition, 307sq.; +peculiarities, 25sq.; people of, + +2sch., 38, 97, 98, 157, 228sq-, +314, 352, 353; population, +18-22, 36, 135, 315; prejudices, +317; religion, 31, 137, 138, 315; +resources, 18, 315; scenery, 22, +80; scholarship, 40; society, 40, +41 soldiers, g2sq., 222; treaties +with, 17Isq.; vices, 27sq., 46 + +China Inland Mission, 201, 239, +3oo + +China and Japan, 309, 314 +China-Japan War, 179, 180, 189, +Chinan-fu, 45, 53, 63, 132,296, 339 +~' China's Only Hope,'' 189, Igo +Chinese abroad, 42, 141 + +Chinese in the United States, 41, +44, 1545q., 331, 343 + +Ching-chou-fu, 30, 6Isq., 277, 296 +Ching-ting, 133 +Chining-chou, 47, 67, 68, 261, 343 +Chin-kiang, 132 +Chou-ping, 63 +Christendom, duty of, 351 +Christians, American and European, +286sq +Christians, Chinese, 63, 116, 117, +167, 198, 220, 222sq., 228, +268 ch., 280 ch., 294, 346, 347, +risti 356, 361 + +167sq, 219Sq., 222sq. Part IV., +259, 264, 268 ch., 287, 292, 349, +Christianity vs. civilization, 126sq. +Chung Hui Wang, 43 +Chung-wan-tao, 182 +Church, Chinese, 268 ch., 280 ch +294, 368 +Church, Greek, 311, 312 +Cities of China, 20, 21, 47, 124, +292, 367 +Civilization, Chinese, 23, 25ch +35ch., llo, 112, 116, 119, 315 +Western, 26, 27, 31, 39, 40, 43, +88, 328, 351, 354 + +Civilization vs. Christianity, 126sq +Civil power, 236 ch. + +Civil War, American, 359 +Classics, Chinese, 25, 40 + +Classics, hall of, 71 +Climate of China, 18, 84 +Clocks, 113 +Coal, 18, 47, 130, 132, 136 +Cochin-China, 152 +Coffee, 146 +Coffins, 25, 38, 59, 138 +Colleges, 296, 339, 340 + +Colonies, European, 145 ch., 174 ch. +Colonization, Chinese, 42, 44, 141, +154ch. + +Colquhoun, A. R., 44 +Columbia University, 340 +Comity, 290 + +Commerce, 40, lol, log, 117, 121, +126, 136, 305 + +Commercial Pacific Cable, 108, log +Compass, 39 +Conceit, 42 +Concessions, 348 +Concubinage, 72 + +Conferences, Kuling, 347; Shanghai, +295 + +Confucius and Confucianism, 15, +30-32, 382 47, 65 Ch., 328, 334, +34o + +Conger, Hon. Edwin H., 207, 265, +329 + +Congo, 104,107; International Association +of, 102; State, 173 + +Conservatism of Chinese, 35, 191 +Consuls, 154, 236, 245,262, 263,316 +Conveyances, 53 +Coolies, 23, 41, 50 +Cooper, Rev. Wm., 202, 206 + +Cooperation, mission, 290, 2g4sq. + +Cowright laws, 348 +Corbett, Rev. Dr. Hunter, 225,226 +Corruption, official, 27, 28, 3z +Corvino, John de, 219 +Cost of living, X l lsq., 280 +Cotton, 122 +Counties, 367 +Coup d'etat, 192, 338, 344, 345 +Courses, ten righteous, 72 +Courts, 28, 228, 234, 348 +Crickets, 23 +Cruelty, 29, 30 +Crusades, 194, 361 +Cuba, 312 +374 I +Customs, 2Ssq., 73, 8Ssq.; mari +tlme, 191, 317 +Czar of Russia, 18 +DALAI LAMA, 19 +Dalny, 131, 180sq. +Damascus, lo5 +Danube, 16 +Darwin, Charles, 129 +Davis, Hon. J. C. B. 156, 238 +Deaf and Dumb Asyium, 223, 225 + +Decrees, imperial, 335-338 +Defects of Chlnese, 27sq. +Degrees, 335sq. +Denby, Hon. Charles, 264, 290 +Denmark, 171 +Dewey, Admiral, 306 +Dickens, Charles, 34 +Diedrich, Admiral, 176 +Diffusion Society, 189 +Diplomacy, 145, 16Ssq., 236ch., + +246, 262, 348 +Discoveries of Chinese, 39sq. +Dishonesty, 28 +Donkeys, 53, 84 +Drunkenness, 46 +Dutch in China, 146, 147, 175 +Dye-shops, 23 +EAST INDIA COMPANY, 102, 147 +220 +Economic revolution, I I I sq., + +280 ch. +Edicts, imperial, 335-338; reform, +190, 191; Yuan Shih Kai's, 343 +Education, 190, 191, 335-338, 339 +Egypt, 16, 107 +Electricity, 103, 1075q.^ 114 +Elephants, 107 +Elgin, Lord, 166 +Eliot, George, 33 +Elterich, Rev. W. 0,, 48 +Embezzlers, 28 +Embroidery, 23-61 +Emperor, 72, 80, 113, 190, 197, +198 317 3264, 325, 326, 338, 343, + + Emperor, German, 318 +Empress, Dowager, 188, 193, 324, +338, 344, 345, 365 +England and the English, 16, 17, +21, 41, 117, 128, 1465q., 166 +171, t72, 173, 174, 175, 181, 182 +212, 239, 307, 308, 309,349,351 +355, 363; soldiers of, 321324 +Essays, examination, Igo, 335sq. +Etiquette, Chinese, 37 +Euphrates, 16 +Europe, 17, 30, 39, 106, 107, 108, +307, 308, 309, 318 +Europeans, 26, 87, 88, 124, 126, +145 ch. +'s Ever Victorious Army,'' 222 +Examinations, Igo, 212, 335sq.; +Grounds, 325 +Exclusion laws, 158, 184 +Exposition, St. Louis, 160 +Extra-territoriality, 150, 184-186 +FACE, 37, 38 +Fan-tai, 48 +Fares, railway, 140, 141 +Faris, Rev. W. W., 81 +Farmers, 40; farms, 18, 21, 46 +Favier, Bishop, 199 +Fay Chi Ho, 161, 322 +FFeasts, 6r, 69, 81, 8Ssq., 95 +Fei-hsien, 96 +Fenn, Rev. Dr. C. H., 28, 31 +Field, Rev. Dr. Henry M., 247 +Firearms, 39 +Fitch, Rev. J. A., 60 +``Five Points,'' 355 +Five-story Pagoda, 23, 24 +Floods, 191, 192 +Flour, 122 +Foochow, 150, 182, 221 +Food, 8Ssq. +Fong-king, 153 +Forbidden City, 197 +Foreigners in China, 23, 26, 27, + +3Ssq., 69, 97, 124-126, 142, +145 ch., 151, 156, 162, 167sq. +175sq., 184 ch., 264, 320 ch., + +327, 328, 351 +Formosa, 146, 312 + +Foster, Hon. John W., 102, 166, +265 + +Fowler, Consul John, 52, 91, 329, +342 + +France, 16, 21, 117, 171, 172, 173, + +174, 175, 180, 181, 182, 186, +212, 236, 251, 350 + +Franco-Chinese Convention, 135 +Freight, railway, 141 +French in China, 44, 134, 135, 140, +151, 152, 153, 208, 307, 308, +309, 334; soldiers, 321, 323, +324 +Fruit in China, 226 +Frye, Senator, 363 +Fuel, 47 +Fukien, 21, 336 +Funerals, 74 +Fnng-shuy, 75sq. +Fusan, lo5 + +Future of China, 331, 332, 333 ch. +GAMBLING, 28, 124 +Gardens, 46 +Gaselee, General, 208 +Gelatine, 39 +Genseric, 315 +Georgia, 21 +Gerard, M., 350 +Germans, 40, 44, 54, 58, 60, 82, + +93, 97, 132, 139, 140, 321, 323, +331, 334, 339, 340 + +Germany, 16, 41, 117, 118, 172 + +173, 174, 175, 176, 179, 180 +182, 208, 212, 307, 308, 309, + +Germany, Emperor of, 318 +Gibson, Rev. Dr. J. Campbell, 28 + +71, 75, 269, 270 + +Gin, cotton, 103 +Gladstone, Wm. E., 369 +Gleaning, 46 +Glue, 39 +Goatskins, 123 +Golden Rule, 184 +Goodnow, Consul-General, 123, +Gordon, Charles George, 222, 306 +Gorst, Harold E., 124 +Goths, 315 + +v,, +Gould, Miss Annie A., 201, 206 +Government, 48, 236 ch. +Government, Chinese, 28, 29, 41, +130, 145, 231, 333, 334, 338; +Church, 300; constitutional, 120 +Governments, foreign, 362sq. +Governors, 48 +Governor of Canton, 147sq. +Gracey, Rev. Dr. J. T., 20 +Grain, 46 +Grand Canal, 68 +Grant, General, 41 +Graves, Bishop, 31, 138, 139, 346 +Gray, Willls E., 134 +Great Bell Temple, 39 +Great Britain, see England +Greek Church, 169, 183, 311, 312 +Griffis, Rev. Dr. William Elliott, +32 +Guatama, 15 +Gunpowder, 39 +HAMLIN, REV. DR. CYRUS, 364 +Hai-fong, 135 +Haight, Hon. H. H., 157 +IIainan, 22 +Hall of Classics, 71 +Hangchow, 132 +Hankow, 133, 134 +Harrison, Hon. Benjamin, 266 +Hart, Sir Robert, 193, 230, 243, +316, 3179 332, 334, 354, +Harte, Bret, 43, 44 +Harvest, 46 +Hawaiians, 127 +Hawes, Miss Chnrlotte, 60 +Hay, Hon. John, 183, 188, 238, +33o +Hayes, Rev. Dr. W. M., 340, 353 +Haystack prayer-meeting, 368 +Health precautions, go +Heard, Hon. Augustin, 309, 310 +Hedin, Sven, 18, 19, 40 +Hill, James J., 109 +History of China, 39 +Hodge, Dr. C. V. A., 201-211 +Holcombe, Hon. Chester, 43, 160, +H 116129 187, 308, 314, 315 +Honant klt 133, 335 +376 In + +Hongkong, 22, 122, 150, ISIsq. +Hong merchants, 148, 149 +Horrors Temple of, 74 +Hospitaiity, 95, 96, 98 +Hospitals, 82, 223, 265 +Hostility to foreigners, 35sq. ch. +House, Rev, Herbert E., 340 +House-boats, 23 +Houses, 31, 39, 47, 61, 62 +Hsiang-tan-hsien, 20 +Hsi-an-fu, 219 +Hsi-an-tai, 59 +Hsiens, 367 +Hunan, 22, 337 +Hungary, 21 +Hung-Wu, Emperor, 40 +Huns, 315 +Hunter, Rev. Dr. S. A., 261 +Ilupeh, 21, 337 + +ICIIOU-FU, 132, 229, 356 +Illinois, 21, 22 + +Immorality, 28, 29, 124 +Imperial Railway, 131 + +Indemnity, 59, 69, 155, 159, 211, +212, 330, 334 + +India, 28, 29, 102, 105, 107, 114, + +117, 1 19, 307, 313, 314, 361; +Churches in, 299 + +Indiana, 21, 22 +Indus, 16 +Inns, 69-88. 95 +Intemperance, 124, 126, 128 + +International Eastern Co., 133 +Inventions, 112 + +Inventions of Chinese, 39sq. +Iron, 18, 136 + +Irrawaddy, 105 + +Italy, 172-174 175, 212; soldiers + +ofw 325 + +JAPAN, 17, 36, 101, 105, log, 111, +114, 167, 172, 173, 179, 182, 194, +212, 307, 308,309, 314, 337, 350; +Churches in, 299, 301 + +yapan WeekEy MviS, 125, 322 + +Japanese, 29, 44, 117, 118, 119, + +305, 306, 312, 313, 317, 320, +321, 328, 329. + +Jenghiz Khan, 318 + +Jerusalem, 105 +Jewelry, 23 +Jews, 4xsq., 217, 218 +Johnson, Dr. Chas. F., 68, 91~ 229 +Jones, Mr. A. G., 62 +Junks, 130 +KAI PING, 130 +Kameruns, 108 +Kansas 22 +Kan-su 22, 66 +Kao-liang, 46 +Kaomi, 57 +Kassai, 107 +Khartoum, 104 +Kai-feng-fu, 133, 217 +Kentucky, 21, 22 +Kerosene, sr3 +Kiang-si, 21, 336 +Kiang-su, 22, 336 +Kiao-chou, 53, 57, 97; Bay of, 176 +Kidd, Benjamin, 33, 364 +Kien Lung, Emperor, 80 +King of Siam, 114, 119 +Kitchener, Lord, 104 +Korea, 102, 105, 107, 108, x 16, +117, 1 19, 132, 172, 284, 312, +313, 338; Churches in, 299 +Kowloon, 134, 135, 151 +Kuang Hsii, 317 +Kuang Hsum, 338 +Ku-chou, 82 +Ku-fu, 6gsq. +Kuling, 347, 368 +Kung Hsiang Hsi, 161 +Kwamouth, 107 +Kwang-si, 22 +Kwan-tung, 22, 41, 336 +Kwei-chou, 21 +Kwei Heng, 209 +LAMA, Dalai, 19 +Lama Temple, 29 +Lamps, 113 +Land-tax, 28 +Lane, Rev. Wm., 162, 261 +Language, Chinese, 8, 25 +Laos, 102-107, 108-117, 284 +Lao-tse, 15 +Lassa, x9 + +Laughlin, Rev. J. H., 53, 68, 261, +343 +Laws, 336 +Lawsuits,228ch., 251,257, 3X2,349 +Learning, 40 +Lecky, W. E. H., 365, 366 +Legations, 212, 326, 327; Seige of, +193sq. +Legge, Dr., 71 +Letters of a Chinese Official, +31sq, 327, 354 +Li, 57 +Llao-tung, 179 +Liberty, Religious 119 +Li Hung Chang, 41, 76, 338, 344 +Likin, 348 +Lincoln, President, 360 +Liquor, 128 +Litters, 54 +Liu Kan Ji, 41 +Liu-kung, 181 +Liu Kun vi 41, t95 +Living, Cost of, Illsq. +Livingstone, David, 102 +Locomotives, 103, 104sq., 123, 133, +136, 142 +Loess, 45 +London, 32 +London Missionary Society, 220, +292, 296 +Looms, 103 +Looting, 324 +Louisiana, 22 +Louisiana Purchase Exposition, +160, 161 +Lov e, Henry P., 104 +Low, Hon. Frederick F., 155, 185, +Loweil, James Russell, 120, 128, +Lowrie, Rev. Dr. John, 103 +Lowrie, Rev. J. Walter, 201, 203, +208, 209, 352 +Lucas, Rev. Dr. J. J., 285 +Lu Han Railway, 133 +Lumber, 123 +Luther, Martin, 364 +Lyon, Dr. C. H., 53, 68, 343 +MACAO, 134, 146, 147, 220 + +les 377 +Mackay, Clarence H., log +Mackenzie, John Kenneth, 323 +McKinley, President, 108 330 +Magistrates, 27, 28, 47 76, 77, + +95sq., 139, 185, 193, 194, 209, +210, 228ch., 306, 331, 333, 334, +342, 343, 344 +Mahdi, 119 +Malone, N. Y., 163 +Man, dignity of, 33, 34 +Manchuria, 8, 1S, 19, 153, 179sq., +3ø7, 314, 348 +Manchus, 38, 314 +Mandarins, 29 +Manila, 42 +Manning, Hon. Daniel, 160 +Markham, Edwin, 358 +Marriage, 72 +Martin, Rev. Dr. W. A. P., 168, +169, 217, 218, 353 +Martyrs, 195, 198, 202-211, 272 +277s 341, 346, 361 +Mateer, Rev. Dr. Calvin, 104, 244 +Matting, 123 +Mecca, 105 +Mechanics 40 +Medical missions, 223, 296, 347 +Mediterranean, 16 +Mei, General, 321 +Meiji Gakuin, 296 +Mencius, 15, 47 +Merchants, Chinese, 29 +Mercy, Goddess of, 74 +Methodists, 296, 299; missionary +society of, 290, 292 +Mexico 173, Churches in, 299 +Michie Alexander, 230, 249 +Michigan, 21 +Millet, 46, 136 +Mills, Samuel J., 368 +Milton, John, 16, 370 +Miner, Luella, 16x +Mines, 348 +Ministers, 236, 24ssq. +Ministry, 288 +Minnesota, 22 +Mississippi River, 19; valley, 102, +118 +Missionaries, 68, 97, 102, x16, 125, +x26, 128, x56, 167, t94, 201sq,, +378 In + +217ch., 223sq., 228ch., 236ch., +249 ch-, 341, 343, 347, 349, 359368 +M +ission work, 20lsq.,219sq.,2gosq., +298, 345-347, 349, 35ø, 354, 37ø +Missouri, 21 +Mobs, 43 +Mohammed, 15 +Mohammedans, 65, 66, 315; Mohammedanism, +258, 259 +Mongolia, 18 +Monks, Lama, 29 +Moore, Bishop, 320 +Mormons, 27 +Morrill, Miss Mary S., 201, 206 +Morrison, Rev. Robert, 220, 368 +Moscow, 132 +Mountains, 45, 47, 61~ 6Ssq. +Mourning, 342, 343 +Mukden, 8, 131, 132, 348 +Mulberry trees, 47 +Mules, 53, 55, 84 + +NAMES, Chinese, S +Nanking, 132, 221 +Nanning-fu, 139 +Napier, Lord, 147-149 +Naples, 23 +Na Tung, 314 +Navy, 305, 306, 316, 333 +Neal, Dr. James B., 63 +Nebraska, 21 +Negroes, 43 +Nestorians in China, 218, 219 +Netherlands, 212 +Nevius, Rev. Dr. John C., 226, 227 +New England, 21-45 +New Guinea, 126 +SVe7vs, 9fiorth-China Daiey, 76 +Newspapers, 334 +New York, 20, 22, 27 +Ngan-hwei, 22 +Nichols, Francis, 259 +Nieh-tai, 48 +Nile, 16 +Ningpo, 146, 150, 221 +North America, 106, 107 +Aorth-C'hisza Heraid, 27 +Norway, 212 + +OBI RIVER, 104 +Observatory, Astronomical, 325 +Oceanica, 19. +Office, qualifications for, 40 +Official, letters of a Chinese, 327 +Officials, 27, 28, 139, 141,185, 193, +194, 209, 210, 228 ch., 306, 331, +333, 334, 342, 343, 344 +Ohm, 21, 22 +Oil, 113, 114, 122 +4~ Open Door,'' the, 188, 348 +Opium, 47, 128, 149, 1510 155~ 162} +356, 357 +Opium War, 149, 150 +Oregon, 102, 123, 157 +Ornaments, 23 +Orthography, Chinese, 8 +Oxus, 16 + +PAGODAS, 22, 23 +Palestine, 107 +Panthay rebellion, 66 +Paoting-fu, 93, 133, 200-211, 275, +293, 346, 356 +Paper, 40 +Parents, 72sq. +Parker, E. H., 29, 41,152,164, 170 +Parker, Rev. Dr., 332 +Parkhurst, Rev. Dr. Charles H., +128 +Parsons, Wm. Barclay, 134 +Partition, of Africa, 175; of Asia, +174sq; of China, 307sq., 314, +354 +Passengers, railway, 140 +Pastors, Chinese, 280 ch. +Patent office, 348 +Patriotism, 35 +Pawnshops, 63 +Pearl River, see West River +Peculiarities of Chinese, 2Ssq. +Peking, 8, 1o5, 133, 197sq., 290sq. +Peking-llankow R. R., 200, 201 +Peking, seige of, 345, 346 +Penang, 42 +Pennsylvania, 22 +Pentecost, Rev. Dr. George F., 346 +People, of Asia, X x v; of China, 25sq. +ch., 47, 97, 98, 228sq-, 314, 352, +353 + +,... + +Peril, yellow, 305 ch., 354 +Perry, Commodore, lol +Persecution of Christians, 202sq., +272 279 +Persia, 16, 108, 114, 313 +Persian Gulf, 16 +Peru, 172 +Pescadores Islands 146 +Philadelphia, 32, 43; 157 +Philippine Islands, 107, 146 +Photography, 103 +Pien-kiao, 30, 96 +Pitkin, Rev. Horace T., 201, 205, +206 +Pittsburg, 103 +Plows, 129, 263 +Politics, foreign, Part III +Poor, the, 30 +pope, 37 +Poppy, 47 +Population of China, 18, 22, 36, +315 +Port Arthur, 131, 179, 180 +Portland, Or., 122 +Ports, China's, 124, 125 +Portugal, 171, 173, 175, 212; + +Portuguese in China, 145-147 +Post-office, 103, 334 +Potter, Bishop, 307 +Pottery, 39 +Powers, European, 330, 359, 363, +366 +Prefects, 47, 81 +Prejudices, 317, 351 +Presbyterians, Board of, 239, 286, +290, 292, 293, 295, 296, 298, 300; +Church, 288, 297, 299; missions, +48, 59, 60, 63, 81, 201, 198, 337, +346, 352 +Press, mission, 28, 103, 223, 296, +337; periodical, 334, 339 +Princeton Theological Seminary, 7 +Printing, 39 +Protestants in China, 20lsq., 220sq., +222, 223, 230sq., 236 ch., 253, +257, 290sq., 366sq. +Provinces, 19, 22, 23, 333, 334 +Prussia, 171 +Public service, 28 +Pulu Condore, 152 + +lex 379 +Punishments, 29, 74, 185 + +RACE prejudice, 158; superiority, 33 +Railways, 52, 104Sq., I l lsq,130ch., +196, 263 + +Recantation of Christians, 277, 278 +Reform Party, 189-191, 240 + +Reformss 335-338, 345 +Religions of Asia, 119; of China, +31, 51, 65sq. ch., 315 +Resources of China, 18, 315 + +Revolutions, American, 359; Chinese, +35, 333, 334, 351; economic, +I l X ch.,132,136sq.,280ch. +Ricci, Matteo, 219 + +Rice, 46, 1 l l + +Richthofen, Baron von, 18, 44 +Rites, 27 + +Roads, Chinese, 25, 39, 45, 55, 116, +138 + +Rock Springs massacre, 159, 187 + +Roman Catholics, 58, 69, 176, 183, +193,195, 199, 200, 219, 230, 250 + +257, 260, 350 +Roman Empire, 16 + +Romallization Chinese language, 9 +Romans, 351; Empire of, 361 + +Roosevelt, President, log +lRuskin, John, 34 + +Russia, 41, 42, lol, 117, 131, 132, +153sq~ 169, 171, 172, 173, 174, +179, 183, 188, 189, 212, 236, + +307, 308, 309, 311, 312, 313, +317, 334, 365; soldiers of, 325 +Russia-Japan War, lol, 348, 349 +Russo-Chinese Bank, 133 + +SACRIFICES, 78 +Saigon, 42, 152 +Salaries, 28 + +Salisbury, Lord, 262, 266 +Sampans, 48 + +San Francisco, 157, 159 +Sayre, James W., 106 + +Scenery, 22, 31, 80 +Scepticism, 128 +Scholars, 40 +Scholarship, 40, 305 + +Schools, 117, 190, 191, 223, 260, +265, 295, 335, 337, 339, 347, 353 +380 I, + +Scidmore, Elija, 25 +Science, British Association for +Advancement of, 104 +Scotland, 16; people of, 16 +Sectarianism, 295 +Sen Yat Sen, 311 +Self-support, 272, 284sq. +Seoul, los, 107, 132 +Seward, Hon. George F., 263 +Sewing machines, 114 +Shakespeare, Wm., 34 +Shanghai, 42, 130, 132, x50, 221 +Shan-hal Kwan, 131 +Shan-si, 21, 132, 196, 341 +Shantung Province, 20, 21, 4ssq. +ch., s2sq. ch., 97, 132, 176sq., +196, 296, 307, 336, 339, 341, + +342 +Shantung Protestant University, +Shefheld. R D D Z +Shendza, 53, 5ssq., 84 +Shen-si, 18, 21, 132, 133, 195, + +219 +Sherman, Hon. John, 237 +Shimonoseki, 179 +Shops, 23 +Shunte-fu, 133 +Siam, 102, 105, 107, 113, 114, 116, +117, 119, 313 +Siberia, 108 +Siberian Railway, xos, 106, 131, +1530 179 +Sick, the, 30 +Siege of Peking, 193-200, 345, +346 +Silk, 23, 39, 47, 123 +Silver currency, 1 l l +Simcox, Rev. F. E., 201sq.~ 211 +Si-ngan-fu, 133 +Singapore, 42 +Si-sui, 80 +Smith, Rev. Dr. Arthur H., 38, +229, 267, 321, 338 +Smith, Rev. Dr. George Adam, +127 +Society, Chinese, 40, 41 +Soldiers, American, 306; Chinese, +40, 76, glsq., 222, 30ssq., 316, +339, 345; European, 306; for + +eign, 127, 186, 198, 208, 273, +320 ch., 328, 329 +Soudan, l 19 +Soil, 45 +South America, 106 +Soochow, 132 +Spain, 16, 146, 171, 172, 175, 212 +Spirit Road, 70 +Spirits, 30sq., 74sq. +Stage coach, 103 +Stanley, Henry M., 102, 105 +Stanley Falls, 104 +Statistics, U. S. Bureau of log +Staunton, Sir George, 14; +Steam, 103, llo +Steamers, 103, 104, Illsq., 130 +Stewart, Rev. Dr. James, 126, 175 +Stewart, Senator, 41 +Storrs, Rev. Dr. R. S., 23 +St. Petersburg, los +Strong, Rev. Dr. Josiah, l lo +Su, Prince, 314 +Suffering, 29, 30 +Suicide, 26 +Summer Palace, 197, 198, 324, 325 +Superstition, 30, 51, 74sq., 137, 138 +Swatow 20 +Sweden 171, 212 +Syria, 117, 118, 361 +Sze-chuen, 22, 132 + +TACOMA, 159 +Tael, 1ll +Tai-an-fu, 65 +Tai-ping Rebellion, 28, 221, 222 +Tai-shan, 6ssq. +Tai-yuen-fu, 133 +Taku, 130, 196, 212 +Ta-lien-wan, 180 +Tamerlane, 318 +Tang Hsiao-chuan, 340 +Taoism, 15, 745q. +Tao-tai, 48 +Taylor, Dr. George Y., 201-2145q. +Taylor, Rev. J. Hudson, 240 +Taxes, 28, 333, 348, 349 +Tea, 39, 86, 123; shops, 23 +Telegraphs, 107sq. +Telephones, lo3, 107, 114 +Temple, Great Confucian, 71 + +Temple of Heaven, 197, 198 +Temples, 39, 6ssq. ch., 325 +Tennessee, 21 +Thoburn, Bishop, 129 +Threshing, 46 +Tibet, 18 +Tieh Liang, 314 +Tien-tsin, 20, 131, 132, 154, 197, +Til22., 313, 323, 344, 361 +Ting Jung, 209 +Tobacco factories, 23 +Toleration clauses, 167Sq +Tong-king, 135, 307 +Tong ku, 131, 196, 344 +Torture, 185 +Tourane, 152 +Trade, 40, logsq., 117sq., 121 ch., +126sq., 142, 147, 159 +Trade-marks, 348 +Traders, 40, 42, 102, 124sq., 145, +156 +Travelling in China, 84, 91, lol + +ch. + +Treaties, 150, 15l, 152, 153, 154, +155, 156, 166, 167sq.; list of, +171sq., 179, 212, 221, 237, 238, +247, 348~ 349 +Trees, 45 +7i iAune, New York, 41 +Trolley cars, 107 +Tsing-tau, 123, 132, 139, 176-179, +331 +Tsung-li Yamen, 155, 212, 254 +Tuan Fang, 195 +Tung-chou, 4gsq., 177, 321, 322, +34o +Turkestan, Chinese, 18 +Turkey, 175 +Type, 39 +UGANDA, 104 +United States, 17, 19, 21, 106, 117, +118, 154ch., 171, 172, 173, 175, +182, 188, 207, 208, 2 1 1, 212, 234, +235, 307, 308, 329-331, 348 +350,362; trade of, 1225q., Is4sq., +159 +Universities, vgo, 335, 353 +Ussuri, 153 +de:S 381 + +VANDALS, 315 +Van Schoick, Dr., 58 +Verne, Jules, 106 +Vices, 27sq., 124sq., 142 +Victoria Falls, 104 +Victoria Queen, 108 +Villages 20, 21 +Villagers, allied, 93 +Virginia, 21 +Vladivostok, 131, 179 +WADE, HON. FRANCIS, 239, 240, +256 +Wade, Hon. Thomas F., 170 +Wai-wu Pu, 213, 315 +Walls, 210 +Wang, Captain, 340 +War with Japan, 179, 180, 189 +Ward, Frederick T., 222 +Watchman, go +Wei-hai Wei, 152, 181 +Wei-hsien, sgsq., 11 ~123, 132, + +296, 345 +Weng Chan Kwei 209 +Wen Hsiang, 170 185, 239, 257 +Wen River, 67 +West River, 22, s3, 135, 152, 307 +West Virginia, 21 +Wheat, 46, 1 11, 136 +Wheelbarrows, 25, 53, 54 +Wherry, Rev. Dr. John, 39 +Whiskey, 46, 86 +Whitman, Marcus, 102 +Widows, 19 +Wiju, los, 132 +William IV, lo8 +Williams, Dr. S. Wells, 39, 75, 150, +167, 168 +Williamstown Mass., 368 +Wilson, Gen. James H., 266 +Winnowing, 46 +Winter palace, 197, 198 +Wireless telegraphy, log +Wisconsin, 21 +Women, 26, 27, 46, 62 +Women missionaries, 262 +Wong Kai Kah, 159 +Wool, 123 +Working-man, 118 +Worship, ancestral, 72sq., 340 + +3E32 In + +Wright, HOD. Carroll D., 282 +Wu Ting-fang, 43, 73, 130, 266, +329, 330 +XAVIER, FRANCIS, 102, 219 +YALE UNIVERSITY, 43 +Yalu River, lo5, 348 +Yamen, 95, 96 +Yang-tze River, 133, 135, 307 +Yellow peril, 305 ch., 354 +Yellow River, 63, 76, 191 +Yen, 76 +Yen-chou-fu, 69 + + +Yenisei River, 104 +Yo-chou, x82 +Yuan Shih Kai, glsq.,97, 195, 196, +261, 267, 307, 314, 338-345, +365 +Yueh-Kou, 82, 83 +Yuen Yen Tai, 340 +Yu Hsien, 341 +Yung-loh, Emperor, 40 +Yun-nan, 21, 66, 135, 152 +ZAGROS MOUNTAINS, 16 +Zoroaster, 15 +Zululand, 32 + + + + + +End of The Project Gutenberg Etext of New Forces in Old China, by Brown + diff --git a/1675.zip b/1675.zip Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..ca2ab9b --- /dev/null +++ b/1675.zip diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. 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