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diff --git a/41878-8.txt b/41878-8.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 7e7ddac..0000000 --- a/41878-8.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,8958 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Changing China, by -William Gascoyne-Cecil and Florence Gascoyne-Cecil - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with -almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or -re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included -with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org - - -Title: Changing China - -Author: William Gascoyne-Cecil - Florence Gascoyne-Cecil - -Release Date: January 19, 2013 [EBook #41878] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHANGING CHINA *** - - - - -Produced by Al Haines - - - - - - - - - -[Illustration: Cover] - - - - - -[Frontispiece: Railway Map of China] - - - - - - CHANGING CHINA - - - BY THE REV. - LORD WILLIAM GASCOYNE-CECIL - - - ASSISTED BY - LADY FLORENCE CECIL - - - - NEW YORK - D. APPLETON AND COMPANY - 1912 - - - - -{iii} - -PREFACE - -Our interest in China was first aroused by a letter from an old -school-fellow, Arthur Polhill, who, with heroic self-denial, has spent -the best part of his life in China as a missionary. Subsequently I -joined the China Emergency Committee, who in 1907 invited us to go out -to the Shanghai Centenary Conference. That visit led naturally to a -tour in China, Korea, and Japan. When we returned we found that great -interest was being felt at the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in -the movement in the Far East; a Committee was formed to study the whole -question, which accepted provisionally the idea of encouraging the -foundation of a Western University. Before finally accepting the idea -it was felt that some one ought to go to the mission centres of China -and find out the opinions of the missionaries working on the field, and -at the same time sound the Chinese Government and see whether it would -be favourable to the scheme. As a result of these deliberations, the -Committee asked us in 1909 to go out again, this time on behalf of the -United Universities Scheme. On our return it was suggested that if we -put our report into the form of a book it might possibly excite -interest in the whole question, especially in the University scheme. -We were deeply impressed with two great facts--the greatness of the -need of Western education from a Christian standpoint and the vital -importance of immediate action. - -{iv} - -Not only did we seek information from English and American but also -from French and Italian missions as occasion offered. We tested and -compared this information by the information we got from that most -enlightened and able body of men who form the consular body in China. -We are especially grateful to Sir John Jordan, by whose great -diplomatic skill both the position of England and the goodwill of the -Chinese are maintained. - -It would be impossible even to record the names of all with whom we -conversed, but our thanks are especially due to the following friends, -not only for their generous hospitality, but also for the patient and -kind way in which they instructed us in the many difficult aspects of -the Chinese problem:-- - -Sir John and Lady Jordan, British Legation, Peking. H.E. the late -Chang-Chih-Tung. H.E. the late Prince Ito. H.E. Tong-Shao-Yi. H.E. -Tuan-Fang. H.E. Liang-Ten-Sen. Sir Robert Hart. Sir Walter and Lady -Hillier. Sir Robert and Lady Breedon. Dr. Aspland of Peking. Dr. and -Mrs. Avison of Seoul. Dr. and Mrs. Baird of Pyeng-Yang. Bishop and -Mrs. Bashford of Peking. Mr. Blair of Pyeng-Yang. M. et Mme. -Boissonnas, French Legation, Peking. Mr. Bondfield of Shanghai. Miss -Bonnell of Shanghai. Mr. and Mrs. Bonsey of Hankow. Dr. and Mrs. -Booth of Hankow. Miss Brierley of Wuchang. Bishop Cassels of West -China. Mr. U. K. Cheng of Nanking. Dr. and Mrs. Christie of Mukden. -Mr. Chun Bing-Hun of Shanghai. Mr. and Mrs. Clarke of Newchwang. Dr. -Cochrane of Peking. Consul-General and Mrs. Cockburn, late of Seoul. -Miss Corbett of Peking. Mr. Deans of Ichang. Mr. and Mrs. Deeming of -Han-Yang. Dr. Du Bose of Soochow. Mr. Ede of Shanghai. Mr. and Mrs. -Arnold Foster of Wuchang. Consul-General and Mrs. Fraser of Hankow. -Mr. and Mrs. Gage of Changsha. Dr. and Mrs. Gibb of Peking. Dr. and -Mrs. Gillieson of Hankow. Dr. Glenton of Wuchang. Bishop and Mrs. -Graves of Jessfield, Shanghai. Dr. and {v} Mrs. Hawks Pott of -Jessfield, Shanghai. Consul and Mrs. Hewlett of Changsha. Mr. -Hollander of Hankow. Mr. and Mrs. Hoste of the C.I.M. Dr. Huntley of -Han-Yang. Mr. and Mrs. Jackson of Wuchang. Monseigneur Jarlin, -Pe-T'ang, Peking. Dr. Griffith John of Hankow. Miss Joynt of -Hangchow. The late Miss Keane of Shanghai. Dr. and Mrs. Keller of -Changsha. Consul and Mrs. King of Nanking. Dr. and Mrs. Lavington -Hart of Tientsin. Mr. M. T. Liang of Mukden. Mr. and Mrs. Littell of -Hankow. Dr. and Mrs. Lowry of Peking. Mr. and Mrs. MacIntosh of -Tientsin. Dr. and Mrs. Macklin of Nanking. Dr. Macleod of Shanghai. -Dr. and Mrs. Main of Hangchow. Consul-General and Miss Mansfield, late -of Canton. Dr. Martin of Peking. Mr. and Mrs. Meigs of Nanking. Miss -Miner of Peking. Archdeacon and Mrs. Moule of Ningpo. Mr. -Mun-Yew-Chung of Shanghai. Dr. and Mrs. Murray of Peking. Mr. Norris -of Peking. Mr. Oberg of Shanghai. Miss Phelps of Hankow. Mr. Arthur -Polhill of the C.I.M. Miss Porter of Peking. Bishop Price of Fukien. -Deaconess Ransome of Peking. M. et Mme. Ratard, French Consulate, -Shanghai. Mr. Ready of Changsha. Dr. and Mrs. Gilbert Reid of -Shanghai. Dr. Timothy Richard of Shanghai. Mr. and Mrs. Ricketts of -Shan-hai-kwan. Mr. and Mrs. Ridgley of Wuchang. Bishop and Mrs. Roots -of Hankow. Dr. and Mrs. Ross of Mukden. Miss Russell of Peking. -Bishop Scott of North China. Mrs. Scranton of Seoul. Mr. and Mrs. -Sedgwick of Tientsin. Mr. Shen-Tun-Lo of Shanghai. Mr. and Mrs. -Sherman of Hankow. Mr. and Mrs. Smalley of Shanghai. Mr. and Mrs. -Sparham of Hankow. Mr. Sprent of Newchwang. Mr. Squire of Ichang. Mr -and Mrs. Stockman of Ichang. Mr. and Mrs. Symons of Shanghai. Taotai -J. C. Tong of Shanghai. Taotai S. T. Tsêng of Nanking. Mr. James -Tsong of Wuchang. Mr. and Mrs. Turley of Mukden. Bishop Turner of -Korea. Mr. and Mrs. Upward of Hankow. Dean and Mrs. Walker of -Shanghai. Miss Wambold of Seoul. Consul-General Sir Pelham and Miss -Warren of Shanghai. Mr. Warren of Changsha. Mr. Watson of Mukden. -Dr. and Mrs. Weir of Chemulpo. Dr. and Mrs. Wells of Pyeng-Yang. -Consul and Mrs. Willis of Mukden. Mr. and Mrs. Wilson of Changsha. -Mr. Yih-Ming-Tsah of Shanghai. Père Recteur of Ziccawei, Shanghai, and -many others. - -{vi} - -The following books were consulted:-- - -Among the Mongols: by James Gilmour, M.A. Annuaire Calendrière pour -1909. Appeal, An: by H. E. T'ang-K'ai-Sun. Buddhism in China: by Rev. -S. Beal. Catholic Church in China, The: by Rev. Bertram Wolferstan, -S.J. Catholic Encyclopædia of Missions. Century of Missions in China: -by D. MacGillivray. China and the Allies: by A. Henry Savage Landor. -China in Transformation: by A. R. Colquhoun. China's Book of Martyrs: -by Luella Miner. China's Only Hope: an Appeal by her greatest Viceroy, -Chang-Chih-Tung. Chin-Chin: by Tcheng-Ki-Tong. Chinese -Characteristics: by Dr. Arthur Smith. Chinese Classics, The: Legge's -Translation. Chinese Empire, The: by Marshall Broomhall. Chinese -Shi-King: by Jennings. Chinese, The: by J. S. Thomson. Development of -Religion in Japan: by Knox. Diplomatic and Consular Reports, -1905-1908. Early Chinese History: by H. J. Allen. Educational -Conquest of the Far East, The: by Lewis. Education in the Far East: by -Thwing. Embassy to China: by Lord M'Cartney. Four Books, The: -Anonymous. Griffith John: by R. Wardlaw Thompson. John Chinaman: by -E. H. Parker. History of China, The: by Boulger. Indiscreet Letters -from Peking: by Putnam Weale. Les Missions Catholiques Françaises aux -XIX. Siècle: by Père J. B. Piolet, S.J. Life and Works of Mencius: by -Legge. Martyred Missionaries of the China Inland Mission, edited by -Marshall Broomhall. Mission in China, A: by Soothill. Mission Methods -in Manchuria: by John Ross, D.D. New China and Old: by Archdeacon -Moule. Original Religion of China: by John Ross, D.D. Pastor Hsi: by -Mrs. Taylor. Railway Enterprise in China: by P. H. Kent. Religions in -China: by Edkins. Religious System of China: by J. J. M. de Groot, -vol. v. Sidelights on Chinese Life: by MacGowan. Taoist Tests. -Things Chinese: by J. Dyer Ball. Troubles de Chine, Les: par Raoul -Allier. Uplift of China, The: by Arthur Smith. - - - - -{vii} - -CONTENTS - - -CHINA IN TRANSITION - -CHAP. PAGE - - I. WHAT HAS AWAKENED CHINA? . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 - II. WHAT CHINA MEANS TO THE WORLD . . . . . . . . . . 20 - III. ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 - IV. FOREIGN RELATIONS OF CHINA . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 - V. CHINESE CIVILISATION--ITS WEAK SIDE . . . . . . . 56 - VI. CHINESE CIVILISATION--ITS GOOD SIDE . . . . . . . 70 - VII. RAILWAYS AND RIVERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 - VIII. THE CITIES OF CHINA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 - IX. OPIUM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 - X. THE WOMEN'S QUESTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 - XI. CHINESE ARCHITECTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137 - - -RELIGIONS OF CHINA AND THE MISSIONARY - - XII. RELIGIONS IN CHINA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147 - XIII. CONFUCIAN PHILOSOPHY AND WESTERN CULTURE . . . . . 163 - XIV. INTERVIEW AT NANKING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 - XV. ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONS IN CHINA . . . . . . . . . 183 - XVI. OTHER MISSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 - XVII. THE EFFECT OF WESTERN LITERATURE IN CHINA . . . . 207 - XVIII. MEDICAL MISSIONS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 220 - XIX. MOVEMENT IN KOREA AND MANCHURIA . . . . . . . . . 232 - XX. THE FUTURE OF CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA . . . . . . . 242 - - -THE NEW AND THE OLD LEARNING - - XXI. EDUCATION, CHIEFLY MISSIONARY . . . . . . . . . . 253 - XXII. GOVERNMENT EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . 266 - XXIII. THE SAME IN PRACTICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 279 - XXIV. DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF EDUCATION . . . . . . . 293 - XXV. THE NEED OF A UNIVERSITY EXPLAINED . . . . . . . . 305 - XXVI. THE NEED OF A UNIVERSITY EXPLAINED (continued) . . 317 - XXVII. CONCLUSION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 325 - - -APPENDIX - -WILL RUSSIA BE REPRESENTED ON THE MISSION FIELD? . . . . . 329 - -INDEX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 - - - - -{3} - -CHINA IN TRANSITION - - - - -CHAPTER I - -WHAT HAS AWAKENED CHINA? - -For centuries China has been the land that never moved. It had a -political history full of wars and bloodshed, of intrigue and murder; -periods of prosperity and enlightenment; periods of darkness and -desolation; but the country remained essentially the same country. -There might be some small alteration in its customs, but China was -distinctly unprogressive. And everybody who knew China ten or fifteen -years ago was prepared to prophesy that it would continue to remain -unprogressive. - -Many a missionary speaks of the China that he used to know as a very -different land from the China of to-day. It used to be a sort of Rip -Van Winkle land that had slept a thousand years, and showed every sign -of remaining asleep for another thousand. Mrs. Arnold Foster told us -that when she first came to Wuchang she used to see the soldiers -dressed mediævally, learning to make faces to inspire terror in the -hearts of the adversary. Monseigneur Jarlin, the head of the French -mission in Peking, described the China of olden times by saying that in -his young days all Chinamen had a rooted contempt for everything -Western. Theirs was the {4} only civilised land. The West was the -land of barbarism. Now, he added, the positions are reversed; every -Chinaman despises China, and is convinced that from the West comes the -light of civilisation. Arch-deacon Moule tells how he sailed out to -China in a sailing ship, and found a land absolutely indifferent to the -existence of the West--more ignorant of the West than the West was of -the East, and that, when he was young, was saying a great deal; and now -he finds himself in a land that has telephones and motor cars and takes -an active interest in flying machines. - -China has fundamentally altered. She used to be absolutely the most -conservative land in the world. Now she is a land which is seeing so -many radical changes, that a missionary said, when I asked him a -question about China, "You must not rely on me, for I left China three -months ago, so that what I say may be out of date." - -China is now progressive; yes, young China believes intensely in -progress, with an optimistic spirit which reminds the onlooker more of -the French pre-Revolution spirit than of anything else. And this -intense belief in progress shows itself at every turn; the Yamen runner -has become a policeman, towns are having the benefit of water-works, -schools are being opened everywhere, railways cover the land. One may -well ask what has accomplished this change, what has awakened China? - -Perhaps, like many other great events in history, {5} this change of -opinion in China should be attributed to more than one cause. There -are two chief causes. One may be small, but it is not insignificant; -the other is certainly great and obvious. The less appreciated factor -that is causing the regeneration of China is Christianity; the larger -and more obvious factor is the new national movement. - -The cause of the new national movement was the sense of humiliation -brought about by political events culminating in the battle of Mukden, -where a flagrant act of insolent contempt for the laws of neutrality -was felt all the more deeply because China had to submit to that which -she was powerless to resist. - -The events of the last few years are so well known that I must ask the -indulgence of the reader in recapitulating them. China, confident in -the number of her people, which reached to a quarter of the world's -population, attempted to assert her rights of suzerainty over Korea -against Japan. She had not realised then that Japan was no longer an -Eastern power, where knights with two-handed swords did deeds of valour -and won for themselves everlasting renown. And when at Ping-yang the -armies met, the Chinese General ascended a hill that he might direct -the armies of the Celestial Empire with a fan. He conceived the battle -to be merely a small affair, where a fan could be seen by all the -officers engaged. The result was, of course, that the German-trained -Japanese army had a very easy victory. The war ended in the taking of -Port Arthur by the Japanese, {6} and China was in the humiliating -position of having to appeal to Western countries to secure her -territory. - -So far, however, the sting of her humiliation gave to China a sense of -resentment against all foreigners, rather than a sense of repentance -for her own shortcomings, and the missionaries found hostility to their -work in every part of China. That hostility resulted in the murder of -two German Roman Catholic missionaries in Shantung. The well-known -action of Germany in demanding a cession of territory as a punishment -for this murder may have been a good stroke of policy, but it has -brought but little honour either to Germany or to Christianity. In -fact it may be regarded as a most regrettable action from a missionary -point of view, for it convinced the Chinese that the missionary was but -a part of the civil administration of a hostile country, and that if -China was to be preserved from the foreigner, missionaries must be -induced to leave the country. A deep feeling of national resentment -spread over the land, which was encouraged by some in authority. The -direct connection between Government patronage of the anti-foreign -movement and the German occupation of Kiauchau can be deduced from the -fact that the Governor who was responsible for the awful murders in -Shansi had been Governor of Shantung when Germany took Kiauchau. - -The result of this bitter feeling was the creation of a secret and -patriotic society which concealed the nature of its propaganda under a -name with a double {7} meaning. The Boxer Society was, as its name -suggests, apparently an athletic society--a society which had for its -object the encouragement of the art of self-defence. But the name had -another signification. Its real object, as a Chinaman explained to me, -was to "knock the heads of the foreigners off." It was a religious as -well as a political movement, however. It had its prophets, who did -wonders or were thought to do them, and its disciples were believed to -be invulnerable to any Western weapon. It protested against the -movement towards Western ideas, which it regarded as immoral; it -condemned and destroyed everything Western, from straw hats and -cigarettes to mission houses and railways; its disciples believed that -the spirits that defend China were angry at the introduction of Western -things, that they were withholding the rain so necessary to the light -loess land of that district, and that the only way they could be -propitiated was by the sacrifice of a Western life or by the -destruction of a Western building. One of the things that precipitated -the siege of Peking was the apparent success of such an action. In -pursuance of their faith, the Boxers set a light to the rail-head -station of the half-made Hankow-Peking railway, a place called -Pao-ting-fu; the station was a mere wooden barrack, and blazed up -merrily with an imposing column of smoke; hardly had the smoke reached -the heavens, when the sky was overcast with heavy thunder-clouds, and -in a short time the thirsty land received the long-wished-for rain, and -the Boxer {8} prophets pointed with sinister effect to the heavenly -confirmation of their doctrine. - -It is necessary to remind the reader of the religious aspect of -Boxerdom, so that he shall realise what its fall meant to many Chinese. -Really their faith in it was wonderful. A Boxer, for instance, at the -siege of Peking walked composedly in front of the Legation, waving his -sword and performing mystic signs; the soldiers first of one then of -another Legation fired on him with no effect; probably his coolness put -out their aim. Another example of their credulity was told me at -Newchwang. The Russians had occupied Newchwang, and, _more suo_, were -pacifying it; they were shooting all the Boxers on whom they could lay -hands, and, I am afraid, a great number who were not Boxers. They -chained one of these fanatics to a stone seat with the intention of -executing him; but they thought they might get some useful information -out of him, so they asked an Englishman who spoke Chinese perfectly to -make inquiries of him, giving him authority to offer a respite as a -reward. He went to the prisoner, and sitting down by him, tried to -induce him to save his life by giving information, but he was met by a -contemptuous refusal; and when he pointed out that the firing party was -there, the misguided man merely said, "I am a Boxer, and their bullets -cannot hurt me." Another minute, of course, proved his error. But his -firmness showed the reality of his conviction. - -Sometimes this fanaticism had curious results. {9} A Boxer prophet -assured the village that no works of the West could hurt him, no bullet -could harm him, no train could crush him. As a railway ran near the -village, he and all the inhabitants adjourned thither to put his -invulnerability to the test. The daily train came puffing along, as -the Boxer, waving his sword, stood right in its path. The driver was a -European, and seeing some one on the line, pulled up his train to avoid -running over him. The Boxer pointed to the train triumphantly, and the -astonished villagers became Boxers. There was, however, a sceptic who -refused to believe, so next day they repaired again to the line, and -the Boxer again made his passes and uttered his charms. Alas for him! -this time the driver was a Chinaman, and he was not going to stop his -master's train because a coolie fellow got in the way, so he put on -full steam and cut him to pieces, and the village deserted the Boxer -faith to a man. - -With the relief of Peking, the Boxer Society fell; but the popular view -was not that Boxer teaching was false, but that the spirits behind -Western religion were stronger than those behind Boxerdom. So one of -the immediate results of the fall of the Boxers was to establish the -spiritual prestige of Christianity; the second result was to inspire -the Chinese with a respect for the military power of the foreigner. -The Boxers had failed, the foreign powers had taken Peking, the Son of -Heaven had become a fugitive; all this was gall and {10} wormwood to -the Chinaman. The sack of Peking was especially felt, both because of -the wanton destruction that was committed--one informant told me he saw -a vase worth £200 smashed into a thousand atoms by a drunken -soldier--and because the enlightened Chinese knew very well that no -civilised city is sacked at the present time, and that they were being -treated as no other race is now treated. - -Yet the old spirit of pride prevented them learning completely the full -truth. The thinking Chinaman was still disposed to attribute the -victory of the West to the superior fighting powers of Western men. A -Chinese gentleman, explaining the fear his people have of Europeans, -said, "They regard you as tigers." The troops who sacked Peking were -to the thinking Chinaman but another example of the well-known truth, -that those nearer the savage state fight better than civilised men, and -really, considering the behaviour of some of the European troops, no -surprise can be felt at this conclusion; it needed another lesson to -make them finally and thoroughly realise the superiority of our -civilisation. - -The bitterness of their next humiliation made them ready to learn as -they had never been before in the whole of their history, and events -provided them with teachers who taught them that the cause of this -humiliation was their refusal to accept Western ideas, and that if they -would maintain {11} their independence they must learn the art of war -from their conquerors. - -After the siege of Peking came the Russo-Japanese war. The Russians -had long been known and feared by the Chinese; they were to the Chinese -mind the embodiment of the warlike and blood-thirsty spirit of the -West; they were hated for their cruelty and feared for their prowess. -The awful story of the massacre of Blagovestchensk in 1900 was still -present to the popular mind. The story was this. The Amur divides -China from Siberia. When the Boxer movement broke out the Russians -required all the Chinese to go to their side of the river; but with -sinister intent, they removed all the boats, so that no one could -cross. The Chinese pointed this out, and the respectable merchants of -the town presented a petition saying they were ready to obey the -Russian Government in everything, but without the boats they could not -do so; but the Russians insisted that boats or no boats, they must -cross the Amur; they protested, but in vain; a half-circle was formed -round them by the soldiery, and the whole Chinese population of the -city was driven into the river at the point of the bayonet. - -The Japanese were also well known to the Chinese; they had been till -lately, when the Western movement had altered everything in Japan, -their pupils in civilisation. The Japanese believed in Confucius, used -Chinese characters, worshipped in Buddhist temples, sacrificed to -ancestors, in fact {12} were in Chinese estimation a civilised race, -though inferior of course to themselves. - -When these two antagonists met in Manchuria, the war could not fail to -make a deep impression on China. To begin with, it was an insult -surpassing that of the sack of Peking to the Chinese _amour propre_, to -have the war carried on in Manchuria. Russia and Japan were disputing -over Korea, and both nations were at peace with China. Russia might -have invaded Japan; Japan might have invaded Russia, or both might have -met in Korea, but what they did was to select a province of a neutral -State and decide that there should be the scene of conflict. What made -this more striking was that they agreed to respect the neutrality of -the rest of China; in fact they selected their battle-ground with the -same equanimity as if China and her national rights did not exist. - -But the deepest impression made on the Chinese was by the victory of -the Eastern over the Western. The Japanese demonstrated that there was -no essential inferiority of the East to the West, and that when an -Eastern race adopted Western military methods it proved itself superior -to the most powerful of the Western races. This was the lesson the -battle of Mukden taught the Chinese, and which convinced the -anti-foreign party in China, that however much they might hate the -foreigner, they must adopt Western methods if they would retain their -independence. The result was that the progressive and {13} -anti-foreign parties found themselves at one. Both agreed that Western -ideas were necessary. The first, because they believed in Western -progress; the second, because they felt that the only way to preserve -China from the hated foreigner was to learn the secret of his military -power. The first thing to be done was to study Western education, and -then they could hope to hold their own against the Western races, as -Japan had more than held her own against the Russians. - -I believe the battle of Mukden will prove one of the turning points in -the history of the world. Few of us have any conception of the -bitterness of the humiliation of China. People speak of Russia as -having been humiliated, but my experience is that the Russians looked -at the whole question as a colonial war in which a bungling Government -embroiled their country--a war which, if it demonstrated the incapacity -of their officers, proved the courage of their soldiers. But the -humiliation of China was intense. When one remembers the position that -the Emperor occupies in China; when one also remembers the reverential -feeling that exists towards ancestors, one realises what it must have -meant to the Chinaman that the site of the tombs of their Emperors -should have been the scene of that titanic struggle between the East -and the West. But the result of that humiliation was to burn in the -lesson that Japan had taken the right course, and that, however hateful -were {14} Western ways, they were a necessity, and that every lover of -China must do his best to introduce them into the Empire. - -Of course there are many Chinamen--nay, I should think a vast -majority--who intend to preserve to China the essential points of the -Confucian civilisation; they mean to accept Western ideas only in so -far as they are necessary to struggle against the West. Some, no -doubt, definitely admire the West, but most are anxious for a -compromise; they want to preserve China with its customs, with its -essential thought, but to strengthen it by foreign knowledge and a -foreign military system. The exact degree of what should be preserved -in China and what should be destroyed and replaced by Western -innovations, differs according to the age and the temperament of the -thinkers, but the principle is most generally accepted--Western thought -must be grafted on to Eastern civilisation. When we remember the size -of China, we may well ask ourselves what effect this policy will have -on the rest of the world. We have at present a period of reflection, -for how long we cannot tell. The task of welding East and West into -one whole is in practice proving difficult, and at present failure is -very often the result; but with Japan as a successful example, and with -the threat of national extinction and foreign domination before them, -the Chinese can never give up the effort; and whatever the exact result -may be, I think one may assert {15} without rashness that not only will -it fundamentally alter the whole of China, but through China affect the -whole world. - -While detailing the causes which have created the national movement -which is now inducing China to make every effort to perfect her -defences against foreign aggressions, we must not forget that the -awakening of China has a higher side, and one which we can attribute -directly and indirectly to Christianity. The influence of Christianity -can be traced back to the seventh century when missions of Nestorian -Christians came to Thibet and China; they left behind them, it is true, -no converts, but their influence was probably felt through the power -that Lamaism had had over a great part of the Eastern world. A learned -Japanese, discussing this subject, said that no one could study Lamaism -and Buddhism without realising how intimately it had been in touch with -some form of Christianity. Later on the great Roman Catholic missions, -initiated by St. Francis Xavier in the thirteenth century, began to -work in China, and have slowly but surely raised up a large population -who have been Christians for many generations. Their missions were -interrupted by persecutions, but with varying and lately increasing -success they have maintained themselves ever since. In 1807 the -pioneer of Protestant missions, Dr. Morrison, began his work and the -translation of the Bible into Chinese. The work increased, his mission -was followed by other missions, which pursued {16} a policy even more -influential in altering the opinion of China; not only did they with -great heroism preach the Gospel in every province of China, but they -took two actions which have affected China in a very special degree. - -First the American missions made the very greatest effort to get hold -of intelligent Chinese men, both Christian and non-Christian, to teach -them Western knowledge, so that they might understand how intimately -Christianity was connected with Christian thought. The result of their -efforts has been that there are a considerable number of enlightened -Chinese gentry who are either Christians or who have a great sympathy -with the Christian side of Western civilisation. Sometimes they -educated these men in China, sometimes they induced them to go to -America for their education; and there they were brought into contact -with the intense, yet rather narrow, New England Christianity. I had -the honour of meeting many of these men in China, and I was convinced -that they have no small part in her awakening. - -The English and American missionaries, under the leadership of Dr. -Williamson, inaugurated a second policy, which has had far-reaching -results in causing the changes in China. The Christian Literature -Society was started to supply the Chinese with translations of the best -Western literature. They were followed by Chinese imitators who were -also Christians, and who founded a Chinese Commercial {17} Press. -These two bodies have given to China a vast amount of Western -literature, the first on philanthropic lines with the definite -intention of spreading Christianity, the second on a commercial basis -but with the intention of presenting to their fellow-countrymen the -purer and more beautiful side of Western thought. The publications of -these two bodies reach, I am told, to every educated man in China. If -the humiliations of public events made the Chinese willing to study -Western civilisation, it was these men who afforded them the means of -studying and understanding the best side of that civilisation. - -But perhaps those who have done most to give the Chinese a proper -conception of Christianity are the Bible Societies, especially the -British and Foreign Bible Society. Ever since, with the optimism of -faith, the translation of the Scriptures by Dr. Morrison was published -in 1814, they have been scattering the Christian Scriptures throughout -the whole of China, from Mongolia to Tonkin, and I am told that those -Scriptures are read by men in the highest positions and with the most -conservative antecedents in the whole empire. It cannot be doubted -that the indirect fruit of their work has been very great indeed. -China has, through the agencies of these bodies, been brought into -close contact with Christian thought, and has at last realised the true -nature of our religion. - -Lastly, there has been the influence of those who {18} died for the -Christian faith during the many persecutions to which Christianity has -been exposed, and which culminated in the Boxer persecution. If -Germany, by her action in Shantung, put before China a false and most -repellent view of Christianity, the heroic sufferings of the martyred -missionaries, both yellow and white, presented Christianity to a -wondering world in its purest aspect. After those thousands of -Christians had suffered in Shan-si, the Home bodies, especially the -China Inland Mission, refused to take any compensation for the blood -that had been shed in the cause of the Gospel. The Chinese were then -convinced that the German presentation of Christianity was not the only -one; if Germany could look on Christianity only as a stalking horse -behind which she could creep up to her prey, the English-speaking races -had a holier ideal to teach and one which was more consonant with the -words of the Founder of our religion. The sufferings of the Christians -were intense, their heroism was great, but the result has been -commensurate with their efforts, and an awakening China looks to our -countries, not solely to teach her the art of war and of killing men, -but also to teach her the great thoughts and the great religion which -has before her very eyes proved capable of producing such noble men and -women. - -The awakening of China has two aspects. From one aspect China is -awakening to the value of the science and the arts of the West; from -the other {19} China is awakening to the fact that there is in the West -a power which comes from goodness, and that goodness has its root in -Christian faith. It is this twofold aspect of the awakening of China -which is so important to bear in mind, for if she is to share in our -civilisation in the future, it is both our duty and our interest to see -that this great world-movement is encouraged to develop on its higher -side. - - - - -{20} - -CHAPTER II - -WHAT CHINA MEANS TO THE WORLD - -The day is past when any one in Europe, whether Christian or -non-Christian, can be indifferent to what is happening in China. The -Christian has indeed been for a long time alive to the importance of -these developments, but the ordinary citizen with no strong religious -views has usually neither displayed nor felt any interest in a country -separated from us by so many miles and by such an untraversable gulf in -thought and language. If the Christian has urged the importance of -Chinese missions, his neighbours have answered by asking him why he -cannot leave the Chinese to themselves and to their own religion. -Whatever justice the opponent of missions in times past may have -thought he had for this view, he cannot now maintain that the Chinese -question is one which may be put on one side by any thoughtful man. -The movements of this vast mass of humanity, amounting to a quarter of -the population of the world, cannot but fail to have a very real and -vital effect on the whole civilised world. - -The revolution that is affecting China brings Europe and America into -close contact with a {21} country equal to Europe in size, and not far -inferior in productive power. A few years ago China was so far away -that except as an outlet for trade it had little interest for people -here. The voyage occupied many months and was esteemed a hazardous -journey, owing to the dangerous coasts and typhoons of the China seas. -Now a train-de-luxe conveys the traveller in a fortnight across Asia to -Peking, and if the accommodation on the Chinese part of the railway is -not altogether luxurious, the traveller remembers that it is far -superior to that on the first railways opened in our own land. The -journey is of course tedious, but the fact that business men in the -north of China are talking of always spending their summer holidays in -England, will show how close China is now to Europe. It is no -exaggeration to say that in reckoning distance by the time it takes to -complete the journey, China is nearer to England than London was to -Scotland in the days of Dr. Johnson, while in point of comfort and -convenience there is no comparison. The journey from London to Peking -is far easier at the present day than the journey from London to -Edinburgh in the days of Johnson's famous trip to the Hebrides. - -If in this way we are getting closer to China, we are still more -growing closer in thought. No longer can we speak of a gulf that -separates us from China. Every year English is becoming more and more -the language of educated men in {22} East; even though we cannot read -their books, they are reading ours either in translations or in the -original. Japan has set the example of having English taught -universally in her high schools, and now China is following her -example. A foreigner, talking about Esperanto, remarked: "What would -be the use of making an universal language? English, at any rate in -the East, is the universal language." That barbarous patois, "pidgin" -or business English, lives still in China. It consists of English -roots, enlarged by the addition of Portuguese words, put into Chinese -idiom and pronounced Chinese fashion. But "pidgin" English is fast -giving way to pure English, spoken most commonly with a marked American -accent. - -If this growing proximity of China compels the attention of the -civilised world, the virgin wealth of her mineral resources and the -cheapness of her labour have excited the cupidity of the Western -capitalist, and it is daily more obvious that China must become the -centre of international politics, therefore the extent to which she -will affect the rest of the world should be a matter for careful -consideration. India, it will be urged, has long been in contact with -Europe, and the effect on Europe is small. Why should there be any -difference when another Oriental race comes in close proximity with -Europe? Putting on one side the fact that India has, both in trade and -in politics, had a very great effect on England, it can be answered -that there is an essential difference between the {23} brown -inhabitants of India and the yellow race. The former are, through -religion or custom, unable to accommodate themselves to the conditions -of Western civilisation; the latter have shown themselves such adepts -at accepting Western life that they have excelled the white man, to his -great annoyance, in his own civilisation. The Chinaman, who is -forbidden to enter America, Australia, and South Africa, is refused -admittance, not because he has been untried or because he has been -tried and found wanting, but because he has been tried in the three -continents and found by all who have tried him eminently efficient--so -efficient that if he were allowed to continue in those countries, he -would soon render the presence of the white settler unnecessary. He -has been tried in three just balances and been found of such value that -the white voter is unanimous in demanding his exclusion. But even the -most aggressive Chinese exclusionist can scarcely hope to exclude him -from his own country, and the Chinaman who stays at home is probably a -better man than the Chinaman who goes abroad. - -Western civilisation may be expected to grow with equal rapidity in -China as it has in Japan. Obviously Japan is the precedent that China -will follow rather than India, whether Hindu or Mohammedan. - -A few years ago a man would have been classed as an eccentric who dared -foretell that Russia would be defeated by Japan. When Japan talked -about going to war with Russia, Russia laughed. Who {24} can tell how -we shall speak of China a few years hence? For Japan after all is only -the same size in population as Great Britain, but China is eight times -as large. - -There are three ways in which China may affect Europe. Militarily, she -may menace her by her enormous armies enlisted from her vast -population. Commercially, she may afford an outlet for our trade far -greater than we possess at the present time, and perhaps be a -competitor in trade and a place where the capital of Europe will be -invested. Morally, she may either depress or elevate our social -morals. Perhaps the reader may be inclined to smile at the idea of -China being in a higher moral condition than Europe, so as to be able -to react on her beneficially, but stranger things have happened; and if -Europe follows the example of France in deterioration, and China -continues to advance with the same rapidity, China might easily excel -Europe in morals. - -Let us first deal with the question from the military point of view. -The military authorities who know the Chinese seem to be equally -divided in opinion; many are confident that they are an unwarlike race, -others maintain and bring evidence to prove that under competent -officers they have great military qualities. - -A few years ago, for instance, the development of the military power of -China was regarded as a possible danger to the world, and especially to -England or Russia. It was pointed out that China might easily {25} -descend with a huge army on to India in the distant future, or she -might turn her arms northward and conquer the wide districts of -Siberia. Now the popular view is the reverse, and the military power -of China is regarded as a thing incapable of great development. A -Japanese diplomatist with whom we discussed the question ridiculed the -idea of the yellow peril and smiled at the suggestion that China could -ever be a nation great in war. Certainly her present military power -can be safely ignored except in Manchuria; whether that power is -capable of development is a moot point. Believers in the war-like -possibilities of China point out that as a matter of fact China is by -right of conquest suzerain to such warlike races as the Tibetans and -the Ghurkas, and that her empire reaches as far as Turkestan. In -answer it is urged that the victors were not the Chinese, but the -conquerors and present rulers of the Chinese, the northern Manchus; -who, till they were absorbed by Chinese civilisation, spoke a different -language and wrote a different character. - -The Manchus are far from being extinct, though through years of sensual -indulgence they have lost their virility; but the discipline of -religion or the call of a national emergency might restore the war-like -qualities of the race. It was only in 1792 that the Chinese, under -Sund Fo, defeated the Ghurkas, and we must allow that a race who could -defeat these gallant soldiers must be skilled and brave in war. On the -other hand I was assured that the Manchus, {26} so far from showing any -courage in the war with Japan, were the first to flee, and that they -differ in nothing from the Chinese except that they are pensioners and -ride horses. Those who disbelieve in the courage of the Chinese say -the Chinese never had any courage except of a passive order; that they -would endure suffering against any race on earth, and that their whole -history tells that tale; that they have been subject in turn to the -Mongols, the Kins, and the Manchus; and that the period of the Ming -dynasty when they were free, was only because the Mongols had reduced -every nation within many thousands of miles to subjection, and then -they themselves had fallen a prey, not to the Chinese arms directly, -but to the enervating and destructive effects of Chinese civilisation -which rendered them absolutely unable to fight. - -Those who argue in this way point to that great feature of Chinese -scenery, the fortified wall. That Great Wall of China, climbing hill -and dale, was built to keep the northern and warlike tribes from -harrying the peace-loving and industrious Chinaman. Behind that wall -lie nothing but fortress after fortress; every city is walled, and -those walls tell their own tale. A warlike race never dwells in walled -cities. When the traveller enters Japan after visiting China, the -first thing which strikes him is the absence of walled cities. The -villages and towns lie along the roads as they do in our own country -instead of clustering behind the tall and gloomy walls of China. {27} -Again, those who say the Chinese will never fight, point out that they -have never been able to reduce two savage races right in their midst, -the Maios and Lolos. One devoted missionary who had spent many years -of his life in the thankless task of attempting to approach these -savage Lolos, gave us an interesting account of the relation between -the Lolos and the Chinese which certainly does not show that the -Chinese have much military skill. The Lolos are a sort of Highland -caterans who live in the mountains in the west of China, and from time -to time raid the peace-loving Chinese villages. The Chinese then -retaliate by organising a large force, who advance on the Lolo country -and burn their villages. The Lolos rarely offer any direct resistance, -as they realise they are hopelessly outnumbered, but take an -opportunity to raid another village and to slaughter hundreds of -defenceless Chinese. If the forces are anything like equal, the Lolos -will fight, and even sometimes when the forces are wholly unequal. On -one occasion seven Lolos and two women put to flight three hundred -Chinese soldiers, killing forty and wounding many more. The Chinese -consequently live in considerable fear of those Highland barbarians, -whose fierce yells and savage onslaught produce absolute panic in their -troops. - -Officers who have commanded Chinese troops seem generally to believe in -their capabilities. Gordon, for instance, spoke in the highest terms -of the soldiers who formed his "ever victorious army," and the {28} -English officers who commanded the Weihaiwei regiment and those who -commanded the Chinese volunteers at the siege of Peking spoke equally -well of their men. It is reported that the Chinese soldiers at the -siege of Tientsin would carry the wounded back out of the range of fire -when no European soldiers could be found ready to perform this -dangerous task, but of this story I could find no first-hand -confirmation. But whether the Chinese in times to come will develop an -efficient army or whether they do not, the most competent judges affirm -that Chinese military greatness will always make for peace; that they -will never wage a war of aggression; and that, so far from being a -menace to the world, they will prove to be a security for the world's -peace in the Far East. In fact it is the continuance of China's -military weakness rather than the growth of her military power which is -most likely to disturb the political atmosphere. China is far too rich -a prize to be safe if unguarded, and the acquisition of her wealth will -always prove a temptation to her needy neighbours. - -The integrity of the Chinese empire is for many reasons a most -desirable thing, and that integrity can best be maintained by an -increase of China's military power. - -One of the reasons why this is so much to be desired is from the -commercial effect which China may have on the rest of the world. If -the vast masses of her singularly excellent workmen are to be exploited -by powers who have no thought for either {29} hers or the world's -welfare; if the sweated den of the alien is a menace to the healthy -conditions of the working man in London; if the policy of such -philanthropists as Lord Shaftesbury has been at all beneficial to the -world at large, the sudden introduction of hundreds of thousands of -ill-paid but efficient working men to the great Western market will -have a deleterious effect on the social conditions of the civilised -world. It is obviously far more simple to bring the factories to China -than to bring the Chinaman to the factories, and this will be freely -done if ever the flag of the foreigner waves over China. The great -advantages that China can offer of cheap labour, cheap coal and cheap -carriage, coupled with the security of a European flag, will have the -effect of attracting to China a very large number of the world's -industries. If this is done gradually, so that the internal market in -China increases proportionally, this will not result in any evil to -other nations. China will share in the wealth of the world, and will -be at once a large producer and a large consumer; but if before Western -civilisation has been assimilated by the working classes Western -factories are extensively started in China the result will be one of -those dislocations of social conditions which we include under the name -of sweating. - -Western conditions of labour in Western countries may be deemed by some -to be hard, but no one can doubt that if Western conditions of labour -were forced on a population which did not understand them, they {30} -would have a tendency to become definitely oppressive. The Chinese -coolie will, I fear, be as little able to maintain his ground against -the foreign contractor supported by the arms of a foreign power, as the -Congo native is to maintain his rights against his Belgian oppressor; -and unless Western powers have the humanity and wisdom to resist those -of their own nations who will clamour to make money out of Chinese -labour, Western dominance in China is not to be desired by Western -wage-earners. - -[Illustration: HANKOW, THE CHICAGO OF CHINA. RIVER AT LOW WATER, 600 -MILES FROM THE SEA. HAN-YANG IRONWORKS] - -One of the most impressive sights in China is the Han-yang Ironworks. -They employ three thousand men, and are owned by a body of Chinese -capitalists. They have found it worth while to triple their plant -within the last two or three years, and one can hardly wonder when one -realises that, though the labourers are paid a very high rate according -to Chinese scale, they only get sixpence a day, and even allowing that -it requires three Chinamen to do the work of one Englishman, which is a -higher proportion than is generally claimed, obviously there is a very -large margin of profit to be made by the owners of the works. It is -worthy of note that the Chinese have been unable at present to produce -any native engineers; sixteen Europeans of various nationalities manage -and control the works, though they are owned by Chinese, but the -skilled work is all done by Chinese. For instance, we saw a man -straightening the rails with a steam hammer; it was very skilled work, -and I was told he was making 7d. or {31} 8d. a day. If any social -reformer, if any one interested in the condition of the working -classes, has time to consider this question and to escape from that -parochial mind which so distorts the importance of things, he will see -that the conditions of the working classes in Europe will depend to a -greater degree on the proper development of the social conditions of -China than on any factor at home. To put it briefly, if the fourth of -the labour of this world is living under sweating conditions, the other -three-fourths may consider themselves lucky if their income is not cut -down by 25 per cent. - -On the other hand, if the development of China is allowed to pursue its -normal course, and education and enlightenment are encouraged to -proceed by equal steps with material well-being, the commercial -conditions of China, so far from being injurious, will prove beneficial -to the world at large. The internal market, for one thing, will tend -to keep pace with China's productions. If China exports, she will also -import; the volume of trade will no doubt be enormously increased, and -that trade will bring prosperity to China and to those other countries -who are trading with her. Her people will gradually grow accustomed to -Western conditions, and, if China maintains her independence, those -conditions will not be allowed to become too onerous to the poorer -classes. The wealth of another country does not injure her neighbours; -it is rather her poverty which injures them. There is always the -danger that the poorer country {32} will drain the capital from the -richer country, and that a rich country becomes harsh to a poor country -in the same way that the creditor is harsh to the debtor; certainly it -would be most undesirable if a sudden industrial expansion in China -paralysed many industrial undertakings in England by depriving them of -the capital they needed for enlargement, and it would be equally -undesirable to have any industrial undertaking in China controlled by a -Board of Directors in London, whose one object was to increase their -dividends, and who were ignorant of and therefore indifferent to the -injury that might be incidentally done to the welfare of thousands of -Chinese who fell under their power. - -And this brings me to the third point of how China may affect the rest -of the world. She may, and most probably will, degrade the moral tone -of Europe. On the other hand, it will be quite possible that she may -act as a moral tonic. We scarcely realise the nature of the chains -that bind one part of our civilisation to another. To hear men talk, -one would suppose that the great factors in the government of mankind -are the laws and regulations made by kings and popular assemblies; but -a deeper inquiry must show that it is only the smaller part of a man's -life that is controlled by law, the greater part is controlled by -custom or fashion which is enforced, to use the technical term, by the -sanction of public opinion. Consider, for instance, the customs of -dress, or of manners, or the hours we keep, or the way we {33} refer to -things, or even our very thoughts--they are all subject to this power; -the State does not generally command any particular dress, yet there is -a large and increasing measure of uniformity in dress. You may go from -Asia to America, from Vancouver to Vladivostock, and you will see -uniformity in the rules of dress. This uniformity is all the more -remarkable, because its laws, instead of being fixed and stationary, -are constantly altered; indeed, in comparison with the power of -fashion, the powers of the greatest autocrat or of the most efficient -public office are as nothing. The autocrat may give an order; the -public office, with its endless clerks and forms, with its miles of -red-tape, may try to see that order carried out; but may quite possibly -fail. But fashion, issuing her capricious orders, has no office, no -clerks, no printed forms that have to be filled up to secure obedience, -yet her subjects yield such willing service that they seek for -information from every quarter as to the nature of her commands, and -when they know them, they count neither money nor comfort to be of -importance compared with obedience to their mistress. The world, while -it wonders at its own submission, enlarges or reduces its clothes, -alters its head-gear, and further, will even change its manners, its -speech, and its thoughts. The latest fashion-book is but the -exaggeration of a world-power; the same power that compels women to -tighten their skirts and widen their hats, makes their husbands talk -about socialism and observe Empire Day. The power of fashion lies in -{34} this, that while every one obeys, no one is conscious of any -difficulty in obeying; the chains with which fashion binds this world -may be so strong that the strongest nature cannot break them, yet they -are so light that the most sensitive natures are not conscious of their -restraint. - -But this great power of fashion has its limits, and those are the -limits of our civilisation. The mandate of the dressmaker may reach -from Siberia to Peru, but it has no power in Mohammedan, Hindu, or -Confucian lands; the Turkish lady still veils her face, the Hindu still -adheres to his caste, the Confucian up to this moment still preserves -his queue and his blue robe, but if China accepts our civilisation this -must change. The modern Chinaman dresses in Western fashion; the loose -flowing garment of China acts as a sort of barometer by which the -extent of European pressure can be tested; up-country they are as loose -as ever, but in Shanghai, wherever Chinese dress is still preserved, it -has grown tight. A change typical of what may happen if the union -between the civilisations takes place without any guidance may now be -seen in the streets of Shanghai; the dress of the women is shaped in -the Chinese fashion, they wear the traditional coat and trousers, but -the cut of those garments offends both East and West alike by their -great exiguity. - -Every one would allow that Western fashions, or, at any rate, men's -fashions, must to a great extent affect China, but there is a deeper -thought beyond; {35} Western fashions will not merely affect Chinese -dress, but they will also affect Chinese thought, and when they have -incorporated Chinese thought into Western civilisation, when the -conquest is complete and China and the West are one, a reaction will -take place, and that which has subdued China to the yoke of Western -fashion will give in its turn power to China to control the Western -world. Without suggesting for a moment that Peking fashions will take -the place of Paris fashions, or that the Englishman will grow a queue, -I do suggest that there are many precedents in history for expecting -that such a moral force as the Chinese reverence for parents, or such -an immoral position as the Chinese contempt for the working-man, will -not be without its effect on the Western world. Again and again it has -been pointed out by both missionary and Government official, that so -great is the power of China, that she brings into subjugation to her -thought any one who is long resident in her country. If it should -happen that the Western world should neglect the Chinaman when it has -the opportunity of teaching and directing him, longing as he is to -learn about Western civilisation, the punishment of the West will be -that she will, in years to come, be influenced for evil by the power of -the great Celestial Empire. If, on the other hand, the East should -turn towards Christianity, and, taught by Christianity, should learn to -live a higher life, the example of her faith and of her morality will -in years to come react beneficially on the Western world. - - - - -{36} - -CHAPTER III - -ORIENTAL AND OCCIDENTAL - -The West cannot either by right or through self-interest ignore the -problem that China has to solve. From being the most conservative -country in the world, she has become a country in which there is rapid -change. The whole civilisation of this vast country of 400,000,000 is -becoming fundamentally altered by the importation into it of ideas and -thoughts which are not native to her, and which have been created by a -system of religion and by a history belonging to nations very different -to herself. The full difficulty does not present itself till after -some thought. The problem is quite different from that which has been -before mankind in other parts of the world. China is trying to accept -Western civilisation, but there is a danger that it will be without -Christianity. I know that many Europeans living in Tientsin and -Shanghai, who give but little thought to the problems before them, -somewhat vaguely hope that in the near future China will become a -European nation; but a little consideration must convince everybody -that this is impossible. We have also already shown that China is -quite determined--in fact, she has no alternative--not to {37} remain -the old conservative country that lives on ancient traditions, that -looks back two thousand years for all teaching in the arts of -government. - -If China, therefore, is neither to become Western nor to remain what -she is, of necessity she will have to blend the two civilisations -together and to take a part from each. The Chinese themselves, with a -sanguineness for which they have no warrant, are quite certain that -this is an easy matter. They tell the inquirer that they have -considered it well, and that they see their way completely through it. -They intend to select from Europe only those things that are -advantageous to the race, and they expect to have no difficulty in -weaving these incongruous elements into their own very complete system -of thought. Statesmen seriously say that three or four months' extra -study will enable the educated Chinaman to learn all that is necessary -of Western civilisation, and then those who have acquired this -knowledge can return to China and teach their fellow-countrymen; and it -is impossible to convince the Chinese that the uniting together of two -different webs of thought is a matter of extreme difficulty, and, it -may be added, of extreme risk. The pleasing dream that you can -arbitrarily select the good points of West and East and weave them into -one is the very reverse of the truth. What naturally happens is the -very opposite. There is a tendency to preserve that which is bad and -not that which is good in two different systems of thought when they -are united into one. The reason {38} probably is that as the bad has -its common origin in the wickedness of human nature, it belongs to both -systems of thought, and therefore both the Chinaman and the Western -meet on common ground when they meet in vice or vileness. On the other -hand, the virtues of both are the result of moral cultivation resting -on authorities which are not recognised by either. Therefore the -tendency is to waive all moral obligations as resting on controverted -grounds. Whatever may be the cause, the result is obvious--the -Westernised Oriental, unless a Christian, is as a rule only one shade -better than the Orientalised Western. - -While the careless thinker hopes generally that good will come out of -the union of the two, he is as a rule terrified lest there should be -any tendency to mingle Western with Eastern thought in any one of whom -he is fond. A leading man at Tientsin, extolling the healthy climate -of the place, related how he had kept his children there ever since -they were born. His friend from home, ignorant of life in a Chinese -port, said in an appreciative way, "How nice it must be for your -children to be able to speak Chinese; I suppose you encourage them to -learn it?" The dweller in China turned on him in anger and said, -"Thank God, my children do not know one word of Chinese; I would send -them home to-morrow if I caught them learning a single sentence." This -enthusiasm for ignorance of the language of a great nation is -extraordinarily difficult to understand until the danger of the mixture -of Eastern and Western thought {39} is realised. Experience has taught -those who have lived in China that it is only a few that can come -unscathed through the terrible trial of having to live in two moral -atmospheres. - -One of the most striking books that has ever been written is -"Indiscreet Letters from Peking." The book is marvellous in the power -it has of bringing before the eyes of its reader those awful scenes -during the siege of Peking, but it is far more wonderful in the -character that it imputes to the hypothetical narrator--a character -typical of a man who is equally at home in England and in China; and in -that character is portrayed a true but curiously unpleasant picture of -the characteristics of both races. The narrator has the courage of a -lion; he is absolutely without any sense of honour. He fires at an -adversary under the flag of truce. He misuses a Manchu woman who in -the horrors of the sack throws herself on his mercy. He connives at -the breaking of a solemnly pledged word of honour by a soldier. The -character is not overdrawn; characters such as these are common in a -mixed world, and it is natural that English people should fear that -their children should grow up so unutterably vile. But if the -Englishman fears for his child, ought he to ignore the welfare of the -country in which he lives, and can we pass over this whole problem as -something that does not concern us; for what he fears for his child -will happen to the whole Chinese nation. - -The blending together of the East and the West {40} may be accomplished -with the ease which the Chinaman expects--but not in the way in which -he or anybody else could wish--it may be accomplished by the -eradication of all that is good in either race, on the common ground of -vice and sin and evil and cruelty; unless, indeed, the efforts of those -who are now labouring to weave together that which is good in both -civilisations are supported. The difficulty of preserving the good -points and high qualities of Chinese thought is only equalled by the -difficulty of introducing the splendid traditions of the West and -grafting them on to the Chinese stock. What success has followed the -efforts of those who are thus labouring is rather to be credited to the -intensity of their efforts, to their single-hearted purpose, to their -ready self-denial, than to the ease or simplicity of their task. - -No man of any feeling or any conscience could pass indifferently by a -single individual eating the berries of a deadly plant, unconscious -that they were poison. What shall be said, then, if we allow, not only -one individual but a fourth of the population of the world, to eat of a -deadly poison which must deprive them of all happiness and of life, -which must condemn them by millions to the misery of the very blackest -darkness, where the only motives known are selfishness, lust, pride, -and cruelty, for this is what certainly will happen to China if she -accepts the materialism of the West. - -Western thought is very powerful. The way it has dominated the forces -of nature gives it a great {41} prestige. As the Chinaman learns about -steam and electricity, about the telephone, the flying machine, radium, -and a thousand more Western inventions, he cannot fail to be impressed, -he must admit that these people have knowledge. Do not for a moment -imagine that, after such an illumination, he will be able to go back to -the works of Confucius and learn again the old maxims, many of which -are antipathetic to Western thought--yes, even more incongruous to -Western than they are to Christian thought. How will he, for instance, -read Confucius' condemnation of war when the Japanese and Germans and -Russians are shouting into his ears, "By war ye shall live and by war -alone." - -In an interview I had with that great statesman, Tong-Shao-Yi, he said, -"We respect Confucius because he has never taught any man to err." -Unlike the teaching of Christianity, Confucius preaches that the test -of truth is worldly success, and therefore by that test his preaching -will be tried and found wanting by the materialist. The materialist -will say, if Confucius never taught men to err, how is it that the -Western nations who are ignorant of his teaching have succeeded, and -that China, who outnumbers them greatly, and who after years of -education and training and of following faithfully his teaching, has -failed? How is it, they will ask, that she is so powerless, that were -it not for European jealousies she could not stand a day before the -least warlike of these Western nations? The Confucian {42} will -answer, "He taught us to despise war, and that is why we are weak." -The materialist will certainly retort, "So he has taught you to err." -Confucianism must fall before Western materialism. I do not speak of -Buddhism, for that is falling so quickly that its influence may be said -to be almost gone. China will be left stripped of religion, robbed of -her old ideas, and not clothed with new ones, wandering into all the -misery and humiliation that vice and sin can bring upon mankind, till -the curse of her millions in misery will go out against the harsh -unfeeling West, who could leave her thus blind and helpless without a -guide. - -The call is great. Those who have knowledge have no right to keep it -to themselves. The Christian and the Confucian agree in this, as they -do in much else, that all knowledge must be shared. One of the -purposes of this book is to arouse my readers to the importance of -taking some action. Had they had an opportunity of going to China and -seeing things for themselves, I would only have asked them to think; -but as there are many who have not had that opportunity, I would try -and show them the transitional condition through which China is -passing, the danger of that condition ending in disaster, a disaster -wide as the world itself. I hope to show them what is being done at -the present time to lead the Chinese empire into safe paths, and to -illuminate her with the highest knowledge of the West. Many efforts -have been made, and there has been much success. I {43} am glad to -testify publicly to the heroic and self-denying character of the -missions, but those who are most successful are those who frankly say -China can never be led by aliens. - -No race loves the alien, and the further away the alien is in blood and -language the less he is loved; therefore the Chinese above all races -are least fitted to be led by the European, as they differ from him in -most racial characteristics. If they are to be led by their own race, -their own race must be fit to lead them. They must have leaders who -understand the whole of Western knowledge, and will be able to take -what is true and leave what is false. A Japanese thinker said the -other day, "Our people have made a great mistake--they have taken the -false and left the true part of Western thought." Let us hope that -China may be preserved from such an error, that she may learn Western -knowledge so thoroughly and so well that she may be able to distinguish -the good from the bad, the beautiful from the vile in our system of -thought. - - - - -{44} - -CHAPTER IV - -FOREIGN RELATIONS OF CHINA - -It is impossible to study any Chinese question and ignore the relations -of China with foreign powers. They are always curious and generally -unique. Certainly any one who goes to China for the purpose of -studying the mission question cannot but be struck at the extraordinary -treaty rights possessed by missionaries. In most countries the teacher -of religion has no peculiar rights. He is, alas! more often bullied -than favoured by the modern State, even if that State should profess -itself well inclined towards religion. Therefore one would naturally -expect in China, where Christianity is reputed to be disliked, that -those who teach it would have to contend with every form of disability -that a hostile State could inflict. - -A feeling of marvel comes over the mind when one realises that in this -land of contradictions the persecuted missionary enjoys quite peculiar -privileges. The ordinary foreigner cannot, for instance, travel in -China except by the courtesy of the Government--a courtesy, indeed, -which is never refused; but a missionary may travel freely. The -ordinary foreigner has no right to stay in any {45} town in China with -the exception of the treaty ports; a missionary may stay where he -likes. The ordinary man cannot buy land; the missionary has a right to -purchase land for the purpose of teaching Christianity. - -So it came about, when we were in China, that His Majesty's Consul, -with all the might of England at his back, was unable to buy a suitable -site to erect a house where he could bring his wife. He was living in -a temple, and temples in China are not very comfortable. I should -explain to the uninitiated that every Buddhist temple has guest-rooms -attached to it--Chinese rooms largely composed of wooden screens; and -these temples are let out as residences by a people whose faith has -less hold upon their affections than their purse. Now, ladies are not -as a rule prepared to live in a house with paper partitions in a -climate where the winters are extremely cold; so the Consul asked a -missionary to buy a piece of land on which he could erect a suitable -house, and he had almost succeeded when the Chinese Government found -out that the land was not to be used for missionary purposes and -refused to allow the sale. This does seem a strange situation when one -remembers that had that Consul resigned his appointment and joined a -missionary body, he could have bought the land and settled his wife -comfortably in four solid stone walls, but because he was England's -representative and not a missionary he had to shiver between wood and -{46} paper screens, and this in a country which is supposed to hate -missionaries. - -The explanation of this curious situation is really twofold. First, -the hatred that the official bears for the missionary is not of such an -intense character as to induce him to offer a very strenuous resistance -to the missionaries who desire to buy land; and secondly, missionaries -have peculiar and special rights secured to them by a series of -treaties among the most curious in the history of diplomacy. - -In 1844 the Americans got by treaty a right to the free exercise of the -Christian religion in the open ports. This right, sufficiently -remarkable in itself, has often been stipulated by a State for its own -nationals resident in a foreign country, but I doubt if it has ever -before been known for a country to insist on the right of preaching a -religion to somebody else's citizens. This was obviously an -interference of the sovereign rights of China. - -It was pushed even further in 1860. The French and English had just -completed the sack of the "Summer Palace," and whatever the justice or -the injustice of the war may have been, China had tasted her first -great lesson of humiliation from the hand of Western powers, and was in -no condition to resist any of their demands. The English and the -French made treaties, most of them concerned with commercial and -military matters with which it is not necessary to trouble the reader, -and the French had a condition which was quite reasonable, that the -{47} Chinese should restore all the buildings that had been destroyed -in the late troubles; the wording of the clause was so vague that it -could be made to apply, and did apply, to any building which had been -destroyed at any previous time in the history of China, but the most -remarkable part of the clause needs further explanation. The French -had as their interpreter a very able Jesuit, Père Delamarre, and as the -French Minister could not read Chinese, he had to trust his interpreter -with regard to the Chinese version, and this man inserted into the -treaty two other provisions, one securing that Christians should have a -right to the free exercise of their religion all over China, and the -other that French missionaries should have the right to rent land in -all the provinces in the empire and to buy and construct houses. When -this pious fraud was discovered, the French Minister thought it would -do no good to denounce his interpreter, and therefore the treaty was -treated by the French as binding and never questioned by the Chinese; -the other powers profited by it under the "most favoured nation" clause. - -The Roman Catholics a few years later pushed the wording of this treaty -to its uttermost. Their missions had been at work for 150 years or -more, and they could prove a great number of confiscations which had to -be made good by the Chinese. Just at that time in France Napoleon III. -was trying to establish a doubtful title by the help of the Pope, {48} -and it was his policy to push in every way the interests of the Roman -Catholics. China had felt the weight of European armies and she was -unable to resist these claims, and so it came about that the very -country which now is the centre of free thought was the means of -forcing Christianity upon the Chinese through fear of her armed power. - -Can you be surprised at the answer I got when I asked a Chinese -statesman, who I knew was sympathetic with the teaching of -Christianity, why China, who had always professed, and to a very great -extent had practised tolerance, should persecute Christianity? His -reply was, the Chinese did not hate Christianity, and were indeed -tolerant of missions, but they still disliked them, because -Christianity is the religion of the military races, and they had a -historical tradition that the advance of Christianity was connected -with war. - -This bad reputation has been intensified by the action of the Germans. -No reasonable man can condemn the Germans for wishing to enlarge and -develop their trade. We can understand the patriotic German saying -that it was the duty of Germany to establish good government in -Shantung, but it is very hard to understand how any one can defend the -taking of Kiauchau on the ground that certain German missionaries had -been murdered. The taking of Kiauchau by the Germans has completed the -work begun by the French. Christianity and the foreign relations of -China are {49} inextricably mixed up, and every Chinaman, believed till -lately that Christianity was the religion which has led foreign nations -to enter his land. "First the missionary, then the trader, lastly the -gunboat," has been too often the order of advance. I am happy to be -able to say that the Americans and the English have made great efforts -to dissociate themselves from this evil, and have tried to avoid any -appearance of such a connection. I was told that in Shansi, owing to -the indemnity for the murders of missionaries being retained to China -and spent on founding a University instead of being accepted by the -missions, Protestant missions are very popular. "You have only to say -you are an English clergyman," said my Chinese informant, "and every -door will be open to you." - -The present aspect of foreign affairs has tended to destroy the -unfortunate connection between Christianity and foreign aggression. -The two great powers whose armies have met in Manchuria have neither of -them any interest in missions. Russia has never had any missions in -China. She forbade them, I understand, because they were likely to -embroil her in unnecessary wars. Japan, of course, has none. The -Germans, who made the murder of missionaries the reason of aggression, -have not many missionaries in China belonging to their nationality. -China, therefore, is coming to look upon Christianity as not quite so -dangerous a thing as it seemed when it was essentially the religion of -the French and of the English {50} whose armies and navies then held -China in fear. Still the political situation cannot but have great -interest to the missionary. Even while he rejoices that the foreign -relations of China and his work are not so intimately connected as they -used to be, he must ask himself, what will the result to my work be, if -in the great world struggle Japan or Russia should dominate? At -present he fears Japan more than Russia; and his fears are shared, but -for other reasons, by the Chinese. - -The wildest and most ambitious schemes are accredited to Japan, I -cannot say with how much truth. Her purse is empty, but she has far -more courage and skill in war than most nations. If she possessed even -one part of China she might add to her wealth to such an extent that no -race could dare to oppose her, while if she governed China, her armies, -supported by the wealth of that mighty empire, might threaten the -stability of Europe. She is reported to have two regiments working as -private individuals in Fukien, and to be prepared to seize the province -in case of any disorder. The fact that there are many Japanese in the -province, and that all the Japanese are trained soldiers, gives some -cloak to this suggestion. The Fukienese speak a different dialect to -the rest of China, and they have a natural geographical frontier, which -would enable the Japanese to maintain themselves there if they were -once established. - -Again, the recent events have shown that they are preparing to exercise -sovereign rights over Chinese {51} territory in Manchuria. On the -other hand, Russia is arming; she is double-tracking the railway from -St. Petersburg to Irkutsk, and she is getting ready again for a -struggle in Manchuria; the gossip among the officers there is that -there is to be a war; the Russians do not for a moment regard -themselves as defeated; they think of the late campaign merely as an -"unfortunate incident." - -But the most important development in Russian policy is the proposed -railway across Mongolia which will give Russia an entrance to the west -of China and into Peking. It is hard to see how, if an advance were -made along that line, Japan could in any way resist Russia; the whole -breadth of China would lie between them. Meanwhile the Germans of the -east have perfected a railway system which converts Kiauchau from being -an out-of-the-way place which no one cared about, to a door into the -very heart of China. In commercial circles in China it is reported -that the Commandant of the Tientsin garrison suggested that the object -of the building of the German Fleet was not so much to conquer England -as to ensure that Germany should be able to maintain her position in -the Far East and make full use of Kiauchau as a way by which her armies -might enter China. When one looks at the map and sees how China is -surrounded by these powers, and how they are pressing upon her, one -realises why the Chinese are feeling that Western education is an -absolute necessity, and that if they are to maintain their {52} -independence they must understand the arts of war. A great Viceroy was -reported to have said that he frankly expected China to be conquered, -and to learn from her conquerors the Western arts which would in turn -enable her to dominate the West; for this has been her history in the -past, that may be her history in the future, and I think that the -nations, who propose to conquer her, will do wisely if they consider -what might be the result of her influence on them. - -China is trying to defend herself by building a navy and creating an -army. The navy is rather an _opéra bouffe_ concern; every now and then -she talks of having ships; the representatives of all the shipbuilders -of the world fly to Peking and try in every way to induce China to buy -a fleet which they offer to provide at the very shortest notice, but at -present she has none. She has, as a practical step, created a training -school of officers. It consists only of some 140 men, and is taught by -two British officers lent her by our navy. They said that there was -the greatest difficulty in getting the Chinese to be practical; they -induced the Government at last to put an old ship at their disposal. -For a long time this was refused, and when it was granted it was -regarded as a most wonderful and original departure. The Chinese way -of training naval officers would have been to have instructed them on -literary subjects, and to encourage them to write essays and poems on -the sea. To take them out on {53} the Yangtsze in a ship and actually -to show them how a ship was managed, was a wholly new idea, but one of -which they approve under the impulse of the modern fashion of doing -things in accordance with Western traditions. - -As to the army, its exterior is certainly not prepossessing; far and -away the most efficient part of it has been created by Yuan-Shi-Kei in -Manchuria, and the Chinese are very anxious to show it to the passing -traveller. Both times when we passed through Manchuria, on every -station were armed guards, and in one case they were inspected by a -General who was travelling in our train. He was saluted by the -officers in charge in Chinese fashion, which is a modified form of a -kow-tow, and consists to all intents and purposes of a curtsey. It had -a distinctly funny appearance to see the officers in charge of the -guards curtseying as we steamed into the stations. Down at Nanking the -army was far less smart--in fact, it had the appearance of being a very -disorderly rabble; I understand when the Empress died it was regarded -as such a danger that those in authority put the broad Yangtsze between -them and a possible mutiny. - -The real danger to China as regards foreign relations is that her bad -finance or her own want of discipline may bring about a state of -internal disorder which may compel the interference of foreign powers. -Last year this nearly did happen. Two regiments mutinied and seized a -town on the {54} Yangtsze; they stopped all communications with the -outside world, and to all intents and purposes were in a fair way to -commence a rebellion. Close by them were several other regiments who -might be expected to throw in their lot with them, and the position was -very critical. The missionaries inside the town were in fear of their -lives, and with difficulty managed to communicate with the British -Consul and to tell him of their plight. He ordered a gunboat to go -down, and the presence of the gunboat intimidated the mutineers. At -the same time the Governor of the city showed remarkable courage in -going round the town pacifying the mob. The authorities were able to -move in two other regiments, who had no sympathy with the mutiny. The -mutineers were disarmed and the incident closed. But such an incident -may occur at any moment. The condition of the country is such that -anywhere a rising may occur, and the fire once alight may be hard to -extinguish; the result of the conflagration must be that the powers -must enter to secure the safety of their nationals. - -Altogether poor China is in a dangerous position in regard to her -foreign relations; all round her echoes the cry, "You must reform or -disappear." Every railway that is made, every loan that is floated, -every trade that is opened up, bring to China increased -responsibilities in her foreign relations. If she by her good -government and readiness to reform can show that she is able to -maintain {55} order in her own land, and to give to foreigners an equal -security to that they have in any other country, her empire may endure -for many hundred years; but if she be found wanting at the present time -and the corruption of her officials renders her unable to maintain -order in her country or to fulfil her financial obligations, a new -phase in Chinese history will be reached, which will, I believe, be of -extraordinary danger to Europe; China will yield to the military might -of the West only to rise again to dominate those who dominated her. - -The missionary who looks at these dark clouds which surround China, the -land of his adoption, feels that there is only one course to take, -namely, the course that he is taking, to try and build up in China a -high tone of morality, founded on religion, which may enable her to -accept necessary reforms and to put herself abreast of other nations. - - - - -{56} - -CHAPTER V - -CHINESE CIVILISATION--ITS WEAK SIDE - -I do not suppose that we can have any conception of the amount of -suffering which goes on at the present time in China. The first time -we were in China I had the honour of meeting a Mr. Ede, who had just -returned from distributing food in a famine-stricken district, and his -description was truly terrible; the young men had walked away and found -work in other districts, but the old people and the children had to -remain. What had caused the famine in this case was characteristic of -unreformed China; "China's sorrow," the river Hoang-ho, had done what -it is ever doing, that is, it had flooded a district. When you pass -over it, it looks most innocuous. It is wholly unable, as a rule, to -fill its own vast bed, which is covered with delightful sands, -reminding one more than anything else of the sea-shore at low tide; but -this sand is what makes it dangerous, for it is not good heavy English -sand, but a light sand which is called "loess," and when the river -comes down in a flood--that is to say, when they have rainy weather in -Thibet or the sun shines unduly on Himalayan snows--this sand is -carried along with the water, {57} and it is asserted indeed that the -river consists more of sand than of water; as the river slackens the -sand is deposited and the bed is filled up, with the result that the -next flood, taking the Chinese unawares, overflows its banks and -reduces a huge district to poverty; they cannot sow their fields -because they cannot see them. Of course the authorities should not be -taken by surprise and the banks should be made up, and canals should be -cut to take away the water in case of a flood; an enlightened Chinese -engineer assured me he had a scheme for raising the level of huge -districts of China by using this peculiar character of the Hoang-ho and -turning its sand and water flood on to bare places, and he asserted -that the results were most wonderfully successful, and that districts -which were unfertile before, when well washed and covered up with this -loess, became fertile. Still, however beneficial a flood may be to the -land in the end, its immediate result is to starve the population who -are flooded out, for they have no reserves of food. - -In the case already referred to, the country was a long time under -water, because a canal which should have drained it away was not kept -clear. The money had been paid, but, as often happens in China, the -work had not been done. The action that the authorities took was -characteristic of Chinese government. China possesses the system of -internal custom-houses--a system which the wildest advocate of Tariff -Reform would hardly like {58} to see introduced into Europe; these -custom-houses are called "Likin," and are a source at once of a great -deal of profit to the provinces and of irritation to all traders. The -Chinese used these custom-houses to engineer a corner in rice by which -the area of scarcity of food was enormously increased and several -officials amassed considerable sums of money; by the law of China it is -illegal to export rice even from one province to another; this law was -put in force, and the rice supply was cut off; at the same time early -in the famine certain rich men bought up rice freely, with the result -that it rose to a very high figure, so that round the area of famine -and desolation there was an area of scarcity and shortage. - -A large amount of food from all parts of the world was sent by the -famine funds, but it was very difficult to induce the officials to -allow the food to enter the famine district. They were filled with all -sorts of scruples. They were afraid, for instance, that the steamers -towing the barges full of food on a canal which had not before been -opened for steamers, might excite the hostility of the population; they -were courteous, they were diplomatic, but they were obstructive; and so -it came about that while there was a famine in one district of China, -in the other districts there was a very heavy surplus, of which they -had difficulty in disposing. All this did not create the slightest -surprise in those who knew China. When the story was told {59} us all -the old Chinese hands merely said, "How like China," or "Just like -them." This was our first insight into what the civilisation of China -means, and therefore for the first time we realised the problem that is -before the world--the problem which missionaries, with great devotion, -are trying to solve. - -Chinese civilisation is not, as many people imagine it to be, a mere -courtesy title for a state in reality only a degree off barbarism. -Many of my humbler parishioners, for instance, when we left for China, -ranked the Chinese as something very near cannibals, and I do not think -they would have been in the least surprised to hear that we had been -roasted and eaten by the natives. The Chinese have perhaps a greater -right to be called civilised than we have on this side of the world; -their civilisation dates from eras we are accustomed to call Biblical. -Confucius and Ezra represent contemporaneous ideas--ideas that are not -wholly different in thought. While on the other side of the globe -civilisation has been handed from nation to nation, and a civilised -race has become barbarous and a barbarous race civilised, the Chinese, -without making any very great advance, have steadily proceeded along a -path of progress, and at the present time they possess a very carefully -organised system of society. On paper the whole thing is perfect: the -Emperor at the top, the Viceroys over each province, under them the -Prefectures, and so down to the village community {60} in the country -or the trade guild in the town. The system of government is so perfect -that they claim that they are able to discover any individual wanted -among those 400,000,000 of Chinese, unless his disguise is very -perfect. When we were chatting over the revolutionaries and talking -about a certain doctor dodging in and out of China at the risk of his -life, I said that I wondered that there was any difficulty at all for a -man who was bred in the country wandering where he liked, and I was -assured that such was the organisation of the Chinese Government that -they could lay hands even in the remotest village on anybody if they -required him, and that the only way a revolutionary could hope to -escape arrest was by a most perfect and complete disguise. - -With this splendid organisation is joined great solidarity. The -Chinese race are essentially one. If it were your duty to look through -reports coming from China, as it has been mine, the first thing that -would strike you would be its essential oneness; you will not find more -difference between different parts of China than there is between -England and Ireland. I do not for a moment mean to say that there are -no differences between the Chinese--that would be untrue; but you will -not find such a difference as one might expect from the diversity of -geographical conditions. The civilisation is essentially similar. It -is a civilisation with great merits. The population is sober, -industrious, and perhaps I might add honest, {61} all lovers of China -will certainly agree; but if you are writing, as I am, to people who -have never been out of England, I think you will have to qualify the -phrase with some such a one as "honest as compared with other -Orientals," or "honest when contrasted with the Japanese." - -They are also extremely obedient; their idea of the respect which -should be paid to authority far exceeds that which prevails on this -side of the globe. I think we may add with truth that great numbers of -them are very loyal to their employers. But when this much has been -said, the dark side of their civilisation must be added--it is -essentially corrupt and cruel; the ideas of honour, purity, mercy are -but too little understood. Missionaries assured us that there was no -word for purity that could be applied to a man, while the same word -stands for honesty and stupidity. - -Yet this nation is in many ways well fitted for the mechanical age in -which we live. What the owner of the factory wants is an industrious, -sober, and obedient man, and he does not want, or at least does not -realise that he wants, an honourable, pure, and merciful man. The -Chinaman will be in his element in the factory; the long hours of -monotonous toil will not be unpleasant to him; he is always sober--in -fact, he is by nature and culture the ideal factory hand; and yet this -is what constitutes his danger. He will tend to introduce into Europe -the vices which are now desolating his own country, unless, indeed, -{62} the European teacher can help him to eradicate those vices. - -I have given you some idea of his corruption by the story told at the -beginning of this chapter, but we heard many others all to the same -effect. We went up the Yangtsze in one of the China Merchants' boats -with an old Swedish captain who liked the Chinese and rather disliked -the missionaries, so his evidence was not biassed by any wish to prove -that our civilisation was more perfect than that of the Chinese. We -asked him why it was that he being a European should be captain of a -ship that was owned by Chinese, and largely used by them. He told us -that the Chinese merchants had once tried to have a Chinese captain, -but the moment the ship reached the first port of the Yangtsze, the -custom officers were on board rummaging here and rummaging there. Very -soon a large amount of contraband was found on the ship, put there with -the knowledge of the captain. The consequence was the ship was fined -and delayed. They tried Chinese captains again and again with the same -result, and so they have been reduced to employ Europeans to secure -honourable officers. He, however, had to confess that the Chinese -distrusted the sobriety of the European officers, and assured us that -the old comprador on board, one of whose duties apparently was to look -after the passengers and take their tickets, was in reality a spy on -them. - -Perhaps the best instance of the corruption of the {63} Chinese is -their action with regard to the currency. In the good old days the -currency of China was the silver shoe or ingot, which had no exact -weight, and had therefore to be weighed at every transaction. Below -that was the copper currency, which had no fixed relation to the silver -currency, but only the relation of copper to silver. A copper cash, -therefore, represented only its actual value in copper. It was -naturally a most unwieldy coin. The old books of travel in China give -lamentable pictures of the traveller riding about with huge strings of -copper cash almost crushing him with their weight. When the whites -began to trade in China they introduced the Mexican dollar with its -subsidiary coinage, and this was the common currency in all the ports -until a few years ago; but when the Chinese began to Westernise they -considered it inconsistent with their dignity not to have a coinage of -their own. Led by the Japanese, and assisted by several firms whose -speciality was the erection of mints and mintage machinery, they -started mints all over the country, and they have kept these mints busy -with the most _funeste_ results. To begin with, they coined a dollar -in imitation of the Mexican dollar, but even in this the mints did not -agree. Some dollars are very light, some slightly below value, and -some are nearly true. The first experience of the traveller is that he -possesses in his pocket a set of coins which no one will accept, except -at a great reduction. But the muddle goes further than that. It was -very profitable coining light coins, {64} but it was still more -profitable to do so in the lower denominations. The Chinese thought, -or chose to think, that it did not matter what the intrinsic value of a -10-cent piece was as long as you wrote on it 10 cents. They have no -bank or post-office where you have a legal right to get a dollar for -ten 10-cent pieces, and the result therefore of recklessly coining the -base 10-cent pieces has been not only to depreciate it with regard to -the dollar, but to make it an uncertain value, so that you must go to -the money exchangers almost every morning and ask for the rate of -exchange between the dollar and the small silver pieces. - -Of course at every step on this downward path the officials concerned -made a great deal of money; their next step was to deal with the copper -coin in the same way, so now there is no fixed relation between the -copper coinage and the silver coinage, nor between the large copper and -the small, and this is still further confusing, as the provinces having -different mints have dollars of different values. And now I hear that -they have begun to make money by debasing the old silver shoe coinage, -which, though it is sold by weight, used to have a certain standard of -purity, and they have issued cash which have no intrinsic value at all, -and that do not represent the fraction of a coin having any intrinsic -value. The result of this currency "Rake's Progress" has been to -produce what corruption always does produce--widespread poverty. -Everybody cheats. The stationmasters {65} along the line assure the -European superintendents that the fares are always paid in the most -debased coinage, and it is very hard to deny the probability of this. -But of course the stationmasters take care if any coin comes to their -hand which is not debased to do a bit of exchange on their own account. - -If Chinese civilisation is corrupt, it is also cruel, not with the wild -tempestuous cruelty of the savage, but with the cruelty of the -civilised man who at once uses human suffering as the best engine for -human government, and never cares to cure it unless he has some -pecuniary object in view. The Chinese are inured to pain, and some -people argue that they do not feel it to the same degree as Western -nations. No doubt the sensation of pain is intensified in people of -highly developed nervous organisation, and the Chinese have a nervous -organisation of a very quiescent kind. I remember, when we first -landed at Hong-Kong, being struck by a Chinaman who had chosen as his -bed for his midday siesta an ordinary piece of granite curbing; and as -you go along in the train every freight car that you pass has some one -sleeping on it to protect it from robbery, and a truck of coals or a -load of stone is obviously regarded as a most comfortable -resting-place. Some of the doctors maintained that this was the case -throughout their nervous system--they were insensitive to pain; others -said that pain, like everything else, is a thing to which you can get -accustomed, and that pain has played so large a part in their lives -that they are {66} accustomed to it, and are not therefore afraid of -it. Take, for instance, the foot-binding of the women; every family in -China must be accustomed to hear the sobs and cries of the little girls -as they are going through the first stages of foot-binding. Or take -again the public flogging; all the working classes of China must be -quite accustomed to the idea that men are flogged for certain offences -till their flesh is of the consistency of a jelly. A doctor, -describing the state in which men are brought into the hospital after -such floggings, said that it was a difficult matter to avoid -mortification setting in, and it was only with very careful treatment -that they could be cured, the whole flesh having to slough away, being -absolutely crushed and battered. - -Yet this strange people are so indifferent to these horrors, that even -those who suffer will laugh amidst their sufferings. We were told the -following tale, whether true or not I cannot say. A man was being -bambooed for an offence, and astonished the officials by laughing all -the time; the more he was flogged the harder he laughed, till at last -those who were punishing him stopped to ask him the reason of his -mirth. "You have got the wrong man," he said. It is always a comfort -to have a keen sense of humour. - -I do not think there is anything more awful than the descriptions one -has as to the indifference to suffering that is displayed by the -average Chinaman. I remember a story told me by a sailor. As a ship -{67} was being loaded, a man, obviously on the verge of death, came and -asked for work, but failed to get it. Shortly after he was seen -hanging about the ship, and at night they found him lying between some -bales. He was turned out, but he constantly crept back, first to one -place, then to another, till at last the sailor came to know his face -quite well. One day, as the sailor went ashore, he was attracted by a -little crowd looking at something, and this proved to be the poor -fellow in his death struggle, lying in a gutter of water. He called -the attention of a Chinese policeman to him. The Chinese policeman -explained that he would move him when he was dead, as he had orders to -remove all corpses, but that he could not move him while he was alive. - -Dr. Macklin of Nanking told us story after story of the way in which -the Chinese would leave people in a dying condition on the road. A -little time ago he had ridden into an old temple, and there he saw a -man apparently asleep, but on looking at him more closely, he saw that -his eyes were wide open and that the flies were walking right across -his eyeballs, showing that he was quite insensitive. He called to one -or two men and asked them to help him to carry this poor sufferer to -some house near, but they could not or would not find a house to keep -him in; and so in the end Dr. Macklin determined to take him straight -back to Nanking, which he did. There he administered a very heavy dose -of quinine hypodermically, with the result that the man soon showed -{68} signs of returning consciousness. It was a case of malignant -malaria, and had he not been found by Dr. Macklin, the man must have -been eaten by wild dogs or have died from the disease; as it was he -recovered, and proved to be a hard-working young farmer who was in -search of work, as his home had been ruined by a local failure of -crops. He had apparently contracted malaria, and owing to his poor and -ill-nourished condition it had gone hardly with him. - -[Illustration: CHINESE CIVILISATION: ITS BAD SIDE--AN OLD BEGGAR. ITS -GOOD SIDE--A GARDEN] - -But story after story was told us always to the same effect--that the -quality of mercy is not highly esteemed by the Chinese. The appeal the -beggar makes to you as he runs after you is the old Buddhist appeal, -which after all is essentially selfish, as he beseeches you "to acquire -merit" by helping him; we must remember that even this reason for mercy -is despised by the gentry and literati of China as essentially -belonging to Buddhism. Perhaps the most lurid stories that we heard -were up river. One came from the country of the Lolos. The Chinese -were going out to fight the Lolos, and the missionary saw them carrying -a handsome young man bound on a plank so that he could not move--so -bound that his head was thrown back. After certain ceremonies they cut -the man's throat, and scattered the blood on the flags; it was a sort -of human sacrifice. Another story we heard from some devoted -Franciscan Sisters up at Ichang. They assured us that if a mother -found her children {69} weakly, and she lost one or two, she would make -up her mind that the reason they were ill was because an evil spirit -had a grudge against her. She would then take one of her remaining -children, and, in the hope of propitiating the evil spirit, she would -burn that child alive. We could not believe this story was true; but -that evening we saw some hard-working Presbyterian ladies, common-sense -efficient Scotchwomen, and they assured us that it was quite true. - - - - -{70} - -CHAPTER VI - -CHINESE CIVILISATION--ITS GOOD SIDE - -It would give a very false idea of the Chinese if great stress were not -laid on the good side of their civilisation. They have many fine -qualities, and in more than one point they are superior to the nominal -Christianity of some Western countries. The first thing perhaps that -strikes a foreigner when he is brought into contact with the Chinese is -their great courtesy; their literati are such gentlefolk. Even the -less cultured people have most refined manners; no one is ever rude; -and one of the things they cannot understand is how we can esteem a -rough, frank, honest man. There is a case when they would not appoint -a certain Englishman to a commercial post, preferring a man of far less -attainments and of much shorter service, because the former was rude. -That was enough. It was no use telling them that his honesty was above -suspicion, that he was a reliable business man, that he was very hard -working, that he had many years of hard service behind him; they -allowed all this freely, but they shrugged their shoulders and said, -"The truth is, he is such a rude fellow, and he will give such very -great offence by his bad manners," so they would not have him. - -{71} - -When a visitor enters a Yamen, he realises that his manners must be -those of a most polished diplomat. Before him walks a servant, holding -aloft his visiting card. One really ought to have special Chinese -cards printed on beautiful sheets of red paper with queer-looking -characters on them setting forth one's rank and name. However, in -these days of admiration of the West, our poor little white cards are -considered adequate. The Viceroy or official meets the visitor, -enthusiastically shaking his own hands--the Chinese salutation--and -bowing low; the particular door at which he meets his guest marks the -amount of respect he wishes to pay him, and is therefore of some -importance. In my case, when my host was favourable to higher -education, I was received in the outer court. At every door there was -a polite contest as to who should go through it first, and at last we -found ourselves in a room where tea, dessert, champagne, and cigarettes -were offered, although of the two latter I was unworthy. Then began -the conversation. I found less stiffness once I had explained that I -came to gather opinions about a scheme for education. After the -stately interview was over there was an equally ceremonious -leave-taking. - -Though the methods of the Chinese in doing business may be exasperating -to a Western whose time is money and who wants them to come to some -immediate decision, they are invariably delightful and courteous in all -their negotiations. This courtesy is all the direct result of -Confucian teaching. Stress is {72} laid there on courteous behaviour, -perhaps even to a degree which may strike the Western traveller as -absurd. This courtesy, I understand, extends even to those of lower -degree. Your servant in speaking to another calls him brother, and -nothing makes the servant despise his master so much as seeing him lose -his temper: it is to his mind a mark of our savagery. - -The Chinese have higher virtues than courtesy. They are essentially -industrious. You have only to look at a Chinaman's garden to realise -the extent to which he possesses this quality. I am certain that those -people who are proud of the culture of their kitchen gardens would be -surprised and ashamed if they could compare them with those of a -Chinaman. One passes garden after garden with rows of plants placed at -even distances and every plant exactly the right distance in those -rows, with never a weed to be seen all over the whole plot. Again in -handicraft there is the same industry; you buy Chinese embroidery for a -song in such a place as Changsha. No one will tell you that Chinamen -ever object to length of hours; they are ideal men for work that needs -care and accuracy. - -Again they are very patient. A monotonous task is not at all -unpleasing to them. An acute French observer used the word -_routinière_ in describing this characteristic. Even in intellectual -work this liking for monotonous repetition will show itself. One of -the doctors told us that he had the very greatest {73} difficulty in -inducing his pupils not to perpetuate his most casual gestures when he -was demonstrating. For instance, when teaching bacteriology, quite -unconsciously he might from time to time put an instrument down on the -table, and just touch it again. Months after he would find one of his -pupils when doing the same experiment repeating every gesture he had -accidentally made with careful imitation. It was clear that the -student had monotonously continued to practice these gestures for no -other reason but that he had seen his master make them. All those -words which our writers on social subjects are so fond of inditing -against the modern factory system have no meaning to the Chinaman. -Those complaints about long hours at mechanical work rendering the -worker little better than a machine are doubtless true of the white -race, but are quite beside the point as applied to the Chinese. If the -Chinaman is well paid in the factory he will prefer rather than -otherwise that the work should be mechanical; he will not mind if the -hours are long. - -Again, he is cheerful and contented under very adverse circumstances. -When we were being rowed in a native boat up the Yangtsze, and the men -were straining every nerve against the current, while they were chilled -by a drizzling rain, there was never a word of discontent; they were -always cheerful and bright, good-tempered and merry. - -Their highest quality is obedience, which is the result of their -Confucian culture. The central virtue {74} of that teaching is -obedience to parents, and they hold that doctrine to a degree which to -the Western mind seems exaggerated. One of the grown-up sons of a -Chinese clergyman did something which he considered unbecoming in a -Christian; to the surprise of the missionary, he did not hesitate to -administer a sound thrashing to his son, which the young man took -without the slightest resistance, and in this action the clergyman was -supported by the public opinion of the congregation. This quality -gives to China its great power, and it is one of the points in which -there is the greatest divergence between the teaching of the West and -of the East. Every Chinaman points out to you how little Westerns care -for their parents. I remember a Chinese gentleman explaining in a -patronising way to the other Chinese that, strange though it seemed, he -knew it as a fact that one of the commandments of our religion really -was that we should honour our parents. - -Were it not for this principle of obedience which is implanted in the -mind of every Chinaman, the government of China would scarcely endure -for a day; but he is taught from his earliest youth to obey his father, -not as we teach in the West because the child is unable to think and -understand, so that obedience to parents is a virtue which must fall -into disuse as knowledge increases, but as an absolute duty, a duty -equally incumbent on a man of forty as on a child of four. This -principle is extended to that of civil government; the local {75} -official is in their quaint phrase "the father and mother of his -people," and the obedience to parents taught in childhood is therefore -extended to those who govern. No Chinaman has any doubt but that the -first duty of man is obedience to authority. Let us hope these -qualities will ever endure. - -What may happen, and, alas, I am afraid, is at the present moment -happening, is that the two civilisations may be so blended together -that the qualities of each may be lost and its peculiar virtues -destroyed while its characteristic vices are preserved. The great -qualities of obedience to parents, of courtesy to strangers, are being -forgotten. The Chinaman educated in the States is rude and abrupt; he -fancies that it is Western and business-like. Every Chinese gentleman -to whom I talked, allowed that one of the worst results of Western -teaching had been that a Westernised Chinaman was less obedient and -respectful to his parents. On the other hand, the Westernised Chinaman -does not acquire the peculiar virtues of the Englishman. - -The superficial Chinese thinker wants China to learn only the material -side of our civilisation, to profit by our mechanical excellence -without learning anything of our ethics. His view is that the West is -immoral but wealthy; he regards Europe as the place where there is no -principle excepting money-worship, and therefore he argues that if you -would Westernise China you must despise morality and seek for money. -Chang-Chih-Tung voiced this thought when he said, {76} "Western -education is practical, Chinese education is moral." If you try to -argue with a thoughtless Chinaman who has perhaps never left China, and -whose only experience of Western life is what he has seen in a treaty -port, you will find that it is hard to convince him that Western -education produces a high moral tone. After all we may, to a certain -extent, be to blame for their want of appreciation of the morality of -the West, for too often we show to the Chinese a very degraded side of -our civilisation; and though I do not think that Shanghai at the -present merits the term that was applied to it fifty years ago of being -a "moral sink," yet undoubtedly the treaty ports, both by their -constitution and by their geographical position, collect very -unpleasant specimens of white civilisation. There are a certain number -of men who spend a great part of their existence being deported from -Shanghai to Hong-Kong, and from Hong-Kong to Shanghai. - -One of the comedies in the tragedy of the extinction of the -independence of Korea is illustrative of this point. The Emperor of -Korea heard that the Western races were far more trustworthy than those -of the East, and so fearing assassination after the murder of the -Queen, he determined to enrol a corps of Europeans as a body-guard; he -sent over officers to Shanghai with orders to enlist Europeans. -Unfortunately for himself he did not take the precaution of sending -with them any Western to help in the selection of the men. To Korean -eyes all Westerns {77} look alike, and as they were offering good pay, -they soon had their corps complete; they returned to Seoul, and the -corps was installed with suitable uniforms, and, alas, rifles and -ammunition. The moment the corps was paid, the greater bulk of them -got drunk, and for the next few hours Seoul was distinctly an -undesirable place of residence, filled with drunken men of all -nationalities shouting and shrieking and firing loaded rifles -recklessly in every direction. The poor Emperor trembled as he looked -from his palace windows at his body-guard out on the drink, and he made -up his mind that it would be better to take a reasonable chance of -assassination by the Japanese than to risk the danger of being guarded -by this inebriate troop of Westerns. With the help of the Consul the -body-guard when sober were returned to Shanghai, and let us trust the -Chinese heard the story and were convinced that in accepting Western -civilisation they must be careful to avoid accepting the vices of the -West. - -At Changsha I heard a similar story, but with a tragic side, which one -felt exonerated the Chinese for being rather incredulous as to the -morality of our civilisation. Changsha, I should explain, is reputed -one of the most bigoted cities in China; even at the present moment -white women are advised not to walk through the streets. The Hunanese -have a bold independent character, which makes them rather hostile to -any foreigner or to foreign ways, and I am afraid that the story I am -going to repeat will have {78} confirmed them in their conviction that -foreigners are undesirable. Two white men belonging to one of the -South European races--Greeks, I think--settled themselves down in -defiance of treaty rights in Changsha, and at once opened a gambling -hell. Very soon they taught the Chinese, who are as a race very -addicted to gambling, new and most pernicious forms of that hateful -vice. The Governor complained to the Consul; the Consul sent his -officer down, accompanied by the police, to arrest the Greeks; the -Private Secretary to the Governor informed the Consul of the tragedy -that followed. The Consular officer warned the Greeks that they must -give up their gambling establishment and go back to Hankow. They said -they would not. He told them that if they refused he would arrest -them, take them to the boat, and send them down by force to Hankow. -They still refused, and he advanced, upon which one of the Greeks shot -the officer dead. The Chinese police after their manner vanished, -while the Governor's Private Secretary, according to his own account, -spent most of the time of the interview under the table. The Greeks, -seeing the coast clear, and realising that vengeance must come, took to -the open country. The Chinese were told to arrest them if they could. -Of course they had no difficulty in finding them, but to arrest them -was a different matter. They mobilised two or three regiments, and -surrounding the house in which the Greeks had taken refuge, they kept -on firing at long range till they judged, from there being no signs of -life, that they {79} must have killed them. They then carried off the -bodies, but thought it better to describe the incident in an official -document as a case of suicide from fear of arrest, lest they should be -held responsible for the death of these murderers. The next Greeks -that came up the river were sent down with a guard of forty men, and so -terrified were the Chinese that they had to put them first-class, as no -Chinese would have dared to have travelled with them. - -There were several other stories told at Changsha to the same effect. -The European that the Chinaman sees in that sort of place is too often -one of those worthless men who has found his own country impossible to -live in, and who hopes that his vices and crimes may escape unnoticed -in distant China. Can one wonder that the Chinese are liable to -misunderstand the West, and were it not for the saintly life of many -missionaries, the high character and strict justice of our -Consuls--yes, and the admirable discipline and management of such great -undertakings as that of Butterfield and Swire--the evil would be -incurable; but though there are many specimens of the bad, there are -also not a few men who by their lives have testified before the Chinese -to the greatness of our social and moral traditions and to the religion -by which they are inspired. - - - - -{80} - -CHAPTER VII - -RAILWAYS AND RIVERS - -The rivers and railways of China form a very marked contrast. The -rivers represent the old means of communication, the railways the new, -and the comparison between the river and the railway enables the -traveller to compare new with old China and to realise the great -changes that are taking place there and the transitional character of -the phase through which the country is now passing. - -Ancient China, as compared to ancient Europe, was a most progressive -country, a very essential point to remember when we have to consider -what will be the attitude of the Chinese with regard to modern -progress. Theoretically they have always been progressive; practically -they have passed through an age of progress and reached the other side. -That age of progress improved very much their means of communication. -China is naturally well endowed with rivers, and those rivers were -infinitely extended by a system of canals. Of these the Grand Canal is -the most perfect example. The traveller cannot sail along the Grand -Canal and look at the masonry walls of that great work, or the high -bridges that span it, without realising that in its time it was one -{81} of the greatest works the world had ever seen. That canal, -typical of modern China, is now in disrepair, but the spirit of the men -who built it is not gone; it is the same spirit that now welcomes -railways all over China. - -The greatest of China's natural waterways is the Yangtsze-Kiang; it -cuts right through the centre of China from the sea to Chungking and -further; it has many important tributaries, which lead through great -lakes and afford a very useful means of communication to vast districts -in Central China. - -Along that great river for six hundred miles, ships of the largest size -can sail in the summer; battleships, though not of the largest class, -can ascend to Hankow. Beyond Hankow the river is much shallower, and -communication with Ichang is often interrupted in the winter by want of -water. A thousand miles from the sea begin those wonderful gorges of -the Yangtsze which are among the greatest wonders of the world. - -Up to Ichang, the Yangtsze is still a big, rather dull yellow river, a -vastly overgrown Thames, a mass of sandbanks, running through almost -consistently uninteresting country; but after that thousand miles, it -develops into a sort of huge Rhine. The river is still yellow, but it -runs through green mountains and grey rocks. At times it swirls along -with an oily surface dented here and there by whirlpools which tell of -some sunken rock; at other times the grey rocks creep closer together -and the yellow {82} Yangtsze foams itself white in its effort to -squeeze through the narrow opening left. In quieter reaches of the -river a house-boat or luban can be rowed or sailed. The rowing is -rather jerky, the sailing delightful, and so the advance of the -traveller is pleasant and uneventful; but when the boat reaches the -rapids, the only way to get her through is by towing. - -There is a temptation always to delay putting men ashore to tow--a -temptation which ended in our house-boat being bumped upon a rock. - -Our captain (we call him "lowdah" in China) had cleverly devised, by -creeping along the side of the river under shelter of projecting rocks -and then by dodging round the points, everybody shrieking and yelling -as they strained at the oar, to avoid the necessity of towing; but a -more malign whirlpool than the rest twisted us round till the oars on -one side of the boat could not row because they were fouled on the -rocks, and then another twisted us sideways on to a submerged rock, and -there the current held us till the police-boat the Chinese Government -supplies to foreign travellers kindly took our rope ashore and we were -hauled off without apparently having suffered any damage. - -These police-boats, or "red boats," are a great feature in travelling -on the Yangtsze. They add enormously, to begin with, to the artistic -effect, as they are furnished with an art-blue sail, which would -rejoice the heart of an artist, but the nervous traveller {83} regards -them with feelings of a warmer nature than those their æsthetic effect -would arouse. They guarantee, if not the safety of boats and goods, at -least the safety of his person amidst the terrible rapids of the river. -If his boat should be wrecked and his goods become the property of the -fishes, he knows that the "red boat" will dart into the rapids, and -owing to its peculiar construction and the skill of the boatmen, will -be able to rescue and return him, a washed and grateful traveller, to -Ichang. - -The excitement of passing the rapids is intense. It is a pleasurable -sensation when you watch from the shore some one else passing through -them; it is more exciting but less pleasurable to be on the boat itself -at that moment. The excitement is largely a question of the size of -the boat, whence the wisdom of taking a small boat even if it is less -comfortable. To watch an eighty-ton junk being hauled through a narrow -passage of foaming water is intensely thrilling. It is a matter of -great difficulty owing to the rocky nature both of the channel and the -shore. - -The Yangtsze rises and falls some hundreds of feet in the year, and at -low water the banks are a mass of rough rocks which remind one more of -the sea than of a river. The men who tow are called trackers, and they -have to climb over these rocks tugging and straining at the rope while -a certain number of them, stripped to nudity, try to keep the rope -clear of the rocks which constantly entangle it both on shore and in -the water. It is splendid to {84} watch these men as they bound from -rock to rock to disengage the rope from some projecting point, or as, -leaping into the stream, they swim across to isolated rocks and -extricate it from all sorts of impossible situations. Meanwhile the -junk creeps up inch by inch, at times standing almost still while the -water surges past her and makes a wave at her bow which would not -misbecome a torpedo-destroyer in full steam. Woe betide the junk if -the rope should foul and break in spite of the efforts of these men, -for then she would be at the mercy of the current, and if it should so -happen that there was no wind, the mariners on board have no command -over her, and she must drift as chance will guide her till quieter -water is reached. Of course if there is a wind they can haul up their -sail, and then, though they will descend backwards down the stream, -they will do it with dignity and safety. We passed a junk doing this. -Her rope had apparently broken, her huge sails were set to a stiff -breeze; as you watched her by the water she seemed to be sailing at a -good rate forwards; as you watched her by the land she was travelling a -good steady pace down stream. If she cannot hoist her sail because the -wind is unfavourable, then she will rush back, inadequately guided by -three huge strange-looking oars. The one at the bow, worked by six -men, can twist her round like a teetotum, so that as she dashes down -stream, the captain can select which part of her shall bump against the -submerged rocks, which after all is but a poor {85} privilege, when you -remember that eighty tons of woodwork banged against massive granite -rock must be resolved into its constituent boards, whatever part of it -strikes the rock first. The two other oars are even less helpful. -With eight men at each, they can propel the boat at the rate of about -three miles an hour; but what use is that when the stream is bearing -the junk to destruction at twenty miles an hour. If the rope breaks, -it is rather a question of good luck than good guidance. If there is -no rock in the way, the junk happily sails down and is brought up in -the quieter waters below the rapids. If there is a rock in the way, -the junk arrives at the end of the rapid in a condition which would -please firewood collectors but no one else. Those of the crew who can -swim get ashore, and those who cannot are either picked up by the "red -boat," or if there is not one there, they disappear; their bodies are -recovered several days later lower down the river. From a Chinese -point of view this is all a small matter; what is important is that a -junk containing a valuable cargo has been lost. So frequent have been -these losses that five per cent. insurance is demanded for cargoes -going above Ichang. - -[Illustration: GORGES OF THE YANGTSZE: AN AWKWARD MOMENT. JUNK -NEGOTIATING RAPIDS. (Notice coils of bamboo rope)] - -Perhaps I ought to say one word about the rope on which the safety of -the junk depends. It is made of plaited bamboo, which is -extraordinarily light, and does not fray, though it is so stiff that it -behaves like a wire rope. Its great lightness {86} allows of the use -of ropes of enormous length. I do not think it is an exaggeration to -say that some of them are a quarter of a mile long. They are very -strong, and therefore can be of wonderfully narrow diameter, but -apparently they last but a short time, and every boat is furnished with -coil after coil of bamboo rope ready for all emergencies. A horrible -accident happens when owing to bad steering the trackers are pulled -back off the narrow ledges cut into the face of the precipices, which -at times border the river, so that they fall into the rapid. - -They are an attractive body of men, these trackers. They leap over the -most incredible chasms in the rocks, they climb like cats up the -precipices, they pull like devils, while one master encourages them by -beating a drum on board the junk, and another belabours them on shore -with a bit of bamboo rope, which makes an excellent substitute for a -birch rod, and yet withal they are cheerful. When it rains or snows -they are wet through; when the sun is hot--and remember the Yangtsze is -in the same latitude as North Africa--they expose their bent backs to -the scorching sun; yet apparently they never grumble, but they wile -away the hours of their labour with cheerful song. When they row or -pull easily, the song is a weird antiphonal chant--it seems to be -sometimes a solo and a chorus, sometimes two equally balanced choruses; -but when the work becomes hard, the song changes into a wild snarl and -they laugh a savage laugh as they strain and sweat to the {87} -uttermost. I will complete their description by saying that their -views of decency are those of Adam before the Fall, and that they -preserve their strength by a diet of rice and beans with a handful of -cabbages as a relish. At night they sleep on the deck of the junk on -their rough Chinese bedding with only a mat roofing to keep the rain -off them. And as I watched their cheerful demeanour, I felt more -convinced than ever that the natural virtues of the Chinese are of the -very highest order. - -Perhaps I ought to say one word about the beauty of the gorges. I -think in two points they excel. First, in the height of the massive -cliffs, through which the Yangtsze has cut its way like a knife; the -size of the river and the size of the cliffs are so much in proportion -that the eagle circling above the gorge looks like a swallow, and the -crowd of trackers appears as a disturbed ant colony. The other way in -which the gorges excel in beauty is in colouring; at one point -especially it was most remarkable--the rocks were red, the mountains -when we saw them were purple, and the purple and red harmonising with -the fresh green foliage of early summer and the deep yellow of the -river, made a rich combination of tints in the landscape which could -hardly be surpassed. It is typical of the state in which China is at -the present day that a scheme should be on foot for building a railway -which no doubt will render the gorges of the Yangtsze a silent highway, -and, instead of hearing the wild song of the tracker or the savage -beating of the tom-tom, {88} the lonely eagle will circle above a -silent river on which the fisherman's bark alone will sail in the -future. - -For all schemes to tame the wild and fierce Yangtsze are clearly -impossible. The river rises and falls more than a hundred feet with -great rapidity, and no human hand could ever throw a dam across this -mass of surging water. Possibly it might be used as a source of power -for electrical work, but it is far more probable that the smaller -rivers which fall into the Yangtsze will be chosen for that purpose. -This district may be a tourist resort, and dwellers in the plains of -China may seek coolness and beauty on one of the crags that overhang -the river; the modern hotel may perch itself beside the ancient -Buddhist temple; but the days of the river as a great commercial route -of China are numbered as soon as the railway linking far-western -Szechuan to the rest of China is completed. One wild scheme proposes -that the railway should come from Russia straight down from Szechuan, -in which case more than probably Szechuan will fall completely under -the influence of the Russian Government. - -One of the results of Westernising China must be to produce an -industrial revolution. All those men, for instance, who make a living -by leaping from crag to crag, from rock to rock, and swimming, -struggling, rowing in that river Yangtsze will find their living gone. -But not only will the railway make many poor who had a competence, but -it must make many rich {89} who before were poor. In this case, for -instance, all those commodities which are now extremely dear in -Szechuan, because of the cost of transit, will fall in price, and there -will be a period when there will be a wide margin of profit between the -cost of importation and the conventional price the people are used to -pay, and those who live by trade will grow rich. - -What has happened in the West must also happen in the East. The -introduction of steam did not make the official classes or even the -working classes immediately rich. The people who immediately profited -by improved means of production and communication were the great middle -class; afterwards as the working class realised that the margin of -profit would allow of larger wages, they compelled the masters to share -these advantages with them. So it will probably happen in China. With -the railway will come a rich middle class who will be a factor of -growing importance in future China. - -A great contrast between the Yangtsze and its wild gorges is the great -trunk line from Peking to Canton which runs at right angles through the -Yangtsze north and south, and must make Hankow, the place where it -crosses the Yangtsze, one of the greatest cities in the whole world. -The railway is only completed as far as Hankow. It runs from Peking -right across the plains of China, which are so desolate in the spring -and so fertile in the summer, and which depend for their fertility on -the July rains. At every station a great Chinese inn is erected--that -{90} is to say, a big courtyard with rooms round. At first, of course, -trade was small; the Chinese village community has but little that it -wants either to buy or sell; each community is to a great extent -self-supporting. A farmer reckoned, I was told by a Chinese official, -that if he had made 30s. a year, he had done well. That does not mean -that he lived on 30s. a year, though in a country where men are paid -threepence a day, one would almost have been ready to believe it; but -it means that he had fifteen dollars a year to spend on things outside -his daily food. His farm supplies him with food and drink and his -vicious luxury, opium; his women make his clothes; it only remains for -him to buy material for the clothes and the little extras that they -cannot make, besides salt. He pays for the few things that he has -bought, probably with the opium he produces, or in Manchuria with -beans; but the trade has been of microscopical dimensions owing to the -difficulties of transit. - -When the railway is made he finds at the railway inn the Chinese -merchant ready to buy and sell anything that he on his part is ready to -trade. At first, such things as sewing cotton and cigarettes are the -things that are traded against silk or opium, and then comes Chinese -medicine and mineral oil, and so trade begins, and soon the Chinese inn -becomes a market-place, and the railways begin carrying goods. - -Of course the full development of the railway system must depend on the -feeding lines and in what {91} we had in Europe before the railway -system, and what the Chinese have not got, the feeding roads. In -Manchuria--for China, like England, is more go-ahead in the north than -in the south--they are already moving in this direction. The Russian -railways, possessed now by the Japanese, are very busy carrying beans -to Dalny, and soon the Japanese lines from Mukden to Antung will be -equally busy, and the line from Mukden to Tientsin also will carry this -crop. What they are now considering at Mukden is how they can arrange -a feeding system of light railways, by which a bigger area of ground -can be brought within reach of the railway system. To give some idea -of the energy and progressive character of the officials in those -parts, I may mention that they are already making inquiries as to the -mono-rail system for such railways. - -The Chinese have made up their minds to welcome railways, and though -they would far prefer railways to be built with Chinese capital, they -are of necessity compelled to accept European capital, since their -fellow-countrymen want very high interest for their money. The Germans -have taken very full advantage of the Chinese desire for railways, and -have linked Kiauchau with the railway system of China. - -The effect of all this must be very far reaching. To begin with, it -will alter the influence of foreign powers. As the railway service is -completed, Kiauchau will become a very much more important centre than -it is now. If a railway that links Peking to Nanking, {92} or, to be -accurate, to a town on the Yangtsze opposite to Nanking, is cut by a -railway from Kiauchau, the result will be that Kiauchau will become the -nearest ice-free port for an enormous district of China. This cannot -fail to strengthen the German influence, and the German influence is -connected, as we have already explained, too much with that political -side of missions which has caused them to be distrusted by peace-loving -Chinese. The Chinese will ask themselves, will there not soon be a -missionary incident which will justify a further aggression by Germany -along the railway, which lies so handy for a military advance, and they -will be suspicious of any German missionary effort in that quarter. - -But the effect of the railways is much more far reaching than any -casual advantage that it may give to various powers, whether it be to -Germany in Shantung, or to Russia or Japan in Manchuria, or to France -in Yunnan, or to Russia in Szechuan. It will have two main effects. -First and foremost it must place the whole of China in the same -position that Shanghai and Tientsin occupy at the present moment--that -is, it must make the whole of China a mixture of Eastern and Western -civilisation. It may be urged that the rivers of China have already -been the means of bringing East and West into close contact with one -another, and yet that China remains still a separate and different -country to the treaty ports. - -{93} - -The answer is, firstly, that it is comparatively only a short time -since the river has been opened to foreign trade, and that a great -advance has been made in the treaty ports, so much so that a man in the -customs service living by the gorges of the Yangtsze described the -difference between the treaty ports and the rest of China by saying, "A -man who has only seen Shanghai and Hankow has never seen China." -Secondly, a railway has a great educational effect. When a railway is -first opened the Chinese crowd to see it; they get in the way of the -engine, they are run over, they accuse it of malign powers, and then -they come to the conclusion that it is after all only a machine, and -they take readily to travelling by rail. - -For instance, the railway from Tientsin up to Manchuria has already -completely altered the conditions of culture in the north. It has -enabled a large number of labourers to migrate every year to cultivate -the fertile but icy districts of Manchuria, so that it is quite a sight -to see truck-load after truck-load of farm labourers travelling like -cattle, going up from the south to the districts of the north at the -rate of three dollars for a twenty-two hours' journey. - -Not only does the railway carry the Tientsin labourer in a truck to the -Manchurian beanfield, but it also carries first-class the Chinese -merchant who will buy the crop of beans to the advantage of the farmer -and to his own greater advantage. The {94} Chinese are rich in -traders, and such an opportunity would never be allowed to pass. Every -year will produce a greater number of wealthy Chinese merchants, many -of them very ignorant both of Western and Eastern knowledge, but -probably some of them owning a respect for that knowledge whose lack -they have felt in proportion to their own ignorance, for there is no -man more inclined as a class to endow educational institutions than he -who in his youth has felt the need of them. - -China now needs help to found a University teaching Western knowledge. -Once it is formed, there is every reason to believe that it will be -endowed by the same class that has endowed similar institutions in our -own country. - - - - -{95} - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE CITIES Of CHINA - -Nowhere is the transitional period through which China is passing more -obvious than in the cities of China; many towns are still completely -Chinese, but as you approach the ports you find more and more Western -development. The contrast between towns is extremely marked. Shanghai -or Tientsin are Western towns and centres of civilisation; the -difference between them and such towns as Hangchow or Ichang is very -great. The true Chinese city is not without its beauty--in fact, in -many ways it is a beautiful and wonderful place. But to appreciate it -eyes only are wanted, and a nose is a misfortune. The streets are -extremely narrow passages, which are bordered on either side by most -attractive shops, particularly in the main street. The stranger longs -to stop and buy things as he goes along, but the difficulty is that it -takes so much time; he must either be prepared to pay twice the value -of the things he wants, or to spend hours in negotiation. There is one -curious exception to this rule; the silk guild at Shanghai does not -allow its members to bargain, and therefore in the silk shop the real -price is told at once. - -{96} - -The shopkeepers are charming, and there are numbers of -salesmen--salesmen who do not mind taking any amount of trouble to -please. It is delightful, if insidious, to go into those shops; and -one can well believe that if a Chinese silk shop were opened in London, -and silk sold at Chinese prices, the shop would have plenty of -customers. The quality of Chinese silk far exceeds that of the silks -of the West. A Chinese gentleman mentioned as an example of this -superiority that one of his gowns was made of French silk, and that it -was torn and spoilt after two or three years; but that he had had gowns -of Chinese silk for twenty years or more which were quite as good as on -the day he bought them, and that he had only put them on one side -because the fashions in men's garments change in China as they do -elsewhere for ladies. The same gentleman related many interesting -things about the silk trade. The quality of the silk is determined by -the silk guild. This is much more like the guilds in mediæval Europe -than anything that we have nowadays, and that is why China is not -exporting more silk than she is at present. These silk guilds to a -certain extent prevent the Chinese catering for European customers, as -they will not allow or at any rate encourage the production of silks -that would take on the European market. The West has many faults as -well as many virtues, and one of its faults is that it no longer cares -for articles of sterling value, which last long and for which a high -price must be paid, {97} but it delights in attractive articles of poor -quality at a low price. It is to be feared that the West may spoil -some of China's great products as she has spoilt the great arts and -productions of India. - -But to return to Chinese streets. Next the silk shop will be the -silver shop. Here again the work is admirable. At such a place as -Kiukiang you can spend an hour or more bargaining, and watching the -wonderful skill of the silversmiths as they turn out beautiful silver -ornaments. It is pleasant to wander along and to look into the shops -and see the strange things that are for sale--fish of many kinds in one -shop, rice and grain in another, strange vegetables, little bits of -pork, flattened ducks; or to glance at the clothes and the coats hung -out, many of them of brilliant colours. The signs over the shops and -the names of the merchants are a feature in themselves, illuminated as -they are in vivid hues of red and gold, in those wonderful characters -so full of mystery to the foreigner. - -In a native city up-country the traveller is practically forced to go -through the city in a chair. There are no wheel conveyances except -wheelbarrows, and, except where there are Manchus, horses are quite -unknown. Walking is profoundly unpleasant for a European, for as he -walks along he is constantly jostled by porters carrying loads of goods -on a bamboo across their shoulders; or cries are heard, and a Chinese -Mandarin is carried past shoulder high, leaning forward looking out of -his {98} chair perhaps with a smile, of contempt for the foreigner who -can so demean himself as to go on foot like a common coolie; or perhaps -it is a lady with her chair closely covered in and only a glimpse to be -seen of a rouged and powdered face, for the Chinese women paint to -excess, as part of their ordinary toilette. Next comes the -water-carrier hurrying past with his two buckets of water; or perhaps -it is some malodorous burden which makes a Western long to be deprived -of the sense of smell. But in a chair a ride through a Chinese town is -delightful; the chair-coolies push past foot-passengers who accept -their buffets with the greatest equanimity, and from a comparatively -elevated position the traveller can look down on the crowd. - -But when the Chinese city is near a port, all this begins to change. -The chair is replaced by the ricksha, and though in many ways it is -less comfortable than a chair, the ricksha is after all the beginning -of the rule of the West, being a labour-saving machine. One coolie or -two at the most can drag a man quickly and easily where with a chair -three or four bearers would be needed. Outside the old town will be -built the new native town, and the new native town is built on European -lines, with comparatively wide streets. In a treaty port the completed -specimen of the transitional stage through which all China is passing -is to be seen. Shanghai is a most delightful town, although it seems -commonplace to those who live there, but {99} to a stranger it is a -place full of contradictions and eccentricities. The first thing that -strikes one in Shanghai is that none of the natives know any of the -names of the streets. It is true they are written up in large letters -both in English and in Chinese; but as not one of the coolies can read, -they have not the very slightest idea that that is the name of the -street--they call it quite a different name; and as they speak a -different language both to that of the educated Chinaman and to the -Englishman, there is no reason why they should ever learn the names -given by them. The habitual way of directing a ricksha coolie is by a -sort of pantomime, and there is always a great element of uncertainty -as to whether he will get to his destination even with the oldest -resident unless he knows the way himself. I arrived at Tientsin and -tried to go and see Dr. Lavington Hart, whose college is known all over -China, I may say all over the world, but the Chinese porter was quite -unable to make the coolie understand where it was, and so we wandered -about for some time till the coolie got tired and put me down opposite -what fortunately turned out to be the house of a Japanese gentleman. I -entered the house, and was surprised that the Chinese servant who met -me did not altogether seem to expect me; but as he could not speak -English and I could not speak Chinese, it was impossible to inquire if -anything was wrong. I was just wondering why Dr. Hart should live in a -Japanese house, {100} when the door opened and a Japanese gentleman -walked in. Fortunately for me he spoke both Chinese and English well; -so after explanations I was again sent on my road, and found Dr. -Lavington Hart waiting dinner for me, and wondering how I had got lost. -He then told me that I should have asked not for his college but for -the hospital opposite, and that I should have asked not for the street -but for the Chinese name of the doctor of the hospital who had been -dead ten or fifteen years. - -There is a moral in all this: it shows the state of confusion that -exists in small as well as in large things. I asked several Englishmen -why they did not accept the native names of the streets; their answer -was that the coolies could not read them; and when I suggested that -common sense would expect that the coolies' names should be taken for -the streets, for after all that is how most of the streets in England -were originally named, the suggestion met with no approval. These -small matters show what a great gulf there is between the thoughts of -the two races. If the coolies had been Italians or Germans or -Russians, their names would have been accepted, or they would have been -compelled to learn the new names. - -Another example of the difficulty of carrying on the details of city -life is afforded by a common spectacle at Shanghai. In the crowded -streets you see a little crowd of policemen. The group consists of -three splendid men, typical of three different {101} civilisations. -First there is the English policeman; next to him is a black-bearded -man, bigger than the first, a Sikh, every gesture and action revealing -the martial characteristics of his race; then a Chinaman completes the -group, blue-coated and wearing a queue and a round Chinese hat as a -sign of office. The traveller wonders why this trio is needed till he -sees them in action. A motor car rushes down one road, a ricksha comes -down another, and a Chinese wheelbarrow with six women sitting on it -slowly progresses down a third. All three conveyances are controlled -by Chinamen, and when they meet, all shout and shriek at the top of -their voices; no one keeps the rule of the road, with the probable -result that the wheelbarrow is upset, the ricksha is forced against the -wall, and the motor car pulled up dead. Then the police force comes -into action. The Chinese policeman objurgates vociferously and makes -signals indifferently to everybody; the Sikh policeman at once begins -to thrash the Chinese coolie; meanwhile the English policeman at last -gets the traffic on the right side of the road, quiets his -subordinates, sees justice done, and restores order. Possibly if the -matter had been left to the Chinese policeman, he would have arranged -it in the end; the traffic in Peking was controlled entirely by Chinese -policemen and was fairly well managed. - -There is an extraordinary example of the want of consideration for the -feelings of the Chinese to {102} be seen in the public gardens at -Shanghai. There stands a notice which contains, among several -regulations, first, that "no dogs or bicycles shall be admitted"; -secondly, that "no Chinese shall be admitted except servants in -attendance on foreigners." Considering that the land is Chinese soil, -one cannot but wonder that any one who had dealings with the Chinese -should allow so ill-mannered a notice to be put up. No Chinese -gentleman would object for a moment if the notice had been to the -effect that unclean persons and beggars should be excluded from the -gardens; but to exclude the cultured Chinese merchant who is every whit -as clean as his Western neighbour, or to exclude the respectable people -of the middle class whose orderly behaviour is beyond suspicion, is as -unreasonable as it is regrettable. - -Again, the Shanghai municipality has no Chinese representatives upon -it, though the great bulk of the population is Chinese, with the result -that from time to time they come across Chinese prejudices and quite -unnecessarily irritate the population which they govern. The Chinese -have a principle that a woman shall be publicly punished only for -adultery and open shameless theft; her "face" or dignity must be -preserved; and therefore she should never be made to answer for her -offences in open court, her husband or her father being held -responsible for her behaviour and for her punishment. The right way of -dealing with any woman who is charged with an offence is to do as we do -in England with regard to children, to summon {103} not her but those -responsible for her behaviour. I was assured by a Chinese official -that the trouble which culminated in the Shanghai riots originated from -disregard of this principle. The refusal of the Shanghai municipality -to have Chinese representatives upon it is the more remarkable, as I -was informed at Hong-Kong that they have such representatives, and find -them most useful in assisting in the government of the Chinese. It is -not surprising that Shanghai is a town to which it is diplomatic to -make no reference in conversation with a Chinese gentleman. - -There is more to be said for the mistrust of the Chinese Post-office -and for the continuation of the curious system by which each nation has -its own post-office. Nothing is more annoying to the traveller in -Shanghai than the trouble he has to get his letters. If it should so -happen that he has correspondents in many countries, he has to go to -every one of the many post-offices in Shanghai, and they are situated -in different parts of the town and in places very difficult to find. -There is the Imperial Chinese Post-office, to which he first repairs, -and where he will find letters from any correspondent in China; then -with the greatest difficulty he reaches the English Post-office; after -which he remembers that some of his friends may be on a holiday in -France, therefore he must go to the French Post-office, and so on. -When he asks why the Chinese Post-office cannot be trusted, he is told -that the Chinese themselves will not trust their {104} post-office -unless there be a European official in control, and that the old -Chinese system by which letters are forwarded by private companies -still continues in many parts of China, although they possess branches -of the Imperial Chinese Post-office. Still the traveller wearily -thinks at the end of his day's journey that without undue trust in -another nationality, or any loss of national prestige, an International -Post-office might be arranged in a town like Shanghai, with its vast -travelling population. - -Shanghai with its mixture of races, with its national antipathies and -jealousies, is indeed one of the most attractive but strangest towns in -the whole world. Every race meets there; and as one wanders down the -Nanking road, one never tires of watching the nationalities which -throng that thoroughfare. There walks a tall bearded Russian, a fat -German, jostling perhaps a tiny Japanese officer, whose whole air shows -that he regards himself as a member of the conquering race that has -checkmated the vast power of Europe; there are sleek Chinese in Western -carriages, and there are thin Americans in Eastern rickshas; the motor -cycle rushes past, nearly colliding with a closely-curtained chair -bearing a Chinese lady of rank, or a splendid Indian in a yellow silk -coat is struck in the face by the hat of a Frenchman, who finds the -pavements of Shanghai too narrow for his sweeping salute; one hears -guttural German alternating with Cockney slang; Parisian toilettes are -seen next half-naked coolies; a couple of sailors on {105} a tandem -cycle almost upset two Japanese beauties as they shuffle along with -their toes turned in; a grey gowned Buddhist priest elbows a bearded -Roman missionary; a Russian shop where patriotism rather than love of -gain induces the owners to conceal the nature of their wares by -employing the Russian alphabet overhead, stands opposite a Japanese -shop which, in not too perfect English, assures the wide world that -their heads can be cut cheaply; an English lady looks askance at the -tightness of her Chinese sister's nether garments, while the Chinese -sister wonders how the white race can tolerate the indecency that -allows a woman to show her shape and wear transparent sleeves. - -Yes, Shanghai on a spring afternoon is a most interesting place; and -yet as you turn your eyes to the river and catch sight of the dark grey -warship, you realise that beneath all this peace and busy commerce lies -the fear of the grim realities of war. China may assimilate the -adjuncts of Western life, but she will never welcome the Western. The -racial gulf that divides them is far too deep. It may be temporarily -bridged by the heroism of a missionary; the enthusiasm of Christianity -may make those who embrace it brothers; but the feeling of love will -not extend one inch beyond the influence of religion; and those who -ponder on the future as they watch the many-hued crowd that passes must -grow more and more sure that the future of China lies with the Chinese -alone; and however much as a race they may {106} be willing to learn -from the West, they will as a race be led only by their own people. -The Westerner may be employed; Western teaching may be learnt; Western -garments may be worn; but, as a Chinese professor said, "The wearer -will be a Chinaman all the same." - - - - -{107} - -CHAPTER IX - -OPIUM - -There was one marked difference in the cities of China as we saw them -in our two visits, and this was the change that had taken place in the -matter of opium-smoking. Opium-smoking in 1907 was such a common vice -that you could see men smoking it at the doors of their houses. In -1909 opium-smoking hid itself, and those that smoked, smoked secretly, -or at any rate less ostentatiously. I doubt whether so great an -alteration has taken place in any country, certainly not of late years. - -Each race has its peculiar vice; in fact, we may go further than that, -we may say that it is a remarkable fact that the great bulk of mankind -insists on taking some form of poison; in fact, it is only a minute -minority which wholly abstains from this practice. The poisons used by -mankind have different effects and have a different degree of toxic -power, but the reason they are used is because in some way they -stimulate or soothe the nervous system. Opium, alcohol, tobacco, tea, -coffee, hashish, are examples of this widespread habit of humanity; but -these different drugs have the most different effects on the welfare of -man. Some seem to be wholly {108} innocuous if not beneficial, and -others seem to be absolutely pernicious and to do nothing but evil; and -further than that, one may say that a different preparation of the same -drug or a different way of taking it produces differing results. A -still more curious thing is that though all mankind is agreed in taking -some poison, there is a marked, racial tendency to accept one -particular poison and to detest others, and at times it seems as if the -habit of taking one was sufficient to prevent another having any -attraction. - -As we went to China we passed through the Suez Canal, and heard what a -curse hashish was in Egypt, and how the Egyptian Government had -endeavoured to secure total prohibition of the use of this obnoxious -drug, a course which was impossible owing to the great amount of -smuggling that was facilitated by the wide deserts that surround Egypt. - -When we arrived at Saigon (we were travelling by the French mail) we -first came in contact with the terrible vice of the Chinese. A French -lady was pointed out to us by a doctor, and he asked us to observe the -odd glassy look of her eyes, the intense suavity of her manner and the -contempt which she evinced for truth, and he told us that these were -all symptoms of the vice of opium-smoking that she had contracted from -association with the Annamites. The French for some mysterious reason -seem more prone to acquire this vice than do our own countrymen, for -though in 1907 it was rife in South China, {109} no one ever suggested -that any English smoked opium at Hong-Kong. - -As we went up to Canton crowds of people were smoking opium on the -Chinese deck, and when we wandered round they had no objection to our -standing watching the lazy process of dipping the needle into the -treacle-like mixture, turning it round till a bead was formed, then -putting it into the lamp to light and thence transferring it to the -opium pipe, when after three whiffs or so the process had to be begun -again. - -The first effect of opium-smoking is to make a man intelligent and -amiable. It is for this reason that opium-smoking--so the Chinese -explained to us--is used largely in business. When business is -difficult, and you cannot get three or four men to agree, the opium -pipe is brought out, and after two or three whiffs the cantankerous -people are reasonable, and the people whose dignity is hurt are -forgiving, and business is easily and rapidly transacted. The next -stage of smoking is stupidity. As you watch an opium-smoker in that -condition he nods amiably at you with a rather imbecile look. The last -stage is one of heavy senseless sleep. The habitual opium-smoker -rarely passes the first stage, and its apparently beneficial influence -constitutes its danger. Each man says to himself: "I will never take -it to excess; I will merely use it and not abuse it; it makes life -sweet to me and business easy." - -I have always thought that those who condemn {110} opium have a -tendency to prove too much in their argument. If it could be shown -that the effects of opium-taking were invariably pernicious, it would -be very hard to see how the vice could take such a hold as it has taken -on the Chinese race; if the young men regularly saw that the older men -were brought to inanity and death by the use of opium, they would -themselves be terrified of contracting the vice, and it would not have -spread as rapidly as it has done. The vice is essentially modern. -Opium has only been grown in China for about seventy or eighty years, -and it has only been imported in large quantities for a scarcely longer -period of time. An inhabitant of Shansi told us that though every one -smoked opium, and it was a terrible curse, his father remembered its -introduction. Opium is certainly deleterious to the moral fibre of a -race, and in many cases it produces death and misery; but there are a -certain number of cases where no obvious evil effects follow from its -consumption--cases when as a rule a man is well-nourished, for it acts -most deleteriously on a man's powers of digestion. Men who have good -food can better tolerate the effects of the drug, so a mission doctor -explained, and their comparative immunity tempts others to follow their -example. Men do not see at once the evil that will result, and so its -use has spread by leaps and bounds. The Chinese Government have always -theoretically resisted it, but their action has been hampered by their -not being permitted to {111} prohibit its importation. For many years -the pro-opium party in China used those treaty obligations by which -China was bound to permit the importation of opium as a reason for -stopping any efforts to extirpate the vice in the country. Not only -were there always a great number of people in high places addicted to -the vice, who were naturally unwilling to remove from themselves the -opportunity of its gratification, but also there was a vast number of -people who rapidly acquired a great pecuniary interest both in the -maintenance and extension of this trade. - -Unfortunately for humanity, opium was not only very injurious but -extremely portable, and it therefore formed in a country where means of -communication are bad a very useful article of exchange. The peasant -farmer will grow most things on his little farm which he and his family -consume--in most respects they will be a self-supporting community--but -there must be a certain number of things which they will need to buy, -and for which they must give something in exchange; that something must -be portable. In many cases the only way of bringing your goods to the -market is by carrying them on your own back. Opium, alas, forms, in -soils which it suits, a most remunerative crop. The whole product of -several fields can be carried quite easily on a man's back and can be -sent down to the market, where it will find a ready sale, and the -result of that sale will be invested in articles of which the farmer -and his family have need. - -{112} - -Not only the farmer, but the trader, both Chinese and European, find it -a most profitable source of trade. It was hard, and it is hard, to -persuade the European trader that it is injurious to China, and to -understand the reason we must turn back to the thought which was -suggested at the beginning of the chapter, namely, that it is very -doubtful whether the English race has any natural desire for the vice, -while it is most patent that the Chinese have a peculiar national -tendency towards this form of dissipation. When people have no desire -for an intoxicant themselves, it is hard to persuade them that others -may have a desire which may be beyond all power of restraint. The -trading class mixes but little socially with the Chinese, and the -people with whom they are brought in contact are very generally -pecuniarily interested in the opium trade, and therefore they have -neither the evidence of the Chinese nor of their own temptation to -convince them of the insidious and dangerous character of this vice to -the Chinese race. - -The English race has long been conversant with opium. In the form of -laudanum it used to be sold freely in the eastern counties. I have -heard people describe years ago how the old women from the fen round -Lowestoffe, or the marshes as they are there called, would call on -market day at the chemist for their regular supply of laudanum, which -they would take in quantities sufficient to make any ordinary person go -fast asleep. It was used there, as it is used in many {113} countries, -as a prophylactic against ague. The doctors now deny that it has any -beneficial effect, but the people in the eastern counties used to think -differently. But when I was a curate at Yarmouth I could find no -traces of this vice; it had apparently been exterminated not by any -social reform or moral movement, but by the superior attraction of -alcohol; and in my day Yarmouth and the district round was terribly -addicted to the national vice of intemperance. I noticed the same -thing in Shanghai. The English know opium; most of them have out of -curiosity tried a pipe; and they describe the effects as trifling or -very unpleasant. One man said that he felt as if all his bones were a -jelly; another that he felt as if he was floating between heaven and -earth; a third that he found no pleasure in it at all, but that he had -a "filthy headache" next day. On the other hand, if you go into the -Shanghai Club you can see at once what is the attractive vice to the -European at Shanghai; the whole of one side of the entrance hall was -nothing more than the bar of an overgrown public-house. You will hear -story after story which tells the same old tale that alcohol, -especially in its strongest form, is the greatest pleasure and the -worst danger to the Englishman abroad as at home. - -If opium is unattractive to the white man, on the other hand alcohol is -equally unattractive to the yellow man; in fact, their relative -position is much the same. The yellow man has known of alcohol from -the very earliest ages. Dr. Ross quotes the {114} second ode of the -Book of Poetry as showing how well known drunkenness was to the -Chinese: "Before they drank too much, they were dignified and grave; -but with too much drink their dignity changed to indecency, their -gravity to rudeness; the fact is, that when they have become drunk they -lose all sense of order. When the guests have drunk too much, they -shout, they brawl, they upset the orderly arrangement of the dishes, -they dance about unsteadily, their caps are set awry and threaten to -fall off, they dance about and do not know when to stop. Had they gone -out before drinking so deeply, both host and guest would have been -happier. Drinking gives real happiness only when it is taken in -moderation according to propriety." - -Drunkenness seems to have been extirpated from China by the same -process that laudanum-taking was from the eastern counties, namely, it -has given way before the more entrancing vice of opium-smoking. I was -assured that the Tibetans do not share with the Chinese this preference -for opium, and this is all the more remarkable because from their -geographical position they have always been in close contact with -India, which is apparently the home of the opium vice, but they have -adhered steadily to the vice of drunkenness. The Chinese have free -trade in drink; they have no licensing laws; any one may sell alcohol -at any time of the day, in any place they like; and yet alcohol has so -few votaries that you will scarcely see a drunken man from one end of -China to another. - -{115} - -If the English commercial world is incredulous to the danger of opium -to the Chinaman, not so the Chinese world. People will tell you that -Orientals love to agree with you in whatever you say, but I heard a -British Vice-consul flatly contradicted by a Chinese official when the -Vice-consul expressed a doubt as to the danger of the vice, and I must -say the Chinese disputant supported his contradiction with an argument -which seemed to me perfectly unanswerable. He said: "Look at the -Japanese; they are impartial spectators of the vice of alcoholism and -opium-smoking; they are conversant with the worst forms of alcoholism -that white men can show them. It is well known that white sailors are -great offenders in this respect. Every port in Japan knows what it is -to see a drunken sailor finding his way to his ship. They are equally -conversant with the vice of opium-smoking. They have intimate contact -with the Chinese; they know both the recent origin of this vice and its -terrible ravages; and what do they do? Do they forbid both vices -equally? No; they are so convinced that opium is so much more -dangerous than alcohol, that they will not allow it to be introduced -into their country for smoking purposes, and the smuggler is liable to -five years' penal servitude. But the vice of alcoholism they treat as -something which, though harmful, can never threaten their national -existence." - -Perhaps we who have suffered much more from the vice of alcoholism than -of opium-smoking may be {116} inclined to think that while the Japanese -are right in the opium question, they are acting imprudently in -allowing alcoholism to gain such a hold on their people; but whether -they are right or wrong, there can be no doubt that the Chinese -official had justice on his side when he pointed out that to the -Japanese mind the evils that opium-smoking had done to China were of a -most serious character. - -His Excellency Tang-K'ai-Sun spoke the Chinese mind when, in an -eloquent speech at the Shanghai Conference, he told of the awful -desolation that opium was bringing to his land. But it is unnecessary -to quote the opinion of individual Chinamen; they are practically -unanimous on this subject. One has only got to point to what China has -done to show two things. First, that the curse of opium-smoking was -far greater and more horrible than anything that we have experienced on -this side of the globe; next, that there is latent in the Chinese -character a vigour and an energy which, when it is called into action, -despises all obstacles and acts so efficiently as to leave the world -lost in astonishment. Realise what China has done. China is addicted -to a vice which has a far greater hold upon her than alcoholism has -upon us; she determines that within ten years that vice is to cease. -The production of the poppy is to be diminished till none is produced; -opium-smokers are to be held up to public scorn; opium dens--which are -really the equivalent of our public-houses--are to be closed; all -officials who take {117} opium are to be turned out of Government -employ; the only exception that is made is for old men, and that -exception was quite unavoidable. So vigorous was the action of the -Government that men who have for forty or fifty years of their lives -taken opium, tried to give it up; the result was in several cases that -they were unable to support the physical strain; a great illness, even -death, ensued; and so the edict was relaxed; men over sixty were -allowed to continue smoking. When all this was published, every one -smiled. They argued that China was trying to do the impossible. A -vice like opium-smoking may be extirpated, but only after years of -struggle. A generation must come and a generation must go before opium -or any similar vice shows appreciable diminution. - -We ourselves have not been unsuccessful in struggling against the vice -of alcoholism; but consider the number of years since Father Mathew -first spoke against drink. England may be growing sober, but it is by -slow if steady degrees. But China hopes to accomplish in ten years -what has taken England so many patient years of toil to effect -partially. The idea that China could do this was regarded by most -Westerns as almost laughable. In 1907, when the edict was first put -forth, all those we met in China held this view; even missionaries, -while they gave every credit to the Government for what it intended, -shook their heads and foretold disappointment. We noticed as we passed -along that {118} wonderful line that links Hankow to Peking and Peking -to Harbin in 1907 that the country was beautiful with the white and -pink crops of poppy, till at times one might imagine that the -transformation scene of a London theatre was before us rather than the -land of China, and remembering what we had been told, we also -confidently expected failure to the edict which requires the -destruction of so many miles of this pernicious if beautiful crop. - -In 1909, when we again traversed the same country, we could not see a -single poppy flower; not only so, but we made every effort to see if we -could find a field. We went for a twenty mile walk at Ichang through -the country, where no one could have expected a foreigner to come, and -we only found one tiny patch of poppy, and one in which the ruthless -hand of the law had rooted up the growing crop. As we went up the -Gorges of the Yangtsze we scanned with a strong glass the hillside, and -never once on those glorious mountains did we see any sign of opium -cultivation. We asked about the officials; not only was the Government -enforcing the law that officials must give up opium-smoking, but they -were taking a more effectual action; they were requiring all those who -were going to be officials to spend some time under supervision, to -ensure that they should not be opium-smokers. Could any Western power -hope to accomplish such a feat? Would the most extreme temperance -reformer suggest that all public-houses should be closed, that the -amount of barley {119} should be diminished every year till within ten -years none should be grown, and that all the Government officials, from -the Prime Minister downwards, should become total abstainers within -that period? The reason of this vigorous action of China and its -present success is to be attributed to two things: first, to the -terrible and very real national fear that this vice will destroy the -nation, as it has destroyed countless families and individuals; -secondly, to the vast store of energy which enables China to accept new -ideas and act vigorously on them. - -The great revolution of thought that is going on has called forth this -vigour. The China of yesterday was _fainéant_ and unprogressive. The -China that is emerging out of this revolution of thought is energetic, -though possibly unpractical. The old traditions of Government are not -lost, and they wait but for the man and the hour to enable China to act -as vigorously as she has done in time past. Her action in this opium -question may be ill-considered in some details; it may even fail; but -it has shown the world that China is in earnest, and that she can act -with a vigour which will cause wonder and envy on this side of the -world. Every missionary reports that even high officials are coming -asking to be cured of the opium habit. The missionaries have founded -refuges where they receive and cure those who are ready to submit to -the terrible ordeal, for their suffering is intense. Many quack cures -are advertised. Some are definitely pernicious; for instance, the -{120} morphia syringe has become a common article for sale in some -parts of China. Some few may be beneficial. There is no doubt that -the movement against opium is a great national movement, and is not the -result of the action of any small or fanatical party. What China has -done proves that this is so. - -Let me close the chapter by a quotation from the ablest of the foreign -representatives at Peking, Sir John Jordan. Writing to Sir Edward -Grey, he says: "It is true that the Chinese Government have in recent -years effected some far-reaching changes, of which the abolition of the -old examination system is perhaps the most striking instance; but to -sweep away in a decade habits which have been the growth of at least a -century, and which have gained a firm hold upon 8,000,000 of the adult -population of the empire, is a task which has, I imagine, been rarely -attempted with success in the course of history; and the attempt, it -must be remembered, is to be made at a time when the Central Government -has largely lost the power to impose its will upon the provinces. The -authors of the movement are, however, confident of success, and China -will deserve and doubtless receive much sympathy in any serious effort -she may make to stamp out the evil." - - - - -{121} - -CHAPTER X - -THE WOMEN'S QUESTION - -The desire for radical change is never so much to be dreaded as when it -attacks the home life of a nation. That quiet life so often hidden -away because of its very sacredness by the Eastern races is like -everything else in China disturbed by the introduction of Western -civilisation, and in no other part of human life will its two different -sides be more apparent. Western civilisation without Christianity will -destroy the home life as it destroys most Eastern things it touches, -and will do little to construct a new life to take the place of the one -it destroys. The Japanese complain that Western civilisation has -destroyed both the modesty and the religion of their women, and -Christianity has not yet been able to any great extent to reconstruct -on the basis of true religion new ideals of feminine life. Therefore -the Chinese, with all their enthusiasm for Western culture, are looking -a little nervously at what they see has happened in Japan. They say -that their home life is not now unbeautiful; even those who are -disposed to admit that the life of the Western woman is founded on -higher ideals than their own will not allow that their national home -life deserves unmixed {122} condemnation. Everybody agrees that the -wanton destruction of the laws which govern women's life in China may -have a terrible result when Western civilisation is unwisely -introduced, especially if it is made to appear to be a civilisation -without religion. The missionaries see in this crisis the necessity -for vigorous action; while thankful for the movement, they realise the -responsibility it puts upon Christians to see that that movement is -wisely directed. In the memorial from the Centenary Conference at -Shanghai in 1907 to the Home Churches, they say:-- - -"The changed attitude of China towards female education and the place -of woman, lays upon us great responsibilities. The uplifting of woman -is a first need in the moral regeneration of a people, and one of the -things in which Christianity has a totally different ideal from that -which the religions of China have encouraged. The present change of -national sentiment on the subject is one of the indirect but none the -less striking changes that the slow but steady dissemination of -Christian ideas in China during the past century has led to. Let it be -remembered, however, that it requires the Christian motive power to -make it successful and fruitful." - -It is somewhat difficult to obtain information from the Chinese -themselves as to the position of women. They are very averse to -discussing the subject; in fact, it is not even regarded as good -manners for a man to ask after the health of his most intimate friend's -wife; and all the information that we could {123} get had for the most -part to be obtained by Lady Florence Cecil through feminine sources. -We may generally state, however, that the position of women in China is -neither so low as that which they occupy in India or among the -Mohammedans, neither is it in any degree so high as the position of -women in Western lands. The woman is completely subject to the man; -till she marries she is subject to her father, when she is married she -is subject to her husband, and if her husband dies she is then subject -to her son, and rarely re-marries. These are called the three -obediences. She is not educated as a rule, because both public opinion -and Chinese philosophy regard her as mentally far inferior to the man. -We shall explain later on how in Chinese thought everything is divided -into a good and an evil principle--a Yang and a Yin. The woman is -distinctly Yin. She is therefore necessary to man, but at the same -time inferior. - -Again, with regard to the question of polygamy, her position is an -intermediate one between the avowed polygamy of Moslem countries and -the ill-maintained monogamy of many a Latin country. In Hong-Kong the -position was explained by a Chinaman to me thus: that when a woman grew -old it was regarded as her duty to provide a secondary wife for her -husband's pleasure and as a companion for herself--a companion with a -sense of servitude in it. If this was done in an orderly manner, it -was absolutely approved by Chinese public opinion. If, {124} on the -other hand, the husband, ignoring the wife's rights, should choose a -secondary wife for himself and set her up in another house, his -attitude would be regarded as distinctly doubtful by the respectable -Chinese. In the same way if an official were appointed to a distant -post he would probably not think of imposing upon his wife with her -deformed feet the pain and discomfort of a long journey; he would most -likely take a natural-footed woman, who will be for that reason a -slave; in fact, one gentleman went so far as to say that he thought -that the squeezed feet had a great deal to do with this institution of -a secondary wife, because he noted that the secondary wives of all the -officials when they were travelling were natural-footed women. - -The secondary wife would be rarely a woman of good class; it is allowed -to be an inferior position. On the other hand, if she bears her -husband a son, and that son is recognised, all that son's relations, -and therefore all his mother's relations, become relations of the -father. - -The curious tangle which such a position begets when brought into -contact with the Christian idea is exemplified in this story. A rich -Chinaman had three wives. By his lawful wife he had nine children; by -the other two he had none; but his second wife was a woman of very -strong character, and she was brought in touch with the missionaries by -the Chinese wife of a European. She apparently ruled the house with a -kindly rule to which all the others {125} bowed. She did everything in -an energetic and vigorous way, and she studied Christianity till she -was convinced of its truth, and then she demanded baptism. There was a -great difficulty; she must leave her husband before she could be -baptized. After considerable delay she accepted the condition, but -resistance came, not alone from the man, but from the other two wives. -They could not possibly get on without her; they were like sisters; and -she must be allowed to return to the house. She refused, though the -pressure was extreme. The man said that he had promised his ancestors -that none of his children should be Christians, and that his own mother -would not forgive him; but the woman held firm, and at last she was -baptized. Her face was beautiful to behold while she was accepting -Christianity and renouncing all that made life sweet to her. The -husband was so moved by her fortitude that he signed a paper promising -not to molest her, and yet to support her apart, so that she should not -be in any need. - -At the Shanghai Conference there were, curious to relate, many women -who wished the Christian body to recognise existing polygamy among the -Chinese. A sentence of the resolution proposed was that "secondary -wives may be admitted to membership if obviously true Christians." Mr. -Arnold Foster resisted the inclusion of these words, and they were -lost. No doubt the Conference was wise in taking this line. It is -most essential to maintain the purity {126} of the home life, and the -difficulty that arises from secondary wives desiring to join the -Christian Church can never be a very important one, as the vast -majority of Chinese are monogamous. - -A serious evil this custom creates is that of female slavery. Both in -Japan and China one of the awful penalties of poverty is that a man is -sometimes forced to sell his female children. These little girls are -bought by prudent Chinamen, first to be servants to their own wives and -then to act as secondary wives to their sons to prevent them going -elsewhere. Sometimes they are kidnapped by men who make a regular -business of this cruel traffic. Stories are told of boat-loads of -these children being brought down the Yangtsze, concealed below the -deck and terrorised to keep them quiet by one of their number being -killed before their eyes. On one occasion a missionary suddenly saw a -hand thrust through the planks of the deck, and on investigation he -discovered a dozen children hidden below, and as it turned out they had -been kidnapped, not bought, he was able to get them released. These -slaves are the absolute property of their owners, and many are the -tales told of the cruel and neglectful treatment to which they are -subjected. In Shanghai the Chinese police will report such cases, and -in consequence the ladies of the settlement have founded an admirable -institution to which they can be brought. The Slave Refuge deserves -all support. There the little girls are taught and cared for, and -helped to {127} forget the terrible experiences some of them have gone -through. Sad to relate, many of them have to be taken first to the -hospital to be cured from the effects of the ill-treatment they have -received. One poor little thing went into convulsions when a fire was -lit in the ward; it was difficult to understand the reason, but when it -happened again and the poor child uttered incoherent appeals for mercy, -it was discovered that she thought the fire was lit to heat opium -needles with which to torture her. Her system was too shattered for -recovery, but many others get quite well and form a pleasing sight at -work and play in the bright cheerful Refuge, with the happy elasticity -of youth forgetting the injuries which in some cases have left on them -permanent scars. But I fear the system of slavery continues very -commonly all over China, and such a philanthropic effort as the -Shanghai Slave Refuge can touch but a very small proportion of them. -Probably when the little slaves are destined to be wives to their -mistresses' sons they are treated less cruelly, and though employed as -household drudges, do not live actively unhappy lives. - -Without stating that women as a whole are miserable, I think it would -be no exaggeration to say that they are infinitely less happy than -their Western sisters. Many of the national customs militate against -their happiness. The custom of child betrothal, for instance, condemns -a woman to live completely subject to a man for whom she perhaps {128} -has the greatest natural antipathy. Stories are told of brides -committing suicide rather than leave their father's house to be married -to men for whom they feel no affection; yet as a whole they accept -their position, and a Chinese woman has neither the will nor the power -to be untrue to her husband. - -Again, the rule of the husband's mother is very often extremely harsh; -the child-wife is little better than her drudge. On the other hand, -when a woman grows older, her position is one of considerable strength. -I was assured that they take a keen interest in the management of their -husbands' properties, and often show themselves excellent business -women. The position which the late Empress of China acquired shows -that women's position is the very reverse of inferior when dignified by -age. - -And now before all this woman's world glitters Western civilisation; -the greater dignity which is accorded therein to women is envied and -the laws which restrain her are misunderstood. The Chinese women hear -stories of Western life. At first such strange perversions are -believed as that in the West women rule. One missionary explained that -this absurd figment came from the rule of the late Queen; another -attributed it to the custom men have when travelling in China of -walking while their wives remained in the carrying chair. To the -Chinaman such a course admits of but one explanation: the {129} woman -must be greater than the man because she is carried while he walks. - -Again, in Western China they learnt through their local press that -girls and boys received a similar education in England, and they -concluded that the dress must be also similar, and the missionaries -were more amused than scandalised at seeing a Government girls' school -turned out in boys' clothes. It was explained to us that this was far -from being an uncommon custom in China; slave-girls who have been -brought up with natural feet are habitually dressed as boys, and it is -common now for fathers of small daughters with unbound feet to avoid -the unpleasant taunts of the ignorant by allowing their daughters while -they are children to wear boys' clothes. - -Still on the whole the desire for imitation of the West has been very -beneficial to the women of China, especially in this matter of -foot-binding. This disgusting custom is going out of fashion among the -enlightened and educated classes; two or three Chinese gentlemen -assured us that this was so; and in a place like Shanghai, where the -Western movement is very strong, the number of women with unbound feet -is quite remarkable; the greater number of them naturally have had -their feet bound, and as feet bound from infancy never become quite -normal, they still have something of the tottering walk which used to -be the admiration of every Chinaman; in fact, this tottering walk is -preserved as a piece of {130} affectation. A lady told us that even -her Christian girls' school was not above such a feminine weakness. As -they walked to Church they would step out with the swinging stride that -regular gymnastic exercises and a most comfortable dress have -encouraged; suddenly the lady would see the whole of her school struck -with a sort of paralysis which made them exchange their easy gait for -the "tottering-lily" walk of the Chinese small-footed women. The cause -is that the boys' school has just come into sight. I fear it must be -admitted that foot-binding continues to be practised in the interior -amongst the poorer women, who cling to the custom for fear of ridicule. - -The most beneficial effect of the admiration of the West is the earnest -desire that it has given to Chinese women for education. So keen is -this desire that even married women will become children again and take -their position in the class. Husbands who have received Western -education are most anxious that their wives should share somewhat in -their interests. - -Lady Florence could see over girls' schools where a man's visit would -not have been acceptable, so she visited many of all varieties, -including two at Peking of a rather unusual description. One of them -was carried on by a Manchu lady of high position, connected with a -great Manchu prince. Her attitude generally towards the forward -women's movement offends her family, as she lectures publicly on topics -of the time. {131} Her school is small, and, alas, not very efficient, -she having fallen into the usual fallacy amongst the Chinese of -believing that a Japanese instructress must of necessity be efficient. -Still her desire to give education to the children of the poor is -worthy of nothing but commendation. She looked most impressive, being -a fine big handsome woman, attired in the Manchu long robe with the -ornate Manchu head-dress. The second school my wife saw was managed by -another Manchu lady, and it seemed more orderly and more successful -than the other. These two schools testified to a desire to improve the -status of women. My wife visited many other schools, some belonging to -missions of various denominations, which attracted the daughters and -even the wives of upper-class men, who mixed quite happily with girls -of lower degree, being all united in a fervent desire for education, -the ruling desire now in China among women of all classes. - -This desire for education is a great opportunity for the missionaries, -and they appeal most eloquently in the message from which we have -already quoted for help from their sisters in England. "We need more -schools for girls and more consecrated and highly trained women -competent to conduct such schools and gradually to give higher and -higher instruction in them. We need more training schools, also, for -Chinese women, to fit them to work among their sisters, and we need -educated Christian ladies from our homelands for Zenana work in the -houses of the {132} well-to-do. Such work would have been impossible a -few years ago; now the visits of such workers would in many cases be -cordially welcomed by Chinese ladies, and frequently they would be -returned, for the seclusion of women in China is not at all as strict -as it is in India. This, so far, has been a comparatively unworked -sphere of usefulness in China, but it is one full of promise and of -gracious opportunity in the present." - -The difficulty of education is in one way increased and in another way -decreased by the ignorance which many women have of reading the Chinese -characters. A new system has been invented by which Chinese can be -written in our letters as pronounced. This is called by the rather -uncouth name of "Romanised." At the Shanghai Conference we were told -wonderful stories of the incredibly short space of time in which women -learnt to read by this system. A woman of sixty-seven learnt in two -months; while one lady asserted that she had taught a boy to read -between Friday and Wednesday, I may add inclusive. This extraordinary -achievement is not quite so impossible as it would be with our more -complicated languages. The Chinese have extremely few sounds, and -their language is monosyllabic in formation. However, we do not ask -our readers to accept this as the normal rate of education; still the -thing is worth mentioning, because it is possibly the beginning of a -great movement which may alter the whole of education in the Far East. -The extreme ease with {133} which Chinese can be written in our letters -may induce some daring spirit to advocate it as a system fitted for the -education of the poor, though this is at present quite improbable. - -A far darker side to the introduction of Western ways is the gradual -naturalisation of the social evils of the West. Lady Florence had the -privilege of seeing some of the rescue work undertaken by devoted -missionary ladies in Shanghai. Being an open port, this town, in -common, I believe, with the other semi-Westernised ports in China, -bears a very bad character as regards purity of morals. The advent of -the foreigner has done nothing but harm in this respect. Wonderful and -horrible though it may seem, the vice-mart exists in the ports mainly -in connection with the foreigners, who appear to have shown the way to -the Chinese. There is a street in Shanghai, the Foochow Road, where -terrible scandals occur almost openly; signs whose intention is veiled -to the outsider by his ignorance of Chinese characters, boldly -advertise the merits of various houses and their inmates. Formerly -these wretched girls were even paraded in open chairs, but this has -been stopped, though they are still carried about in closed chairs. -The scenes in this street as night falls are a sad witness to the ill -effect of Western ideas without Christianity. It must never be -forgotten that the victims of this condition of things are literally -victims. They have no choice in the matter. They are sold by their -parents, even by their husbands, {134} into their terrible position; -and though some may live a life of luxury, most of them are cruelly -treated, beaten, tortured to prevent flight, and, as is proved by their -subsequent conduct, they regard the life with absolute loathing. - -Inspired by profound pity for these poor creatures, these excellent -ladies started a Refuge for them with a receiving-house in the very -midst of this locality of ill-fame. To this haven the poor things -often flee even in the middle of the night, facing the unknown, -undeterred by rumours of the evil intentions of the foreigners put -about by their owners, rather than endure longer the life of -degradation and misery to which they have been condemned. The -missionaries receive them and pass them on to the "Door of Hope," the -appropriately named Refuge, which restores them to hope and peace and -happiness. There were to be seen some eighty young women living a -hard-working simple life, contented and merry, and apparently never -regretting for one moment the fine clothes and lazy luxury which many -of them had renounced. The ladies teach them useful arts, instruct -them in Christianity, and fit them for wives to Chinese Christians who -will be good to them, and, understanding well that their former life -was involuntary, are glad to have wives with a modicum of education. -The ladies will allow non-Christians to mate with non-Christians, if of -good character; but they will not permit any of their rescued flock to -become secondary wives. {135} Two things are remarkable in this work -of almost divine compassion--a relapse is practically unknown; and it -is the Chinese who are most helpful in encouraging it--more so than -foreigners; the Chinese often themselves suggest the "Door of Hope" to -these girls, and help in police cases to save them from their brutal -owners. - -The risk that China runs at this moment in the home-life is the same as -the risk that she is running in every other department of her national -existence. If the materialist side of Western civilisation is the one -that is the most apparent, it is scarcely possible that it will fail to -do great damage to her home-life. A thoughtful Chinaman, talking about -the whole question, argued in favour of a complete acceptance of -Western ideas. He was afraid of a half measure. He said that there -was no question that women in the West are restrained by a mass of -conventions of whose value they are perhaps unconscious, but which are -very apparent to those who have been brought up in a different -civilisation. It is the existence of these conventions that makes -their liberty possible. If the Chinese are to accept Western -civilisation for their women, and he regarded this as inevitable, they -must learn the conventions; and therefore his solution to the problem -was that Chinese girls should be brought to England and brought up as -English girls. - -But many missionaries plead for the opposite policy. They say: "Let us -preserve what is good in the Chinese home-life, let Christianity -permeate {136} that life and make it beautiful, but do not destroy it. -The Chinese home-life fits the Chinese race. The Westernised -Chinawoman will combine the errors of both civilisations and the -virtues of neither." - -Without giving an opinion on this very vexed question, we may express a -hope that a policy of prudence and moderation will govern the action of -those who are concerned with women's education, for the degree of -alteration which may be necessary in women's life to make them fitted -to receive Western civilisation will be a matter rather of experiment -than of theory. At any rate let Christianity precede any large -alterations, for Christianity alone can make the life of a Western -woman intelligible and consistent to her Eastern sister. - - - - -{137} - -CHAPTER XI - -CHINESE ARCHITECTURE - -Among the many ways a nation has of expressing its thoughts and of -showing its individuality, none is more valuable to mankind in general -than its art. - -Perhaps it can be said that every civilised nation has contributed to -the common stock of art, and certainly China has done her share. The -porcelain which is called after her name testifies to her pre-eminence -in ceramic art, and should make Westerns cautious in expressing their -contempt for a race which is generally acknowledged to be the -originator of this industry. I will not attempt to express an opinion -about the mysteries of this art, except to regret that the name of the -country should be so attached to this product of her skill as -constantly to cause confusion. When my friend Archdeacon Moule -published his interesting book on "New China and Old," a lady wrote to -him to say that she did not care for new china, but as she was a -collector of old china, she would much like to read his book. - -China has contributed to other forms of art as well. Her embroideries -and her lacquer work are well known; her ivory carving and silver work -have found a place in every collection. Her art, as we {138} might -expect from a race which has been under artificial conditions of -civilisation for many years, is distinctly artificial. In it you can -see the spirit of a race who for many centuries have been taught to -control themselves and to avoid the natural expression of their -feelings. If it is artificial in form, it is pleasing in colour and -superb in workmanship. There are few who will not agree that every -effort should be made to preserve these arts from being injured by a -false admiration of Western models. The only possible exception being -modern embroideries, which might be considerably improved if more -harmonious colours were blended together. - -China excels in another art, though her excellence is not admitted -either by the foreign resident or even by the native student. In -certain forms of architecture she is unequalled. Yet when the -Westerner comes to China he glories in bringing with him Western -architecture, indifferent as to whether it is suited to the climatic -conditions or is in itself beautiful. Take, for instance, the English -churches of China. Could any form of architecture be less suited to a -country like China, where the sun is frequently oppressively hot, than -Gothic architecture? The large windows, the pointed arch, and the -weak, open, high-pitched roof may be suitable in a country like ours -which has little sunlight, and where a wet drifting snow will often -force an entrance into the best-designed roof; but in a country like -China, where the sun is the chief difficulty, some construction {139} -should be preferred which renders a heavy and heat-proof roof possible. -If antipathy to the Chinese necessitated a Western type of building, -Italian or even Romanesque architecture might be selected, and a -building with a massive roof supported on solid arches might resist the -rays of the sun. But why not accept the Chinese architecture as -eminently fitted for the climate? - -If Christianity is to be assimilated by China and become part of their -national existence, the buildings in which it is proclaimed should be -essentially national. The intention of the Christian should be written -clearly on the face of every landscape where the new and beautiful -Chinese building rises up for the religion which is, as we maintain, as -essentially fitted for the Chinese as it is for the English. We do not -worship in a Roman basilica, but in the buildings that the northern -architects have devised as suitable, both for Christian worship and for -our climate. The new Chinese churches need not be replicas of the -Chinese temples; the object of the building is different, therefore the -building should differ, but there are many other forms in which it is -possible for the architect to express in Chinese architecture the -eternal truths of Christianity. - -Again, why are all the schools and colleges erected on Western -patterns. The Chinese are used to and prefer their own architecture, -and from a sanitary point of view I hardly think it is inferior. The -average Westerner in China has but one idea, and {140} that is that the -Chinese must become like a Western nation or must remain untouched by -Western civilisation. He absolutely refuses the suggestion that the -architecture of China can be altered to suit modern conditions. - -It is said that the thoughts of all nations are written in their -architecture; that you can see the nobility of the Middle Ages in the -Gothic cathedral, or the fulness of the thought of the Renaissance in -the Palladian facade; certainly on the modern Chinese town the story of -their change of thought is being rapidly written, perhaps with truth, -but certainly not with beauty. The Western man absolutely despising -all things Chinese refuses to erect any building which preserves even a -detail of the national architecture; the Westernising Chinaman in -faithful imitation erects Western buildings, but with this difference; -whereas the buildings of the Western have some beauty--for instance, -the cathedral at Shanghai is a noble building and the Pe-T'ang at -Peking would not disgrace an Italian town, even the bankers' palaces at -Hankow are not unworthy dwellings for merchant princes--the Chinese -imitations of these Western buildings have but little beauty to commend -them, and as far as I could understand they are really less serviceable -than a true Chinese building. - -No European resident in China will ever allow that Chinese buildings -are either beautiful or useful, and if any one suggests that a Western -house shall {141} be built in the Chinese style the suggestion is -scouted as absurd; yet the British Legation at Peking is an old Chinese -palace, and no one who has seen it ever doubts that it is one of the -most beautiful buildings in the whole of China, and if this building -has been found fitting for His Majesty's Representative, surely some -such building might serve for others of less high station. - -As to the spiritual ideals in Chinese architecture, who can doubt them -when they look at some of the pagodas that the reverence of Buddhism -has produced. These pagodas tell in every line of a nation that would -reach up above mere utilitarianism to higher thoughts. The uselessness -of the pagoda which so often annoys the practical Englishman is one of -its chief merits. It stands there in all its beauty pleading with -mankind for a love of beauty for its own sake and a belief in a -beautiful spirit world. The whole of Buddhist thought is intimately -connected with the love of beauty. When a Chinese gentleman was asked -if the Chinese had any love of beauty, he said: "You will notice that -their temples are always built in beautiful spots, so that they who -worship in them should satisfy their love of beauty." - -Even if the pagoda is merely regarded as a thing to bring luck to a -town, it still merits admiration, for there must be something fine in a -race that believes a beautiful thing can bring the blessing of the -heavenly bodies on the earth. No one can {142} study the details of -any of these pagodas without being confident that those who erected -them had as their main object the erection of a beautiful building. - -Or again, take the Temple of Heaven. Is there any monument in the -whole world that has more feeling of beauty about it? The white altar -lying uncovered testifies to the fundamental faith of the Chinese that -there is a God in heaven who dwelleth not in temples made with hands, -while the detail of the carving, though showing a certain sameness, yet -indicates their belief that God must love beauty. To see the white -Altar of Heaven together with the blue-roofed Temple beyond on some -sunny day when the flowers are blooming and the dark green of the pine -grove is in strong contrast with the light green of the spring herbage, -is one of those visions of beauty which make a man dream and dream -again of the noble future that may be before a race which has its -holiest places in such lovely surroundings. - -As most of the readers of this book may never have seen a Chinese -building, perhaps it should be described. The architecture of the -Chinese differs from that of the West in almost every detail. A -Chinese town is a town without chimneys, and yet the absence of those -chimneys which Renaissance architects made such a feature of domestic -architecture is never missed, for Chinese roofs are curved and -decorated with quaint figures; they are often {143} coloured, bright -yellow if the building is an imperial building, or bright blue or blue -and green with yellow lines, as taste may direct. Common houses have -not such ornate roofs, but I am speaking of the houses which have some -claim to architectural excellence. This great roof is carried directly -on pillars, so that it is possible to have a Chinese house without -walls, and these wall-less houses are most suitable to a country where -the summer is hot. The massive character of the roof prevents the heat -of the sun penetrating, and the absence of walls allows of a free -current of air; if there are walls they are generally wooden screens -filled in with paper, and the effect in some old Chinese houses is very -lovely. - -For winter weather these houses seem cold to us, but the Chinese have -always believed in the open-air policy. They never heat their houses; -they rely either on warm clothing or on a flue-heated bed at night; and -as they are as a race very subject to consumption, probably this policy -is one which is best suited to their constitutions. At any rate it -seems strange that while we in England are advocating open-air schools, -open-air cures, and sleeping with the window open, in China Western -influence should be destroying the admiration for a splendid form of -architecture, the characteristic of which was that while it was of -great beauty, it also shielded the inmates from the intense heat of -summer and gave them ample fresh air. - -When some Chinese literati were questioned {144} about this -architecture they freely confessed that they preferred their native -buildings, but they seemed to think that a Western school could not be -efficient unless it was held in a Western building. Missionaries and -others being questioned on this point maintained that Western houses -were in the end the cheapest, but the Chinese would not allow this. -They said that a Chinese house would cost far more than a Western house -if it were beautifully adorned with carving, but if it was built simply -it would work out at less cost. - -Chinese architecture is obviously a construction which lends itself to -the use of iron. A Chinese building with iron substituted for wood -would look as well, for they always paint their wood; this ought to be -a very cheap form of construction in a land which is going to produce -iron at a very low rate. The truth is that it is neither a question of -cost nor of efficiency which makes the Chinese architecture despised; -it is part of the great movement which expresses itself in stone and -brick--a movement which is tending to bring the Eastern countries into -misery--a movement which is planting in the East all that is -commonplace, all that is hideous in the West, and that is destroying -all that is beautiful in the East both in thought and colour and form. -It is the counterpart of the movement which is destroying the faith of -the Eastern nations and is only substituting the materialism which has -degraded the West. - - - - -{147} - -RELIGIONS OF CHINA AND THE MISSIONARY - - - - -CHAPTER XII - -RELIGIONS IN CHINA - -The real power of a race lies in its religion; other motives inevitably -tend to egotism, disorganisation, and national death, and China is no -exception to the rule; the strength and the weakness of China lies in -her religion and in its absence. There are few nations who set less -store by the outward observance of religion and yet there are few -nations with a greater belief in the supernatural. On the one hand, -the temples are deserted or turned into schools, and the Chinese are -believed to have no other motives than self-interest. On the other -hand, the whole of Chinese life turns round the relation of man to the -spirit of his ancestors and to the spiritual world, and the Chinaman -obviously believes that a man's soul is immortal and that its welfare -has the very closest connection with the welfare of his descendant. - -The commercial man will tell you that the Chinese are -materialists--people who have no faith; and yet with glorious -inconsistency he will explain that the difficulty of using Chinese -labour abroad is that even the commonest coolie demands that his body -shall be repatriated and shall lie in some place which will not hinder -his son doing filial {148} worship to his spirit. The whole question -of what the race believes is rendered more difficult of comprehension -to a Westerner by the confused nature of that belief, and is -complicated by the characteristic of the Chinese of mixing all -religions together regardless of their natural incongruity. It is -hoped that the reader will bear this in mind during the following -explanation. - -The religions of China are usually classed as three. Not three -well-marked religions in our sense of the word, but three elements -which tend to merge into a common religion. There are separate -religions. A large number of Chinese, for instance, are Mohammedan, -and they neither marry nor are given in marriage to the other Chinese; -there is a very small Jewish community; and there is also a native -Greek Christian village still tolerated by the Chinese, which was -transplanted from Siberia as the result of a Chinese conquest in the -days of Peter the Great; there are a quarter of a million Christians -converted by non-Roman missions, besides a million belonging to the -Roman Catholic Communion. But Christianity, Judaism, and Mohammedanism -put all together, form but a small part of the Chinese community, and -the greater part of China believes, according to all orthodox -expositors, in three religions--Buddhism, Taoism, and what is termed -Confucianism. - -This conglomerate of three religions consists in its turn of composite -faiths. Buddhism in China is not like the Buddhism of Ceylon with its -agnostic {149} teaching. Buddhism is divided into two great -divisions--the "greater vehicle" and the "lesser vehicle." The "lesser -vehicle" is known to the world as pure Buddhism; the "greater vehicle" -contains many sects, all of which claim that the revelation extended to -Gautama was only a partial revelation, and that the truth has been more -fully revealed to those who succeeded him. This is called Lamaism, and -in China has incorporated much of the idolatry which it supplanted and -perhaps some of the Nestorian Christianity which succeeded it; in fact, -the Buddhist temple in China is nothing more than an idol temple. -Buddha of Gautama is always the principal idol; he is represented calm -and without thought or trouble; he sits, the embodiment of peace and -rest; but though he may be the first in the Buddhist temple, he is far -from being alone; close behind him in popular estimation come two other -deities, Amita and Kwannin. Amita, Amitobha or O-mi-to, is held by -some to be the father of Kwannin, and is at once a guardian of the -Western Paradise and the personification of purity; to this wholly -mythical personage is attributed such virtue that the mere repetition -of his name will secure salvation. In Japan a sect holds that every -Buddhist law can be broken with immunity as long as there is faith in -Amita. In China such statements are made as this: to follow the strict -law of Buddhism is to climb to heaven as a fly crawls up the wall, but -to attain Salvation by repeating {150} the name O-mi-to is like sailing -heavenwards in a boat with wind and tide behind, at the pace of a -hundred li an hour. There is a general agreement that adherence to the -strict Buddhist law of chastity, honesty, truth, temperance, abstinence -from anger and serenity of mind, is an ideal which is impossible at any -rate for the laity. But the exact method of escaping this burden -differs in various sects. The most popular is by a "saving faith" in -Amita. - -If the origin of this deity can be attributed to the personification of -a spirit of purity, the origin of the next, Kwannin, is probably from -some source outside Buddhism. She is the goddess of mercy, but -whatever her origin, she at present represents the remnants of either -the Nestorian or the mediæval Roman teaching. In Peking they have a -curious image of her which any one might mistake for a Madonna, the -truth being that there was at one time an intimate contact between -Christianity and Buddhism, when many of the externals of the Christian -religion and some of its doctrines were transplanted. The Buddhist -temple with its altar in the centre looks strangely like a Christian -church, and the Buddhist monks and nuns, with their rosaries and their -regular hours for chanting and service, recall the Roman Catholic -services; the picture of the Buddhist hell which stands in the great -Mongol temple at Peking reminds one of a scene from Dante's Inferno, -and among the many things the Buddhists borrow from Christian sources -{151} are these two ideas, embodied in two idols, the goddess of mercy -who intercedes for mankind, and the god of faith in whom the worshipper -should put all trust and confidence. Besides these gods there are the -god of war and the god of good-fellowship, probably taken from old -heathen sources. Again, there are hundreds of Buddhas, or as we should -call them, "saints," whose position is somewhere between human and -divine, much the same position that the saints occupy in the mind of a -Neapolitan peasant. - -After Buddhism comes Taoism. Taoism is again a conglomerate faith. -Technically it is the faith of Laotze, who was an opponent and a -contemporary of Confucius. He taught a dualism which reminds the -Westerner of the doctrine of the Manichees. Again, Western and Eastern -thought have been confused; Manichees are known to have existed in -China, and whether Manichæism originally came from the East or whether -subsequently Chinese thought has been affected by Manichæism is hard to -decide. At any rate, Laotze did not claim that his teaching was -original; he was merely the prophet of an established school of -thought. The greater part of China follows his rival and despises -Laotze's teaching, yet the dualism that he taught is part of the -essential faith of China, and a part which is most opposed to all that -is good. He taught that good and evil were essentially divided, were -halves, as it were, of one whole. He called them the "Yang" and the -"Yin"--terms {152} which are in no way confined to the few disciples -who now follow him. This division between good and evil makes up the -mystery of the world--light and darkness, heaven and earth, male and -female, each couple makes up one whole divided between good and evil; -and so the world beyond is peopled with good and evil spirits, the -"Yang" and the "Yin." Obviously such a faith has all the evil which we -recognise in Manichæism, and its practical disadvantages are very -great. For instance, the inferior position of women is defended as -inevitable; they are "Yin." No mine must be sunk or cutting made for -fear of angering the earth spirits, for as man is as essentially a part -of the world as the earth, those earth spirits will avenge themselves -upon him. Even such great men and such good Confucianists as His -Excellency the late Chang-Chih-Tung are not insensitive to such a -superstition. The town over which he ruled was divided by a steep -gravel hill. A Western engineer recommended that this hill should be -cut through to facilitate access from one part of the town to the -other, and the Viceroy, ever ready to accept new and Western ideas of -practical advantage, immediately ordered the suggestion to be carried -out. Shortly afterwards a large wen developed on his neck, and, -arguing that an evil spirit of the earth, who had originally made the -gravel hill, was so angered at the destruction of it that he determined -to re-make it on the neck of the offender, the Governor had the cutting -filled up, and there it stands to this very day, a {153} witness of the -evil influence that an evil religion can have on the greatest men of a -nation. Taoism has now but few adherents, and yet there are many -Taoist priests, since these priests are regarded as particularly -efficient in dealing with the evil spirits in whom Taoism believes so -fully. - -The third religion is generally called Confucianism, and this may -easily lead to a great misunderstanding, for under the term -Confucianism two very different things are included. First, a belief -in the philosophy of Confucius. This for the most part is outside what -we are accustomed to call religion, and we shall have occasion to deal -with it later on. Secondly, and more commonly, the spiritual beliefs -of those who call themselves Confucians, and who, owing to his silence -on religion, have to find other authorities for their faith. Sometimes -they claim that their faith was the same as the faith of Confucius, -that the background of his philosophy was the religion that they -believe, but more commonly they accept it without any question. This -religion is commonly mixed up both with Buddhism and with Taoism, but -its essential doctrine is very distinct and has great weight in China, -namely, that the spirits of men who are dead live and have influence -over the lives of their descendants. I was told by a Chinese Christian -that a religious Chinaman of the lower class never goes out without -burning a stick of incense to the tablet of his father, and no one can -go through Chinese towns without being impressed by the number of -people who in that {154} poor country are kept hard at work -manufacturing mock money to be burnt for the use of parents and -ancestors. - -The missionaries find that this doctrine is the hardest doctrine for -Christianity to assail; and there are not a few who, despairing of -success, suggest that the position must be turned, and ancestor worship -must be Christianised and accepted as an essential part of a man's -belief. The logical Western mind immediately wants to know what is -behind the ancestor; if an ancestor is to have power he can only have -it, says the logical Westerner, by being in contact with some higher -power. One of the greatest missionaries that China possesses answers -this difficulty by saying that the Chinese mind is not the Western -mind; that he does not concern himself very much with remote -speculation; he has not that itching longing to use the word "why," -which is at once the glory and the difficulty of the Western mind, and -therefore he looks at the spiritual world much as he looks at the -earthly world; the man immediately over him in the town is the -magistrate, and, to use the Chinese phrase, "is the father and mother -of his people," and so over him in spiritual things is his father and -grandfather. Behind the magistrate there is in his distant thought the -prefect--the head of the prefecture or Fu town--a being who only comes -into his village life when there is trouble and difficulty; he comes to -punish, rarely to reward, and so behind his father and grandfather in -{155} the spiritual world are the great clan leaders whom he worships -at regular intervals with the rest of his clan. In civil government -there are in a distant background a Viceroy with awful powers and awful -majesty, and an Emperor whose very name is so divine that he scarcely -likes to use it; and behind the clan leaders are many beings borrowed -from Buddhism, relics of old idolatry, muddled up with Taoism; and in -the dim and distant background is the Supreme Being--the Supreme Being -Who rewards the just and punishes the unjust, Who can in no way be -deceived, Who refuses the rain to the sinner and makes the land -desolate, Who has power to dethrone the earthly Emperor and to place -China under a foreign domination. This great and awful power is, -however, so far distant that the average Chinaman thinks but little -about Him. - -The Temple of Heaven at Peking is the beautiful shrine of this Supreme -Being. Here once a year, after spending a night fasting, the Emperor, -as the father of his nation, worships the great God who made heaven and -earth. The chief feature of this worship is that it is performed in -the open air on a beautiful marble dais. No place in China is quite so -lovely; it is the fitting shrine of the beautiful faith of China's most -glorious days, a faith which though dormant is not dead. The traveller -who stands there should remember that the worship which is here -performed is as old as the date of the patriarchs and not un-akin to -their religious {156} ideals; and if there are some things which are -not sympathetic to the Christian idea, they are subordinate. In the -main it is the worship of the One True Being. - -This faith has no right to be called Confucian. There is great doubt -about the faith of Confucius. He is silent about religion, or he -refers to it only indirectly; it is no part of his teaching; but his -indirect references to it apparently express a belief in a Supreme -Being whom he calls "Heaven," a Supreme Being who has an influence on -human affairs. He also recognises ancestor worship, but with such a -dubious phrase that many Chinese and English scholars have doubted his -meaning. Neither is this the faith of all the leading Confucianists in -China, many of whom are professedly agnostics in matters of religion, -and follow the teaching of Chu; but it is the faith, the ill-understood -faith, of the great multitude of thinking and non-thinking Chinamen, -and it is looked upon as the State religion of China. Its power over -China is universal and yet insecure. - -Many ages ago it was partially defeated by the more logical and more -sympathetic faith of Buddhism. The fight was bitter, the persecutions -were cruel, but Buddhism conquered. Now Buddhism fails. With its -failure a vast mass of superstition, kept alive by the sacrifice to the -ancestor, once more rises up and stands right in the path of -progress--right in the way of civilisation. It was superstition that -moved the Boxer, and this it was that lost credit when {157} Boxerdom -failed. Story after story is told of the influence of this incoherent -but vital mass of religion. The junk will dart across the bows of your -steamer; there will be much whistling, reversing of engines, peremptory -commands in English, abuse in Chinese; and when you inquire why the -lowdah of the junk risked his cargo, perhaps his life, and put the -steamer and its passengers in a state of excitement, if not in -jeopardy, the answer is that every junk lowdah is afraid of the evil -spirit that is following him, and if he crosses the steamer's bow he -expects that the evil spirit, seeing a more worthy quarry, will neglect -him and follow the steamer. The head of the Shanghai Telephone Company -tells how he is not uncommonly met by some sleek well-to-do Chinaman -who is most distressed because the shadow of a telephone pole falls -over his door, so that as he goes out he passes beneath it, and that -will bring bad luck. The houses in China stand unconformably with the -road, because a certain aspect is lucky; a cracker is exploded to -frighten the evil spirits away, and so on through tales innumerable. - -The world around is full of evil spirits to the Chinaman. Every -village has the witch doctor who is learned in the ways of these evil -spirits. Diabolical possession is as present with them as ever it was -in Bible times. Your hard-headed commercial man smiles when he relates -these stories, incredulous that there can be any foundation for them; -but those who have dwelt among the Chinese take much the same line -{158} about these stories as we do about spiritualism. Much is folly, -more is fraud; but behind both the folly and the fraud there is a -mysterious reality. The faith of the masses of China in the spiritual -world has never been encouraged by its philosophers. It owes its -vitality to the fact that, as with us, so with them, manifestations of -powers beyond this world are real if ill-comprehended, and connected -too often with man's evil side. The Psychical Research Society will do -well to inquire closely into many of these phenomena. Nothing -convinced me of the reality of this belief more than the line that was -taken by one of our English missionaries. He was speaking of -diabolical possession, and he related the same story which one has -heard so often that a man suddenly spoke as another personality; and -then he added, "I realised that it was not he who was speaking to me, -but the evil spirit within him;" and he went on, "I was afraid to speak -to him, because if you speak to those who are possessed with an evil -spirit, the evil spirit will take possession of you." It was strange -to hear such a testimony to the reality of diabolical possession from -an Englishman, but you will hear it from every Chinaman. Those who -have read "Pastor Hsi" will remember how firm was his belief in such -possession. - -Against all this mass of the evil world the Chinaman has but one -defence: his father and his ancestor belong to that world and they will -defend him; and so the ancestor cult is intimately connected with this -{159} belief in evil spirits. If the father does not bestir himself -the son may come to harm--in fact, the main part of a Chinaman's -religious idea centres round ancestor worship; and there is no such -awful moment in a Christian convert's life as when he is required to -destroy the tablet of his ancestors. A Confucianist cannot understand -the missionary position; to his mind contempt for the ancestor only -means a deep and spiritual scepticism, an absence of all faith in the -supernatural, a negation of all sense of duty. A missionary recounted -a story illustrative of this difficulty. He was travelling up-country -in China, and his road lay along the same way down which a well-to-do -merchant was travelling, and as they journeyed on side by side and met -every night at the inns at which they put up, he noticed that the -Chinaman eyed him askance; but as the missionary spoke Chinese well, -and as travellers have many little wants which another traveller can -supply, it was not unnatural that in spite of the mistrust manifested -by the Chinaman they should fall gradually into more intimate converse. -One night as they were sitting at an inn the Chinaman said to the -missionary, "Do you know I thought you were a Christian, but I see you -are a good fellow." The missionary assured him that he was a -Christian, and did not deny that he was a good fellow. He felt, -however, that there was some obstacle in the Chinaman's mind that kept -them still apart, and as they journeyed on from day to day and had -grown more intimate, the Chinaman said, "You know {160} people do tell -such lies that one cannot believe a word they say." The missionary -assented to this general proposition as true of all the world, but -asked for a more immediate application. The Chinaman continued: "Well, -I hope you will not be offended if I tell you the lies they tell about -you--lies that I am afraid I believed till I met you and could see what -a good fellow you are. They say--" but he broke off. "Pardon me, it -is such a horrible accusation that I do not like to repeat it, even -though I know that it is untrue." The missionary pressed him to tell -what this accusation was, and the Chinaman continued apologetically, "I -know that it is such a lie that I am ashamed that my people should tell -such lies, but they do say that you Christians actually teach men to -break up the tablet on which their father's name is written;" and the -missionary realised all at once the depth of the conviction of the -Chinaman and the wide gulf that separated him from Christianity. And -so many and many a person who knows China best confidently asserts that -Christianity will never become the religion of China till it permits -and recognises this ancestral worship. - -But now a new factor has entered into this problem. Western -materialism is spreading its malign influence over China; the educated -classes of Japan boldly profess that they have long since ceased to -believe in any religion, and they are calling upon China with great -effect to follow their example, and so the position changes altogether. -Ancestor worship, {161} with all its accompanying superstition, tends -to disappear where Western knowledge is taught. The Boxers were not -untrue prophets when they told their people that they or Western -civilisation, as they knew it, must leave China, and that they could -not co-exist. The position is surely one that must excite the very -deepest interest. It is scarcely conceivable that a race so deeply -convinced of the realities of the spiritual world will, as a whole, -accept the belief that there are no spirits. It is equally -inconceivable that with modern Western education the people shall -believe in the spirit that follows the junk, or in the spirit that is -angered by a mining operation. The religious sentiment of China will, -as it were, be turned out of doors by Western knowledge. There will be -a terrible moment when, with all the insolence of youth, the young man -refuses to believe in God or in a devil, and rushes into every wild -anarchical and socialistic scheme to satisfy his craving for action. - -It is a terrible moment, and one which one sees rapidly developing in -Japan and among the Westernised Chinese; but beyond that terrible -period there dawns a brighter day when China will reassert its natural -sentiment and will accept Christianity as the only reasonable religion -that is consonant with modern science and a belief in the spiritual -world. The question of policy that needs solving is whether it is wise -in the face of this great Western unbelieving movement to treat respect -for {162} ancestors too drastically. Western education must remove its -objectionable features and Christianity might accept the modified form -of this belief which is not wholly inconsistent with the doctrine of -the resurrection of the dead. - - - - -{163} - -CHAPTER XIII - -CONFUCIAN PHILOSOPHY AND WESTERN CULTURE - -It is not realised in the West how much the modern movement in Japan -owes its power and vitality to a native movement which welcomed change. -In Japan Buddhism had failed, the one school of Confucianism which -believed in change was dominant, and therefore it was a comparatively -easy matter to introduce the extensive changes of Western civilisation. -There was no religion with roots deeply entwined in the hearts of the -people to oppose such a change. Shintoism had not yet been -rediscovered and established, and it consisted merely of a mass of -superstition, without any literature or organisation. Thus it was the -combination of these facts, with the threatening attitude of Western -powers, which made all the prophecies of men who knew the East untrue. -No one understood the vital power of the movement in Japan. If, thirty -years ago, some one had written a book to prove that Japan would one -day defeat Russia, people would have laughed at the suggestion, and the -authority of people who had lived in the East all their lives would -have been quoted to prove that an Eastern race could never fully accept -Western civilisation. The prophets were misled by {164} the precedent -of India and Turkey. The Western civilisation is met there by -religions whose tenets are opposed to Western thought, and as long as -those religions hold, Western views will make but small progress; but -in Japan there was no such religion, and in China to-day there is no -such religion. The Buddhism of China, like the Buddhism of Japan, may -satisfy the cravings for spiritual religion of the uneducated and the -ignorant; but the thinkers of both races--the statesmen, the writers, -the leaders--are uninfluenced by Buddhism. Taoism has contributed to -the thought and superstition of China, but is in no way now an -important factor in her development; the philosophy of Confucius is the -one vital force in the land. - -Its doctrines are in no way opposed to our civilisation; it teaches -mainly that a man must be sincere to his own higher nature; it has a -profound belief in the greatness of human nature, and a very inadequate -explanation, therefore, of the failures of that nature. That man must -be sincere, so that the full beauty of his nature may appear, is one of -its main tenets, and that this beautiful thing must be decorated with -knowledge is a natural corollary. It undertakes the reform of the -world, by convincing the ruler of his duty, and through him compelling -the ruled to tread the right path, contrasting here very strongly with -the religion of our Bible, though perhaps not with political -Christianity. All through its teaching there is an underlying -suggestion that {165} subjects will obey their rulers not only -outwardly but also inwardly in their opinions and convictions. - -Confucianism does not believe in government by the people, of the -people, for the people; but it believes very strongly in government for -the people by the rulers. Many of its maxims might be cut out as -texts, and hung up in the House of Commons with great appropriateness. -It constantly pictures a well-ordered peaceful state, in which the -dignity of government is well maintained, and where the working-man -shall profit by his work through justice and peace, and the trader grow -rich in confident security. In all this teaching it is not opposed to -Western civilisation. Confucius advocates the reform of society by the -action of the State. Thus the sanitary laws, the education laws, the -temperance laws of the West are thoroughly consistent with the teaching -of Confucius. Where that teaching differs from the West is that it -disbelieves in democracy. Yet Confucianism cares nothing for a man's -birth: all men are born equal to the Confucianist as to the Christian; -and so Confucianism has, for many centuries, welcomed people of the -lowest birth as Governors, if they could pass the requisite -examinations, and, having given every opportunity to men of all classes -to become officials, it entrusts them and not the people with the -government of the country. - -In another way Confucianism is opposed to Western civilisation. -Confucianism believes intensely in the dignity of government; their -classics are full {166} of examples of people who, at the risk of their -lives, defied kings and maintained the dignity of their positions; and -this doctrine of dignity is consequently very deeply ingrained in -Chinese thought; it is in reality the base of that curious doctrine of -"face" by which a man will do anything rather than confess that he is -wrong. A great missionary recounts how his wonderful work at Tientsin -was once threatened with destruction because a boy from the south of -China knocked a boy from the north off his bicycle, with the result -that the college was soon divided into two factions on the question as -to who should pay for the injured bicycle. The matter was only with -difficulty arranged by the President paying for the bicycle and -charging it to the guilty boy; but the boy did not mind paying--he -minded confessing that he was wrong. There was another case in this -same college where a boy had been induced to confess privately his -sorrow that he had wilfully insulted a master. He was prepared to -suffer expulsion rather than confess his fault openly. He was -miserable at the prospect of leaving the college, and when a great -appeal was made to his better feelings to say that he was sorry, he -shook his head sadly. At last he was asked, "Have you never allowed -you were wrong in your whole life?" "No," he said, with a look of -pride, "_never_." Odious and detestable as this doctrine is in private -life, I think I have the authority of St. Augustine for saying that it -is a maxim of good government that however wrong an {167} order may be, -a superior should not confess his error, so necessary is this doctrine -of dignity to government. Thus the Chinese expression "face" has been -commonly accepted as a good English expression when speaking about -governments. - -No doubt it is this sense of dignity which gives such authority to the -Chinese official. In many ways it may be an element of weakness. I -was surprised to learn that the officials in the Yamen had never been -in the shops of the city; it is beneath their dignity. Goods are -brought to them and they buy in their own houses. For instance we were -told how in Changsha two patriotic bas-reliefs were put up in a shop, -one of them representing the Westerns bringing tribute to the Emperor -of China, and the other depicting a Western woman, chained and -dishevelled, being led in as a slave. Of course our very excellent and -most efficient representative, Consul Hewlett, made instant -representation to the Governor and the objectionable figures were -removed; but the Chinese officials claimed that they were completely -ignorant of what was happening in the shops of the town, because they -never went there. - -It is obvious that this high estimation of dignity makes much of -Western government antipathetic to a Chinaman; he cannot sympathise -with a civilisation which admires government by noisy agitation, vulgar -posters, indecent journalism. Such an agitation as that in favour of -women's suffrage is inconceivable and disgusting beyond words to the -mind of {168} a Chinese thinker; that women, whose dignity is such that -they should never be tried in a public court; that educated ladies, -whose names, in China, must scarcely be mentioned owing to their -exalted position, should wrestle in a public crowd and be arrested, is -one of those mysteries in Western government that the dignified Eastern -mind can never hope to understand. - -Confucianism, considered by itself, is not unfavourable to Western -civilisation, and its great influence in China will no doubt largely -accelerate the Westernisation of that vast empire. For instance, the -policy of education is one which has been followed by China for many a -long year; all that the Chinese are doing is to alter the object of -that education. It used to aim at giving men a complete knowledge of -the Chinese classics; now it aims at giving them in addition a -knowledge of the West and of natural sciences; and so such an eminent -Confucian scholar and such an ardent Conservative as the late -Chang-Chih-Tung was the foremost advocate for a Western education. - -Again the development of the Press on Western lines takes place rapidly -in China, where newspapers have long been known, and which boasts of -being a country possessing the oldest newspaper in the world, the -_Peking Gazette_. Translations of Western literature issued by the -Christian Literature Society are read with avidity by a race that -esteems literature highly, no matter with what subject it deals, {169} -and who has no worse an epithet for one of its emperors than -"book-burner." - -Though Confucianism is not antipathetic to Western civilisation as a -whole, and by its philosophy and literature encourages education in -Western ideas, yet those ideas will, I fear, be fatal to that mighty -system of ethics that has kept China together, and has enabled her to -conquer her conquerors so many times. The countries that have never -known Confucius are succeeding far better than the countries that have -been taught by him. The fact that he always claimed that any race who -followed his teaching would be prosperous, coupled with the fact that -China, with her splendid resources and immense population, is far -poorer and weaker than nations who know nothing of his teaching, is -sufficient to bring its own condemnation to this philosophy. There is -a marked difference in the teaching of Christianity and Confucianism in -this respect. Christianity, by the example of its founder, teaches -that the world must be reformed through the individual; and that the -destruction of a State, whether it be Jerusalem or Rome, is only a -painful incident in the upward advance of mankind. If every Western -State were destroyed, the true Christian would only pause longer over -his reading of the prophet Jeremiah; but when China, the home of -Confucianism, realises her powerlessness in the face of the West, in -sorrow and regret she will close the books of Confucius, as the books -that guided the {170} State to destruction, even though that teaching -was pleasant and beautiful. - -A great Chinaman realised that this was the position of Japan, and told -me that he did not believe that in Japan any one really believed in -Buddhism or in Confucianism or in the new-found Shintoism; and that, as -they had not yet accepted Christianity, they were in a state, odious to -the Western and Eastern alike, of being without moral guidance in this -world. The position of Japan to-day will, in all probability, be, both -in regard to the constructive and destructive effects of Western -civilisation, the condition of China to-morrow, unless indeed -Christianity can fill the vacant place in Chinese thought. Never -before has such an opportunity been presented to the Christian world as -this vast mass of population included under the name of China, left -homeless by the action of world thought. - -Those millions of people, for instance, who yearn for a spiritual -religion, and who have found in times past some comfort in the confused -and corrupt faith of Chinese Buddhism, are now ready with open ears to -listen to any one who is prepared to teach them a higher and more -spiritual religion. The Confucian scholar who realises the debt that -China owes to the teaching of the sage, and yet who feels that Western -civilisation is sapping his authority and leaving China without a moral -guide, welcomes readily the teaching of the moral philosopher who is -prepared to show that Confucianism is essentially {171} right and has -evidence of Divine truth within it, but that it only errs in not -realising that the complete salvation of man can only be accomplished -by those who appeal to his spiritual nature as well as to his moral -sentiments. - -If Christianity conquers China, one of her first actions will be to -reinstate Confucius in the position from which Western materialism has -dethroned him; but the task would be infinitely easier if Christians -could take effective action at once. Every day that passes makes the -position more difficult. Every Confucian scholar who shuts up his -books and opens the books of the materialistic philosopher of the West, -will prove an additional obstacle in the way of the Christianisation of -China. The great danger is that the West, ignorant of what is -happening in the East, will let this opportunity pass and allow Western -materialism to establish itself as a force in China, as it has -established itself as a force in Japan. The world is full of examples -of lost opportunities; let us hope that China will not have to be added -to that sad category. - - - - -{172} - -CHAPTER XIV - -INTERVIEW AT NANKING - -The best view of the religion of China is to be obtained from the -enlightened Chinese themselves, and their views will probably be of -interest to our readers. It should be explained that one of the -objects of our second visit to China was to inquire whether the Chinese -officials would welcome the foundation of Universities in which Western -knowledge could be taught, and whose atmosphere should be Christian. -When the matter was first discussed in England it crept into the -newspapers, and I immediately received an invitation from the Director -of Chinese Students in London to discuss the subject with him. I had -two interviews with him. What surprised me was that against all the -opinion of the average Englishman who is conversant with China he did -not regard the Christian character of the University as a deterrent, -but he asked one question on which he apparently laid the very greatest -stress. He inquired, "If a University is started in China on such -lines as you propose, will you guarantee that the teachers are -efficient?" I immediately assured him that the learned committees who -were considering the question at both Universities would, whatever -{173} else they did, never allow any one to go out as teacher unless he -was most fully qualified. He then assured me that he had no doubt the -scheme would meet with very great sympathy in China, and that he would -give me letters of introduction to various people who would give the -very fullest information on the subject. Among these was one to that -most eminent man, Tuan-Fang, Viceroy of Nanking. - -When I arrived at Nanking I presented my letter of introduction through -the Consul, and the Viceroy most cordially invited me to tiffin at the -Yamen. With further courtesy he sent his carriage to fetch me. We had -a most sumptuous repast, at which about twenty officials were present, -and in consideration of my being a foreigner some European food was -provided. They appeared much pleased when I assured them that I -appreciated Chinese quite as much as European food. We had a most -pleasant luncheon, at which we discussed all manner of topics. I was -asked to explain exactly the position of Oxford and Cambridge, and when -I mentioned that Oxford was over a thousand years old, I had evidently -established the reputation of my University far above that of all -competitors. The Viceroy then admired the school system of England. -He said the schools were "like a forest," and he assured me that he -took the very greatest interest in education, and promised after -luncheon to show me some of his schools. I expressed admiration of -Chinese learning, and he told me it was divided into four {174} -heads--morals, elegancy of style, philosophy, and manners. The respect -that His Excellency had for Confucius did not prevent him from admiring -other philosophers, especially Mih-Tieh, the philosopher who taught the -doctrine of universal love. This was the more remarkable, because at -Hankow the very same point had been discussed with some Chinese clergy -over Sunday supper, and they had referred to this philosopher's works -with considerable admiration, and had declared that his doctrine was -much more consonant with Christianity than that of any other Chinese -philosopher. - -His Excellency then discussed the danger of a modern education. He -quite realised the obvious evils that resulted from rashly encouraging -Western education without an ethical basis. He said they had observed -that those who returned from the West were less dutiful to parents than -those who had remained in China. Then we had a long talk as to whether -it was possible to assimilate the two and to give a man a perfect -foreign and a perfect Chinese education. The difficulty felt was that -men with a perfect foreign education were too often unable to write -Chinese with sufficient elegance to satisfy the fastidious taste of the -cultivated Chinese scholar. All this conversation was carried on at -the dinner-table, chiefly through interpreters, with a crowd of Chinese -servants, excluded from the room, but looking through a window to watch -when our needs required their presence. - -{175} - -We discussed after tiffin the scheme for a University and the relations -between Confucianism and Christianity. His Excellency was much pleased -that I should take such interest in things Chinese, and immediately -said that as I had come all the way to China to inquire into these -things, I ought to receive every information. Turning to his -secretaries, he told them that on the next day they were to provide -scholars learned in Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism to give me all -the information that I required, and arranged that the Consul and I -should return next day. He then suggested that we should go and -inspect the school that was next his palace, and in which his own -daughter was being educated. - -The school was for children of the highest class, and contained only -about thirty boys and thirty girls. He conducted a sort of informal -examination which I should have thought must have been extremely trying -for the children. His Excellency and myself came first, then two -interpreters, and then about twenty officials. When the scholars were -examined in Western knowledge, we were asked to put a question or to -look at a copy-book; when they were examined in Confucian knowledge, -His Excellency put the question, and the interpreters translated to me -both the question and the answer. The intelligence of the children was -of a very high order, and they were very attractive. The uniform of -the boys resembled that of a French schoolboy, though the cut of the -trousers showed that the {176} costume had been made by a Chinese -tailor, probably after a Japanese model. The girls were dressed in -grey coats and trousers and had natural feet; this was perhaps not -quite so remarkable as it at first appeared when one remembers that the -Viceroy is a Manchu, and the Manchus have never admired the distorted -foot of a Chinese woman; but as they went through their musical drill -one could not help thinking that the neat coat buttoned across and -reaching to the knees over loose trousers was about as ideal a dress as -has ever been invented for women. His Excellency did not fail to make -his own daughter stand up, and asked her many difficult questions, -which she answered very well in a calm and collected manner. After -showing us these schools His Excellency said that we must stop a third -day and see many of the other schools in Nanking. - -Next morning I was most distressed to find that my friend Mr. King, His -Majesty's Consul, was too unwell to attend the interview which I was to -have with the learned men of Nanking, and so with some trepidation lest -I should make sad faults in my manners without his kindly guidance, I -drove up to the Yamen. There I was received by a crowd of officials, -among whom were two great Confucian scholars with the Hanlin Degree, an -authority on Buddhism and an authority on Taoism, whose knowledge -subsequently proved to be extremely small. - -The courtesy of the Chinese officials, the charm of their manner, the -mixture of dignity and good nature {177} which is such a characteristic -of their behaviour, makes controversy with them delightful. I do not -think any one who has known them can be but greatly attracted by their -courtesy and kindness. All Chinese are courteous, but the Chinese -literati, perhaps naturally, greatly excel their fellow-countrymen in -this charming characteristic. I should add that the two interpreters -who were provided were men whose mastery of English was only equalled -by their wide learning and pleasant address. One of them had been in -England and was indeed a great traveller; he had ridden all through the -passes which separate India from Chinese Turkestan; he belonged to a -very great family, and traced his descent from one of the leading -pupils of Confucius. - -We discussed Confucianism first. I set the ball rolling by asking what -was meant by the phrase "superior man." The position was a pleasant -one; I was there to be instructed, and could therefore ask as many -questions as I chose. The "superior man" is a translation of a phrase -in the Chinese classics which perhaps might be better translated "ideal -man"; at least so I gathered from these gentlemen; and that in the -works of Confucius and Mencius his qualities are fully described. With -great joy the whole party fell upon the question, and next minute they -were engaged in a courteous polemic as to how exactly they should -describe the "superior man," and the answer came that he must be a -conscientious man, a man very true to himself, charitable, just and -{178} truthful. When they were pressed as to whether wealth was at all -necessary to the "ideal man," they indignantly repudiated the -suggestion; the "superior man" might equally be a beggar sitting by the -roadside or a Viceroy sitting in his palace. It was more interesting -when they were asked whether he need be a learned man. There was some -doubt and hesitation in the answers; the doctors again consulted with -one another, and the answer came, "No, learning was not at all -necessary." I asked whether the "ideal man" might be a non-Chinaman, -and it was held that he might belong to any race. But the next -question was far more difficult for them to answer. Nothing that they -had said prevented the "superior man" being a Christian; a Christian -might be true and conscientious and charitable. I quoted the case of a -foreign doctor living in their city, and asked how he failed to come -within their definition of the "superior man," but the Hanlin scholars -could not agree; no Christian, in their opinion, could be a "superior -man." But my interpreter added that he himself did not endorse this; -to his mind any man who fulfilled the requirements should be classed as -a "superior man." - -We then changed the conversation to the question of "whether Confucius -believed in God or not?" I had been instructed in this controversy by -one of the most learned missionaries in China, Dr. Ross of Mukden. -They maintained, as he told me they would maintain, that the Heaven of -Confucius meant Reason. {179} But Reason cannot possibly punish the -guilty, though the guilty might be punished by their want of Reason. -And as Confucius refers in several places to Heaven as a power that -punishes, the definition is obviously incorrect. It dates from a -philosopher called Chu. Again the learned men were absorbed in -controversy, every one enjoying such a discussion. The greatest number -still held to the doctrine that Heaven meant Reason, but a certain -number held that it meant a personal God. It ended in the controversy -becoming quite heated, and in a copy of Dr. Legge's translation of the -Chinese classics being fetched, so that I might fully understand their -different points of view. In the end we agreed that there was a -considerable force in the argument that Confucius believed in a -personal God. - -When I further asked how Reason could possibly punish a bad man when he -was dead, and how it was that many a bad man, as we all know, died in -wealth and prosperity, they answered that after death his memory was -punished by his bad deeds coming to light. I suggested that if a man -was dead this did not matter to him, and that Confucius' assertion that -punishment followed sin implied a future life. When they were further -asked whether Confucius taught that all secret sin should one day be -made public, there was an eloquent silence, and we dropped the subject. - -We then went on to discuss Buddhism, and a pleasant old gentleman -leaning on a stick was {180} brought up to instruct me in the doctrine -of Buddhism. It was obvious from the jocose and pleasant way the -matter was treated, that this was very different ground to the -philosophy of Confucius. Then, though everybody was courteous, -everybody was keenly and seriously interested, but Buddhism was -regarded as a most amusing topic; I was assured that only a few women -believed in it, and that none of those in the room gave it the -slightest credence. They explained to me why the Dalai Lama came to -Peking. Two of the disciples of Buddha had been reincarnated, and the -greatest of those two was the Dalai Lama, but it was impossible to tell -in which baby the reincarnation took place without coming to the Mongol -Temple at Peking; then lots were cast and the matter was settled. I -had my doubts whether the old gentleman was accurate, but clearly no -one else in the room had the smallest acquaintance with the subject; -they made a marked difference between the Buddhism of the Lama Temple -at Peking and that of the Monastery at Hangchow, which they called -Indian Buddhism, and said the district was often named Little India; -but when I tried to discover how many sects of Buddhists there were in -China, or what was the nature of their tenets, I could get no -information from these gentlemen. - -His Excellency Tuan-Fang joined us at this moment and asked whether I -could possibly read a Sanscrit manuscript that he had discovered, and -{181} which, from the Chinese notes appended to it, he gathered -referred to Buddhism. He also wished to discuss the origin of Chinese -characters; he had a theory that they came from Egypt, and he showed -many rubbings of hieroglyphics which he had had made from monuments in -Egypt to prove his point. - -But I wanted to ask some questions about Taoism. I had tried to -understand Taoism and had found it extremely difficult, and I thought -these cultured literati could give me some assistance. I was soon -undeceived. Nobody believed in Taoism, and they knew nothing of its -doctrine or of its worship. They suggested that the Taoist priests -were often to be found in a Buddhist temple, but one scholar said that -that was only because the Taoist priest liked to make a little money by -selling incense sticks. - -Then His Excellency turned the tables and began asking questions about -Christianity. The thing that troubled him was that the Bible which he -had read was in such poor style. He wanted to know whether I thought -our Blessed Saviour habitually wrote in good style or not. I explained -that He had originally spoken in Aramaic, which had been translated -into Greek, and from the Greek into English, and then had been -retranslated by Englishmen into Chinese, so naturally the Chinese -version could but inadequately represent the full beauty of His words. -It is worthy of notice how much the Chinese mind is attracted by all -purely literary subjects, and how {182} little they care about physical -science. For instance, when the Viceroy asked me about the sun -standing still in the Book of Joshua, which led us into natural -science, it was immediately obvious that this was a subject in which -these gentlemen took no interest. - -We then repaired to a sumptuous luncheon prepared entirely in Chinese -fashion. The viands were exquisitely cooked, and comprised bird's-nest -soup, shark's fins, white fungus, and all the usual Chinese delicacies. -The hospitality of my host made me regret that the capacity of a human -body is limited, and if it were not for the excellency of the Chinese -cooking, dyspepsia must have been the result. Over luncheon we -discussed all manner of topics, and I noticed how extremely sensitive -my hosts were to the slightest want of manners. They referred to a -mutual friend, a European, in the severest terms because he lacked in -courtesy. They discussed also the question of foot-binding. They were -convinced that the habit is being given up, and they assured me that it -did cause girls excruciating agony. They said the younger generation -of Chinese gentlemen would not marry women with deformed feet. - -I left the Yamen a great admirer of the culture that could make men so -pleasant. If they lacked directness as controversialists, they were -most agreeable in their extreme civility and their imperturbable good -humour. I shall always look back to my days at Nanking as some of the -pleasantest of my life. - - - - -{183} - -CHAPTER XV - -ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONS IN CHINA - -It is only just to put in the forefront of the influences that are -Christianising and changing China the French, Italian, and other -missions of the Roman Catholic Communion. Our first contact with the -wonderful work which these missions are accomplishing was in French -China, at that very interesting but most pestilential locality, Saigon. -We were received with the greatest kindness by the Sous-Gouverneur at -the French Government House, a palatial residence worthy rather of an -emperor than a governor, compared to which Government House at -Hong-Kong seemed but a cottage. Yet even there life was hardly -bearable even under an electric fan. The heat was stifling. It had -been impossible to drive out except in the middle of the night, and so -we were entertained by being taken by night to see our first glimpse of -Chinese civilisation, for the Chinese once dominated this country, and -have left their civilisation behind them. - -Driving back, our French host regaled us with stories of the people, -and incidentally mentioned the great power which Christianity has in -these colonies. We were much impressed by his {184} testimony to the -efficiency of mission work, for the French official is far from -favourable to the Roman Catholic Church. He told us not only was a -large part of the country round Saigon Christian, but Christianity was -such a vital thing that the Church had no difficulty in getting -sufficient money to build splendid churches. Next day I called on the -Bishop. He was a splendid type of Roman Catholic missionary, with his -white beard and his courtly manners. We found several such in our -wanderings, for Catholic missions are spread all over China, and have -been founded many years. He spoke of the great success of the work, -and thought that the hostility of the French Government was in some -ways preferable to their patronage, for the personal lives of many of -the officials are far from admirable. Their morality would better -befit our Restoration Period than the twentieth century. A Governor's -mistress was a person recognised and courted by official society, and -it was perhaps to the advantage of the mission that in the native mind -Christianity was dissociated from such evil doings. - -I asked him how he supported the climate, which we had found barely -endurable for two days. He replied that the climate was quite cool to -the missionary who lived a chaste and temperate life, but that the -Government found it terrible for their officials. This may be quite -true, but still I think chaste and temperate Englishmen would find the -climate of Saigon intolerable. We do not make {185} sufficient -allowance in speaking of a healthy or unhealthy climate for the origin -of the missionary. If he comes from Marseilles in the South of France, -it is not perhaps wonderful that he should find the countries which are -not hotter than his native land in the summer quite tolerable. - -The history of Catholic missions is apparently to be divided into three -periods. The first period terminates in 1742 and commences with the -first mission of the Jesuits under Father Ricci in 1584. During this -period the Roman Catholic missions, directed by a series of men of -extreme ability, endeavoured and nearly succeeded in converting China -from the "top downwards," for, owing to their wonderful scientific -attainments, the missionaries received important posts under the -Chinese Government. The fall of the Ming dynasty and the conquest of -China by the Manchus only served to improve their position; they -directed not only the Government astronomical observatory, but they -even superintended the arsenal and became the cartographers of the -empire. They had many adherents chiefly among the learned. -Christianity, like Confucianism, had commended itself to the intellect -of the country. In pursuit of this policy they endeavoured to -harmonise Christianity with the thought of the literati of China; such -a process was no doubt extremely dangerous, but they thought that it -was possible to tolerate ancestor worship and the adoration of -Confucius; whether they were right or {186} whether they were wrong, -while they did it Christianity had many educated adherents. - -Another kind of missionary next appeared in China, the Dominicans, who -made up in fanaticism for what they lacked in wisdom. These men -offended every prejudice of the Chinese; they taught the harshest and -narrowest form of the Roman Catholic doctrine. The foot was to be made -to fit the shoe, and not the shoe to fit the foot. There were riots -and troubles, and the Dominicans blamed the highly placed Jesuits and -freely accused them of having denied the faith and of having accepted -high office as the reward for unfaithfulness. Appeals were made to -Rome. Rome, many thousands of miles away, wavered, unable probably to -understand either the controversy or its importance. The heroism of -missionaries travelling over miles of sea and being shipwrecked in -their endeavours to reach Rome reads like a romance. But in 1742 the -matter was finally settled by Benedict XIV. in a Bull "Ex quo -singulari," and the Jesuits were defeated--a defeat which was completed -by their suppression in China in 1773. - -With their defeat the Roman missions entered on the second period of -their history. They were no longer directed by very able men, and they -became rather the Church of the poor than of the rich. They -experienced constant persecution, and, to gain weight and position, -they finally accepted the French, who were then in the zenith of their -power, as their {187} patrons. Such a course necessarily involved that -they must do all they could to further the French interests, and the -Roman Catholic missions became more and more an adjunct of French -diplomacy, defended by France and on their side advancing the interests -of the French. It is impossible to say exactly when this policy began. -Louis XIV. had sent large gifts to the Emperor of China, but he does -not seem to have had any intentions beyond giving countenance and -weight to the Roman Catholic missions. Some one pointed out to -Napoleon I. the great value of China, and the man of great ideas, -always dreaming of that Empire in the East which he was never to found, -clearly thought there was something to be made of this. He helped the -missionary societies with funds--it is curious to think of Napoleon I. -as the supporter of foreign missions. This act came, like most other -French secrets of the time, to the ears of Pitt; and he managed that -the information should reach the Emperor of China, and sent through a -safe channel advice that the Emperor of China should look upon the -Roman missions as dangerous and France as a "wicked power." Whether -this advice would have been taken to heart or not is doubtful. Roman -missions were unpopular in China; still they had powerful friends; but -the discovery of one of their missionaries with maps of China intended -for the use of foreign countries convinced her of the truth of the -English suggestion, and Roman missions were put {188} down at the -beginning of the nineteenth century with a relentless hand. In 1840 -there broke out the first foreign war between China and the West, and -after this Catholic missions became more and more an appanage of French -policy. Whether the French had distantly intended the conquest of -China, or whether they merely looked upon China as an outlet for her -trade, they used the Catholic missions as a means whereby French -interests should be pushed. Certainly the author of _Les Missions -Catholiques Françaises_ does not hesitate to suggest that France was -rewarded for the protection of missions by an increased trade. - -In 1842, as the result of a war, a treaty was signed to which we have -before referred, and in 1860 it was followed by another. Both gave -missionaries extensive rights. Can you wonder that the peace-loving -Chinaman, looking back on history, finds it difficult to understand why -the preachers of the gospel of love should have been so often followed -by the armies and fleets of the military races of the West? The coping -stone to this policy of propagating Christianity by the power and -influence of a foreign nation was placed by an edict which just -preceded the Boxer movement. That edict astonished even the Roman -Catholics, for the author of _Les Missions Catholiques Françaises au -XIX. Siècle_ speaks of the extraordinary surprise it was to the Roman -Catholic body. This edict ordained that bishops and priests should -have official rank in China; that the bishops {189} should be equal in -rank to viceroys and governors, and the vicars-general and the -arch-priests should be equal to treasurers and judges, while the other -priests should be equal to prefects of the first and second class; and -that if any question of importance arose in connection with the -missions, the bishop or missionaries should call in the intervention of -the Minister or Consul to whom the Pope had confided the protection of -the Catholics. The edict closes with three injunctions. First, that -the people in general were to live at peace with the Catholics; -secondly, that the bishops should instruct the Catholics to live at -peace with the rest of the world; and lastly, that the judges should -judge fairly between Catholics and non-Catholics. - -This edict can perhaps be regarded rather as a victory of French -diplomacy than of the Roman Church. French diplomacy had converted the -whole of the Roman Catholic work into an agency for the national -aggrandisement of France; the Roman Catholic Church had sold herself to -the French Government; her old traditional policy of employing the -powers of this world to propagate Christianity had involved her in this -position; and she had presented Christianity to her converts as -something which, however great its spiritual gain, had also very real -temporal advantages. The Church was a great society which would defend -you in this world just as it would give you promises of security in the -world to come. So she had instituted a regular system by which her -adherents were defended in any lawsuit or attack. {190} This -interference in lawsuits was, however, not peculiar to the Roman -Catholics. It is an old Chinese custom--a custom in which both Romans -and other denominations have acquiesced; still it was exaggerated by -the Roman Catholic Church till it brought down upon her the anger of -the Chinese official world. - -It is hard for a Westerner, with his ideas of an independent court of -justice, to comprehend the system. A lawsuit is not regarded in China -as a thing to be settled simply on its merits. They are only a factor -in the decision. The general desire is that, if all things are equal, -justice shall be done; but together with justice the judge has to -consider the social position of the litigants and their power of -vengeance or of reward. The best analogy to a Chinese lawsuit is an -English election. If you read the speeches and addresses you will -conceive that the whole desire of a candidate engaged in an English -election is that justice should be done, but in practice you soon -discover that the influence of individuals has to be considered as -well. A candidate who always disregards justice is universally -condemned; but a candidate who wilfully offends powerful people, who is -not prepared to give and take, to sacrifice a conviction here, to push -forward a little beyond the line of justice there, is equally unable to -gain the suffrages of the voters; and in China the judge stands in the -same position as the candidate does in England. If he is convinced -that a certain {191} cause is backed by very powerful people who can -secure him a better appointment and a higher salary, or who if angered -might even succeed in getting him dismissed from his post, he decides -the case in that litigant's favour. If, on the other hand, the parties -are about equally matched in influence and power, like the English -candidate he then considers the justice of the case; and therefore the -first thing a litigant does is to try and secure all the influential -support within his reach. Chinese officials told me that they have to -have their cards printed with "for visiting purposes only" written on -them, otherwise they are stolen and used without their knowledge in the -furtherance of some lawsuit, and English Protestant missionaries -confirmed the story. - -Though this interference in lawsuits is a universal custom, its extreme -use is peculiar to the Roman Catholics. To attack a Roman Catholic was -to bring the whole strength of his mission, with the diplomacy of -France behind it, against you. It was in furtherance of this policy -that the Roman Catholics were anxious to hold official rank. An -official will not speak to any one below his rank; the missionary finds -access to the Viceroys very difficult; but if the Roman Hierarchy had -this high official rank, the Bishop had only to pay a visit in his -green official chair, when, by the strict etiquette of China, he must -be received with all politeness, and his visit must be returned. To -procure these privileges the Roman Catholics were prepared to sell to -France the large {192} and undoubted influence they had among many -thousands in China. There is a certain poetic justice in the Roman -Catholic Church suffering from the actions of the French Government at -home. - -Still justice compels us to remember that they have not been alone in -this policy. Missionaries of other faiths and other lands have both -relied on the defence of foreign powers and have interfered with the -lawsuits of their converts. A Protestant missionary from the Southern -States of America frankly defended the system. He boldly asserted that -non-interference in a lawsuit would be simply misunderstood by the -Chinese. When he was young he had absolutely refused to interfere in a -case where a widow was being oppressed, and a non-Christian Chinese -gentleman had interviewed him, and after some circumlocution, had -remonstrated with him on his hardness of heart, that he, a teacher of -the religion of love, should neglect the widow in her necessity. -Still, the Roman Church, as in Ireland, as in France, as in Italy, is -an institution which is essentially political; and the traditional -policy of the Roman Church has been followed in China with the -invariable result, first, that when the power of the State is used to -promote her tenets she grows strong, and next when that power is -withdrawn or becomes hostile she feels the loss of the earthly support -on which she has relied and apparently grows weaker. This is, however, -only transitory; the Roman Church, for instance, is growing stronger, -not weaker, now {193} that she has lost the support of French -diplomacy, and the missions have entered upon their third epoch when -they are preaching Christianity without any special support of a -foreign government and are succeeding. For there are few bodies of -people in this world who are more heroic and devoted than the Roman -missionaries; they have died by fever, have been massacred, they live -on a miserable pittance; I was told that one enlightened missionary, -once a Professor in Paris University, lived on £12 a year; and their -heroism and self-denial reaps a large reward. - -Their most beautiful and most successful works are the orphanages which -they maintain. They accept any of those children whom the Chinese -mothers cast out to die, either because of their poverty or because -they are girls. These children are brought up with infinite care and -kindness, and are taught embroidery, lace-making, and other trades. No -more beautiful sight can be seen than one of these orphanages, with the -happy children hard at work and rejoicing as only Chinese rejoice in -pleasant labour. When these children grow up they are married to -Christians, and from them springs a native Christian population, which -has never known any of the horrors of heathenism. As a rule they live -in small societies. I believe there is an island on the Yangtsze which -is entirely peopled by Christians. The work may be great, but the cost -is great too. Many a life has been laid down so that these children -might be Christians. - -{194} - -I recall one scene at Ichang. There rises near the town a great -orphanage, and when we visited it, we found the French sisters looking -weary and whiter than their white robes. An epidemic of smallpox had -broken out in the orphanage, and out of 140 orphans, 28 had died of -small-pox, besides which the sisters had suffered themselves from -malaria. One could but admire the devotion of these women living far -off from their own country, tending children whom no one else would -tend, and gaining as their reward hatred and misunderstanding from the -Chinese. A Bishop belonging to this mission had been murdered, and a -lay brother told me that it was because they were accused of stealing -children to make Western medicine out of their eyes. This strange -slander arises apparently from the desire, which is not understood by -the Chinese, to save and preserve the lives of other people's children. -Chinese ethics have no place for such altruism. Your duty never -extends beyond your own relations, either by blood or from official -position. There is another reason, however, for this notion. The -Roman Catholics have a system of native agents who are prepared to -baptize any child, whether of heathen or Christian parents, who is -dying. This system is very well organised. Some of these agents -perambulate districts and some remain at fixed points. Perhaps not -unnaturally the Chinese cannot understand this methodical search for -dying children, and as a reason must be found, and as the reason that -seems most probable to the Chinese {195} mind is some form of personal -gain, they have invented this slander. - -Whether we approve or disapprove the general action of the Roman -Catholics--and our feelings are probably very mixed on this subject--we -must recognise that they are a very great factor in the change that is -coming over China. For centuries they have stood before the Chinese as -associating with Christianity the science and the knowledge the Chinese -have always admired. The wonderful work done by the Jesuits of the -eighteenth century has established a tradition of excellent scientific -work which is well maintained by the learned brothers of the Ziccawei -Observatory. Many hundreds of lives have been saved at sea by the -splendid meteorological service they have organised, and the sailor who -cares nothing for Roman or for Protestant walks down on the Bund to see -what the Ziccawei brothers can tell him about the probability of a -typhoon. The benefit of their service, though great, is not limited to -the number of lives of mariners that their science preserves; their -science is an object-lesson to the Chinese--an object-lesson especially -useful at a time when materialism is taunting Christianity with -obscurantism. - -Missionaries in the field do not entirely recognise the connection that -exists between their own work and the work of other denominations. The -man on the mission field sees his bit of work, and realises that it is -a failure or that it is a success, but he does not {196} realise how -intimately associated that success or failure is with world movements -over which he has but the very slightest control. These world -movements are dependent on many factors that must be beyond his direct -knowledge, and one of the factors that influence the success of -Protestant missions is the wide influence of Catholic work. Conversely -every new Protestant mission that opens the door of a school or a -college probably tends to augment the number of Roman Catholics in -China. The question put to the Chinaman is not, "Will you be Roman or -Protestant?" That was the question that was put to the European in the -sixteenth century. The question is, "Will you become a materialist or -a Christian?" And the answer he makes must be largely affected by his -experience of the intellectual efficiency and high moral tone of those -he calls Christians. I despair of persuading my Protestant friends -that the reputation of the Ziccawei brothers is a valuable asset in -evangelical work, and I equally despair of persuading the Roman -Catholic that the splendid educational establishments of American -Protestantism is one of the reasons why their numbers are increasing by -leaps and bounds; but the Chinaman would probably think the remark -self-obvious. - -How small the differences appear that we think so profound was first -brought home to me as we passed through the Red Sea on the French mail -in company with a body of Coptic schoolmasters who were going to -civilise Menelik's subjects in Abyssinia. {197} As it was Sunday -morning these young men came up to me to ask an explanation of the -ceremony of ship inspection which is performed with some pomp by the -French captain on that day. With a wholly exaggerated idea as to the -religiosity of the French they had concluded that this was a Christian -ceremony, and when I had explained to them that on a French ship it was -illegal to have a service, they were distressed, for they explained -that though they had been educated in many different quarters, they -were all in agreement on religious matters. One had been educated in -the Protestant College in Beyrout, and another had been educated in the -Jesuit College at Cairo, which, he added in explanation, is practically -the same thing. This statement would be regarded as accurate by the -average Chinaman. - -At any rate, no one can doubt the importance of Roman Catholic work in -China. They now claim to have over a million of adherents, served by -nearly two thousand priests, and when one reads that they declare that -they have made in Peking alone thirty-three thousand converts in one -year, one realises what a power they are in the Christianisation of -China. In the West such figures would mean the downfall of -Protestantism, but in China such figures mean the growth of a common -Christianity which all denominations can influence and in which all -denominations can have a share. Remember, though a million Christians -sounds a vast number, it is small compared with the four hundred -millions who now form the population of China. - - - - -{198} - -CHAPTER XVI - -OTHER MISSIONS - -Though the Roman Catholic missions were first in the field by several -centuries, it must not be supposed that they are now the only Christian -influence at work. The work of other bodies is extensive and very -important. The pioneer society was the London Mission, which began -work under Dr. Morrison in 1807. Very soon after them the British and -Foreign Bible Society began work in 1812. But no great mission work -was undertaken till after the treaty of 1842. Then society after -society sprang up. One of the earliest was the Church of England -Missionary Society, which has a very extensive work, especially in -Eastern China. Among the earliest of its missionaries were the two -veteran brothers, Bishop Moule and Archdeacon Moule, who have for half -a century ordered its ranks with courage and self-denial. The -Presbyterian Mission was not long behind them, and the American -Methodist Missions began work practically at the same time; and so -missions have gone on increasing till there are over sixty missions, -over and above the Roman Catholic Missions, at work in China, with a -staff of over three thousand five hundred white workers and a {199} -body of converts numbering over a quarter of a million. - -The people who are opposed to missions will immediately say what a -regrettable thing it is that Christianity should present such a picture -of division to the heathen, and they will probably find a great number -of people who are sympathetically inclined to missions and who -cordially agree with them. There can be no doubt that it would be far -better if the Christian Church presented a picture of unity to the -whole world. It would be far better that we should all think alike; -but if we cannot think alike, it would be a great mistake to seek for -unity by encouraging people to suppress their convictions. Unity is -very valuable, but it can never be so valuable as are truth and -honesty. Far better to accept the truth and say that there is a -difference of opinion rather than by denying the truth and concealing -the divisions that really exist to give a false appearance of unity. -If this is true of other parts of the world, it is even more true of -China. Her national tendency is to regard conviction as of little -importance, and on the other hand to lay great stress on uniformity. -Perhaps one should say that this is the natural result of an autocratic -government. Autocratic government naturally encourages the doctrine -that everybody should agree with the autocrat. Now the advance of the -West has been accomplished by encouraging liberty of opinion, therefore -the people who are to expound the great doctrines of Western -civilisation rightly appear before {200} the Chinese world showing a -great diversity of view. - -It is most regrettable when liberty is exchanged for tyranny, when the -acceptance of one opinion involves the persecution of another, when -Christians not only differ but persecute and thwart each other's -efforts. This may be an evil in our own land, an evil which we hope -will soon pass away, but in China that evil does not exist except -between the Roman and the non-Roman bodies. - -There are great differences of opinion. The extreme Ritualist position -is ably represented in China, the ultra-Protestant position has equally -able representatives, and I have seen them uniting in the Shanghai -Conference in defence of the Apostles' Creed against a Latitudinarian -attack. To the Chinese I think they present not the aspect of -different bodies opposing one another, but rather different regiments -of the same army intent on overthrowing the same enemy; and though they -are clothed in a different uniform and use different weapons they serve -under the same general. - -[Illustration: TRAVELLING IN CHINA--OLD STYLE. A RAILWAY STATION--NEW -STYLE] - -The American bodies are far the richest. Whether it is that the United -States is a richer country than England, or whether it is that they are -more liberal in their gifts to missions, or whether it is that they are -more inclined to spend their money on Chinese missions, the result is -certain, the American missions have every advantage that money can -give. Their splendid educational establishments are a feature in {201} -many towns. If the American missions have the advantage of the English -missions in money, both British and American missions have an equal -right to claim that they have as representatives in China a body of -self-denying and enthusiastic men. It would be invidious to make any -reference to the excellence of any special mission. Among the British -missions, the London Mission claims indeed the greatest number of -converts, though the Church Missionary Society does not come far behind -it. Again, the Presbyterian Missions and the China Inland Mission have -a large and growing work. The latter is a most curious development of -missionary policy. The missionaries, differing in many doctrinal -particulars, have agreed to co-operate under the name of China Inland -Missions in the west of China; they have agreed not to oppose each -other in any way, and to give each other mutual support. They are -under the head of a director who organises and arranges their separate -provinces. A great feature of this scheme is that they effect a large -saving in the expenses of mission work by co-operation. A white man -cannot live in many districts in China without a supply of medicines -and some Western comforts; they arrange for the forwarding of these -things, and help the missionaries in their journeys. - -Bishop Cassels is at once a member of this mission and of the C.M.S. -He is a splendid example of the courage that is necessary for -missionary work. He has been through the Gorges of the Yangtsze twenty -{202} times. Once he was unwise enough to forsake the small native -boat in which he habitually travels and to entrust himself to a -steamer, which, under the pilotage of a German captain, was going to -attempt the rapids. They did very well till they happened to bump on a -rock, when the captain lost his head, and instead of beaching her, he -tried to anchor. The water surged in and soon put out his fires, thus -preventing him from raising his anchor, with the result that the ship -gradually filled and sank and the passengers had to swim for their -lives. - -The S.P.G. Mission is excellently manned, but suffers much from want of -pecuniary support. I cannot help feeling that if it was but once -realised how important it is that the capital of China, whither resort -all the intellectual and ambitious men of China, should thoroughly -understand the logical position and the reverent worship of the Church -of England, that the necessary funds would be forthcoming. It is most -desirable that China should understand that there is a _via media_ -between Rome and Protestantism. - -Without wishing in any way to detract from the necessity for missions -to other parts of the world, we may point out that China has at this -moment a very special claim. No one would say that the mission work in -India or in Africa demands within the next few years that the -intellectual side of Christianity should be thoroughly explained, but -this is actually the case in China. The intellectual men of {203} -China who gather together at Peking are now demanding to know what -truth there is in Christianity. They must be answered by men as -intellectual as themselves, who will be able with courtesy and force to -convince them that Christianity is a religion that is thoroughly -consistent both with modern science and with the intellectual progress -of the world. - -No better mission to undertake that work can be conceived than the -North China Mission of the Church of England. This mission, under the -leadership of Bishop Scott, represents with dignity the tolerant and -reverential attitude of the Church of England. One cannot help -thinking that if he had a sufficiently liberal support, so that he -could have a college where he could undertake the education of some of -those future statesmen of China who are desiring to understand Western -things, that his mission might be the means of encouraging a movement -towards Christianity among the scholars and statesmen of China. That -distinguished Baptist missionary, Dr. Timothy Richard, told me that he -thought that the dignity of the Church of England, especially as so -ably represented by Bishop Scott, might be a great asset in convincing -the Chinese literati that Christianity was a religion which would -harmonise with their love of order and dignity. - -Of missions of other nations we saw one or two examples, but they are -few in number if you except the Roman Catholic Missions. It is rather -a pity that the Scandinavian Missions do not throw all their {204} -effort into work in Manchuria; few races would endure the bitter cold -of Manchuria better than they, and Manchuria is readier to accept -Western ideas than perhaps any other part of China. She has felt and -realised the pressure of the West, she has suffered under the burden of -Russian domination, she has seen the Westernised armies of conquering -Japan put to flight the northern invader. As we stood on the 203 Metre -Hill and realised on that shattered hill-top how Manchuria has seen the -full force of the destructive power of Western civilisation; as we -counted the wrecks that then lay at the mouth of the harbour; as we -looked at each shattered homestead, yes, and at the bones that were -still unburied, we felt that the great land of Manchuria has a special -need that some one should show her that Western civilisation can indeed -produce something more lovely than shells and bayonets. - -I am happy to be able to say that a splendid work is being carried on -by the Presbyterian Missions; they have shown to the Northern Chinese -another form of courage than that which was shown by the warriors of -Russia and Japan. Two stories remain in my mind among many. First a -story of the old days before Russia had made the Trans-Siberian -Railway, before the Japanese had for the first time taken Port Arthur. -A British mission doctor was at work. The Chinese, _more suo_, had -determined to get rid of this example of the mercy of Western -civilisation. They did not dare to kill him openly, so they sent a -{205} messenger who feigned to have come from a sick man out in the -country. The doctor and his Chinese dresser, unconscious of the plot, -readily obeyed the summons. They noticed that a child followed them, -and they did their best to induce him to go home, but he would not. -When they arrived at the village inn they discovered that the sick man -did not exist. They were in doubt what to do, when suddenly the door -was thrown open and several of the soldiers of the Viceroy's bodyguard -rushed in, and seizing the two, they declared that they had stolen a -child to make medicine out of his eyes. They then proceeded to torture -the doctor by tying his hands behind his back and suspending him by -them to the roof. Such was the agony that the doctor lost -consciousness. They then took him down, and he was put into a -loathsome Chinese prison, where he was exposed to mental torture as -severe as the physical torture which he had already endured. He was -told that he would be beheaded, and every preparation was made, and -then at the last moment he was taken back to the prison. This was -repeated till they thought they had shattered his nerve, and then he -was allowed to go free. With that calm courage which has so often -characterised the action of the members of the missionary body he -returned to his work fearless of death and torture. - -Another story, which has its humorous side, was also told us. At the -time of the Russian occupation of Newchwang, the Russians had, as we -have {206} described above, been "pacifying" the town, and a crowd of -terrified Chinese had taken refuge in the Presbyterian Mission -compound, where there was only one lady. She, however, came from -Belfast, and had all the courage of the Northern Irish in her veins. A -body of Russian soldiers came towards the mission with the intention of -shooting the Chinese. She took a horsewhip in her hand, and regardless -of the loaded rifle or the bloody bayonet, commenced to belabour the -soldiers with it. There are some things which are understood by all -nations, and the use of the horse-whip was at once appreciated by the -Russians, who fled before her, leaving her a victor and the saviour of -her Chinese friends. - -I know people say that women should not be exposed to the risks of a -missionary's life, but the answer is that were women not employed, half -the mission work would be left undone and the heroism with which women -have endured death and danger has been no small factor in the spread of -Christianity and in producing the change in China. - - - - -{207} - -CHAPTER XVII - -THE EFFECT OF WESTERN LITERATURE IN CHINA - -Among the influences that have awakened China, outside the great lesson -of political events, none has been more influential than literature in -its many branches. The Chinese have always been a literary race. They -invented printing about the same time that the savage Saxons welcomed -the first book written by the Venerable Bede, and the influence of -literature has therefore held sway many hundred years in China. But -for the last six hundred years there have not been many works of -original thought produced in native literature. Most of their writings -have been commentaries on the Classics following along the beaten -paths, or works of poetry full of references to the Shi-King or the -classic poetry of the Chinese. The literature of China is -characteristic of her civilisation. It is confined by an artificiality -which has its origin in an inordinate respect for the past and an -absolute distrust of the future. Every book looks backward to the -period when China's thought was pure and great. - -This period continued till the Anglo-Saxon influence made itself felt -through its missions. Very early in the history of Protestant missions -it was {208} perceived that in a country like China some other appeal -must be made than could be made by the white missionary. A nation -reverencing the printed page to such a degree that men will carefully -pick up a piece of paper and put it on one side rather than trample it -heedlessly, for fear lest that piece of paper should contain words of -wisdom, is obviously a nation that can best be reached through printed -matter, and so Dr. Morrison, the pioneer of Protestant missions, -devoted the greater part of his missionary life to translating the Holy -Scriptures. The matter was not so simple as might appear to those who -are only conversant with the civilisation of younger and less -artificial races than the Chinese. It is not enough to translate a -work into Chinese; the spoken language is nowhere used for literature. -The literary language commonly called Wenli probably never was spoken, -and is so full of artificial rules of construction that it is only -after many years that a man can hope to write it efficiently. -Chang-Chih-Tung says that it requires ten years for a Chinaman to -become an efficient translator. That does not mean that it takes ten -years for a Chinaman to learn English, but ten years for a man to be -able to put into good Chinese the thoughts that he has learned from the -West. - -The written language of China, it should be remembered, is not a -language in which sounds are portrayed by means of signs as it is with -Western languages. Each character represents an idea, the only analogy -in our language being the numerals and {209} some few signs we have for -simple words such as "cross" or "and." Therefore when new ideas are -developed new signs are required. These can be created out of old -signs. For instance, I understand that a railway engine is called a -fire carriage. This, by the way, caused great confusion of mind in a -certain district to the Christian converts who were conversant with the -story of Elijah, for some of them erroneously concluded that Elijah -left this earth in a railway train. - -Another instance of the difficulty of expressing new things was -afforded when a certain mission started work in China. They were in -some perplexity as to the title that they should choose for their -society. They wanted to convey to the Chinese that their denomination -claimed especially to feed the souls of men. They explained all this -to an educated Chinaman, and quoted some well-known texts. He -immediately wrote down two characters, and assured them that they -represented what they had said about the spiritual food that they -provided, and would also be very popular with the Chinese, as indeed it -proved. The moment they opened the door of the chapel they were -besieged by hundreds of Chinese of the poorer class, who, after -listening for a short time, went away discontentedly. The missionaries -found out afterwards that the title they had been given literally -translated was "Health-giving Free Restaurant," a most attractive title -to the hungry Chinaman. - -There is indeed another way of representing new {210} words. The word -can be borrowed bodily from another language and pronounced in a -Chinese way, and the word-signs which best represent the sounds can -then be employed. This is often done with proper names. For instance, -a great Chinese statesman told me that he referred to Sir Edward Grey -in his despatches to China by three signs which had the three sounds Ga -La Hay, but this system is obviously open to misconstruction, because -the reader might be tempted to give the words their normal meaning. I -believe that such terms as X-rays and ultimatum have been so adopted -bodily into the Chinese language. Ninety per cent., however, of the -new word-signs which go to make up what the Chinese call modern style -are new combinations of ancient ideographs. - -One of the pioneers in this translation work said at the Shanghai -Conference that the first thing a missionary had to do before he could -convert the people was to convert the language. Until he had invented -a new set of word-sounds to convey Christian ideas, the preaching of -Christianity laboured under the very greatest disadvantage. The "term -controversy," that is, the controversy as to what sign should be chosen -to signify the Christian's God, was an example of this. It arose first -in the Roman Communion and afterwards gave great trouble to other -Communions. The choice lay between three terms--one signifying -originally "Supreme Ruler," one "Heaven," and the last "Spirit," none -of which quite {211} expressed our idea of God. What Christians felt -was felt by other translators also, and one of the great causes of -advance in China has been the formation of a language which can now -thoroughly express all the ideas that are characteristic of the West. -Many of these word-signs come from Japan. Japan, using the same -written script as China, and having accepted Western thought, is more -easily able to compose the word-sign necessary for its expression, and -it is in this way among many others that the influence of Japan will be -very important if not paramount in far Eastern countries. - -Every missionary body has tried to produce Christian literature; the -great difficulty has been to get the translator. The method usually -employed is to get a Chinese graduate, too often not a Christian, and -to make him, under careful supervision, write down the phrases rendered -by the missionary into Chinese. Even so the difficulties are very -great. The object of literature is differently understood in the West -and in the East. A Chinese scholar who was very conversant with both -languages explained the difficulties by the following anecdote. -Engrossed in the study of Western knowledge he had neglected his -Chinese literature, and was in imminent danger of failing in his -examination. Happily for him the night before his examination he read -a classical author much admired by connoisseurs but not much read owing -to his great obscurity of expression. A particularly recondite {212} -phrase dwelt in his memory because it had cost him so much trouble to -discover its meaning. Next day he used the phrase in his paper, and -when his paper was returned to him with the marks of the examiner upon -it, it was obvious that it was this phrase, surrounded on all sides by -the marks of his examiner's approbation, which had been the means of -his passing that examination. Subsequently he went to Chicago -University. "There," he said, with the quiet humour of a Chinaman, "I -learnt that the object of an essay was to convey an idea in as simple a -manner as possible. This is not the Chinese plan." - -One of the pioneers in this work was the body which is now called the -Christian Literature Society for China. Assisted by a brilliant staff, -Dr. Timothy Richard has produced a great mass of excellent work which -has profound influence on thought in China. No better test can be -found of the wonderful work that they have done than the fact that the -greatest statesman that China possessed, and also her greatest -Confucianist scholar, should refer to one of their publications, _The -Review of the Times_, as one of the causes of China's enlightenment. -The Christian Literature Society has not, however, been the only -labourer in the field. Good work has been done by the Religious Tract -Society, which has depôts in various parts of China for the sale of -good literature; and there have been other societies which have also -published books, including the Mission Press, belonging {213} to the -Roman Catholics, which is situated at Hong-Kong. - -But in speaking of Christian literature we must not forget the various -Bible Societies which have done such varied and excellent work in -China, chief among which has been the British and Foreign Bible -Society. Far beyond where the white missionary could reach, the -productions of this Society have penetrated; even right across the -deserts of Mongolia have their colporteurs carried their wares. Of the -conversations which I had with various Chinese gentlemen one was -especially remarkable as a testimony to their activity. My -interlocutor was one of those fat lazy men who enjoy the good things of -life and care but little for serious matters, and yet I was surprised -to find that he was obviously acquainted with, at any rate, some of the -tenets of the Christian faith, and I wondered how this indolent man had -obtained such knowledge. I felt certain that his dignity would never -have permitted him to have talked to a Christian missionary, much less -to have listened to a Christian sermon. At last he incidentally -mentioned that though a Confucianist he was well acquainted with the -Gospel of St. Mark. I could not well ask him how he had obtained it, -but no doubt it had come to him through the means of the British and -Foreign Bible Society. - -We happened upon another example of the influence of the Bible Society. -We were coming down on the boat from Canton, and, walking on the -Chinese {214} deck, I saw a man smoking opium and reading an English -book. As I saw he knew English, I addressed him; under the influence -of opium, he was wonderfully communicative. The book turned out to be -St. John's Gospel, and he was reading about our Lord's Crucifixion. He -had only picked it up because he wanted to improve his English, but he -was deeply impressed by it, and his comments were most interesting. He -asked me whether it was true that when our Lord was crucified He had -stood alone against all the power of the Jews and the Romans, and when -he received an answer in the affirmative, he added, "Then He must have -been Divine, for no man who was not Divine could have stood alone." To -the Chinese mind, which is incapable of any separate action, which is -powerless unless it has the moral support of the Government, of a -Guild, or even of a secret society, the story of the Crucifixion -appeals most strongly as an example of Divine strength of purpose. -This strange contrast between the opium-smoker and the Bible was -typical of China. The forces of good and evil were wrestling together -for the possession of that man's life; the forces of good having been -put into his hands no doubt by the instrumentality of some Bible -Society. - -But the good work that has been directly done by all these societies -has been greatly augmented by the good work that they have done -indirectly through the medium of some of their converts. A body of -Christian young men determined to start {215} a publishing house on -their own account, the object of which should be that the published -books, both translations and original works, should best convey to the -Chinese mind lofty and noble ideas in Western thought. If these books -were not intended to be definitely propagandist they were at least -calculated to teach the ethical system of Christianity. The work of -the Shanghai Commercial Press has had a great influence on the thought -of China; from thence has issued forth a mass of literature both for -schools and for the general public which has introduced Western thought -to the Chinese. Many of our standard authors have been translated, and -the Chinaman, moved by his love of literature, is now becoming -intimately acquainted with every literary activity of our civilisation. -When one looks at those strange word-signs it seems hard to believe -that any one could read them with ease and rapidity; yet Chinamen say, -though writing is a matter of great difficulty and requires much time, -reading the characters is quicker than reading our system of printing, -each idea being conveyed by one sign, instead of, as in our language, -by many letters. - -These signs are apparently things to which sentiment attaches. We -heard a most interesting debate at the Conference of the Anglican -Church at Shanghai as to the title by which the Anglican body should be -generally known, and it was instructive to watch the differences -between the views of the English and the Chinese minds on the question, -as the debate {216} was translated by a most able interpreter, Mr. -Tsen. We began with what threatened to be a rather dreary Anglo-Saxon -debate between the High and the Low Church. One felt the old -atmosphere of the sixteenth and seventeenth century of English history -very present in the room. The debate was on the question as to whether -the word "Catholic" should form part of the title. I need not detail -the arguments that were advanced on both sides; they are too well -known. Then we turned to the Chinese translation, and at once the -fires of Smithfield and the thunders of the Reformation disappeared as -by magic, and the blue-robed men from all parts of China woke up to an -interest that was as extraordinary as it was instructive. We gathered, -by means of our interpreter, two or three most interesting facts. -First, there was unanimity in the room that the title should not in any -way, indirectly or by allusion, convey the idea that the Anglican -Church had anything to do with England. The view of China for the -Chinese obviously commanded the assent of all in the room; even those -who had been influenced the other way by their teachers, had to allow -that the word Anglican would be fatal to the popularity of the Church. -When "The Holy Catholic Church of China" was proposed as a title, it -was suggested by the white men that it savoured of insolence, as -implying that the other communions did not belong to it. This met with -no favour from the Chinese. Their argument was simple; we are {217} -all going to be one body in a short time, so the others can share in -our title if it is a good one, and if it is not, we can share theirs. -Then there was this feeling, which it was impossible for a stranger to -appreciate, that each ideograph had a sentiment attached to it, and -that therefore the title must be composed of ideographs which had not -merely a suitable meaning but also a beautiful association. In the end -they adopted for their title the ideographs that are used in the Creed -for the Holy Catholic Church, not meaning thereby that they were the -only branch of the Catholic Church in China, but that they were a true -branch of the Catholic Church. There was another point made obvious to -the onlooker, a point which will be dealt with further on in this book, -namely, that owing to the different policies of the missions, the -American body dominated in debate because they were represented by an -extremely able body of Chinamen, while the English missions had as -Chinese representatives only men of ordinary education. - -But to return to the question of literature. Though literature has -been instrumental in disseminating both the truths of Christianity and -the noble ethical teaching of the West, it has also been instrumental -in disseminating much that is evil and corrupt in Western literature. -Perhaps it is not extraordinary that the Japanese bookseller finds that -the erotic novel from Paris sells more freely when translated than the -English story whose whole {218} motive depends on a proper -comprehension of the Christian ethical position. _The Dame aux -Camélias_, by Dumas, is the most popular of the Western works, and one -cannot but tremble to think what incalculable injury such stories will -do to a nation which does not understand the relative positions in -which those works are held by men of high character in the West. -Chang-Chih-Tung refers in one of his works to the apparent immorality -of Western thought; and if we grant that books like these are typical -of Western thought, we shall not be able to wonder at his conclusion. -Through the distorted medium of such translations Western civilisation -must seem wholly detestable. The Chinaman will naturally say, "Your -boasted morality is merely a hypocritical covering for a profligacy -which we should never permit in our land." - -Not only are French novels translated, but all the works which Western -thought has produced against the Christian faith. Haeckel's "Riddle of -the Universe" is a typical example. In literature, as in every other -department of life in China, two elements of Western civilisation -strive for mastery. On one side there are arrayed the powers of -Christianity and the interpretation of Western civilisation as a -product of Christian thought; on the other side lies materialism, and -the explanation of Western civilisation as a natural result of -evolution which is developing an irreligious but most comfortable -world. If China listens to the first, she will become like other {219} -nations, a great power, not only rich, but honourable, true, and -merciful, the result of the teaching of Christian faith and ethics. If -she listens to the second, the efficiency of China will be rendered -terrible by a low morality, which will not only desolate and depress -many millions, but even have a deleterious effect on the West which so -mistaught her. - - - - -{220} - -CHAPTER XVIII - -MEDICAL MISSIONS - -After literature perhaps we should place medical missions as one of the -most effective ways of placing before the Chinese the difference -between our civilisations and of showing them the truth and beauty of -Christianity. There are three or possibly four reasons why medical -missions are a right and effective way of conducting the Christian -propaganda. First, they are an object-lesson of the love which -Christianity inculcates. In school teaching we find that the -object-lesson is the most efficient and easiest way of getting the -human mind to understand a quite new idea; medical missions are -object-lessons of the essential character of Christian teaching. -Chinese ethics are very distinct in limiting the duty of man to certain -well-known relations. They are five in number: the relation of the -sovereign and minister, of the husband and wife, of the father and son, -of the elder and younger brother, and of friends. No Confucian -recognises the universal brotherhood of man; that is solely a Christian -doctrine. Thus Confucius reproves the man who wishes to offer -sacrifices to some one else's forefathers; that appears to him to be as -officious as the duty of {221} offering sacrifices to his own ancestors -is important; a man has no obligations to any one else but to those who -stand to him in one of these five relations. Very different is the -tone of the Apocrypha, which is not of very different date, and which -puts burial of the dead among one of the first duties of man without -specifying the necessity of any close relationship. - -The action of missionaries in coming to China was therefore wholly -misunderstood by the Chinese. They were regarded as merely the -emissaries of foreign powers, sent to spy out the land. Considering -the way in which the Roman Catholic missions did as a fact identify -themselves with the foreign policy of France, one cannot altogether -wonder that the Chinese attributed to their mission the selfish -principles they themselves would have followed. The first purpose, -therefore, served by medical missions is to demonstrate to the Chinese -that Christianity has higher ideals than Confucianism. - -Their second great object is one that must appeal to the heart of -everybody who has been in China. It is impossible to work among the -Chinese without being rendered miserable by the appalling amount of -suffering and misery that exists at the present day. The poverty of -England cannot be spoken of in the same breath nor can in any way be -compared with the poverty of China. Deplorable as is the condition of -many individuals in England, harsh as is the action of some of our -casual wards, {222} any one who has studied both will freely allow that -the poor in England are rich compared to the poor in China. Among the -vast crowd that wanders along the North Road to London, you will -scarcely see one without boots; there is scarcely one who does not get -a piece of bread to eat when he is hungry; there are none who are -suffering from untended wounds or unalleviated sickness. The workhouse -infirmary will always open its doors, however harsh the Guardians, to -those who are absolutely ill. But in China, starvation is quite -common. Missionaries tell you how at certain junctures they have -travelled along a road, passing man after man lying at the point of -death, and those who are sick have too often no resource but to wait -with patience the pain and death they foresee as their fate. The -missionary feels, as he preaches the doctrine of love, that he cannot -consistently ignore these suffering multitudes. - -The third reason why medical missions are maintained is because they -are a means of approaching people who otherwise would not hear the -Christian truth. The man who has successfully healed the body has some -reasonable hope to expect that the patient will accept that medicine -that he offers to cure the soul. So medical missions have been started -in every place. We visited many excellent medical missions, from -chilly Mukden to torrid Canton. There are many stories told how in the -days when the Chinese would not listen to {223} missionaries, the -medical missionary obtained that hearing which was refused to his -clerical brothers. I was told one medical missionary found that the -moment that he was extracting teeth was the moment when he could best -advance his teaching. I have never heard the story substantiated; -unless the Chinese are very different from us, one would have thought -that the teaching would have had a distinctly painful association. -Perhaps he took as his thesis the extraction of sin from the character. -His success was equalled by that non-medical missionary who had the -advantage of having a set of false teeth; these he used to take out -before the astonished coolies and replace them; then having attracted -their attention by this manoeuvre, he took up his parable on the need -for taking away their sins from them and for putting new life into them. - -The Chinese coolie loves a jest, and once he is on the laugh he will, -unlike his English brother, be much more inclined to attend to serious -teaching. One of the missionaries who understands this trait of the -Chinese best is Dr. Duncan Main of Hangchow, where we spent two most -interesting days seeing his hospitals and work and visiting his -patients. - -There is no better testimony to his great work than his obvious -popularity. Wherever he goes there are smiles and greetings. He -explains as we walk who are the individuals who salute him. That great -fat man who stands bowing and smiling is a {224} merchant of some -wealth; his wife has been in the hospital; she has been tended by Dr. -Main and by his skill has been cured. That old woman who stands by him -smiling is another ex-patient. That young man with an intellectual -face and a dark robe is an old medical student, now a doctor himself -with a large practice, and he has settled near Dr. Main's hospital. -And so his work increases and grows and the good he does must live -after him. He takes us into the out-patients' room; they are a motley -crowd, with strappings and bandages on various parts of their persons. -While they are sitting there a lay-reader expounds to them the elements -of Christian teaching. What a contrast to their minds must be the -plain forcible teaching and the simple effective remedies and medicines -of the Christians to the incantations and nauseous compounds of their -native doctors. There is a great doubt as to what is the nature of -many of the Chinese drugs. They always prescribe a vast number, many -of which are apparently innocuous in their effect; they always give -them in large quantities, and do not in any way attempt to isolate and -extract the active properties of the things they use. You see a man -eating a large bowl of some nauseous compound and you are told he is -taking Chinese medicine. You ask a captain what his cargo consists of, -and he tells you that it is largely made up of Chinese medicine. Some -of the medicine seems to be prescribed on the principle of our old -herbals; that is, there is a fancied resemblance between the plant and -the disease. Others seem to {225} come from well-known remedies -administered in various ways; ground-up deer's horns from the mountains -of Siberia has probably much the same effect as chalk has in our -pharmacopoeia. But there also seems to be some possibility that the -Chinese doctors have certain useful remedies which are unknown to -Western medicine. - -There is a strange story told in Shanghai about a certain remedy for a -horrible disease called "sprue." The story is well known to every -resident in Shanghai, still it will bear repetition. A certain quack -called "French Peter"--I do not know his proper name--habitually cured -sprue. Cases which English doctors had absolutely failed to cure, and -which threatened ruining a career or loss of life, he cured in a few -weeks. He had two remedies--a white powder and a black draught. He -himself was a most unattractive-looking man. My informant told me that -his career was being threatened by this horrible disease, and that he -was expecting to leave China in a week or two, when some one suggested -that he should try "French Peter." When they met, "French Peter's" -appearance was so unprepossessing that the sick man's courage nearly -failed him. He had been for weeks on a milk diet, and the first thing -that the man said to him was, "Look here, take these medicines and go -and have a good beefsteak for luncheon." He decided to try them. He -ate his beefsteak, he took the white powder and the black draught, and -I think within three weeks was quite well. "French Peter" would {226} -never tell his secret or where he got his remedies; at least he used to -give different accounts to different people. I believe he is now dead, -but on talking the matter over with some Chinese friends they assured -me that the remedies were well known to Chinese doctors, and that -"French Peter" had got them from one of their compatriots. - -Dr. Main deals with his patients in the same cheery way that he -addresses every one; a word or two suffices to discover the nature of -their ailment. If the case is very serious, the patient is detained -for further examination; if it is trivial, it is attended to at once by -a native dresser. For the rest he himself prescribes. - -Then he takes us up to the wards, and explains that the great -difficulty is to get the Chinese to care for cleanliness. That is the -same story in every hospital; they cannot believe it matters very much -whether the thing is kept clean or not. The medical students will -proceed to handle anything after they have washed their hands and think -that the previous washing insures asepticism, regardless of the fact -that they have touched many septic things. - -Dr. Main's hospital is typical of mission hospitals--Dr. Christie's -hospital at Mukden, Dr. Gillison's at Hankow, Dr. Cochrane's at Peking, -and many others. There are also hospitals for women. We saw many; the -first we visited, the Presbyterian Hospital at Canton, was a good -example, impressing us not only by its efficiency, but also by the -great service it performed to the suffering {227} masses of China by -training women doctors, who are permitted to minister to their sisters -when etiquette does not permit of male medical attendance. The lady -who showed us round the hospital spoke English fluently; she was -dressed in the dress of the Cantonese woman, which suited her -profession admirably, as it consisted of a long black coat and -trousers. Some hospitals are reserved for the very poor; at Nanking, -for instance, Dr. Macklin showed us over his beggar hospital. He -follows the parable of the Good Samaritan most literally, and wherever -he finds a poor, starving, dying man, he brings him in. Clearly he -cannot afford anything but a limited accommodation for these poor -creatures, but he is on the whole most successful, and there is many a -man whom poverty had brought near to death whose life he has saved. As -one looked at those types of suffering humanity and realised the good -that Dr. Macklin was doing, one felt that the days of saintly service -were not over yet. - -Another beautiful work is Dr. Main's leper hospital at Hangchow. It -was a weird and strange experience to hear those lepers singing our old -English hymns. Leprosy, as my readers doubtless know, does not often -leave open sores; it slowly eats away the body while it leaves the skin -intact; and so you see men without hands and arms yet with finger nails -upon the stump, blind men without noses, and very commonly men whose -voices are cracked and broken. These lepers are housed in an old -temple, in one of the most beautiful situations in China--a {228} -situation which is supposed to be the original of the landscape on the -old willow pattern plates; and the beauty of their surroundings -contrasts strangely with their hideous forms and harsh voices. There -was an infinite pathos when by that blue lake and purple mountain, -those harsh but plaintive voices sang the old tune of "Jesu, lover of -my soul"; and though we could not follow the Chinese words, the faces -of these poor sufferers were eloquent in expressing how fully they felt -the meaning of that hymn. - -But above all we should mention the great work that is being carried on -by Dr. Cochrane at Peking. He has managed to induce all the medical -missions in Peking to unite in founding a great hospital--a hospital -which has received the approval of Government. This successful example -of federation has solved a difficult problem. No doubt the efficiency -of medical missions in many a town is impeded by their want of unity. -A mission body will open a medical mission, and will send out a doctor -or even two in charge; one doctor must go on his furlough, another is -perhaps ill, and the result is that the mission is closed. The -commercial community are rather ready to point out that the mission -hospital is closed in the summer when there is the greatest need for -it. The answer to the taunt is the policy of federation. While it is -next to impossible to keep open the mission hospitals in an unhealthy -climate with a limited staff, it is perfectly possible to do it if the -staff is increased. Every doctor in Central and Southern China must -{229} have a certain period of rest, otherwise he will not be able to -stand the enervating effects of a semi-tropical climate; and however -possible it is to keep white men at work for three or four years -without a holiday, and I know commercial people claim that this has -been done in certain individual instances, it is in reality the very -poorest economy. The mission doctor is far too valuable a person to -have his life cast away by such a foolish policy of extravagance. He -must have his rest every year and his furlough every seven years. But -it is not necessary that the hospitals should be closed if the staff is -big enough; a certain number of the hospital staff can go on leave, and -when they are rested, can come back and allow others to go in their -turn. Dr. Cochrane has shown at Peking that such federation is -possible, and the China Emergency Committee is making every effort to -encourage a similar federation in other parts of China. Medical -missions are splendid examples of Christian charity and love, but they -are rather sad examples of the lack of unity among Christian men. - -Analogous to the medical mission are the missions to the blind and the -deaf. The blind are a striking example of how Christianity alleviates -misery, for the blind in China learn to read more quickly than those -who have sight. The teachers of the blind have invented a system of -raised type by which the Chinaman can read every word that is -pronounced in Chinese. It is not our letter system, which they {230} -would find difficult to understand, but something after the nature of -the Japanese system. Each syllable is represented by a sign; so, -strange as it may appear, the blind man not having to study the -character learns to read more quickly than the man with normal sight. -There is an excellent school for the blind at Peking, under Dr. -Murray's superintendence. There is another at Hankow, where we saw a -most striking instance of the beauty of holiness. One of the masters -at this blind school was a blind man himself; he was a most ardent -Christian; he had been taught to play the organ, which, indeed, is a -speciality at that school, many of the organists in the mission -churches in Hankow coming from it, and one could not look upon his face -without feeling a conviction that his spiritual vision was as clear as -his physical sight was dark. - -There is a fourth reason, and one which applies as much to educational -missions as to medical missions, why both are fitting and proper ways -to teach Christianity. Christianity claims to and does benefit the -whole of man, not merely his spiritual side. Mankind cannot properly -be cut up and divided into spirit, mind, and body. He is essentially -one, and it is most necessary that those who are learning about our -religion, should understand that while we claim every benefit should -come from the spiritual part of our nature, we are prepared to show -that we in no wise despise the body, which needs religious care as much -as the soul. Neither are we careless about the {231} mind. So the -three parts of mission work go hand in hand, for preaching and prayer -will heal the ills of the soul, the medical mission deals with the ills -of the body, and the educational mission makes the mind healthy and -strong. We shall deal with the educational side of mission work later -on. - - - - -{232} - -CHAPTER XIX - -MOVEMENT IN KOREA AND MANCHURIA - -One of the movements which will affect Christianity all over the East -has had its origin in Korea. Just as the suffering and miserable heart -of the individual man is that which Christianity finds most suitable -for its home, so it is with a nation. It is at the moment of national -adversity and humiliation that religious movements most readily rise. -Korea had looked upon herself as the equal of Japan. From Korea came -much of the civilisation which adorned Japan before the great Western -movement. When Prince Ito with the eyes of a statesman was realising -that Japan must either accept the domination of the West or its -civilisation, Korea was immovably entrenched in her belief in her -national greatness and in her contempt for the Western world. So -Westernised Japan has overcome her ancient rival and teacher, and Korea -is humbled to the very dust. - -In many ways that humiliation is rendered more poignant owing to the -lack of sympathy between the races. Though they both have taken their -civilisation from China and have a common classical literature, they -are diametrically opposed in many things. The Japanese are essentially -a clean race. {233} They wash constantly; they will not enter a house -with their shoes on their feet. No one who knows them will accuse the -Koreans of excess in cleanliness. On the other hand, the Japanese very -frequently lack modesty. Many are the stories that residents will -tell; and we have seen the Japanese women clothed in the garb of Eve -appear in the public bath and even in the street. On the other hand, -the Koreans may be corrupt and immoral, but they are modest. The women -of Seoul as they walk through the streets cover their faces with their -green cloaks, till one almost thinks one must be in a Mohammedan land. -Those green cloaks are a perpetual reminder of the ancient hostility -between the races. - -The picturesque story is worth telling. The Japanese, knowing of the -absence of the Korean armies, determined to surprise Seoul. They -thought they had succeeded, when to their amazement they saw the walls -of Seoul covered with what they took for warlike Koreans. The ready -wit of the women had saved their town. They had dressed themselves in -their husbands' clothes and so deceived their hereditary foes. The -Emperor rewarded them by giving them the right to wear the man's green -coat, which they wear not in coat fashion, but over their heads, the -sleeves partially veiling their faces; and as one wanders down the main -street of Seoul and watches the modest but gaily-dressed crowd of -Koreans--the women in their green coats with red ribbons, the men in -white garments wearing their curious top-knots {234} and quaint -hats--one understands the antipathy they must feel for the short, -muscular, soberly-dressed Japanese who by his courage and daring has -subdued them and now tramples on their national susceptibilities and -ignores their national rights. - -There are several missions in Korea, but there is one which, _primâ -facie_, would call for no special remark. It ministers to the -white-robed Koreans in the same way that many another mission ministers -to these Eastern peoples--teaching and preaching. Externally there is -nothing exceptional about the missionaries. I will not say that their -mission is uninteresting, but it is unexciting. They are Americans by -nationality and Scotch by name and blood, and they follow the national -Presbyterian faith with all its cautious teaching, with all its prim -simplicity. No one would regard them as the mission that was likely to -create a great excitement or raise a great enthusiasm, neither indeed -do they so regard themselves. Their conception of mission work was the -sensible and reasonable plan of converting a sufficient number to make -them teachers and preachers, and then having educated them, to send -them out to convert their own fellow-countrymen. In 1906 and the -beginning of 1907 they were filled with dark forebodings for the future -of Korea. The temporary occupation of Korea by the Japanese was -obviously going to be changed into a permanency. The murder of the -Queen had shown what the Japanese would do, and the victory over Russia -had shown what they {235} could do. Korea was at their mercy. Subdued -yet not conquered in spirit, the missionaries, knowing their people -well, foresaw that a bitter friction must arise between the two races; -that rebellions and the consequent fierce repression must bring to -their infant church a time of great trouble; and so, like the wise -Christian men that they were, they took themselves to the Christian's -weapon, namely, prayer. They earnestly prayed that in some way a great -blessing should fall on their converts. That prayer was seemingly -unanswered, the grasp of Japan was not relaxed. Except for the wisdom -and gentleness of the great Prince Ito, there was nothing but -oppression and sufferings for the Koreans. The Japanese army had -learnt not only their military art but their statecraft in Germany, and -the latter is traditionally harsh. Break, crush, and bully are the -maxims which find general acceptance in the Prussian Court. Prince -Ito, however, was a great admirer of English imperial policy with its -maxims of justice to the weak, mercy to the conquered, and reverence -for all national traditions; but Prince Ito could not control the -Japanese soldiers, and the moans of the oppressed Koreans echoed -throughout her land. - -In the spring of 1907 the Presbyterian Mission held what is called its -country class--that is to say, that the men who had been converted were -summoned from all the country villages to the town of Pyeng-Yang, and -there they attended for several days' instructions in the Christian -faith. This {236} excellent rule enables Christians who believe but -who are ignorant to acquire a more ultimate knowledge of the truths of -Christianity. These meetings are wholly unemotional; they are in no -sense revival meetings, nor even devotional; they are essentially -educational. Their object is to teach and not to excite. For the -Scottish-American has a double national tradition that knowledge is -strength. These meetings had been held one or two days; they had -followed their usual uneventful if beneficial course, and showed every -probability of ending as they had begun, when one of the Koreans rose -from the centre of the room and interrupted the ordinary course of the -meeting by asking leave to speak. As he insisted, permission was given -him. He declared that he had a sin on his conscience that forbade him -listening to the teaching of the missionaries in peace, and that -further he must declare this sin. The Presbyterian missionaries do not -encourage this kind of open confession of sin, but still to get on with -the meeting and to quiet him they gave him leave to speak. He then -declared that he had felt some months ago a feeling of bitterness -towards one of the missionaries, a Mr. Blair, who was our informant. -Mr. Blair assured him that so far from feeling that there was any need -for this confession he regarded the matter as trivial, and hoping again -to bring the meeting back to the point he suggested that they should -say the Lord's Prayer. Hardly had he uttered in Korean the words "Our -Father," when {237} a sudden emotion seemed to rush over all those who -were there present. The missionaries described it as at once one of -the most awful and one of the most mysterious moments of their lives. -They were not revivalists; they had not encouraged it; they did not -believe in it; they disliked an emotional religion with which they had -no sympathy; and here they were in the face of a movement which was -beyond, not only their experience, but that of the greatest -revivalists. They tried to stop it, but unavailingly. The Koreans, -unlike the Chinese, always sit upon the floor, and as the missionaries -looked out over the meeting from the platform on which they stood, they -saw the faces of their converts racked with every form of mental -anguish. Some were swinging themselves forward striking their heads on -the ground, hoping, as it were, to obtain by insensibility peace from -their torturing thoughts; some were in the presence of an awful terror; -some were leaping up demanding to be heard, longing to free their souls -from the weight they felt would crush them; others with set faces were -resolutely determined not to yield to the inspiration of the spirit -which suggested that they should gain relief by frank confession. The -missionaries having failed to bring the meeting to a close, submitted -to what they felt was the will of a higher Being, and the meeting went -on till fatigue produced a temporary and a partial rest. Though the -meeting was closed, the missionaries learnt afterwards that many {238} -Koreans went on all through the night in agonised prayer. - -The next day they hoped the thing was over, and that the incident might -be reckoned among those strange experiences which workers in the -mission field must occasionally expect to encounter; but not so--the -meeting next night was the same as its predecessor. They noticed -several interesting facts. One, for instance, was, that the women were -far less affected than the men. The movement did not reach them till -later, and never so fully. Another remarkable thing about this -movement was that though the Methodists are by tradition a revivalist -body, and though they have a vigorous mission working in that town, yet -the revival only spread to their converts after many days, and then -neither with the spontaneity nor the fire with which it had been -manifested in the Presbyterian Mission. - -Of the reality of the confession of sin there could be no doubt. One -man, for instance, confessed to having stolen gold from a local -gold-mining company, and produced the wedge of gold which he had -stolen, and asked them to treat him as he deserved. The manager of the -company luckily was a European, who wisely refused to punish a man who -had so spontaneously confessed his theft. Many of the sins that were -confessed would not bear repetition. Some confessed even to such awful -sins as that of murder of parents. One man in particular, a trusted -servant of the mission, resisted confession, and day by day {239} -became more and more racked with mental agony, till the missionaries -feared that his health would not endure the terrible strain of such -mental anguish, and they advised him to make a free confession of his -sins. At last he came to them with a sum of money in his hand; he had -raised it by selling some houses which he had bought as a provision for -his old age, and he confessed to the sin that was torturing him. He -had done what is constantly done in the East--he had peculated. His -position had been that of an agent whom the missionaries employ to make -many of their small payments, and out of each of these payments he had -taken "a squeeze." With these he had bought the houses which now he -had sold. He left the missionaries happy in heart though empty in -pocket. - -This movement spread more or less over the Presbyterian missions in -Korea, but never with such intensity as manifested at Pyeng-Yang. We -heard it spoken of by a non-Christian Korean, a member of the Court of -the Emperor of Korea. He had heard of it, and said men were saying -this movement is a wonderful thing, for under its influence men -confessed crimes of which even torture would not have induced them to -own themselves guilty. A Chinese merchant also heard of it in -Manchuria. The man came down to Pyeng-Yang, and happened to stop with -the Chinese merchants. He mentioned that there were Christians in -Manchuria, and the Chinese merchants immediately took an interest. -When he asked what {240} they knew of the Christians, they answered, -"Good men, good men." One of them was owed by a Korean twenty dollars, -who would only allow that he owed ten, and the merchant having no means -of redress, had written off the debt; but when this revival took place, -the Korean came with the other ten dollars together with interest, and -what of course would appeal even more to the Eastern mind, with the -frank confession that he had lied. This practical illustration of the -effects of Christianity greatly impressed the Chinese. - -When we arrived at Pyeng-Yang the movement was over. We went to some -of their meetings. They were very common-place ordinary meetings. All -that struck us was that there was a tone of reverence, a sense of -reality, which made one feel that Christianity was as sincere in Korea -as it is in our own land. - -The movement has spread from Korea to Manchuria. In Manchuria the -movement had not quite the same spontaneity that it had in Korea; it -savoured more of the revival meetings of the West. It needed the -stirring words of a great preacher, Mr. Goforth, to start it, yet there -were one or two curious manifestations of power. One is worth telling. -One brother was heard expostulating with another; he was asking why his -brother had, forgetful of his family dignity or "face," confessed to -sins which brought not only himself but his family into disrespect. -The other answered, "When the Spirit of God takes hold of a man, he -cannot help speaking." {241} Two still more curious instances are worth -recording: one in which two soldiers who were not Christians were so -moved that they confessed their sins; another which seems to prove the -presence of a force exterior to human influence or to the emotions -caused by eloquence or moving hymns. An elder of the Church had -forgotten or been detained from going to one of these meetings; when -the speakers went to inquire next day why he had not been there, he -asked them in return to tell him what they had done at the meeting, and -they told him that many people had confessed their sins. He was deeply -interested, and said: "I was sitting in my house at the hour of your -meeting; I suddenly felt as if all my sins were laid before me, and I -realised as I had never done before my many shortcomings." - -And so the movement has spread through Manchuria to China. If it has -lost something of its freshness, something of its force, it still -remains a movement that may accomplish great things. No one who has -read the history of the Wesleyan movement, and of the wonderful -manifestations that accompanied its commencement, will look without -interest and expectation for the work which this movement may -accomplish. Let us hope that it will bring to China a sense of reality -in spiritual things which the present materialist teaching threatens to -eliminate from her national life. - - - - -{242} - -CHAPTER XX - -THE FUTURE OF CHRISTIANITY IN CHINA - -At the great Shanghai Conference we always spoke of the "Church in -China," implying thereby that there was to be one Christian body in the -Chinese empire. This ideal is lofty and not impossible. There is a -reasonable expectation that the great intellectual movement in China -will render the Chinese very ready to accept new ideas, and the rate of -conversion in China gives one reasonable hope that the new ideas may be -Christian and not those of Western materialism. If China becomes -Christian there will no doubt be a great tendency to accept the unity -of Christianity as an essential doctrine. As a race they clearly tend -towards union as much as the Anglo-Saxon race tends towards disunion. -The British empire has been held together by its fear of its enemies; -the Chinese empire has been held together through their natural love of -union, which is the dominant characteristic of the race. Remove the -enemies of the British empire and she will naturally divide, but force -the Chinese empire apart and she will naturally return to one body. -Chinese Christianity will, if it is truly Chinese, tend to one body. -This truth, which I think would have been {243} allowed by the whole -Shanghai Conference, opens up a train of thought which is full of -foreboding and yet of hope. - -One obvious criticism of what was said of the Church in China was kept -largely out of sight at the Shanghai Conference, namely, that as the -Roman Communion far outnumbers the whole of the non-Roman Communions -put together, the Church in China, therefore, if it is to consist of -all Christians, will be something very different to what the majority -of those present at that Conference would like. Some men maintain that -the Chinese love of unity will not go so far as to compel the union -between Protestant and Catholic, and that in China the schism which has -rent Christianity in twain in Europe will be continued. I would ask -those who think thus if they think this is desirable even if it is -possible. Once foreign influence and support has been removed, would -not such a division soon produce a state of great friction, resulting -probably in the destruction of the smaller body. But it is most -improbable; a race which has habitually put together Taoism, Buddhism, -and Confucianism will have no difficulty at all in uniting Romanism and -Protestantism. I do not mean to say that Rome will conquer; it does -not seem likely. The power of the Romans is great when they are -preaching our common Christianity, but their peculiar doctrine of the -pre-eminence of Rome is most unattractive to the Chinaman. After all, -Rome is a very small place to a man who lives in China. Think how -little {244} we know of ancient Chinese history, and realise how little -China knows of the history of our civilisation. Home at the present -day is to the Chinaman merely the capital of Germany's weakest ally. -The reasoning of the universality of the Roman Church, always faulty, -seems almost ridiculous in China. The Chinaman on one side is -conversant with America, on the other side she is in touch with India, -while on the north she has a frontier which stretches for thousands and -thousands of miles between her and the great Orthodox Church of Russia. -One's eyes naturally turn to this immense line of frontier between -Confucianism and Christianity, and one wonders how any Chinaman can -possibly think of Rome as the one Catholic Church. If the Roman -Church, with its foreign domination and its tacit acceptance of the -fact that only members of the Italian nation can receive Divine -authority to guide the Church on earth, is unattractive to the mind of -the man who lives in the Far East, on the other hand its ornate and -dignified services must be most attractive to a race whose national -philosophy puts pre-eminent weight on dignity and decorum in dress and -demeanour. If the Roman Church could give up her Latin services, could -frankly become a national Church which owed no obedience to any Pontiff -outside China, one would regret the possibility but one would have to -allow the probability of her complete domination over the Chinese -empire. Again one's eyes turn to the northern frontier, and one asks -oneself {245} whether that great Orthodox Church, the dignity of whose -services is without parallel, and which frankly accepts the national -Church as a reasonable Christian position, will not one day be a large -factor in the future missionary work in China. After what we had seen -and heard at the Centenary Conference, and after we had realised the -great extent of the Roman work, we felt that till one understood why -the Russian Church conducted no missionary work one could not -understand the whole missionary problem; for when the Russian Church -does undertake such work, her geographical position must render her -important. - -The whole of this question is of the greatest interest to the student -of missions, but especially to an Anglican. The great value of the -Anglican position has always seemed that, to use an election phrase, we -offer a platform on which all those who call themselves Christian might -possibly unite. The great rent which divides Protestant from Catholic -seems not only to make it impossible for Latin Christians to unite with -the Teuton Protestant Churches, but also renders it hard for the latter -to unite with the great Churches of Eastern Europe. Of course all this -has only an academic interest in England, but in China with its rapidly -growing Christianity and an intellectual revolution surging forward to -unknown possibilities, all this is of vital interest. What will -Chinese Christianity be? Is it to be an ornate Christianity to which -the converts {246} of Rome and possibly the converts of the Orthodox -Church will adhere, an ornate Church sullied no doubt with the faults -of her parents, a Church possibly attractive to the Buddhist, for he -will not need to traverse any great distance in thought to enter her -portals; or is it to be a great Protestant Church, cold and bare, -vigorous and energetic, a Church in which the uniform of the Teuton -mind will sit badly on the Chinese convert, a Church which may in many -things represent truly the will of our mutual Master, but a Church -which leaves the Oriental cold and miserable, while it practically -tears from our Bible those endless chapters on the decoration of Temple -and Tabernacle, those constant commands to an exact and ordered ritual. - -I write with what the Germans call "objectivity"; the Teuton within me -dislikes ritual; but the Chinaman is no Teuton, and the Chinaman loves -ritual as much as any man on earth. No one who has been received by a -Chinese Viceroy in his Yamen can have the very slightest doubt on this -subject. If the Protestant bodies hope to force on the Chinese a -non-ornate form of Christianity, they will be doing exactly what the -Italian Church did to the Northern races, and which produced the great -upheaval of the Reformation. The Reformation was essentially the -rebellion of the Teuton mind against a forced acceptance of the Italian -view of Christianity. To force on the Chinese converts a Christianity -shorn of all ritual and display will produce in years to come some -similar upheaval. {247} There is yet a third possibility. The -Anglican position affords the means of avoiding such an upheaval, and -of permitting a union of all Christians on the basis of an ornate -service and evangelical Christianity. For while it permits a service -equal in dignity to that of Rome or of Russia, it insists equally with -the bodies who pride themselves on the name of Protestant on the -supreme value of the Bible. - -The very hope I have that Christianity will conquer China makes me -fearful for the future. The age of persecution is past, the blood of -the martyrs has been shed, and the seed of a Church freely sown. But -after the age of persecution comes the age of heresy, and to preserve -Christianity in China from future dangers, not only is union necessary, -but a well-ordered Church bound by creeds, respecting tradition, which -shall embrace all those Christians by whomsoever they have been -converted who love the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The great danger -I fear for the future Church in China is one of Eastern and not Western -origin. I do not fear the domination of Rome. I doubt that the -Protestant Communions will succeed in ultimately persuading the Chinese -to worship God in a bare building and without vestments. - -China and Japan will, if they are conquered by Christianity, be neither -Protestant nor Catholic any more than we are Nestorian or Eutychian. -Their divisions, their dangers, their struggles, will arise from a -wholly different set of circumstances. I fear {248} the dangers will -come from an effort to incorporate Buddhism and Christianity in one -religion. This is all the more probable as it has doubtless happened -before. Nestorianism and Buddhism are the probable parents of the -present Chinese Lamaism. It is, however, not given for us to see into -the future, but we can look back into the past, and we can see that our -predecessors in the faith nearly invariably made the mistake of -supposing that the old dangers were going to recur, and of therefore -depending on the old measures of defence. - -The future Church in the Far East must fight her own battles. She must -solve her own problems. All we can do is to hand over to her the truth -in all its fulness, and teach her to look for divine guidance, to -forget such words as Protestant, Roman Catholic, Nonconformist, and -Anglican; to learn merely the word "Christian" and the word "Love." If -Far Eastern Christianity will have its battles to fight, it will have -also its message to give to the West, "that they without us should not -be made perfect." It may be that the message of the East to the West -will be that as God is One, so must His followers be; that strong and -mighty as is the West, there is in her an element of the very greatest -weakness; that the discord that reigns between Christian and Christian, -between race and race, between class and class, is not the will of the -Creator, but is the result of the national sins of the white races. -The Far East, with its greater power of unity, {249} may illumine the -West with a higher conception of this great virtue, and the world may -be a far holier and happier place when the yellow race has preached to -the world the great doctrine of peace on earth and goodwill to men. - - - - -{253} - -THE NEW AND THE OLD LEARNING - - - - -CHAPTER XXI - -EDUCATION, CHIEFLY MISSIONARY - -I have before had occasion to refer to the great influence education -has had on the awakening of China, and I think the Americans can fairly -claim to have been the greatest workers in this field. The Roman -Catholics have from time immemorial been most careful to train children -in Christian truth, and they have wonderful institutions for this -purpose. In 1852 the Jesuits founded the College of St. Ignatius for -the education of native priests, and since that day they have founded -many educational institutions. They have besides a very large number -of primary schools, intended originally merely to preserve their -converts from too intimate contact with the heathen world, and they -have also many higher schools. In those schools they teach modern -knowledge, making a speciality of teaching French, which they can do -with great efficiency, as many of their number belong to the French -nation. In the German sphere of influence there are Catholic schools -where German is taught; but though the work is excellent, it cannot be -compared with the work of the Americans, who were really the pioneers -of higher education in China. - -{254} - -When the American missionaries began to arrive, a new departure was -inaugurated in education. The school and college were no longer places -where Christians were simply educated; they were places where -Christians, confident in the truth of their teaching, gave away to -heathen and Christian alike all the knowledge that the West possessed. -The conception was bold; it was grand. It showed a statesmanlike grip -of the situation and a courage which can only come from a consciousness -of the strength of the Christian position, that Christianity was not a -narrow religion fearing free inquiry. Christianity, on the contrary, -was a religion which could only be appreciated by those who had the -very fullest knowledge. These teachers boldly declared that ignorance -was the mother of religious error, and therefore the duty of every -Christian was at once to remove ignorance and to share with every one -the knowledge that can alone make the world capable of truly -appreciating God's power as manifested in every department of science. - -So these schools and colleges grew up. Those who believed in this -policy did not belong to any one denomination, though they did belong -to one nation--America. There were many opponents to this policy. It -was argued that the duty of the mission bodies was to preach the -Gospel, and that however advantageous education might be, it was not -the business of the Christian to give it; but whatever doubt there was -then, facts have been too strong for those who {255} opposed the -educational policy, and any one travelling through China realises more -and more how the Mission that has spent money on education is the -Mission that has the power of expansion. The Mission that has no -educational system is always cabined and confined for want of money and -men. They are always writing home to ask that another man shall be -sent out; some one has broken down or some new opportunity for work has -been opened, and so "they must press upon the Home Board the great -importance of sending out at as early a date as possible one or more -helpers." The Home Board is always answering those letters, expressing -"every sympathy with their anxiety," but in reality pouring cold water -on their enthusiasm, and pointing out that the supply of men is limited -and that the supply of money is yet more limited. Thus the opportunity -passes and the mission cannot expand. The same little church stands -filled with converts; the same mission building houses the tired out -and climate-stricken white missionaries. Such a mission, while -inspiring the greatest respect for the heroism of the missionaries, -arouses also a feeling of despair. How is it possible that a mission -like this can really solve the problem of making Christianity a -national religion? How can spiritual ministrations be performed by -aliens, supported by alien money collected from a possibly hostile race? - -A very different effect is made on the mind of the onlooker when he -comes upon some mission that {256} has made education a speciality. -There all is life, vigour and success. One of the most successful of -the American missionaries, Bishop Roots, of the Episcopal Church of -America, explained the system by which he is succeeding in making -Christianity an indigenous religion. At his large college, presided -over by Mr. Jackson, many are heathen. Some go through the college and -imbibe a certain respect for Christian ethics, which will not only make -them a benefit to China but will make an intellectual atmosphere -sympathetic to Christian teaching. Some, however, will become -Christians who will mostly go out into the world and take their place, -and a high place too, in the leadership of the future China, as much -owing to the excellence of the teaching that they have received as to -the high morality which is produced by their Christian faith. Then -there will be a few who will feel a distinct call to go out as -missionaries to their own people. These men will have no temptation to -become Christians for the loaves and fishes, because, owing to the -excellence of the education that they have received and the great -prosperity that is dawning over China, they could command a large -salary in the open market. These highly-educated clergy are able to go -out and put Christianity to the Chinese in a manner which no white man -could hope to equal. - -What Bishop Roots told me can be well illustrated by two little -incidents. In Hankow, where his work is increasing by leaps and -bounds, the Lutheran {257} Mission failed, and therefore it resigned -the chapel to him. He accepted readily, and soon his Chinese clergy -were preaching to crowded congregations. The second incident was this: -I expressed a wish to make a present to one of these Christian -scholars, and I asked what books he would like to receive. I was told -that such books as Balfour's "Defence of Philosophic Doubt" and -Haldane's "Pathway to Reality" were the kind that would appeal to such -young men. Not only will these men carry the Gospel to their -fellow-countrymen far more efficiently than can the alien, but they -will to a great extent be able to live on the subscriptions of their -congregations, and so the communion to which they belong will become -not only self-propagating but self-supporting. - -To understand the importance of this controversy the various aims of -missionary education must be realised, and it is because those aims are -different that the controversy has been confused and the value of -education as an assistance to missionary effort in China misunderstood. -There are really seven aims: three which are common to all missionary -effort in all lands, and four which especially apply to countries like -China which are passing through a transitional period of thought. The -three which are common to all missionary effort are (1) evangelisation; -(2) edification of the Christian body; (3) education of preachers and -teachers. The four that are peculiar to China in her present -transitional condition are (4) preparation of secular leaders; (5) -leavening of the whole public opinion; (6) opposition {258} to Western -materialism; (7) association of Christianity with learning. - -The arguments for the first three are applicable to every land. -Evangelisation can no doubt be carried on most efficiently before the -mind has received any intellectual bias. The Jesuit priest is reported -to have said, "If I have the child till he is ten, I do not care who -has him afterwards;" and therefore, as in all the world so in China, -the Roman Catholics have always made a great effort to educate -children. They have preferred those who have had no home-ties, orphans -and waifs, and have by this policy built up a huge Christian population -numbering over a million. This population is thoroughly Christian in -sentiment; they have never known an idolatrous atmosphere, and they -live to a great extent by themselves in communities. While they are -thoroughly Christian, they are also absolutely Chinese; no effort is -made to Westernise the children in any way. From this great Christian -body Catholic priests are drawn, and I believe so completely Christian -are they, that no difference is made between them and white men by such -an important body as the Jesuits. When other Christian bodies began -missionary work in China they also started schools, but the difference -of their schools was that they aimed much more at the second than at -the first object. The school was not merely a place to attract -homeless children and bring them up as Christians; it was also intended -to edify and adorn with knowledge the children of Christians. {259} -Non-Christians were largely admitted, but I think that I am right in -stating that the object was much more edification than evangelisation. -In a corrupt society like China, where all knowledge is intermingled -with vice, it is inevitable that Christian schools should be erected -for the Christian body, and it is equally inevitable that those who are -non-Christians but who admire the schools greatly should try and enter -them. The feature of these schools for the most part, though not -invariably, in contrast to the earlier Roman Catholic schools, is that -Western education is to a certain extent, varying in each mission, -superadded to Chinese learning; and therefore, though the school is -essentially a school for Chinese learning, the children as a rule learn -something also of Western knowledge. - -Out of these schools naturally arise others which have the third aim of -missionary education as their object, namely, the preparation of -preachers and teachers who in the future shall be the real missionary -body of China. Every thinking man realises that the alien missionary -can only exist in a brief transitional period. The true teachers of a -race must be those who are linked to it by ties of blood and tradition, -and nearly every mission has therefore set to work to create a native -ministry which is sooner or later to take over the task of the -conversion of China. This is regarded by many, nay, by most, as the -great aim of missionary educational work. The degree of preparation, -however, differs widely in different missions. {260} Some missions, -drawing their teachers from the lower ranks of society, are quite -content to give them an education which will enable them to lead and -teach the lower class among whom they move; other missions held that -the Christian teacher must not merely he able to lead the ignorant but -must be able also to meet in controversy those who may be well equipped -with Western knowledge; and therefore while in some missions the -education of native pastors is conducted solely in Chinese, in others -the teaching is in English, to enable the teachers and preachers to -keep abreast with the thought of Western countries and to defend their -land by pen and sermon as much against the errors of the West as -against the superstition of the East. - -It is in the preparation of these highly educated men that an -opportunity is given for the fourth aim of missionary education in -China: one which would not be applicable in every country, but which is -vitally important in China, namely, the preparation of secular leaders -in China. To understand the importance of this we must be always -reminding our readers that China is in the midst of an intellectual -revolution. She is passing through a period which is in some way -comparable to the period of the Renaissance in Europe, but which -exceeds it both in importance and in danger, because in Europe, as the -name shows, it was essentially a reintroduction of forgotten but not -new knowledge with its subsequent enlargement and development. In -China {261} the revolution is caused by the introduction of foreign -knowledge, which is absolutely inharmonious and in many ways opposed to -native thought. In Europe the foundations of knowledge were always -secure; it was only the superstructure that was altered. In China the -very foundations are being uprooted; the result is that China is at the -present without leaders, except for a narrow band of men, who owing to -the foresight of some Christians in the past have received a Western -education. There are plenty of old-fashioned leaders, who have led or -failed to lead the sleepy China of years ago--men of considerable -ability but in a state of great mental confusion, owing to their -powerlessness to comprehend the many aspects of the civilisation which -is being forced upon them and which is unnatural to them. They cannot -understand our currency questions, our financial operations; they only -dimly realise the possibilities and problems connected with military -and naval armaments. They yearn for the years gone by, but an -inexorable fate urges their country forward into new positions, which -bring with them new responsibilities, new powers and new dangers. -China demands men to lead her through this terrible state of confusion -and change, and she turns round to find the men who understand Western -civilisation, who have the character and the knowledge necessary to -deal with all these problems. Just at this moment, any man of ability -who has an intimate knowledge of Western things stands a chance of high -{262} preferment. It may be that this demand will be satisfied by the -number of students China has sent abroad to be educated, but the size -of China and the great demand for men skilled in Western learning make -many of those having a most intimate knowledge of China confident that -this is an opportunity that is still open, that it is still possible to -direct to some degree the minds and thought of those who will lead -China as statesmen, as authors, and as men of learning. The production -of these men can be carried on to great advantage in the same -establishment as that in which the clergy are receiving their -education; the educated clergyman, the future pressmen and statesmen of -China are in this way brought in close contact with one another, and -even from one establishment the good that may come to China is quite -incalculable. - -This brings us to the fifth great aim of education, the leavening of -public opinion in China so that Christianity will find ground prepared -for its sowing. The destruction of superstition, the production of -Western ethics make Christianity a reasonable instead of an -unreasonable religion to those who hear it preached. Clearly to leaven -public opinion influence must be applied to those who will control such -powers as those of the press and the school; the teacher and the writer -are the men who should be especially aimed at; and to attain this aim, -it is necessary to institute and maintain {263} places where higher -knowledge is taught rather than only primary schools. - -But there is another object, the sixth aim for education in China. One -of the unpleasant features in the revolution that is going on in -Chinese thought is the present introduction of Western materialism, -which to judge by the example in Japan, will grow more rankly after -transplantation. The West has a double aspect when seen from the East; -it is a Christian world where women are pure and men are honourable; it -is a rich world where there are no moral obligations. The first aspect -is the one that is represented by the missionary; the second aspect is -too often taught by the sailor and merchant classes; and when the -Chinaman asks what is the thought and the base of Western teaching, the -Japanese materialist, pointing to the example set by many Western -lives, declares that Christianity in Europe is like Buddhism in Japan, -a religion that at one time had many adherents but whose influence is -fast waning, and it is in resisting this materialism that the -Missionary College and University perform perhaps their most important -task. - -The men who are to do this work must be men most highly skilled in -Western knowledge; they must understand science and be able to meet a -follower of Haeckel in debate, they must be competent to discuss -sociology with disciples of Herbert Spencer, and they must not be -afraid to dip into the {264} study of comparative religion; in -addition, they must be qualified to write excellent Chinese and to be -firm in their Christian faith. The production of such men as these -should also satisfy the seventh and last aim of Christian education: it -will associate learning with Christianity in the minds of the Chinese. -The keynote of Chinese thought is its great admiration for learning. -In China there is no caste or class, no division except between the -ignorant and the learned; if Christianity is associated with ignorance, -its influence will be lost, and it is no mean object to make -Christianity and knowledge in the mind of the Chinaman two parts of one -great idea. - -It is obvious that as missionary societies lay weight on one or the -other of these objects, they will support a different kind of school. -If their object is the first, they will seek to educate the orphan and -the waif, and the school and the orphanage will be, as they are in the -Roman Catholic body, intimately joined together. If the object is to -edify the Christian body and to provide it with a suitable pastor, the -missionary body will erect primary schools for Christian children and -theological and normal schools to complete their school system. If, on -the other hand, the missionary body aims at leavening the whole thought -of China, of capturing China for Christ, or if it aims at defending -China against the terrible pest of Western materialism--which will turn -the light that China now has into black darkness and harden her for -ever against Christian teaching--the High School, {265} College, and -the University will be the objects on which the money will be spent. -This last has been the object of the American bodies; and I think China -owes a great debt of gratitude, under God, to the great width of -thought and grasp of the situation that the American mind has exhibited. - - - - -{266} - -CHAPTER XXII - -GOVERNMENT EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM - -One of the highest testimonials to the wisdom of the missionaries in -inaugurating an educational policy has been given by the Chinese -Government. Imitation is the sincerest flattery, and missionary -education has its imitator in no less a body than the Chinese -Government. The Chinese have always loved education, but the education -they admired was the literary education which had for its commencement -the Chinese character and for its end the Chinese Classics; their -system of teaching was different from our own; they were far greater -believers in learning by rote than the most conservative English -schoolmaster who ever set a long repetition lesson to his pupils. It -is a strange sight to see an old-fashioned Chinese school, the boys all -shouting out at the top of their voices the names of the characters -whose meaning they do not understand. An essential part of the -performance is the clamorous shouting; the louder they shout, the -harder they are working and the quicker they think they learn, so when -the visitor surprises a class their voices are not raised above a -pleasant and reasonable elevation, but after he has been {267} -discovered by the class, the shouts increase in volume till the noise -is only to be compared to the paroquets' cage in the Zoological Gardens. - -Another peculiarity of the school is that all the pupils turn their -backs to their master; the doctrine being that if they were allowed to -watch their master, it would be perfectly impossible for him to detect -their many little acts of dishonesty. The missionaries at first -painfully imitated these schools; they felt that it was impossible to -trust the children of their converts to the heathen atmosphere of a -Chinese school, and at the same time they realised what great value and -importance was placed by the Chinese on education. These schools led -on to a sort of middle school called "shu-yuen," which existed in all -big towns, which in its turn led on to four Universities, but they have -been, I believe, for some time in an inefficient condition. Still for -good or for evil the system was there, and long before our own new -departure in education, the Chinese were quite accustomed to the idea -that the boy who had sufficient ability might climb the ladder of -learning, from class to class, from school to school, till at last he -took the coveted Hanlin Degree. So high a value did the Chinese place -on education, that it was possible, and it did indeed happen, that boys -of the very humblest parentage climbed that ladder till they reached -the most exalted positions. - -The first sign of an alteration of this system was {268} the book that -was issued after the Chinese-Japanese war by Chang-Chih-Tung. That -remarkable statesman realised after China's crushing defeat that a -general reform was absolutely necessary if she was to maintain her -place among the free and independent nations of the world, and he wrote -a book entitled "China's Only Hope," in which he strongly advocated the -acceptance in some measure of Western education. His scheme is the one -which practically obtains now in China, that is of making Chinese -learning the foundation on which Western education is to be placed. He -had a great disbelief, like most Chinese, in the difficulty of -acquiring Western education. He writes: "Comparative study of foreign -geography, especially that of Russia, France, Germany, England, Japan, -and America; a cursory survey of the size and distance, capital, -principal ports, climate, defences, wealth, and power of these (the -time required to complete this course ten days)." It is very hard for -the Chinese literati to understand the difficulties of acquiring -Western learning. Chang was a man of no mean intellect, and one of the -reasons why he was so anxious to preserve Chinese learning was because -he realised the destructive effect Western learning has on Oriental -faiths. He hoped to preserve the ethics of Confucianism and to attach -to them the practical knowledge of the West, which he realised was a -necessity for China. He summed up the position by saying, "Western -knowledge is practical, Chinese learning is moral." - -{269} - -The immediate result of this book was absolutely the reverse of what -its author intended. A million copies of the book had been issued, and -it circulated throughout China. It raised a storm of opposition, and -probably was one of the causes which produced the Boxer outbreak; but -the failure of Boxerdom and the Russo-Japanese war convinced China that -Chang-Chih-Tung was right, and his book may now be taken as the book -which best expresses the intellectual position of the moderate reformer. - -He first deals with that very difficult question of finance. He -proposes to finance the schools with a wholesale disendowment of the -two religions in which he does not believe, Buddhism and Taoism. He -writes: "Buddhism is on its last legs, Taoism is discouraged because -its devils have become irresponsive and inefficacious." He then -suggests that seven temples out of ten should be used both as regards -their building and their funds for educational purposes. But he has a -sympathetic way of treating the disendowed clergy of China. He -suggests that they could be comforted by a liberal bestowal of official -distinction upon themselves and upon their relatives. Who can tell if -Welsh Disestablishment would not be popular if all the clergy were to -be made archdeacons and their brothers and fathers knights. But he has -a historical precedent for disendowment--Buddhism has apparently -experienced the process of disendowment three times; but as the last -disendowment was {270} in 846, on our side of the world we should not -regard it as a precedent of much value. - -In establishing schools he adopts five principles. The first is one to -which we have already referred, that the new and the old are to be -woven into one, the Chinese Classics are to be made by some magical -process the foundation of the teaching of Western education. The -second is a very un-Western but possibly a sound way of looking at the -question. He puts forward two objects of education: first, government; -secondly, science. The first includes all knowledge necessary for the -government of mankind--geography, political economy, fiscal science, -the military art, and though he does not mention it, I suppose history. -The second is natural science, and includes mathematics, mining, -therapeutics, sound, light, chemistry, &c. The third principle is one -that we rarely act on in our own country, namely, that the child shall -be only educated in the subjects for which he has a natural aptitude. -The fourth principle is one that applies absolutely to China; it is the -abolition of what is called the three-legged essay, a complicated feat -of archaic and artificial writing which only exists for the purpose of -examination, something analogous to our Latin verses. The fifth -principle shows that China is as far ahead of us in some ways as she is -behind us in others. China has passed beyond the stage of free -education to the stage of universal scholarship; all students are paid, -and this has brought about a great abuse; {271} men study merely to -obtain a living who have no aptitude for learning, and on whom -educational money is really wasted, and so he abolishes payment. - -His Excellency closes his advice with a suggestion that societies for -the promotion of education should be formed. The Chinaman loves these -little social clubs and gatherings. His chess club, his poetry club, -his domino club, are national institutions. Why not, suggests His -Excellency, have an educational club, or as I suppose we should call -it, a mutual improvement society. Thus wrote the great Viceroy who -more than any other man prevented the spread of the Boxer outbreak from -desolating Central and Southern China. During that Boxer rebellion all -advance was impossible, but after that overflowing flood of disorder -was passed, the reforms suggested by Chang-Chih-Tung began to be -seriously considered, and on January 13, 1903, an Imperial Edict was -put forth renovating and organising, at least on paper, the whole -educational system of China. It would not be China if there were not a -great deal of sound sense in that edict; it would not be China if on -paper the organisation did not seem to be perfect; it would not be -China if as a matter of fact the whole scheme were not to a great -extent a failure. - -The scheme was very complete. It began at the bottom and continued -through every grade of education to the top. First there were to be -infant schools; these were to receive children from three to {272} -seven years old, and their object was to give the first idea of right -and to keep the children from the dangers of the street. These schools -were to be succeeded by primary schools of two departments, and -children were to enter the schools as they left the infant school when -they were seven years old, and to continue in them till they were -twelve. The subjects to be taught were morals, Chinese language, -arithmetic, history, geography, physical science and gymnastics. At -present there was to be no compulsory attendance, but that was looked -forward to as the future ideal. The schools were to be free, and the -money was to be produced either by taxes or by a raid on some -endowments, notably endowments of religion or of the theatre--for -theatres in China are endowed. Funds were also to be found by -subscription, and titles and ranks were promised to those who shall -open schools; unlike our own country, where, alas, the spending time on -education for the poor is only rewarded by abuse. These primary -schools would lead into higher schools, and these schools would be the -last on the ladder of education, in which only Chinese subjects were to -be taught. Above them were to be what they call middle schools, and -the subjects to be taught are roughly those which are taught in our -High Schools: the Chinese Classics, Chinese language and literature, -foreign languages (one at least to be obligatory), history, geography, -physics, chemistry, science of government, political economy, drawing, -gymnastics; and after the example of Western schools, singing {273} -would be also taught. These schools lead on to the superior schools in -which higher branches of the same subjects are taught. These schools -were to be divided into three sections. The first section consists of -law, literature, and commerce; the second section of sciences, civil -engineering, and agriculture; the third section of medicine. It is -noteworthy that English is necessary for those who are learning the -first two sections, while German is compulsory for those who are -learning the third section--in either case a third language may be -added; and these superior schools were to lead on to a University, in -which there were to be eight faculties. The first faculty is -essentially a Chinese one, and I suppose would be best expressed to our -thought by "belles-lettres," but it includes such things as rites and -poetry; the second faculty is that of law; the third, history and -geography; the fourth, medicine and pharmacy; the fifth, science; the -sixth, agriculture; the seventh, civil engineering; the eighth, -commerce. - -The University course was to take three years, and there was to be a -University installed in each province. The educational system was to -be perfected by two other institutions--a post-graduate college where -research was to be undertaken, and a normal college which was to be -divided into an inferior and a superior one for the purpose, the one of -preparing schoolmasters for the village schools, the other for higher -education. A far less ambitious scheme for the education of girls has -been added to this by {274} an edict of 1907. If my readers have waded -through this scheme I am afraid that they will have come to the -conclusion that China has nothing to learn from Western powers, but -rather she ought to be able to teach them how to perfect their own -incomplete system of education; but alas, this scheme is only on paper. -In the province where H.E. Yuan-Shih-Kai ruled the schools approach in -some degree to the level of Western efficiency. In every other -province that I visited or heard about, the results of this edict were -markedly disappointing; the only exception being where the Universities -had been organised, not in the form or terms of the edict, but by -Western teachers acting on more or less independent lines. For -instance, there is a splendid University which has been founded by Dr. -Timothy Richard in Shansi. - -That University has a curious history. After the Boxer massacres -compensation was demanded by the Powers both for the buildings that -were destroyed and for the missionaries that were killed. A certain -number of the missionary bodies refused absolutely to take any -compensation. Animated by the spirit of the early Christian Church, -they would not allow that the blood that had been shed for the sacred -cause could be paid for in money. At this juncture there threatened to -be rather an impasse. The Western Government were insisting on -compensation, and it was doubtful and uncertain how that compensation -should be paid. The Chinese Government sent for the Protestant -missionary in whom they had the {275} greatest confidence, Dr. Timothy -Richard, and he made a suggestion which was at once acceptable to both -the Chinese and to the missionary body, that the money should be -devoted to the founding of a great University; for ignorance is the -most common cause of fanaticism, and the terrible massacres enacted in -China would never have taken place had China understood, as -Chang-Chih-Tung did understand, that Western science and enlightenment -were for the benefit of China; so this University was founded. It was -founded under peculiar terms. It is under the government of China, and -yet not completely so. Dr. Timothy Richard is for a certain number of -years one of its governors, and he has for ten years at least the -control of the Western side of the education. He is supported by an -able staff, and the Rev. W. E. Soothill is the existing President. At -the end of the ten years which are just running out, the status of the -University is to be altered, and is, as far as I understand, to return -to the ordinary status of a Government University. I need hardly say -that this University has been highly satisfactory in its teaching, and -lately it has sent many of its students to England to complete their -education. It suffers, however, from the absence of a proper -preparatory course. One of the difficulties that lie right in the way -of Chang-Chih-Tung's compromise is the difficulty of finding time for a -Western preparatory course, and that is only equalled by the difficulty -of finding teachers. Without time and teachers the students {276} -arrive at the University period of their lives with only a very -elementary knowledge of Western subjects. This college can hardly be -cited as a college of high governmental efficiency, but should rather -be regarded as an example of the good that a man like Dr. Timothy -Richard can do if he is only allowed scope. - -Another Western University under Chinese Government control is the one -at Tientsin, the Pei-Yang University. That University has the -advantage of being well supported by efficient Government schools at -Pao-ting-fu. One interesting detail about the Pao-ting-fu school--a -fact indeed which in two or three ways should give us food for -thought--is that it is controlled by a Christian who is allowed by the -Government, against their own regulations, to carry on an active -propaganda. He was the man who, when the missionaries were murdered at -Shansi, at the risk of his life brought down a message from them -written in blood on a piece of stuff. Perhaps it is not extraordinary -to find that such a man is producing excellent work. The Pei-Yang -University, however, falls far short of our ideals of what a University -standard should be. Still, as far as it goes, it is very efficient. -It is taught by a very effective body of professors. It has 150 -students, and teaches law, mining, and engineering. The staff is -American with very few exceptions. One of those exceptions is Mr. -Wang, a Chinese gentleman who received his education in London. Very -little philosophy is taught, {277} only three hours a week are given -for Chinese learning, and the students are expected to acquire a -sufficient knowledge of Chinese subjects before they come to the -University. The American professors, who proved to be a delightful set -of men, allowed that there was no real scientific training given in -this school. They gave the same account of their pupils which you will -hear in every Chinese school. They excelled in algebra, drawing, and -in the most stupendous power of committing formulæ to memory. One of -the difficulties of teaching a Chinese class is that they have so -little difficulty in learning by rote that they much prefer learning -the text-books by heart to trying to understand them. The Law School -in the Pei-Yang University is taught by a man who has no knowledge of -Chinese law. This is one of the small mistakes made by American -educators in China, which I think must be somewhat misleading for China -in the future. To learn nothing but Western law, and to imagine that -that Western law can be applied directly to the Chinese people, is to -make the same mistake that Macaulay so eloquently condemned in the old -East India Company. Such a system of teaching can only make -unreasonable revolutionaries. - -These two examples of teaching institutions carried on under the -Chinese Government by Western teachers are wholly exceptional, and -though excellent in their way are unimportant, and having regard to the -vast mass of the population of China are inconsiderable. What are five -or six {278} hundred students to a population of four hundred millions. - -I must reserve the account of what I saw of the schools under Chinese -management, including the Peking University, to another chapter. - - - - -{279} - -CHAPTER XXIII - -THE SAME IN PRACTICE - -Any one who has read the preceding account of the intentions of the -Chinese Government might be pardoned if he supposed that after four or -five years those intentions had borne fruit in an efficient system of -public education. But one who has resided any time in China would only -smile at the suggestion that there should be an intimate relation -between what the Chinese Government professes to do and what the -Chinese Government does. A Manchu Professor whose European education -had enabled him to appreciate rightly the weaknesses of the Chinese -race, said with great candour, "In China we begin things, but we never -finish them." I had the privilege of seeing over some twenty -Government schools in China, and the truth of these words was very -obvious. - -My hospitable host at Nanking, His Excellency Tuan-Fang, hearing that I -took an interest in education, declared that he would be very glad that -I should see his schools. I expressed a regret that my ignorance of -the language would impede me in thoroughly understanding what was being -taught. He most hospitably said that I could myself examine {280} the -pupils who were studying Western subjects, and who therefore spoke -English or French, and that my wife should examine the girls' schools; -that we should be accompanied by two interpreters as well as by the -Director of Education, and that he would examine the schools in any -branch of knowledge that I chose. So we sallied forth, a very imposing -body, and I was asked to select what schools I should like to visit. -Of course I selected the higher grade schools in which Western subjects -were taught. The first school on which we descended was the -Agricultural College. The teachers of Western subjects were two -Japanese and one Chinaman. They were being taught in Chinese, but I -had no difficulty in finding out in the first room we entered what they -were learning, because the illustrations were well known to me, for -they formed part of a book of elementary botany which I had at one time -studied. I suggested to Mr. Tsêng, the interpreter, that the right -course would be to ask the Japanese master to select his best pupils -and that then he should examine them while I should suggest the -questions. It soon became clear that all the Japanese teacher was -doing was to teach them to copy the illustrations in the book and -nothing else. For the first time we noticed what we afterwards -discovered to be the invariable rule, that the Japanese are most -perfect draughtsmen, and that every class taught by the Japanese always -learnt to draw perfectly, though they learnt little else. The Chinese -were rather pleased that the Japanese teacher cut such a sorry figure. -We then {281} went to the next room. Again there was a Japanese -teacher professing to explain the model of a steam-engine; again the -pupils were obviously ignorant; again we bowed and they bowed and we -left the room. - -The next room had quite a different atmosphere. Obviously efficient -work was going on. The men were learning elementary chemistry. The -teacher was a Chinaman who had been trained in London and spoke English -perfectly. He was as straightforward as he was efficient. He frankly -said that the progress that his pupils had made was very limited -because of the short time that they had been at work. We congratulated -him on the efficient way he was managing his class, and were interested -to hear afterwards that he was a Christian. More than once we came -across Christian Chinese, and did not know till later that they were -Christians, but were struck by their efficiency, which sprang doubtless -from a high ideal of work. - -We left the Agricultural College and then proceeded to a High School, -which is the name that is given to a first-grade school that precedes -the University, and which at present stands in its place. We had in -this school much the same experience. A Japanese teacher was teaching -biology and was dissecting a river mussel. This was done in such a -position that only two men could see what was going on. I wondered at -this. Then we found out that he could not speak a word of Chinese. He -dissected the {282} mussel and professed to give a lecture on its -anatomy to a pupil who understood Japanese, and then the pupil -delivered the lecture to the rest of the class. My Chinese -interpreters were of opinion that very little could filter through the -class in this way, but the Director of Education smiled sweetly. He -obviously felt that in some mysterious way Western education was -percolating to the pupils under his charge. As we returned along the -corridor I glanced in. The biological lecture was over; I expect it -was the only one of the session, and the pupils went away with -admirable pictures of the river mussel. If the Japanese teachers only -set up for teachers of drawing, I am certain they would have no equals -in the world. A little further on in the same building there was a -professed teacher of drawing. The class was not a selected class, they -were drawing from a cast of a well-known Greek statue, and the work was -simply admirable. I am confident that, except in an art school, you -would not find better work in Europe. In the next room there was a -science teacher. To impress the Director of Education, he rashly set a -machine for demonstrating the vibration of sound at work. The machine -would not demonstrate anything, much to the joy of my Chinese friends, -solely for the reason that he had not wound it up. - -I should tire my readers if I were to go on describing room after room. -I cannot of course be certain how far these Japanese teachers had -taught science, but at any rate their pupils had not {283} acquired any -knowledge, and I think we may easily be too hard on the Japanese. One -must remember that they have to supply teachers for all their own -schools. Is it likely that they will be either able or willing to send -into other countries efficient teachers of Western education? It is -not as if Western knowledge had been for long taught in Japan. Their -schools are now many and they were few. I suppose no man, no great -number of men at any rate, over thirty-five or forty, are equipped with -an efficient Western education in Japan. One wonders why they allow -their national reputation to be injured by supposing it to be possible -for them to supply these teachers of Western knowledge. Political -motive suggests itself as a reason why a country so proud and so -ambitious as Japan should allow a course that must eventually injure -her reputation as an enlightened power. - -The next school we went over was very interesting. It was what is -called a Law School. The men who are learning in this school will be -the future officials of China; only, following the Chinese custom, they -will rarely or never hold office in the province in which they were -born and educated. They were men of some standing, and it looked -strange to see all these senior men, over sixty in number, sitting like -children at the school desks. They were dressed, in uniform, and were -under a sort of military discipline. The senior pupil gave the word of -command, and at once the class sprang to attention and saluted {284} -us, while we bowed first to the teacher, then to the class, after which -the examination began. They were chiefly taught by Chinese, and, as -one might expect, were well taught in the Chinese Classics. We were -informed that the Japanese teacher was teaching them Western law; but -in answer to an inquiry he explained that he had not yet taught them -any law, but that he was teaching them the Japanese language, since it -was through the Japanese language alone a knowledge of Western law -could be attained. The reason seemed very inconclusive especially when -one remembers that the Japanese know and write Chinese characters, so -that it is easy to get any work that is printed in Japan printed in the -character which every Chinaman can read. I have before explained the -peculiar merit of the Chinese character is that people who speak -different dialects and even languages can read it equally well. I -pointed all this out to my Chinese friends. I think their suspicions -too were aroused. Certainly this experience lends colour to the -suggestion that Japan hopes that the Manchu dynasty will be succeeded, -not by a Chinese dynasty, but by a dynasty from a race whose courage, -energy, and intellect has already humiliated Russia and China, and may -not inconceivably dominate China, should, for instance, Germany and -England go to war. - -We then went to see some classes taught by Americans. Two things -struck me in those classes. First, for some reason I cannot -understand, unless {285} there was jealousy at work, the class was -small compared with the enormous classes which I had seen -elsewhere--thirty, twenty, or even fifteen were the numbers that white -men were teaching. The other thing which struck me was that the -selection of subjects might be improved. For instance, one of the -teachers was teaching Anson's Law of Contract; one could scarcely see -how a knowledge of the English law of contract could be very beneficial -to a resident in China; and on looking over the book that another class -was using, I found that they were being instructed how to buy an -advowson in England. I cannot of course say that the class was -actually taught this interesting information, but it was certainly in -their text-book. Another text-book was a summary of the history of the -world; it was issued by an American firm. On looking up the chapter -which referred to China I found the most extreme expression that an -American democratic feeling could prompt used with regard to the -Emperor of China. I pointed this out to the Chinamen. Apparently no -one had taken the trouble to glance through the books that were being -used. Such action is regrettable, because it inevitably brings Western -education into disrepute, and suggests it to be something essentially -revolutionary. - -Another curious experience was to find a Cantonese Chinaman teaching a -science class in English because he did not know Mandarin. It will be -one of the limitations to the usefulness of the Hong-Kong {286} -University that the bulk of the students who attend it will be -Cantonese-speaking Chinamen, and they will therefore be inefficient as -teachers to the great mass of the Chinese empire. A University which -hopes to produce teachers which shall teach the whole of China must be -a University situated in Mandarin-speaking China. - -It was waxing late after we had seen these schools. We had consumed a -great amount of the day in partaking of a most excellent Chinese -luncheon, where the only mistake I had made--at least the only one of -which I was conscious--was in not being instructed in the nature of the -entertainment. I had yielded to the solicitations of my host and had -partaken largely of the first two or three courses. Later on in the -luncheon I was divided between the desire to be polite and a fear that -the capacity of the human body might be exceeded. Our host was the -Director of Education, and my interpreter whispered to me that he had a -great knowledge of cooking and that "he loved a dry joke." His skill -as a Director of Education, especially of Western subjects, might be -doubted; but as a kindly host and an amusing companion he would have -few equals in our country. This aspect of the Chinese official too -often escapes the Western critic; whether efficient or inefficient, -they are always agreeable men. After luncheon he begged to be excused, -as he had a visit of ceremony to pay; it was the birthday of a dear -friend's mother. {287} His official robes were brought out, and -clothed in them he took his seat in a sedan chair and left us. - -We were taken on, rather unwillingly I fancied, to see the Commercial -School. The hour of the classes was over, but still the school was -really instructive. What was so remarkable about it was the extreme -simplicity of the place where the boys lodged. The school is not -maintained by Government, but by the rich Silk Guild of Nanking. Many -members of this Silk Guild, I was assured, would only be able to read -and write enough to carry on their business. They are a rich and -powerful body, and this school is intended for their sons. The -dormitory was a slate-covered building without any ceiling, and the -beds were arranged like berths on board ship, one on the top of the -other, with narrow passages between them. In this way, of course, a -room was made to hold a perfectly surprising number of individuals. I -could not help remembering the Church Army Lodging-house at home. If -we arranged the beds as they were arranged in that room, though we -should double or treble the number of travellers we could house, we -should incur the wrath of the sanitary authority. - -Very different was the Naval School. Here reigned efficiency, for the -Naval School is under the partial control of two officers lent by His -Majesty's Navy. The limit of their control was the limit of their -efficiency. For instance, the Chinese Government sometimes refused to -let their naval officers be shown an actual ship; their idea was much -the same {288} as that of the lady who forbid her son to bathe until he -had learnt to swim. The difficulty was very great for anything like -practical instruction. Continual representations induced the Chinese -Government to allow the boys to have a trip on the river in an old -ship. The moment this was accomplished there was great -self-congratulation on the part of the Chinese official; from resisting -this reasonable suggestion they changed to self-laudation at the wisdom -of accepting the plan. The efficiency of the teaching was not only -hindered by the want of practical knowledge, which is of course fatal -to naval efficiency, but these officers had also to complain of what so -many other Europeans have to complain--first, that the people whom they -were sent to teach did not know enough English, so that much of their -time was spent in teaching elementary English; secondly, that their -classes were not large enough. Far away the most effective way of -using a Western teacher would be to use them as we saw them used in one -school. The Western teacher was supported by two or three Chinese -assistants; he gave his lecture in English, and the pupils took notes; -then the assistants went round the desks, looked at the notes, and -explained in Chinese all those points that the pupils had not fully -taken in. This plan has another advantage, that it trains these -Chinese teachers to continue the work of a Western teacher, and in some -ways it is a more efficient system than the normal schools. The -Western teacher of course exercises a general {289} supervision over -his class and maintains order and discipline. - -While I had been busy with the boys' schools, my wife had been busy -with the girls' schools. She was taken over the Viceroy's School, the -one already described where the little girls showed such surprising -knowledge of the Chinese Classics. Her experience was less happy than -mine. The children were being drilled by a Japanese instructress who -could hardly play at all; she used a small gem harmonium, and the -drilling was little better than a feeble country dance. The same -instructress was responsible for a singing lesson; she played with one -hand on a harmonium, and allowed the children to bawl as they pleased -without either time or tune. All the pupils at this school were day -scholars. - -The interpreter who conducted Mrs. King, the Consul's wife, and my wife -over this and the following schools had removed his own daughter to a -mission school, thinking she would receive better teaching. As regards -the musical part of the instruction there can be no question but that -he was right. The next school she saw was also for the children of the -gentry, who supported it by subscriptions. There were 140 girls, fifty -of whom were boarders whose parents paid for their board. These fifty -young ladies all slept in one room, and their toilet arrangements -impressed my wife as anything but luxurious; the effect was more like a -steerage cabin on a big liner than an ordinary school dormitory. The -class-rooms {290} were all on the ground floor, leading from courtyard -to courtyard in Chinese house fashion. The instruction seemed to be -mainly Chinese, with attention paid to geography, drawing, and fancy -work, English being taught by a young Chinese teacher in a rather -elementary way. The mistresses appeared in dignified skirts, no doubt -as a symbol of authority. - -The last school she was shown was larger and less exclusive. It was -well organised, the classes being arranged with sense and -discrimination. There were 200 pupils of all ages and ranks, the -school being a public one. They were mostly dressed in black. Ten -lady teachers presided over this school, including a normal class with -a male superintendent; the whole in Chinese buildings. The teaching -comprised Confucian ethics, the Chinese characters, arithmetic, -geography, drawing from flat copies, and English given by a young -Chinese girl who had been educated in a Shanghai mission school. - -The instruction seemed to be good on the whole. About one-fourth of -the scholars boarded at the school. Attached to it was a kindergarten -managed rather sleepily by two Japanese. Again the children's singing -was hardly worthy of the name. My wife was impressed by the -inferiority of the Government girls' schools to the mission girls' -schools in almost every particular. Doubtless they will soon improve, -but at present the Government does not seem able to obtain efficient -teachers, and is much too inclined to spend vast sums on practically -useless {291} apparatus--useless because the instructors do not -understand how to use it. - -Our experiences at Nanking were extremely interesting, but they were -not exceptional. We saw over Government schools at Wuchang, again at -Changsha, and also we saw something of the Peking University. At -Changsha matters were not nearly so far advanced as they were at -Nanking. There were the same Japanese teachers, one of whom taught -English, but I could not get a single copy-book produced to show how -far they had advanced in the knowledge of this language. There were -the same American teachers; good men, but unable to do much owing to -their want of knowledge of Chinese, and owing, as I said before, to a -certain jealousy which prevented them having a sufficient number of -pupils. The very excellent school which is carried on at Shanghai, -under Western management, forms a good contrast to the others. This -school does not profess to teach very advanced subjects, but it teaches -ordinary English subjects most efficiently. The system is this: the -boys are first taught in Chinese, while they are acquiring the -rudiments of Western knowledge and of the English language; they are -then transferred to a class which is taught in English by Chinese; here -they acquire from their own countrymen a very thorough knowledge of -English and a tolerable knowledge of Western subjects. In both these -divisions of the school all explanations are given in Chinese. After -they have acquired a good knowledge of English they are then {292} -advanced to the class which is taught by an Englishman, who has some -knowledge of Chinese; here they perfect their knowledge of English, and -the teacher can if necessary explain a difficulty by the help of a -Chinese word. Lastly, they are taught absolutely in English by an -Englishman who need not know any Chinese, as it is never used. - -At Wuchang the schools were similar to those of Nanking. The only -school which was exceptionally interesting was the School of Languages. -This was managed by a Manchu, who was prompt, exact, and efficient--in -fact, the very greatest contrast to the usual Chinese official. He -spoke French perfectly, as he had been brought up in Paris and spent -some time in the West. In a few words he showed that he understood the -problem of education in China. He told me that his nation would never -succeed in teaching their nationals Western subjects until they -selected teachers who had some experience in the knowledge and in the -art of teaching, and that the habit of regarding all Westerners as -capable of teaching all Western subjects must produce disaster. He -boldly professed himself a Roman Catholic, and was one of several -examples that came under my notice of the wonderful influence that -Christianity has on the formation of a vigorous character. The boys -had been very well taught in English and French, and I gathered in -German and Russian as well. Certainly if China gets such men to lead -her, she need have little fear of the power of the West. - - - - -{293} - -CHAPTER XXIV - -DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF EDUCATION - -The difficulties in the way of education differ in Government schools -and in Mission schools. If the Chinese Government could unite the -Government schools to the Mission schools, they would overcome all -these difficulties, and they would have a most perfect system of -Western education. Of all the difficulties lying in the way of -Government schools, first and foremost is the fundamental weakness of -China, that weakness which is endangering her national existence, a -weakness which I fear she will never completely surmount until she -accepts a higher ideal. For her weakness is the universal greed for -gain. Resident after resident reported the same cause of weakness, -that a Chinaman cannot resist taking his "squeeze"--that is, his -commission. It is not of course so dishonest as it would be on our -side of the globe, because a Chinaman is more or less avowedly paid by -these commissions, and therefore in many ways they are rather -equivalent to the fees paid by an Englishman to a Government office -than to illicit commissions, the acceptance of which in this country is -punishable by law. If it is not as immoral, it is almost as -deleterious to efficiency, because it tends {294} to make officials -unreasonable in their action. To ask the reason why things are done in -China, is always to receive the answer that somebody got a "squeeze" -thereby. - -And so it is with education. As we wandered through room after room -filled with apparatus sufficient to teach thousands of students, and of -such a complicated nature as absolutely to confuse those students when -taught, one longed that a tithe of this expenditure could have been -used for that modicum of apparatus which is necessary to make not a few -mission schools thoroughly efficient. Much of the apparatus has never -got outside its packing cases, and perhaps a great deal had better -permanently remain there, for nothing is so subversive to the proper -teaching of men whose great defect is that they have never handled -things with their hands, as to give them complicated apparatus to -demonstrate the most recondite laws of science. A great scientific -teacher, when consulted about the apparatus necessary for elementary -science, advised plenty of bonnet wire, glass tubes, and one or two -other little things of that sort. When one asks why the Chinese have -been so lavish in their expenditure on apparatus which they cannot and -will not use, the reply is the same old answer--somebody got a -commission. Bui I think beyond that there is a real belief that -education is a matter of expensive apparatus--a belief which is not -altogether unknown on this side of the globe. - -{295} - -This brings me to the second great difficulty in the path of Government -education. They will believe that an efficient education results -rather from having an expensive building than from a competent teacher. -I have before had occasion to refer to the extreme simplicity of the -life of the Chinese. Many of the schools were housed, and very -comfortably housed, in Chinese houses. The Chinese house always looks -out on a courtyard, and courtyard is joined to courtyard by passages. -The rooms are only divided from the courtyard by carved wooden screens -whose interstices are sometimes filled with paper and sometimes not. -They are eminently sanitary--in fact, to a large extent they fulfil the -requirements of the "open-air cure." In one case in the courtyard were -a lot of basins and ewers, and the boys were compelled to have a wash, -which if extensive must, in the winter, have been extremely unpleasant. -For all this I expressed my sincere admiration to my friend the -Director of Education, but he received my compliment much in the same -spirit with which a mother accepts your assertion that her child is far -prettier in her every-day dress with tousled hair than she is in her -Sunday clothes, as with hideous tidiness and pharisaic pomp she wends -her way to church. My compliment was taken almost as an insult. I was -then shown the ideal of China, a huge and hideous building, modelled on -the architecture which white men deem necessary to enable them to -support the tropical heat, to the fatal effects of which they are {296} -so sensitive; massive walls to carry the heavy roof; huge arched -verandahs where white people may get the breath of air they so need. -Of what use are all these to a race who cannot understand what you mean -when you speak of the heat being unhealthy, who, however sensitive to -cold and wet, flourish in the warmth to which they have been accustomed -all their lives? The Chinese do not admire this architecture for its -æsthetic effect; they care little about its heat-resisting qualities. -They like it because it is Western; because Western people are educated -in such buildings; because, I suppose, they expect Western learning to -work in some way through those massive stone walls to the minds of the -pupils; and because they fancy Western ideas would be more easily -understood in these hideous surroundings. - -Thirdly, there is no serious effort made to get good teachers. At one -time, I understand, they had in their service a very remarkable body of -men--men like Professor Martin of Peking--whose knowledge was only -equalled by the sincerity of their purpose. Lately they have been -getting rid of these men as fast as they could, the cry of "China for -the Chinese" being perhaps responsible for this movement; and they have -endeavoured to replace them by Chinese subjects with but little -success. They have therefore fallen back again on foreigners, largely -on Japanese. These men are some of them very able and qualified -teachers; some, on the other hand, have had little or no experience of -teaching, and their inefficiency tends {297} to bring all foreign -teachers into disrepute. Not only must the teacher have a special -knowledge of the art of teaching, but a teacher of a race like the -Chinese, with different traditions to our own, must well understand -those traditions. We can best realise the enormous difficulty a -Chinese student has of learning from a Western teacher by remembering -how impossible it is for any of us to understand something that is put -from a Chinese point of view. - -If the Chinese Government want efficient foreign teachers, they must -not pick up anybody, but they must hold out inducements to young men to -come as teachers, and must give them security of tenure. If, for -instance, the Chinese Government had in their service such an efficient -body of men as could be found in the mission schools, they would have -no difficulty. Another difficulty which stands in the way of the -Chinese schools is their want of discipline. One of the most -remarkable developments in China is the school strike. They have -undoubtedly extraordinary powers of united action, but the school -strike originates as much in the weakness of the teachers as it does in -the remarkable power the Chinese race has of united action; you hear of -it all over China, and it is sometimes ludicrous, sometimes serious. -One school struck because the foreign teachers required the pupils to -pass an examination of efficiency before they would give them a -testimonial. This was deemed most incorrect by the {298} scholars, who -held a doctrine which would be very attractive to our own -undergraduates, that residence alone was a sufficient qualification for -a degree. Many of the strikes take place for most occult reasons. - -And this brings me to mission schools, for strikes take place equally -with them as in Government schools. They occur in boys' and in girls' -schools, and for the most un-understandable reasons. In one school the -strike began because a Chinese teacher caught hold of a boy's queue and -dragged him by it. The boy's "face" was injured, and his companions -made common cause. Another strike took place in a girls' school -because a girl was punished. Of course these strikes do not occur -where there is an efficient and vigorous teacher. It was attempted, -for instance, with Archdeacon Moule, but it only ended in the leaders -being caned. Still, one mission had its school practically ruined by -one of these strikes; it was the result of an intrigue by an -unbelieving teacher who had been employed by mistake. These strikes -are not a very great difficulty to the mission when it is in charge of -efficient and experienced men; a little justice and firmness apparently -soon disposes of any unreasonable resistance to authority, and tact and -knowledge prevent any friction which may result from regulations that -may be offensive to Chinese ideas. - -A far greater difficulty in the mission schools is the question of -finance. The Chinese for the most part pay their scholars; the result -is that the mission school {299} has to compete not only against a free -school, but against a school in which pupils are paid to come, and it -appears as if it would be almost an impossibility for mission schools -to support themselves against such competition. As a matter of fact it -is usually found that so great a value do the Chinese put on the -efficient education that they receive in the mission school that they -are willing to pay a reasonable fee rather than be paid for the useless -education given by the Government school. Still it makes finance a -certain difficulty. Many of the schools are largely self-supporting; -others rely on fees to find board and lodgings for the pupils and the -salaries of the native teachers. So that every school more or less -carries a great financial burden. - -The great difficulty of mission schools at the present time springs -partially from Government action. The ideal of every Chinaman is at -present to be in the service of the Government; we must emphasise that -word "at present," because undoubtedly, owing to the railway -development of China, a wealthy commercial class must arise all over -her land, as it has already risen in the great port towns. This class -will be independent of Government and will be the class that needs -Western education more than any other class, for they will be in -intimate contact with the West. But at present those who seek a higher -education hope for the most part for Government employment. One of the -rules of Government employment is that the officials shall on {300} -certain days repair to the various temples to represent the Emperor, -and it is naturally held that such action is impossible for a -Christian. Besides this, the Government makes it extremely hard if not -impossible for a Christian to go to its University at Peking. All -teachers and pupils in a Government school are required on the -Emperor's birthday to bow down or kow-tow to the tablet of Confucius. -Missionaries hold that such action is not consistent with the Christian -faith, and therefore the mission school is very loath to send its -Christian pupils on to the Government University. - -It must, however, be stated that several Chinese scholars, including a -Christian, have indignantly denied that the kow-towing to the tablet of -Confucius implies anything more than the respect due to the greatest -thinker that China ever possessed. We had the privilege of being shown -over Peking University by an extremely able and pleasant Chinese -gentleman, a Christian. He showed us the tablet of Confucius and -explained to us the ceremony. It must be owned that externally there -was but little that one could associate with the idea of divinity. The -tablet was behind a glass case, and at first it suggested some sort of -educational apparatus. The desks were placed at right angles to it, so -that it did not actually occupy what could be regarded as the chief -place in the room. The gentleman who showed us over strenuously denied -that any of the pupils in Peking Government University could regard -{301} Confucius as God. None were admitted to the University except -those who were already well versed in the Chinese Classics, and they -knew perfectly well that in these Classics Confucius said that he had -no supernatural power; while the leading commentator on Confucius, the -man whose teaching had more than any other influenced modern -Confucianism, was avowedly an agnostic, and therefore, so far from -regarding the tablet as divine, it would be nearer the truth to say -that the greater bulk of the scholars disbelieve in the idea of God -altogether, or at any rate hold an agnostic position with regard to it. -When I put these difficulties to an eminent missionary the answer was, -yes, but by a late edict they have made Confucius equal to heaven and -earth, and so whatever doubts there were before have been resolved, and -the Chinese Government has decreed to Confucius divine honour. I put -this criticism to an able civil servant in the employ of the Chinese -Government, and he answered that that decree was really intended to -have the opposite effect. The Chinese are aware that they are as a -matter of fact relegating Confucius to a secondary place in education, -and they are therefore most anxious to propitiate the Confucian -scholars. They have compromised the matter much on the same system -that we use in the West with regard to some politician whose services -have been valuable, but who is actually a hindrance in the House of -Commons. Confucius has been given divine honours {302} as the worn-out -politician in England is given a peerage; it is a form of honourable -retirement. A very intellectual Chinese, however, expressed himself -quite otherwise, saying that anybody who understood Chinese views would -have grasped the meaning of making Confucius equal to heaven and earth. -As heaven and earth induce the wealth of mankind, so has Confucius done -by his teaching; as heaven and earth can change things and make things -exist that were not, so with Confucius; but that Chinese theology -regards heaven and earth as created by the one God, and therefore -Confucius is put in the position of an exalted but a created being. -What impresses perhaps the Westerner more than this rather recondite -Chinese reasoning is the simple fact that while by the Government edict -it is decreed that the tablet of Confucius shall be honoured by three -bowings and nine knockings, it is also ordained that the schoolmaster -shall be honoured by one bowing or kow-tow and three times knocking the -ground with the head. The similarity of the salute to the schoolmaster -and to the tablet of Confucius rather disposes of the idea that the act -of reverence to the tablet involves worship. On the other hand, it is -pointed out that this is the main ceremony that is observed in what are -called the temples of Confucius; but when this was put to a Chinaman, -his answer was that they were not temples, and if there had been any -worship in those temples, they would have been frequented {303} as much -by the women and children as by the men, but as a matter of fact they -were frequented only by literati. When it was suggested that on -occasion, however, there were sacrifices in these temples, he did not -deny this, but changed the subject. - -But we must not say that the respect and reverence offered to -Confucius, whether it involves idolatry or not, is the only reason why -Christian pupils are advised not to go to the Government Universities. -There are two other great reasons. The first is an extremely practical -one: the education in Government Universities is avowedly imperfect. -The fact that the Government have subscribed to the English University -at Hong-Kong and to the German College in Shantung show that they are -aware of their own shortcomings. The second reason is that the racial -characteristics of Chinamen demand that they should act as a body. An -acute observer asserted that, as far as he was able to judge the -matter, no Chinaman ever acted independently; and that therefore it is -putting a burden greater than the race can bear to ask that Christians -should maintain their Christianity when they are surrounded by an -unbelieving and heathen atmosphere; and that, as a matter of fact, the -result of sending students to Government Universities would, except in -cases of men of very strong character, be to send them to unbelief. -Yet a greater and simpler objection is that these Government -Universities for the most {304} part do not exist, and that it is -impossible for small institutions like that at Peking to take even a -hundredth part of the students who are clamouring for Western -education. But the mission schools have another and a newer -difficulty, one which is causing the greatest heart-searching. This I -must reserve for the next chapter. - - - - -{305} - -CHAPTER XXV - -THE NEED OF A UNIVERSITY EXPLAINED - -The great danger that threatens mission schools, a danger which is -increasing every year, is that the best pupils of these schools have to -go to Universities in search of Western knowledge where they are -exposed to the insidious attacks of Western materialism. - -The teachers have at present no alternative; they have to send the best -and brightest of their pupils somewhere to complete their education. -It would be unfair on a boy to refuse to send him on, and if he is to -receive a higher education, where can he get it but at some place where -the atmosphere is distinctly anti-Christian. - -There is in the East no place with a neutral atmosphere as there is in -the West. In the West most people have had some Christian training, or -at least they comprehend Christian ethics. So in a Western -institution, even if the education be wholly secular, a Christian does -not find everything antipathetic to his faith. But in the East the -vast majority are non-Christian, and consequently the moral and -intellectual atmosphere is hostile and antipathetic to a Christian. -Here if an institution is non-religious it is probably not hostile to -religion. {306} In the East if an institution is non-religious it is -probably anti-Christian. At present the only University in action is -that of Tokio, though we are promised others, and its ill effects have -been so obvious that the Chinese Government have ordered a wholesale -withdrawal of pupils from its unhealthy influence. - -As we have already pointed out, Western civilisation is magnificent but -it is destructive, and when taught without any constructive religious -teaching it inevitably tends to destroy all spiritual ideas and too -often also to pervert the moral ideals of the race. As the pupil goes -through the mission school he learns within its walls to shake himself -free from the haunting fear of demons which besets every Chinaman; he -has slowly realised that God is holy, good and loving, and has either -accepted Christianity or stands on the threshold of the formal -acceptance; he has reached the end of the curriculum of the school or -college and his brilliancy demands a higher education. Attracted by -the reputation of Tokio, he goes to its University, and there he finds -himself in an atmosphere where all the destructive thought of Europe -grows rankly; the good God in whom he has learned to believe in the -mission school follows in the track of the demons of his youth, and he -is left believing in a world founded by blind chance, where ethics are -things of service to restrain your neighbour but folly to follow -yourself. "Eat and drink, for to-morrow we die," is the lesson which -is not perhaps taught in so many words, but {307} which none the less -is forced into his mind; his views become those of Falstaff; all that -is fine, all that is noble, flees from his life; though he no longer -believes in the God of Love, he does not return to the belief in the -demons of his youth; there is nothing in his world beyond getting rich -or gratifying the flesh and laughing at those people who believe in -higher ideals. He has been acquainted with and has learnt to loathe -from his youth up the philosophy of Yang Choo. He has, for instance, -despised such a sentence as this: "The people of high antiquity knew -both the shortness of life and how suddenly and completely it might be -closed by death, and therefore they obeyed every suggestion of the -movements of their hearts, refusing not what was natural for them to -like, nor seeking to avoid any pleasure that occurred to them, they -paid no heed to the incitement of fame; they enjoyed themselves -according to their nature; they did not resist the common tendency of -all things to self-enjoyment; they cared not to be famous after death. -They managed to keep clear of punishment; as to fame and praise, being -first or last, long life or short life, these things did not come into -their calculations." And now he finds that the philosophy of Yang Choo -is as he supposes the newest thought of the great rich successful -Western world; as he returns to his home and spreads abroad the -poisonous doctrines that he has imbibed, the missionary wonders -whether, after all, it would not have been better to have left the man -to his primitive demonology. - -{308} - -The American mission bodies saw this danger from the first, and have -already set up great educational establishments which to a certain -extent supply this need. That great institution Bishop Graves' College -at Jessfield, the Boone College at Wuchang, the British College at -Weihsien, and Methodist Universities at Soochow and Peking, are all -examples of good work. But they do not, any of them, bring the student -up to what we call University standard, or what I understand is called -in America the post-graduate course; what is felt is, that there is -need of an institution in which the highest knowledge shall be taught, -where the true aspect of Western thought shall be shown--not that -aspect which is bringing France to destruction, not that aspect which -makes Belgium unconcerned at the Congo scandals, but the aspect which -both in America and in England we have always admired at least in -theory, and in practice when we have been strong. The fundamental -truth on which our civilisation rests is that God is good, and that -therefore truth and progress are right and possible, and that the -highest expression of the goodness of God is in His incarnation as it -is universally taught by Christians of various views and of many -denominations. The West owes to the East, if there is any common duty -of man to man, to set before it the real truth as to the greatness of -Western civilisation, namely, that it is the result of Christianity. - -But missions are not anxious merely for a University {309} as a means -of defence against the materialistic onslaught which threatens their -work--they need it for many other reasons; for instance, the University -would make it possible for all denominations to have highly educated -native ministers. No student of missions can ever be content to regard -them as an ideal arrangement. The conception of a race being -ministered to spiritually by another race is obviously inadequate; it -is open to many criticisms; there must be a confusion in the mind of -the convert between what is national and what is Christian; one Chinese -regarded Christianity with doubt because he had heard that the German -Emperor is a Christian, and to his mind he is the embodiment of the -fierce piratical Western races. The word which the Chinese use for -robbers means red-bearded men, so associated, alas, is the Western race -in China with war and rapine; it is easy for a member of the Western -races to be misunderstood when he is talking about the religion of -love. Would any English parish like as its Rector a Chinaman, even if -he were saintly and went so far as to cut off his queue? - -Setting aside the associations of the Western race, the Western race -has great difficulty in speaking Chinese without making ridiculous -mistakes. Who among us has not smiled when the Chinaman's inability to -say the letter "r" has caused him to offer us "lice" to eat, but what -must it be to the Chinaman when he hears the Western preacher lost -amidst those mysterious Chinese intonations, and {310} therefore making -some wonderful statement. A Chinese gentleman assured me that he had -listened to a missionary extolling the virtues of a wild pig. -Reverence forbids explaining what was really meant. If the ministers -of religion are to be Chinese, it is obvious that they must be highly -educated Chinese; to have religion taught by ignorant men in a country -like China where learning is reverenced so profoundly, must be to -condemn it as the religion of the coolie. The Chinese minister must be -able to maintain his position, not only against the Confucian scholar, -but against the Western materialist, and must therefore have an equally -good education. Without saying that it is reasonable to expect that -the Western missionary should be withdrawn within the next few years, I -think it is wisdom for every mission body to aim at founding a body of -educated native clergy who can free Christianity from the taunt of -being a foreign religion, and who can, when the foreigner leaves China, -take his place and uphold the faith. - -If to have an educated native ministry is one great object of the -University, another great and only less important object is the -creation of an intellectual Christian laity who shall form and direct -Christian public opinion. The school teacher, the writer, are only one -degree less important, if indeed they are so, than the Christian -minister; and if as China assimilates Western civilisation, she finds -in her midst a body of men conversant {311} with the best side of that -civilisation, able to interpret its mysteries to her, so that it does -not become subversive to all spiritual religion and morality, it is -more than probable that she will take those men and put them in high -positions, and the grain of mustard seed will by their means grow into -a plant which shall overshadow the whole of China. The other day I was -reading how St. Grimaldi and St. Neots founded the University of Oxford -in 886. Theology, grammar and rhetoric, music and arithmetic, geometry -and astronomy, were the subjects taught. After a thousand years we are -in a position to judge of the success of the experiment. Surely every -one will wish to have a hand in founding a similar undertaking. - -The foundation of this University cannot for two or three reasons be -left to one body. In the first place, no one communion will be rich -enough to undertake such a work; secondly, it might cause a certain -narrowness of atmosphere; thirdly and chiefly, co-operation among -Christians would afford an object-lesson to the Chinese of the real -unity there is between them. We are constantly twitted with the fact -that we confuse the heathen by professing the religion of love and then -setting before them a mass of warring sects. If we can unite in the -founding of such a University, we shall show that though we see the -Christian truth in different aspects we have agreed that truth is one, -and have in spite of our divisions a fundamental unity. When {312} -this matter was referred to at the Shanghai Conference, considerable -difficulty was felt among missionaries as to the terms on which such a -University should be founded. It was agreed to refer it to the -Committee on Education, and that Committee of Education has in the year -1909 welcomed the formation of such a University. Dr. Hawks Pott, who -of all men in China can best speak as an authority on education, since -he has organised and maintained that wonderful institution at -Jessfield, warmly advocated its formation. - -No doubt one of the reasons why the missionaries now see their way to -the acceptance of this University is because a neutral body has come -forward to initiate the undertaking. Committees of the Universities of -Oxford and Cambridge have been sitting for many months considering the -question with all the skill and ability which their great learning and -technical knowledge enable them to bring to bear on this subject. -Though of course they have a thorough knowledge of education in all its -aspects, they were aware that they lacked knowledge of China and the -Chinese, so for many months they heard and examined the evidence of any -one who was thoroughly acquainted with China and with the conditions of -missionary work. They devised a scheme which they thought would at -once satisfy the workers in the mission field and be acceptable to the -Chinese. The mere outline of the scheme is that this University should -encourage the formation of denominational hostels, which shall {313} be -under the control of individual missionary bodies, and which shall form -colleges at the University; and while the University alone would -concern itself with giving secular teaching from a neutral standpoint, -the colleges would give Christian teaching to their pupils. In this -way all conflict between missions would be avoided; each mission would -continue to care for the pupils which it had hitherto sheltered and -educated. To the University would accrue the great gain of having a -supply of properly prepared pupils coming into it from the mission -schools, one of the causes of disappointment of ill-considered -University schemes being that there is no proper provision for a supply -of pupils. In the West there are numerous secondary schools, and any -University can easily find a sufficient number of pupils properly -grounded in knowledge. In the East to erect a University without -feeding schools is like building a house in the Chinese fashion roof -first. The Yale University Mission found itself compelled to set up -elementary schools to teach the elementary Western knowledge which was -necessary before even the lowest grade of college work could be -attempted. Western teachers are, as we have before explained, few and -far between outside the mission schools, and therefore mission schools -would both help and be helped by a University. The University -completes the work they have begun, and returns the men to the mission -to carry on its work with honour and efficiency. On the other hand, -the mission supplies the {314} University with pupils, which after all -are the prime necessity of education. - -Another great feature of the Oxford and Cambridge scheme was that the -University should aim to be a native University, and this no doubt was -the side which attracted the Chinese. Instead of using knowledge, the -common heritage of all men, as the means of imposing the domination of -the alien on China, knowledge is offered by this University as -essentially the thing which belongs to China as well as to any other -race. If in the commencement the majority of the professors must -belong to the Western race, it is to be hoped that many of its -professors will soon come from China, and that when the University is -well begun, and Christianity has become as national a religion as it is -in our land, and Western civilisation has lost the right to describe -itself by that epithet, and has become the civilisation of the East as -of the West, then the University whose foundation is now being laid may -be the great light of the future China. - -Perhaps the most important part of the scheme is that which suggests -denominational hostels as the proper solution of the difficulties that -beset union and interdenominational work in the mission field. - -There are obvious difficulties in arranging for a common religious -teaching, and, on the other hand, it is very advantageous for the many -mission bodies at work in China to show a united front against the new -materialism and the ancient superstition. {315} Nothing so shows the -power of Christian love as a union work of this nature. - -We Christians are often taunted with our differences, and we are -assured that many will support any scheme that makes for union and -peace between the different elements of the Christian world. Here is a -scheme which will tend to bring Christians together, and to induce that -mutual respect and toleration which must be the foundation of a closer -union. The baby must walk before he runs, and if the Christians of -China can maintain such a University, their daily intercourse will -greatly assist any further scheme for unity. - -But there is another use in the hostel system which should not be -overlooked. At all times one of the great hindrances to the education -of young men is the tendency that they have to waste their strength in -riot and wantonness. The Chinaman is perhaps more subject to these -temptations than the Westerner. A student said: "We cannot work; we -are too profligate." A Chinese statesman advised against certain towns -as possible sites for a University because of their tendency to entice -men into vicious courses. Far the most efficient way of opposing this -evil is to make some one responsible for the moral welfare of the young -men, and this is done in the hostel system. - -Every hostel would be governed by some person who would make the moral -welfare of the young men his peculiar care and study. The head of the -hostel might or might not be on the teaching staff of the {316} -University; but whether he taught or not, his first duty would be the -care of the moral and spiritual welfare of those committed to his -charge. He would give all his energy to reproduce the highest moral -tone of a Western University. - -This scheme is being tried in Chentu, where a union University is being -started. And I believe it is in every way proving successful. Those -who have not realised the size of China will be perhaps inclined to ask -why not unite the two schemes? The simple answer to those who have -travelled is that the distances are too vast. You might as well talk -of uniting Oxford and Harvard, for those two Universities are about as -far from one another in time as Hankow is from Chentu. Even when the -railway is built the distances will be immense. The enormous distances -of China are also a reason why it was impossible to amalgamate the -Hong-Kong scheme and the Oxford and Cambridge scheme. Hong-Kong is now -ten days to a fortnight away from Hankow, and such a different language -is spoken there that the dwellers in Northern and Central China are -often forced to use English to understand one another. - -The University of Hong-Kong will be very beneficial to the colony, and -is an example of the generosity of the merchants and citizens of that -town; but as a means of naturalising the higher side of our -civilisation it labours under the great disadvantage of not being -either in China nor under the Chinese flag, nor of speaking the -prevailing language. - - - - -{317} - -CHAPTER XXVI - -THE NEED OF A UNIVERSITY EXPLAINED (_continued_) - -The Committees at Oxford and Cambridge had not been without hope that -the missionary world would accept the scheme readily once it was well -understood. - -They had had the advantage of many interviews with missionaries and -others in London at their joint meetings so as to make it a matter of -some certainty that a large portion of the Western educators of China -would agree with them. But they were rather doubtful whether the -scheme would be welcomed by the Chinese official world. - -The commercial world in London that had dealings with China was rather -pessimistic. They held the view that you only had to mention the word -Christian or missionary to a Chinese official and it would have the -same effect that the word rats has on a terrier. But as I have before -related, we were agreeably surprised to find at the very outset that -the Chinese official world were far from hostile, and that we were -given, unasked, letters of introduction, whose contents I did not know -except that they procured for us a welcome in China which was as -surprising as it was delightful. I learnt in China that knowledge -{318} and learning is so loved and respected that those whose object is -its dissemination will ever find a ready welcome, and I learnt also -that whatever may have been their sentiments in the past, in the -present the Chinese have no hatred towards Christianity, but they -regard it as one of the least odious parts of the Western civilisation -which has become for them a necessity. I had also the privilege of -seeing His Excellency Tong-Shao-Yi in London, and he did not discourage -the plan. - -When we arrived at Harbin we found an official ready to receive us who -had been sent to welcome the scheme to China. His instructions were to -accompany us to Kwangchangtzu and to watch over our comfort. As he -only spoke Chinese, conversation was difficult; but with the aid of a -member of the Imperial Customs we gathered the object of his mission. -At Mukden we met with a similar civility. I was invited to dine at the -Yamen. I shall always remember my drive to that dinner. At Mukden no -carrying chairs are used, but a springless cart, in which the -traveller, or more accurately the sufferer, reclines. I was late for -dinner, so the order was given to the charioteer to drive quick, and as -we bounded over the unpaved streets of a Manchurian town I had an -opportunity of realising one of the minor discomforts of Chinese -missionary life. At the Yamen the same civility was shown to the -scheme, and next day Dr. Ross, my kindly host, took me to see a Manchu -noble of high rank. He was more than encouraging. He first sounded -the note {319} that I found vibrating through the whole of China. He -asked why did not the West concern itself with such things as -education, which benefit man, rather than with war, which produces such -endless suffering and misery. - -At Peking I met some great officials who all were favourable, but it -was not till we got south that we encountered what can only be -described as enthusiasm for Western education. One gentleman advised -that such an institution should be started at once, and recommended the -recall of all students studying in Western lands to fill its ranks. -Another who was interpreting was not satisfied with the prudent -official reply I received that the plan was good, but that I must make -inquiries at Peking. He added: "Make inquiries at Peking; but if they -refuse, go on with your scheme all the same." A body of young men who -had been educated at Boone College sent a petition that the scheme -should be forthwith undertaken, but perhaps the most remarkable -experience was that which I had at Shanghai. I was entertained by -thirteen of the gentry who had all received their education in the -West. We discussed every aspect of the plan, and when I pressed upon -them that one of the good results of the University would be that it -would have a healthy moral environment, an old man turned to his -companions and said: "We have ourselves had experience of this. The -environment in which we lived when we were in the West was different -from that in which we found ourselves when we returned {320} to -Shanghai, and did not it largely affect our lives?" After we had -talked some time the question was put plainly to them: "Would they -support such a University?" One of them turned round and said: "Of -course we should. It is obvious that if you will give us in China the -same sort of University as there is in England, if only on the score of -expense, we shall want to send our sons there; besides which no one -likes parting from their children and leaving them in a distant land." - -I discussed the matter with a Chinese statesman in Peking. I asked -whether Peking would not be a good centre, but he was very adverse to -the idea, because he said that Peking had such a bad moral tone that -boys would not be able to do any good work, and that he himself far -preferred that Chinese boys should be sent at ten years old to England -to receive their whole education in our country. When we pointed out -to him how, except in the case of a few rich men, such a course would -be quite impossible, he said: "Then put your University right away in -the western hills out of reach of the immoral influences of a town." -There can be few more eloquent testimonies to the necessity of another -University; nothing but a Christian University could succeed in -creating the moral atmosphere, which this wise man saw was the power of -the West. In the same conversation he gave a further testimony to the -power of Christianity, all the more striking that it was uttered by a -man who was not a Christian. He said: "Yes, {321} I have no doubt that -all that is good in the West comes from Christianity." - -All the officials we interviewed always ended their encomiums on the -suggested scheme by a saving clause to the effect that, before we did -anything, we must ask his Excellency Chang-Chih-Tung. When we passed -through Peking the first time we failed to see him, and it was -therefore with some anxiety I sought an interview with him on our -return journey. - -Chang was a figure in the politics of China whose importance it would -be hard to over-estimate. Not that he had the reputation for being a -peculiarly able man; in fact, some of the Europeans spoke slightingly -of his mentality. His force and influence came rather from his moral -qualities. He was the perfect type of Confucian scholar. - -Wonderfully well versed in all the knowledge of the literati of China, -he was far from despising any form of knowledge; in fact, he was one of -the first of the statesmen of China to recognise the importance of -Western education. When we were discussing with some leading merchants -the want of integrity of many of the officials, they claimed Chang as -an exception with enthusiasm. He had held the highest offices and -still remained comparatively poor. His reputation for clean-handedness -was enhanced by his age. In China the old are greatly reverenced, and -an old, honest, and learned statesman combined three of the qualities -most admired in China. - -It was therefore with some trepidation that I {322} found myself going -to see a man whose moral authority was so great that he could with a -word mar or make the University scheme as far as the power of the -Chinese officials extended, and in his case this was very far. I was -alone, for owing to the rather heated debates that divided the British -and Chinese Governments over the Canton-Wuchang Railway, it was thought -advisable that no member of the Legation should come with me. I drove -down to the north end of the city, and turning down a by-lane, scarcely -wide enough for the carriage to pass, we drew up opposite a very modest -dwelling. I was received by His Excellency's nephew, a man of -extremely courtly manners; and as he conducted me across the yard I was -struck by the simplicity of the house. The room, for instance, into -which I was ushered had a brick floor, and was separated from the -courtyard only by a paper and wood screen. Imagine what the intense -cold must be in a Peking winter when the thermometer is somewhere below -zero! The furniture of the room was equally simple. Two Chinese -chairs of the Chinese guest-room pattern, standing on each side of the -usual Chinese table, were supported on the other side of the room by a -token of the ever-encroaching West in the shape of a common round table -and some mongrel-looking stools, which looked as if they were -productions of Japan palmed off as European. - -As we sat and talked (for I was too early for my interview) my host -told me all about his uncle's {323} family, and the while I wondered at -the austerity of the dwelling of the greatest man in China after those -of royal blood. - -His Excellency was then ready to receive me, and we adjourned to -another equally simple room where the usual table with tea, sweetmeats, -and wine was laid out. Chang during the whole interview smoked a long -pipe, which required all the efforts of what I took to be two boys, but -who really were slave-girls, to keep alight. He wanted to know where -the money was to come from. I assured him that there are many generous -people in England and America who, desiring to leave a good name behind -them, and convinced that education confers on humanity incalculable -benefits, are willing to give largely to such a cause. - -Then he inquired what line we should take with regard to Confucian -learning; I said Christianity and Confucianism need not be opposed, and -we should respect and encourage the teaching of the sage. He clearly -approved, and gave me advice as to the course of study to be -followed--first, Chinese letters, then foreign languages; and he -advised as the site for the University some place near Wuchang and not -Peking. - -He then assured me that I might tell my countrymen that he approved of -the scheme. "Who," said he, "could but approve of such a scheme?" - -As I left he accompanied me across the courtyard, though I protested, -and I felt I had been honoured {324} by this interview with one of -China's greatest men. He was the embodiment of all that was fine in -China. He belonged to an age that is passing away. The Chinese -statesman of the future will learn Western luxury with Western -knowledge. - - - - -{325} - -CHAPTER XXVII - -CONCLUSION - -One word in conclusion. I have tried to show the greatness of the -crisis that is before us. The civilisation which has long been worn by -the white man alone is now being donned by the yellow man, not as the -result only of missionary effort, but as the result of those great -world causes over which puny mankind has no control; and I have tried -to show that all that we can do is to recognise and frankly accept this -great fact, namely, that the members of the human race who are subject -to and governed by our civilisation are to be nearly doubled, and that -the second half will import into that civilisation not only new -traditions, but a new racial personality, which must cause a -fundamental alteration in many of its traditions and customs. We must -not say that the movement will be shortly completed, for it has -scarcely yet begun; but we have seen enough in the success that has -attended the movement both in Japan and in China, to convince us that -it will ultimately dominate the Far East. This movement may be for -good or for evil; it may be for the downfall of the world, for the -perpetual misery of mankind, if that which is evil in both -civilisations is to be perpetuated and {326} that which is good is to -be destroyed; or it may be for the benefit of mankind if, when the -Christian civilisation welcomes the great yellow races, it accepts from -them, as it has accepted from many other races, their characteristic -virtues. Hitherto our civilisation has grown richer; every race it has -conquered has added beauty to its traditions and nobility to its -ideals. We may look forward with hope, if not with confidence, to its -future. But if this momentous change in the history of the world is to -be well directed, it can only be done by men of sincere Christian -faith; and if the civilisation is to augment these benefits to mankind, -it can only be by being more fully endued with the Christian ethics on -which its whole greatness depends. - -For the perpetuation of this ethic, for the education of the future -thinkers of China, we suggest a University is needed; that University -should not be founded by one race alone. Some may differ from us, and -hold that other action is advisable. They may be right, but it behoves -them to formulate their policy, because one thing seems certain--that a -policy of inaction at the present moment is one which is fraught with -risk, if not with disaster. If no one makes any effort to direct the -thought of this vast unit of mankind into the right paths, it is -improbable that good will naturally result. The fitting of Western -thought to an Oriental race, while it must be chiefly left to the race -itself, needs clearly the help of those who are conversant with the -best aspects {327} of that Western thought and of its history. The -missionary has done much, but he himself is the first to say, "I cannot -do all; I must be supported by those who will teach my converts the -fulness of Western knowledge." And so the missionaries have -inaugurated a policy of education which is most successful as far as it -has gone. The question before all well-wishers of China is, shall it -go further; shall we show China the intellectual light by which we are -walking, or shall we leave China to stumble in the darkness till she -falls into deeper error. - -Those who look forward to progress in this world must also look forward -to breaking up the old evil traditions and to founding new ones; the -old tradition, which limited love to citizens of the same State, which -put bounds on charity, so that man did not love man unless he spoke the -same language, or at least had the same coloured skin, is dying fast -though it is dying hard. A new tradition is being founded, and must be -further developed, in which, as in the parable of the Good Samaritan, -the word love is taught as passing and transcending all bounds of race -and language. The cultivation of this new tradition is vital to the -existence of our civilisation. If love cannot bind races together, the -improved arts of war will in time extinguish the civilisation that gave -them birth. If we are to encourage international love, we can best do -it by sharing together in international acts of mercy and generosity. -The great Chinese race has need of the wealth of Western {328} -knowledge. Let Western races join together to give them what they -need, and in so doing they will not merely benefit China, though as -China counts for a quarter of the population of this world, and is -nearly equal to the number of men who have a right to call themselves -civilised, that were no small merit; but they will do more, for they -will by common acts of mercy and love bind each to each so that the -horrid curse of racial hatred shall not be again able to divide them. -The elements of good in one race will be brought in contact with the -similar elements in another race; men will learn to trust men; and that -which the thundering cannon can never compel, or the keenest wit of -statesmen ever compass, will be accomplished by the obedience and -simple faith of the Christian men and women of all races, and the world -will be welded into one solid piece, where men can work without wasting -their efforts in making machines to torture and kill their fellow-men, -and where at last the prophecy shall be fulfilled: "They shall beat -their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks." - - - - -{329} - -APPENDIX - -WILL RUSSIA BE REPRESENTED ON THE MISSION FIELD? - -When it was settled that we should go to China to see what -opportunities there were there for an educational mission emanating -from our English Universities, we decided to go _viâ_ Siberia, and stop -at St. Petersburg and also at Irkutsk on the way. I had previously -found the journey of fifteen days without a break exhausting to myself -and still more so to my wife who accompanied me. The plan had also the -advantage that it gave me an opportunity of trying to find out why the -great Russian Church had never attempted any serious mission work in -China. From a mere inspection of the map one would naturally have -expected that the Christian power which had a frontier with China of -thousands and thousands of miles would have been the most forward in -that country in fulfilling the command of the founder of Christianity -to give His message of happiness to every living man. In our previous -tour we had been surprised to find that the missionary efforts of -Russia were insignificant in China, though, strange to say, they were -fairly vigorous in Japan. When we arrived at St. Petersburg I was -fortunate enough to obtain letters of introduction to the courteous -gentleman who then represented the imperial power in the councils of -the Russian Church, M. Iwolsky, Procurator of the Holy Synod. One -thing became evident; for the time being Russia is so much absorbed in -politics as to be oblivious of other duties. Living in England, we can -little realise the excitement and anxiety that filled the minds of many -who dwelt in the far off villages of Russia, while they waited to hear -whether or not they were to be engulfed in a revolution as dangerous -{330} and as far-reaching as that which more than a hundred years ago -overwhelmed France. - -A lady described to me how she had sat in terror in her country house -when all communication from St. Petersburg had ceased owing to the -strikes, while the smoke of surrounding houses which had been set on -fire by marauding bands told of the fate which might possibly await -her. Now all that is over. The revolution--so they think in -Russia--is a thing of the past; and Russia has entered on a course of -conservative reform to which, if she adheres, will doubtless make her a -prosperous and contented empire. - -I gathered from some of my informants that the reasons why Russia had -been backward in the mission field, and also why she was racked with -revolution, were in reality the same, namely, that the Orthodox Church -was not so vigorous and had not that hold on the consciences of the -people that it ought to have. Not that for one moment Russia is -ceasing to be religious. The attendance at Father John's funeral was -quoted as disproving such a possibility. People of the working and -middle classes came for miles to stand on a bleak cold day for long -hours merely to catch a glimpse of the coffin which contained the -mortal remains of a man who, according to their belief, lived more than -any man in accordance with God's law. Russia is religious to the very -core; but, like all religious nations, our own included, she longs to -express her deep sincerity through diversity and not through -uniformity. Alas! there are people in every nation who want to put us -in one religious uniform and to march us like soldiers at the word of -command straight into heaven's gate. In England this view only makes -some good and narrow-minded people anxious to have such a thing as -religious uniformity in our schools; but in Russia this doctrine has -been more vigorously held, and is doubtless responsible for the waning -power of the Orthodox Church. Mr. Pobiedonosteff, leader of the -reactionary movement, nearly caused a revolution, and certainly {331} -weakened the Church, by insisting on Uniformity and Orthodoxy. He -believed that there could be but one form of religion in the State, and -therefore he discouraged every other form of religious activity. Not -only did he rightly forbid those strange wild immoral sects who -practise and teach mutilation, but even the sober and devout followers -of Lord Radstock were to be silenced. The result of such a policy was -but too obvious. Religion was made odious by the insincerity which -such a policy must foster, and the State became detestable to all -earnest Christians who claimed the inherent right of every living soul -to love and worship his Creator in accordance with his true convictions. - -All this has now passed like a bad dream. People in Russia may believe -what they like and worship God how they like. M. Iwolsky was most -anxious that the world should know that he, the then representative of -temporal power in the councils of the Russian Church, so far from -encouraging the idea that Christ's Church can be controlled by a -temporal power, however great, was most careful to maintain that in -spiritual matters the Church is independent of the State, even if in -temporal matters she submit herself to the authority of Government. -Peter the Great abolished the Patriarchate; he added many, though not -all, of the powers of the Patriarchate to the Crown; and therefore the -Emperor represents the Patriarch in many ways. But it is wholly -misunderstanding his position to say that in spiritual matters he is -supreme. The Russian Church, like all other branches of the Church, is -controlled and governed by councils, both general and provincial. - -But M. Iwolsky had to confess that the power which the State wielded in -the Synod of the Church was still very great. The Crown has three ways -in which it can influence the council. First, though the members of -the council are representatives of the Church, it is the Crown who -decides (with the exception of the Metropolitans) who those -representatives shall be; secondly, the Crown, through the Procurator, -can forbid any action which {332} brings the Synod into conflict with -the laws of the State; lastly, the Procurator, as representative of the -Crown, must always be present at the debates of the Synod, and has -always a right to express his opinion, even on spiritual questions. -Such powers put together clearly give the Crown a control not only in -things temporal, but, if it is desired, an influence in things -spiritual as well. Still it cannot be too widely known that at any -rate in theory the Russian Church is in things spiritual independent of -temporal power. Most Englishmen would think, no doubt, that if the -Church is to hold her rightful place in the hearts of Russians, she can -only do it by relying on the power of preaching rather than on the -power of the sword. Therefore it would be best for both Church and -State if they had less to do with one another. English Churchmen will -be glad to hear that there is some prospect of a Synod of the Orthodox -Church being held, independently of the existing Holy Synod--a council -which may rank as a General Synod of the Greek Communion, if other -branches of the Orthodox Church are invited to join in its -deliberations, of which there is some prospect. The object of this -Synod will be to reform the discipline of the Church, a matter which is -engaging, I understand, the sincere attention of the devout Christians -of Russia. Few things bear truer witness to the weakness of the Church -in Russia than the low moral tone which exists, as all witnesses aver, -in every grade of Russian social life. The outward observance of the -fasts and feasts and ceremonies of the Church, though admirable in -itself, is perfectly consistent with a great deal of scepticism with -regard to the truths of Christianity. It is not uncharitable to -suspect such scepticism when a great profession of Christianity is -accompanied by a low moral tone. The Church has felt her weakness and -has sought the help of the State, and has therefore not succeeded in -her mission. - -Now happier days have opened for Russia which it is hoped may lead on -to happier ones beyond. The State no {333} longer helps the Church by -silencing her critics, by exiling those who cannot agree with her: the -Buddhist who lately at the definite command of the Government had -accepted Christianity has returned to sincerity and open profession of -Buddhism. The Church no longer so supported by the State may feel her -weakness, but she will grow rather than diminish in strength as she -learns to use more and more the real weapon of Christianity, namely, -the sacred truths of our religion published both by writing and by -preaching. Russia is one of the great nations of the world. The -Orthodox Church which dominates Russia is both true and faithful, and -she will guide her people into prosperity and peace when she has -learned to follow her Master's example and to order the sword drawn in -her defence to be returned altogether to its sheath. - -Nothing can be at present expected from the unorthodox bodies who until -lately have been persecuted to such a degree that they have scarcely -been able to exist. In external matters the Orthodox Church commands -the obedience of the nation to a wonderful degree, but in controlling -the deep convictions of the heart she lacks power. Nowhere is this -more obvious than in the moral tone which prevails in Russian society. -Perhaps it is not just or fair to take the capital of Siberia as a -specimen of ordinary moral life in Russia, but one might well say at -Irkutsk that all save the spirit of man is divine. We had been to a -certain extent prepared by our previous tour to disbelieve in the -horrors of the climate of Siberia, but what we saw and heard at Irkutsk -has convinced me that Siberia should rank high among the places that -are reckoned pleasant for human habitation. Siberia, or certainly the -eastern part of Siberia, is not the dreary plain, wind-swept and -miserable, that one read of in one's childhood. On the contrary, it is -a land of constant calms and steady sunshine, a land of lakes and -hills, and though it is cold, the cold seems but trifling in the -glorious sunshine of a Siberian winter. I feel certain that if Lake -Baikal were {334} somewhere within reach of London it would be one of -the most frequented centres for pleasure-seekers. And from the point -of view of wealth it is a most favoured land; a land where there is -gold and where there is coal; a land where there is copper and silver, -and where a hot summer ripens thoroughly all cereal crops. For -sportsmen it seems a veritable paradise. The pheasant (or at least his -brother) with whom we have long been conversant as dying of every -disease in the moist coverts of England, lives wild in this dry and -healthy climate. The wild boar and the wolf, the bear and many forms -of the antelope and deer, are to be found on the borders between -Siberia and China. The rivers are full of salmon and other fish whose -names I cannot attempt to give. - -If an Englishman were asked to choose whether he would live in St. -Petersburg or in exile at Irkutsk, he would, I believe, have no doubt -in deciding in favour of the latter, if--and that is a great if--the -spirit of man were not so human and corrupt. We were told that there -are six hundred women who are divorced in the jurisdiction of Irkutsk. -Such a statement indeed seems incredible, but certainly the morals of -the officers leave much to be desired. Vices go in flocks, therefore -laziness perhaps accounts for the amazing state of things which exists -in Irkutsk. The town is as full of officers as Eton is of boys. -Epaulettes jostle you in the streets, you tumble over swords in the -restaurants, and with all this force at the disposal of the -authorities--for I conclude that some at least of these officers have -soldiers under them--the streets of Irkutsk are unsafe after dark. -Person after person warned us of the danger of being unarmed at night, -at any rate in the by-streets. People are murdered in their own houses -in the suburbs; women have their fur coats torn off their backs. One -is aghast at the incredible slackness of the authorities, who instead -of instituting a reasonable police force such as exists even in Chinese -cities, allow the city to be watched at night by aged Dogberrys in huge -fur coats armed with {335} rattles which they use incessantly. -Certainly, though they may fail to frighten away robbers with this -primitive weapon of protection, they succeed in interrupting the -slumbers of the visitor. In the department of municipal activity the -town is equally badly organised. The streets were under snow, and as -upon a hard-seated sledge we leapt from hole to hole, we had at least -the comfort of realising that in summer their condition must be even -more trying. - -It is unsafe to trust gossip, but I give it for what it is worth. We -were assured that the only reason why the priceless wealth which Russia -possesses in the gold mines of Siberia was not further developed was -because of a similar official incompetence. There is said to be a -great deal of secret digging for gold. Men disappear in the summer and -reappear in the autumn with a pound's weight of pure gold, for the gold -lies only about three metres below the ground. But if this primitive -form of mining came to the knowledge of the Government it would put in -force the mining laws which would then successfully stifle the industry. - -It is needless to add that profligacy and laziness are not the only -vices against which Russian Christianity has to contend. Their people -have another in common with ourselves of which the Church is only too -well aware and which it is making great efforts to suppress, namely, -drunkenness. Actually on our journey we had an example of this vice -which every one regarded as comic, but which might have been tragic. -The train is brought suddenly to a standstill. There is something -wrong. Everybody tumbles out of the carriage to look. A man is lying -in the snow. At first it is thought he has been knocked down by a -previous train. Further examination shows that it is only a man dead -drunk lying right across the line--the result of keeping one of the -festivals of the Church. Every one laughs; he is pulled out of the -way, we climb back into the train, leaving him in the care of a priest, -quite unconscious how near he has been to death. Drunkenness is a -terrible evil in our own land, but its results are far more terrible in -{336} this land of frost-bite. There are numbers of people without -hands and feet begging in the street, and we were told that the general -cause of these injuries was vodka. A man going home falls into a -drunken sleep on the way: he awakes next morning with his hands and -feet frost-bitten, or perhaps he never wakes again: the sleep of -drunkenness merges into the sleep of death. - -As one considers these things one realises why the Buddhist Bouriat and -the Mohammedan Tartar still adhere to their ancient faiths. - -I do not think an Englishman has a right to criticise other nations -when so much remains to be done at home. Still one cannot truthfully -say that, however numerous her churches or well-attended her services, -the Orthodox Church directs Russia while she is powerless to make -headway against these vices. - -The great trials through which Russia has passed hold out every reason -to hope that with liberty, purity of worship will be again established, -and where there is purity of faith there must be mission work. No -doubt the Government has hindered mission work; in fact, they have -forbidden it in China. Christianity was to them so much the handmaid -of the State as to be inconceivable outside the State; but all this is -breaking down. The great mission work conducted in Japan to which I -have before referred has shown that the Orthodox Church grows well on -Eastern soil. The existence of a village preserving the Orthodox -religion in the middle of China which has been spoken of above, has -demonstrated at least the vitality of that faith among the Chinese -nation. When the Russian missionaries cross the frontier they will not -leave their own country weaker, but their work will be a token that -Russia is purifying her faith and is advancing along the road that -leads to holiness. - - - - -{337} - -INDEX - - - Abyssinia, 196 - Accuracy of Chinese, 72 - Agnosticism, 301 - Agricultural College, 280 - Aims of missionary education, 257 _et seq._ - Altar of Heaven, 142, 155 - America, 244, 254, 308 - American Methodist Mission, 198 - American missions, 16, 192, 200, 217 - Americans, 234, 253 _et seq._, 277, 284 - Amita, 149, 150 - Amitobha, 149 - Amur, The, 11 - Ancestor worship, 153 _et seq._, 160, 161 - Ancestral tablet, 159 - Anglican Church Conference, 215 - Anglicans, 216, 245 _et seq._ - Anglo-Saxon race, 242 - Anson's Law of Contract, 285 - Antung, 91 - Apocrypha, 221 - Apostles' Creed, defence of, 200 - Apparatus, 290, 294 - Architecture, 137 _et seq._, 295 - Art, Chinese, 137, 138 - Association of Christianity with learning, 258 _et seq._ - Autocratic government, result of, 199 - - - B - - Baikal Lake, 333 - Balfour's "Defence of Philosophic Doubt," 257 - Bamboo rope, 85 - Bambooing, 66 - Beggar Hospital, 227 - Belgium, 308 - Benedict XIV., 186 - Bible Societies, 17 - Bible Society, British and Foreign, 17, 198, 213 - Bible, style of, 181 - Blagovestchensk, 11 - Blair, Mr., 236 - Blind, Missions to, 201 _et seq._ - Boone College, Wuchang, 308, 319 - Bouriat, Buddhist, 336 - Boxer Movement, 7, 9, 18, 156, 161, 188, 269, 271, 274 - British missions, 201 _et seq._ - Buddha, 149 - Buddhism, 148 _et seq._, 164, 170, 175, 179 _et seq._, 243, - 248, 263, 269, 333 - Buddhist temples, 45, 141 - Bull, Papal, 186 - Butterfield and Swire, 79 - - - C - - Cambridge, 173, 312 - Canton, 113 - Canton Women's Hospital, 226 - Canton-Wuchang Railway, 322 - Cantonese dialect, 286 - Cassels, Bishop, 201 - Centenary Conference, 122, 125, 132, 200, 210, 242 _et seq._ - Chair travelling, 97 - Chang-Chih-Tung, 75, 152, 168, 208, 218, 268 _et seq._, - 321 _et seq._ - Changsha, 77 _et seq._, 167, 291 - Characters, Chinese, 132, 181, 208 _et seq._ - Chentu, 316 - Chicago University, 212 - China Emergency Committee, 229 - China for the Chinese, 216, 296 - China Inland Mission, 201 - China Merchants' boats, 62 - "China's Only Hope," 268 - Chinese clergy, 174, 257, 259 _et seq._, 310 - Chinese-Japanese War, 5, 268 - Christianity in China tolerated, 45 _et seq._ - Christie, Dr., 226 - Chu, 156, 179 - Chungking, 81 - Church of England, 202, 203 - "Church in China," 242 - Church Missionary Society, 201 - Cities, Chinese, 95 _et seq._ - Civilisation, Chinese, 56 _et seq._ - Classics, Chinese, 168, 207, 260, 270, 301 - Cleanliness, difficulty with Chinese, 226 - Clergy, Chinese, 174, 257, 259 _et seq._, 310 - Cochrane, Dr., 226, 228 _et seq._ - Colleges, 254 _et seq._, 303, 308 - Commercial power of China, 29 - Commercial Press, 16, 215 - Commercial School, 287 - Confucian teaching, 73, 156, 159, 163 _et seq._, 321, 323 - Confucianism, 148, 153 _et seq._, 163 _et seq._, 175, 221, 243, 261 - Confucius, 41, 42, 59, 156, 163 _et seq._, 220, 300 _et seq._ - Copts, 196 - Corruption of Chinese, 62, 293 - Courtesy of Chinese, 70 _et seq._ - Cruelty of Chinese, 65 _et seq._ - Currency, 63 _et seq._ - - - D - - Dalai Lama, 180 - Delamarre, Père, 47 - Diabolical possession, 158 - Difficulties of education, 293 _et seq._ - Difficulties of translation, 208 _et seq._ - Director of Chinese students, 172 - Director of education, 280 _et seq._, 295 - Discipline, want of, 297 _et seq._ - Divine honours to Confucius, 301 - Dominicans, 186 - "Door of Hope," 134 - Drugs, Chinese, 224 - Dumas, _Dame aux Camelias_, 218 - Duty to parents, 74, 174 - - - E - - Ede, Mr., 56 - Edict against opium, 117 - Edict, educational, 271 - Edict on Confucius, 302 - Edict on official rank for Roman Catholic missions, 188, 189 - Edification of Christianity, 257 _et seq._ - Education, 253 _et seq._ - Education, Committee of, 312 - Education of preachers, 257 _et seq._ - Educational, 230, 231 - Educational policy in China, 254 _et seq._ - Emperor of China, 187, 275, 300 - Emperor of Korea, 76, 239 - Emperor of Russia, 331 - Emperor, German, 309 - Empress of China, the late, 128 - Episcopal Church of America, 256 - Ethics, Chinese, 70 _et seq._, 220 - Evangelisation, 257 _et seq._ - Ezra, 59 - - - F - - "Face," 166, 167, 240, 298 - Famine in China, 56 - Fashion, power of, 33 - Fashions in China, 34 - Financial difficulties in schools, 298 _et seq._ - Foot-binding, 66, 124, 129, 130, 182 - Foster, Mr. Arnold, 125 - Foster, Mrs. Arnold, 3 - France, foreign policy of, 24, 187, 191, 221, 308 - Franciscan Sisters, 68, 194 - French officials, 184 - "French Peter," 225, 226 - French policy, 188 - French ship, 197 - French, the, 46, 186, 187, 188, 192, 253 - Fukien, 50 - - - G - - Gardens, 72 - Gardens, public, Shanghai, 102 - Gautama, 149 - Geography, 268 - Germans, 253 - Germany, 6, 18, 48, 49 _et seq._, 235 - Ghurkas, 25 - Gillieson, Dr., 226 - Girls' schools, 130 _et seq._, 289 _et seq._, 298 - Goforth, Mr., 240 - Gold in Siberia, 335 - Gorges of Yangtsze, 81 _et seq._, 201 - Gospel, St. Luke's, comments on, 214 - Gospel, St. Mark's, Chinaman's acquaintance with, 213 - Government educational systems, 266 _et seq._ - Grand Canal, 80 - Graves, Bishop, 308 - Greek Church, Chinese, 148, 336 - Green Korean coats, 233 - Grey, Sir Edward, 120, 210 - - - H - - Haeckel's "Riddle of the Universe," 218, 263 - Haldane's "Pathway to Reality," 257 - Hangchow, 223 _et seq._ - Hangchow, monastery at, 180 - Hankow, 78, 81, 89, 140, 174, 226, 229, 316, 319 - Hanlin scholars, 176 _et seq._, 267 - Han-Yang Ironworks, 30 - Harbin, 315 - Hart, Dr. Lavington, 99 - Hashish, 108 - Heat at Saigon, 183, 184 - "Heaven," 156, 178, 179, 210 - Heaven, Temple of, 142 - Hewlett, Consul, 167 - High schools, 281 - Higher schools, 272 - Hoang-ho River, 56, 57 - Home Board, 245 - Home life, Chinese, 135, 136 - Hong-Kong, 76, 103, 109, 183, 213, 283, 303, 316 - Hunan, 77 - - - I - - Ichang, 68, 81, 85, 194 - Ideographs, 217 - Ignatius, College of St., 253 - India, 164, 244 - India, comparison with China, 22, 23 - India, home of opium, 114 - India, Little, 180 - Indian Buddhism, 180 - "Indiscreet Letters from Peking," 39 - Industry, Chinese, 72 - Infant schools, 271 - Inns, Chinese, 89 - Intellectual side of Christianity, 202 - Intonations, Chinese, 309 - Irkutsk, 51, 329, 333 _et seq._ - Ironworks, Han-Yang, 30 - Ito, Prince, 232, 235 - Iwolsky, M., 329 _et seq._ - - - J - - Jackson, Mr., 256 - Japan, 50, 121, 126, 149, 160 _et seq._, 170, 204, 210, 263, - 283, 325, 329, 330 - Japan and Korea, 5, 232 _et seq._ - Japan and Russia, 12, 23, 49 _et seq._ - Japanese, 61 - Japanese, _re_ opium, 115, 116 - Japanese teachers, 131, 280 _et seq._, 295 - Jarlin, Monseigneur, 3 - Jessfield College, 308, 312 - Jesuits, 185, 186, 253, 258 - Jesuits, scientific attainments of, 185, 195 - Jesuits, suppression of, in China, 186 - Jews, Chinese, 148 - John, Father, 330 - Jordan, Sir John, 120 - - - K - - Kiauchau, 6, 48, 51, 91, 92 - King, Consul, 176 - Kins, 26 - Kiukiang, 97 - Korea, 76, 232 _et seq._ - Korea and Japan, 5, 12, 232 _et seq._ - Korean women, 233 - Kow-tow, 300 - Kwangchangtzu, 318 - Kwannin, 149, 150 - - - L - - Lamaism, 15, 149, 248 - Languages, School of, 292 - Laotze, 151 - Laudanum, 112 _et seq._ - Law Schools, 277, 283 - Lawsuits, Chinese, 191, 192 - Lawsuits, interference in, 189 _et seq._ - Leavening of public opinion, 257 _et seq._ - Legation, British, 141 - Legge's, Dr., Chinese Classics, 179 - Leper Hospital, 227 - Likin, 58 - Literati, Chinese, 177, 186, 203, 321 - Literature, effect of Western, 207 _et seq._ - Literature Society, Christian, 16, 168, 212 - Lolos, 27, 68 - London Mission, 198, 201 - Louis XIV., 187 - Lutherans, 256 - - - M - - Macklin, Dr., 67, 227 - Main, Dr. Duncan, 223 _et seq._ - Maios, 27 - Manchu ladies, 130, 131 - Manchuria, 12, 51, 53, 90 _et seq._, 204, 232 _et seq._ - Manohus, 25, 176, 185, 279, 292, 318 - Mandarin-speaking, 285, 286 - Manichæism, 151, 152 - Martin, Professor, 296 - Materialism, Western, 171, 305 _et seq._ - Medical missions, 220 _et seq._ - Mencius, 177 - Methodist colleges, 308 - Methodists, 238 - Middle schools, 272 - Mih-Tieh, 174 - Military power of China, 24, 25 - Ming dynasty, 26, 185 - Mission Press, 212 - Missions, 183 _et seq._, 198 _et seq._, 220 _et seq._, - 253 _et seq._, 305 _et seq._ - Missions Catholiques Françaises, Les, 188 - Modesty, lack of, in Japanese, 233 - Mohammedans, Chinese, 148 - Mongolia, 51, 213 - Mongols, 26 - Monotonous employment, love of, 73 - Moral power of China, 32 - Morrison, Dr., 15, 17, 198, 208 - Moule, Archdeacon, 4, 137, 198, 298 - Moule, Bishop, 198 - Movement in Korea and Manchuria, 232 _et seq._ - Mukden, 91, 226, 318 - Mukden, battle of, 5, 13 - Murray, Dr., 230 - Mutiny, 54 - - - N - - Nanking, 63, 67, 92, 297 _et seq._ - Nanking, hospital at, 227 - Nanking, interviews at, 172 _et seq._ - Napoleon I., 187 - Napoleon III., 47 - Native ministry, 257, 259 _et seq._, 310 - Naval school, 52, 287 - Need of University explained, 305 _et seq._ - Nestorians, 15, 149, 150, 248 - Newchwang, 8, 205 - North China Mission, 203 - - - O - - Obedience of Chinese, 61 - Obedience to parents, 74 - Observatory Ziccawei, 195 - Official rank for Roman Catholic Missions, 188, 189, 191 - Officials, Chinese, 167, 172, 283, 299, 317 - Officials, French, 184 - Old, reverence for the, 321 - O-mi-to, 149 - Opium, 107 _et seq._ - Opium, edict against, 117 - Opposition to Western materialism, 258 _et seq._ - Organisation of Chinese Government, 60 - Orientals, 36 _et seq._, 61 - Orphanages, Roman Catholic, 193, 194, 264 - Orthodox Church of Russia, 244, 245, 330 _et seq._ - Oxford and Cambridge, 173, 312 - - - P - - Pagodas, 141 - Pao-ting-fu, 7, 276 - Pastor Hsi, 158 - Patience of Chinese, 72 - Patriarchate, the, 331 - Pei-Yang University, 276 - Peking, Blind Mission at, 229 - Peking Gazette, 168 - Peking, interviews at, 319 _et seq._ - Peking, Lama Temple at, 180 - Peking, Methodist University, 308 - Peking, missions at, 203 - Peking, Mongol Temple at, 150, 180 - Peking, Roman Catholics at, 197 - Peking, sack of, 10 - Peking to Canton railway, 89 - Peking, Union Hospital at, 226 - Peking University, 291, 300 - Pe-T'ang, the, 140 - Physical science uninteresting to Chinese, 182 - Pidgin English, 22 - Pitt, 187 - Pobiedonosteff, M., 330 - Police, different nationalities of, 101 - Port Arthur, 5, 204 - Post-offices, 103 _et seq._ - Pott, Dr Hawks, 312 - Poverty in China, 221 - Preparation of secular teachers, 257 - Presbyterians and their missions, 69, 198, 201, 204, 235 _et seq._ - Press, the, 168 - Primary schools, 272 - Procurator of Holy Synod, 321 _et seq._ - Pyeng-Yang, 5, 235 _et seq._ - - - Q - - Queen of England, the late, 128 - Queen of Korea, murder of the, 76, 234 - - - R - - Railways, 88 _et seq._ - Rapids of Yangtsze, 82 _et seq._ - "Reason," 178, 179 - Red boat, 82, 85 - Reformation, the, 246 - Religions of China, 147 _et seq._ - Religious Tract Society, 212 - Renaissance, the, 260 - Rescue work, 133 _et seq._ - "Review of the Times," the, 212 - Revival, 236 _et seq._ - Ricci, Father, 185 - Richard, Dr. Timothy, 203, 212, 274 _et seq._ - Rickshas, 98 - Ritual, 246 - Rivers, 80 _et seq._ - Roman Catholic missions, 183 _et seq._, 203 - Roman Catholics, 46, 47, 148, 213, 243, 258, 292 - Roman Church, policy of, 192, 243, 244 - Romanised system of reading, 132 - Rome, appeal to, 186 - Roofs, Chinese, 142, 143 - Roots, Bishop, 256 - Ross, Dr., 113, 178, 318 - Russia and Japan, 23, 49 _et seq._, 163 - Russia in mission field, 329 - Russia, Orthodox Church of, 244, 330 _et seq._ - Russians, 204 _et seq._ - Russo-Japanese War, 11 _et seq._, 163 - - - S - - Saigon, 183, 184 - Saigon, Bishop of, 184 - Saigon, climate of, 184 - St. Augustine, 166 - St. Petersburg, 51, 329, 330 - Sanscrit MS., 180 - Scandinavian Missions, 203 - Scheme, United Universities, 312 _et seq._, 317 _et seq._ - School uniform, 175, 283 - School, Viceroy's, 175 _et seq._ - Schools, 253 _et seq._ - Schools in England, 173 - Schools in Nanking, 173 _et seq._ - Scotch, the, 69, 234 - Scott, Bishop, 203 - Secondary wives, 123 _et seq._ - Seoul, 77, 233 _et seq._ - Shanghai, 36, 76, 95, 105, 113, 126, 129, 133, 140, 225, 291 - Shansi, 6, 18, 49, 110, 274 - Shantung, 6, 18, 92, 303 - Shi-King, 207 - Shintoism, 163, 170 - Shops, Chinese, 96 _et seq._ - Shu-yuen, 261 - Siberia, 25, 148, 329, 333 _et seq._ - Silk Guild, 95, 287 - Slanders against missions, 194 - Slave Refuge, 126 - Slaves, 126 _et seq._, 323 - Solidarity of Chinese, 60 - Songs of trackers, 84 - Soochow, University at, 308 - Soothill, Mr., 275 - Spencer, Herbert, 263 - S.P.G., a _via media_, 202 - S.P.G. Mission, 202 - "Spirit," 210 - Sprue, 225, 226 - Squeeze, 293, 294 - Starvation common, 222 - Streets, Chinese, 97 _et seq._ - Strikes in schools, 297 _et seq._ - Summer Palace, sack of, 46 - Sund Fo, 25 - "Superior man," 177, 178 - Superior schools, 273 - Superstition, 156, 157 _et seq._ - Supreme Being, 155, 156, 220 - Synod of Russian Church, 331 _et seq._ - Szechuan, 88, 92 - - - T - - Tablet of Confucius, 300 _et seq._ - T'ang-K'ai-Sun, His Excellency, 116 - Taoism, 151 _et seq._, 164, 175, 181, 243, 269 - Tartar, Mohammedan, 336 - Temple of Heaven, 142, 155 - Teuton mind, 246 - Theatres, 272 - Tibetans, 25, 114 - Tientsin, 28, 36, 38, 61, 91, 93, 95, 99, 166, 276 - Tokio, 306 - Tong-Shao-Yi, His Excellency, 41, 318 - Tonkin, 17 - Torture of medical missionary, 205 - Trackers on Yangtsze, 83, 86, 87 - Trans-Siberian Railway, 21, 204, 329 - Travelling, comfort in, 21 - Treaties, 46, 47, 188 - Tuan-Fang, His Excellency, 173 _et seq._, 279 - Turkey, 164 - - - U - - Union Hospital, 226 - United States, 200 - United Universities Scheme, 312 _et seq._, 317 _et seq._ - Unity in China, 242 - Universities of Oxford and Cambridge, 312 - Universities in Soochow and Peking, 308 - University, Paris Professor, 193 - University, Pei-Yang, 276 - University of Oxford, 311 - University government, 303 - University government system, 273 - University in Chentu, 316 - University in China, 94, 172, 175, 263 - University in Hong-Kong, 286, 303 - University in Peking, 291, 304 - University in Shansi, 274 _et seq._ - University in Tokio, 306 - - - V - - Viceroy of Nanking, 173 _et seq._ - Vices, Chinese, 62 - Virtues, Chinese, 72 - - - W - - Wall, Great, 26 - Wang, Mr., 276 - War in 1840, 188 - Weihsien, 308 - Wenli, 208 - Wesleyan movement, 241 - West and East, 36 _et seq._ - Western civilisation, two elements of, 218, 325 _et seq._ - Wheelbarrows, 101 - Williamson, Dr., 16 - Willow pattern from Hangchow Lake, 228 - Women, Chinese, 102, 121 _et seq._ - Word-signs, 210 _et seq._, 215 - Wuchang, 291, 292, 323 - - - X - - Xavier, St. Francis, 15 - - - Y - - Yale University Mission, 313 - Yamen, 71, 167, 173, 176, 182, 246, 318 - Yang and Yin, 121, 151, 152 - Yang Choo, 307 - Yangtsze, island on, 193 - Yangtsze-Kiang, 53, 54, 62, 73, 81 _et seq._, 118, 126 - Yuan-Shi-Kai, His Excellency, 274 - Yunnan, 92 - - - Z - - Zenana work, 131 - Ziccawei Observatory, 195, 196 - - - - - Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & Co, - Edinburgh & London - - - - - - - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Changing China, by -William Gascoyne-Cecil and Florence Gascoyne-Cecil - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CHANGING CHINA *** - -***** This file should be named 41878-8.txt or 41878-8.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/4/1/8/7/41878/ - -Produced by Al Haines - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions -will be renamed. - -Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no -one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation -(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without -permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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