0 t t\w Shfotogicji/ & 11 //• f J' PRINCETON, N. J. Purchased by the Hammill Missionary Fund. BV 3415 . F74 1889 Foster, Arnold, 1846-1919. Christian progress in China CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA Gleanings from the Writings and Speeches of Many Workers BY ARNOLD ^FOSTER, B. A. LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY HANKOW WITH A MAP OF CHINA. THE RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY 56, Paternoster Row ; 6s, St. Paul’s Churchyard ; and 164, Piccadilly Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Princeton Theological Seminary Library https://archive.org/details/christianprogresOOfost PI^FftCE. he purpose and character of this book may be easily 1 explained. I have been several times asked by persons interested in Missions, whether I could recommend any book containing plenty of narrative, relating to Missionary Work and Native Christian Life in China. This request suggested to me the idea of compiling from recent volumes of Missionary Reports and Magazines a number of gleanings which would answer the purpose. The following pages contain very little original matter. I have been obliged to add, here and there, a few lines by way of connecting paragraphs together, or for the purpose of explaining particular customs or incidents; but it has been my desire, as far as possible, to let the persons from whom I quote speak for themselves. In making quotations, however, I have not hesitated to deal somewhat freely with my authorities ; e.g., omitting sentences occasionally, without calling special attention to the fact that I have done so, or correcting some grammatical and other errors which had crept into papers that must have been hastily written, or into speeches which appear to have been incorrectly reported. It was my desire to represent impartially the work of the 6 PREFACE. Missionaries of all English Protestant Churches, but my task has had to be done hurriedly and amidst many interruptions, and I have therefore been compelled to make most use of those materials that were most accessible to me. If I appear to have ignored the work of any particular Society or of any particular persons, I regret the fact; but it has been quite unintentional on my part. I have not attempted to give any account of the work being done by Roman Catholics, and I have not been in a position to do more than make occasional references to the work of American and German Protestants. Another purpose, besides the one which I have already mentioned, has been present to my mind in compiling this book. From time to time, one meets with criticisms upon Missions, which, if they were true, would be very damaging alike to the reputation of Missionaries and of their converts. When these criticisms proceed from persons who have travelled abroad, and who therefore profess to speak as eye-witnesses and authorities, they naturally carry some weight with them, to the minds of people in this country who are entirely ignorant of the facts to which they refer. It is not desirable, I think, as a rale, to attempt to meet these criticisms with a direct answer. They are frequently conceived in such a spirit, that it would be useless to enter into any discussion with the authors of them ; 1 but I trust the following pages will 1 For a specimen of this kind of criticism, see Major Knollys’ English Life in China. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885. The fitness of this writer to be a critic of any religious work whatever, may be imagined by anyone who will take the trouble to read pp. 283-287 of his book. Few missionaries, I should think, would desire, either for themselves or for their work, the commendation of the person who could write those pages. That ‘four eminent Chinese merchants (heathen, of course) should provide PREFACE. 7 serve as an indirect, yet conclusive answer to many of the charges which are often brought against Missionary work, and especially to those charges which affect the character of our native Christians in China. These poor people are often represented as embracing Christianity simply with a desire for worldly gain, or from some other equally unworthy motive. The reader of Chapter II. of this book will be in a position to judge for himself what amount of truth there is likely to be in reckless accusations of this sort made against our converts. I must say, in conclusion, that I desire to tender my grate- ful thanks to the secretaries of various Missionary Societies, and others, who have aided me in collecting my materials. I hope that one result of my work will be to lead some who have not hitherto taken much interest in Missions, to feel how intensely real our work is, how manifold are the agencies which are being employed by the Christian Church to save and help and bless the Chinese, and how grand an opportunity now exists for spreading in China the knowledge of the glory of the Lord. a dinner at which prostitutes were present, to amuse the guests with their badinage, will surprise no one who knows anything of the abominations of heathen society ; that an English officer should describe the occasion and the persons present, in the terms that Major Knollys has thought fit to employ in a book intended to go into English drawing-rooms, is certainly a little surprising to those who have been accustomed to regard with loathing and horror the whole manner of life in which heathenism revels, but which Christianity unsparingly condemns. Major Knollys, however, writes apparently in complete unconsciousness of the sort of impression which his account of that dinner party is likely to make on those of his readers who support the Missionary institutions which have so offended his taste and ideas of good breeding. CONTENTS- CHAP. PAGE Introduction 13 1. The Bible in China : a Record of Various Trans- lations of the Holy Scriptures — I. Prior to the commencement of Protestant Missions 29 II. From the commencement of Protestant Missions to 1880 40 ill. A more recent Version 46 11. The Church in China : Memorials of Christian Life and Character, Zeal and Endurance — ‘ Saved by Hope ’ 47 The contrast between Confucianism and Chris- tianity 49 Helping the Widow 50 ‘ Love of the Brethren ’ 51 Trust in God 52 Willing Workers 53 Opposition overcome by Kindness S3 Christianity influencing Social Life 54 The Seed growing secretly 55 A Christian Servant 56 The Observance of the Lord’s Day 56 First Fruits in Shansi 58 The Beginnings of Work in Lo-nguong ... ... 70 . The First Native Clergyman of the C.M.S. in Fuhkien 73 First Native Wesleyan Minister in Central China 75 A Preacher at Hankow 76 A Travelling Tinker near Ningpo 78 IO CONTENTS. CHAP. PAGE The Work done by Native Preachers 78 Mission to Corea 80 Mission to the Pescadores ... ... 80 Christian Aborigines of Formosa 80 A Secret Disciple 81 A Sympathizer with Missionary Work 82 What an European Layman may do ... ... 82 Growth in Christian Character ... 82 Refusing to Contribute to Heathen Festivals ... 84 Social Difficulties that meet a Chinese Christian ... 85 Persecution and Martyrdom at Pok-lo ... ... 88 Another case of Persecution and Murder 91 Another Case ■ 92 A Woman Beaten ... 94 A Woman’s Possessions Stolen 94 A Soldier Dismissed 95 Some consequences of the Franco- Chinese War, 1884 95 Troubles in Formosa ... ... 100 The Character of Chinese Converts ... ... 101 nr. Methods and Results of Missionary Work— 1. Preaching and Itinerancy— The Opportunities afforded by Preaching 104 Direct Results of Preaching 105 Indirect Results 106 A New Year’s Illustration ... no A Chinese Preacher in Ho Tsun-sheen’s Reputation as a Preacher ... 120 Itinerancy should be confined to a limited space... 121 The Country, open to the Itinerant Preacher ... 121 Seven Years’ Wanderings in China 122 Murder of Mr. Johnson ... 126 Death of the Rev. J. Williamson, L.M.S 128 A Dangerous J ourney 129 CONTENTS. 1 1 PAGE Attack on a House in which Missionaries were lodging ... 132 11. Distribution of the Scriptures and of Religious Literature — First attempts to circulate the Bible in China ... 134 Selling the Bible during the Public Examinations 135 Religious Tract Society’s Work in North China ... 137 ‘Cast upon the Waters, and found after many days’ ... 138 A Sealed Volume, and how it was Opened ... 140 A Book given to a Chinese Emigrant 140 Interest in the Gospel awakened by Books ... 141 A Book of Pictures ... 142 ‘ Some fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up ’ 143 The Name for God ... ... 145 III. Schools and Education — Different kinds of Schools 147 The Schools of the Basel Mission 151 Another View of the Object of the Education which Missionaries give... ... 153 The Tungchow College 155 High School of the Wesleyan Mission, Wuchang, . Central China ... \j 56 How Children become Idolaters .160 IV. Medical Mission — How Medical Missions began ... 162 Hospital at Tientsin ... ... 164 The Alice Memorial Hospital, Hong-kong ... 166 Hospital for Lepers, Swatow ... 167 A Speech on Medical Missionary Experiences ... 168 Quackery and Superstition, Science and Faith ... 179 Chinese Confidence in a Foreign Surgeon... ... 181 Simple Remedies ... 181 Attempted Suicides ... 181 12 CONTENTS. PAGE Churches originated by Hospital Patients 183 Attempted Suicide, and a Life Saved 184 Gratitude of a Hospital Patient 185 Another instance of the same 185 A Changed Life ..186 A Woman witnessing for Christ 188 V. Work amongst Women — Hospitals and Lady Doctors— A Chinese Opinion. 189 Hospital for Women and Children, Tientsin ... 189 The ‘Margaret Williamson’ Hospital, Shanghai... 191 A Year’s Record of Medical Work 193 Dispensary for Women at Kalgan 193 Another Dispensary in Shanghai 194 Another at Tientsin 194 Bible Women ... 195 Social Difficulties connected with Woman’s Work 198 Little Daughters-in-law ... 200 Difficulties of the Foot-binding Question ... ... 202 A Christian Chinese Lady in the Palace 204 A Christian Woman’s Influence on her Neighbours 205 VI. Benevolent Institutions , and the Relief of Suffering — Bethesda, the Berlin Foundling Hospital, Hong- kong 207 Asylum for the Blind, Shanghai 210 The Blind taught to Read 210 The Deaf and Dumb Chinese 214 Relief to the Poor in Winter 216 Famine Relief 217 A Second Famine 220 The Famine of 1888 and 1889 233 The Last Entry in a Missionary’s Note-book ... 244 Floods in Kwang-tung 245 Appendix — The Jews in China 247 Christian Progress in China, introduction. I n an Empire of such vast extent as China there is ample space for every variety of physical characteristic. Far away to the north stretch the wide tablelands of Mongolia, while to the west rise the majestic mountains of Thibet, whence two great mountain-ranges trend eastward right across the Empire. Between these great ranges’lies a vast tract of fertile land, covering an area of 210,000 square miles, densely populated and admirably cultivated. In a country where railways are as yet unknown, and roads are few and very far between, a vast amount of traffic is carried on by means of a system of canals, which intersect the land in every direction, connecting many of the chief towns with the great rivers. The Grand Canal, which connects Hang-Chow, in the province of Chekiang, with Tientsin, the port of Peking, is about 650 miles in length — a mighty water-way constructed to facilitate the internal commerce of the country, and especially to enable the grain- fleet, with its enormous supply of rice for the use of the capital, to avoid the perils of the coast — perils of pirates and of storm. This mighty canal crosses the two greatest rivers, the Yang- H CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. tse-kiang and the Hoang-ho or Yellow River, but has latterly become comparatively useless owing to the erratic conduct of the said Yellow River, commonly called ‘China’s Sorrow,’ which is subject to appalling floods, when it bursts its banks and inundates vast tracts of country, finally selecting for itself some totally new channel. From the earliest historic days the Chronicles of the Empire record the ruin wrought by the freaks of this fickle river, which has changed its course nine times within the last 2,500 years. The Yang-tse-kiang, though springing from the same water- shed, is a more reliable stream, and forms the great highway of commerce across the centre of the empire, while draining a vast basin estimated at 750,000 square miles. In an empire extending from 8o° to 40° N. lat., there must necessarily be a very wide variety of climate; Canton, the southern capital, being actually in the Tropics, while Peking is subject to violent extremes of heat and cold — the heat in summer being exceedingly trying, the thermometer often being upwards of xoo° Fahr., while through the long winter months the cold is excessive, and the city is virtually cut off from the outer world, ice a foot thick rendering the river unnavigable. This severe cold, however, apparently counteracts the evil of excessive heat, for whereas the people of the southern provinces are pale and comparatively feeble, those of the north are stalwart and the children rosy. This is perhaps partly due to the difference of food, the products of the northern provinces being those of Northern Europe, so that millet and other nourishing grains replace the invariable rice diet of the south. Besides, the rice- growing districts are inevitably swampy, breeding fever, ague, and dysentery among the natives as well as among foreigners. Nevertheless, the pleasantest climate is that of the central zone, extending from Fuh-Kien to Shan-tung on the eastern coast to Sze-chuan on the west — a belt which includes the most fertile provinces — the granary of China. Sad to say, an ever-increasing proportion of the finest land INTRODUCTION. 15 is being absorbed by the cultivation of poppies for the supply of China’s curse — opium. So enormously has the illegal growth of native opium increased, that it is said it will soon exceed the amount imported. And this is the natural de- velopment of that small beginning when British subjects first smuggled opium into China in defiance of all prohibitions, and then (notwithstanding all remonstrances from the Chinese Government) legalized the traffic by a treaty compelling China by the persuasive eloquence of the cannon to sanction our supplying her millions with the poison which none dares to sell in Britain except it be marked as such. The Government of China is an absolute monarchy, the Emperor being responsible only to the gods, whose earthly vicegerent he is supposed to be : hence his suggestive titles, as ‘Son of Heaven, the Imperial Supreme.’ He is regarded as the representative of Heaven, while the Empress represents Mother Earth. The Emperor is assisted in the administra- tion of government by a Cabinet Council and six supreme tribunals ; but the ultimate decision on all points rests in his own hands, his sanction being conveyed by the Imperial Seal, and his remarks recorded by ‘ the vermilion pencil ’ — in other words, in red letters, red being the emblem of all good. China’s historical records are probably authentic to as early as 2000 b.c. (when they merge into mythology). The earliest recognised dynasties are those of Hia and Shang, the fathers of agriculture and letters. But really authentic history dates from the beginning of the Chow dynasty, about 1100 B.c., at which time China seems to have been divided into many independent States, though all acknowledging the suzerainty of its chief ruler. About 250 b.c. the Chow family were superseded by one of the Tsin family, who, having reduced all surrounding States to subjection, assumed the title of Emperor, and gave to the consolidated Empire his own name, Tsina or China. This first Emperor built the Great Wall, called Wan-li- chang (myriad mile wall), as a protection against the Manchu 1 6 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. Tartar tribes or Huns, who had ever been dangerous neigh- bours, and who continued to make incursions during the reigns of the Han (b.c. 206), the Tang (a.d. 608), and the Sung (a.d. 960) dynasties. About the year 1269 one of the Sung Emperors was so rash as to appeal to the Grand Khan of the Mongols or Western Tartars to aid him in expelling the Manchus. Accordingly, Kublai Khan arrived at the head of an immense army ; and having driven out the Manchus, he took possession of the throne, founding the new dynasty of Yuen, the first foreign rulers of China. He afterwards conquered Manchuria, so that his dominions extended from Corea to Asia Minor, and from the Frozen Ocean to the Straits of Malacca — an extent of territory which neither previously nor since that time has ever been ruled by one monarch. He died at Peking in a.d. 1294. In 1368 the Chinese succeeded in expelling these usurpers, and founded the Ming dynasty, which reigned 246 years, when Imperial misgovernment led to a rebellion, and the throne was usurped by a Chinaman. A general of the deposed Emperor now invited the aid of the Manchu Tartars. These came, and, after a seven years’ struggle, acquired the sovereignty of the whole Empire. They then established themselves in Peking in 1644, and placed on the Imperial throne the first representative of the dynasty of Ts'ing, which still reigns, exercising absolute control over all the millions of Chinese. Till within the last few years, all Chinese intercourse with foreigners has been only calculated to excite hatred and contempt. So early as the sixteenth century the Spanish and Portuguese aroused their hostility. Then followed the first Opium War with Britain in 1839. In 1842, the Treaty of Nankin was signed, whereby China was compelled to cede the Island of Hong Kong to Britain in perpetuity, and to throw open to foreign trade the five ports of Canton, Amoy, Foo-chow, Ning-po, and Shanghai. INTR OD UCTION. 17 The continuance of extensive opium smuggling led to the renewal of war in 1856, and in the following year Canton was stormed by the allied French and English forces. The forts at the mouth of the Peiho were captured in May, 1858, and a month later a treaty was signed at Tientsin, by which China was required to pay another very heavy indemnity towards war expenses, and to British subjects at Canton. She was also compelled to grant protection to all of her subjects professing the Christian religion, and to throw open for residence of foreigners nine other places of importance, namely, New-chwang, Tientsin, and Chefoo, in the north; Hankow, Kiu-kiang, and Chin-kiang, on the Yang-tse-kiang River; Tai-wan and Takao in Formosa, and Swatow in the south. While endeavouring to defend herself against foreign aggression, China was torn by that most terrible civil war, the Tae-ping Rebellion, which broke out in 1850, and was not suppressed until 1865. In 1876 it agreed to throw open four new treaty ports, namely, Pak-hoi, on the coast of Kwang-tung ; Wan-chow, on the sea-coast, between Fuh-Chow and Ning-po ; the river-pert of Wuhu, fifty-five miles above Nanking, on the Lower Yang- tse ; and Ichang, about nine hundred miles inland on the same river, — making in all about twenty great centres to which Europeans have access by treaty. From these the preaching of the Gospel can readily be carried on in the Maritime Provinces ; and zealous servants of the Master now find it practicable to penetrate to the remotest provinces. In fact, by treaty, they have the right of access to every part of the Empire, and there are comparatively few places in the eighteen provinces where it would be dangerous to claim their privilege. Over the vast area of China only one literature is reverenced, and one system of education recognised. One of the most remarkable characteristics of the whole race, is such veneration for the written character, that it is an act c 8 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. of merit to collect and respectfully burn all fragments of waste paper on which good words may possibly be inscribed. Printing was invented in the beginning of the tenth century, and in a.d. 932 an Imperial edition of the Sacred Books was printed. The invention of the characters now in general use is attributed to the Emperor Fuh-hi, who lived b.c. 2852 ; so they possess whatever merit attaches to the antiquity of having existed for four thousand years ! The records of still earlier date were inscribed in a sort of hieroglyphic, generally known as ‘the tadpole character.’ In point of fact, the characters now in use were also originally hieroglyphic, appealing to the eye by a rude picture of the object to be described. In course of ages, from being more and more rapidly sketched, these forms became con- ventionalized into groups of symbolic lines, retaining no manner of resemblance to the original forms. The very learned Chinese reckon the number of these characters at 50,000 ! Happily, they are not all in constant use, and the man who has acquired a perfect knowledge of four thousand is considered to be respectably proficient. Even to read the very simplest book involves recognizing at sight twelve hundred of these intricate, crabbed characters, but to read the Bible necessitates mastering the four thousand — a task terrible alike to sight and memory, and one which generally costs a Chinese student about six years of close study. From time immemorial the maxim that ‘only the wise and able should rule ’ has been acknowledged by all classes ; hence the enormous care bestowed on education, beginning with self-supporting day-schools in every village, and cul- minating in the marvellously elaborate system of Competitive Examinations, which year by year sifts all the intellect of the whole land, giving every opportunity for the son of the poorest peasant to rise to the highest post in the Empire. Hitherto the subjects in which proficiency is required have been those stereotyped by the sanction of Confucius about 2400 years ago ; but in the summer of 1887 the Imperial INTR OD UC TION. 19 Government announced a totally new feature in its programme — simple enough, it may appear to us, but in truth tremen- dously significant and far-reaching in its effects, as carrying the triumphs of recent science, and all the knowledge of the West, into the homes of the hitherto prejudiced people in remotest villages. This marvellous innovation is nothing less than a decision that henceforth philosophy, mathematics, mechanics, engineering, international law and history, naval and military tactics, torpedoes, and marine artillery, are all to be included in the subjects of examination, though the necessity of being a thorough master of literary composition still holds the foremost place. L Such is the extraordinary reverence of the Chinese for their 'own literature that it may be affirmed of a large proportion of the educated classes that beyond the worship of their own ancestors, their religion consists solely in acts of homage to Confucius, the great saint who, bornB.c. 551, took upon himself the herculean task of classifying a mass of manuscripts dating from the remotest ages, and having reference to early Chinese history, religious ceremonies, and scientific discoveries. From these ancient materials he compiled a hundred books, and whatever further knowledge he deemed worthy of preservation was incorporated with his own voluminous writings, which have ever since been recognised as the most sacred heritage of every Chinaman, but which, while inculcating much that is excellent, have fossilized the national mind, the whole race assuming that the highest pinnacle of perfection was attained by Confucius, and that thp idea of originating anything new is absolutely sacrilegious. V \J His teaching concerned man’s moral duty to his neighbour in the practice of benevolence and wisdom, but as for his relation to the spiritual world, that was a subject on which he abstained from comment. Consequently his followers, finding no instructions on the worship of any god, consider that none is essential, and so the pure Coniucian is a true agnostic, though he renders to the sage (as to his own ancestors) 20 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. sacrifices and homage, not to be distinguished from worship. In every city there is a Confucian temple; some of these are very fine, but all are simply ancestral halls, containing only ornamental tablets bearing the names of noted saints. v Of these, the most noted was Meng-tsz (whom early Jesuit writers call Mencius). He was born b.c. 372, and was a zealous Confucian missionary. His writings are very highly esteemed. Although every Chinaman may be assumed to revere Con- fucius, the divinely-implanted instinct of worship leads most to at least a nominal adherence to the teaching of either Buddha or Lao-tsz. The latter was the contemporary of Confucius, but was more imaginative, and greatly occupied with specu- lations about the unseen powers and the human soul. His system has developed into the Taoist, which recognises the divinity of the five planets, as representing the five elements of our globe: Mercury representing water ; Venus, metal; Mars, fire; Jupiter, wood; and Saturn, earth. All powers of nature are deified. Thunder and lightning, wind and storm, sea-gods and river-gods, many of whom are symbolized by mysterious dragons. But the Taoist temples are full of hideous idols, and its priests deal largely in astrology and the exorcising of devils, and are simply quacks and conjurers, living by the sale of charms to the ignorant. The national gods of the Empire, chief of whom is Kwan-te, the god of war, are among the Taoist deities, but we also find their images in great Buddhist temples, together with those of many Hindu divinities, and in truth, notwithstanding all that has been written about the theoretical beauty of Buddhism, its pure practice is unknown in China, as elsewhere; and these various systems of idolatry are inextricably blended one with the other, like many-coloured skeins of tangled silks — indeed, it is by nto means uncommon for one person to be an avowed adherent of all these different religions ! N But whereas Confucianism and Taoism aVe indigenous, and INTRODUCTION. 21 their sacred books are written in classical Chinese, Buddhism, with its Sanscrit sacred writings, was introduced from India. It inculcates no worship whatever, while requiring of its disciples the practice of the purest virtues, without hope of any super- natural aid in acquiring these, and with the certainty that till they do acquire them they must pass through endless trans- migrations, either upon earth or in one of the many heavens, until at last they attain to such absolute perfection, and freedom from any manner of desire, that they arrive at Nirvana, which seems to mean practical extinction. On the other hand, they may pass from bad to worse — from the high estate of a prince to that of a slave, and thence to a reptile or a plant, his condition being always exactly regulated by his conduct, for ‘ whatsoever a man soweth that shall he reap.’ Should he fail to improve during his earthly transmigrations, he has the prospect of passing through 136 hells, with graduated intensity of suffering, and also as regards the length of penal servitude involved, the shortest term, however, being ten millions of years ! Assuredly, of this ‘ Light of Asia ’ we can only say, ‘ How great is its darkness ! ’ Mohammedan preachers arrived in China in the seventh century, uncompromisingly declaring the Unity of God and the iniquity of idolatry. They made many converts, and the total number of Chinese Mohammedans is now estimated at thirty millions. They are most numerous in the Northern and Western Provinces, where about one-third of the inhabitants profess this creed, to which they rigidly adhere. They have mosques in all parts of the Empire, from Pekin to Canton. In point of fact, the Chinese are remarkably tolerant of all religions, provided they are not made a cloak for political ag- gression, and do not interfere with ancestral worship. To these two features must be attributed much of the success and all the failures of Roman Catholicism, which at the present time reckons its native adherents at one million. Ip consider! China as a mission-field one may well feel 22 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. staggered by the stupendous extent of territory, which com- prises one-tenth of the habitable world, and the enormous population of this vast empire. China possesses an area of 5,300,000 square miles; Europe, with its islands, 3,797,256 square miles ; and hence the sway of the Chinese Emperor ex- tends over a territory about one-fourth larger than the whole of Europe. Only about two-fifths of this vast area are comprised in the eighteen provinces of China proper, which include the two large islands of Hainan and Formosa. The remaining three-fifths include Thibet, Chinese Tartary, Mongolia, Man- churia, and Corea on the north, and Cochin China on the south. Though so vast in extent, Thibet, Mongolia, and Manchuria contribute a comparatively small proportion of the population — probably not more than 23,000,000, whereas that of the eighteen provinces amounts by the lowest recent computation to 227,000,000, thus giving a total of 250,000,000. But on this subject it is impossible to obtain anything approaching to authentic information; the Chinese themselves say that no complete census has been taken since the close of the last century ; and although forty years ago the generally accepted estimate was about 400,000,000, it is now understood that the wide-spread devastation of the prolonged civil war, and repeated appalling famines, floods, and pestilence, have largely reduced that total. Add to these the rapidly increasing habit of exces- sive opium-smoking, which tells so fatally on the offspring of the smoker, both as regards their numbers and their vitality, and allow also for extensive emigration to many foreign lands, and it is evident that (although so competent a judge as Sir Thomas Wade allowed 320,000,000 to pass as a fair estimate in connection with the London Relief Committee at the time of the terrible famine in the northern provinces) there may now be good reason for accepting the reduced calculation. Even this shows that China’s millions constitute about one fifth of the human race — and that, too, a race which seems destined to colonize in every corner of the world, so that whatever in- INTRODUCTION. 23 fluence can be gained with these is likely to be far-reaching indeed . 1 No one can understand anything of Chinese life and motive, till he realizes how entirely Ancestral Worship is the key- stone of all existence in the Celestial Empire . 2 It permeates all life, affecting even the most trivial details of every-day existence, and is in inAuence tenfold more potent for keeping the people in the bondage of gross superstition than all the countless idols of the land, inasmuch as it compels every man to be for ever looking backward instead of forward, in fear lest he should by any action offend his very exacting ancestral spirits. In short, from his birth to his grave, the chief aim and end of every Chinaman is this constant propitiation of the dead. This degrading slavery of the living to the dead involves a system of worship and sacriAces which must be offered cease- lessly, not necessarily from love to the departed, but in order to avert calamity, should their displeasure be incurred by any neglect, or departure from ancient custom. It is a system of fear, which controls every act of life, and all social organization, affecting alike the Imperial throne and the meanest coolie. However Tartars or Chinamen, from the far north or the ex- treme .south, may differ on other matters, such as systems of religion, social position, dialect, etc., this is the one point on 1 ‘ It has been the custom of late to disbelieve in the ancient estimates of the population of China ; but the North China Herald , a well-informed journal, publishes statistics which strongly support them. It appears that the authorities at Peking have recently taken a census for taxing purposes, and that the village bailiffs, whose interest it is to understate the figures, return the population at 319,383,500. Five provinces are omitted, and their population, as recorded in the last census, brings the total up to 392 millions. Even this figure is independent of the population of Thibet, Kashgar, Ili, and Corea; and the total number of souls ruled by the Emperor of China, therefore, exceeds 400 millions, and still displays a tendency to increase . ’ — The Spectator, October 15th, 1887, p. 1375. 2 For fuller details see Wanderings in China, by C. F. Gordon- Gumming. Published by W. Blackwood and Son. CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 24 which all the three hundred millions are agreed — it is the one faith which all alike hold in awe and reverence, and which is indelibly impressed on their minds from their earliest infancy. No matter what other religion he professes, Buddhist, Taoist, or Confucian, every Chinaman’s first duty is the care of sacri- ficing to his ancestors. This was the primitive religion of the land, and from it were derived the systems both of Lao-tsz and of Confucius. This great sage inculcated filial reverence as the primary obligation of mankind, and the majority of the Chinese obey his precept ; for however bad a son may have been to his parents during their lifetime, from the hour of their death he becomes most punctilious in the observance of every detail of ancestral worship, lest the dead, who have suddenly become so powerful, should return to torment him, accompanied by a multitude of spirits more vicious than themselves. The condition of the dead in the spirit world is supposed to depend entirely on the provision made for them by their sur- vivors ; these offerings should be presented by the nearest male relative, and it is very important that the relative should be a son. Hence, anxiety to secure a male heir to officiate at the ancestral worship is the true key to very early marriages, and to many domestic sorrows. The little bride may prove childless, and must accept the sons of secondary wives — a fruitful source of heart-burning. Hence, too, the lamentations which too often greet the birth of a baby girl, who is incapable of ministering to the spirits, and is therefore in many cases not considered worth the expense of rearing. Thus it is that ancestor-worship lies at the root of the appalling female infan- ticide of China, a practice which is fully sanctioned by public opinion. There can be no doubt that the great numerical success of Roman Catholic missions in China is in a large measure due to their sanction of something closely akin to ancestral worship, in the form of masses for the dead — services scarcely to be distinguished from those which the convert has ever believed INTRODUCTION. 25 to be the highest form of worship — together with a similar teaching regarding purgatory, and highly realistic pictures of the tortures of a material hell. According to the Roman Catholic Register of Hong-kong, the statistics of Roman missions in the Empire are as follows: Bishops, 41; European priests, 664; native priests, 559; colleges, 34; convents, 34; native converts, 1,092,818. Long ere China had begun to sanction foreign intercourse with her people, devoted Jesuit missionaries, in the dress of the country, had contrived to effect an entrance, and in the 1 6th and 17 th centuries, having secured a footing by reason of their scientific attainments, were able to preach with much acceptance, making many converts. Had they adhered to religious teaching, their converts would doubtless have been legion ; but the usual rash meddling with politics soon aroused fear of foreign aggression, leading to violent opposition and terrible persecution, which have been repeated with every fresh scare of undue political influence. Hence those terrible massacres in Southern Annam in the autumn of 1885, when the number of victims was estimated at 35,000, only 6,000 of the Christian population of an entire district being saved ; churches, schools, convents, hospitals, and asylums were burnt to the ground after they had been pillaged, and the Roman Catholic Mission, which had taken so many years to create, was totally crushed. All this bloodshed was due simply to the political connection between the Roman Catholics and the French, who claimed jurisdiction over all such, and also their exemption from taxa- tion. It is this arrogation of temporal authority which has so incensed the Chinese, and accounts for much of the hostility to missionaries and converts of all Christian churches and de- nominations, as the ignorant masses naturally could not dis- criminate between Protestants and Roman Catholics. Hence, in the Edict of Toleration proclaimed in 1886, the Imperial Government deem it necessary to state that men who may embrace Christianity do not cease to be Chinese, but as such 26 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. are entitled to all protection from their own government, to which alone they owe obedience. The promulgation of this edict followed immediately on the decision of the Pope to send a Papal Legate to the Court of Peking, to represent him as the sole foreign power interested in the Chinese Roman Catholics, thereby totally disclaiming all political protection from France. This edict promises to mark an altogether new era for Christian work in China. Just before the year of Queen Victoria’s accession, in 1837, when there was scarcely a dozen Protestant Christians in the Empire, the Emperor of China fulminated an edict against Christianity. To-day there are UPWARDS OF A HUNDRED THOUSAND RECOGNIZED MEMBERS OF DIFFERENT PROTESTANT BODIES, AND OF THESE TWENTY-TWO thousand are communicants, and that, not as a matter of course, as may too often be the case in countries where Christianity is the recognized badge of respectability, but as a sure pledge of being thoroughly in earnest, and ready to endure persecution in many bitter forms. And truly the majority of these converts have not only confessed their faith in Christ at the imminent risk of their lives, but have also striven with patient perseverance to bring others to the same knowledge and love, so that almost every convert has proved a leavening influence among his own neighbours. And now, just before the Queen’s Jubilee, the Imperial Government issued the aforesaid new proclamation, explain- ing to all the people that the Christian religion teaches men to do right, and should therefore be respected. Consequently it calls on the people to live at peace with Christian missionaries and converts. Such is the record of progress in the first fifty years of Protestant mission work in China. Considering the fewness of the evangelists, the very great disadvantages under which they have hitherto worked, and the extreme slowness of the average Chinaman to accept new ideas, the progress of the last quarter of a century must be accepted INTRODUCTION. 2 7 as satisfactory, the more so as every genuine convert becomes a leavening principle, almost invariably endeavouring to in- fluence others to accept the same Saviour. Moreover it must be remembered that mission influence extends far beyond the circle of actual adherents — that prejudices have been modi- fied, and confidence won from multitudes who as yet give no sign of any personal leaning to the Christian faith. It is impossible to over-estimate the importance of earnestly prosecuting the work in this field. The vigour and intellectual strength of a race which year by year multiplies as the sand of the sea, asserting its right to colonize in every quarter of the globe, the patient perseverance and determination by which they triumph over all obstacles, and their staunch adherence to whatever they accept as the true faith : these are qualities which make every grain of Christian influence which can be brought to bear on the Chinese doubly important. It is very certain that they will continue more and more to overrun the earth, exerting a very definite power for good or for evil ; therefore, were it only from self-interest, it behoves all nations of the earth to help in conveying to China a knowledge of ‘the more excellent way.’ C. F. Gordon-Cumming. (Reprinted by permission of the Committee of the Church Missionary Society.) Explanation of Term^. Bund Cangue Cash Catty Compradore Coolie Dollar Go-down Hong Kang Li Mandarin Picul Sycee Tael Wei-yuen Ya-?nen a promenade or esplanade, a wooden frame worn by prisoners round the -neck as a punishment, the ordinary copper money of the Chinese, worth about )4th of a penny, a Chinese pound weight = 1^3 lb. (English), the Chinese manager of a business, a day labourer, a porter, a Mexican dollar, worth about 3s. 3d. a warehouse, a large enclosed shed, a wholesale house of business, the house itself, or the firm to whom it belongs, a brick bed built so that a fire can be lighted underneath it for the sake of warmth in the winter. a Chinese mile, about J^rd of an English mile, an official, a magistrate, a Chinese cwt, about 133 lb. (English), silver. a Chinese ounce of silver, worth from 4s. 4d. to 5s. an official deputed to attend to a special busi- ness. a magistrate’s court and official residence. CHAPTER I. THE BIBLE IN CHINA. A Record of Various Translations of the Holy Scriptures. se * No mere abstract philosophy has influenced or can influence permanently large masses of men. A Bible and a Church — a sacred record and a religious community— are primary conditions of extensive and abiding success. An isolated spirit here and there may have dispensed with such aids ; but as a social power, as a continuous agency, mere doctrine, however imposing, will for the most part be ineffective without such a support.’ Lightfoot on the Epistle to the Philippians, 2nd Edition, p. 324. I. Prior to the Commencement of Protestant Missions. T he history of the Bible in China is closely connected with the history of Missionary enterprise from the seventh century until the present time. In 1625 a stone tablet, which had lain imbedded in the ground for nearly eight centuries, was dug up at Si-ngan in Shensi. From this interesting relic, which contains a summary outline of probably the first Christian mission to China, we learn that some emissaries of the Nestorian College at Nisibis, in Persia, fired with zeal for the spiritual welfare of China, braved the dangers of a journey through Central Asia and reached the capital in 635. From the same source we derive information of much interest touching our present subject ; indicative of the great importance these pioneers attached to having the sacred record translated into the language of the country. In the commencement of the inscription there is an evident allusion to the Old Testament, in the statement, ‘ The declarations of the ancient law as given by the twenty-four sages , were 30 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. fulfilled ’ on the occasion of the advent of the Messiah. An equally clear indication of the New Testament writings is found in the statement, that when the Messiah ascended to His original dignity, ‘ Twenty-seven Sacred books remained an exact correspondence with the number held by the early Nestorians, and now acknowledged by the Christian Church at large. With this identification we are then told that the Apostle Alopun came from Syria, ‘ watching the azure clouds, and bringing with him the Sacred books.’ Reaching the metropolis, after an introduction to the Emperor, it is said, ‘The Sacred books were translated in the imperial library.’ A subsequent part gives a portion of an imperial edict, issued in 638, in which it is stated that Alopun had ‘ brought his Sacred books and images from afar, and presented them in the metropolis ; ’ after which follows a declaration of the excellence of the Christian system, giving the impression that his majesty must have had the means of investigating the principles of the faith through the medium of translations. In the ode which forms the principal part of this inscrip- tion, we find, in the record of incidents during the reign of Tai-tsung, it is said, ‘ The Scriptures were translated and churches were built.’ From these several notices, preserved to us in the durable records of a stone tablet, we gather, with much confidence, the impression that the New Testament, at least, was trans- lated into Chinese in the first half of the seventh century; and this seems the more probable when we consider that at that period the Emperor was engaged in the extensive under- taking of translating the Buddhist works, which had been recently brought from India by the Chinese traveller, Hiuen- Tsang. The monastery where this work was executed was at a recent period pointed out in Si-ngan. There is nothing amounting even to a probability to place against these state- ments. Although the translation may have been completed, yet, as the art of printing was not generally practised till several centuries later, there was no other method of multi- THE BIBLE IN CHINA. 31 plying copies than by manuscript, which must necessarily have greatly circumscribed the circulation. By the time that typography came into general use, the Nestorian religion was probably on the decline ; and, with a failing vitality, it is easy to conceive that the interest in the Holy Oracles must have diminished, so that we learn very little subsequently of the actual existence of this ancient version. We are not, however, left altogether without indications on the subject. In an incidental notice of a journey by Ibn Wahab, an enterprising Arab, to Chang-gan, the capital of China, in the ninth century, we find an account of an inter- view he had with the Emperor. The latter, having produced a series of portraits for his inspection, Ibn Wahab proceeds to say’:— ‘I recognised on these leaves the portraits of the prophets ; at the same time I muttered prayers, which caused a movement of my lips. The Emperor, not knowing that I recognised the prophets, asked me, through the interpreter, why I moved my lips. To which I replied, “ I was praying for the prophets.” The Emperor inquired how I had recog- nised them, and I replied, “By means of their distinctive characteristics. Thus, there is Noah in the ark, who was saved with his family when the Most High God sent down the waters, and the whole earth was submerged, with its inhabitants ; only Noah and his company escaped from the deluge.” At these words the Emperor laughed and said, “You have guessed right in recognising this as Noah; as to the submersion of the whole earth, we do not admit the fact. The deluge could only have embraced a portion of the earth : it neither reached our country nor India.” ’ Ibn Wahab states that he feared to refute what had fallen from the Emperor, and to make use of the arguments he had at command, considering that the prince would not have been willing to admit them ; but he continued : — ‘“There is Moses and his rod, with the children of Israel.” The Emperor said, “ That is true; but Moses appeared on a very narrow stage, and his people showed themselves ill-disposed towards him.” I 32 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. added, “There is Jesus on an ass, surrounded by His apostles.” The Emperor said, “ He appeared but a short time upon the scene. His mission scarcely lasted more than thirty months.” ’ Ibn Wahab continued to pass in review the different prophets ; but we shall only repeat a part of what he told us. Ibn Wahab added that below each prophet’s figure there was a long inscription, which he supposed contained the name of the prophet, the name of his country, and the circumstances which accompanied his mission.’ 1 From the preceding extract there is reason to believe that the Emperor must have been to some extent acquainted with the truths of Christian revelation; and it is fair to assume that he may have been in possession of that translation of the Scriptures which was made under the direction of his great ancestor, Tai-tsung. Nearly four centuries later we have the testimony of John de Plano Carpini, an Italian friar, who went on a mission, partly political, partly religious, from Pope Innocent IV. to the Mon- golian Court, in 1245. In a very brief account which he gives of China, gathered from report, it is remarkable that he twice alludes to the fact of the Scriptures existing in the Chinese language. He says, ‘ But the men of Kitai (China) spoken of above, are pagans, having a particular kind of written cha- racter, and as it is said, the Old and New Testaments ; they possess biographies of their forefathers, have hermits, and houses made in the fashion of churches, in which they them- selves worshipped in former times ; they say also that they have a number of saints. They worship one God, they honour the Lord Jesus Christ, they believe in eternal life, but are not baptized ; they honour and reverence our Scriptures , respect Christians, and give much alms ; they seem to be a tolerably kind and courteous people.” 2 There can be no 1 Relation des voyages faits par les Arabes et les Persians dans I hide ct H la Chine. Paris, 1845, P- 8 3 > etc - 2 Relation des Mongols ou Tartares par le frere Jean du Plan de Carpin. Paris, 1858, p. 257. THE BIBLE IN CHINA. 33 doubt, I think, that the Scriptures alluded to in this passage were the version in use among the Nestorians; and there seems a strong probability that it was the same, or a revision of that translated under the patronage of Tai-tsung, of the Tang dynasty. A traveller nearly contemporary with the above, William de Rubruk, a Franciscan monk, who went on an embassy from Louis IX. of France to the Khan of the Tartars, in 1253, speaking of China, says, ‘ The Nestorians there know nothing; for they repeat their services, and have the Sacred books in Syriac, a language which they do not understand, so that they sing as the monks do with us without knowing the grammar ; and hence have become totally corrupt.’ 1 At first sight there appears to. be a discrepancy between this and the previous quotation; but if we consider the actual practice of the Church of Rome we shall see that there is no real incon- sistency between the two statements; for it was only in accordance with the general practice of the Nestorian Church to use the Syriac Scriptures in their ritual services ; nor is it to be supposed that this practice would be interrupted by the fact of the Bible having been translated into the language of the country. The interesting narrative of Marco Polo’s residence in China also states how the Four Gospels of the Christians were publicly honoured by Kublai-khan and his courtiers. 2 But this probably also refers to the Syriac version; and other authorities may be quoted to the same effect. Almost the only relic that has come down to us of the Sacred books or formularies of this ancient and once flourishing Church of the Nestorians in China, is a Syriac manuscript in the same character as that on the borders of the Nestorian Tablet in Si-ngan. This MS. was discovered about the year 1725 in the possession of a Mohammedan, the 1 Recueil de Voyages et de Memoires pitblii par la SociStS de Giographie, tome 4, p. 293. 2 Navigation! et viaggi. Ramusio. Venice, 1556, vol. II., fol. 20. D CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 34 descendant of Christian or Jewish ancestors from the West. On examination it was found to contain the Old Testament, from the beginning of the 25 th chapter to the end of Isaiah, the twelve Minor Prophets, Jeremiah, Lamentations, and Daniel ; Bel and the Dragon, with the Psalms, two Songs of Moses, the Song of the Three Holy Children, and a selection of Hymns. 1 A book published in 1853, hazards the notion that ‘there is reason for supposing that in certain mountain districts of China, whole villages and tribes of Nestorian Christians are still found, and that they have preserved to this day the Scriptures among them.’ 2 Should this supposition be sup- ported by evidence, it would prove a most interesting fact, and although it may not be said to be entirely destitute of probability, yet for the present it can scarcely be considered beyond the range of conjecture. The suggestion may receive some countenance from a passage in a letter by the late Rev. J. Goddard, of Ningpo. He wrote, ‘ A few days since, a respectable-looking stranger came into our chapel, and listened with much apparent attention to the sermon. After service he stopped to converse. He said that he and his ancestors had worshipped only one God. He knew of Moses, and Jesus, and Mary; said he was not a Romanist nor Moham- medan ; neither had he seen our books, but that the doctrine was handed down from his ancestors. He did not know where they obtained it, nor for how many generations they had followed it. He is from one of the Western provinces of China, and said that in his native place there are some thirty families of the same religion.’ 3 There is something in these statements to awaken a feeling of Christian interest ; and it is to be hoped that with the advance of Christian missions in the interior, we may ascertain for a certainty whether any vestiges 1 Notices et extraits des Manuscrits de la Bibliothique Royale. Paris, 1831, tome 12, pp. 277, etc. 2 Christianity in China. London, 1853, p. 32, note. 3 New York Observer , Sept. 2, 1852, p. 2S3. THE BIBLE IN CHINA. 35 of the Nestorian Church still exist, and whether the ancient translation of the Scriptures is to be found, either whole or in part, among them. Towards the close of the 13th century, when the Mongols had possession of the Empire, John de Monte Corvino, a Franciscan monk of Calabria, who went on an embassy from Pope Nicholas IV. to Kubla-khan in Cambalu, translated a portion of the Scriptures into the language of that dynasty. Having taken up his residence there, he was afterwards made bishop of the diocese; and in a letter dated 8th of January, 1305, he wrote, ‘I have acquired a competent knowledge of the Tartar language and literature, and have now translated into that language and character the whole of the New Testament and Psalms of David, which I have caused to be written in their most beautiful style, and I write, and read, and preach freely and openly the testimony of the law of Christ.’ 1 It seems to have been the desire of the venerable prelate of Cambalu that the natives under his supervision should obtain a knowledge of the Word of Life. How far he succeeded in this we have no certain information ; but we are warranted in saying that he was conscientiously carrying out the objects of his mission, in giving the Scriptures in the language of the people ; for, as we learn from a letter of Pope Benedict XII., written about thirty years later, to some Tartar converts, a belief in the inspiration of the Old and New Testaments formed an essential article of the Catholic faith. 2 If this work of Corvini’s was ever put to press, the probability is that it has long ceased to exist, for I have not heard of any ancient copies; while the translation of the Old and New Testaments into the Mongolian language by the devoted missionaries, Swan and Stallybrass, is now used by the mission of the Russian Greek Church to the Mongols, as well as by the Protestant missionaries in the north of China. 1 Historia Tartarorum Ecclesiastica. Mosheim, Appendix, No. xxxiv., P- Il 7- 2 Idem. Appendix, No. Ixxviii. p. 173. 36 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. The Jesuits first made their appearance in China in the 16th century, and though they prosecuted the objects of their mission with a praiseworthy vigour, we hear nothing of a complete translation of the Scriptures having been published by them. Matteo Ricci, indeed, in a letter to Yu Chun-hi, a metropolitan high functionary early in the 17 th century, excuses himself from the task on the plea of pressure of other matters. The plea may have been so far valid; but it is probable that other motives also weighed with this distin- guished missionary. When the celebrated convert, Seu Kwang-ki, addressed a memorial to the throne, in 1616, in defence of the Jesuit missionaries, who had been denounced as traitors by the Board of Rites at Nanking, he proposed a scheme for the translation of the Scriptures, to be used in evidence in their case. Nothing further, however, seems to have come of the suggestion. Several isolated and select portions of the Scriptures may be found in the Chinese publications of Roman Catholics, and we are not without evidence that such detached portions have incited a desire among the natives to 'have more from the same source. Selections from Scripture, elegantly illustrated, were at one time published, but they are now an extreme rarity, only to be found in the cabinets of the curious. In some works on the fine arts we find specimen pages of these Christian books given as chefs-d’ceuvres of wood engraving. The most ample translation that has appeared in print from that source is the Shing king chih kiai, by Emanuel Diaz, a Portuguese missionary, finished in 1636, being a version of the Gospels for the several Sundays and Festivals of the year as appointed by the Rubric, with an extended commentary and reflections on each separate portion. This is written in a simple style, and has been recently republished. Commendations of the Word of God, however, are not rare in the older Christian publications ; 1 and these seem to have 1 See Premare’s Notitia Lingua Sittica, p. 233, etc. THE BIBLE IN CHINA. 37 excited the suspicion of the more acute natives regarding the Book which was not accessible to them. Thus we find the complaint brought forward by Yang K wang-seen, a high officer of the Astronomical Board, in a brochure which he published against Christianity, about the year 1660, that Ricci had suppressed some parts of the faith in order to impose upon the people ; while in a later publication entitled Puh tih e, the same scholar remarks, ‘ That Father Ricci, who came to China in past years, had quoted his Bible and the comments of his Holy Men, in order to palliate his vicious doctrines ; ’ a charge which he extends to other missionaries also. From the remarks of Father le Comte we learn that a project was in contemplation, by some of the missionaries in the 17th century, for a translation of the Bible into Chinese, but circumstances proved adverse to the undertaking. Wiiting to Father De la Chaize, confessor to Louis XIY. of France, he says, ‘ A translation of the Missal had been desired in order to say mass in Chinese, according to the permission that had been obtained for that object ; and an exact version of the Holy Scriptures. The Missal has been completed, and Father Couplet presented it to the Pope some years since ; after having maturely considered the matter, however, it was not judged expedient to make use of it ; and they continue to say mass in Latin, according to the usual custom. As for the complete version of the Bible , there are such weighty reasons why it should not yet be given to the public, that it would be rash imprudence to make use of it; the more so that the substance of the Gospel, and even the most edifying portions of other parts of Holy Scripture, have already been explained in several of their books.’ 2 We have authority, however, for saying that the Bible was translated, although not printed ; for Dr. J. F. Gemelli Careri, 1 Tratados Historicos y Religiosus de la Monarchia de China. Navarette, P- 357 - 2 Nouveaux Memoires sur I'etat present de la Chine. Le Comte. Paris, 1701, tome 2, pp. 223, 224. CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 38 an Italian gentleman, who visited Peking in 1696, while remarking on the self-esteem of the Chinese, adds, ‘ The European missionaries have begun to undeceive them by printing five hundred books of the law of God, which they have composed in less than a century ; having translated the works of St. Thomas and also the Holy Scriptures ' 1 It is probable, indeed, from the occasional notices we find, that more versions than one may have been executed. Thus we are told that the New Testament in Chinese was in use in Father Ripa’s Chinese College at Naples, at the beginning of the present century. 2 In the earlier part of Dr. Morrison’s residence in China, he was on several occasions distinctly told by missionaries and converts of the Church of Rome, that the Old and New Testaments had been translated, and were in use among the Christians in Peking ; 3 and from one of the body he procured a translation of the Gospels made by a mission- ary early in the century. 4 The truth of this statement I can so far certify, that when in Peking I was informed by a Roman Catholic missionary, that they have for many years been in possession of a MS. translation of the whole Bible — a bulky work, which was hid underground in Mongolia for a number of years, during a period of persecution. This, however, has never been put to press. In the British Museum there is a manuscript volume in Chinese, containing a Harmony of the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and all the Epistles of Paul, excepting that to the Hebrews, of which there is only the first chapter. The author of this manuscript is not known, but it was brought to England by Mr. Hodgson, of the East India Company, in 1739, he having obtained it in Canton, and 1 Giro del Mondo. Naples, 1700, tome 4, p. 198. 2 Memoirs of Father Ripa. London, 1861, p. 159. s Metnoirs of the Life and Labours of Robert Morrison, D.D., vol. I., pp. 169, 210, 348. 4 Thirteenth Report of the British and Foreign Bible Society. 1817, p. 15. THE BIBLE IN CHINA. 39 given it to Sir Hans Sloane, along with whose collection of MSS. it came into the possession of the Museum. 1 Previous translations, however, do not appear to have been considered very satisfactory, if we may trust Abb6 Dubois, a renegade Indian missionary, who, writing under date August 7th, 1815, makes the following statement, with a view to disparage the labours of Protestant missionaries ‘About twenty-five years ago, the French missionaries in the province of Sutchuen, in China, were earnestly requested by the congre- gation De Propaganda Fide at Rome to translate the Gospel into Chinese, and send a copy to them. The missionaries answered that as the Chinese language did not admit of a literal translation, they had, a long time before, compiled a work in Chinese containing the history and moral of the Gospel, for the use of their congregations, and that nothing more could be satisfactorily executed on the subject; yet, as the request was urgent, they prepared, with the assistance of their best informed proselytes, a translation of the Gospel of St. Matthew, a copy of which they sent to Rome, informing at the same time the congregation De Propaganda Fide that the translation of this Gospel alone, obtained with the assistance of many well-educated natives, had cost them considerable labour and trouble; adding that this literal translation differed so widely from the Chinese style, that even their converts would hardly refrain from laughing in perusing it.’ 2 The inference which- the abbe obviously wishes his reader to draw is very clear; but we have now the most triumphant answer to his argument. I find there is in the library of the Propaganda in Rome a translation of the New Testament into Chinese, in seven 1 The following note is affixed to the manuscript : — ‘ MS : Or : 22. xxxc. Evangelia quatucr Sinice MSS. This transcript was made at Canton in 1738 and 1739, by order of Mr. Hodgson, junr. , who says it has been collated with care and found very correct. Given by him to Sir Hans Sloane in Sept., 1739.’ s Letters on the State of Christianity in India. London, 1823, pp. 39, 40. 40 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. volumes, by J. Basset, but I have no knowledge of the author or the date of the translation. We learn, therefore, that up to the commencement of the present century, so far as our researches go, no version of the Scriptures in Chinese had been published ; and, though trans- lations existed, they were kept in private hands, and not placed at the service of the people. It has been left for the Protestant Church to have the honour of giving to the Chinese the Bible in their own language. Alexander Wylie, Esq., Bible Society Monthly Reporter (August, 1882). II. From the Commencement of Protestant .Missions to 1880. The first effort to stir up the Christian mind of this country to undertake the work of translating the Scriptures for the peoples of the East was made by the Rev. W. Moseley, of Daventry, in Northamptonshire. In the hope of obtaining information respecting the lan- guage and people of China, Mr. Moseley waited upon one of the directors of the East India Company, a great Orientalist ; but instead of receiving encouragement, this gentleman assured him ‘that no translation of the Holy Scriptures could be made into Chinese, for he knew the nature of the language would not allow of any translation whatever being made into it.’ This bold assertion of impossibility, so far from compelling Mr. Moseley to abandon the project, led him to resolve to pre- pare to execute the translation himself. While pursuing his studies with this object in view, he had the great happiness of finding, in the British Museum, a MS. translation in Chinese of a ‘ Harmony of the Evangelists, the Acts, and all Paul’s Epistles, except that to the Hebrews.’ Thereupon he pub- lished ‘ A Memoir on the Importance and Practicability of Translating and Printing the Holy Scriptures in the Chinese THE BIBLE IN CHINA. 41 Language ; and of circulating them in that vast Empire.’ Copies of this memoir were sent to the archbishops and bishops, to many Christian noblemen and Others. The Archbishop of Canterbury recommended the Society for the Promotion of Christian Knowledge to print it ; but, after four years’ deliberation, the project was abandoned as impracticable. At length a double effort was made, independently and almost simultaneously, to translate the Scriptures into Chinese. Soon after the formation of the Anglo-Hindoo College, of Fort William, in Calcutta, in 1800, a department was devoted to the translation of the Scriptures into Oriental languages. The directors did not limit themselves to the Indian vernaculars, but included in their purpose the preparation of a version in Chinese. Professor Lassar, an Armenian, born and educated in Macao, began the work by translating the Gospel by St. Matthew, which he finished in 1807. After this, Mr. Lassar removed to Serampore, where the work was continued under the special care of Dr. Marshman, the New Testament being published in 1813, and the whole Bible in 1822, by the liberality of the British and Foreign Bible Society. This was the first known entire printed version of the Scriptures in Chinese ; and the honour of its production belongs to the Baptist missionaries of Serampore. The version is imperfect, as all first versions are ; but it is a monument of the zeal, industry, and scholarship of the devoted and self-denying Marshman, who spent sixteen years in its production. Marshman rejoiced when he heard that Morrison had made an independent translation, stating that ‘ if they profited by each other’s labours, the translation of the Scriptures into Chinese would be brought to as great perfection in twenty years as they might have been in the hand of one for the space of fifty.’ These two translators were, however, never able jointly to compare and revise their work ; but the American Baptist Board of Foreign Missions requested the Rev. J. Goddard, one of their missionaries, to revise the whole 42 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. of Dr. Marshman’s translation. He published the revised version of the New Testament in 1853, fourteen years after his arrival in China. At his death it was found that he had made but little progress with the Old Testament, and his labours were continued by the Rev. Dr. Dean, of the same mission, residing at Bankok. A further revision of Marsh- man’s New Testament was made by an English Baptist missionary — the Rev. T. H. Hudson — and published in 1867. While Dr. Marshman’s great work was being gradually, per- severingly, and successfully carried on at Serampore, a similar undertaking — a translation of the entire Bible into Chinese — was commenced, prosecuted, and completed in China itself. In 1807 the Rev. R. Morrison arrived in Canton as the repre- sentative of the London Missionary Society. The special work assigned to him was the translation of the Scriptures, as the public preaching of the Gospel in the towns and cities of the Empire was interdicted by the Chinese Government. Before leaving England he made a copy of the MS. Harmony of the Gospels already referred to, which he took with him to China, and which he subsequently used as the basis of his translation of the New Testament, completed in 1813. Just at this time he was joined by the Rev. W. Milne, but, through the jealousy of the Government of Macao, he was, a few days after his arrival, compelled to leave China and go to Malacca. Though separated, the two friends co-operated in translating the Old Testament ; Dr. Milne translated the historical books and the Book of Job ; the other books were translated by Dr. Morrison. The task was finished in November, 1819, and the whole underwent revision at the hand of Dr. Morrison. It was printed from wood blocks and published, in 21 volumes, in 1823. Like Dr. Marshman’s, this version, while a very remarkable production, was defective. It was, however, faithful. Morrison himself looked forward to and made preparation for its revision. In a letter to the Bible Society, he wrote ; ‘ I make it my daily THE BIBLE IN CHINA. 43 study to correct the Chinese version of the Scriptures; and my brethren of the Ultra-Ganges Mission are requested to note down whatever may occur to them as an error or imperfection in the translation. These' are sent to the college and pre- served, or immediately employed, as may appear best.’ He hoped that his son, John Robert Morrison, who gave high promise of being a great Chinese scholar, would at some future time revise ‘ Morrison and Milne’s Translation.’ This wish was about to be carried into effect, when the death of Dr. Morrison frustrated the plan; for the son, having succeeded to his father’s office as Government translator, had not the requisite time to devote to the work. The production of this most important version, and the numerous and successive editions through which it passed, is mainly, if not entirely, due, under Providence, to the generous aid of the British and Foreign Bible Society, who from first to last advanced more than ^10,000 in furtherance of the trans- lation and its circulation. The next new translation was made by Dr. Medhurst, Dr. Gutzlaff, and Dr. Bridgman ; Mr. J. R. Morrison devoting what time he could spare from his official duties to perfect the translation. These gentlemen completed the New Testament in 1835 ; it was adopted by their colleagues, and was the chief version used, in the next ten or twelve years, by Protestant missionaries in China. Although nominally the work of the above-named committee, the version was chiefly made by Dr. Medhurst, and underwent a final revision by him in 1836. He also took part in the translation of the Old Testament published by Dr. Gutzlaff in 1840. In addition to translating the Old Testament, Dr. Gutzlaff modified the version of the New Tes- tament which he and Dr. Medhurst had prepared jointly ; and he printed some twelve editions of it, each edition being revised and improved. It was hardly to be expected that the versions already made, lacking, as in many places they were, in perspicuity, elegance of style, and idiomatic precision, would give long-continued CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 44 satisfaction; accordingly, in August, 1843, a meeting of mis- sionaries was held in Hong-kong to discuss the question of revision, when a plan was adopted by which the services of every missionary capable of rendering aid were enlisted ; and at five stations local committees were formed, to each of which a share of the work of revision was given. From these local committees delegates were appointed to form a general committee of revision, by which the translations of the local committees were to be compared, and the version finally determined by the votes of the delegates. The first meeting of the delegates was held in June, 1847, the members of the committee being Bishop Boone, of the American Episcopal Mission, and the Rev. Dr. Medhurst, of the London Missionary Society, both living in Shanghai ; the Rev. W. Lowrie, of the American Presbyterian Mission, Ningpo; the Rev. J. Stronach, of the London Missionary Society, Amoy; and the Rev. Dr. Bridgman, of the American Board of Foreign Missions, Canton. Mr. Lowrie was drowned shortly after the work was begun, and the Rev. W. C. Milne was elected to fill his place. Bishop Boone never attended a meeting of the delegates after the first chapter of St. Matthew’s Gospel was finished, and Dr. Bridgman never made a sugges- tion which his colleagues could accept ; and when the version was finished he repudiated all responsibility for it, so that the translation was virtually the work of the English missionaries — Medhurst, Stronach, and Milne. The committee, aided by several native scholars, continued their work daily, almost without intermission, till it was finished in July, 1850. It was published with the imprimatur of the delegates, and is known as ‘ The Delegates’ Version.’ Soon after the publication of this New Testament, a revision of the Old Testament was commenced, but owing to a division among the members the committee separated, and the result was two versions. One was made by the English missionaries Medhurst, Stronach, and Milne, and has been called ‘ The Delegates’ Version,’ although this title is not strictly accurate; THE BIBLE IN CHINA. 45 yet as the actual translators were the same as those who executed ‘The Delegates’ Version’ of the New Testament, and as the style is uniform with it, the one title has been given to the whole Bible. The other version was made by Dr. Bridgman and Dr. Culbertson, American missionaries who withdrew from the committee of delegates. Besides these five versions of the whole Bible in classic style, the New Testament has been translated by a bishop of the Russian (Greek) Church in Peking. In addition to these literary versions, translations have been made into several of the dialects of the Empire. The most important of these are the Nanking and Peking Mandarin versions. Dr. Medhurst translated the Old Testament into Nanking Mandarin , and in concert with the Rev. J. Stronach carried out the translation of the New Testament in the same dialect, the entire Bible being published in 1856 at the cost of the Bible Society. In 1865 a committee was appointed in the capital to translate the New Testament into Peking Mandarin. The members of the committee were the Rev. J. S. Burdon, of the Church Missionary Society; the Rev. J. Edkins, of the London Missionary Society; the Rev. Dr. Schereschewsky, of the American Episcopal Church; the Rev. Dr, Martin, of the American Presbyterian Mission ; and the Rev. Dr. Blodget, of the American Board of Foreign Missions. They were six years completing their task. The Old Testament in the same dialect was translated by Dr. Schereschewsky for the American Bible Society, and published at its cost in 1875. These translations stand in point of usefulness second only to the Delegates’ Version, as Mandarin is the mother tongue of all the Chinese living north of the great river Yang-tse. Rev. James Thomas, Bible Society Monthly Reporter (Sept., 1882), abridged. 46 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. III. A More Recent Version. One of the enterprises of the greatest importance in con- nection with the mission work of the world, during the last few years, has been carried out in China by the National Bible Society of Scotland. I refer to the translation of the New Testament by the Rev. Griffith John of Hankow. Every scholar in China will acknowledge the Delegates’ version to be a masterpiece of Chinese composition ; but that version was not made yesterday, and it contains many faults of the older versions ; while the style of the composition is too learned to be readily understood by the Chinese. On the other hand, the Mandarin colloquial version is not in a style which China- men think should be employed in writing on a sacred subject. Mr. John’s translation strikes the happy medium. Rev. George Cockburn, Quarterly Record, N. B. S. Scotland (March, 1886). CHAPTER II. THE CHURCH IN CHINA. Memorials of Christian Life and Character , Zeal and Endurance. ^ 1 We believe that there is a Holy Catholic Church. . . . We do not say that we believe it as speaking with a clear, authoritative voice. We say that we believe in the reality of its existence ; we believe, in spite of all appear- ances, that it is. . . . We see the many separate Churches : we mourn over the grievous failures and sins of Christians, over our own failures and sins. . . . But beyond this separation, this imperfection, this fragmentariness, we believe, though we cannot see, that there is a Church, One, Holy, Catholic, the Body of Christ, through which He is slowly revealing Himself in many parts and advancing to a complete sovereignty over the world. . . . ‘ To those who look a little below the surface, the darkest times furnish examples of consecrated lives which visibly embody the teaching of the Church. We have all known such : these openly show forth what the will of God is, and present the first-fruits of its fulfilment. They are felt to be truly representative of the temper and of the power of the faith. They exhibit what is the idea of the Christian Society, and they recognize their dependence upon its institution.' Westcott, The Historic Faith, pp. 116, 120. — ‘ SaYed by Hope.’ — ‘ It has been said that the power of Christianity is proved, not so much by the extent to which its influence has reached, as by its effect in elevating the moral character of individuals. Tested by this principle, our work is encouraging. Let me present to you a contrast. Leaving my house one Sunday night, I found that a boat- man belonging to one of the boats in the canal opposite my house had been accidentally drowned. His body had been dragged into the boat, and as I looked into that boat I saw a scene such as I never witnessed before. There were the wife of the departed one, and his mother, who were both CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 48 dependent upon his earnings, and they were in a state of frantic and hopeless grief. I saw that old woman strike her fingers on the boards of the boat in the greatest agony and the greatest despair ; at last she seized the head of her dead son, and violently shook it to and fro, and said, “You must not go away from us, you must not die, you must come back ; ” and she wailed forth her sorrow in terms I shall never forget. I went away with a sad heart. I thought the con- dition of that poor woman was the condition of thousands in China, who are without God, and therefore without hope. ‘ Now let us turn to a different scene. It is the case of a young Chinese woman who was a member of our Society, and died. Often have I seen her on a Sunday morning [at our service] intent upon catching every word, and I have seen the tears trickling down her face as she listened. By- and-by she was taken ill. I went to see her, and spoke to her about Jesus and the cross. She could not hear me, and at last her mother shouted the words into her ear, “ Do you know in whom you are to believe ? ” The young woman replied, “ Of course I do ; in the Saviour.” And amongst her last words were these : “ Saviour ! ” and “ Pray for me,” uttered alternately, till she passed away to be with Christ. ‘ When I heard that she was gone I hastened to the house. And what did I find ? Did the loud, wild wail of those who sorrow with no hope strike upon my ear ? Did the signs and symbols of superstition meet my eye? No. As I approached the door, the voice of prayer fell upon my ear, subdued and solemn; and, as I entered, there was presented to my view the spectacle of a whole Christian family bowed in prayer before God. There lay the departed one ; there was the father leading the petitions of the family, there were the mother, the grandmother, and the little children responding with their sobs and sighs. It was a sad and touching sight in one respect, but to a missionary’s eye it was a lovely scene. As I stood there I said to myself, “ It is Christianity that has done this.” If the death had occurred before that family THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 49 was converted to Christianity, there would have been the beating of breasts, and knocking of heads to the ground, before senseless idols ; but now there was the lifting up of holy hands without wrath and doubting to God. These are the transformations which the Gospel is beginning to work.’ Rev. Sylvester Whitehead, Wesleyan Missionary Notices (June, 1878), p. 151. The Contrast between Confucianism and Christianity. — ‘ Confucius is absolutely silent with regard to a world to come, or a life after death. Resurrection — the rising of each man from the dead with his own body — is indeed, so far as I know, unknown to every religious system except that of the Gospel. But for Confucius the whole subject of a future existence was treated as unknown — perhaps, to use a modern barbarism, unknowable. “Will you discourse to us about death ? ” was the request of one of his pupils. “ Nay ! ” was his answer ; “ whilst we understand not life, how should we understand death ? ” Confucius undoubtedly believed in a Divine power ; a God, the Lord paramount of the earthly monarch, whose authority Confucius so constantly asserted 3 a God who heard and saw the actions of men, and sent down weal and woe according to the justice of their deserts. But He was to Confucius a God afar off, not a God at hand ; a God for the solemn worship of His vassal emperor, not a God who dwelleth with him that is of a lowly and contrite heart. “ Remember your deities,” he taught, “ but stand afar off from them.” “ If you have sinned against Heaven, there is no place for prayer,” no atonement, no reconciliation, — no mediator by whom (as we know) the transgressor in his contrition may “ come boldly to a throne of grace.” I have searched in vain the more accessible pages of Confucianist teaching for a hope beyond the grave, for a God of love, for a God even of jus- tice, with whom the ordinary mortal can have any personal relation.’ Bishop Moule, Church Missionary Intelligencer (Feb., 1887). E CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. SO Helping the Widow. — ‘ A little anecdote may show you that there is real Christian life among the natives. We went ] to see some of the out-stations, and we had four men to 1 carry us in chairs. The two who carried my chair were Christians. These were good fellows, and when they put me down to rest they began to teach the people. “ Whom are you carrying?” “Foreign teachers who have come to tell us I the Word of life. Have you ever heard about Jesus?” And the people would say, “ Yes ; we have heard of these foreign . devils.” And they would come and look at us, and then the native brethren would preach to them. At last we got to our journey’s end at one small village. The brethren seemed very tired after carrying us, as it was a very hot day. We were upstairs in a little room over the chapel. We were to see some who desired baptism. ‘There happened to be in that place a poor widow who had some rice-fields of her own which she had to cultivate, and, according to Chinese custom, the relatives ought to have helped her in the cultivation of these rice-fields. These heathen relatives thought, “If she cannot cultivate them she will be I obliged to sell them cheap, and we will buy them very cheap, and have all the property in our own hands. ” So they deter- mined to prevent her tilling the fields, and then they would get all the property in their own hands. ‘That woman had prayed to God for days and days that I He would help her to till her fields and keep the rice-plants from withering away. These chair-bearers were sitting down having their rice, and they were talking about the different Christians. One said, “ How is Widow So-and-so getting on ? ’’ I “ She is in great trouble.” f ‘ What is the matter ? ” “ Her rice I is all being scorched for want of some one to look after it, j and she is praying God to send some one to help her.” They had no sooner eaten their rice than they went to the widow’s rice-field, and they took off their coats and tucked up their trousers, and went and spread the necessary mud on the young rice-plants. She came out afterwards, and to her amazement THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 51 she saw all the mud spread in her fields. And whom did she thank ? She thanked God that He had answered her prayer. What did the heathen say ? They saw what these Christians had been doing, and they said, “ Why, these Christian people help people who are not related to them better than persons’ own relations help them. This must be a good religion.” These young men came back, and they did not say a word about it. They did not want to boast of their good deeds, and we heard of it casually some days afterwards. ‘ There may be many such actions going on in China. I believe that there are many such Christians there who are showing practically that they love the Lord Jesus Christ, and are seeking to serve Him.’ Mr. Henry Soltau, China's Millions (August, 1882), p. 101. ‘ Love of the Brethren.’ — ‘There are some things worthy to be recorded of the Fatshan Christians, inasmuch as the motives which prompted them are found only in those who follow Christ. In the hottest season of the year one of the oldest men in the church became afflicted with a distressing and peculiarly loathsome disease. The man lived in a room of the worst class, and the air became so polluted and offen- sive that the neighbours looked on the place as on a pest- house. They were careful to keep at a distance from the unfortunate sufferer, although liberal sums of money were offered to any person who would consent to nurse the patient in what was known to be his last illness. Volunteers from the church were called for, and responses came from seven- teen of the poorest brethren. One after another they tended the sick man, waiting on him night and day, through the whole of a lingering illness, till death put an end to his sufferings. Their task, from first to last, required no little self-sacrifice ; and it took those poor men from their daily work, and took them from their daily wage. Christian bene volence, in this instance, stood out in striking contrast with non-Christian benevolence. And our brethren bore living CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 52 witness to a truth which the Chinese are prone to overlook in summing up the merits of our religion, that “ he who loveth God, loveth his brother also.” ’ Rev. T. W. Pearce, Canton, L. M. S. Annual Report (1887), p. 25. Trust in God. — ‘ A man was converted who had been for many years a vegetarian, and had rigidly abstained from all kinds of animal food, to gain merit and be saved. He came to our chapel, heard and believed the Gospel, and for years has lived a consistent Christian life, and preached the Gospel at one of our chapels week after week without any kind of remu- neration. Some time ago the people in the city where he lived collected a large sum of money, to be expended in idolatrous work, in order that their houses might be safe from fire, and asked this man to contribute to that fund. He declined, on the ground that he trusted in the living God, and that the idols which they worshipped were not able to save them from fire. No sooner was the idolatrous ceremony over then an extensive fire broke out in the locality, in the very street in which this man’s house was situated. One hundred and twenty houses were burnt down, and when the fire was raging and the flames were coming nearer and nearer to his house; the people came to him and said, “Now you see what you have got.” And they wanted to persuade him to take out all his furniture and belongings into the street, that he might save something. He knew very well that if he brought the things out into the street, even though they would be safe from fire, they would probably be stolen. But he believed that God, in whom he trusted, was going to preserve him from suffering loss; and he told the people so. While they were hurrying to and fro in all their excitement, he, in the presence of them all, prayed God that He would show that He was the living and true God. “ Thou art the true God. Show these poor idolaters that trust in Thee is not misplaced.” And then he watched the fire as it came nearer and nearer, until there was only one house standing between his own and the raging fury of the flames. But just THE CHURCH IN CHINA. S3 then there was a sudden change in the wind : God had said, | “Thus far shalt thou come, and no farther,” and his house was saved. This shows us the simplicity of the faith of some of these native Christians. If I had time I could tell you of a i great many more instances.’ Rev. E. Pearse, China's Millions (Sept. 1883), pp. 122, 123. Willing Workers. — ‘ On my arrival at the Wei village, I found almost every Christian in the place fully and freely en- gaged in helping the masons and carpenters to put up the first place of worship to the true and living God in the whole of that region. I stayed there five days, and happier five days I never spent at any place in my life. I was perfectly delighted with the spirit that was manifested, and the energy put forth by our native brethren when building this house of prayer. No one had any difficulty in seeing that the people had a mind to the work. Rev. william Owen, L. M. S. Annual Report (1882), p. 36. Opposition overcome by Kindness.-— ‘It is now about j ten years since I called upon a man named Li, in Hiau Kan, j at the request of our native evangelist, Mr. Wei. Mr. Wei was specially anxious that he and his family should become Christians, and thought that a visit from me might be helpful. Mr. Li received us politely, but his bearing was not such as to create any very strong expectations in regard to his immediate conversion. He was proud, and treated our message with ill- 11 disguised contempt. Two months since I visited Hiau Kan city, and who should come forward as a candidate for baptism but this man I j. After his baptism, he told us that he was hoping to see his father and mother, his wife and two brothers, as well as his children, in the church shortly. It was very cheering to see him, and to hear him speak thus. But I was equally interested in the story of his conversion, and to learn I how he was brought to a' decision at the last. He had been very ill, and needed special care. Our chapel-keeper in the 1 city, invited him to come and stay with him. During the days 54 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. they were together, the Christian did all he could for the heathen. He not only preached the doctrine of Christ to him as a truth to be believed, but showed him also something of the Spirit of Christ as manifested in his own life. The tenderness and kindness of the Christian broke down the opposition of the heathen, and he said within himself : “If this is Christianity, then I will be a Christian.” He soon told it to his family and neighbours, and now he is in the fold of Christ. He is a respectable farmer and a man of influence in the village. The Christian himself has never told me a word about his own part in the conversion of this man; I have learnt the fact from some of the Hiau Kan converts.’ Rev. Griffith John, L. M. S. Annual Report (1887), p. 43. Christianity influencing Social Life.— ‘Matthew Tai was preaching one day outside one of the gates of Hangchow when he encountered a Buddhist devotee, a woman, who soon showed much interest in the Gospel message. Tai asked the woman to call upon his wife, which she did, and spent some days in the house inquiring about the true religion. Her history was as follows. She said she was a native of San-tu. When she became a Buddhist devotee she thought it right to leave her husband. She therefore bought him another wife, a girl, partly blind, for thirty dollars, and then started on her travels. When she became a Christian she saw it was her duty at once to return to her husband. He received her back again, and decided to allow the wife who had been bought for him a small sum of money every month, that she might live apart. Matthew Tai was invited to San-tu. He accepted the invita- tion, and on his arrival found that the first wife had preached so successfully that the husband and second wife were also inquirers. The second wife left the house, and a short time after she died, with the name of Jesus on her lips. The first wife and her husband were afterwards baptized, and formed the nucleus of the church in that place.’ Rev. Arthur Elwin, C.M.S., Hangchow, Church Missionary Intelligencer (July, 1882), p. 413. THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 55 The Seed growing secretly.— ‘ Five years ago, a poor schoolmaster, from a district fifty miles from Canton, came to the provincial city on a visit. Having some curiosity to know what was taught in preaching halls, he entered Sha Ki chapel, and listened to the sermon. It was different doctrine from any he had ever heard before, and he was moved to inquire and learn. Books were put into his hands — a New Testament and three tracts, one of the latter being a translation of extracts from Thomas a Kempis. These he took away with him, and in his native village read constantly and carefully till he had committed a large portion of their contents to memory. Some- thing in the books went deeper than memory and under- standing, revealing to the reader for the first time his heart. He learned from the books to know himself, and to know the true God and Jesus Christ. A year elapsed after his return to his village before he abandoned idolatry, and became the only Christian in the place. From that time to this he has con- tinued steadfast, and it is no more a figure of speech to say of him that he is “ rooted, grounded, stablished,” than it is to apply such language to Christians of experience at home. Alone and unaided, seeing no Christian for nearly five years, his books the only means of instruction and consolation, this man has lived the Gospel. In November last the man once more came to Canton, this time for the sake of meeting and holding fellow- ship with Christians. He did so; the church gaining more from the intercourse than the person who came to be taught. Not one of our people could teach him much, for the poor school- master had tasted and handled and felt more of the Word of Life than the Canton Christians, though the latter have many means of hearing and learning. On the Sunday before his de- parture for home our friend was baptised. From the time that his own eyes were opened he has tried to persuade his kinsmen that they are in the wrong. He has returned, intent on proving to them the folly of idol worship, and on urging them to read Christian books. We have agreed to visit the village when the way is prepared and a summons is sent. The schoolmaster is CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 56 sanguine that others in the place will soon become Christians. The preachers, still more sanguine, expect to see a self-sup- porting church established, with the schoolmaster installed as preacher.’ Rev. T. W. Pearce, Canton, L. M. S. Annual Report (1887), p. 23. A Christian Servant. — ‘Among those whom we lost by death during the year, one deserves special notice. He was one of the Shanghai converts, and a Christian when I arrived in the country. Soon after my arrival, in 1855, he became my servant, and followed me to Hankow. He was an illiterate man, and by no means distinguished for intelligence. But Christianity had taken hold of his entire nature, and moulded him into one of the best men, morally and spiritually, I have ever known in China. I never knew him to tell a falsehood, to perpetrate a single act of deception, or do a mean thing of any kind. He was a perfect example of truthfulness, upright- ness, and kindness ; and he was regarded by all the converts with unmingled confidence and respect. Oh, that all the con- verts in China were like old Yeu Hu-Kwan ! If they were, our twenty or thirty thousand would soon become millions. It was a great loss to the work here to lose this good man, but it is to me a cause of unfeigned thankfulness that he was led to the place at the very commencement of the mission, and that he was permitted to continue in connection with the work for so many years. His thoroughly consistent life has been one long living sermon to both the heathen and the Christians.’ Rev. Griffith John, L. M. S. Annual Report (1884), p. 10. The Observance of the Lord’s Day. — ‘Wong Yih Sin joined the American Baptist Church in Shanghai in 1857. He was a poor man, the proprietor of a small retail rice shop. He made no pretensions to being a scholar, he could read simple books and keep his own accounts. Being of an ardent spirit, he embraced Christianity apparently with the whole heart, without counting the cost ; for he had either not under- THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 57 stood it, or he had not considered how the observance of the Christian Sabbath would affect his business. At first he kept his shop open on Sunday as on other days, but he was told that this was wrong, and he resolved to close it. This closing of his shop one day in seven, and the reason assigned for it, excited some inquiry and much amazement. Some said, “ he is crazy ; ” others said, “ he must be a true man and a good disciple, or he would not make such a pecuniary sacrifice for nothing.” ‘ To the surprise of himself and of others, too, his old cus- tomers not only did not forsake him, but his business greatly increased. He had to enlarge his shop. Meanwhile he kept the Sabbath, attended church twice on Sunday, and preached as he found opportunity, on his own account. He also com- menced daily family worship in his own house. In course of time he went into the wholesale rice trade, and was greatly prospered. He became a sort of oracle in the rice business. His fame as an honest dealer went far and wide in the rice- exporting districts. When rice-boats from certain localities came to this market, and made fast in the canal in front of my chapel, the supercargo would go round to Wong Yih San’s warehouse to see if it was worship day. If he found the ware- house closed and the Sabbath notice suspended without, he went quietly back to his boats and did no business that day. 1 Several years later on Wong Yih San turned his attention to the real estate business, in which he was also greatly pros- pered. He conducted it on strictly Christian principles, so far as it was in his power to control it. Now he is, what he is generally regarded to be, a man of means, for which he seems to be profoundly grateful to the Giver of all mercies. He owns blocks of buildings in various parts of the city, both within and without the city walls. During the year just past, while constructing a block of buildings just within the west gate of Shanghai city, he, of his own free will and accord, without any suggestion or intimation from me, conceived the idea of building, on his own land and at his own expense, a CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 58 chapel in which he could more conveniently to himself preach the Gospel, and thus to a small degree requite Him who had so signally prospered him. ‘ He asked me for a plan for a chapel. I answered, “ No, make your own plan ; you know what you want, make it to suit the Chinese.” The chapel was built, and will accommo- date about 180 persons. It was completed and opened for public worship last summer during my absence. In fact, he has not had a suggestion or an intimation from me in regard to its conception, plan, building, furniture, or dedication, except what he, with all others who attended my Sunday morning services have heard in regard to the importance to the life of a Christian, of every one, to the extent of his or her ability, doing something for the extension of Christ’s kingdom. He is now fitting up a room adjoining the chapel for a school- house, and intends to have a school at his own expense in connection with his chapel work. Thus the prospect brightens. In justice to Deacon Wong it should be stated that while he has been at heavy expense for chapel and furniture, there has been no falling off in his monthly contribution of three dollars, and one dollar from his wife, who is in full sympathy with his work, for sending the Gospel to Soochow and elsewhere. In a word, he is alive to every good work. God be praised for such an example of spontaneous growth out of a Native Church ! ’ Rev. M. T. Yates, D.D., The Chinese Recorder (March, 1887). First Fruits in Shansi. — 1 A conference of missionaries and of native Christians connected with the China Inland Mission was held on Sunday, the ist August, 1886, at Hung- t’ung, in the province of Shansi. At a meeting where all were invited to give some account of their conversion to God, and of their subsequent history, the following statements were made : — ‘ As the time given to each was exceedingly short (there being so many who were willing to speak), it was deemed wise THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 59 to submit the notes of these speakers’ remarks to their own revision, and they were allowed to make what additions they thought would give a clearer statement of the facts of their several cases. The Testimony of Mr. Hsi. 1 In looking back on my past life I can indeed see the guiding hand of God. Even when only eight years old I was different from other boys. I remember thinking then, “ What is the use of being in this world ? men find no good ; ” and I remember crying as I thought of it. When nine years old my brother urged me to begin reading books, telling me I could get all sorts of good from so doing, and finally become a mandarin. “Well,” thought I to myself, “what good is there in becoming a mandarin ? Sooner or later I must die ; ” and I feared to die. For years I had the dread of death before me, and used to wonder how it could be avoided. I had heard of 1 ’aoism, and heard the Taoists speak of “living continually without ageing,” so I determined to try their system. This consists, firstly, of “refining” and “eating the pill ; ” and, secondly, of seeking by quiet meditation and reflection to attain to immortality. To my surprise, I was taken some time after with an illness. “Why,” thought I, “before I went in for Taoism I had great strength, now I am sickly ; is this becoming an immortal ? ” My eyes were then opened to see that Taoism was a delusion. My profession at this time was that of a barrister, and my illness began to inter- fere greatly with my legal duties ; as it got worse and worse, there was nothing for it, I thought, but to smoke opium. The more I smoked the worse I got, till I had to take to my couch, and remained there a year and a half. Once I was so ill that my friends began to prepare me for burial, thinking that the end was just coming. However, God helped me through, and I recovered partially of the illness, but still kept on with the opium. ‘Some time after this, during the great famine (1878), an 6o CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. Englishman — Mr. Hill, of the Wesleyan Mission, Wu-ch’ang— came to help us in our extremity. When he had been there some time distributing food and money, he offered a prize of thirty taels 10s.) for the best essay on given Christian subjects. The competitors had books supplied from which to read the subject up, and my essay gained the prize. The next thing was to get the money. I had heard many reports that foreigners could bewitch people, and I feared to fall under their influence. However, I went to P’ing-yang Fu with my brother, and stopped at an inn. My brother volunteered to go for me to get the money, but he came back saying the foreigner wanted to see the very man who had written the essay. Well, 1 was in a dilemma ! On the one hand I feared bewitchment, on the other hand I feared to lose the thirty taels. At last I decided to go. On inquiring at the door, I met Mr. Sung, and two men of the name of Li, all three of them natives. Addressing them, I said, “ May I ask what you do here?” “Oh,” said they, “we are helping the foreigner.” “ And don’t you fear being bewitched ? ” “ No, indeed,” replied they; “ no more would you if you knew him.” Mr. Sung then obtained an interview for me with Mr. Hill. One glance, one word, it was enough ! As stars fade before the rising sun, so did his presence dissipate the idle rumours I had heard ; all trace of my fear was gone, my mind was at rest. I beheld his kindly eye and remembered the words of Mencius, “ If a man’s heart is not right his eyes bespeak it.” I realised I was in the presence of a true man. ‘ He asked me most courteously to drink tea. The devil again suggested the vile slander, “What if there be medicine in the tea?” but instantly the thought was banished. Tea having been drunk, he produced the thirty taels, and com- plimenting me most warmly on my essay, handed them to me, adding at the same time that some learned scholars in T’aiyuen Fu had seen the writing and commended it most highly. I had no sooner got the money than again the devil whispered the suggestion, “ After all he is a deceiver, though THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 6 1 all appears so fair : you had better take the thirty taels, go home, and see him no more.” ‘Not long after Mr. Sung came to my house and said Mr. Hill wanted to see me. Arriving at the city [Mr. Hsi’s home is fifteen miles to the south-east of P’ing-yang Fu], I went straight to his house, and soon got an interview. “I want you to help me,” said Mr. Hill. I replied, “I fear I do not understand foreign matters.” “ It is not foreign matters I want,” said he ; “I want you to write essays. Can you do that?” “Yes.” “I want you to read the character. Can you do that?” “Yes.” “ I want you to be my teacher for a period. Can you be that?” “Yes,” I replied; “ all these things I can do.” ‘ I then went home, with the determination quickly to return to Mr. Hill and help him, provided my family were favourable to it. For although by that time my fears of suffering delusion and bewitchment were gone, it was by no means so with my mother and wife ; they were quite alarmed, especially my mother. So much so that I had to go back to Mr. Hill and say, “ I must at first, if you will excuse me, only be here ten days on trial : my mother is afraid of my coming, and if, on returning home after that period, she still objects, I must beg of you not to expect me.” Mr. Hill gladly con- sented to this arrangement. At the end of the ten days, on reaching home, my mother, seeing nothing strange about me, ceased to object, and I returned, with her sanction, to Mr. Hill. ‘At this time I still smoked opium. I tried to break it off by means of native medicine, but could not; by use of foreign medicine, but failed. At last I saw, in reading the New Testament, that there was a Holy Spirit who could help men. I prayed to God to give me His Holy Spirit. He did what man and medicine could not do ; He enabled me to break off opium-smoking. So, my friends, if you would break off opium, don’t rely on medicine, don’t lean on man, but trust to God. 62 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. ‘ Thanks be to God, He afterwards saved my soul. Mr. Hill led me to the gate, God caused me to enter. I read more of the Testament; I saw there that Jesus was not a mere man, but God taking on Him flesh. I remember weeping as I read how He died for me. Jesus led me on, and trusting Him I ceased to doubt. At that time there were only three native worshippers. I asked Mr. Hill, by Mr. Sung, as my spokesman, if I could join them in worship. Mr. Hill said to Mr. Sung, “ I fear it is yet too early ; I fear lest, coming on too quickly, he will go back too soon.” I replied to Mr. Sung, “That I now want to worship God is not because of Mr. Hill, but because of God’s own teaching ; I know for myself ; I have read His Word ; I know my sins are great ; I ought to go to hell. I know, too, that Jesus is able to forgive my sins, able to save me from sin, able to save me from hell, and to give me to live in heaven for ever.” ‘ Mr. Hill returned the answer, “ Come, by all means.” Returning from worship, Mr. Hill was extremely pleased. Oh ! how kindly he treated me. I loved him as a father, he loved me as a son. I stayed with him two months, and then he had to go ; fast fell the tears as we parted. Do you ask why? Not only for his own sake, but because I saw this whole region left as sheep without a shepherd. However, in time God sent others. Shortly after my wife and mother believed ; my wife got healed of illness ; my whole household were at peace. My friends, is not this the grace of Jesus? ’ Mr. Chang Chih-heng. ‘ When I was eighteen years old a friend told me I ought to do right and live well. I began fasting and chanting prayers. During that time the thought often came, Men must die ; after death, where do they go ? I was always wretched through this fear of death. The fasting and chanting continued for the space of two years. When I was twenty years old there was a foreigner selling books in K’iih-wu. I bought a Gospel of Matthew and a Gospel of Mark, but hardly understood a sen- THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 63 tence. Four years passed on, and I again heard of an Englishman selling books. I questioned him as to the meaning of “ God,” and hearing his answer, determined to go to P’ing-yang for instruction. Knocking at the door of the P’ing-yang “ Jesus Hall,” I was met by Mr. Hsi, and then saw Mr. Hill. After this I heard Mr. Turner preaching from the words, “ It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment.” This seemed to me very awful; and more and more did I fear death. He went on to tell us if we wanted to escape the ordeal of the Judgment Day we must “ trust Jesus.” I only remembered those two words, but they were enough. My mother and wife were much opposed ; I could only tell them, “ Well, I believe Jesus died for me.” Now they both believe. Ever since that time I have had peace, and the fear of death has gone.’ Mr. Chang Chu-hui. ‘I am a P’ing-yang man, and all here know me. Before the great famine I was a soldier in the Ho-nan province. Leaving the army, I got back to P’ing-yang just before the famine began. At the time of the famine, my family being in the greatest distress, Mr. Hill directed three or four thousand cash (twelve to fifteen shillings) to be given me. Some time after, wanting to thank Mr. Hill in person, I called at his house, but found he had left P’ing-yang, and had gone to T’ai-yiien. However, I saw Mr. Turner, and, mentioning the fact to him, he thought of a plan of at once making use of me, and giving me my heart’s desire ; he sent me up to T’ai-yiien with letters. I then saw Mr. Hill, and he employed me for three months. During that time he taught me to read a good many characters ; I formerly did not know one. Fol- lowing him to worship once, I heard him sing, “ Jesus loves me.” “Ah,” thought I, “he can sing that, but I can’t.” After the service Mr. Hill said to me, “ Jesus loves not only me, but you.” I afterwards followed him to Peking and Tientsin, and there saw him on board the steamer. It was 64 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. hard indeed to say “ Good-bye ; ” I never shall forget his parting word, “Jesus is able to forgive your sins. Don’t you ever forget this.” ‘ Returning to P’ing-yang, I found there were five men waiting to be baptised. I asked Mr. Turner, through Mr. Sung, if I could be baptised. Mr. Turner said, “No, too early yet; I don’t know if he thoroughly understands.” A few days after, standing by the baptistry, Mr. Turner said to me, “ Chang Chii-hui, what is this ? What is the meaning of this baptism?” I said, “This baptistry is, as it were, a tomb ; just as Jesus died on the cross, was buried and rose, so we — dying to our old life and being buried in the waters of baptism — should rise again to serve God.” He said, “ Right! you may be baptised.” One of the former candidates proving unsuitable, I took his place, and we five were baptised together. After this I went with an English missionary selling books in Ho-nan. There we had some strange expe- riences. The Ho-nan people hate foreigners, and are very fierce ; once we only escaped stoning by the missionary pro- ducing his passport. At another time we could get nothing to eat, the people of the town we reached refusing to sell to us : however, in that province, God prospering us, we sold thou- sands of books. Two or three years after, being again in P’ing-yang, my wife having died, Mr. Hsi took my little boy and girl, and brought them up as his own. Some time after, 1 said to Mr. Hsi, “ I want to do a great work for God ; let me have some of your opium pills and I will start an opium refuge.” I first went to K’iih-wu in the south ; but afterwards feeling that God would have me work north, I went to Chao- ch’eng in the beginning of last year. For two weeks no men came, and my money was nearly all gone ; but I kept praying and believing. God then sent me eight men, they increased in numbers, till there was not room for them ; many of them not only broke off opium, but got their souls saved. A little while after God gave me to open an opium refuge at Hoh- chau, and in that district, too, God has led souls to Himself.’ THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 65 Mr. Sung. ‘ I formerly feared death. On hearing the Taoist doctrines, I determined to enter that sect. I studied their books, and for twenty-five years abstained from all meat. I, moreover, followed the Buddhists in reciting the incantations. Instead of obtaining peace, my heart became increasingly wretched and unsatisfied. Then came the great famine. In the first year of the famine, I saw a boy with the Gospel of Matthew ; he lent it to me, and I read it. I was immensely taken with the life of Jesus, but what struck me so was that such a good man should come to such an end. I remember weeping over the story of the crucifixion ; but at that time, though I loved Jesus, I did not know He could save me. Some time after, Mr. Hill came to P’ing-yang ; the famine was at its height, my daughter-in-law and daughter both died in the space of three days. At that time Mr. Hill came to my house to ask me to look after a young connection of mine who had been cast out by his parents, and was nearly starved. I told him my circumstances, how a few days before I had lost two children by famine, and in what straits I was. He promised to help me, adding, he would pay for the keep of the child. Just before this time I happened to see a copy of the treaty of the Western Powers with China. I noticed particularly that each Western kingdom reckoned dates from the birth of Jesus (Anno Domini) 1800 odd years ago. On thinking the matter over it came to me, Well, if the doctrine of Jesus is “the heavenly doctrine,” is it not right that time should be so reckoned ? and will not China, too, soon own His sway ? ‘ With these thoughts in mind, I went to Mr. Hill’s house to consult about my young relation. I there learned that Mr. Hill taught the doctrine of Jesus. At this time I still read incantations. Mr. Hill, on hearing this, told me I had better pray to God. I told him I couldn’t pray. He gave me a book called “ Questions and Answers on the Heavenly Doctrine.” I studied the book for five months ; and from that i time I began to pray to God and fully believe in Jesus. F 66 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 1 My wife, however, was still a worshipper of idols, and would recite incantations a hundred times a day. But gradually she listened to my words, and finally became a worshipper of the Heavenly Father. ‘ Since then we have both richly received God’s grace ; formerly we did not get on well together, my temper was bad, and so was hers; but since we have believed in Jesus we have had the deepest fellowship.’ Mr. Fan. ‘ I am well known to you all ; my home is in a village close to Hung-t’ung. When eleven years old I entered a secret society, for I heard that if you belonged to that society you escaped calamity. While in this society I burned ever so much incense, and piled up ever so much merit ; but notwith- standing suffered ever so much calamity. I left the society. ‘Years after a friend of mine in Hung-t’ung bought a book of a foreigner; its title was “The Three Needs.” He showed it me, and told me a little of what it said. I was interested, and determined to go to P’ing-yang to see the foreign teachers. I there saw Mr. Turner and Mr. Drake. Mr. Turner told me of the hope of eternal life, adding, “ If you want to obtain this, you must awake to the sense of your danger, for your sins are upon you, and you must trust Jesus to be forgiven.” Afterwards Mr. Chang Chu-hui took me to Mr. Hsi’s village, where I saw Mr. Hsi ; it was there that I received the Holy Spirit. I then knew that idols were false, that Jesus could save, and that the Heavenly Father was the true God. While there Mr. Hsi wrote out a prayer for me ; as I could not read, I could not at first use it, but I stayed at Mr. Hsi’s house until I was able to read and repeat it, and then returned home, able to pray to God. While at Mr. Hsi’s he had told me to go to P’ing- yang and get a New Testament. I accordingly went and got one : on returning to my home, I found that my little child of six years old, while playing in the yard, had been carried off by wolves and eaten. It was a time of deep trial, but I was THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 6? greatly strengthened by God’s grace, and the Holy Spirit influencing my heart caused me to know better. After this, the people in the village wanted me to worship idols ; but I would not; I knew that it was breaking God’s laws. The- people said, “If you don’t we shall meet calamity, we shall get no water ; and if so, we will pull down your house.” Through God’s grace the river water was more than ever, and my faith in God increased. This being so, they could not carry out their threats, and from that time I never offered to idols. Since then the devil has counted me as his enemy. I lost two horses and a donkey ; again a wolf took away another of my children, five years old ; my farm had scarcely any crops ; year by year he has tried to harm me. This year I lost my only little son by small-pox, and my nephew’s son of seven years old was also carried off by the same illness in my house. However, I am deeply thankful for God’s grace. He constantly gives me opportunities of hearing His teaching. Let the devil hurt if he will, I know Jesus can save. My whole family is with one heart and mind serving God — that is my great joy.’ Mr. Shih Ch’ing-lan. ‘When I was sixteen I began smoking opium, and continued till I was twenty-seven years old. Mr. Fan exhorted me to give it up, but I would not ; I used to laugh at him, because at that time I had money. However, shortly after came the famine, and what with heavy opium-smoking on the one hand and the famine prices on the other, I began to be in want. “ Well,” thought I to myself, “ if I don’t break off the opium I am a ruined man.” I feared the foreign medicine, as men said if you took it you would be bewitched ; but on hearing of Mr. Hsi’s medicine I determined to try that. This was the medicine that Mr. Fan, of my village, was using to cure his opium patients. I accordingly went to him. At first Mr. Fan would not receive me to break off opium, though he told me I was at liberty to hear doctrine there. In a little time Mr. Drake came to lead worship at Mr. Fan’s ; I heard him preach, 68 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. and all the more wanted to break off opium. Still Mr. Fan would not receive me. Afterwards Mr. Hsi came ; he said to Mr. Fan, “Why did Jesus come? It was to save sinners ; don’t look whether he is good or not, but receive him ; it may be the Lord will save him.” Mr. Fan consented. When I came I was told to pray : at first I didn’t understand ; how- ever, that night I began to pray, and went on about half the night, asking God to help me. God did greatly help, and my cure was effected. When I had been in the opium refuge a few days, my case was getting on so favourably that I went to my father, who is present here to-day, and asked him to join me in giving up the drug. He was sixty-three years of age, and had been an opium-smoker for forty years. He had formerly followed a secret society. The devil tempted him greatly ; he had served him so long that the devil was loath to give him up. At last, another disorder setting in, he determined to get the craving cured. God helped him also. When we were both cured, we consulted together, and determined to take all our false gods and burn them. From that time we have worshipped God. After that, my uncle, Shih Ta-hsing, seeing us, also broke off opium. Shortly after this there was a “great gathering” at P’ing-yang Fu. I then went to Mr. Hsi’s ; he exhorted me never again to smoke opium or worship idols. I told him I wanted for my lifetime to worship God. After a little the Holy Ghost influenced my heart, and caused me to see that Christ was the Light of the World. The next year my father and I were baptised. I want to praise Jesus for ever and ever.’ Mr. Liu Pao-lin. ‘ At first I did not know God. I was a great sinner, fond of cheating men, gambling and smoking opium. One day, a friend named Chang Ho-ching said to me, “Why don’t you give up opium- smoking, and get your craving cured ? ” “ What ! ” said I, “ have you been bewitched by the foreigners ? You have suffered their deception, and now you want me to suffer.” THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 69 He came again, but I only reviled him. After he had gone, my conscience began to smite me for treating my friend like this. That night I said to my wife, “ Although I revile Chang Ho-ching, you see his opium-smoking is cured. You have such an illness it looks as if you won’t live, and I also have disease, and he says God is able to save us.” My wife said, “Well, who but God can help us? But now that you have treated Mr. Chang so badly, I doubt if he will come again.” I replied, “If God indeed will help us, Mr. Chang will be sure to come again ; when he does, I will certainly listen to his words.” Not more than two or three days passed, and he came again : that time I received and treated him well. I said to him, “How did you get your craving cured ? ” “ Ah ! ” he replied, “ I fear if I tell you, you won’t believe ; if you would believe, your illness and your wife’s would both be healed.” “Iam ready to believe,” was my answer. “Well then, if so, you must no more worship these false gods ; in three days’ time I am going to Fan village ; do you come there with me, and worship the true God.” Arriving at Fan village, I went to Mr. Fan’s house and stayed till my craving was cured; my heart, however, was still wretched. Mr. Fan said to me, “ I fear your heart is not at s rest, you look so miserable.” “ It is because of my wife’s illness,” was my reply ; “ I don’t know if she be alive or not.” Mr. Fan said, “Let us pray, and soon go to her, and see if we can help.” So we went. On our arrival, as soon as I saw her face, I knew that she was a great deal better ; for three or four years past she had not been able to wait on me. She, however, got up and prepared tea for us. I was much struck with this answer to prayer. Returning to Mr. Fan’s village, Mr. Fan constantly prayed for me. I could not pray. I remember one day hearing a hymn, “ Alas ! my heart so dark ! ” and thinking, Surely that refers to me. Not long after I went to the P’ing-yang Fu great gathering. While there I met Mr. Hsi. He questioned me as to my former life, and then told me of Jesus. I went back to Fan village. Mr. Fan preached on the ten lepers being cleansed, and only one 70 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. returning to give thanks ; thought I, I will be one to “ return.” That one in the parable did not forget God’s grace, no more will I. I went home and told my wife ; she, too, believed — we were as two raised from the dead. After a little while, Mr. Fan came, accompanied by Mr. Hsi. Mr. Hsi spoke with us, read the Testament and prayed; when he had finished I prayed, and so did my wife. Mr. Hsi was full of joy, saying, “Truly this is the grace of God.” As we came to the parting- place on the road, Mr. Hsi knelt down and prayed, and as he prayed he wept ; he told me afterwards that he wept for fear lest I should go back. After some days I heard Mr. Hsi preach ; he said, “ We were not saved only for our own benefit, but to save others, set a good example, and preach to men the Gospel.” * I went home and began to pray to God for a fellow-helper. Soon a man, with whom I had been on bad terms, asked me how I got cured of the opium craving. On telling him he offered to accompany me to Fan village. There hearing the doctrine he was converted, came back and opened a worship- hall in his house for our village. The Lord afterwards saved other souls. Truly this is God’s loving-kindness. ‘ The meeting then closed with a few remarks from Mr. Hudson Taylor.’ China's Millions (Jan., 1887), pp. 5-9. The Beginnings of Work in Lo-nguong. — ‘The city of Lo-nguong is said to have been built 1100 years ago. It boasts of a long succession of sages and poets, whose claims to the gratitude of posterity are made the most of by the modern inhabitants. Its wealth, however, has been its bane. Nineteen times, it is stated, in the last three hundred years, has the city been a prey to the plundering bands of rebels and marauders that infest the empire. ‘ Neither its celebrities nor its misfortunes, however, have made the name of Lo-nguong familiar in Britain. Its rank and its chequered career of eleven centuries have failed to give it the smallest place in our manuals of geography ; but THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 71 fifteen years of a work of grace among a few score out of its thousands of inhabitants have drawn towards it the interest and sympathy of praying people in every part of England, and wherever the work of the Church Missionary Society is known. ‘The first attempt to plant the standard of the cross in Lo-nguong was in November, 1865. Mr. Wolfe visited the city with a native catechist, and had at first an encouraging reception. After some little delay a native preacher was sent to the place, a room suitable for chapel was hired, and some interest in the Gospel was awakened. ‘ The first baptism at Lo-nguong took place in October, 1 866; but no particulars of the case are given. In December, however, three most interesting men were admitted into the Church. One was the first convert from the village of A-chia. The two others were an old man of considerable property and influence, named Siek, and his son, Song-To, the history of whose conversion is deeply interesting. ‘ The son was the first brought to the Saviour. He was one of the most notorious evil-livers in the whole city, and had brought such disgrace upon his family that, although he was an only son, his father was on the point of disinheriting him. One day, “by chance,’’ he looked into the chapel as the catechist was preaching. Then and there the truth laid hold of his heart, and he gave up his sins forthwith, and yielded himself to the Redeemer, of whose love and power he had heard. The neighbours would not appreciate the inward and spiritual change ; but they did see at once the difference in his outward life; it became a common subject of speculation among them, and it brought great numbers to inquire and to buy' tracts and books. The old father could not at first believe in the reality of the reformation, and when he believed it he could not understand it ; but although himself a zealous idol-worshipper, he could not oppose his son adopting a religion which had- -worked in him such a change. The son, however, became intensely anxious for the salvation of his 72 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. father. On Mr. Wolfe’s next visit he came to him in his distress, and while there fell upon his knees and poured out his heart in prayer for old Siek’s conversion. He would not be baptized, saying he must wait for his father, that they might enter the Church together. With some difficulty he persuaded the old man to come and see Mr. Wolfe, who then writes : — ‘“I found him very dark and ignorant, but not at all disposed to prevent his son becoming a Christian ; and at the end of a long conversation I could only elicit from him the old story, ‘ The doctrine is very good, but it will not do for me ; I will do what my fathers did before me.’” ‘ They both returned home ; but in about two hours after the son returned almost breathless with joy, and informed us that his father had decided to be a Christian. Of course we were all delighted, and returned hearty thanks to God on his behalf. The old man was present at evening prayers, and remained the entire evening talking about religion. The report that he believed spread like wildfire, and scores came to the chapel inquiring for books. ‘On the 17th February, 1867, Mr. Wolfe wrote, “The father is sixty years old, but quite fresh and strong, and is growing in grace and in knowledge of Jesus Christ. ‘ “ He is a man now of strong faith and great prayer, and has outstripped his son in spiritual grace and strength. I said one day to the son, ‘Song-To, why is it that your father has gone on so far ahead of you in the doctrines, when you were before him in the truth?’ ‘Ah, teacher,’ was the reply, ‘my father is continually praying. In the house he is always on his knees ; ’ and this is true. When first I spoke to him and asked him to pray with me, he looked bewildered at the idea, and out of politeness towards me knelt in a most awkward way. When last I heard him pray he reminded me of old Jacob, who said to the angel, ‘ I will not let thee go except thou bless me,’ so earnest were his pleadings with God, and he felt so much at home in prayer. He is equally zealous for the conversion of others, and he spends his whole THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 73 unoccupied time in exhorting others to believe in Jesus ; and he has succeeded in one or two cases.” ‘A few months later, at a crowded service in the little chapel, the old man and bis son both addressed the people, and gave their testimony to the truth and power of the Gospel. About this time the customary yearly collection in Lo-Nguong for the support of the idol-temples took place, and Siek and his son were applied to as usual. They quietly answered, “ We can no longer support the work of the devil. We are Christians, and advise you to become so too.” The incensed collectors threatened to pull down the shop, and began by damaging the counter, but the calm firmness of the old man disarmed further violence. ‘ From Lo-Nguong the Gospel spread to other places round about. In a short time a persecution was raised against the Christians. Their chapel was wrecked, and the whole community had for several months to endure much violent opposition. ‘Some were beaten, some robbed of their little all, some dragged before the magistrates upon false charges, and compelled to purchase their liberty by heavy payments. One man had a dying thief laid at his door by the district police- man, who then accused him of murder. Another was kept in prison for many months, and died there.’ Story of the Fuh-kien Mission, pp. 94-108 (condensed). The first Native Clergyman of the C.M.S. in Fuh- kien. — ‘The story of the first Chinese clergyman in Fuh-kien iS'Very interesting. Wong Kiu-taik was a young landscape painter in Fuh-chow. An intimate friend of his, named Hu-Iong-mi, also a painter, was a Christian, a member of the church belong- ing to the American Episcopal Methodist Mission ; and after much prayer and frequent earnest entreaties, he persuaded Wong to read the Scriptures and attend the public services ; and very soon the result was manifest. Wong’s mother, who was tenderly attached to her son, was warned that he was in danger, and ought to be looked after. “ What is wrong?” she CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 74 exclaimed ; “ my son has always been industrious and dutiful ; what has happened?” K He attends the foreign church.” “Impossible,” cried the old lady; “it cannot be that my son would do such a thing.” On questioning him, however, she found, to her horror, that it was only too true, and that although he “could not understand all the foreigners said,” yet he thought “ it seemed very reasonable.” ‘It needs some familiarity with the peculiar relations of parent and child in China to understand fully the power Wong’s mother had over him. She kept him closely confined to the house, and tried in every way to shake his determina- tion, weeping, scolding, and threatening by turns. But all to no purpose; and her wrath was intensified by continually hearing him praying, “ Lord, bless my mother ! ” and invoking the hated name of “Jesus.” At last she said, “ Son, you must stop this praying.” “Mother,” said Wong, “I have always obeyed all your commands, but this I cannot do.” “ But the noise disturbs me.’’ “Then I will pray silently.” “You shall never pray in this house again.” “ Mother,” said Wong, “ I can- not stop praying.” “ Leave the house, then,” she exclaimed ; “ I disown you for ever as my child, and when I die, dare not to join with the family in celebrating my funeral obsequies !” ‘Wong was driven from his home, but not from his faith. He went and lived with his friend Hu, and rapidly grew in knowledge and grace. One day his mother sent to bid him come to her. He could only think it was a plot to seize and kill him ; but, after a painful mental struggle, he said to the missionary, “ I will go ; pray for me.” He went. The mother asked him if he was still determined to be a Christian. “Mother,” he said, fully expecting some sudden assault, “/ am .” “Then,” said she, “if you will not change your mind, I shall change mine. You may be a Christian, and you may live at home.” Overwhelmed with joy, Wong fell on his knees and thanked God; and a few Sundays after he was publicly baptized by the name of Kiu-taik, “ seeker of virtue.” This was in 1857 ; and he was twenty-three years of age. THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 75 ‘ For some months Wong Kiu-taik continued his occupation as a painter, but eventually he was taken into the service of the American Mission, and laboured for three or four years zealously as an evangelist. A dispute about the right term to use in the Chinese tongue for “God” caused a division among the missionaries, and a word which Kiu-taik could not con- scientiously use was, for a time, imposed on all the agents. He resigned his post, and shortly afterwards joined the C.M.S. Mission, with the entire approval and strong recommendation of his late superiors. In 1862 he became a catechist, and in 1868, as we have said, he was admitted to holy orders, the American missionaries themselves being present on the occa- sion, and expressing their hearty pleasure at seeing their former helper admitted to the ministry of the Church of England.’ Story of the Fuh-kien Mission, pp. 46, 47. First Native Wesleyan Minister in Central China. — ‘ I should like to show you by one or two examples how the Chinese have taken in the representation of Christ — examples of men who have by time established for themselves an un- blemished reputation as regards their Christian character. One is my beloved colleague in the work, Chu Sao-ngan, our first ordained native missionary in Central China. When the work commenced there the first missionary was the Rev. Griffith John, of the London Missionary Society, a name honoured through- out Christendom, and nowhere more so than in China. Soon after he had reached Hankow and opened a mission chapel, a refugee came to it one afternoon and listened to the preaching. Soon this man reappeared, inquiring the way of salvation. He was the first to be baptized in Central China. When the Rev. Josiah Cox, of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, appeared upon the scene, Mr. John handed over to him this promising young man as his teacher and helper. He helped Mr. Cox in the lan- guage, and helped also with the preaching work. His sincerity had meantime undergone a very severe test. The troubles of the rebellion had quieted down, and the people began to return to their homes. This young man was heir to the estates of his CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. y6 father and uncle, and would be wealthy, if put in their posses- sion. He laid his claim before the guild of his native province, and they considered it. They appointed a day for the hearing, and they said: “We have considered your claim, and have come to the conclusion that the property is yours, but before we can help you to get it you must give us a promise that you will cease worshipping the foreigners’ God, and give up faith in Jesus.” He said : “ The property may go : I believe in Jesus, and shall worship Him all the days of my life.” After working for several years as a catechist he was, by a unanimous vote of the district meeting, passed on to the ordained ministry, and is labouring still, a faithful minister of Jesus Christ, as I know, for I have been working with him for years.’ Rev. J. W. Brewer, Wuchang. Wesleyan Missionary Notices, Anniversary Number, 1887. * A Preacher at Hankow. — ‘Yii-ki-fang was received into the church at Hankow in the year 1863, when about sixty years of age. His path during seven years may indeed be compared to that of the shining light. He was a noble speci- men of a Christian. I know of no drawback in his religious career. It is exceedingly difficult for a Chinaman to break off entirely from many of the habits in which he is so thoroughly rooted and grounded. But it is wonderful how effectively this is done in some instances. Some of the converts seem to leap over the chasm that yawns between the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God, and to become visibly new men in Christ at once. Yii-ki-fang’s whole being was powerfully influenced by the truth from the beginning, and his entire character puri- fied and ennobled. His life appears to me to have been as spotless as that of any Christian I have yet met with in this country. In the infant church at Hankow he was a great spiritual power. Though a humble and uneducated man, he commanded universal respect. As a native assistant he was most earnest, diligent, and faithful. Every day, between the hours of twelve and five, he was to be found at his post in the / THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 77 chapel. It was stimulating even to the missionaries to witness the zeal and activity of Yii in the Master’s service. ‘During his illness he enjoyed the profoundest peace and serenity of mind. He had no apprehensions in regard to his future, and seemed only concerned lest he should be burden- some in the meantime to the living. He often told his pastor and others that Christ was his only hope,- and that he had found in Him an all-sufficient Saviour. When asked by Mr. Bryant how he felt in prospect of death, he replied : “ My sins are very great, but the merits of Jesus are great too. I die embracing the cross.” ‘During the last few moments of his life he spoke to the brethren of the love of Christ, and urged them to prepare themselves for that better land which was disclosing itself to his view. He requested them to pray with him. They com- plied ; and whilst yet speaking his happy spirit took its flight to that Saviour whom he loved so well and had served so faithfully. When they rose from their knees, Yii-ki-fang was not, for God had taken him. Thus he died, “calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” ‘ Many of the converts assembled to pay their last tribute of respect to the mortal remains of Yii. Among them there was some whom he had been the means of bringing to the know- ledge of the truth. His remains were borne to the little ceme- tery connected with our church by the Christians themselves, though none of them are coolies. They seem to have looked upon the dust of dear old Yii as too sacred to be carried to its last sleeping-place by heathen coolies. Two heathen friends were present, and one of them — a young man in whom the departed had taken a deep interest — returned from the funeral a better man. ‘ Yii is gone to his rest, but his works remain ; though dead, he yet speaketh. May God raise up many in China, in whose hearts the love of Christ shall burn as brightly and steadily as it did in the heart of Yii-ki-fang ! ’ Rev. Griffith John. L. M. S. Chronicle (Feb., 1871). CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 78 A Travelling Tinker near Ningpo. — ‘ I was very much struck the other day, when riding out some ten miles in the Tsong-gyiao district with Dr. Main to find a sick man, at the way in which the villagers passed us on from Christian to Christian. They were scattered in the different villages, one here, another there ; but each was a marked man well known as a follower of the Lord Jesus ; and each one had been brought in, not by public preaching, but by the pleadings of their friends. ... At P’u-k’eo-wong, too, we have a travelling tinker, who, whilst sitting at his work mending the family pots and pans, talks to the inmates of. each house about the Saviour, and in this way the knowledge of the Gospel has been spread far and wide around P’u-k’eo-wong ! ’ Rev. J. C. Hoare, Ningpo. Church Missionary Intelligencer (July, 1882), p. 427. The Work done by Native Preachers.— -‘In regard to native preachers, I should like here to state a few facts. Since I came to Manchuria, fully 600 people have been baptized. Of these not more than a dozen owe their conversion primarily and chiefly to the foreign missionary. The others have been the converts of these converts, and this spiritual seed has produced within a dozen years the sixth or seventh generation. These converts, many of them far removed from the direct influence of the missionary, must be instructed, and this instruction can be imparted only by natives who have them- selves acquired it from the missionary. Intercourse with the missionaries of other societies in other fields only confirmed what I had learned from the experience of our own mission, viz. that success in gathering a church depends more upon the native than the foreign agents. Those missions which have at work native agents of faith and intelligence are successful ; those which do not possess such agents make no progress.’ Rev. John Ross. United Presbyterian Mission Annual Report for 1887. The same. — ‘The spread of the Gospel in Fuh-kien has been the result of native agency. Several of the earliest THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 79 converts baptized in the city of Fuh-chow gave up their occupations, and entered the service of the Mission. These were stationed at various promising centres ; and as the work grew, others were selected from among those who embraced the Gospel, and sent forward to open fresh stations. Some of them have proved satisfactory. In more than one case, a trusted agent, whose evangelical powers have been manifestly blessed of God, has fallen away; and anything sadder than this it is hard to conceive. But it is nothing new. The enemy that ensnared them is the same that destroyed a Judas, enticed away a Demas, hindered the usefulness of a Mark, even overcame a Peter. Not a few of those who have been led into sin have been brought back. Others, we are sure, will be. But the career of the majority has been very different. They have faithfully carried the Gospel from place to place; they have patiently taught the poor and the ignorant, visiting them from house to house during the week, and gathering them on Sunday into the little chapels to join in prayer and praise. ‘But the good work has not been done by paid agents merely. Perhaps the results are still more due to the volun- tary efforts of the converts. Sons have brought their fathers to Christ ; husbands have brought their wives. At the present time, while over a hundred agents are regularly employed, there are also nearly that number of voluntary helpers. . . . ‘It is from the literati and gentry whose influence preponder- ates in them that the chief opposition to the work has come. The people generally would welcome the mission, but for the hostility of the literati. The conduct of the latter recalls that of the Jewish leaders at Thessalonica, who, we are told, “ moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar.” On the other hand, let us do justice to the fairness and courtesy with which, in some cases, the magistrates have protected the missionaries and the converts, and put down disturbances.’ The Story of the Fuh-hien Mission, pp. 292-294. 80 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. Mission to the Corea. — ‘On the nth November, 1885, the Rev. J. R. Wolfe, of the C.M.S., sailed from Shanghai for Corea, taking with him two Chinese, who are sent out by the Fuh-Chow Church with the hope of entering Corea as mission- aries. This is a fruit of the reports Mr. Wolfe brought back a year since from that hitherto isolated land. The purpose is that it shall be a thoroughly Chinese mission. It is not dependent upon the C.M.S. either for men or funds. The two Chinese missionaries are to be left alone at some point in the Corea not yet determined. The best of wishes and many prayers will follow this very interesting Chinese Foreign Missionary Enterprise.’ The Chinese Recorder (Dec., 1885), p. 486. ‘The sum of 1000 dollars was given by a member of the European Community at Foochow, to commence this Corean Mission of the Church Missionary Christians.’ The Chinese Recorder (Jan., 1886), p. 42. Mission to the Pescadores. — ‘The native churches of the English Presbyterian Mission in Formosa propose to under- take the entire support of the new mission to the Pescador Islands. These islands are 18 in number, with a population of 100,000, and the nearest of them is only 30 miles distant from Formosa. One of the native elders in Taiwanfoo has given 53 dols., and four country congregations have sent in 58 dols. The very poorest are rejoicing to share in the work, one very poor widow bringing a contribution of 50 cash, not unlikely all she had in the world.’ Missionary Herald of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland (April, 1887), p. 85. Christian Aborigines of Formosa. — ‘ At our three south- ern stations we have now upwards of a hundred members, whilst there is a residue of inquirers considerably over half that number. One station pays the salary of a helper every month, whilst at each place a small reserve fund is kept to meet the wants of the sick, the widow, or the fatherless, within THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 8 1 our borders. After candidates are received by baptism into our fellowship, the great advantage of reading and searching the Word of God for themselves is set before them ; and on looking over the Communion Roll, I find there are upwards of forty who can now plod their way through the easier portions of the New Testament, whilst the majority of these persons a year or two ago, i.e., at the time they entered the Church, did not know a single character. These mountain peasants exhibit as fine a specimen of rural contentment as is probably to be found within the eighteen provinces (of China proper). It was last November, during an itinerating tour, I first visited these simple mountaineers. They gladly heard the Word of God, and in response to an invitation made them during the day at their homes, they assembled at one of their houses in the evening, and remained long past midnight, listening with an apparent moral earnestness to the message of eternal life. A few months after this, they willingly supplied the materials for a chapel (which is now crowded every Lord’s day), cleansed their houses from idolatry, reared the family altar, whilst numbers of them are now gladly learning the Romanised Colloquial.’ Rev. Hugh Ritchie, Takao, Formosa. Chinese Recorder (Nov., 1870), p. 167. A Secret Disciple. — ‘ Secret discipleship is not uncommon. ;| One day last August, at the close of the preaching, I was I speaking, as is my habit, to those who seemed interested in what they had heard. One man thus addressed told me that I he had been a believer for over fifteen years, and that for all those years he had morning and evening bowed in prayer before the unseen but ever-present God. Not for a single day had he neglected this duty. Nor did he engage in any under- | taking without first seeking the guidance and blessing of God. He is a Manchu in Government employ, and has not the lJ courage to declare his faith, lest he should lose his bread.’ Rev. G. Owen, Peking. L. M. S. Annual Report (1883), p. g. G 82 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. A Sympathizer with Missionary work. — ‘At Yeung T’siin we have a friend in the person of the head man and chief landowner. This man is a retired military official, who has served in Kwang-si and Hainan, and his rank (that of Major) entitles him to the profound respect of all his poorer neighbours. The Major is on our side. He has read attentively the New Testament, and other Christian books picked up in Canton, and tells us that, by reading, he has been convinced both of the truth of Christianity and the need of proclaiming it in every country, not excluding China. His conduct shows further that he is in true sympathy with our aims and objects. On my last visit, almost before the boat stopped at the anchorage, our friend came on board with offers of assistance. He desired to place at my disposal a building for preaching, and pressed me to remain a few days in the village, that the people might have a fair opportunity of hearing. At parting, I promised to return soon after New Year, and to send a preacher in the meantime.’ Rev. T. W. Pearce, Canton. L. M. S. Annual Report (1887), p. 27. What an European Layman may do. — ‘ One of the most interesting and satisfactory cases of inquiry just now is that of a man in good circumstances, and well educated, who received his first impressions of the Christian religion, not from a missionary, but from a gentleman belonging to the Customs, who evidently had a missionary spirit. It is refreshing to come across a case like this, proving what a power for good our professedly Christian communities might be, if only they would.’ Rev. J. Webster, U. P. M. Annual Report (1883), p. 57. Growth in Christian Character. — ‘Our Chinese churches are now becoming such as we can point to without shame; and there are not wanting cases which can be magnified in the face of the most hostile critics. The race of “ Rice Christians ” (Christians who come for what they can get) is not extinct, THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 83 and they slip in amongst us at times with the slyness of the weasel. But it is noteworthy that I have not had to complain of a single instance of “place-hunting” this whole twelvemonth. ‘Of the forty adults baptized, not a single one has been taken into the service of the mission, or of the missionaries, in any capacity whatsoever. We never think of such a thing now. Every man must remain in the state wherein he was called. ‘ And not only is this the case, but the members are now realizing their responsibilities and privileges in the things of Jesus Christ. Their giving will, I fancy, surprise some good people at home. ‘Thus the membership of the Newchwang Church does not number 100 adults. They are scattered in twos and threes over an area of several hundred miles. If forty or fifty of them were to come together to a sacrament, it would mean such travelling expense as has never had a parallel in the remotest and most old-fashioned parts of Scotland. Nor have they “ stated ministries,” such as you have at home. Some are grateful for the sight of an evangelist once or twice a year. Yet look at their giving for the cause of Christ ! One member in the seaport has this year supported an evangelist entirely at his own cost. Further, he frankly gave a contribution of over fifty shillings towards helping a few village members, a day’s journey off, to get up school and chapel premises for them- selves. This not to speak of a regular Sabbath collection, and a most honourable array of good deeds done among the poor. But he is capped by another man over 230 miles from the seaport. This brother supports a school entirely at his own expense. Where men in his station of life never dream of educating even their own children, he is solicitous about the children of his kindred and neighbours. Besides this, he is one of a small band of less than twenty individuals who support an evangelist at their own expense. While over and jj above, he helps the poorer brethren, and entertains our church agents in a manner which gives quite a pleasant sense of CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 84 reality to the notices in the Acts of the Apostles. Then the members all over are becoming alive to the duty of giving. We have the old school still with us, — people who thought of getting, and not giving, or who thought at least to have every- thing done for them. We hear murmurs from some lips that when we are more numerous it will be a comparatively easy matter to do something of self-support. But in the year upon which we are about to enter (1886) we hope we shall have it to say that there is not a single non-contributing member. I have no fear of the Chinese in the matter of giving. They give well in their own lines; all they want is to be put into the new way, such as we have it in our days of organized voluntaryism. ‘ I am glad to say also of the members that the requirements of the truth in Jesus are becoming more and more felt. People are beginning to feel more deeply what is involved in a Christian profession. I confess, for instance, that formerly I used not to see sufficient interest in the “Word.” It was not as if it were the Word of God. Here, people used to think, was a bad translation of a Western book, with much of it unintelli- gible to a privileged Celestial, and much which in his conceit he supposed he might improve upon. Now I live and move amongst Bible readers. In my visits to the country stations it is now an invariable rule for the members to have their list of questions on Bible subjects which want elucidation. I am tabulating these, with a view to publication, and I feel sure you will reciprocate what a brother missionary has twice said to me in regard to our Bible-class in Newchwang : “ The more I hear of these questions, the more do the Chinese rise in my estimation.”’ Rev. J. Macintyre, Newchwang. U. P. M. Annual Report (1885), pp. 53, 54. Refusing to Contribute to Heathen Festivals.— 1 The persecutions the native Christians meet with are sometimes very hard to bear. The heavens seem like brass to the young converts who call upon God, as Nehemiah did of old, to give them mercy in the sight of their rulers, and their impatience THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 85 sometimes leads to sad ends. A poor man, who would not contribute to an idolatrous theatrical performance, had his wife taken from him and sold, his house gutted, all his household goods destroyed, and was then driven away and forbidden to return on pain of death. Driven about from place to place by wicked men of his clan, not allowed to plant his fields and prepare for harvest, at last, in despair of help from his own people, and impatient at not getting an answer to his prayers, he, in a moment of intense mental depression, took his own life by swallowing a large quantity of opium. ‘The lay preacher who advised him not to worship idols nor contribute to their feasts was holding a meeting in our de- ceased friend’s house one day, when he was seized, strung up to a beam, and his right ear and queue were cut off, while his life was threatened unless he would reject the doctrines of Jesus. He stood firm ; his ear was healed by a medical missionary at Hang-chau, and he is still worshipping and witnessing for Jesus to his countrymen. But as the persecution still goes on against all inquirers after the truth, and he is not allowed to live at home in peace, he also is sometimes very much distressed in mind, not understanding why God does not in some way interpose. The Lord will doubtless deliver them at the proper time, but it is so hard to get the Chinese Christians who are directly involved to see this. Perhaps if the trial came nearer to us we also might have our fears and doubts and misgivings. Christians in England must not look upon the suicide mentioned above from an English point of view, as the value of life, in its relation and responsibility to the Creator, is not so clearly defined in the mind of a China- man, even though he be a Christian.’ Mr. Meadows. China's Millions (Dec., 1886), p. 165. Social Difficulties that meet a Chinese Christian. — 1 The Christian Chinaman returning to his own land [from America or other countries] is often called to face tremendous difficulties. 86 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. ‘ These begin on ship-board. At Yokohama a contribution is taken up by the Chinese passengers to make idolatrous offerings, with a view of securing prosperity for the rest of the voyage. The Christian, who refuses to contribute, is made the butt of ridicule, and probably tabooed thereafter. Some yield here. But those who stand firm have only commenced their contest. It must be borne in mind that the Chinese still retain much of the patriarchal life, and dwell together in clans. For a man to come from all the kind associations and helps of a Christian land, and suddenly be placed in the midst of one of these heathen clans, is sometimes almost like being thrown into the fire, with no one to help or pity. ‘ One man, who has for years been doing faithful work as a native preacher, was wakened one night, soon after his return from California, by a rope, which his wife was placing around his neck, for the purpose of strangling him, because he was a Christian. Another refused to perform the usual idolatrous rites when building a new house. Soon one of the neighbours died. He was held responsible for the death. His house was torn down over his head, and he himself beaten so cruelly that he fully believed at the time that the intention was to beat him to death. Another had his house half completed, and then his neighbours interfered, and he lost nearly all that he had expended. In all such cases there is hardly a shadow of hope of redress from the mandarins, who will ordinarily maintain that the troubles met with are not on account of Christianity. No difficulty is found in trumping up some other reason. ‘ The following statement of some difficulties will be all the more impressive from the fact that it is given almost in the exact words of a returned Christian, who has long and patiently borne bitter persecution himself. He was treated with con- stant unkindness by the members of his own family, for whose salvation his heart still yearns, was beaten by his own mother, and at last utterly cast out. • He taught his younger brother, a most interesting boy, until he too wished to cast in his lot with the hated Christians. Then he saw that younger brother hung THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 87 up by ropes placed under his arms, before an idol shrine, and, on account of his stedfast refusal to worship, beaten until his back was a raw mass of bleeding flesh. And yet in the fresh recollection of such experiences I have more than once heard this man, without making any reference to his own sufferings, exhort his fellow-Christians to receive persecution and loss of property joyfully for Jesus’ sake. Such a man has a right to speak of difficulties, and the following are what he mentioned : e 1. We worship the true God, and trust in Him for every- thing. We will not worship idols, therefore the people of the world hate us. * 2. We must live with neighbours who are heathen. Every year there are many occasions when contributions are solicited for theatres, for various idolatrous festivals, for building or repairing temples, for the service of the temples, etc. If we refuse to give such contributions, the people revile us, or perhaps band together in crowds to abuse us, or even attack us with spears or kniyes or guns. The wiser portion may be aware that it is not lawful for them to thus maltreat us openly, on account of our belief in Jesus, but they will make hidden plans to injure us. ‘ 3. If we live in a village, there will be other clans besides our own. The villagers have gods of the land and of grain, which all who live in the village are expected to worship. The expenses will be distributed either according to persons or families. If we refuse our quota, the villagers will certainly revile us and perhaps beat us, or likely enough refuse to guard our rice fields, or will burn our property. ‘4. When any villager builds a house, he must select a lucky day, and employ the priests to drive away the evil spirits. If we, who believe in Jesus, refuse to do this, and then any of the villagers are taken sick and die, the responsibility of the death is laid at our doors, and we are required to make a recompense for the man’s life. ‘ 5. At the time of marriage, a lucky day must be selected, and every possible effort will be made to compel us to bow 88 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. before the ancestral tablet and worship. If we refuse, we cannot avoid the reproaches of our fathers and brothers. ‘ 6. If our parents die, we are expected to employ Buddhist or Taoist priests to deliver their souls from hell, and to burn incense of various kinds ; if we refuse, our brothers and kindred will beat us, or perhaps our uncles will tear down our houses and destroy our property, perhaps steal our pigs and cattle, butcher them and eat them, while we do not dare to resist. ‘ y. At the annual distribution of the clan dividends, if we will not unite in ancestral worship, we shall probably be deprived of our share, or if we have sufficient influence to obtain it, we can hardly escape being bitterly reviled. ‘ 8. If we are engaged in trade, we may be called upon to contribute for useless superstitions and idolatrous customs, and if we refuse, we are fortunate if we do not lose our customers. ‘ 9. If we are employed as workmen, many employers will wish us to light incense and candles in idolatrous worship of the god of wealth, and we shall almost certainly be required to work on the Sabbath day. If we refuse, we lose the goodwill of our employers, and our situations also. ‘Thus we see that, turn which way he will, the Chinese Christian in his own land finds a difficulty staring him in the face.’ Rev. H. Y. Noyes. Chinese Recorder (May, 1885), pp. 175-177. Persecution and Martyrdom at Pok-lo. — The Report of the London Missionary Society for 1862 alludes to a violent persecution which the native Christians of Pok-lo, in the province of Canton, had recently suffered from their country- men— -a persecution ‘ involving the violent death of the venerable Ch’ea, the first convert in that district to the faith of Christ. Pok-lo is a town of about 15,00c inhabitants, and distant 100 miles from the colony of Hong-kong. To render the present statement more intelligible, it may be THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 89 necessary to relate some of the facts connected with the origin and progress of this Mission. ‘In the year 1856, Dr. Legge reported the interesting case of Ch’ea, a Christian convert from Pok-lo. He was a man advanced in years, and his mind had been awakened to the truth and divinity of the Gospel by instructions he had received from a colporteur in the service of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and he came to Hong-kong seeking further counsel from our missionaries. He was admitted to the privileges of the Church, and shortly afterwards returned to his native town. In the year following he again visited the colony, accompanied by a native convert; in 1858 he made another visit, attended by two other converts, and in the year 1859 he appeared with two more. All these had been brought to embrace the truth of Christ by his means. In the early part of i860, Ch’ea again presented himself to Dr. Legge, with nine additional candidates for Christian baptism, making a total of fourteen souls brought to the knowledge of the Saviour by the Christian zeal of this venerable man. In the spring of i860 the Rev. John Chalmers, accompanied by Tsun-Sheen, the Chinese evangelist, made a visit to Pok-lo, where they were greatly cheered both by the steadfastness of the converts already received; and by the urgent application of many of the people for Christian baptism ; of these, forty- four were deemed suitable subjects for that ordinance. ‘In January 1861, sixteen more persons from Pok-lo and its vicinity were received into the Church by Dr. Legge, at Hong-kong, making a total, up to that time, of eighty-five individuals who had publicly come over to the Christian camp. ‘ In the following May, both Dr. Legge and Mr. Chalmers again visited Pok-lo and the surrounding country, when they received upwards of forty additional converts; and arrange- ments were then made for opening a chapel in which the native Christians could meet to worship. ‘ Such had been the rise and progress of the kingdom of God 90 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. in Pok-lo. The seed of truth sown in the heart of an aged and obscure man had been watered by the grace of the Holy Spirit, and through successive years it had brought forth thirty, sixty, and a hundred-fold. 1 In the early part of October, Dr. Legge received intelli- gence that a spirit of enmity and persecution against the Christians at Pok-lo had been exhibited by some of their countrymen belonging to the higher classes, and after obtain- ing an assurance of redress from the Governor of Canton, and a native officer to protect him on the journey, he hastened to Pok-lo. 1 The result of the missionary’s intervention appeared for the moment quite satisfactory ; for although he was fully sensible of the duplicity and injustice of the native authorities, they had in this instance promptly conceded the claims made on behalf of the Christians, and had manifested an abundant pro- fession of respect for Dr. Legge himself. But, within a fort- night of his return to Hong-kong, he received the painful tidings that his hopes had been grievously disappointed ; that the native authorities, who had for the hour yielded to the influence of their superior, the Governor of Canton, had violated all their engagements, and had themselves become parties to a series of cruel persecutions, terminating in the torture and murder of the faithful Ch’ea — the proto-martyr in the cause of Protestant Christianity in China. * “When I left,” writes Dr. Legge, “Ch’ea remained in tem- porary charge of the house. He was full of joy, as I was, and unsuspicious of danger. On the evening of the 13th of October, he was forcibly carried off by a body of ruffians, led by Soo Hoy-u and a confederate like himself. They took him to a village not far off, and hung him up all night by the arms and feet to a beam. During the two following days he suffered much torture and insult, and on the 16th he was taken to the river side, and, on refusing to renounce Christianity, was put to death, and his body thrown into the stream. On the 14th, the triumphant foe had declared his intention to burn the THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 91 village of Chuk-un, and the brethren there, with their families, fled to villages more remote, where they could take refuge with Christian friends. [Some of them subsequently made their way to .Canton, and reported that persecution was extending to other villages, and that a reward had been offered for the heads of the two principal men among them.] I have obtained a copy of part of a placard posted up in Wye-chow, and pur- porting to be issued by the whole city. It offers 50 dollars for the death of every foreigner coming among them, and 20 dollars for the death of every Chinese aiding in bringing the foreigner there, or in circulating his books. Our brethren are indeed in an evil case.” | L. M. S. Annual Report (1862), pp.26— 28. Another case of Persecution and Murder. — [Chek-tu is a station of the C.M.S., in the province of Fuh-kien, which was opened in 1875. From the first the Christians had to suffer a great deal of opposition and persecution on account of their faith.] ‘In the early part of 1876, the gentry of the place seized the Mission chapel for the purpose of holding in it an idola- trous service on the occasion of the death of the wife of one of them, and on the Christians resisting they were beaten and their books destroyed. The gentry claimed that the chapel was their property, notwithstanding that the lease was in Mr. Wolfe’s possession. The magistrate was appealed to, but instead of seeing justice done he set the local police to annoy the Christians. 4 Encouraged by the impunity with which the Christians were ill-treated at Chek-tu, the gentry of Ni-tu determined to follow so excellent an example. ‘A man died of fever, and the gentry raised the cry that these Christians were the cause of this fever, and that the idols were angry. On Sunday morning, as the Christians were quietly engaged in worship, the leading gentry, with the official Te-po [constable] beating his official gong, and followed by a mob, proceeded to the chapel, dragged the Christians 92 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. forth, and beat them most violently, and threatened to kill them unless they renounced their faith and returned to the wor- ship of idols. The Christians, however, returned again in the afternoon to their usual worship, when they were again dragged forth and beaten, and one of their number murdered on the spot. The magistrate of the district was called on by the mother and son of the murdered Christian to take notice of the murder, and hold the ordinary inquest demanded by Chinese law under such circumstances. Instead of coming at once, as he should have done, he waited five days, till the body, under this tropical heat, was decomposed, and then came and had the audacity to declare that the Christian had not been murdered — that it was clear he had committed suicide by taking a dose of poison ! No witnesses were examined, and the murdered man’s wife and son, and other friends who were still heathen, were threatened and frightened into silence by the magistrates and subordinates. It was, however, too favourable an occasion for the magistrate not to exact his ordinary “squeeze,’’ and it is confidently reported that the gentry were compelled to make him and his subor- dinates a bribe of 4,000 dols. These are specimens of the way in which the Christians are treated, and of the way in which the authorities deal with the cases. ‘ The name of the murdered man, Ling Chek-Ang, deserves to be recorded, as that of the proto-martyr of the Fuh-kien Church. The story of the Fuh-kien Mission, pp. 166, 167. Another case. — ‘[In May, 1878] thirteen men who had lately heard the Gospel from the English Presbyterian mis- sionaries in Swatow, assembled for Sunday service in the village of Poih-buan. They were six leagues from any estab- lished out-station, and five days’ journey from the residence of the foreign missionaries. They gathered in a small room in a village where all beside were pagans, and One among them led in prayer to the sole true God. After morning service, five who lived farthest away, and could not stay for the after- THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 93 noon meeting, went home ; while eight remained together, cooking the rice for their noonday meal. Suddenly the door of the house was broken open, and the villagers, men armed with hoes and sickles, and women carrying kitchen-knives and canes, rushed in. Six of the Christians were bound, beaten, and made prisoners. Two escaped, and were pursued. One reached the nearest out-station, where he was received by the Christians, and awaited the arrival of a missionary, Mr. Gibson, who was expected at that place the next day. The other, leader and preacher to the little band, fled to his brother’s house ; and when the maddened throng belaboured the door, the brother locked him up in a cupboard, which both thought would escape search. The people ransacked the house, and finally insisted that the cupboard should be opened. No excuse from the brother would avail ; and they broke open the cupboard, snatched the man out, beat him terribly, dragged him to the bank of the river, and severed his head from his body. They then made the brother bury the corpse at once, and set men to watch all the roads, and prevent friends of the Christians carrying any accusation to the magistrate at the dis- trict city. The next morning they began to fear the conse- quences of their violence, and set the six prisoners free. When Mr. Gibson arrived and heard the terrible tidings, he went on at once to the district magistrate, was courteously received, and obtained a promise that the murderers should be punished, and that the right to assemble for religious services should be secured to the Christians. ‘ On returning to the Chinese inn at the district city, Mr. Gibson found there the brother, come to give information of the murder to the magistrate. He had gotten away from Poih-buan by night, and the Christians of another station had secreted him in a boat, and brought him by an unusual route to the district city. Mr. Gibson left the brother and an able native assistant to conduct the case through the intricate meshes of a mandarin’s court. What is caught in that net is what is profitable to the mandarin. It is apparently of the CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 94 utmost importance to the earthly welfare of the churches here that these murderers should be punished. If Christians may be killed with impunity, there are multitudes ready to kill them. All the native Christians here feel an intense personal interest in the settlement of this case. Nearly all of them suffer in some way on account of their faith, and martyrdom is possible for any.’ Annual Report of the ( English Presbyterian) China Mission (1879), pp. g, 10. A Woman Beaten. — ‘ Many of the native Christians have had a hard time of it lately. The persecutions have affected some of them in a very sad way. Many of them have little to lose, but, still, it is their all; and when taken, they are left destitute, and in many cases homeless. A poor woman, a member of the Baptist Church, was brought to the hospital last week. Ten men of her village attacked and beat her most unmercifully; she was bruised all over, and one leg broken. They intended to kill her, and it was a wonderful providence that she escaped with her life. Her only fault in this special instance was that she loves the Lord Jesus. Truly, the many texts on persecution need no explanation here, no smoothing them down ; they mean literally what they say. It must strike the heathen as very strange that, knowing as we do that all converts will have to bear more or less persecution from their heathen neighbours, we still dare to try to win them to this new religion.’ Miss Mann< Our Sisters in other Lands Qan., 1885), p. 102 A Woman’s possessions Stolen. — ‘One woman, a student, was present at the sacking of Kieh-fang chapel a few weeks since, and lost all her goods. She never uttered one word of complaint, but thanked God for His care over her, and with one of the other old Bible women most courageously went round and comforted all the troubled, timid Christian women, en- couraging their hearts, and pointing them to our true shelter at this time, under the shadowing wings of the Almighty a place THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 95 though dark, yet safe, close to the heart of Infinite Love, which will never disregard the trust of the weakest saint.’ Miss C. M. Ricketts, Swatow. Woman's Work in China (Nov., 1884), p. 38. A Soldier dismissed. — ‘A soldier who was baptised since my arrival here has been flogged and dismissed from the army for his testimony. He was a corporal in the army, and commanded ten men, who through his influence frequently came to hear the Gospel ; but now they are afraid to come, except one, who came yesterday in spite of orders and threats. A proclamation has been posted at the camp, stating that the corporal had been dismissed because he had become a Christian, and forbidding others to become such.’ Mr. COULTHARD. China's Millions (Oct., 1881), p. 125. Some consequences of the Franco-Chinese War, 1885. — ‘The autumn of 1884 will be memorable in the history of Christianity in China, on account of the wave of anti-Christian and anti-foreign excitement which swept over the province of Kwangtung. In the course of a few weeks eighteen Protestant chapels were destroyed or robbed. The degree of violence manifested on those occasions varied from simple robbery of the clothes, etc., of the preacher, to the total destruction of the furniture and building, and the robbery and maltreatment of the native Christians in general. I make no allusion to the violence done to Roman Catholic chapels. The priests in this province are French, and it is not strange that the people should vent their indignation against France for her unjustifi- able demands and violence, by reprisals on French property, and abuse of those connected with the French. ‘ Speaking, then, only of Protestant chapels, the different nationalities and various missions represented here all came in for a share in the losses. Ten of the chapels interfered with by the heathen were American, seven were English, and one was German. ‘ Several of these were near Swatow, and the rest were in 96 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. the vicinity of Canton. In Canton itself the chapels were threatened, and were saved only by the active efforts of the consuls, who procured proclamations from the Chinese autho- rities. For two months the chapels were closed, and there was no public preaching to the heathen. The missionaries and other foreigners could not even venture on the streets, so great was the hatred of all foreigners. At the instigation of the Chinese Mail , a rabid native newspaper in Hong-kong, several of the Tartar soldiers were imprisoned simply for the crime of being Christians, and were released only through the efforts of the American Consul. ‘ Our girls’ schools, of which there are many in Canton, were almost all closed, through parents withdrawing their children, and landlords refusing to rent their houses for Christian schools. In the country, several places rented as chapels were also resumed by the landlords, who feared mob violence to their property. Colporteurs could find no sale for their books, and met with nothing but abuse. Thus all forms of Christian work among the heathen were suspended. Underlings from the yamens arrested the Christians and extorted money from them, or threatened them with direct punishments. Converts were beaten, and the clothes stripped off even from the women. Not only were the chapels attacked, but the private dwellings and shops of the Christians were also mobbed, and their con- tents destroyed or stolen. ‘ What were the Chinese mandarins doing while these things were going on? Generally speaking, nothing. No arrests of rioters were made, no underlings were dismissed, no stolen property restored. In some cases, in consequence of the im- portunity of the Christians for help, impotent proclamations were posted up. At Shinhing, after one chapel had been destroyed, the district magistrate sent a guard to protect another within the city walls, and put out a good proclamation, but his efforts were hindered by his superior. At Pok-lo the district magistrate has been an honourable exception, as he has, since the riot, arrested and punished some of the leading THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 97 rioters, restored some of the stolen property, and offered some indemnity for the chapel destroyed. At Fatshan the authorities offered the missionary protection, but said they dare not arrest the rioters. They have since promised to rebuild one of the chapels demolished. On the other hand, the Tsingluen magis- trate put out a proclamation stating that the American chapel belonged to the French, and sat by in his chair while the rioting was going on, making no effort to check it, so long as the houses of the heathen were not interfered with. The only help he afforded the Christians was to send some of them away in a boat, after their houses had been destroyed, their pro- perty stolen, and they themselves, even old men and women, beaten and stripped of their clothes. It is stated on good authority that secret instructions were sent by provincial autho- rities to all the districts couched in eight characters, “ Provoke not the people \i.e., by punishing the rioters] : delay to investi- gate cases.” This policy has certainly been carried out to the letter, as no efforts were made to check the violence of the mob, and the Christians were snubbed whenever they made complaints. The cases of restitution alluded to above have been made since the riots were over. ‘This craze of hostility was directed not only against Christianity, but also against everything that was foreign, and at the same time beneficial. Native drug stores which sold foreign medicines, physicians who had received a training in Westefn medicine, surgery, and dentistry, were also objects of the hatred of the mob. Since the riots, these practitioners, even though heathen, have lost almost all their patients. Those, however, who pandered to the vices of the people by selling opium from Hong-kong, and lottery tickets from Macao, incurred no danger from the rioters. Thus, though this out- break was anti-foreign, it was also an uprising against the true and the good. Satanic malice was at the bottom of the whole movement. ‘ If we seek for the causes of this outburst of popular violence, they are not hard to discover. Nor does the blame attach H CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. exclusively to the Chinese ; fairness obliges us to say that we have suffered through the faults of men from beyond the ocean, as well as those of the people of China. ‘ i. It is undeniable that there is strong feeling of race-hatred among the Cantonese against Occidentals. This, however, is not peculiar to them. We see the same in India and elsewhere. Asiatics differ from Europeans in their customs, habits, pre- judices, and modes of thought, as much as they do in dress. Both think themselves superior in the points on which they pride themselves. This self-conceit is a prominent trait in the Chinese character. ‘a. It must be admitted that the conduct of foreigners has not always tended to remove this feeling from the minds even of the more thoughtful and better-disposed. These see in the men of the West examples of the triumph of force, and the benefits of the material civilization, but they see in them also instances of moral degradation. Commerce brings many evils in its train. A seaport frequented by the ships of all nations is too often a moral cesspool. Then, the feelings of the better class of Chinese has been shocked by the opium trade, the coolie traffic, and the legalised gambling and piracy of Hong- kong and Macao. The traffic in opium, with all its ramifications, smuggling, bribery, and the sapping of the strength of youth, and stealing away the savings of the family, has its centre in Hong-kong. Macao is identified with piracy, coolie kid- napping, and legalised gambling. Is it surprising then that the popular estimate of the foreigner is low in the eyes of the Cantonese ? I do not mean that the influence of foreigners has been altogether injurious. It is not the fact. But human nature is such that it emphasises the objectionable points in an enemy or a rival, and overlooks the favourable ones. Especially is this the case in times of popular excitement. ‘ 3. The Hong-kong Chinese press has had a bad influence. It generally merely caters to the tastes and prejudices of its patrons. Revelling in a freedom which it could never enjoy in China itself, it has abused the protection of a Christian THE CHURCH IN CHINA. 99 government, to excite its readers against foreigners, and against Christianity. So great has been the abuse that the Government of Hong-kong had to summon the editors of two principal newspapers to trial before the court. ‘4. The pretensions of the Roman Catholics have done much to prejudice the Chinese against Christianity. The priests assume the privileges of official rank, often claiming the right of visiting mandarins as equals, sometimes putting up lanterns at their doors with official titles, and resorting to various devices to give themselves an official status , and so to gain an influence among the people. This of course provokes the jealousy of the mandarins and gentry. ‘ 5. The hostilities with France certainly had much to do with the excitement. The unjustifiable conduct of this European power provoked the people to the last degree. That the Cantonese should be more irritated than Chinese else- where is not strange. The proximity of the province in which Canton is situated to Annam, the fact that many of the soldiers sent there were quartered in Canton, the exciting editorials of the Hong-kong Chinese newspapers, — all these things tended to kindle the hearts of the naturally turbulent populace here. ‘ 6. But the main cause of this outbreak of fanaticism was the conduct of the Chinese high officials. This certainly was the immediate cause. We went into the city to our chapel as usual on August 29th, and found the people no worse than for days before. The next day a faithful Christian coolie came to us, and begged us not to venture into the streets on Sunday the 31st, as the people were leaping for joy over proclama- tions which had been issued by high officials — the Imperial High Commissioner, P’ang Yu Lin, the Viceroy, the Governor, and the Ex-Viceroy. These papers offered rewards varying from 5,000 dols. for the apprehension of the enemies of the Emperor. A final clause stated that this meant the French and their abettors amongst the Chinese and Annamese. But the proclamations were sold about the streets, and published IOO CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. in the Hong-kong papers, I understand, with this clause omitted. The popular interpretation, and that cried out by the news- sellers, was, “ ioo dols. for a foreigner, and 50 dols. for a native Christian.” * An appeal had thus been made by the authorities to the strongest passions that rule in the breast of the Chinese mob, love of money and hatred of the foreigner. The news spread like wildfire. In a few days chapels at Fatshan, Shinhing, Tsingyuen, Sanhi, Sheklung and elsewhere were demolished or robbed. The Roman Catholics were attacked and Protes- tants robbed. The authorities generally took no means to check the violence of the people, except sometimes to put out proclamations advising the people not to be riotous. There were only one or two honourable exceptions. In Canton itself the consuls protested earnestly, and the Chinese authorities put out a few feeble proclamations in obscure places, but not at the city gates, where their proclamations are usually posted. On September 4th, a short proclamation, pro- tecting our dwellings, chapels, and schools, was given to the consuls. By September 12th, the consuls had brought suffi- cient pressure to bear on the mandarins to lead them to issue a very good proclamation. These papers, however, were sent only to the consuls for distribution to the missionaries, to be posted at our chapels and schools, and were not posted up at the city gates or elsewhere by the Chinese officials. ******* ‘ Let us hope that by the blessing of Him who, from “ evil still educes good,” great good may yet come from these fiery trials.’ Rev. R. H. Graves, M.D. Chinese Recorder (Nov., 1884), pp. 445-450. Troubles in Formosa. — The following memorandum, written by the Rev. G. L. Mackay, D.D., of the Canadian Presbyterian Mission, relates to troubles in North Formosa, consequent on the action of the French. ‘ The work was never in such a prosperous condition as in THE CHURCH IN CHIAA. IOI 1884, before the French bombardment of Kelung. There were thirty-five chapels, with as many trained native preachers, twenty-six students in the college, and thirty-seven girls in the school at Tamsui. Upwards of one thousand had been bap- tised, and on the whole the people were never more friendly and well-disposed. ‘The arrival of the French changed the whole aspect of affairs. At once converts became objects of suspicion and hatred. Head-men who had concealed hatred came to the front and stirred up the masses, villains living on the border land near the savages combined to plunder, and almost with the first outbreak levelled seven chapels to the ground, looted the houses of converts, and beat many of them. All this took place in one district, being the one in which Tamsui and Kelung lay. According to latest accounts the other two dis- tricts were still quiet. ‘ At Kelung, where there was a large' congregation, there is desolation all around. Converts are scattered and hounded from place to place. ‘ Two of the chapels destroyed were large buildings of cut stone, and finished last June. The converts at one of the stations named gave four hundred and fifty dollars towards erecting their own church, which included room for preacher and family, teacher and pupils. Now all is in ruins. By latest accounts converts were standing faithful and true.’ Chinese Recorder (Jan., 1885), p. 52. The Character of Chinese Converts. — ‘Of what kind are the converts in China ? I know Church of England Mission converts best, and I will, therefore, mention a little of what I have seen of them. ‘Church of England Missions in China have over 5,000 Christian adherents. One of these missions is in my own diocese — that in the province of Fuh-kien. It has been remarkably successful in gaining the adhesion of large numbers of the people, chiefly in country districts at some distance from the city of Fuh-Chow, the headquarters of the mission. Ac- 102 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. cording to the last reports there are over 4,000 adherents, baptised and unbaptised, in that mission alone. This is the more remarkable, as for the first ten years after its establish- ment not a single convert was received. It was not until the eleventh year that the first baptism took place, and now there are upwards of 100 mission stations scattered over a very large district, with .93 native catechists who are paid, and a large number of unpaid helpers, 4 native clergy, 2,244 bap- tised members, and 1,386 communicants. ‘ I have several times visited that mission as bishop, going from station to station by the slow and tedious mode of travelling peculiar to that part of the country, where there are few rivers, joining the native Christians in their services and holding confirmations. I was struck with the large numbers that gathered in many of the country stations for worship, some of the converts having to walk long distances in order to be present. I could see no worldly motive that would account for the results I witnessed. In such remote regions, far away from the head-quarters of the mission, which can only be occasionally visited by the English missionary, and are mainly in charge of native catechists, these poor people could have nothing to gain from giving up their national idolatry and adopting a foreign religion. The missionaries have no worldly advantage either of money or of protection to offer. The converts continue as much Chinese subjects after their baptism as before it. To many of them profession of Chris- tianity has brought suffering and loss. Persecution has arisen from time to time in many of these country stations, a very natural consequence of the introduction of a new religion among an ignorant, superstitious people, who are startled to find some of their neighbours refusing to subscribe to or join in heathen festivals, or to partake in the worship of ancestors. Many of the Christians have been at different times and places throughout the mission beaten, robbed, and maltreated in a variety of ways, and they have been rarely able to obtain either redress or protection. THE CHURCH IN CHINA. IO3 ‘ If these and other things of the kind are not to be con- sidered as evincing sincerity, it is hard to see how sincerity is ever to be proved in this world. I say not that all the con- verts are perfect Christians. This cannot be said of any Church of Christians on earth. Many of them are very im- perfect Christians, just like many in our own parishes and congregations. Heathenism, like our own bad habits, is not easily eradicated. But among these Chinese Christians we are privileged to see many, amid, it may be, much ignorance, giving real proof of changed hearts by manifesting changed lives from what they once were, and many also showing a steadiness under persecution which some of us perhaps might fail under the same circumstances to manifest.’ Bishop Burdon. Church Missionary Intelligencer (Jan., 1883). CHAPTER III. METHODS AND RESULTS OF MISSIONARY WORK. * 1 1 neither claim for missionaries nor for their methods, nor for the results of their work, unqualified praise. I admit that we have only as yet touched the fringe of the population, and that the great work yet remains to be done. China’s needs cry loudly and imperatively. Perfection is a thing I never expect to find in Mission work. But, because we and our work are open to criticism and even to censure, it does not follow that our work is valueless and the results of it insignificant. All I would say to those who set them- selves up to be our critics is, first get to know the truth about us and our work; and, secondly, give us fair play. Criticise Missions in China and elsewhere if you will ; only do it on a sufficient basis of knowledge, and do it fairly. And under these conditions the sooner you do it, and the more you do it, the better for us.’ Rev. W. Scarborough, Wesleyan Missionary Notices, Anniversary Number (1886), p. 29. I. PREACHING AND ITINERANCY. The Opportunities afforded by Preaching. — ‘Three agencies are at our command for the dissemination of the truth to enlighten the heathen. These are : the pulpit, the schoolroom, and the press; and there is scarcely another country in the world where there is more scope for an efficient application of all of these agencies than China. Every one will admit, I presume, that the oral preaching of the Word of God is the first duty of a missionary. To be able to do so, he has first of all to learn the language of the people he is sent to teach. The safest way to gain this point is by a close intercourse with the people, by which means he will not only acquire the proper idiom of the language, but make himself at the same time acquainted with their mode of PREACHING AND ITINERANCY. 105 thought and their peculiar views. It is from this vantage ground the missionary has to combat their errors and super- stition«, and to lead them gradually to the truth. If he can so open his mouth as to discourse intelligibly on religious subjects, he will never be at a loss for an audience in this country, as he has neither to travel through large tracts of land before he can meet a human being, as in Africa, nor is he shunned by people like the Brahmins in India, who fear to become defiled by contact with any one who is not of their caste.’ Rev. R. Lechler, Hong-kong, Records of Shanghai Conference (1877), p. 162. The same.—' Our principal plan is to practise extensively and in faith the simple preaching of the Gospel. The majority of missionaries preach at least once every day, and some of them several times a day. In chapels, in the streets of towns and villages, in temples, on board ships, everywhere their voice is being heard.’ Rev. W. Scarborough, Wesleyan Missionary Notices, (Aug. 1877). p. 181. Direct Results of Preaching. — ‘ This [Hankow] has been a preaching mission from the beginning. Preaching is the work that we love best, and depend upon most for results. We believe that God can change the heart of the grown-up heathen, and that it is by no means necessary to get hold of the child in order to make a Christian of the man. We would rather say, Get hold of the adult population, in order to make Christians of the children. Among the ninety-six baptised by me during this year, not a few are men and women advanced in years. One was an old man of seventy- one, another of seventy-two, and another of seventy-seven ; an old woman of sixty-seven, another of sixty-eight, another of seventy-five. These old people seem to me to see Christ as their Saviour just as clearly, and believe in Him quite as sincerely, as the rest. The work is God’s, and the Gospel is God’s truth ; and believing this, we expect to see China 106 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. converted by preaching the Gospel, and the Gospel only. If the Gospel cannot commend itself to thinking men, the sooner we give up our work the better. But if it can, then let us get hold of men in the full possession of their mental powers, and present it to them.' Rev. Griffith John, L. M. S. Report (1877), p. 62. Indirect Results. — 1 In the daily preaching there is, of course, much sameness. A congregation of heathen listeners in a large place like Hankow will always be chiefly composed of casual passers-by, who, seeing the chapel doors open, come in, either to sit down and rest, or to satisfy their curiosity as to what the preacher is saying. But amidst much sameness in this work of preaching there is also a considerable variety, and a missionary is often led into very interesting conversations with his hearers, and at times is cheered by finding that thought is being awakened and good is being done, even where no results are seen in the way of direct conversion to Christianity. ‘We find it a good plan to encourage our hearers to ask questions either in the middle or at the close of our sermons. Some of the questions that one hears asked are such as would only occur to a Chinaman, and the train of reasoning which prompts them is thoroughly Chinese ; but other questions are essentially human, and seem to show that the souls of men in China, as well as elsewhere, are crying out for that which the Gospel of Christ alone can supply. As an example of this latter kind of question I may instance the following : — I had been talking one day to a heathen audience about idolatry, and the difference between, on the one hand, deifying dead men who in their day had been, like ourselves, bright examples, perhaps, of virtuous living, but nothing more than men ; and, on the other hand, worshipping a living God, the Creator of all things, the Fountain of virtue in every man, and the Author and Upholder of our lives. A man in the congregation — a perfect stranger to the Gospel — turned to me PREACHING AND ITINERANCY. \oy and said : “ If God never became man, I should like to ask you how you can know anything about Him.” It was not difficult, in answer to such an inquiry, to tell of the Incarna- tion and to speak of the revelation of Himself which God has given us in the person of His Son. ‘ On another occasion, a man who had been listening to me for some time as I preached of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment, stopped me and said : “ I have listened to you with interest. Now I should like to ask you a question. Will you tell me in few words what I am to do ? I am a sinner, as you say. I am all wrong, I know. What I want to ask is : How am I to get right ?” Of course I tried as clearly as I could to set before him the way of forgiveness and the possibility of inward renewal through Jesus Christ. In this case, as in the former one, I lost sight of the man ; but in regard to both of these men I felt that they were men who were being led — one from an intellectual standpoint, the other from a consciousness of sin — to feel after Christ without them- selves knowing what they needed. But sometimes, of course, one is approached in a very different spirit from that which was moving in the minds of these two men. A man of coarse life proclaims his own shame by declaring that the only gospel he wants is to be told how to make money and to enjoy him- self. Or a proud and self-complacent literary man speaks dis- dainfully of the doctrine of the personal God, or of a Saviour who would go to such lengths as to lay down His life for men. Voluntary humiliation and self-sacrifice he regards as an entire delusion ; he is not only not himself prepared to enter upon a life of self-sacrifice ; he sees in the thing itself no beauty that he should even desire it. ‘ I must just give one other example of the effect of preaching, an example which appears to me to indicate how much good our preaching may be doing in awakening thought, and in im- planting living germs of truth in the minds of. men who, for the present, still remain outside the Christian Church. I had been speaking one day in my sermon about the supreme autho- CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 108 rity of God, .saying amongst other things that we ought to obey Him at all costs, even when His commands clashed with the law of the Emperor or with the wishes of parents. In the same sermon I spoke also of the righteouness and equity of God’s judgment, and contrasted it with the unrighteousness of the judgments often formed by men. I instanced the way in which God judges of purity, and then spoke of men who had one standard of morality for women, and another, and much looser one, for themselves. I pointed out that in China, while infidelity in a wife would be visited with capital punishment in a manner too horrible to describe, yet in the case of a husband the sin of infidelity was practically regarded as a very unimportant matter. Shortly after I had spoken in this way, a well-dressed man in the congregation arose from his seat, and, coming up to where I was standing, stood right in front of me and said : “ Sir, you have taught me to-day two lessons which I shall never forget. You have made me feel that God is to be obeyed before our parents, and you have made me see that God requires purity in men as much as in women. I had never thought of these things in this way before. I shall remember what you have said, and I thank you for it.” He bowed, turned on his heel, and walked out of the chapel. With him, as with the vast mass of our hearers at the daily preaching, I knew nothing of the man before, and I know nothing of what has become of him since, but as I walked home from the chapel that day I thanked God and took courage. Often I am made to feel, and that in many ways, that our labour is not in vain in the Lord.’ Rev. A. Foster, L. M. S. Annual Report (1886), p. 39. The same. — ‘ The whole of North China, and of the South, too, for aught I know, swarms with religious sects. We speak of those great systems, Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, and so on, but the truth is that the whole country is honeycombed with sects. Some are more political, some are religious, some are treasonable ; but among the members of these sects will PREACHING AND ITINERANCY. log usually be found those who are dissatisfied with the faiths around them, and so seek after something higher and better. ‘A very curious fact in connection with these sects came under my notice only a few years ago. A number of men were in the habit of continually attending the chapel at Tientsin, and we noticed that they usually took their seats at the back, and we could not get them into conversation, because the moment we went towards them they sheered off, and would not make their appearance again for some weeks. At last some of our natives managed to get near them, and ask them a few questions. And what do you think the truth was? Those men who were regular attendants at our chapel were the local heads of the sects to which I have just alluded. And why did they attend? In order to get pabulum to retail to their people ; the truth being that Christianity had become so familiar among a class of the people that, though they did not like to receive it from the foreigner, they were willing to receive our statements and histories second-hand from their own people. That is just an illustration, at any rate, of the way in which Christianity is gradually soaking down among the population, and the way in which the story of Christ is being assimilated in the minds of the people, and it will bear glorious fruit some day.’ Rev. Jonathan Lees, L. M. S. Chronicle (June, 1887), p. 256. The same. — ‘ There is now a Benevolent Institution in the western suburbs of Canton, for which tens of thousands of dollars are subscribed by the officials and gentry. Medicines are dispensed and prescriptions written gratis ; widows and orphans and aged poor are helped ; coffins are provided for those that die in poverty ; and free schools are established, or to be established, by this Institution throughout the city and suburbs. But the most remarkable fact is the public preaching, a new thing in China, at least in modern times, and evidently in imitation and rivalry of Protestant missionaries. Not long ago there was an examination of candidates for the IIO CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. office of preacher, held by a committee of the gentry, at which some two hundred preached trial sermons in a hall open to the public, each being allowed half an hour, and called to halt when the time was up by the ringing of a bell. Somewhere about sixty of these are said to have been selected to be paid each ten taels (£2 10s.) a month for preaching in different halls in town and country. Their text-book is a small collec- tion of moral maxims, originally, as issued by the Emperor Kanghi, consisting of only sixteen sentences, but amplified by his successor, and named the Sacred Edict. But, in addition to this, each preacher is expected to provide himself with a selection of moral tales, by the reciting of which most of the time is filled up ; and on this chiefly he depends for securing the attention of the audience. I have frequently gone into these halls during the preaching, and invariably found, except at the very commencement, a story being told. This move- ment is, on the whole, very encouraging in regard to mission- work. It shows that a deep impression has been produced by Christian preaching ; that a counter movement is deemed abso- lutely necessary by our opponents ; and that all they have to oppose us with is moral teaching; for religion , strictly so called, is not included in their programme.’ Rev. J. Chalmers, M.A. L. M. S. Chronicle (July, 1873). A New Year’s Illustration. — * A Chinese preacher, wish- ing to impress upon his hearers the idea that time seems to pass more swiftly as we get older, used a telling illustration drawn from the incense-pan. The incense-pan is an article of furniture familiar to every Chinaman, young and old. It is a stand made to hold a great length of incense, coiled up like a clock-spring. The outer coils are by far the largest, the outer- most being fifteen or eighteen inches in circumference ; while the inner coils get gradually shorter, the innermost of all being not more than, perhaps, three inches in circumference. This spiral incense being fixed on the frame and lighted, the first round takes a long time to burn ; the second round, being PREACHING AND ITINERANCY. m shorter, is completed quicker; the third round is completed more quickly still ; and so, with accelerated pace, the smoking point courses round the shortening coils till the last is reached, which, being the shortest of all, is travelled round in a fraction of the time that was taken to consume the first. ‘ In the same way, said the Chinaman, our years seem to go, flying more swiftly the nearer we get to the end of our life. He then appealed to his hearers if they could not bear testi- mony to the fact that in childhood a year seemed a greater length of time than ever twelve months did since ; and I think every one of his audience felt that he was right. The longer we live the shorter does life seem, and every year seems to pass more quickly than the last.’ Rev. James Gilmour, M.A. L. M. S. Chronicle (Jan., 1883). A Chinese Preacher. — ‘ It was in the spring of 1840 that I first became acquainted with Ho Tsun-sheen. I had reached Malacca, the station to which I was appointed, in the last week of 1 839, and had been informed by the missionary there in charge of the Anglo-Chinese College, that his son had been for several months at Bishop’s College, Calcutta, with a young Chinese of remarkable intelligence as his companion. A few months after the two young men returned to Malacca. With the Chinese youth I soon found myself on terms of great intimacy. He was then about twenty-two, only two years younger than myself. His surname was Ho, and the name of Tsun-sheen, meaning “ Advance in goodness,” had been given to him when he was baptised, in 1838. ‘ Not long before that he had come from Canton in search of his father, who had been living at Malacca for many years, in the service of the mission as a block-cutter and printer, having been engaged for that work, and sent from China, by Dr. Morrison. The man had left his wife and this son, then quite young, in his native village ; and, like many other Chinese who go abroad, he had given up the idea of going back to his country, and contented himself with sending to 1 1 2 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. his family a portion of his earnings. While he was absent the boy had grown up. At school he had made great progress in the various branches of Christian learning, so that his masters advised his friends to keep on supporting him as a student, confident that he would ultimately reach the highest pinnacle of literary eminence and official dignity, to the advantage and glory of his family and village. ‘ When my intercourse with Tsun-sheen commenced, I found that he was familiar with the classical books of his country, and had laid the foundations of a good knowledge of English. His sojourn at Calcutta had been beneficial to him in various respects. He told me how a Mr. Malan, one of the professors, had been particularly kind and attentive to him. This was the present vicar of Broadwinsor, Dorsetshire, who had not only communicated of his own stores of knowledge to the young Chinaman, but also received from him some acquaintance with Chinese, which has since borne abundant fruit. Tsun-sheen returned to Malacca, much improved in his knowledge of English, and with his mind generally enlarged and invigorated. He became at once a pupil of my own; and I delight to linger over the years of our early intimacy, from 1840 to 1843. ‘ He had been baptised, I have said, in 1838. A subject of repeated conversations with him was the history of his con- version. He had submitted to baptism, he said, in the first place, to please his father and Mr. Evans, but thinking of the ordinance as merely an external rite. By-and-by, as he came to read English, and could understand the English Bible, the nature and meaning of the Christian system broke upon his mind. He obtained an enlarged idea of the plan of salvation, and embraced it with a quiet and resolute faith. I had no occasion to doubt the sincerity of the profession which he made to be a disciple of Christ. ‘ During three years I read much of the Scriptures with him, and various works on theology, and on general and eccle- siastical history. His knowledge of English became extensive and thorough, so that he could read any ordinary book and PREACHING AND ITINERANCY. 113 commentaries on the Scriptures with a ready apprehension of their meaning. I set about teaching him Greek and Hebrew, and was astonished at his progress. Before the end of 1842, he could read fluently both the Old and New Testaments in the original languages, and even attempted, with success, com- position in Hebrew. In the autumn of 1840, Tsun-sheen gave me some assistance in teaching the classes which I organised in the college, and in addressing his countrymen on Sunday. In the latter exercise he displayed from the first the elements of that power of fluent and perspicuous exposition for which he afterwards became so remarkable. ‘ Suddenly there came from Canton to Malacca the father of the young person between whom and himself an engagement of marriage had been formed, according to Chinese custom, when they were both children. Notice was, as it were, served upon him to return to China and be married. He demurred, and I should not have been surprised at his running away ; but his countrymen were unanimous in pressing upon him what they considered to be his duty to fulfil the engagement. He was obliged to submit ; and so it was that in 1 843 he went with me to Hong-kong, when the mission was removed from Malacca to that island. ‘His knowledge both of English and Chinese would have enabled him to command remunerative employment with his own countrymen, or with the British Government, or in mercantile houses ; and several tempting offers were made to him. He told me, however, that he would rather continue in our mission in the capacity of a preacher of the Gospel. The salary the mission could give him was not a fifth of what invited his acceptance from other quarters ; and this was no unsatisfactory proof of the sincerity of his attachment to the work of an evangelist. I was delighted to retain a helper whom I knew so well, and in whom I could repose confidence. ‘The long-standing engagement was fulfilled, and in the arrangement for his marriage he played the Christian man, and obliged the friends of the bride to yield to what they regarded 1 1 14 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. as his foreign and detestable prejudices. Having gone into the interior of the country, and finding that they, thinking they had him there in their power, were resolved to carry the ceremony through with the usual idolatrous observances, he astonished them by disappearing, and returning to Hong-kong, on the eve of the appointed day. It was then his turn to dictate terms, and the other side had to submit. He brought his wife to Hong-kong in 1844, and lived happily with her to the period of his death. He took great pains in teaching her to read, and to understand the truths of the Gospel. She soon professed herself to be a Christian, and was baptised. She became the mother of more than a dozen children, of whom the greater part are now alive. ‘On the subsequent part of Tsun-sheen’s career it is im- possible for me in this sketch to dwell at so much length as I have done on these early passages. From the time that the mission was settled and got into working order in Hong-kong, he remained in connection with it, and took a large share of the labour in instructing the members of the church that was gradually collected, and in the general preaching of the Gospel. Towards the end of 1845 I was obliged, after long and severe illness, to return to England. Before I left Hong-kong, I had arranged that Tsun-sheen should be ordained to the work of the ministry. ‘ I returned to Hong-kong in 1848, and continued at the post till the beginning of 1858. During those years Tsun- sheen was in the vigour of his powers, and displayed a capacity for preaching and exposition which I do not think that I have ever heard equalled — which certainly I never heard surpassed. ‘To Chalmers, Wardlaw, Parsons, Melville, Leifchild, Binney, and other foremost preachers at home, I have often listened ; but I have no hesitation in saying that the Chinaman excelled them all. He was very various both in subject and manner, but there was always clear exposition. Now, he would reason closely. Having thought out the truth or subject which was to be his theme, he would by flashes of oratory place it in the PREACHING AND ITINERANCY. “5 most striking lights. Anon he would hold his hearers hanging on his lips, while he graphically told them portions of the Scripture histories. ‘One evening, the congregation, from a temporary cause, was larger than usual, and our little chapel was crowded, every seat occupied, and many standing in the passages. His subject was —“Ye have heard of the patience of Job.” Now, not one in ten of his hearers had ever so much as heard the name of Job ; and he dramatised to them the trials of the patriarch with an overmastering spell. When he came to tell of Job’s sore boils, hundreds were hotching about, as if themselves smitten with a similar infliction. Then it seemed as if he were stooping down in the pulpit to get hold of a potsherd, and I was recalled to self-consciousness by my hand coming in contact with the tiles of the floor, as I was feeling about for the same object. When I looked around, there were scores of hands similarly occupied. ‘Another time he was preaching from Psalm cxxxix. 14, and setting forth the marvellous construction of the human frame. As he dilated on the hand, contrasting it with the correspond- ing organ in one animal and another, many of the people could not restrain the expression of their delight. “ Look at him ! look at him ! ” cried one man of a group, who were standing near me. “ Hear him,” responded another ; “ there never was anything like this ! ” ‘ All this eloquence was extemporaneous. Excepting a skeleton or an outline, the preacher had written nothing. And I do not think he ever preached merely for effect. There was not a bit of bombast or rant about his language or manner. The style was clear, plain, and correct, so that every discourse, if it could have been taken down in shorthand, and printed, would have read well. ‘It may be asked, What was the effect of all this oratory and clear exposition of the truth ? The gradually increasing members of the church through it grew in knowledge ; and a certain kind of interest was awakened in multitudes beyond. 1 16 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. But there was not that conviction of sin excited which I longed to see, nor any crying out of the hearers, “What must we do to be saved?” We often talked of this on our way home from the services, and cast about for the reason of it. “We cannot command what you desire,” he would say. “You do not know how difficult it is to affect the Chinese religiously. That must come by-and-by. Now is the time to prepare a people for the Lord.” Occasionally I suggested to him the idea of his throwing himself among the masses of his countrymen in Canton and other great cities — as it were precipitating himself among them in the spirit of a prophet. But he was not equal to such an undertaking. He wanted the enthusiastic spirit of propagandism necessary for it ; and he fell back, moreover — I am not prepared to say without reason — on what he always asserted to be the fact, that China was not yet sufficiently opened for such work. I think, however, that he might have accomplished much in this way. Ch’ea Kum-kong, of Pok-lo, having been brought to a knowledge of the Gospel, went from Hong-kong, where he had profited much from the teachings of Tsun-sheen, and set, in a way which made them call him mad, about telling his friends and neighbours what the Lord had done for him. His course resulted in his own early martyrdom, but not till he had laid the foundation of more than one church. But it was not in Tsun-sheen’s nature to adopt that line of action ; and, moreover, he was held by family cares and obli- gations from which the other was free. ‘ That his usefulness might be made as extensive as possible, I suggested to him the idea of writing a Commentary on the Books of the New Testament. I have spoken already of his gift in exposition, and I had known him go over the whole of the New Testament, with the exception of the Apocalypse, twice, with the Christians in class. He prepared for the exer- cise by reading Henry, Scott, and Barnes, while yet he pursued his way mainly by the lamp of his own thinking. His written style, too, was good, and comparatively free from the classical PREACHING AND ITINERANCY. 117 and other recondite allusions, and from the stereotyped phrase- ology of which the Chinese literati are so fond. Not that he was incapable of these. One year we signalised the commence- ment of every Chinese month by printing a brief essay on some appropriate subject,. which he and I then put, in the course of domiciliary visitation, into the hands of thousands. Occasionally we came across a scholar, who would express in glowing terms his admiration of the composition. Altogether Tsun-sheen was well adapted to produce a useful and valuable commentary. ‘ He entered heartily into the proposal, and ere long the portion on Matthew appeared from the press. To missionaries and Chinese catechists this has been a great boon. But when this first instalment of the work was completed his zeal in it flagged. Mark was subsequently finished and published ; but no more was accomplished. I regret exceedingly the com- parative failure of this undertaking, especially as he lived long enough to have completed the greater part if not the whole of it. Some allowance has to be made, however, for the writer’s want of perseverance in the matter. Such works in every country have been supplied chiefly in answer to the demand for them. Take away the stimulus of a multitude of sympa- thizing and appreciating readers, and the chance of pecuniary remuneration, and the productions of the press would diminish wonderfully all over the world. The missionary from a foreign land will do whatever he thinks best fitted to promote his great object, though his labours may be unappreciated in the present, and involve an outlay of time and talent for which he receives no pecuniary return; the immediate opinion of the heathen around him is to him a matter of indifference. But a Christian from among themselves, unless his spirit has been touched to the finest issues by the Spirit of God, is affected by the same influences that elsewhere regulate the exercise of literary ability. The compensating stimulus to act upon him is the constant pressure of a missionary cheering and directing him. ‘This stimulus, unfortunately, could not be applied to Tsun- sheen after 1859, as it had been before. I made a visit to 1 18 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. England in that year, returning to Hong-kong in the autumn of 1859. From that time till 1866, I was left alone in charge of the mission, and, in addition to other engagements, was occupied with my work on the Chinese Classics, and I was obliged to leave him very much to himself. He preached more frequently than he had done before, and was always ready to advise on cases of discipline and other occurring matters ; but he fell into a routine — -doing what there was an immediate call for him to do, but not more or beyond. ‘Another thing must be mentioned which rendered the last twelve years of his life less interesting and brilliant than the earlier portion of it had been. He was becoming wealthy. I have told how, on his coming from Malacca to Hong-kong, in 1843, he preferred to continue in the service of the mission rather than engage in secular employment, which seemed to open to him a short and easy road to riches. His salary was gradually raised from ten dollars a month to thiity dollars, with an allowance latterly of twenty dollars for house-rent, when there was no longer accommodation for him on the mission premises ; but in every case the advance was made without any application from himself. It was what was due for his services, which were cheap at the highest sum which the mission ever paid for them. But the man was thrifty. From the first he acted on the principle, which is fundamental to all worldly prosperity, of living within and below his income. He had saved a little in 1843, and he at once invested it in building- land. As the value of property in the colony rose, his means increased. He watched his opportunities, and with but little effort on his part he died at last a wealthy man. As he ob- tained the power of giving, he was not illiberal. Looked at from a Chinese point of view, he was liberal. ‘ I was called to England a third time by the circumstances of my family in 1867, and remained at home till the beginning of 1870. One of the first to visit me on my return to Hong- kong was my old friend Tsun-sheen • and I was pained to see how old age was coming upon him with more rapid tread than PREACHING AND ITINERANCY. 119 might have been expected from his years. He had grown weak, he said, and was unable to move about and work as he had done. Yet still he took his accustomed share in preaching and in the meetings of the church. He had always been wise and discreet in council, though the hopes that were entertained when he was ordained were never fully realised. He took matters of discipline too easily, and followed in the wake of the missionary, instead of being eyes to him, and vigilant in watching over the consistency of the members. ‘ Preparations were made by the United'Committee of Canton and Hong-kong, towards the end of 1870, to lay before the Chinese Church here its duty to separate itself from the Mis- sionary Society, 'and, calling Tsun-sheen to the sole ministry over it, to undertake the duty of supporting him. The project was disconcerted by a slight stroke of paralysis, which occurred to him before it could be matured, and was a first warning to him that his time on earth was not to be much prolonged. I went to see him, and we talked over a variety of topics. Speaking of our long and close friendship, extending through more than thirty years, I referred to the way in which the Lord had blessed him with material prosperity, and said : “ It has sometimes occurred to me that it might have been better for yourself and for the Gospel in China if you had remained a comparatively poor man.” His reply contained matter for serious consideration. “ It might have been so,” he said, “ and it might not. But what could I have done with my large family, if I had had nothing but my salary ? What would the Missionary Society have said and done if I had left my wife and many young children to its care ? ” ‘ He seemed to recover from the stroke of paralysis, but it left him weaker than before. He called on me to consult about his resigning, at least fora time, his appointment from the mission ; he was able to do it, and if he regained his strength, he would resume the work of preaching. I advised him to take a little more time to think the matter over ; and in the beginning of 1871 he went to Canton for a change. There he 120 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. was taken alarmingly ill, and hearing that his life was in danger, I went up in February to see him. I found him with most of the members of his family about him, and much altered in appearance. He recognised me, however, with a smile, and when I asked him whether he felt assured and happy in the prospect of death, he was able to say : “ I do. My trust is in the work of Christ. My relation to God through Him has long been settled. I do not need to agitate it now.” I saw him a second time the next day, but was not sure that he knew me. ‘For more than a month after this he lingered on, till he finally passed away on the 3rd of April. I have had a melan- choly pleasure in putting on record the preceding reminiscences of him, and the impressions made by him on my mind. He was certainly a man of very remarkable mental power — “an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures,” a sincerely good Christian man. I close with a sentiment to which I often gave expression while he was alive : — If he was not all the hero that we could wish to see, we have reason to be glad that he was what he was, and to be thankful to God that we had such a man to labour with us, according to his measure and quality, in the service of the Gospel ! ’ Rev. James Legge, D.D., L. M. S. Chronicle (July, 1872), abridged. Ho Tsun-sheen’s reputation as a Preacher. — ‘I have just returned [to Canton] after a protracted stay in Hong-kong. My visit there was for the purpose of profiting from the preaching of an eloquent and learned native preacher who assists in the mission of the London Missionary Society. I hoped, and not in vain, both to increase my vocabulary and to listen to the highest standard of preaching eloquence accessible to me. Ho Tsun-sheen is a remarkable man. To natural powers of a high order has been added a training under very able missionaries. I think I have improved my acquaintance with the style of Chinese preaching very materially by the frequent opportunities [I have had of hearing him preach].’ Rev. Josiah Cox, Wesleyan Missionary Notices (January, 1857), p. 4. PREACHING AND ITINERANCY. 12 1 Itinerancy should be confined to a limited space. — ‘ I have spent a large portion of my time in itinerary work, and not without cheering results. At first my object was to spread my labours over a wide area ; but of late years I have confined them to more narrow limits, and have done the work more thoroughly. This plan I strongly recommend. Bibles and tracts should be largely distributed, but the former with com- ments attached. I have found it of great advantage on many occasions to have my own tent, and to remain a week or more in one place. Many persons are brought together to hear the Gospel, and many books are sold. Mere passing and isolated visits are productive of but little good, for they are soon for- gotten, and the effect is not permanent. Such work must be followed up, and the seed sown should be carefully watched and cultivated We are not without instances of success in this itinerary work amongst the Chinese. Two of our most efficient native preachers, now in active service, were brought to know Christ by this agency.’ Rev. J. W. Lambuth, Shanghai, Records of Shanghai Missionary Conference (1877), p. in. The Country Open to the Itinerant Preacher. — ‘The ease with which the work of itineration is carried on in China is simply wonderful. As far back as the year 1868, Mr. Wylie, the agent of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and myself, completed a missionary tour of three thousand miles in the provinces of Hupeh, Sz-chuen, and Shensi. We ascended the Yang-tse river as far as Su-chow-foo, a city situated at the mouth of the Min, and distant from the sea 1,700 miles; as- cended the Min as far as Cheng-tu, the capital of Sz-chuen ; proceeded overland in chairs to the river Han ; played with the Han where it is a mere rivulet, and then glided down along its capacious bosom to Hankow, the spot where the Han and the Yang-tse meet, and thence pursue their common course to the sea. The Gospel had never been preached in that region before ; and yet we called at most of the cities and towns on the line of our route, and carried on our work without let or 122 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. hindrance. There is Chung-king, the commercial capital of Sz-chuen, and one of the finest cities in the empire. Its popu- lation is about 500,000. In that magnificent city, where the Gospel had never been preached before, there is hardly a street in which I did not address large and attentive audiences. And there is Cheng-tu, the capital of Sz-chuen. Its population we estimated at about a million ; and yet I preached in the streets of that fine city, and in the midst of that enormous mass of human beings, with as much ease and sense of security as I was wont to do in my chapels at Hankow.’ Rev. Griffith John, China, Her Claims and Call (1882), pp. 28, 29. The same. — ‘ Missionaries, and that of all the societies, have been travelling over that vast empire during the past twenty years, and have found the country both legally and practically open. With a good knowledge of the language, and a fair share of common sense, a man can go almost anywhere in China, and preach in the streets and the temples. And I would add that the adoption of the native dress is by no means essential to either efficiency or safety. I have never adopted the native dress, and that for the simple reason that I look upon it as a hindrance rather than otherwise. It is quite right that every man should please himself in the matter ; but it is a great mistake to attach the least value or importance to it.’ Rev. Griffith John, China, Her Claims and Call (1882), p. 30. Seven Years’ Wanderings in China. — ‘At a meeting of the China Inland Mission, held in the Mildmay Conference Hall, a curious-looking map, intersected by an irregular net- work of scarlet braid, was suspended above the platform. It represented the Chinese Empire, with its eighteen provinces, and the adjacent territories of Mongolia, Manchuria, Corea, Thibet, and Burmah. ‘ To its utmost limits, and in every direction, ran the bright red line, which marked the journeyings of our former student, PREACHING AND ITINERANCY. 123 Mr. James Cameron, who has, during the last seven years, traversed China in her length and breadth, and entered some of her outlying territories, distributing the Scriptures and preaching the Gospel. ‘ Mr. Cameron generally journeyed on foot, partly from necessity, though often by choice, as he found more oppor- tunity of doing his Master’s work in this way. Occasionally he travelled on horseback or on a mule ; in the north a cart might now and then be hired, but these springless conveyances left their traces in many a bruise on the traveller’s person. Wheel- barrows were the fashion in the southern province of Kwang-si ; mere trucks divided into two seats by a wheel let into the centre; two, and sometimes four, persons ride on these, one coolie pushing the load. ‘Starting in 1876 from Gan-king, about 500 miles inland from Shanghai, after six months spent in studying the language, Mr. Cameron went westward into Sz-chuen, on the border of Thibet. He found himself the first foreigner to enter many of the towns on his route, but was able, almost everywhere, to sell some Scriptures and tracts. Now and then, however, he was threat- ened with violence, as at I-chang, a treaty port on the Yang-tse, where the people rose against the foreigners, broke in the wooden front of the house in which he was staying with a fellow-worker, Mr. Ni coll, and stole or spoiled much of their property. ‘ There was some river travelling at this point of his journey, through the magnificent gorges of the Yang-tse; but Mr. Cameron always took a land route by preference when there was a choice, as he could hardly go a mile on foot without meeting wayfarers to whom he might deliver his message or sell one of his books. In the numerous hamlets on his road he usually found ready listeners to his preaching, as well as a fair sale for Scriptures and tracts. Near Thibet, he was amused by the exaggerated accounts of Chinamen who had entered that country, and described it as a barbarous land, abounding in perils for the traveller. They advised him to carry thither, CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 124 as a preservative from evil, some earth from Sz-chuen, if he would return from Thibet in health and safety ! He found, however, that the only distinguishing features of Thibet, in so far as he penetrated it, were the sparseness of population and the poverty of the people. The border town of Litang was swarming with the bald-pated lamas, who are the priests of Thibet. In every Thibetan family every other son born is destined to belong to this lazy brotherhood ! ‘Mr. Cameron managed, under disguises of the Chinese dress he always wore, to enter a Lamasery with a crowd who were offering gifts to the chief Lama. He observed that this high priest gave the people in return a small piece of ribbon, supposed to act as a charm, with which the priest-ridden devotees went away looking extremely happy. As they came in and went out, each turned round one of the upright rollers or prayer wheels, standing in rows on each side the building, this being their mechanical form of supplication. ‘ Mr. Cameron passed southwards into Yunnan after his excur- sion into Thibet. Popery had long been planted among the five millions of this province, but he found there no Protestant mission. (The China Inland Mission has now two stations there.) Serious illness delayed him some weeks. About this time he had suffered much from cold, long, trying walks; climbing over snow-clad mountains in Thibet, with the poorest fare and most wretched accommodation at the end of each day’s weary course, had been too much even for his iron frame. * After a visit to Bhamo, in Burmah, Mr. Cameron ended this westerly tour of about five thousand miles at Singapore, where he enjoyed some much-needed refreshment in the company of Christian friends. ‘ But he soon started again on his lonesome way. This time he went through the southern province of Kwang-si, where his wheelbarrow coolies were poor, sickly opium-smokers, only able to perform their labour under the influence of that deadly drug. The missionaries’ medicines were in great request in this part of his travels, and the people he was enabled to cure PREACHING AND ITINERANCY. 125 brought him presents of fowls, tea, and cakes, in proof of their gratitude, and in many villages became ready listeners to the gospel which he preached. ‘He now returned into Yunnan, to traverse its eastern side, among a miserable people, so poor as to look pinched with want, yet greatly given to opium-smoking. In the capital, Yunnan-fu, he had attentive hearers, some coming to his inn for a quiet talk ; and many carried to distant homes the sheet tracts which he, standing in the gateway of the city, distributed freely. Some months later — months of toilsome but untiring missionary ^travel — we find him in September, 1879, far away in the north-east at Tientsin, where he was gladdened by the success of Dr. Mackenzie’s medical mission. ‘ Mr. Cameron’s last journey was far away to the north, not only to the Chinese provinces of Shensi and Shansi, but into the outlying district of Shin-king and the borders of Corea : he also crossed Manchuria; and his wanderings ended at Chefoo. He had entered every province but one of the great empire, and his journeyings had traversed, in various directions, an area as extensive as Europe. ‘ And year after year, and all the way, the one great object of Mr. Cameron’s journey was never lost sight of ; and while his were primarily pioneering explorations, the good seed of the kingdom was sown on every possible occasion. Many a wayside talk did he hold with strangely mixed companions. “ Every three or four miles,” he tells us, “ one would come to a tea shop, and seated there, with a beggar it might be on one side sipping his two cash worth of tea, a merchant or literate on the other, some half-dozen listeners in front, all full of curiosity about my affairs, I would speak to them of the way of salvation through Jesus. Sometimes at night I was able to get a small room in an inn, or a small corner in a large room, or only a corner in a large bed, no screen of any kind any- where, and at once the tidings would spread, ‘ a foreigner is come,’ and the house would be speedily filled with Chinamen crowding into my room, or room corner, and on to my very 126 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. bed, staring, examining my clothes, questioning as only China- men can question about my great-great-grandfather, and every family detail connected with me ; for hours my visitors, usually including my landlord and his wife, would remain ; even the literati would come, and borrow books, which they returned to me before I journeyed away. Among many of the magistrates I met with kindness, and preached the gospel in the houses of several.” ‘ Most solemnly the thought used to press on the missionary’s mind, that to most of those he met in the many-millioned provinces of China and the regions beyond on which here and there he touched, the message of life was heard now not only for the first , but probably also for the last time. Surely if any sowing of the good seed needs more peculiarly than another to be followed up by prayer, it is such work as this ! ’ The Regions Beyond (July, 1883), pp. 73-76. Murder of Mr. Johnson. — [Towards the end of the year 1867, Mr. Johnson, who had for three years been in the employ of the British and Foreign Bible Society, left Shanghai, accompanied by a Chinese colporteur, named Wan T’ai-p’ing, intending to make an extensive tour to the west. They arrived safely at Chinkiang, the first open port on the river Yang-tse, and from thence proceeded on their journey. They expected to be absent for about five months, but left no precise informa- tion as to the exact route they intended to take.] ‘The only explanation of what Mr. Johnson purposed to do was given in general terms in a letter to Mr. Wylie. “ I intend,’’ he remarked, “making another journey west into Ngan-hwui, and visiting all the places I can, if possible, as far as Kaifung-fu, the provincial city of Honan, and thence into Kiang-peh, and as far north as Shantung or Chihli, if my books will permit, making a long and last journey, and returning about spring.” A last journey it appears to have been, verifying his own words in a sense he did not intend they should bear. From the time of the party being at Chinkiang, no tidings PREACHING AND ITINERANCY. \ 2 J whatever were received from them, and all inquiry has failed to elicit any clear trace of their movements. ‘In 1886, Mr. Robert Burnet, of the National Bible Society of Scotland, made a journey into the neighbourhood in which it is supposed that Mr. Johnson died. On his return he wrote thus to the Chinese Recorder (Shanghai), for July, 1886 : ‘ “ Dear Sir, — Among the traditions of the elders in China is the disappearance of Mr. Johnson, of the British and Foreign Bible Society, in 1869 [1868], place and circumstances unknown. I have had a solution of the problem in a manner which carries the impress of truth with it. In the course of a boating journey from Chinkiang, across the province of Ngan-hwui to the Honan border, it was our lot, at four p.m. on May 8, to cast anchor at a small town, commonly called Hwui Lung-Ki. The people almost immediately showed an unfriendly spirit. At first books were purchased, but ere long were taken by force. Stones fortunately were not at hand, but we were pelted with wet clay from the river-side, until some of us appeared as if brick-making was our business. At night one of my crew [i.e. one of the hired boat’s crew] went ashore to smoke opium. In the opium-den, the topic of conversation was the attack on the ‘[foreign] devil.’ The keeper of the shop, an old man, stated as follows : — ‘ “Twenty years ago there was another foreigner here selling books. During the day a fire broke out, and burned a large part of the place. The people attributed this fire to the evil influences of the foreigner. At dead of night, a body of men went on board and killed the foreigner, his assistants, and all on board. The boat likewise was destroyed. ‘ “ From another source I was informed that a lad, over ten years, escaped by dropping into the river, floating down, and then begging his way home. “ I am, Sir, your truly, “Robert Burnet. “ Chinkiang, June 9, 1886.” ‘ Mr. Burnet himself, whilst travelling on this journey for 128 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. the National Bible Society of Scotland, was not free from some painful experiences. At Loo-chow-fu “he was beaten to the effusion of blood, and robbed of almost his entire travel- ling possessions,” in addition to suffering those troubles which, says the Annual Report of that Society, “ fall to the share of every Bible agent in China.” ‘ The hitherto impenetrable mystery which has enshrouded the circumstances of Mr. Johnson’s disappearance has at last had some light thrown into it, and we now learn as much about its painful details as is ever likely to be known.’ Monthly Reporter of the British and Foreign Bible Society (October, 1886), condensed. Death of the Rev. J. Williamson, London Missionary Society. — ‘ On Tuesday, the 24th of August, 1869, the Rev. James Williamson and the Rev. W. B. Hodge left Tientsin by boat, to visit the out-stations in Shantung. As they were lying at anchor on the following night, near the village of Ch’en- kwan-tung, 30 miles from Tientsin, their boat was attacked at midnight by a band of robbers, and plundered of everything of much value. When Mr. Hodge was aroused by the noise, Mr. Williamson was missing. This seemed the more strange, inasmuch as they occupied the same bed. The first thing Mr. Hodge distinctly noticed was the cry of “ Thieves ! ” by the boat-men. The door of the boat was open. On his endeavour- ing to escape to the shore, the robbers commenced beating him with their swords — fortunately not using the edges. He was severely bruised from head to foot, and his escape alive was almost a miracle. ‘ He immediately sought the mandarin of the village, and met him coming to the scene of the attack with a few soldiers. But on his return to the boat, accompanied by the officer, the thieves had left with their booty. A party of soldiers was immediately sent in pursuit of them, and another party began the search for Mr. Williamson. This was continued without success till the Saturday, when about forenoon the body was found in the canal, about twelve miles below the place where PREACHING AND ITINERANCY. 129 the robbery occurred. There were no marks of violence on the body, and looking at all the circumstances, the most probable supposition seems to be, that Mr. Williamson had heard some little disturbance, but did not think it of sufficient moment to arouse his companion, that he arose, however, to ascertain its cause, and as he stepped outside the boat received a blow on his head which stunned him, and at the same time knocked him overboard. On any other supposition, he would almost certainly have called Mr. Hodge, and would have saved him- self by swimming. So far as appears, not the least political significance can be attached to this outrage. It was perpetrated by a band of thieves, seeking plunder — probably not desirous of taking life. ‘ We are happy to be able to say that the officers rendered every assistance in their power towards the recovery of Mr. Williamson’s body, and seem to be using every means to apprehend the robbers.’ The Chinese Recorder (October, 1869), p. 144. A Dangerous Journey. — The following account of the dangers encountered by Mr. and Mrs. Broumton on their journey from Kwei-yang Fu, in the Kwei-chau province, to Chung-k’ing, in Si-ch’uen, was sent by Mrs. Broumton to her sister. A copy has been kindly furnished to us, and will be read with much interest and sympathy. The record shows us how much cause we have for thankfulness that in the midst of so much excitement all our inland stations have been kept in peace, and that the Chinese authorities have done so much to protect the scattered missionaries. After alluding to the circumstances under which she and her husband had left Kwei-yang Fu, Mrs. Broumton writes : — ‘ The country is in a very disturbed state, owing to the war between France and China. Proclamations were posted up, saying that France had broken faith with China, but that foreigners would be protected. ‘ We got on very quietly until the seventh day. The night before we stayed at a small village in a wretched room. The K 130 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. head man of the place sent to see who we were. Our servant explained that we were English Protestant missionaries — quite distinct from the French and the Roman Catholics. The head man seemed quite rpwdy, so our man then took our passport for him to see ; but he said it was as useless as a piece of waste- paper. They wanted my husband to go and talk with them, but our man advised him not to go. So we slept in our clothes, anything but quiet in mind, and wished so much for morning light. ‘ We started before daybreak, my husband’s sedan-chair starting first. When his chair had gone some distance he saw through his blind that our goods were put down in a dry rice- field, and then a number of men surrounded the chair, armed with clubs and other weapons. One of them was going to batter in the top of the chair, but our coolies called out to them, “ The chair is ours ; do not destroy it.” They then ordered my husband to get out, and some of them pointed their weapons at him, and tied his hands behind him. They then opened our boxes, took out all our money, packed the clothes in bundles for starting. They then began to call out for me. Fortunately a man had run towards my man, and told him to carry me back, and hide me in some place, as they had attacked my husband. I was hurried into an inn, not knowing what might be the next news. After waiting there some time I heard my husband’s voice : only the Lord and myself know the joy I experienced when I saw him, and that he was safe. He said, “ All our things are gone.” I said, “ What matter? you are all right.” ‘ We were then robbed by the people of the inn, who pre- tended to befriend us. We had given them some money for letting us stop there for a little while, but they were not satisfied with this. They followed our man and took the money he had on his person, and the clothes belonging to our two bearers, and then wanted to search me. I had to get out of my chair three times for them. I managed to hide my wedding-ring with my sleeve. PREACHING AND ITINERANCY. 13 1 ‘ We started again, full of trembling, for we had to pass through a village where they had threatened to beat the Roman Catholics, and to destroy their chapel. Again some rowdy fellows stopped my husband, and took, off his stockings, took a small purse, with a little silver, and tried to take off his shirt and shoes. These he begged them not to take. At the same time they stole some of our man’s things ; they also stopped the coolies, and took their clothes. ‘ When we got within two and-a-half miles of the place where the Roman Catholics were threatened with beating, etc., we stopped and sent our man with our passport to the Chinese magistrate. He came back after some time with an escort; thus we were conducted safely into an inn. This, I think, awed the people a good deal. ‘ The next day was a dreadful one for us. We were up in a filthy loft, and heard yelling in the street, while the mob were battering down the Roman Catholic premises — a splendid building. Oh ! the yells of that mob were hellish, as they passed by, carrying chairs, tables, etc. The streets were lined with people, looking, as they said, at the fun ! Not a pitying look or a sympathising word was there from one in that vast crowd ; all seemed to enjoy it. When all the furniture was battered to pieces, then they battered down the building. ‘ God only knows what we endured as we listened to the yells and noise of that dreadful crowd as they did their work of destruction. I put my fingers in my ears so that I should not hear. How we longed for darkness to set in, and to have a little quiet ! We thanked God when the night came. ‘ After our evening meal, which was a wretched one, I retired to my dirty loft to try to sleep ; but my sleep was not very refreshing, vermin being plentiful. ‘ We were detained in this place seven weary days, not having the means to proceed. We wrote both to Chung-k’ing and Kwei-yang, begging our friends to send us money to enable us to proceed. But at last we got a loan which enabled us to go on ; and we had an escort provided by the authorities. The 132 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. innkeeper lent my husband an outside garment ; though it was old and greasy, we were delighted to get it. ‘ When within two days of Chung-k’ing, we met men from Mr. Nicoll, of our mission, with silver and a change of clothes for both of us, and also some provisions. How glad we were when we opened the letters, so full of love and sympathy ! An escort of ten soldiers was also sent by the Chung-k’ing author^ ties. It was wonderful, considering all that we passed through, that we were not ill. ‘ We hear that some of our goods and money are recovered. This dreadful journey has much tried our nerves. Our Ameri- can friends here have been so kind, making us presents of clothes, as we were entirely stripped of all our earthly goods. What could have restrained the wrath of these wicked men but our own Heavenly Father ? May our lives be more and more consecrated to His service !’ China's Millions (Feb., 1885), pp. 24, 25. Attack on a House in which Missionaries were Lodg- ing.— -‘After being about nine months in the country, I heard that one of our native preachers, about six days’ journey away, was taken with typhoid fever. Mr. Meadows and I started for that city, to see whether we could do anything for him. We heard also that he was greatly persecuted by the literati of the city, and we wished to comfort and help him. The day after we arrived, just about sundown, a great mob gathered around the door of the little native house, urged on by the Confucian- ists of the city, the literati. They surrounded the house, and began to batter it with stones, and eventually to pull it down in front, driving us into a little back room, where we had no outlet. During the attack I received a bruise, which lasted me for about two years, and kept me in memory of that visit to the city. Well, they pinned us up in the little room behind, and threat- ened to murder us if they could get at us. We had done them no harm, and they had never seen us before; but we were simply “ foreign devils,” and they would not have us there, and were determined on murdering us, they said. Towards PREACHING AND ITINERANCY. 133 midnight, when we found that we could stay there no longer, because they were trying to set fire to the house, my friend Mr. Meadows barricaded the door. I and a native preacher, who had stuck to us all through the riot, broke down the wall, and we crept through the gap into some ruins behind, and then crept down to the river, and stepped into a boat, and rowed away. For four days and nights we had to remain in the boat without any clothing, except just what we had been able to carry with us ; but eventually we escaped. This was rather a rough beginning for a new-comer, but I thank God for the experience.’ Rev. A. W. Douthwaite, M.D., China’s Millions (July, 1885), pp. 93, 94. 134 II. DISTRIBUTION OF THE SCRIPTURES AND OF RELIGIOUS LITERATURE . First attempts to Circulate the Bible in China. — ‘ Some of the earliest work done for China was Bible work. At one time it seemed to be the only kind of work possible, to enter in by the written Scriptures where it was impossible to penetrate with the preaching of the Gospel. To many Christian people it seemed hopeless to expect the opening of China. At a very early stage the German missionary, Gutzlaff, endeavoured to introduce the Scriptures into China by two methods. He made voyages along the coast, suffering great hardships in doing so, carrying with him copies of the Word of God, and landed at various points to give them away. But so little did the Chinese know of foreigners that intercourse was very difficult, and if he was able to get away again without injury after landing at any point, it was considered that a successful visit had been made. Of course it was always unsatisfactory that nothing could be done to follow up the distribution of the Scriptures, or to ascer- tain what the effect had been. Gutzlaff’s other method of work was the employment of a large number of colporteurs, whom he sent from Hong-kong as centre into the neighbouring parts of South China, or into more remote places further north. Though a man of intense earnestness, he was too easily satisfied with the character of the men employed, and the result showed the need of careful supervision in all such work. When the management had passed into the hands of a less unsuspecting colleague, the latter on one occasion made a private mark upon three hundred copies of the Scriptures which he put into the hands of his colporteurs. Shortly after, on applying to his Chinese printer for a fresh supply, he found among the copies furnished to him some two hundred and fifty of the marked copies ! The colporteurs after receiving the Scriptures simply disappeared for a time, and after two or three months came DISTRIBUTION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 135 back with their reports to receive fresh supplies. Meantime they had sold their books to the printer, who in turn resold them to the missionary, and so, though there was certainly a “ circulation ” of the Scriptures, there was very little dissemi- nation of them. 1 But notwithstanding all drawbacks and these elements of seeming failure in Gutzlaff’s work, it was not in vain. He helped to make openings by which, under happier circum- stances, other labourers could enter in for more successful work. The part of the English Presbyterian Mission with which I myself am connected, at Swatow, in South China, can trace its history to men who, having come under Gutzlaff’s influence, were willing to act as guides, through whom other labourers found access to the country.’ Rev. John C. Gibson, Swatow, Quarterly Record, N.B.S. Scotland (March, 1883), p. 339. Selling the Bible during the Public Examinations. — ‘ Having been engaged at Nanking lately in Bible work, during the examinations that were taking place there, I have much pleasure in giving a brief account of our labours. Mr. Moll- mann and I, with three of the native colporteurs, went thither a few days before the examinations began, and were much interested in the appearance of things. Upwards of 20,000 students were assembled from two provinces, with a view to try their skill in attaining the M.A. degree. They had all pre- viously passed the first grade, and many of them had done so in their early youth. ‘ The neighbourhood of the examination hall was of course crowded with students and spectators interested in what was going on, and afforded a splendid sphere for missionary and Bible work. We were curious at first to see how two foreigners would be received on such an occasion. In other places similar gatherings had often given rise to trouble and disorder, so that we had to feel our way at the outset. In a short time, however, it was found there was no difficulty in the way, and meeting the students on every hand, we proceeded to distribute 136 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. the Sacred Volume in various parts. There was not only no opposition and no apparent unkindness, but a readiness to receive the Word, and in many instances a pressing forward to obtain a copy. * While the examinations were going on we directed our labours to the city, where in the streets there was continuous preaching at different points, followed by the sale of the Sacred Volume among the people. ‘ In a day or two the students returned from the hall, making a tremendous crush, which was increased by the number of donkey-drivers, chair-bearers, and others eager to “catch a penny ” in doing them a service. This was a special season for distribution on our part; and though the great body of them presented a weary and worn appearance, we were pleased at the readiness they showed to get possession of our books. Very few indeed treated us with disrespect. ‘ We were the only labourers in the field, and heartily glad we were to be engaged in it. Not only was the class of students an interesting and promising one, the reception they gave us was no small encouragement, and we were thankful at having gone to Nanking, and at having heen enabled to do so much useful Christian work. There was no opportunity for length- ened conversation with the students, but we were assured that the books would, for the most part at least, be taken by them to their widely separate and distant homes, which, in most instances, would never be reached by us. ‘ We cannot overrate the importance of this form of labour, and as the B.A. and M.A. examinations recur at definite times, and in a variety of places, it seems desirable that they should be utilized more systematically than they have been [for the purpose of circulating the Bible].’ Rev. W. Muirhead, Bible Society Monthly Reporter (Feb., 1883), condensed. Mr. J. F. Broumton, writing from Kwei-yang Fu, the capital of the province of Kweichow says : — ‘ Our evangelist, Ts’en, a short time ago, was looking over some old books at a bookstall, DISTRIBUTION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 137 to find one for his children to study. He selected one, but the price asked for it was too high. While bargaining, an old man said to him, “ I have lots of old books at home, perhaps you can find a copy of the one you require among them.” Ts’en accordingly went to his home, and he found he was a collector of lettered paper. 1 Occasionally he finds books in the waste- paper baskets he empties, and if he thinks any of them will sell he puts them by. Ts’en looked over the books that he had, and found among them a copy of the New Testament. This seems to have been read carefully. The owner had made thicker covers for it, had bound it more strongly, and had written a poetical index for aid in remembering the order of the books. This index he had pasted inside the cover of the book. Many pages he appears to have admired, and these he has marked. For instance, he marks Col. iii. 14, “Love, which is the bond of perfectness and again, chap. iv. 6, “Let your speech be alway with grace f also the graces mentioned in chap. iii. 12 have marks against them. It would be interesting to know who the reader was, and how the book came sub- sequently to be consigned to the waste-paper basket. We cannot but hope that God will bless His Word to some who, like this man, appear to have read it carefully.’ China's Millions (April, 1882), p. 44. Religious Tract Society’s Work in North China.— ‘ The Religious Tract Society’s operations at home are much better known than its missionary energy abroad ; and yet its foreign work is both extensive and necessary, and is worthy of all commendation and support. ‘In the last published report of the North China Tract Society (towards the support of which the Religious Tract Society contributes largely) some interesting details of distribu- tion are given. 1 ' The Chinese have much reverence for paper which has on it writing or printed characters, and as a work of merit employ men to collect and burn it, that it may not be trampled under foot, or used for dishonourable purposes.’ 138 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. ‘ Agrand total of 181,418 books and tracts were issued (partly sold, partly granted for gratuitous distribution) during the year, against last year’s issue of 67,519 copies. Among the publica- tions issued are included 18,000 sheet calendars for 1885 and 1886, and 3,762 Sunday-school lessons. A large number of books and tracts have been granted during the year for gratuitous distribution, chiefly among the scholars attending the literary examinations. For the examination for the degree of Chii Jen ( = M.A.), held in Peking in the autumn of 1885, a grant was made. ‘In all 1 r, 600 tracts were distributed, together with 1,700 Gospels, at the doors of the examination hall at the close of the examination. The distribution commenced about 4.30 a.m., and lasted until 11.30 a.m. Usually two books were given to each candidate who would accept them ; sometimes more than two were given. The books were for the most part politely received. ‘Similar work to that carried on in North China is being conducted no less zealously from Hankow. The Tenth Annual Report of the Central China Religious Tract Society shows a circulation of 424,000, being an increase of 76,715 on the cir- culation of last year. Here, too, a large distribution has been carried on among the candidates at the examination, with the same encouragement as in North China. More than 20,000 books were there distributed.’ L. M. S. Chronicle (April, 1887). ‘ Cast upon the waters, and found after many days.’ — ‘In the year 1835, the Rev. W. H. Medhurst, accompanied by the Rev. E. Stevens, made a voyage on the coast of China in the brig Huron, taking a cargo of 20,000 volumes of Scrip- tures and tracts for distribution. After visiting a number of places in Shantung, calling at Shanghai and the Chusan group, they visited Nam-yit. We quote Mr. Stevens’ brief account of the visit from the Chinese Repository , vol. 4, p. 334 : — ‘ “ Accordingly we bore away for Fuhkien, and on the 23rd Qctober ran in for shelter under the largest of the Nam-yit DISTRIBUTION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 139 islands. Strong north winds bound us here four days, unable to move or reach the shore, until the last day. This island is five or six miles from the east to west, very populous, but so sandy that nothing grows but sweet potatoes and ground-nuts. Fishing is the great means of subsistence. Swarms of the people met us at landing, and everyone welcomed us, too eager to receive our books. We walked over much of the island during the day, and left in all its villages some portions of the Scriptures or other books, with none to hinder or forbid us.” ‘ So far as we know, the island was never again visited by a Christian preacher until near the close of 1866, when Ling Ching Ting, a helper in the employ of the American Methodist Episcopal Mission, who had formerly lived on the island, made a visit there, and preached the gospel to the inhabitants. He was immediately informed by some of them that they were acquainted with the doctrine, from books that had been left there many years before. On his desiring to see the books, they took him to their houses, and showed him several Christian books, which they had carefully preserved, and which they said had been left there by foreigners who came off from a ship anchored near the island in the 15 th year of Tan-kwang (1835)- ‘ The books shown were Exposition of the Moral Law , and Discourse on Theology. The people seemed quite prepared for the reception of the Gospel, and the helper soon formed a large class of inquirers. They were subjected to various persecutions by their heathen neighbours, but still held sted- fastly to their Christian profession. The Rev. Dr. Maclay visited the island in September last, and baptised twenty-five persons from among the inquirers. On his second visit last month, he baptised thirty-nine more, among them a Buddhist priest, who has renounced his vocation, and is acting as assistant to a Christian store-keeper. The facts here narrated are encouraging to those engaged in distributing Christian books among the Chinese. The seed sown in 1835 bears fruit in 1868, 140 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. ‘ Many incidents connected with the work on Nam-yit are J worthy of mention. The possessor of one of the books men- tioned above is an old man now near his end. He has had a new cover put on the book, and says he intends to leave it to his son, with an injunction that it be always kept in the family.’ The Chinese Recorder, Shanghai (May, 1868), pp. 8, 9. A Sealed Volume, and how it was Opened. — ‘ On the banks of the Fu Ho, a tributary of the Han river, there is a little market town named Liang Ho K’eu, at which missionaries journeying to and from the prefectural city of Teh-ngan, thirty 1 miles distant, have often called, for the purpose of preaching the Gospel and distributing religious books. One of these, a tract, found its way into the basket of a waste-paper collector, and was being carried away to be consigned to the fire, when a shop-keeper belonging to the place caught sight of it, rescued it from destruction, took it home, and read it. This man already possessed a Testament, which he had purchased some time before, but, finding that he could make nothing of it, had laid it aside. The reading of the tract, however, which happened to be the Gate of Wisdom, threw an entirely new light on the Word of God, until then a sealed volume, and by the blessing of God the man was thus aroused to religious concern and inquiry. On visiting Hankow, he made his way to the mission chapel, became more and more deeply interested in the way of salvation, and at length, after receiving instruc- tion both in Hankow and Teh-ngan, was received into the Christian Church in the latter city.’ Central China Religious Tract Society Annual Report (1886), p. 7. A Book given to a Chinese Emigrant. — ‘A Chinese Christian, Mr. Lui Fong Seng, lately returned from Australia, left these shores at the age of twenty-one to visit the gold- fields. Nearly twenty years since he set sail with some 400 of his fellow-countrymen. He thus writes in a sketch of his life, “I had heard something of the Christian religion at Hong-kong, where some Christian Chinese had conversed with DISTRIBUTION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 141 me, and given me some books, especially a small book teaching me the value of prayer ; and when I went on board ship other books were distributed amongst the passengers, one of which gained my attention concerning the Saviour of mankind, the Lord Jesus Christ, and His great love in dying for poor sinners; and when I read the book, and thought of this wonderful account, I became troubled in mind. I still continued to use the prayers in this little book during the passage.” He goes on to relate how, on his arrival, meeting with a native catechist, the seed then sown was carefully nurtured until his reception into the Christian Church by baptism. Now he has returned to Hong- kong, and seeks to become a teacher to others.’ Rev. A. B. Hutchinson, C.M.S., Religious Tract Society's Annual Report (1875), p. 222. Interest in the Gospel awakened by Books. — ‘I was preaching the other day at the chapel in the centre of this city. At the close of my discourse I offered our books for sale, as usual. One of my most attentive hearers came forward and bought one tract after another, till he came to one which he said he did not want because he possessed it already. I put a few questions to him in order to find out whether he really had read it, and was much pleased with the replies he gave. Then I learnt that he had bought this tract in the province of Hunan along with several others, and that he was anxious to procure any new tract which we might have to sell. We are always thankful for any evidence of appreciation of our books on the part of the reader, and this is one of the many instances which might be adduced of its existence. ‘ Soon after my return from England, I received a letter from Honan, from a man who had been reading some of our tracts. His object in writing to me was to obtain further light on some points which were still puzzling his intellect. I was pleased, however, to be able to detect many evidences in his letter of careful reading, earnest thinking, and devoutness of purpose. The man is a scholar, deeply imbued with Confucian ideas, and yet apparently seeking more light. 142 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. ‘ Mr. Hunt, of the Inland Mission, has been travelling a good deal in the province of Honan, and it has been a real joy to me to hear from him about the great work these tracts are doing in that region. He tells me that he has met with many who have obtained a fair knowledge of the elements of Christianity through simply reading these books. He has met with scholars who had devoured everything they could find in the shape of Christian literature, and with one man, at least, who ascribes his conversion to the perusal of one of these little messengers of salvation sent forth from the Hankow Religious Tract Society. ‘ The work of distribution is done principally by Messrs. Archibald, Wilson, and Burnet, the agents of the National Bible Society of Scotland in these parts. This Society very wisely, as all the missionaries in China think, allows its agents to distribute tracts along with the Scriptures, and thus greatly augment the value of their own work, as well as assisting very materially the sister branches of our common work.’ Rev. Griffith John, L. M. S. Chronicle (August, 1883). A Book of Pictures. — ‘The church at this place is one of the most earnest and warm-hearted in the whole county. The majority of the members are fishermen. They are a bluff, open-hearted set of men, and they have a frankness about them that is quite taking. ‘My stay amongst these Christians was most delightful, they were so warm-hearted and earnest. It was pleasant to see how shy and modest the young sailors were, and yet so frank when addressed. One man I was particularly drawn to. He was a fine specimen of an old sailor. Although he had battled with many a breeze, he was still a hale and hearty man. He would have made a splendid boatswain, as far as voice and physique were concerned. Christ was to him a real living personage. His face absolutely beamed with pleasure as we spoke about Him, and of how he had been led to believe. As he could not read, he carried about constantly with him a book DISTRIBUTION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 143 entitled, Heart Pictures. He had it tied by a string to a button on his coat, so that he could refer to it whenever he liked. The pictures represented the state of the heart when uncon- verted, and when changed by the Spirit of God. At first it is shown filled with the images of devils and evil beasts. As the Holy Spirit works on it, these gradually disappear, till, in the last picture, only Christ is seen reigning over it. He had been with me but a few minutes when he took out his well- thumbed book from his bosom, and turning over the leaves with his great rough hand, he pointed to the first picture, and said to me : “ That is an exact image of what I was before Christ found me;” and he then stood for some time gazing on it with a solemn look, as though recalling the past. Soon a smile came back to his face, and, hastily turning over the leaves till he came to the last one, he pointed to it with great glee, and exclaimed : “ But that is what my heart is like now. This book,” he continued, “ has been very useful to me in my dis- cussion with the heathen. You know I cannot read, and so I should be at a loss when I meet those that can. With this book, however, I am a match for the very best of them. If a man disputes the truth of what I say, I simply whip out this book, and, showing the first picture, say : Just look at that. It is an exact representation of your heart. He can say nothing in reply, for he knows it is the truth. I then show him how he may have it changed, as mine has been.”’ Rev. J. Macgowan, Amoy, Visit to the Hwni Ara Churches. L. M. S. Chronicle (Sept., 1886). ‘ Some fell by the wayside, and the fowls came and devoured them up.’ — ‘We should not be too sanguine of good results from all the books we distribute. The people will not destroy a Chinese book ; but they will sell them to book scavengers, who are employed by a class of men who show their reverence for the Chinese character by collecting and burning all the paper they can find having characters on it. For many years it was a marvel to me what became of 144 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. all the religious books distributed by missionaries ; for I could find none where I knew they had been circulated ; and I resolved, if possible, to find out. I distributed a tract in every shop in a long street. A month or so afterwards, I went through that street inquiring after my tracts, but, strange to say, I could not find a single copy. Some said the books were so good that after reading them they had given them away to friends, who were anxious to read them. Well, I did not care for this, if the statement were true ; but I did not believe it ; for no one could tell me anything about the contents of the tracts. My difficulty was not solved. ‘ Some days afterwards, while in conversation with a Chinese friend on the subject, he told me that if I would go to a certain small temple early in the morning, I would be able to learn what became of our religious books, or a large portion of them. I did so ; and soon after I arrived at the temple, seven or eight coolies came in with as many sacks of books and paper, with characters on it. I discharged one sack on the floor, and found it was filled mainly with religious books and tracts from most of the treaty ports. Among the books were some of those I could not find in the street where I had distributed them. I looked into the other sacks, and found them filled with similar material. These loads of books were to be burned before the idol, and some of the ashes dis- tributed on the waters of the canals and rivers, to furnish the spirits of the departed with reading matter, and the balance, mixed with oil, would be used to make the paste of which the smooth surfaces of sign-boards and lacquered ware are made. There is quite a business in the ashes of paper for these two branches of trade. I am happy to say that all books are not now so treated ; for indiscriminate distribution has been dis- continued. Notwithstanding the many disappointments, how- ever, a judicious circulation of books must continue to be the means of aggressive work.’ Rev. M. T. Yates, D.D., Shanghai, Records of Missionary Conference (1877), pp. hi, 112. DISTRIBUTION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 145 The Name for God. — ‘A manual of Chinese Missions, how- ever brief, cannot claim to be complete without some allusion to the notorious “ Term Question.” The term for God, T'ien- Choo , “ Lord of Heaven,” imposed upon the Roman Catholic Missions by Papal authority after many years of controversy, is advocated and adopted by some Protestant missionaries. ‘ But the main controversy is waged round the two terms, Ti or Shangti and Shin. * The following is a very brief summary of the controversy : — ‘ (a) The objectors to Ti or Shangti assert that these words mean Ruler, or Supreme or First Ruler. No, reply the defenders of the term, Ti means God, and Shangti, Supreme God. ‘(b) But the Emperor is called Hwang-*'/ True, it i& re- joined, but this title has been assumed or applied as a deification, e.g., Divus Imperator. ‘(e) Shangti is synonymous with Heaven, and involves a materialistic ideal The same may be said (reply the other party) of Deus, Lat. (sub divo,) Deva, Sanscrit, derived from div, the sky; and cf. Luke xv. 21. ‘(d) Shangti is synonymous (at all events in Chinese idea •and common usage) with a Taoist idol, Yuh-hwang, and takes the place of Baal, Osiris, or Zeus ! This is either denied in toto, or the usage of the term, even so, is justified by Paul’s quotation of a hymn to Jupiter (Acts xvii. 28). Moreover, if the term is capable of higher application, and has been dragged into the mire of idolatrous usage, why not lift it out and re- deify it? ‘ (e) Shin (say the advocates for Shangti) always means spirit, and though God is a spirit, the converse is not at all necessarily true. And if you appropriate the word Shin to God, how will you translate the word spirit l The answer given is that the translation God will hold good in very numerous instances instead of spirit for Shin ; and the great argument for this term is that it is generic, more pliable than Ti, and thus corresponds better to Elohim or Theos. L CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 146 ‘ It will be seen that the question hardly lies in a nutshell, and when Chinese scholarship is very evenly balanced, truth and error probably overlap on either side ; and for the present, mutual toleration is the only Christian and practicable policy .’ 1 Rev. Arthur E. Moule, B.D., China as a Mission Field, pp. 36-38. 1 [Almost all versions of the Scriptures and many tracts are published in two editions. In one of these Shangti, in the other Shin, is used as the term for God. In some cases a third edition is published, with the term T’ien-Choo. — Ed.] 147 III. SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION. Different Kinds of Schools. — ‘ The schoolroom comes into requisition chiefly when a [Christian] congregation has been formed, and there are children who must be educated. 4 I will, however, not deny that circumstances may make it advisable to open schools even for the admittance of heathen children, and I should bring the schools under the following heads : — ; ‘ i. Heathen Schools , — as the means of diffusing general reli- gious knowledge, with the hope of bringing the children under the influence of the Christian religion, and of sowing the seeds of truth into their youthful hearts ; yea, even with a hope of thus reaching the parents. 4 2. Christian Schools , or schools in the congregation, as a means of giving a Christian education to the young, in order to build up and strengthen the church. * 3. Training Schools, with a view to obtain native assistants, who in course of time may be able to take upon themselves the charge of the congregations as native pastors, or to do duty as teachers of schools and as evangelists among their heathen countrymen. ‘ As regards the Heathen Schools, the question must be, Are they available as an evangelising agency? For if not, we can have nothing to do with them. I am prepared to answer this question in the affirmative, under the following conditions : — ‘ 1. That there be Christian masters to conduct such schools. 4 2. That there should be sufficient superintending power on the part of the missionaries. 4 3. That mission funds be not too largely drawn upon for an object the result of which must always be more or less indirect. ‘The Rev. Z. A. Hanspach, of the Berlin Mission, tried the experiment of such schools on the largest scale, and had at one CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 148 time no fewer than 138 schools, with an attendance of about 1500 scholars. The way in which he set to work was this : ‘ He visited a good many villages over a wide area in the province of Quangtung, and made his calls in the established schools. Whenever he found the schoolmasters accessible he proposed to them to let their scholars read Christian books part of the day. When they consented, Mr. Hanspach pro- vided the books for the scholars, and promised the teachers to pay them by the results. In some instances Mr. Hanspach established schools where there had been none before, and appointed Christian teachers to them, and it was his aim to gradually supply Christian masters for all these schools, if he could possibly get the men. The scholars learnt the Christian “Three character classic” and “Four character classic,” the Catechism and Bible histories ; and Mr. Hanspach made his regular round in the schools, in order to ascertain what the scholars had learnt. He then explained the books to them, and made much use of Biblical pictures, with entire sets of which he had furnished several of the schools, in order to teach Bible history by object lessons. The scheme seemed to work well for a time, both directly and indirectly. Mr. Hanspach was full of hopes to draft from these schools the most talented of the boys, and to gather them into a sort of central school, where he might train them to become native assistants. He likewise found access to the villagers, who welcomed him as a benefactor to their children ; and he succeeded in establishing several little churches here and there, which were the fruit of his exertions in this line of mission work. But the want of Christian teachers, the want of superintending power, and the want of funds, caused the schools to fail, and the successors of Mr. Hanspach did not continue them to the same extent, but directed their attention more to Christian schools. ‘As regards Christian schools there can be no question of expediency, as Christian schools form part of our duty. If we desire to see our work prospering and progressing, we must SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION. 149 have schools to educate the children of the members of the church, in order to teach them the Word of God from their earliest youth, and to train them up in Christian knowledge. As the religious atmosphere in the Christian family will support the labours of the schools, better results can be counted upon here than in the case of heathen schools. ‘ As regards boys’ schools, our object should be not only to fit them for life, but also to give them such an education as will qualify them in future to give their services to the church. The Basel Mission has for this purpose a gradation of schools, beginning with the elementary schools, and ascending to the secondary, the middle school and the theological seminary. ‘ There may be cases where, apart from a prolonged training through a number of years, the Lord may call a man to His work even from the plough or from tending cattle, as He called the prophets in the time of the old dispensation. ‘ I rejoice to say that the Basel Mission has several such men in the work, who are doing good service. But although such men may be very useful in doing pioneering work, there is certainly also a want of more educated men, in order to meet all the requirements of mission work. ‘ For this purpose Training Schools are indispensable. After the boys have received an elementary instruction, they must be initiated in sciences which are usually not taught in Chinese schools, but are very essential to a sound education. They must not be kept in ignorance of everything except the classics and Chinese composition. Of course these things must also be taught in Christian schools, and even in the elementary schools the scholars cannot be entirely spared the task of committing the classics to memory. ‘ It must always be kept in view that the young men whom we wish to train for mission work ought to be able to meet their educated countrymen on their own ground of acquaintance with the classics, only that they do not have that idolatrous veneration for the sayings of Confucius and Mencius which the heathen Chinese have, but learn to look into their classica* CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. ISO books from the light of Divine truth, and know how to discern truth from error. ‘ The point has been mooted, whether it was not advisable to leave out entirely the Chinese classics from the time-table of Christian schools, on account of the waste of, time, which prevents a more effective teaching of Western sciences. Ex- perience has also shown that the attention of the scholars was chiefly directed to their Chinese studies, and these seemed to engage their interest a great deal more than all the other lessons. It was feared that the influence which Confucius was thus gaining over the youthful minds would act injuriously on them, and hinder their progress in their theological training. I should, however, look upon such a step as a wrong measure. If it happen that such fears were realised, it would of course be unfortunate, and I will admit that a scholar whose inclina- tions lean too much to Chinese learning is not likely to become a good native missionary. But we must also look at the other side of the question, and remember to what sort of a battle our young men are to go forth, and what enemies they will have to combat. We desire to give them a good theological training, and thus put into their hands the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and is mighty to overcome. But their adver- saries, the learned among the Chinese, will also attack them with their weapons, and they would find themselves in a very awkward position without a knowledge of the Chinese classics, by which to defend themselves ; and if it become apparent that the Chinese literature is an unknown ground to the native mis- sionary, he will get no influence over the literati , as they will scorn the idea of being taughjr anything by an illiterate man. ‘ Should any one wish to' know what results can be shown from the work of schools done hitherto, I am able to point to twelve catechists who hayve had a thorough education, and are repaying the labour bestowed on them by a satisfactory discharge of the duties entrusted to them. There are besides six men, who have not had the same training, having devoted themselves to the work in later years, and doing duty as evan- SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION. 151 gelists. There are further, six teachers of schools who have been trained for their work, and give valuable assistance to the missionaries at the head of the educational institutions. There are also six Christian teachers, conducting heathen or mixed schools, who have not had a special training. Two ordained native missionaries had commenced their education in our schools in China, but completed their studies in the Mission College at Basel. They were ordained in Germany, and stand on the same footing with a European missionary except in regard to their salary, which is one half. There are at present three Chinese students in the college in Basel. ‘ Industrial Schools might be mentioned as a supplement of training schools, in order that such of the pupils who have not sufficient talent to enter on a literary career might not be thrown out into the world, and be exposed to all the tempta- tions in the midst of the heathen. The want has often been keenly felt of Christian tradesmen, to whom boys might be entrusted as apprentices. The Basel Mission has got extensive industrial establishments in India, which seem to answer their purpose very well, as opportunity is given not only to boys, but to adults, who by becoming Christians lose caste, and their means of support, to learn a trade, in order that they may pro- vide for themselves. We have applied to the board to allow us to try the scheme in China too ; but capital is required to begin with, and the board has not seen its way clear yet for such an undertaking here. In the meantime we have to put up with the inconvenience of seeing many of our schoolboys going off as ship boys or table boys, or in some such capacity, trying to earn something for the maintenance of their body, whereby their Christian life is not always benefited.’ Rev. R. Lechler, Hong-kong, Records of Shanghai Missionary Conference (1877), pp. 163-170. The Schools of the Basel Mission. — ‘ The main feature of the Basel Mission is perhaps its educational system. ‘The German mind is scholarly, and seeks to understand the reason of things. Not satisfied with a superficial knowledge of CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 152 Chinese, the missionaries themselves are faithful students of the classics and Chinese literature, and bring this acquired know- ledge into use in their school and preaching work. Their love of learning is clearly seen in the mission schools, by the course of study that is prescribed for the Chinese youth. This course is perhaps more thorough than that of any other school in China; the Chinese boy is taken at seven years of age, and for the first seven years studies in the elementary school, where the course embraces both Chinese and Christian studies. After the seven years have been completed with satisfaction to the teacher, the scholar passes on to the middle school, for a four years’ course, where the higher Chinese studies and Christian sciences are taught, united with Biblical instruction. From this middle school he passes to another of a still higher grade, and which may be called a Theological Seminary. Here the course is again prolonged for four years. Thus it is seen that the plan is to give the pupil fifteen years of study before he graduates and becomes a helper in the mission. Not all who enter the elementary school complete the entire course of fifteen years’ study. It is only the diligent and intelligent pupils that are chosen from this school to pass on to the middle school ; the same is true again with the pupils who have completed the course of the middle school. Only the b e st and those most likely to be fitted for preaching the gospel are sent to the Seminary. The course in the latter is one that would do honour to many of our own home seminaries. It is as follows : 1 First year. — 1. New Testament Exegesis. 2. Old Testament Exegesis. 3. Chinese Literature. 4. Homiletics. 5. Music. 6. Instruction in the art of teaching. 7. Introduction to the Old and New Testaments. 8. Church History. ‘ Second year. — 1. The first six studies in the first year. 2. Dogmatics (Theology). 3. General History, Geography and Natural History (General Review). ‘ Third year. — 1. The first six studies in the first year. 2. Christian Ethics. 3. Confucianism — a critical analysis. SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION. 1 53 ‘ Fourth year. — 1. The first six studies in the first year. 2. Symbolics (Church Polity). 3. Pastoral Theology. ‘ No words are needed to say that this prescribed course is a thorough and comprehensive one. A mere glance at the list of studies is sufficient to show us that it is in no respect behind some of our training schools at home. ‘ These different schools are supported by mission money, and the whole amount expended for the support and instruction of 231 pupils is 2,852 dols., of which 950 were collected from the pupils, and 1,902 drawn from the Home Board. ‘ The regular course for a girl to complete her studies is equal to that of the elementary boys’ school, viz., seven years, though some only spend three or four in study.’ Rev. C. R. Hager, The Chinese Recorder (March, 1886), pp. 114, 115. Another View of the Object of the Education which Missionaries give. — ‘A just estimate of the utility of schools will depend largely on the view taken of their object. By those who advocate schools, two diverse views are taken of their object. Some advocate them as a means of getting so many heathen boys and girls under the influence of Christian truth, in the hope that they may be converted, and especially that they may become preachers of the Gospel. Others advocate schools as an indirect agency, fitted to break up the fallow ground, and prepare the way for the good seed of Divine truth. ‘ Both these views seem to me partial and incomplete. The first is the view I suppose to be most commonly held. It is, however, a superficial view, which will generally be modified on a deeper consideration of the subject. The prevalence of this view has caused mission schools in China to be largely of a primary class, and the instruction to be confined largely to re- ligious books. ‘ The other theory, viz., that education is an indirect agency, intended to produce only indirect results, is much nearer the truth, though it does not contain all the truth in the premises. The object of mission schools I take to be the education of 154 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. the pupils mentally, morally, and religiously, not only that they may be converted, but that being converted they may become effective agents in the hands of God for defending and ad- vancing the cause of truth. Schools also which give a know- ledge of Western science and civilization cannot fail to do great good both physically and socially. ‘ With regard to the kind of schools most needed at the present time in China, it may be said : — ‘ i st. They should be advanced rather than primary schools. I mean that a high standard should be set ; the aim should be not merely to teach the Bible, and a smattering of Chinese classics, but to make good classical scholars, and in addition to teach geography, mathematics, history, and science, and thus make truly educated men. Considerable abatement must of course be made in the case of girls’ schools. A high stan- dard will give the school character among the Chinese, and fit its graduates to take an influential position amongst their countrymen. I do not mean that there should be no schools of a lower grade, but that such should for the most part be pre- paratory to the higher. Day schools will naturally be for the most part primary, and as such they will serve an important purpose as feeders to the higher schools, and will enable the standard of admission to such schools to be gradually raised. 1 2nd. The natural sciences should be made a prominent branch of instruction. The power of education to counteract superstition lies chiefly in the natural sciences. They develop and explain the laws of Nature, and by so doing destroy the chief foundation of superstition. Such studies will do more than any other to increase the reputation of the school, and give to its graduates character and influence. And lastly, such studies will help in no small degree to prepare the way for the practical introduction into China of the numerous beneficial applications of science to the arts of life. ‘ 3 rd. Mission schools should be composed of the children of Christian parents rather than of heathen. It is of prime im- portance that the pupils in a school should come for the educa- SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION. 155 tion, not for the rice. This is far more likely to be the case with the children of Christians. They desire and appreciate a true education for their children. They pray for them, and oftentimes consecrate them to God for the work of the ministry. They will second and sustain the efforts of the teacher, and will allow their sons to remain until fully educated. I would by no means exclude heathen, especially in the beginning of a mission, when no others are obtainable ; but I would take pains to insure as far as possible that they desired the education rather than the rice, and that they would remain until their education was completed. ‘ \th. The pupils or their parents should be required, except in some rare cases, to do something for their support, and this should be increased as circumstances will allow, till full support is attained.’ Rev. C. W. Mateer, Tungchow, Records of the Shanghai Missionary Conference (1877), pp. 172-180. The Tungchow College. — I much regret that I have been unable to meet with any printed statement of the work being done at the Tungchow College, over which Dr. Mateer presides. This institution has a reputation in China for being- one of the best colleges in existence, under foreign management, for the education of the Chinese. In the absence of any pub- lished report from which I can quote, I am enabled to give the following brief statement taken from a private letter written by the Rev. F. F. Ellinwood, Secretary to the Board of Foreign Missions of the American Presbyterian Church : — ‘ Tungchow is one of the centres for the competitive literary examinations of China, and is therefore a literary place. Dr. Mateer rightly foresaw that the light of modern science, thrown upon a background of Chinese cosmogony and superstition, would prove effective, and I think that the result has shown him to have been correct. He has taught astronomy, mathematics, natural philosophy (making large use of scientific illustrations), history, etc., etc., devoting himself, as his faithful wife has devoted herself also, to the young men and lads who have placed CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 156 themselves under his care. The result has been that he places a stamp upon his young men, which makes them acceptable all over North China as teachers. At the same time the young men whom he has trained up with a high degree of Biblical instruc- tion have constituted the very best material for theological training and for the ministry. Drs. Nevius and Corbett, at Chefoo, have supplemented this work of the Tungchow College by training the young men, or such of them as desired theo- logical education, during portions of each year at Chefoo.’ High School of the Wesleyan Mission, Wuchang, Central China. — [It having been determined by the Wesleyan Missionary Society to open a College or High School in con- nection with their Central China Mission, the Rev. W. T. A. Barber, M.A., late Scholar of Caius College, Cambridge, was appointed Principal, and arrived at Hankow early in 1885. The object of the institution is to provide a liberal Western education for the sons of officials and other wealthy Chinamen. Some delay was experienced in commencing operations. Attempts to purchase land on which to erect the college were unsuccessful, but during the summer of 1887 suitable premises were rented and work was begun.] ‘ The College of a Generous Education is situated on the main street of Wuchang; and on the whole it seems a not undesirable arrangement by which the first attempts are to be made before schemes be rigidly and permanently translated into bricks and mortar. ‘ The house had been previously in the occupation of an expectant mandarin, and we at once set to work to decorate the guest room in accordance with native ideas. By the help of Chinese scrolls, pictures, and silken lamps, together with excel- lent charts of astronomy and natural philosophy, the room was made really handsome and ready for its guests. A small library was opened, consisting of Chinese classical works and a few translations on religious and scientific subjects. School- rooms were fitted up with the notable innovation of a good SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION. 1 57 blackboard ; an essay was written in good literary style, setting forth the antiquity of mathematics as a Chinese study, its gradual eclipse, and its recent emergence into the splendour of renown. This essay was posted all over the three cities of Wuchang, Hanyang, and Hankow, and men were despatched to present copies, decently enclosed in red envelopes, at the houses of all the officials and gentry of Wuchang, while advertisements were inserted in the Shanghai native papers, which have a large circulation here. A gentleman of remarkable urbanity of manner and permanently imperturbable suavity of diction, a member of the church, was engaged as secretary and guest receiver ; the neighbours were invited to a feast, and appeared exceedingly friendly ; the doors were then thrown open, and we awaited results. ‘ One aim of such an institution is the inducing of a friendly intercourse with Chinese of the upper classes. Experience seems to prove that these will not come freely to a foreign house. The guest hall of the High School was at once crowded; the first few days guests came by the hundred. There were many, of course, of the baser sort, who stole what trifles they could lay their sleeves over ; but there were many more of the literary and expectant mandarin class ; a few came in their official dress, thereby intimating their readiness to receive return calls. The majority dropped in for a friendly chat, and many were the impromptu lectures on geography, astronomy, and physics provoked by the globes and charts. There was evidently a general desire to make some use of this new oppor- tunity. The general form of inquiry was, “ In how many days can I learn mathematics ? ” and even our oft-repeated declara- tions failed to convince many that a month or two at the out- side would not be quite enough to make an erudite mathe- matical scholar of the dullest. ‘ It was proposed to form two departments in the school. One a regular boys’ school, in which pupils of twelve and up- wards are to be taught their Chinese classics, with the ordinary branches of a mathematical and scientific education. In addi- CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. X S S tion to this, extra classes for adults were to be started. The first and main portion of the scheme can be established only more gradually ; but it was possible to initiate the extra classes at once. The first day brought seven students for arithmetic, geography, and astronomy ; the end of the month saw twenty- two ; half of these characteristically gave up the pursuit after the first month; but the applications for admission next month pro- mise to be more numerous than we can admit, one being indeed a penitent defaulter from the first month. Of course these men are utterly unlettered in Western methods, and we must lay our foundation from the very ground ; it is not a little amusing to hear men of really good literary ability, graduates and such like, gravely discussing the magic power of such methods as multi- plication and division. The pupils range in age from seventeen to thirty, though we have had to refuse some of sixty, and urge them to send, their grandsons; a few are mandarins’ sons; one or two are themselves small officials, but as a whole there are fewer of the upper classes than had been hoped. ‘ The scheme appears, however, to have been launched exactly at the right moment. A month ago there was taken another step in the remarkable series of movements which China is making towards Western civilisation. A long edict was issued from the throne stating the importance of mathe- matics, pointing out that mathematics had their origin in China, that the West had learned all its foundation knowledge from China, but that while these methods had been allowed to wither into disuse in the home land, the men of the West had developed them and applied them to machinery and other inventions. The edict further orders that henceforth all candi- dates for degrees are to be examined in mathematics, natural philosophy, etc. There have often been rumours and indica- tions of some such ordinance, but now at last the definite order has been given. We knew of this some little time ago, but the native papers did not bring the news until within the last few days. We have assisted His Imperial Majesty in promulgating this decree by posting it in large characters in our entrance hall, SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION. I 59 and there are already signs of the ferment it is likely to pro- duce. We shall be obliged rigidly to limit the number of pupils for some time to come, for it would be unwise to create a per- manent enlargement for what may be only a temporary demand. Our present building, though in many ways very suitable, is too small, and hitherto we have engaged no native assistant masters. We intend to increase slowly. ‘ There are several points which force themselves upon our attention. The ignorance and hereditary pride of the literati lead them to expect to conquer with a look. Hence those who will persevere over many months of study are few. It is in- teresting, however, to see a wholesome consciousness of igno- rance breezily ruffling the serene mirror of contented self-suffi- ciency after a month’s struggling with the mysteries of long division. This in itself may no doubt indirectly be a means of grace, but these extra classes afford no special opportunity of religious teaching ; we must base our principal hopes from this source on the healthy impartation of knowledge, and on the establishment of a relation of superiority with these men, which must in the long run lead to a more respectful attitude towards Christianity. We are hoping to use every opportunity of friendly intercourse. Through the kindness of a friend in England the school has been well fitted with globes, maps, telescopes, magic lantern, etc. It is hoped by this means to institute a more or less informal series of evening lectures for the upper classes. The start so far has been such as to call forth the congratulations of those veterans who know something of Chinese education ; and we thank God and take courage. ‘ One cause of the delay in opening the Boys’ School has been found in the extensive floods which cover parts of. this city, and much of the country around. Long-continued rains have raised the river to a height of nearly fifty feet above its low water-mark. Wuchang was the first to suffer ; the port- cullis of the city drains having been shut to keep out the higher waters of the river, a final bout of rain caused the water in the pity to rise four or five feet in two days ; the smaller houses 160 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. began to fall ; in those of a better class the occupants might be seen roosting like fowls on planks, and there cooking, eating, drinking, and discharging all the functions of life. ‘ The publicity attending the opening of the High School has led to an abundant crop of rumours concerning our magic powers. It is almost universally believed that “ the Governor of the Province requested Mr. Brewer and Mr. Barber to pump the flood dry ; but they insisted on a fee of £ 1,000, while he would only give ^500. Hence the flood continues.” It is only fair, however, to say that all the native fire-engines are at work, and have pumped a small portion inside the walls dry, inundating sundry indignant folk outside who had been con- gratulating themselves on their immunity. In the School itself it has been necessary firmly to resist repeated solicitations to teach astrology, and the head master is expected to be omni- scient and all expert, from predicting the future to assaying unknown metals, opening mines, constructing telegraphs, and making machines. Central China W. M. S. Prayer Union Letter (October, 1887). How Children become Idolaters. — ‘ I wish to say a word in favour of schools as a means of eradicating idolatry. ‘ The Chinese are nearly all idolaters, and yet I have never been able to find a man who could tell me when, or why, he became such. They all say they cannot remember the time when they did not worship idols. Many years ago I resolved to find out the secret by which so many millions were made of one mind. A Chinese friend, who would not give me the desired information, informed me that if I would go to a certain temple in the city on the first and fifteenth of the month, I could find out for myself. I went, and took a position in the temple in the rear of the main hall, where I could see what was done before the idol. Soon, a well-dressed Chinese lady came in with three children, about three, five, and seven years of age. The two elder boys ran forwards, and performed their prostrations in the usual way, and then called their younger brother to come forward and do as they had done ; but this SCHOOLS AND EDUCATION. 161 was evidently his first visit to the temple, for he was very much frightened at the sight of the idol, which had been screened so as to show only the face, and thus rendered less hideous. The mother dragged her child into position, and there, standing behind it, and holding it fast by both arms, forced it to bow slightly, three times; and then adroitly extracted from her commodious sleeve a variety of toys, candies, etc., which she gave the child, saying the god had given him these nice things because he was a good boy, and asked him to thank the god, which he did. ‘ I remained at the' temple most of the day, and witnessed the induction of many children into the mysteries of idolatry, and was oppressed with the thought — what a lesson for mothers in Christian lands ! ‘ On the 15th of the month I was in my old position again. Soon the mother with the three children I had seen on the first occasion entered. The youngest was not so frightened as on the former occasion. He went of his own accord into position, and said to his mother, “ I don’t know how to do it.” He was assisted and rewarded as before. The other boys wished to know why they were not rewarded, and got the answer, “ Because you are bad boys.” From that time that child was an idolater : the fright and the presents had welded the chain. Think of a mother deceiving her child in this way. ‘ Now schools for children provide for their religious edu- cation till they are too old to be deceived in this way. And there is every reason to hope that the children which have spent a few years in a Foreign School, when they become mothers, will not deceive their offspring before an idol.’ Rev. M. T. Yates, D.D., Shanghai, Records of Missionary Conference (1877), p. 197. IY. MEDICAL MISSIONS. How Medical Missions began. — ‘Medical mission work proper, on behalf of the Chinese, began with the appoint- ment, by the American Board of Commissioners of Foreign Missions, of the Rev. Peter Parker, M.D., in the year 1834. It should not, however, be forgotten that long before that date, namely, in the year 1805, Dr. Alexander Pearson introduced the practice of vaccination among the natives of Canton and Macao ; and that Dr. Colledge and others had done what they could in the same benevolent direction. In 1835, Dr. Parker opened a dispensary for the Chinese at Singapore, which, however, he only carried on for eight months ; for in August of that year he commenced an ophthalmic hospital in Canton. Dr. Peter Parker, therefore, must be considered the founder of medical missions in China, and his ophthalmic hospital the parent of all that have since been established. ‘The year 1838 is famous for the establishment of the Medical Missionary Society at Canton. At the first meeting, which was held on the 21st February, Dr. Colledge was appointed president of the institution — an office which he continued to hold for many years. The object of the Society was thus stated: “To encourage gentlemen of the medical profession to come and practise gratuitously among the Chinese, by affording the usual aid of hospitals, medicine, and attendants ; but the support or remuneration of such medical gentlemen is not at present within its contemplation.” Since * there was evidently not very much of the distinctly missionary element in their object as thus stated, they add, “ We have called our society a missionary society, because we trust it will advance the cause of missions, and because we want men to fill our institutions who to requisite skill and experience add the self-denial and the high moral qualities which are usually looked for in a missionary.” This Society MEDICAL MISSIONS. 163 being established, Dr. Parker’s ophthalmic hospital was taken under its patronage, and he became the medical missionary in charge. ‘In this same year (1838), while his own Canton hospital was being repaired, Dr. Parker went to Macao for three months, to open a hospital there. This hospital at Macao was a fine large building, capable of accommodating 200 patients, and was the liberal gift of Dr. Colledge. On Dr. Parker’s return to Canton, this institution was closed, to be re-opened the following year by another pioneer of medical missions, Dr. Lockhart. ‘The year 1839 deserves special notice, as being the one in which the first two medical missionaries of the London Mis- sionary Society went to China. Dr. Lockhart arrived in Canton in January of this year, and shortly after his arrival accepted an appointment under the Medical Missionary Society, to re-open the hospital in Macao. The unsettled state of affairs, however, prevented his keeping it open for more than a few months, when it was closed * for the second time, to be opened again in the following year. On December 18, Dr. Hobson arrived at Macao. ‘After carrying on medical mission work therefor some time, and also in Hong-kong, he proceeded in 1848 to Canton, where he opened his famous hospital at Kum-le-fow, in the western suburb of that city. ‘ As soon as it was opened for the dispensing of medicine, hundreds sought relief at his hands on each prescribing-day. This hospital became widely known throughout all the surround- ing country; and it was here that Dr. Hobson, by his kind and gentle manner, his faithful attention and skilful practice, not only won for himself the grateful remembrance of thousands of Chinese, but also the proud right to be considered “the model medical missionary.” ’ Rev. W. Scarborough, The Chinese Recorder (May, 1874), pp. 138-141. The article from which the above extract is taken contains I CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 164 much valuable information concerning the later history of medical missionary work in various parts of China, which it is not possible to reproduce here. A short account of the opening of three or four hospitals to which some special interest attaches is given below. Many pages might easily be filled in describing other similar institutions, and in giving details of the work that is being carried on in connection with them. Hospital at Tientsin. — ‘The New Hospital on the London Mission Compound, commenced in the autumn of 1879, was publicly opened on Thursday, December 2nd, by his Excellency Li-Hung-chang, viceroy of the metropolitan province, imperial grand secretary, etc. The occasion was one of special interest, in that it elicited the hearty co-operation of both Chinese and foreigners. The hospital is built on the main thoroughfare between the native city and the foreign concession and shipping. It is erected in the best style of Chinese archi- tecture, and has an extremely picturesque and attractive appearance. A hall divides the building into two portions. On the right side and in front is a spacious dispensary, which, thanks to the liberality of the Viceroy, is wanting in nothing, rivalling any English dispensary in the abundance and variety of drugs, appliances, etc. On the left of the hall is a large waiting-room, with benches for the convenience of the patients, and used on Sundays and other days as a preaching hall. Behind and to one side is the usual Chinese reception- room, ever to be found in a native building. Running off in two parallel wings at the back, each entirely detached and separated by courtyards, are the surgery and wards, the latter able to accommodate thirty-six in-patients. The wards in the right wing, four in number, are small, intended each to receive only three patients. Here we can isolate dangerous cases, and also receive persons, such as officials and others, who require greater privacy. In the left wing is the large ward, with accom- modation for twenty-four patients, and beyond this a kitchen and other offices. The wards are all furnished with kangs instead of beds, as is the custom in North China. These kangs MEDICAL MISSIONS. 1 65 are built with bricks, with flues running underneath, so that in winter they can be heated ; the bedding is spread upon a mat over the warm bricks. Plenty of room has been left for further extensions if found necessary. The opening ceremony was a very interesting one. The various rooms were gaily decorated with flowers, shrubs, flags, etc. Men from the English and Chinese gunboats helped in the work of transforming the rooms from their normal bareness into a right gala appearance. ‘ A considerable number of guests, Chinese and Europeans, had been invited ; the consular body was represented by the English, German, Russian, and American consuls ; officers from the ships of war, all the members of the missionary body, and many others were present. * Upon the arrival of his Excellency, an illuminated address in Chinese was read and presented. The Viceroy, upon receiving it, uttered many kindly words, showing his apprecia- tion of and sympathy with the work already done. “While disclaiming any praise or merit as due to himself in the matter, he took the opportunity of publicly expressing his warm approbation of the zeal with which foreign medical skill bad been so freely bestowed upon the people of Tientsin.” ‘After some speeches had been made, the Viceroy went over the building and inspected the various arrangements and appliances connected with the institution, in all of which he showed a great interest, and later on the company dispersed. ‘ Medical missions hospitals in China have hitherto been mainly, if not altogether, supported by foreigners, the few occasional subscriptions obtained from the Chinese forming so small a proportion of the funds used in the carrying on of these various institutions as to be practically of but little account. We have, therefore, had an unique experience in Tientsin, in that the hospital has been built entirely with Chinese subscriptions, and the working expenses obtained from the same source . 1 1 The circumstances under which this hospital was founded will be found described on p. 189. 1 66 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. ‘ Much prayer has been offered up that, as God has already given so many temporal blessings, and drawn the people so near us, He would, in the days that are to come, pour down richly of those spiritual blessings for which our hearts are longing. ‘ The Medical Mission accounts stand roughly as follows : ‘Received from Viceroy for salaries of native helpers, purchase. of surgical instruments, drugs, medical stores, and all expenses at Temple Dispensary and New Hospital for fifteen months, ending November 30, 1880, Tls.4,ooo = ^1,200. BUILDING FUND. ‘ Subscriptions to Building Fund from Chinese to'December 26, 1880, Tls.3, 820 = ^1,146. ‘From Viceroy and general subscribers, the total amount received, entirely from native sources, Tls.7,820 =^2,396 during the sixteen months.’ Dr. J. Kenneth Mackenzie, L. M. S. Chronicle (May, 1881), pp. 91-93. The Alice Memorial Hospital, Hong-kong.— ‘ This hospital was opened early in 1887. It was built by Dr. Ho Kai (son of the Rev. Ho Tsun-sheen, see p. in), who had studied medicine in England. During his stay in that country he married an English lady, who returned with him to Hong- kong. After a short married life, Mrs. Ho Kai died, and her husband resolved to erect a hospital for the Chinese in her memory. The foundation stone was laid on the 3rd June, 1886, in the presence of an influential gathering of Chinese and European friends and supporters of the institution, by the Hon. W. H. Marsh, Acting Governor of the Colony. ‘ The Rev. Dr. Chalmers, of the London Missionary Society, gave the following brief history of the origin of the hospital and a description of its nature and purpose: — “The promo- ters of this charitable hospital are the London Missionary Society, under whose auspices it is to be conducted : Dr. Ho MEDICAL MISSIONS. 167 Kai, who generously undertakes the expense of building ; Mr. Belilios, who endows it with a fund of 5,000 dols. for the purchase of medicines; Drs. Manson, Young, Hartigan and Jordan, who offer their services gratuitously; and numerous benevolent friends, both European and Chinese, who have already contributed the liberal sum of 8,000 dols., which makes up the balance of the cost of the site, bought by the Society for 22,000 dols. The part which is already built is the hospital proper. A chapel is to be built on the remainder of the lot by the Chinese Christians. For that no public subscriptions are asked. The hospital door is to be open to the sick of all creeds and nationalities alike. Advice, medicine, and accommodation will be free to the poor, and only a small sum will have to be paid to the cook for food. For the destitute we hope to have a separate fund to provide food also. It is generally agreed that this institution will be a great boon to the poor Chinese, and to not a few of other nationalities, who cannot afford to pay doctor’s fees or even the moderate daily charge at the Civil Hospital. It is intended also to make it a school of European medicine and surgery.” ’ L. M. S. Chronicle (Sept., 1886), p. 375. Hospital for Lepers, Swatow.— The past year has been signalised by the successful establishment of two new hospitals, in room of those which in past years have seen such excellent service, but which at length had become so hemmed in by surrounding houses, and the din of noisy trades and traffic, as to have largely lost their value. ‘ The Leper Hospital, the expense of which was defrayed by the committee in Edinburgh, is erected on ground within reach of the General Hospital. Large numbers of lepers came for treatment year by year. Dr. Gould says : — ‘ “ Could no relief be given to those afflicted with leprosy, we should not have thought of a Leper Hospital. But our experience is that in most cases where the disease has not advanced very far, improvement can be effected, while in some cases apparently complete cures have been obtained. Lately CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 1 68 a patient left us, after a prolonged course of treatment, free from all marks of leprosy, although when he came the disease was very marked. In some parts of India, in Trinidad, and elsewhere, very encouraging results have been obtained in the treatment of this disease. So far as we have seen, it is different from the leprosy of Scripture, and seems less danger- ous, although sooner or later, if unchecked, it leads to a fatal issue. The Chinese of this region do not isolate lepers from the rest of the family except in extreme cases, and their idea is that there is no contagion or infection connected with leprosy.” ’ The 24-th Annual Report of the China Mission (English Presbyterian), pp. n, 12. A Speech on Medical Missionary Experiences.— ‘ I should have liked on an occasion like this to present to you a carefully balanced statement of the position and prospects of our missionary enterprise in China. I am compelled, however, to fall back instead on a single narrative of my own special work. Seven years ago your Missionary Committee asked me if I would go out and try to establish a medical mission in South China. I at first determined to refuse, but a greater voice than that of your Committee spoke to my heart in that request, so afterwards I “repented and went.” The place I was sent to was Fatshan. Its name, which means Buddha’s Mountain, suggests that it was once _an important centre in connection with the Buddhist propaganda. It is now a busy and prosperous manufacturing township, with a population of about five hundred thousand souls, and all Chinese ; for when I went to Fatshan, outside my own family, there was not a single European in the place ; and, except a little band of men and women gathered together by missionary agency, all were heathen — men who have been redeemed as we have been redeemed, but who were ignorant of their redemption. ‘John Wesley said that we were not only to go to those who want us, but to those who want us most. If we were wanted anywhere, it was in that great town of Fatshan. We MEDICAL MISSIONS. 1 69 were wanted in our medical and surgical capacity, for medical science in China is not nearly so advanced as it was in Rome two thousand years ago. There are many useful medicines in the country, and these are sometimes appropriately used. But the native practitioners know nothing of those sciences which form the only basis for the rational treatment of disease. They cannot tie an artery, open an abscess, or reduce a dislocated limb ; and those complications of natural processes which sometimes occur, and which in this country surgeons can always and easily relieve, are in China, owing to lack of skill to deal with them, invariably fatal. If we were wanted physically, it goes without saying that we were wanted spiritually as well. The Chinese people do not need our literature, for they have a splendid one of their own. They do not need much instruction in our social and political sciences, for in some branches of these they are more ad- vanced than we are ourselves. But they do need the Gospel. Pure as is their classical literature, the modern tales and song- books exposed for sale on every Chinese bookstall are, with very few exceptions, unfit for any decent person to read. The conversation of the people is of the same character, and I have done my best to limit my children’s knowledge of the language, lest they should be contaminated by what they hear. In the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans you have a moral and spiritual condition represented which closely cor- responds with that of the Chinese people of to-day. And this is quite enough to show you what a crying need there is for evangelical enterprise among them. ‘ When I went to China we had no chapel in Fatshan. We had the money to build one. It was in the bank at Hong-kong, and had been there for sixteen years. But the people of the town were so bitterly opposed to us that no suitable site could be purchased at any reasonable price. We had, however, succeeded in renting a small preaching room in one of the busy thoroughfares, and here I commenced to dispense medicines on two days in each week. I had no lack of i ;o CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. patients from the first. The people crowded upon us to such an extent that sometimes I have had to treat more than three hundred new cases in a single day. I don’t think many of these patients expected to be cured by us ; most of them only came to look at us ; and of genuine cases of affliction there were few who had not made up their mind that if we did not, by some potent dose or magic spell, cure them at once, they would not come to us again. Only an ignorant charlatan, or a man who had the power of working miracles, could expect to do much good in such a way as this. ‘ I felt it was imperative that we should have a hospital where patients could be systematically watched and tended, and where systematic evangelical instruction could be given to them. At last we were enabled to transform into a hospital a large building I had rented, and to provide it with one hundred beds. These were not always sufficient, and at length we added fifty more. In our busiest season the whole of these hundred and fifty beds have been occupied. Patients came to us from all parts of the Canton province, and from other provinces as well. They came to us in such numbers that, before I had assistance, I was often continually busy from morning until night, and not unfrequently was called up at night to visit some patients at their homes. ‘ The most important department of our work at the Fatshan Hospital was surgery. The Chinese people do not believe much in our skill as physicians, but they do believe in us as surgeons. The reason of this is plain. Surgery has no quacks. No one ever tries to cut a man’s leg off who has not learnt how to do it ; but almost every foreigner in China dis- tributes medicines, and if he has money enough to buy a box of pills, he can go and poison as many people as he likes. I heard the other day, from one who was present on the occa- sion, of a lovefeast which was once held at a little town in Oxfordshire. Among those who spoke on that occasion was a quack doctor, who said that he had been very busy during the week mixing medicines and making pills, “ but,” said he, MEDICAL MISSIONS. 171 “while I have been busy rolling my pills, that passage of Scripture has kept coming into my mind : f The end of these things is death.’” These words may be not inappropriately applied to the promiscuous distribution of strong foreign medicines in China ; it has done more harm than good, and in one notable instance, when an English diplomatist gave a box of pills to a Chinese mandarin, the mandarin took all the pills at once, and was dead in a few hours. It will take us a long time as physicians to win back the people’s confidence. but in surgery our course is clear. ‘ The introduction, however, of operative surgery to such a township as Fatshan was invested with special risk and diffi- culty. There was no British consul there, no European gunboat, no police protection, and no place of refuge. My first serious surgical operation, therefore, was an experience which I would not like to go through again. The wife of a well-to-do tradesman in a neighbouring town was brought to me, suffering from a malignant tumour. I saw at once that unless the tumour were removed the woman would die, and I felt it was my duty to do what I could to save her. If I operated successfully it would establish the reputation of our hospital ; but if I operated and failed — and I easily might : the woman might die under the influence of chloroform, sink from haemorrhage, or never rally from the shock of the operation, and if she did, not only should I lose my patient — always a sorrow to a surgeon’s heart — but the life of myself and of my family would be endangered — we should certainly have been driven from the town, our enterprise there would have collapsed, and similar enterprises in other parts of the province would have been seriously prejudiced. I felt this was a case in which I had a right to look for some special Divine assistance. I put it into the hands of the Great Physician, and then undertook the operation with no other assistance than that of a few raw native students, who had not yet become accustomed to the sight of blood. Under the influence of chloroform I removed the tumour successfully, and though for several nights after- 172 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. wards I was too anxious to sleep, the case did well, the woman had not a single bad symptom, and in a fortnight she was able to go home. Her husband was so grateful to us for what we had done that he not only gave a donation to our funds, but presented to us a large wooden tablet, carved and gilded, which now adorns the spacious vestibule of the hospital. ‘ Often among our patients were opium-smokers, who came to ask us to assist them in breaking off the habit which was ruining them body and soul. Opium is so costly that if a Chinese working-man indulges in it freely he must deprive himself and his family of the necessaries of life. The habit is so fascinating that I have known men, after getting rid of money, property, and surplus clothes, sell their wife and children for slaves, and then smoke away the money thus obtained. We have in our hospital a special ward for these cases. In one year as many as one hundred and twenty such patients have been received ; and of these one hundred have stayed with us until they have lost all craving for the drug. ‘Then we have a great many lepers in South China — the worst form of Syriac or Bible leprosy — men and women with rotting limbs, and features gnarled and knotted ; children of seven or eight looking like old men of ninety; and such hideous pictures of deformity, that to see one once is a haunt- ing memory for a lifetime. I have had as many as a hundred of these patients in a year ; and though I have never succeeded in curing the disease it has been considerably modified by treatment, and the sufferings of the lepers have been much relieved. I remember two lepers during my first year in China who asked to be received by baptism into the Church. They had received their light by reading the Bible in Chinese, and they gave such satisfactory evidence of their conversion that I could not refuse their request. But they could not, of course, come into our chapel, lepers as they were. So I went out to see them at their places of banishment among the hills. Hard by the lonely hut where they were living ran a beautiful MEDICAL MISSIONS. 173 clear stream, and down to this stream I went, like John the Baptist, the lepers being with me, and there beneath the broad blue dome of heaven, lit up by God’s own sunshine, I baptised them “ in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.” * Often patients came before us in the last stages of incura- ble disease, and we had to perform what is a physician’s saddest duty, to say, in answer to the anxious look and appealing voice, “ It is too late. There is no medicine which can cure you.” But we had, thank God, in our mission hospital something for even cases such as these, the news of an open heaven and a blessed immortality. Some received the news and welcomed it. We have heard them testify their faith in Jesus, and seen them die in peace. What better compensation could anyone desire for the work which we have done than the gratitude of their undying spirits to whom our hospital has been the very vestibule of heaven? ‘ During the six years the hospital at Fatshan has been estab- lished, more than thirty thousand patients have passed through our wards, and more than one thousand serious surgical opera- tions have been successfully performed. Now I hold that in these mere physical results we have cause for Christian satis- faction. To heal the sick, to relieve the suffering, to open the eyes of the blind, and make the lame to walk, this is surely a Christ-like work. But we have aimed at much more than this. It has been our endeavour so to arrange for the Christian instruction of our patients that no one shall come into the hospital, for however short a time, without having the oppor- tunity of learning something of the Gospel. To listen to the preaching of the Gospel has not been at all compulsory. We have not sought to bribe men to attend religious services by promises of cure. Whether our patients would listen or not to our instructions, we have with strict impartiality given what relief we could to all. But the Gospel has been made known. Mr. Bridie, assisted by native catechists, has conducted religious services for the patients, gone from bedside to bedside speaking 174 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. to individual sufferers, and has had a Bible-class for our medical students, which is promising good results. ‘ We have in the vestibule of the hospital a bookstall, well supplied with Christian books, and the native colporteur who sits there is well versed in the Scriptures, and is ever ready to preach the Gospel to the people who crowd round the stall. In the women’s ward we have a Bible-woman, supported entirely by the British and Foreign Bible Society. In the large ward, which contains eighty beds, we have decorated the walls with as many Scripture mottoes, not, horizontal ones like English mottos, but vertical like scrolls. The passages of Scripture on them have been so selected as to represent all the more im- portant truths of Christianity, and to give collectively a fairly comprehensive idea of what the Gospel of Christ means. As we keep no lights in the wards at nights, we have, for the sake of sleepless patients, had some shorter texts printed in lumin- ous paint; and comforting thoughts may have been thus suggested to many a weary heart, as there has been seen shining through the darkness: “God our Father;” “Jesus Christ our Saviour ; ” “ The Holy Ghost our Comforter.” ‘ This instruction has not been given in vain. Every year some of our patients have been baptized into Christian fellow- ship ; and though the numbers have not been great, we have the satisfaction of knowing that those who have been thus received into the Church have been genuine cases of conversion. I do not think that Chinese Christians are equal, in the strength of their spiritual instincts, to the best English Christians. This cannot be reasonably expected, but many of those native converts give the most satisfactory evidence of the reality of their relationship to Christ. I have seen them leading godly lives ; I have seen them pass with meekness and with patience through bitter persecution, and through long and tedious affliction ; and when the end has come, I have seen, by the new hope which has lit up their countenance, that to them death has no sting. ‘ I met with a curious illustration one day in my operating- MEDICAL MISSIONS. 175 room of the place which Christian truth has taken in the affections of those Chinese Christians. A member of our Church at Fatshan came to me for an operation, to remove a morbid growth from his arm. The action of his heart was weak, and I did not like to give him chloroform. So I asked him if he could bear the operation without it. “I am afraid of pain,” he said ; “ but I’ll try and bear it if you will let me sing.” “Oh, sing away,” I said, “as much as you like.” I began to operate, and the patient began to sing, in the Chinese version : ‘ “ There is a gate which stands ajar, And through its portals gleaming A radiance from the cross afar, The Saviour’s love revealing. O depth of mercy ! can it be, That gate was left ajar for me, Was left ajar for me ? ” I performed the operation on the singing man without any interruption, for he never flinched. ‘ There are not many Christians in this country for whom singing hymns would do instead of chloroform. I admit that the Chinese are not so sensitive to pain as we are ; but that man would not at such a time have tried to deaden pain by singing hymns about the love of Jesus unless that love had been one of the dearest treasures of his life. Would that we had more of such converts ! They are perhaps more numerous than we know, for I am not disposed to limit our evangelical successes to the number of converts we are able to record. The Saviour healed ten lepers, and only one returned to Him ; but may we not suppose that among the other nine were some who afterwards believed in Him ? We have sometimes, at Fatshan, asked in a spirit of despondency, “ Where are the nine ? ” But facts which have come to light have shown us that even with regard to these we have no reason to despair, ‘ One of my first patients was a gentleman belonging to the A official or literary class — a small mandarin, indeed — who years V . 1 76 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. before had lost his nose. He had heard of the wonderful things which English surgeons could do, and it occurred to him that perhaps they might make him a new nose. Hospital after hospital he visited, but the surgeons, having their hands full of more important work, declined to undertake the case. At length he reached our hospital at Fatshan, a thousand miles or more distant from his home. My patients at the time were few, so I said to the man, “ All right ; if you want a new nose, come in here.” He came in, stayed with us three months, and then went away, taking with him what he came for, a new nose. It was not a very handsome one, but was a genuine nose, made of his own flesh and blood. He said I had made him a foreigner’s nose instead of a Chinaman’s, but he was so proud of it, nevertheless, that he carried a little mirror in his sleeve, and was continually looking at this new facial ornament. This gentleman took away from our hospital also something which he did not come for — a more or less extensive knowledge of the Gospel. He was, as I have said, a literary man, and while in the hospital had read the New Testament through and through. But he read it only that he might argue against it, and when he left us was so bitterly opposed to Christianity that I put him down in my note-book as “a surgical success but an evangelical failure.” That entry I must now confess was a record of lack of faith in me. I ought to have known that so much Gospel-truth was not likely to lie dormant in that man’s heart ; and it did not. Last year the news reached me that, in his distant home, that gentleman had gone to the missionary, professed his faith in Jesus, and had been received by baptism into the Christian Church. In thousands of the villages of China there are, no doubt, similar cases. We sow the seed, but we “ know not which shall prosper, this or that.” ‘ But I am not disposed to limit the evangelical value of a work like this to the conversions, whether seen or unseen, which directly take place as the result of it. Between our missionary agency and the life of China there is a great wall of anti-foreign prejudice. Though you can easily get among the people, it is MEDICAL MISSIONS. 1 77 hard indeed to get at them ; they suspect you ; they hate you ; they despise you. I once overheard an old woman in my con- sulting-room say to my Chinese nurse : “ I have been round to all the doctors, and they have done me no good ; so now I have come to see what the [foreign] devil can do for me;” meaning me. Now, if by the work of our hospital we can make breaches in this wall of prejudice, and help to pull it down, I hold that we shall thus do more for the ultimate Evan- gelization of the land than by making a few conversions/' We have evidence that the prejudice of the people against us is being broken down. The people of Fatshan do not now stone us in the streets. Mandarins and wealthy literati visit us, and sit down at our table. For sixteen years we tried in vain to get a chapel. We have one now. The foundation was laid before I left China, and now the top stone has been brought on, and the place opened for public worship, without the slightest show of opposition from the people. When the war broke out between the Chinese and the French, the Chinese Government asked me to go to the relief of the wounded soldiers in Tonquin. My friend Dr. Macdonald, who had then been only a few months in China, nobly offered ta take charge of the hospital in my absence, and so I was able to accept the appoint- ment. It was of no personal benefit to me, and but for the assiduous attention of my only European companion, Mr. Andersson, I should have died of fever on the field. But it surely is a hopeful circumstance that that proud and haughty nation has so far recognised the benefits of Western philan- thropic science, and we may, from this, expect that it will ere long assuredly recognise the surpassing blessedness of Western Christianity. ‘ This breaking down of prejudice is not limited to the region immediately around Fatshan. In my journey to Tonquin I had a body-guard of Chinese soldiers. I suppose they were old that if any harm happened to me they would all have their heads cut off. I was not a party to any such arrangement, but this is the usual method of making Chinese soldiers do their N CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 1 78 duty. My attendants did their duty, if anything, too well. They watched me as if I had been a child. If I went ashore from my boat to pluck a flower on the banks of the river, they were after me in a moment ; and when walking through native villages and towns, they marched before me, kicking the pigs and dogs out of the way, and shouting to the people to “ clear the road,” making such a disturbance that I often wished we could go out for our walks alone. One morning, in the interior of the province of Kwang-si, Mr. Andersson and I managed to slip ashore without the soldiers. We walked for a considerable distance along the banks of the river, and at length came to a large town, which we entered. The people of the town were a ruffianly set, who had probably never seen a foreigner before. We had not been long in the town before we wished we were safely out of it, or that we had the soldiers with us. The people crowded round us in a most menacing manner, and the cry, “ Kill the barbarian devils ! ” was heard on every hand. A tradesman standing in the doorway of his shop caught sight of us struggling through the mob towards the river, and at once called out, “ Dr. Wenyon.” “ What ! ” I said, “ do you know me?” “I should think I do,” he replied. “You cured my arm at the hospital in Fatshan. Come in and have a cup of tea ! ” That simple episode acted like a spell, and changed at once the conduct of the mob from riot and ridicule to order and respect, and we got back safely to our boats. ‘Now I hold that of the thirty thousand patients who have passed through our wards, and whose homes are scattered over an area three or four times larger than England, everyone may be taken as the centre of an influence more or less favourable to Western thought and Western men, and so to the messengers of Christ ; and thus by the work done at our Fatshan hospital we are preparing the way for future conversions on a pente- costal scale. Now I think I have given you facts enough to justify the enterprise of your committee in undertaking to establish that medical mission at Fatshan ; and facts enough, I hope, to satisfy the friends whose generous gifts have made MEDICAL MISSIONS. 179 that undertaking possible. You have not given in vain. The smiles of assuaged anguish, and lives snatched from the grave, are but part of the outcome of the enterprise, for souls have been won to Jesus, and new voices have been added to the heavenly choir ; and this, even, is not all, for when at the great final gathering you see, among the multitudes around the throne, many of those poor Chinese who have been benefited by your gifts, the Master, looking round upon them all, shall say, as He offers you your crown : “ Inasmuch as ye have done it to one of the least of these, ye have done it unto Me.”’ A Speech on Medical Missionary Experiences, delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Wesleyan Missionary Society in Exeter Hall, 1887, by the Rev. CHARLES Wenyon, M.D., Fatshan (abridged). Wesleyan Missionary Notices Anniversary Number (1887), pp. 33-40. Quackery and Superstition, Science and Faith. — ‘ One morning some men arrived from the military Ya-men, bringing a captain (over ten men) who was suffering and had been for ten days in great pain from acute inflammation of the lower jaw. This, on inquiry, as is so often the case in China, proved to be the result of the treatment he had undergone at the hands of the native doctors — originally only suffering from a decayed tooth, which forceps would have immediately removed, but which was beyond their skill. The treatment he had been subjected to had simply resulted in setting up acute inflam- mation of the bone, with all its attendant suffering and danger. His mouth was firmly closed, and he could not open his jaws in the least. We took him into a private ward, with a servant man he had brought with him, and at once adopted a more rational line of treatment, which eventually resulted in an entire recovery. ‘ The same day I was called to see a man very dangerously wounded. This case I may mention in detail, as conveying some idea of idolatrous and superstitious practices among the Chinese. The patient, a man about forty, lives in the street close to the house occupied by the ladies of the mission. He has one little l8o CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. girl, who attends their school, and two wives, who would like to attend the women’s class, but he will not let them. He has three or four silk looms and several workmen. The previous day he had stabbed himself in three places, the only explan- ation being that the house was said to be haunted by a devil, and at night he could hear it moaning. Upon the night in question he heard it more than ever. This made him so miserable that in a fit of desperation he seized a great knife and stabbed himself. In one place he had penetrated the abdominal wall and exposed the bowels. ‘ The next thing was to hire a necromancer to come, who by means of writing certain cabalistic characters on strips of yellow paper is supposed to be able to ward off the approach of evil. Some of these papers are posted up over the lintels of the door, others are pinned on to the bed, and yet another folded up very small and pinned to the patient’s clothes. This necromancer did not stop here, but proceeded in his own crude way to treat the wound by stitching it partly up, not with silk thread, but with the delicate fibres of the mulberry-tree roots, which are supposed to have anti-febrile virtues. This, however, he accomplished so badly that on the patient coughing the wound gaped and the bowels protruded. He then, to make bad worse, proceeded to leave matters in statu quo , and merely covered it all up with one of the universal black plasters of the appearance and consist- ency of tar spread on paper. ‘ They next sent for me at the patient’s special request; and of course the first thing was to seek to undo all the mischief of bad treatment, removing — no easy matter — every vestige of the plaster, washing all with carbolic acid, replacing the pro- truded contents, and stitching up the wound with carbolised silk. ‘ Much prayer was made that he might recover, and that it might be the beginning of better days for the whole family. The Lord graciously answered prayer, and the case went on to complete recovery. When he was well enough to listen, God gave us the opportunity of speaking very plainly about the MEDICAL MISSIONS. 1 8 1 futility of all idolatrous practices, that life and death are alone in God’s hands, and that it was His mercy alone that permitted him to come back as it were from the very brink of the grave, and afforded him time to turn from idols to serve the living and true God, and to seek pardon and peace in Christ.’ Dr. Wilson, Hanchung, China’s Millions (Feb., 1887), p. 17. Chinese Confidence in a Foreign Surgeon. — ‘It is always a great help for a doctor to feel that he has the con- fidence of his patients, and in dealing with the Chinese he finds that their faith in the “ foreign doctor ” is almost un- bounded; eyes that have long been blind, maladies and defor- mities of a lifetime, it is expected, will speedily be healed by the Western physician. This reached its climax in my own case, when I was asked to visit a person who had just died, and hopes were held out to me that I might yet bring about recovery, since the body was still warm ! It is, however, in cases which the patients themselves look upon as surgical that this con- fidence is most observable. The “ knife ” is expected to work wonders, and is very frequently asked for by the patient when his case is of a purely medical character.’ Dr. Gillison, Hankow, L. M. S. Annual Report (1886), p. 14. Simple Remedies. — 1 A man came to the hospital a short time since with a splint of bamboo an inch long buried in his thumb. In less than three minutes he was relieved of that which had cost him several sleepless nights and several days of pain. When the simple operation was over he said, ‘Thank you, sir, thank you ! I have come over 600 li (200 English miles) to have this done.” Surgery is surely in a backward state among the native practitioners of China ! ’ Dr. Gillison, Hankow, Hankow London Mission Hospital Report (1887). Attempted Suicides. — ‘We have had brought to the hospital or have attended in their homes 30 cases of attempted 182 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. suicide. Of these, x6 were males and 14 females. An analysis of the cases is given below : — Mode. Opium poisoning 25 Swallowing gold ornament 2 Cut-throat 2 Hanging 1 Result. Saved 22 Doubtful 2 Dead when first seen 3 Died 3 Total 30 Total 30 Causes assigned for the act : — 'Quarrel with husband 10 Unhappy with husband 2 Quarrel with fellow-lodger 1 .Unascertained 1 Of the 14 Females 14 Quarrel with parents 1 „ „ father 2 „ „ mother 3 Of the 16 Males „ „ uncle 2 ,, „ others 6 Debt 1 Poverty and Sickness 1 16 ‘ The above sad facts speak for themselves, and need but little comment. ‘ Human life is cheaply held and thoughtlessly parted with, from its real value being unknown. It is thrown away here more often from motives of revenge than of despair. The wife quarrels with the husband, or is chided for some trivial expen- diture ; he goes out to work, and returns to find his wife dying or dead. She has procured and swallowed opium in his absence. She is revenged ! The husband will be put to considerable MEDICAL MISSIONS. 183 expense for a funeral, will be dunned by her relatives, and will have still further trouble and expenditure in procuring another domestic drudge.’ Dr. Gillison, Hankow, Hankow London Mission Hospital Report (1887). Churches Originated by Hospital Patients. — ‘ The Medical Mission at Swatow, begun in 1863, by Dr. Gauld, and carried on for the last five years under the direction of Dr. Lyall, has done much for the progress of the Gospel in that region. On the spiritual side of his work Dr. Lyall is earnestly assisted by his clerical brethren, and the senior of these, the Rev. Geo. Smith, tells some notable things about the hospital and its influence. ‘ “ Out of twenty-three stations in various parts of this region, some seven or eight had their origin from hospital patients.” One-third , , that is to say, of the existing mission congregations in the district round Swatow originated in the conversion of hospital patients, who returned to their heathen towns and villages, and became the centres of a new movement for Christ. The most recent illustration of this is as follows : — “ A young man from a distant part who had come as a patient and became a Christian, on his return home began to tell his relatives and neighbours what God had done for his salvation. As the result of his preaching, some twenty or thirty people are in the habit of meeting every Lord’s day in his village for Christian worship.” And that this worship is in all sincerity is proved by the fact that on the 19th April, 1885, this movement received full recognition by the Church in the baptism of eleven men, three women, and three children. ‘ But further, such are the doors made ready by the Medical Mission, that it is added : “ Had we suitable agents in sufficient numbers, many more stations might be opened with advantage in all parts of this mission-field.” Thus, “About four years ago a man forty years old, a paralytic, applied for baptism, but before receiving it was taken to his own village. Nothing was heard of him till the end of 1884, when an old woman of seventy CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 184 came to the hospital, not for healing, but seeking to be baptized. She was the mother of the paralytic. She told us that he was still alive, but unable to get up from his bed, that his little daughter who had attended him at the hospital had given up all connection with heathenism, that they were both earnest worshippers of the true God, and that she herself had been, in consequence, led to concern for her own soul. We were soon able to test the statements of the old woman, and found the story to be quite true.’” Medical Missions at Home and Abroad (Oct., 1885), pp. 8, 9. Attempted Suicide and a Life Saved. — ‘ The medical work opens many a closed door and wins the esteem of many 'an one who might never otherwise have been brought under the sound of the Gospel. A case only lately has won for us fresh favour from the Mohammedans of this city, who are a strong body, and very distinct from the purely Chinese race. Last year I saved a Mohammedan B.A. who had taken opium. This year I was called to a case where the opium had been swallowed and absorbed ; all native means had been used and failed, and the man’s life was given up by the majority ; men and women were weeping and wailing, some rolling on the ground in their grief. The man was quite unconscious, and certainly looked very bad. A whole day spent in administering antidotes by hypodermic syringe, and in using heat and arti- ficial respiration, resulted in the evening in the return of consciousness, to the amazement of those who had given the man up as dead, and were already making preparations for the chanting of the Koran and the burial of the body. “ This,” remarked some, “ is the calling of the dead to life again.” The elder brother of this man was interested enough to attend the Gospel meeting afterwards. ‘ This is only one case of many, but I have given it to show that even a self-acquired knowledge of the elementary principles of medicine is of no small aid to the missionary in his labours amongst the Chinese people. During a year’s practice I have had many successful cases and dozens of presents brought to MEDICAL MISSIONS. 185 me. Such presents are not usually valuable from a monetary point of view, but because they show that the treatment has been fully appreciated.’ Mr. Hunt, Kansuh, China's Millions (Feb., 1887), p. 17. Gratitude of a Hospital Patient. — ‘ On one of my recent boat journeys on the Yang-tse, I put in about dusk at the market-town of Hwang Sz Kang, and I had no sooner finished preaching on shore than a man rushed after me on to the boat, with hands full of peaches, which he pressed me to accept. I told him that I was not aware that I had done anything to warrant my taking them ; but he would hear of no refusal. “You are from Hankow, are you not?’’ said he. “Yes,” I replied. “Well, you will probably not remember me,” he added ; “ but a few years ago I went up to your hospital there, very ill indeed, and had it not been for Dr. Mackenzie I cer- tainly should not have lived. And not only so, but when all my money was exhausted, he supported me for a whole month, and both he and the native assistants treated me with so much kindness that, when I saw you here, knowing as I did that you must be connected with the mission, I thought the least that I could do was to give you some slight acknowledgment of the kindness shown me at Hankow. I am but a poor man — a huckster — and in a very small way, but I shall be only too glad if you will accept these peaches.” And, feeling hardly satisfied with this expression of gratitude, though a very poor man, he brought me later in the evening a further present of peaches and sweetmeats, to show how grateful he was for the kindness he had received.’ Rev. David Hill, Wesleyan Missionary Notices (June, 1881), p. 177. Another instance of the same. — 5 1 remember a patient, the wife of a mandarin in Formosa, who was treated and cured. The mandarin himself not only gave a handsome donation to the hospital funds, but when leaving Taiwanfoo he gave a pressing invitation to my colleague and myself to visit the part of Formosa in which he was about to take office. Some years later the same mandarin was transferred to a district where i86 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. another colleague of mine, along with the native Christians, were in some danger, through persecution which had arisen in the locality. The mandarin, remembering the kindness shown to his wife, paid a public visit to the missionary at the little Christian chapel, showing him such favour that the persecution at once ceased. These things show that there is no lack of gratitude amongst such parties for kindness shown, and they prove that the efforts of medical missionaries have had con- siderable effect in softening their opposition. Many of them are very grateful, not only for what we have done for themselves or relatives, but also for what we are doing among the people. There is hardly a centre of medical missionary work where the doctor has not access to some of the leading mandarins, and some of these officials contribute very fairly to the sup- port of the mission hospitals in their own quarter. I speak only of these things as opening the door and preparing the way for the preaching of the Gospel.’ Dr. J. L. Maxwell, Formosa, Medical Missions at Home and Abroad (May, 1887). A Changed Life. — [An opium hospital was opened in Wenchow, but it was found that a large proportion of the patients after being cured relapsed into their old habits.] ‘It was a very unsatisfactory work indeed; but there was one man who came in of whom I had very little hope. This man, however, turned out to be the best I ever came in contact with. Uirecdy he came into the hospital he began to study the Scriptures, and continued, day after day and late on into the night, to read the Bible ; and when he left the hospital cured he said nothing to me about any change in his mind or about his religious views ; but he went straight home and took the family gods and incense-pots and the candlesticks, and everything pertaining to idolatry, and pitched them out into the back-yard. His mother was amazed, and his two brothers came round him and begged him, with tears, not to ruin them and bring disgrace upon the family by this rash act. His mother was almost mad with distress ; but he persisted, and said, “ No : I have heard MEDICAL MISSIONS. 1 87 about the true God, and I know that these gods are false, and they are not to be worshipped any more. So long as I am in this house there will be no more idolatry.” ‘ His neighbours and friends came in, and in vain besought him to repent. At last they said he must be mad ; but one old gentleman, a member of the clan, stood up and said, “ Brethren, you say this man is mad. He is not. I know all about it. He has been in that hospital, and that foreign devil has given him a pill, and that pill has changed his heart, and he has no longer a Chinaman’s heart, but a foreign devil’s heart. Now,” he said, “ we can do nothing with this man ; but we must leave him alone for some time, until the effect of the medicine has worn off, and then we may reason with him.” ‘ Though that seems very absurd to us, it was perfectly satis- factory to them, and they went away. But after a few days they came again, and they found to their astonishment that not only had the man persisted in this practice of destroying the gods, but his mother and his two brothers had consented to what he had done, and they themselves had consented to renounce idolatry and to become Christians, for they had heard of the true God. The people were astonished at this. They said, “How can you account for it? We know that this man has been to the opium hospital, and he has had a pill ; but these people have never been there.” But that same old wise man before alluded to came to the rescue again, and he said, “ I know all about it. Do not you see, he not only took a pill himself, but he brought some home with him, and put them into the waterpot ; and all who drink of the water will come under the influence of the drug. Now,” he said, “lest anybody else should be poisoned, let us go and empty the water away from that pot ; ” and so they smashed the large pot that held about twenty gallons, lest anybody should drink the water. Would to God that the changing of a Chinaman’s heart were as easy as that ! ‘ What my pills could not do the grace of God did, and the whole of the family were admitted into the Church within i88 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. twelve months ; and that old opium-smoker became an earnest preacher of the Gospel, despite all the persecution he had to endure. And his mother took a bold stand for Christ, and opened a room in her house for preaching, and invited a mis- sionary lady to come there once a week and preach the Gospel to her neighbours.’ Rev. a. w. douthwaite, m.d., China's Millions (July, 1885), pp. 96, 97. A Woman Witnessing for Christ. — ‘One day I had spoken of Jesus to a group of women at the hospital, and as I paused one of the women said, “ I have a relative in my village who worships Jesus.” Seeing that I was interested, she went on as follows : “ Two years ago, this woman came here for medical treatment, and heard of Jesus. On her return home, she refused to worship idols. She is a widow, very poor, and sometimes in need of food. The people of the village some- times say to her : ‘ Come up to the temple with us and worship the idols, and we will give you a good meal.’ But she refuses, saying : ‘ I cannot worship the idols, for it would be sinning against Jesus. If I starve to death, I shall go to heaven and live with Jesus. I cannot sin against Him. I would rather die than sin against Him ! ’ ‘ “ Every one says she lives a holy life. She has a daughter, and every morning and evening they kneel down together in their home to pray to Jesus. It is so strange a sight to see people pray to a God whom they cannot see, that the neigh- bours frequently come in to look at them. Tears often roll down her cheeks while she is praying. ‘ “ She tells the people of her village that she is only an ignorant woman, and does not know much, only knows that all she has told them about this Jesus is true. At her sug- gestion the men of her village sent back to the hospital for some Christian books.” ‘ As the woman spoke, every additional fact gave me cause for thankfulness.’ Miss L. G. Whilden, Canton, Woman's Work in China (Nov., 1S80), p. 75 1 89 V. WORK AMONGST WOMEN. Hospitals and Lady Doctors— a Chinese Opinion. — ‘At the birth of children [in England], medical men always act as accoucheurs. . . . It is feared that midwives in their ignorance may cause injury to the child which may result in its early death, and the doctor attends, that the child may be brought into the world under the most favourable conditions possible. . . . With this end in view, Europeans disregard the separation that should exist between the sexes \i.e. allow men to act as accoucheurs]. In China our sacred religion would require that women should be taught surgery, for in this way both ends might be attained, — skill in accouchement and respect for decency.’ 1 England as seen by a Chinaman.’ From the Diary of Liu Ta-jen, sometime Minister to England from the Court of Peking. China’ s\ Millions (April, 1881). Hospital for Women and Children, Tientsin. — ‘ The facts connected with the establishment of this hospital are briefly these : — Miss L. Howard, M.D., was in charge of a small hospital for women in Peking at the time of the serious illness of Lady Li, the wife of the famous Viceroy of the province of Chih-li. At Dr. Mackenzie’s suggestion, she was invited to visit Tientsin by His Excellency Li Hung-chang, in order to make an examination which was deemed important by the European local surgeons, but which Chinese etiquette forbade their un- dertaking. The result was in all respects satisfactory, and Miss Howard continued to act with Drs. Mackenzie and Irwin until the patient’s complete recovery. Lady Li became attached to her, and protested against her return to the capital. Friends in Tientsin urged her to fall in with what seemed to be a clearly providential opening which might lead to great results. She yielded, despite the adverse judgment of most of the members of her own mission ; but she has had the satisfaction since of I90 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. finding all approve her course, and of seeing her former sphere occupied by a suitable successor. Shortly after this the Viceroy placed 200 taels (^60) per month at Dr. Mackenzie’s disposal for medical work ; and Lady Li shortly followed suit by giving Miss Howard ioo taels per month for work among her own sex. From the first, medicines, etc., have been dispensed both to men and women at a large temple, some four miles distant from the missions. But it was impossible to deal with serious surgical cases at such a distance. Hospital buildings, with wards for in- patients near at hand, became a necessity. We were enabled to meet the difficulty (so far as a hospital for men is concerned). Armed with an official imprimatur, and encouraged by promise of help from the Viceroy if needful, a subscription list was opened, and, as the result, the London Missionary Society has now a splendidly equipped hospital (under the care of Dr. Mackenzie), 1 with wards for about forty in-patients, and a med- ical school attached, the money value of which is about 5,000 taels (^1,500), besides an already considerable endowment fund — the whole of which has come from native sources. But this course was not open to our American friends. It was hardly feasible to have two such subscription lists going at once. Besides native public opinion would hardly favour an hospital for women. Just at this juncture there occurred one of those remarkable incidents of which there have been so many ex- amples, and which are so significant to Christian minds. An American (the Rev. John Goucher of Baltimore), having money which he wished to use in the work, wrote to the Tientsin Committee of the Methodist Episcopal Mission, offering a sum for an orphanage, if desired. The reply was that the present need of the station was for an hospital for women. At once the gentleman wrote, undertaking to bear the entire expense of the erection and furnishing of suitable buildings. [The total sum given thus was 6,000 dols. 1,000). The hospital was erected 1 But since Dr. Mackenzie’s lamented death, the Chinese have claimed that the hospital belongs to the town, and the latest news is that their claim has been upheld by the Chinese Courts. WORK AMONGST WOMEN. 191 in 1882, and is known as “The Isabella Fisher Hospital for Women and Children.”] ’ Rev. Jonathan Lees, L. M. S. Chronicle (Jan., 1883). The ‘ Margaret Williamson’ Women’s Hospital, Shan- ghai. — ‘This hospital is under the superintendence of the Women’s Union Missionary Society of America. Dr. Elizabeth Reifsnyder is the physician ; Dr. W.H. Boone, visiting physician; Miss McKechnie, head nurse. It was opened on the 4th June, 1885, and is the first hospital opened in Shanghai exclusively for relieving the sufferings of Chinese women. At the opening ceremony, Dr. Jamieson, one of the leading physicians in Shan- ghai, gave the following account of the origin and purpose of the institution : They had met, he said, under the auspices of the Woman’s Union Mission, which had this very remarkable and excellent feature about it, that it was not in the least sectarian. Every class of Protestants was represented amongst its members. ‘ The mission was founded for the purpose of evangelizing heathen women, mainly by the founding of schools and orphan- ages, and in this instance — and this was the only instance of which he knew— by the founding of hospitals for suffering women. The promoters of general hospitals in China had always endeavoured to secure privacy for the native women, and to respect their prejudices ; but somehow the women would not come to general hospitals, or only very rarely, and under cir- cumstances of very great suffering indeed. Now there was every reason to believe that this hospital would supply a long felt and very real want ; and he had not the slightest doubt that the wards upstairs would soon be filled to overflowing — certainly at the time when the peasants were in the habit of leaving their homes in the country. ‘ The visitors had no doubt been struck by the name of the institution. It was called the Margaret Williamson Memorial Hospital for Women and Children. He (Dr. Jamieson) did not know very much about Mrs, Williamson, but what little he I92 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. knew he would tell them as briefly as possible. She was a woman who lived in New York, who was not rich, but who was a Christian philanthropist. Having heard a great deal of the lack of readiness of Chinese women to take advantage of the means they possessed of obtaining medical assistance, she devoted a generous sum to form a fund for the establish- ment of a hospital for Chinese women, to be built under the Woman’s Union Missionary Society, of which Society she was one of the founders. It was unnecessary for him to dwell upon the advantages of such a hospital. They all knew what secluded lives Chinese women led. They were subject to a great number of misfortunes and calamities, which took the form of disease, intensified by their lives of seclusion, and the want of exercise and air resulting from the impossibility of their moving about much on their cramped feet. There was not the slightest doubt that those attached to this hospital would have plenty of work to do. At the opening of an institution of this kind it would strike them as rather strange that he should speak of results already arrived at 3 but they really had a retrospect. Miss Reifsnyder arrived in Shanghai in the early part of 1883, and the news of her arrival had hardly spread before people flocked to her. She very soon established a dispensary in the city, opened three times a week, and she sometimes had as many as a hundred patients in a day at that dispensary. It had given great pleasure to Dr. Boone and himself to receive some cases into St. Luke’s Hospital, where Miss Reifsnyder had performed a great many operations of considerable difficulty, all with perfectly successful results. The whole work of the hospital and dispensary would in future be united in this building. With regards to the prospects of the hospital as to support, they would depend very much upon the foreign community of Shan- ghai. That an institution of this kind was entitled to support was self-evident 3 and it was also, perhaps, self-evident that it was especially entitled to the support of the ladies of Shanghai. It was women’s work for women — for suffering women, who would otherwise be untouched by the means provided for the WORK AMONGST WOMEN. 193 relief of suffering among men. The cost of the building, with furniture, had been, roughly speaking, between 11,000 and 12,000 dols. (about ^2,000) ; and the working expenses would of course be considerable, as the hospital was sure to be well filled. But what was above all things required was the sym- pathy of the ladies of Shanghai with the devoted ladies who are at the head of the institution, to show them that they were not isolated in their work, and also to show the Chinese that their protestations of philanthropy were not merely idle words.’ The Missionary Link Magazine, New York (Nov., 1885). A Year’s Record of Medical Work. — ‘We have seen over 16,135 patients at the dispensary during the year, 9,000 being new cases, and 27,000 prescriptions were filled by Miss McKechnie and her Chinese assistant. During May we averaged 100 cases daily. During August and the greater part of September the hospital was closed, as we were very tired, and deemed it wiser to take a rest than to wait until we were obliged to give up entirely. The house patients have not been so many, this being our first year. I think no have been ad- mitted thus far. Our record represents a great deal of work ; indeed, many days I hardly knew how I could get through with all. I have a Chinese assistant, who saves me a great deal of time by bandaging, and a good Christian woman, who is in the wards all the time, and attends to the wants of the sick. We have a great deal to thank God for in the midst of all the misery and filth. Some of the ladies of Shanghai are interesting themselves in our work.’ The Missionary Link Magazine, New York (May, 1887). Dispensary for Women at Kalgan. — ‘ Miss V. C. Murdoch, M.D., of the A. B. C. F. Mission, writes thus from Kalgan, on the borders of Mongolia : “ I have had patients from every city and town in the vicinity, a few from as great a distance as two hundred miles. Many Mongols have been at the dispensary also. There are a large number of yamens, large and small, in Kalgan, and I believe I have been called o CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 194 to most of them, and I have had some very interesting patients. One gave a sum in silver and two white horses. The latter were considered a handsome present by the Chinese ; but they were not gentle, and could not be used, and they threatened to deplete the dispensary treasury before I could find a pur- chaser.” ’ The Chinese Recorder (Jan., 1886), p. 16. Another Dispensary in Shanghai. — ‘ Miss Ella F. Swinney, M.D., of the Seventh Day Baptist Mission, writing from Shanghai, says : “ In June, 1885, I made my first annual report; the number of patients being 5,882, with 198 visits to the homes of the sick. . . The completion of a medical build- ing on the mission property added much to the facilities and comforts in my work. . . My work among the women is constantly increasing in interest.” ’ The Chinese Recorder (Jan., 1886), p. 20. Another at Tientsin. — ‘Towards the end of last year, Mrs. King, formerly Miss Howard, M.D., see p. 189, com- menced attending women at a dispensary in the city connected with the chapel there. She attends three times in the week, and sees each time from twenty to sixty women. As soon as the Viceroy’s wife heard of Mrs. King’s work, she sent down, asking if any money was required in carrying it on, and ex- pressing her desire to assist in that way. She also sent one of her own personal attendants to help Mrs. King, and has recently offered to purchase land and put up buildings for a women’s hospital in connection with our mission, to be superintended by Mrs. King. Lady Li, as I before re- marked, has a strong personal attachment to Mrs. King, who is a frequent visitor at the yamen, and medical attendant to the ladies of the family. She is a very intelligent and enlightened Chinese lady, and has expressed an earnest wish to establish classes where women may be trained to assist each other at critical times, when they specially need the help of their sisters. A school of midwifery, similar to that under the patronage of our Queen, instituted by the Countess Dufferin WORK AMONGST WOMEN. 195 in India, would meet with Lady Li’s warm support. She says no one can estimate the helplessness of Chinese women in times of great need, and many are the valuable lives that are lost which a little Western medical training might save.’ Mrs. Bryson, L. M. S. Quarterly News of Woman's Work (Jan., 1887), p. 9. Bible Women. — ‘ As hardly any Chinese women know how to read, as the old women rarely leave their villages, and the young women seldom leave their own houses, the only way to carry the Gospel to “ every creature ” among them is to take it by a living voice into their homes. Native sentiment and custom, which is doubtless correct, forbid the doing of this work by men. Women, and women only, can do it effectively. Native social customs permit elderly women to go freely from house to house and from village to village, and there is no limit to the number of women who may be reached and taught by them. ‘ It is important that much care be exercised in the selection of the women to be trained as Bible-women, and that they may be such as will be able to convey to others the knowledge that is given to themselves. I have found it best not to take into my class those who offer themselves as pupils, but to seek out and invite to it those whose character is such as to recom- mend them for the work. Even when the allowance given for food was so low as not to tempt the most needy to enter the class for the food’s sake, some who thought the school-house pleasanter than their own houses, or who had domestic troubles that they wished to get away from, or who hoped that their absence from home might bring an obdurate mother-in-law to terms, came as applicants for admission to the school. ‘ Even when reasonable care is taken in the selection of the women to be trained, fully half of those who are tried are found to be incompetent for the work. Many are dismissed on account of physical weakness, or bad temper, or duplicity, or an inability to deliver the Gospel message plainly. Some study a few months, and then return to their homes, to be more 196 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. joyous and intelligent Christians all their lives ; some study for years, and grow in grace in a wonderful way. ‘ Of a hundred women admitted to my own training-school at Swatow during ten years, about one-third became capable of aptly instructing others. ‘ There are many difficulties and dangers in the work of training native female evangelists. It is hard for us, whose social life and modes of thought are so unlike those of the Chinese, to obtain such intimate personal acquaintance with the native Christians, that we can accurately judge which of them has that style of speech and character which the Chinese themselves consider worthy of imitation. The women who go out as teachers are taken by the heathen as types of the result of a Christian education. It is, therefore, of the utmost importance that they should be tolerably true exponents of Christian principles and modes of life. ‘As the Bible is the only book that the women are expected to teach, it is the only one that they study ; and those in any country who have seriously set to work to master the contents of the Bible have found that they need for that purpose the whole of every day for a lifetime. The women need to be taught to use their own language with force and fluency : to read correctly, easily, and agreeably ; to speak clearly, truth- fully, and attractively ; and to pertinently illustrate, by parable, anecdote, and proverb, the truth they communicate. They must learn the most effective manner of presenting the idea of a sole and true God, and the uselessness of idols, and the best way of removing the fear and dread of demons from ignorant and superstitious minds. Above all, they must be so taught of God that they go forth to their work knowing it to be His and theirs. ‘ As they are to teach those who cannot read, it is desirable that they themselves should be orally instructed, and that the method of teaching them should be a constant practical ex- hibition of the way in which they are to teach others. They learn the Bible stories, orally taught, with great rapidity, and WORK AMONGST WOMEN. 197 tell them with vivacity. It is not unusual for a woman who has never before learned to read to become able in a single year to read the four Gospels and the Book of Acts, and to tell from memory in detail the whole life of Christ, with the miracles and parables. Some of the women become eloquent speakers ; and I have seen them hold an audience of untaught women motionless and attentive for hours, even late at night, and with sleeping children in their laps. ‘ The women from the Swatow school go out, two and two, for three months at a time, stopping in rooms prepared for them, connected with the chapels at the various out-stations, and from thence they go out to teach in the surrounding villages. To the nearest villages they go in the morning and return at night ; in the more distant ones they stay several days, if any woman there is pleased to hear their message, and will therefore give them lodging. During three months a pair of women will thus teach in from ten to thirty different villages. At the end of a journey they return and give'a report of their work, and after a week of instruction and of conference they go out again to the same or other stations. ‘ I visit their stations as often as possible, and never send them to any place where I have not myself been, and of which I do not myself know the condition and surroundings. Each Bible-woman receives eight shillings per month and travelling expenses. This buys food and clothing as good as and no better than she would have at home. This sum merely enables the woman to leave her home and do the work. It does not pay her for the fatigue nor for the obloquy she endures. She must bear that for Christ’s sake, and with no earthly reward. Probably the worst methods of evangelization are those which yield worldly advantages to the evangelist and the disciple. Converts brought in through selfishness remain selfish to the end, and transmit to their spiritual children diseases that are finally fatal to the Church. ‘ It is desirable that Bible-women, when at the country stations, should often have encouragement and advice from CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. the foreign missionary lady. Their work is so unlike anything that the Chinese habitually do ; they meet with so many rebuffs ; they are under so many temptations to lag ; they find such real obstacles in the way of their usefulness, that they must have help and guidance on the spot where their work lies from some one whose wisdom and zeal are greater than their own. They dress and live as poorly as the poor women they teach, and they endure much exposure to rain, cold, and fatigue. In a way that is unknown to all other Chinese women, they go to places distant from their own homes and dwell amongst strangers. They often suffer extreme hardship ; but no Bible-woman has ever given up her work because it was hard. Two of the women lived through the hottest months of the year in a stable, because there were numerous inquirers at a certain place, and no other lodgings than the stable to be procured. Two other women were badly beaten in a certain village, and yet before their wounds were healed these women went back to that village, to continue their work, because its welfare demanded their presence.’ Miss Fields, Pagoda Shadows , pp. 93-99. Social Difficulties connected with Woman’s Work. — ‘ The majority of domestic slaves are females, and from what I have seen of the buying and selling of human beings the evils consequent on such a practice only affect females, usually young girls. For instance, every year from each of my schools two or more girls disappear, generally dear, bright, clever little things. Sometimes an excuse is given, “A-lin has gone to spend a month with some friends ; she will soon come back.’’ This means, I found out, that there is some pressure for money on the family, and the child has been pawned. Occasionally she is redeemed, too often only to disappear again, and never return, but usually we see no more of her, and are put off from month to month with some story of her being with relatives in the country. Again, a girl does not come to school for a day or two, we inquire the reason, and are told plainly that her WORK AMONGST WOMEN. 199 father has taken her to Canton to be sold. The mother weeps and laments, but she and we can do nothing. It is contrary to English law for us to buy her back, though I am sorely tempted to do it at times. So she is lost ; for when a China- man is bent on raising money on his little daughter, he will take her where he is sure of getting the highest bid for her, and, socially speaking, there is an end of her for this life’s good. ‘ And yet again, some day a hue and cry is raised, a little girl has gone home from school, or gone out to play, or been sent to buy something, but her mother looks in vain for her return ; calls, and screams, and searches, and offers rewards for her recovery, in vain. Then we are appealed to, and the police commu- nicated with, and we search the Canton steamers, and telegraph to Singapore to watch all arrivals from Hong-kong. But the child is never recovered, and we have harrowing scenes with the mother, who pawns her clothes, and offers gifts at all the idol shrines in the neighbourhood, and comes to us, and goes to the Catholic sisters of mercy, promising to become a member of both churches, and to trust in the Lord Jesus and the Blessed Virgin all the days of her life, if only her little girl is restored to her, for she is a widow, and has perhaps no other child. ‘ The days pass, and the child is not heard of. And then after a month or two something crops up about an elder brother or uncle, who is by Chinese law the head of the house, and disposer of the liberty of the female members of the family, who was in debt and desperate, and had been seen speaking to the little girl or playing with her the day she disappeared ; but he has disappeared too. And hearing this the mother gives in to the inevitable, and the matter drops ; for what can be done in the face of Chinese laws and institutions ? ‘ Some years ago a native professing Christian was expelled from church membership for taking a secondary wife, a woman of notorious ill fame. After a while he died, leaving his family in poor circumstances; and this woman, with the consent of the eldest son, took her little daughter up to Canton and sold her 200 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. for thirty dollars. An uncle of the child, knowing the character of the people who bought her, and the destiny in store for her, then interfered. He redeemed the girl, and adopted her as his own daughter. A paper was drawn up like a bill of sale, setting forth that in consideration of the money paid for her she was henceforth to be his absolutely, to have and to hold, and to dispose of in marriage as he chose; and this paper was signed by the mother and brother. To make the transaction more secure, all parties concerned went to Fatshan, and the girl was there handed over to her uncle, in whose family she afterwards lived, sometimes in Fatshan, sometimes in Hong-kong, without her mother making any claim to her, until the man’s death. Shortly before his death he and his family, including this girl, his adopted daughter, had become Christians, and he had told us her story, saying that he feared when he was. gone the mother, who was again living an evil life, would take advantage of the English law to get possession of the child. Three days after his death this very thing was attempted. The mother went to the house and claimed the girl, and even offered to buy her. This we interfered to prevent, and then she called in the aid of the police. We were able to prove that she was not a proper person to have the care of a young girl, and that she was negotiating to sell her again for eighty dollars as soon as she got possession of her; and after much trouble and anxiety, several interviews with policemen and magistrates, and a special appeal to the governor, the child was put under our guardianship until she should be of age to choose for herself. She has now been at school for two years, has made a pro- fession of faith in Christ, and is not at all likely ever to fall in with her unnatural mother’s views.’ Miss Rowe, Hong-kong, Woman's Work in China (Nov., 1S80), pp. 71, 72. Little Daughters-in-Law. — ‘The custom of having little daughters-in-law is not uncommon in some parts of China. ‘ If a poor man has more girls than he can well afford to keep, he arranges with the parents of the boy to whom one of WORK AMONGST WOMEN. 201 them is betrothed that they shall take the girl, and bring her up as one of their own children till she is old enough to be married. The boy’s parents, if poor, are glad to fall in with this arrangement, as it saves them the great expenses generally incurred at weddings, and the services the child can render to her mother-in-law are worth what her rice and clothes cost them. But there is another reason besides extreme poverty that makes a father willing thus to give up his little daughter to strangers, and that is the death of her mother. I remember one such case. ‘ A coolie, in foreign employ, lost his wife, and was left with three little children — a boy of six, and two girls, one twelve years old, the other only two or three. The elder girl, “ Golden Phoenix,” had been betrothed for some years to a boy living in the country, so the poor child was sent off at once to her mother-in-law, to live among strangers, all of them heathen. ‘ She had been attending my school for some months, and I shall never forget her coming to bid me good-bye. She said she was going to teach her new relatives about Christianity, and the wickedness of worshipping idols, and asked me so simply to pray for her after she had gone. Poor child ! I am afraid she has had to bear a great deal if she has kept true to the worship of the one God. ‘ Her baby sister was not betrothed, but their father found a neighbour willing to take her for a “ little daughter-in-law,” and though she was a heathen he gave the child up to her for life. The boy he took to live with himself, and managed for him as best he could. ‘In cases where girls are motherless, it is not so easy to object to their being sent thus early to their future homes, unless, indeed, their grandmother is living and could take care of them. But arrangements might often be made for such children being taken into boarding-schools, or they might be placed in a Christian family near a mission school, which they could attend daily. This plan has, to my mind, many advan- tages over boarding-schools ; the girls would be taught simple 202 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. household duties, and would not be in any way unfitted for their future life in a poor cottage, as I am afraid they often are by being brought up in a boarding school, where even if they are obliged to help in the cooking, scrubbing, washing, and needlework, yet everything is done on such a large scale that all seems very different to them when they go back to their poor homes, and have to patch up very old clothes, and make the most of scraps, cooking with whatever utensils there may be in the house. If a girl is thus boarded out, of course, if she is not well treated, her father can take her away, whereas when she is once with her mother-in-law there is no redress, however cruel she may be to her. The great thing is to find a suitable home to put her in, where there is a nice motherly woman, fond of children, and where there will be a decidedly Christian influence. There must be no boys in the family, or only quite little ones, and it must be near a mission school, so that the child can attend it daily, and go back to her village after a few years, not unfitted for the life of her own poor home, and yet able to read the Bible, both for herself and to others, and to do something to illumine the dense ignorance of her fellow-villagers.’ Mrs. Foster, Woman's Work in China (May, 1885). Difficulties of the Foot-binding Question. — ' When our girls’ school was first opened, Tan Leng, the native minister of Pechuia, advised one of his church members to send a daughter, Chhiong-a, to be educated in it. The girl was in the school three or four years, and thus, with the knowledge and consent of her parents, grew up with natural feet. Mrs. McGregor always regarded her as one of the very best of her girls, and before leaving school she was admitted to the membership of the church She was, about the same time, betrothed to a grandson of an old cloth merchant, the first church member at Pechuia. These matters are, in China, all arranged by the parents, and the boy’s mother (his father is dead) knew the girl quite well. No objection was raised on account of the natural feet. WORK AMONGST WOMEN. 203 ‘Now, however, that the time has come for the marriage, the young man, incited, we believe, by his uncle, objects to the girl, on the ground that it would injure his respectability to marry a girl with uncrushed feet. As it is quite illegal for a marriage to be thus broken off after the preliminaries are arranged, Chhiong-a’s father comes to the minister and says: “I followed your advice in sending my girl to school, and letting her grow up with natural feet. I and my family have, in consequence, this indignity put upon us. Are you to exert the church influence to make this family adhere to their agreement, or am I to prosecute them before the Chinese officials?” Bribery and corruption are the most potent influences in a Chinese court of justice, so that it is pretty nearly impossible to conduct a law-suit with clean hands. The force of Paul’s language regarding the disgrace of going to law before unbelievers is thus quite understood here; so the pastor, with all his energy, urges forbearance. He does this, however, at the expense of rendering himself obnoxious to both families. The girl’s parents think him half-hearted in their cause, and inclined to leave them in the mire into which he has led them. The young man’s family, on the other hand, being conscious that they are in the wrong, take it all the more ill that the pastor does not hesitate to tell them so. ‘ A new complication has arisen from the girl’s father threatening to marry her to a heathen. Some time ago Tan Leng showed me a piteous letter sent him by Chhiong-a herself, telling of her dread of being married to a heathen, and entreating him to use every means to dissuade her father from carrying his threat into execution. I at that time had a meeting with her father myself, and tried to soothe him. I hope he is diverted from his purpose, and that some suitable husband for Chhiong-d will be found among the church members. ‘ I have given these details that you may better understand the difficulties surrounding such questions as that of crushed CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 204 feet, and the trying position parents may find themselves in when they venture to rebel against the social tyranny.’ Rev. William McGregor, Our Sisters in other Lands (Jan., 1884). A Christian Chinese Lady in the Palace.— 4 As in our Saviour’s time, the truth, though generally accepted by the poor, did not fail to find its way also into Herod’s house- hold, so now a lady from the palace of the Sixth Prince became, two or three years since, a regular attendant on the Sabbath services of the Presbyterian Church in Peking. At first, accompanied by a servant, she came and went so quietly as to attract but little attention, but soon she became known as Madam Siao, a lady in attendance on the favourite wife of Prince Kung. Making the acquaintance of the ladies of the mission, especially Mrs. Wherry, who took a warm interest in her, she began to add to her Sabbath visits frequent week- day visits. She desired to learn to read, that she might study for herself the New Testament and other Christian books. Employing a servant as a teacher, she carried some of these books into the palace. It soon became known that she looked with favour on the new doctrines, and the matter was brought to the notice of the Prince. But he also, in his intercourse with Western powers, had learned something of Christianity, and knowing no evil in it, did not wish to interfere. Encouraged by this generous treatment, Madam Siao ventured to present her books to her mistress, Princess Kung, who accepted and read them with strong impressions of their truth. Their contents soon became the subject of earnest discussion, and the result was that twelve of the inmates of the palace avowed their rejection of idolatry, and their acceptance of the Christian religion as the true one. These twelve were accustomed, it is said, to meet together for Christian worship on the Sabbath. The latest advices state that the twelve have increased to thirty-one ! ’ Rev. John Wherry, The Missionary Review, New York (Nov., 1886), p. 504. WORK AMONGST WOMEN. 205 A Christian Woman’s Influence on her Neighbours. — ‘Messrs. Owen and Bonsey, on a missionary journey taken recently by them, met quite accidentally with a Christian woman. They did not know she was there, and had no expectation of meeting with any one at that place who bore the Christian name. They were received very kindly and enthusiastically by her and the other members of her family. But the best part of the story remains to be told. They found that she was known as a Christian by the people all around, that she had been preaching and teaching the truth to her neighbours, and that she had a number of candidates waiting for baptism. These were examined by the missionaries, and two actually baptized. Mr. Owen told me, on his return, that he never examined a candidate who gave him greater satisfaction than one of these two women, and that he had no doubt as to the fitness of both. The other part of the story is equally interesting. Mrs. T’sau — such is the name of the Christian woman of whom I am now speaking — was brought to a knowledge of the truth through Mrs. John’s instrumentality some years ago. Mrs. John was in the habit of visiting the women at their houses, accompanied by her Bible-woman. Sometimes the treatment she met with was rude and discouraging, both at the hands of the children in the streets .and the inmates of the houses. One day she returned with an unusual brightness playing on her face. She had met with a very intelligent and respectable woman, who not only received her most heartily, but who had also received the truth into her heart, cast away her idols, and promised to come to the Sunday services. The woman came according to her promise, and in due time was baptized. Her daughter and one of her sons followed. The husband, though he would not join her in this step, offered no objection to her doing as she pleased, and she became one of the most earnest Christian women in our church. This was Mrs. T’sau. Mrs. John was very fond of her, and she was 206 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. deeply attached to Mrs. John. Some time before the death of Mrs. John, Mrs. T'sau left Hankow, and none of the missionaries knew what had become of her till she was thus accidentally found by Messrs. Owen and Bonsey.’ Rev. Griffith John, L. M. S. Annual Report (1887), p. 43. 207 VI. BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS AND THE RELIEF OF SUFFERING. ‘ The thought of the symmetry, and harmony, and perfect ness of the body of Christ is often present with me, and I feel persuaded that we need more charitable work for poor struggling souls, some care for waifs and strays, some aid to the destitute blind, and some home for the destitute aged These things would, if put on a proper basis, reveal to the Chinese a more perfect Christ ; and this is our great business, the true road to success, the vision of the perfect Christ ; the beauty and symmetry of the body answering to the Head will soon win the Chinese from their lifeless images, as no other revelation will. The two will go together — the objective revelation of the Son and the subjective revelation of the Spirit.’ Rev. David Hill, Wesleyan Missionary Notices Anniversary Number (1887), p. 44. Bethesda, the Berlin Foundling Hospital, Hong kong. — ‘ This hospital was established in 1850. The late Dr. Gutz laff had paid a visit in that year to Berlin, and had given such a distressing account of the misery existing in China, that a lady named Knack, the wife of a pastor in the Lutheran Church, resolved to do something to alleviate it. Dr. Gutzlaff had spoken of the great number of infants in China who were every year cast away by their own parents. A ladies’ association was formed in Berlin through the efforts of Mrs. Knack, to organize a plan for rescuing these Chinese foundlings. A house was soon afterwards rented in Hong-kong, and a beginning was made to this work. ‘ It was found, however, that very few children of this class were to be met with in that particular place. Hong-kong being a British colony is of course subject to British law, which punishes the desertion of children as a crime. But soon a number of foundlings were brought in from the country districts 208 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. on the mainland of China. These had been collected in baskets, and in this way were brought to the Foundling Hospital. Many of them were in such an emaciated condition that they died very soon after they had been admitted. Gradually the number of children rescued increased. The German mission- aries residing in the country, and the native Christians with whom they were associated, were active in the work of collect- ing these little outcasts. In some cases the Christians took children direct from heathen mothers, in order to keep them from being destroyed. After some years it was felt to be necessary to remove the institution to a more commodious building than that in which it had been established. A con- siderable sum of money was raised in Hong-kong amongst the European residents, for the purpose of erecting a new and more suitable dwelling for the children. This money was supple- mented by liberal donations from Germany, and a building in every way adapted to the needs of the institution was erected in a healthy part of Hong-kong. ‘In 1 86 1 the Foundling Hospital was removed from the old premises to the new, where the work is still being carried on. There are at the present time over eighty foundling children connected with the institution. These are of all ages from babyhood up to eighteen years. Formerly it was the custom to have wet nurses in the house for any little babies who might be brought in ; but these women, being heathen, were found to exercise a bad influence on the elder girls. It was therefore decided not to allow them to remain in the house, but to entrust the babies to them to nurse in their own homes instead It is a rule of the institution that all these babies shall be brought to the hospital every fortnight to be inspected, and in case of sickness they have to be brought at once. The roll shows that 300 children have been received in all, but of these many have died. ‘ In the earlier days of the hospital, women often brought babies who were in a dying condition, that they might be taken in ; but this is now altogether discouraged, and such children BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 209 are not admitted. Some children have been received for special reasons after the age of infancy, and there are at the present time in the institution four blind girls, one who is a deaf mute, and one who is deficient in intellect. The older children are taught by a German lady, assisted by a Chinese teacher. In addition to religious instruction, the children learn to read and write both in the Chinese character and in the Romanized Colloquial ; they also learn arithmetic, geography, history, and singing : some of them learn to play the harmo- nium. They do a good deal of needlework, wash their own clothes, and attend to various household duties. ‘Lately, the school has been placed under Government inspection, and the girls have acquitted themselves very credit- ably in the Hong-kong Government school examinations. It has thus been possible to take advantage of the grant-in-aid system, so as materially to lessen the expenses of education. The institution has awakened much sympathy in Germany, and the sisters in charge of the hospital take it by turns to write monthly diaries, which are forwarded to the ladies’ committee in Berlin. It is the chief object of all who are responsible for the Foundling Hospital, so to educate the girls who are entrusted to them by the Lord, that they may become pious women, and ' useful and happy wives, and be a light in the midst of the dark- ness of Chinese heathenism. Some of the girls have gone away to a distance, and are now in San Francisco, the Sand- wich Islands, or Demerara. Several are married in Hong-kong, where three of them are in charge of day-schools connected with an English mission. Many of the old girls keep up their connection with the teachers of the institution, either person- ally or by correspondence. Twice it has happened that girls were enticed away by bad women who made false promises to them. One of these was brought back the same day from a house of ill-fame into which she had been sold, but the other one was never heard of again.’ An. Article in Woman's Work in China, (May, 1882), condensed and in part re-written. P 210 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. Asylum for the Blind, Shanghai. — ‘ In the early days of the European Settlements in Shanghai (1845 — 1848), various attempts were made by the Rev. E. W. Syle, and other mission- aries, to distribute alms collected from European and American merchants, amongst the Chinese poor of the neighbourhood. The work was soon found to be one of great difficulty. All kinds of imposition were attempted by the people whom it was intended to benefit, and at last it was deemed desirable to con- fine the distribution of money to the blind. ‘ x\t first a number of needy persons of this class was selected, and regular allowances were made to them ; but this plan was not found to be satisfactory. The people needed something to keep their minds employed, quite as much as they needed food to eat. Under these circumstances Mr. Syle resolved to have his poor friends taught a trade. He employed a woman who was accustomed to make a certain kind of straw twist which is much used in China, to come and teach her trade to these blind people. The effect upon them was wonderful. They at once became brighter and more cheerful than before, and they were also able to do something to maintain themselves. After a while, the trade of making straw shoes or sandals was added to the other trade, then coir mats were attempted. A building was erected by the generosity of some members of the mercan- tile community in Shanghai, and for some years an institution with 30 or 40 inmates was maintained, the object of which was to find useful and profitable employment for the blind, instead of allowing them to be, what otherwise they would have been, fortune-tellers or beggars.’ Letter from the Rev. E. W. Syle, The Chinese Recorder (Nov., 186S), pp. 138-140, condensed. The Blind Taught to Read.— [Mr. W. H. Murray went out to China in 1871 as a colporteur of the National Bible Society of Scotland. Before leaving his native land he studied Moon’s system of reading for the blind.] ‘ He also took lessons in Professor Bell’s system of visible speech, and in Braille’s system of reading and writing for the blind by means of em- BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 21 1 bossed dots. On arriving in China he found that this system of visible speech (which he had acquired simply as an interest- ing curiosity) actually facilitated his own study of Chinese. He noted down the value of every sound he mastered, and thus ascertained that these are really limited to about 420. ‘The continual sight of the innumerable blind Chinese beggars, whom Mr. Murray met at every turn, awakened an unspeakable longing to devise some means of alleviating their hard lot. ‘ He therefore set himself to reduce the 420 sounds to a system of equivalent dots, and his patient ingenuity was at length rewarded by finding that he was thus able accurately to represent the perplexing sounds of the language, and to replace the bewildering multitude of Chinese characters. ‘ Having thus overcome these apparently insuperable diffi- culties, his next care was to test the system, and prove whether even the most sensitive fingers could learn to discriminate four hundred separate arrangements of dots. Selecting a poor little orphan blind beggar, who was lying almost naked in the streets, and who, notwithstanding his loneliness and poverty, always seemed cheerful and content, Mr. Murray took him in hand, washed and clothed him, and undertook to feed and lodge him, provided he would apply himself in earnest to mastering this new learning. Naturally, the boy was delighted ; and we can imagine his ecstasy, and the thankful gladness of this teacher, when, within six weeks , he was able, not only to read fluently, but to write with remarkable accuracy ! ‘ To complete the experiment, two blind beggar men were next induced to learn, the boy acting as teacher. One was able to read well within two months : the other more slowly, but also with great pleasure. It was at this stage that I made their acquaintance, and it struck me as intensely pathetic, as we stood at the door of a dark room — for it was night — to hear what I knew to be words of Holy Scripture, read by men who, less than four months previously, sat begging in the streets, in misery and rags, on the verge of starvation. 212 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. ‘ No wonder that to their countrymen it should appear little short of miraculous that blind beggars should be thus cared for by foreigners, and endowed with apparently supernatural powers ; consequently, when one was sent out to read in the street in company with a native colporteur, crowds gathered round to see, hear, and to buy the book. ‘ I may add that the same system has been applied to musical symbols; and several boys who were found to have a remark- able talent for music have now been instructed in its science, and have learnt to write music from dictation with extraordi- nary facility. When the sheet is taken out of the. frame, each reads off his part, and rarely makes any mistake. One of these boys now plays the harmonium at the Sunday services in Chinese, the others forming an efficient choir. ‘ Of course tidings of the wonderful gift thus conferred on a chosen few has brought others, who, being able to maintain themselves, have come as self-supporting pupils. Thus one blind man arrived who had travelled 300 miles to put himself under Mr. Murray’s tuition. ‘ Amongst the recent pupils has been a handsome young married woman, about eighteen years of age, who lost her sight shortly before her marriage. Her betrothed, however, proved faithful, and brought her to Mr. Murray’s care, and in a few months she had mastered the'mysteries of reading, writing, and music. Both bride and bridegroom are Christians. Another very satisfactory pupil is a young man who lost his sight when he was about twenty. He rapidly acquired the blind system of reading and writing, and then set to work to stereotype an embossed Gospel of St. Matthew in classical Mandarin Chinese, which is the lingua franca understood by all educated men throughout the empire. ‘ Of course, in a country where the dialects spoken between Canton and Peking are so different as to necessitate the publi- cation of at least eight different translations of the Bible for persons with the use of their eyes, it is evident that all these must be reduced to the dot system ere the blind beggars of the BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 21 3 Central and Southern Provinces can share the privilege already open to those of North China ; so that eventually separate schools for the blind must be established in Southern cities. ‘ Hitherto the work has been crippled in its cradle for want of funds, its development having been limited to what could be accomplished by the continual self-denial of the working-man to whom it owes its existence. Being bound to devote all his hours of recognized work to bookselling, he has evolved every detail of the system, and taught his pupils in hours stolen from sleep. Moreover, he has all along taxed his slender salary to the very uttermost in order to provide board, lodging, and raiment for these blind students. ‘ For sixteen years this patient toiler has thus worked on, almost unknown ; but it is now high time that he should have leisure to prepare the Holy Scriptures and other books for the use of successive generations of this vast multitude of darkened lives, for whom so little has hitherto been done either by their own countrymen or by foreigners. ‘ But the Bible Society for which Mr. Murray works is at pre- sent unable to undertake any fresh expense in addition to the salary of its Bible-selling agent at Peking. It therefore rests with the public to make it possible for Mr. Murray to devote his remaining days to transmitting to others the knowledge which has been so specially revealed to him, and which he alone is competent to develop. ‘ It is hoped that Mr. Murray may be able to train many teachers gifted with sight, either Europeans or first-class Chinese converts, who may be employed by the various Missions in all parts of the empire. One such sighted head-teacher in each district could there’ found a Blind School and train Chinese Scripture-readers, and thus the work may be ceaselessly extended, till it overspreads the whole vast empire like a net-work. ‘ A very strong point in favour of this Mission is its bearing on the admission of Christian influence into the dreary homes, wherein Chinese women of all ages live their monotonous lives 214 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. in strict seclusion. To these, each blind woman who can be taught to read the Holy Scriptures will become not only a centre of unbounded interest, but a living power.’ Miss C. F. Gordon-Cumming. The Deaf and Dumb Chinese. — ‘ So far as I have been able to learn, there is nowhere among the non-Christian Chinese any school or institution where deaf mutes are in- structed — indeed, I have not heard of a single case where teaching of any kind has been attempted among such. In our neighbourhood, we have heard of several deaf mutes : they labour in field work, or as artisans, or engage in house- hold duties much as their hearing and speaking neighbours do, but have no means of learning anything beyond what their eyes can see. And, as those who know the Chinese from living among them will readily believe, they are said to be very cruelly treated by those in whose power they are, whenever, by reason of their affliction, they do not understand, and fail in doing what is expected of them. ‘ Some readers may be interested in knowing that there is one little deaf and dumb Chinese girl being taught about Him who when He was on earth showed love and tenderness towards those afflicted as she is. As I think a short notice of this child may be interesting, and possibly suggestive, I shall give it here. She is named Anna, and is the child of Christian parents. She heard and spoke till she was five years old, when, as the result of severe illness, her sense of hearing was completely destroyed, and soon after she also lost the power of speaking. Her parents were much attached to her, but owing to their own ignorance were quite unable to give her any instruction. Through hearing of and seeing the child, an interest in her was aroused among the ladies of this mission, and last year it was agreed to ask her parents to send her to Swatow, and to try the experiment, new to all of us, of teaching her. Her parents gladly let her come, and on the i st of July Anna made her appearance in the school, much, BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 215 apparently, to her own satisfaction. As an elder sister was already a pupil with us, the child did not feel quite strange, and a few days were sufficient to set her completely at her ease. ‘ It would make this article too long were I to describe in detail the methods we used, so I shall only mention one or two heads. We taught her entirely through the medium of the Romanized Vernacular. The letters and combinations and tonal marks she learned perfectly in a week, and she learned simultaneously the manual written and printed alphabet. As soon as the letters were mastered, a few names of common objects were taught her : bowls, chopsticks, chairs, tables, the names of a few people and of some of the com- moner animals. When these were acquired, some verbs and adjectives were given to her, and she was taught to read, understand, and write on her slate, a few short simple sen- tences. She proved wonderfully quick and intelligent, and teaching her, far from being a drudgery, became a great pleasure, the only regret we felt being, that owing to our own inexperience we were not always sure that our methods were of the best. During the first three months that she was with us it was holiday time in the school, and from one hour to one hour and a half’s instruction was given to her daily. As long as this instruction was about mere outward things it was very easy — Anna had no difficulty in understanding what she could see, and she had, when she came to us, a very exten- sive and expressive set of signs, which she used freely. But it was not such easy work when we began to try to convey moral and spiritual truth to her. Still, by prayer and perse- verance I believe I may say that difficulty has been overcome. She has learned that there is one God, the Heavenly Father who made and who cares for all people : that He lives in heaven, where all is joy and peace, where there is no pain, no sickness, and where none are deaf or dumb. ‘She knows that God’s Son, the Lord Jesus, saw from heaven the sin and sorrow of men, and came down to earth 2 l 6 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. and became, first a little child, and afterwards a man ; that wicked men hated Him because He was good, and killed Him, and that after being dead three days, He rose again, went back to heaven, and can never die again. She knows that no bad thing can enter heaven, but that those whose hearts are washed clean will, when they die, go to heaven, and be with God for ever, happy and blessed, with no pain or sickness, and with ears that can hear and tongues that can sing the praise of God. She shows great interest in learning' such truths as these, and there are times when we almost think we can see that the' Spirit of God is Himself teaching her. ‘ Such is an outline of a year’s experience with this afflicted but most interesting child. If any others, reading this account, feel as if they would wish to set agoing a like work, any hints that we can give as to plans and methods will be most gladly communicated.’ Mrs. Mackenzie, Swatow, Woman's Work in China (Nov., 1883). Relief to the Poor in Winter. — ‘ During the past winter we have had a Refuge for the Destitute open in Peking, and many poor people have found there a shelter and a bowl of rice at night throughout the bitter weather which prevails here. The expenses of this institution have been met entirely by the subscriptions of foreigners residing in Peking. If we had had a medical man attached to the mission, we might have alle- viated a great deal of suffering and saved several lives.’ Bishop Scott, S.P.G., Mission Field (Sept. 1, 1886), p. 265. The same. — ‘ Mr. Brereton has been largely occupied during the winter in superintending the Refuge, of which I made mention before. He has arranged to procure the ser- vices of a native doctor, who has acquired a knowledge of Western medical science, and has made the experiment to answer very well. We ought to have an English doctor at once, that we may be able to carry on the work all the year round in some form or other. BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 217 ‘ During the last year we have begun to teach some of the school boys in Peking manual trades. Now we have a small carpenters’ class of three, and a type-cutting class of four ; these latter simply carve characters on wooden blocks in the Chinese fashion, but they will soon be useful to us, enabling us to print small books for our own use at a small cost.’ Bishop Scoxr, S.P.G. Mission Field (Aug. 1, 1887), p. 233. Famine Relief. — - During the years 1876-1878, terrible famines desolated whole provinces of Northern China. That which is alluded to in the first of the following extracts was specially felt in the provinces of Shantung and Chihli. The contributions given by Europeans for the relief of the suf- ferers by this famine were almost entirely collected amongst communities resident in the East. The second famine, which is that referred to in the later extracts here given, was far more severe than the first, and was felt chiefly in the provinces of Chihli, Shansi, and Honan. When the facts relating to this new calamity were known, the European residents in China and throughout the East again came forward with liberal contributions for the relief of the sufferers ; but this time their contributions were largely supplemented by funds collected in England, in America, and in the Colonies. The distributors of these alms were nearly all of them missionaries, and of these some lost their lives from fever, contracted in the execu- tion of the work they had undertaken. In many cases the collectors of the money to be distributed were also missionaries, and it may safely be said that had if not been for the mis- sionaries, comparatively little would or could have been done to carry the charity of Europeans to the suffering Chinese on either of these two occasions. Report on the Famine prevailing in the Northern Provinces of China. Peking, October 30 th, 1877. ‘ A calamity equal if not superior in extent to that which 2l8 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. has been experienced during the present year in Southern India has afflicted simultaneously a large portion of the Chinese empire, especially those provinces which, from their situation inland, are peculiarly liable to suffer from drought, and which are the least favoured by Nature also with access to lines of water communication. ***** ‘On the 22nd June, 1876, the Peking Gazette contained a decree ordaining a series of propitiatory services at the State temples, in which the youthful Emperor himself and his uncles, the Princes of Tun and Kung, with other of the imperial princes, were to offer sacrifices in supplication for rain ; and on the following day a further decree commanded, in pursuance of a report presented by the Board of Revenue, that a sum of 100,000 taels should be allotted from the Treasury of the Board for the relief of the distress prevailing in the northern provinces. * * * * * ‘ Attention was directed to the lamentable sufferings entailed upon the population of the provinces of Chihli and Shantung, by the reports received from British and American missionaries who had visited or were residing in the interior during the summer and autumn of 1876 ; and towards the close of the year, the residents at the ports of Chinkiang and Shanghai had ocular demonstration of the prevailing scarcity, in the arrival of immense bodies of “ famine refugees,” who, having crossed the Yangtse in quest of food, were distributed, under the superintendence of the Chinese authorities, in the neigh- bourhood of various cities in the province of Kiangsu. ***** ‘ A large number of the famine sufferers having wandered as far as Shanghai, where a small and insufficient pittance was doled out to them by the native authorities, a committee was formed among the European residents of the place, and supplies of food and clothing, which were distributed among the refugees BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 219 during the winter, were gratefully received by these unfortunate sufferers. The amount raised by public subscription for this purpose was 693 dol. 30 c. * * * * ¥ ‘ Whilst the European denizens of Shanghai still had under their own eyes the spectacle of the distress endured by the famine refugees from the north bank of the Yangtse, harrowing accounts of the affliction experienced over a much more ex- tensive region of country began to arrive from Tientsin and Chefoo. The English missionaries who reside at Tientsin have a station at Loo-ling, in the north of the province of Shantung, near the Chihli border ; and from this point, as also from the provincial capital of Shantung, where a large episcopal establishment of the Italian missionaries is seated, and from the neighbourhood of Chefoo, letters containing urgent appeals for help on behalf of the starving natives soon began to arrive. ‘On the 17th February, 1877, Mr. Jamieson, Her Majesty’s acting consul at Chefoo, in a report addressed to the Legation, quotes the text of a letter received a few days previously from Mr. Richard, a missionary of' the English Baptist Society, in which a lamentable account is given of the sufferings he had personally witnessed in the prefecture of Ching-Chow. The famine, he learnt, had exceeded in severity anything that had been known of the kind since the year 1786; and he com- municated appalling details of the sufferings experienced and the mortality occasioned by the prevailing scarcity of food. * On receipt of these accounts from Mr. Richard, the small European community at Chefoo subscribed a sum of nearly 500 taels, which was at once remitted to him for distribution among the starving villagers ; and a committee, consisting of Her Majesty’s acting consul and the two principal merchants of the place, Messrs. J. T. Fergusson and W. A. Cornabe, solicited subscriptions from the European residents at the 220 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. treaty ports generally. Mr. Jamieson was able to report on the ioth of April, that large sums had been contributed from various quarters, in answer to the appeal thus sent forth, nearly 20,000 taels having been received up to that date. The com- mittee at Chefoo distributed the amounts thus received among the different missionaries, both Protestant and Roman Catholic, who had devoted themselves to the task of co-operating towards the relief of the prevailing distress. * * * * * ‘ The total amount which was raised by public subscription at the treaty ports and in Hong-kong, on behalf of the Shan- tung famine, is reported by Mr. Jamieson to have been close upon 36,000 taels (or about ^10,000 sterling). * * * * * ‘ The particulars given above conclude what it is necessary to record with reference to the famine of 1876-77 in Shantung and Chihli. The calamity of a still more serious nature which is at the present moment devastating a considerably wider area, belongs to the provinces of Shansi and Honan, seven- tenths going to the first-named of the two.’ W. F. Mayers, Esq., Chinese Secretary to the British Legation, Parliamentary Papers , China, No. 2 (1878), pp. 1-7. A Second Famine. — ‘The China Famine Relief Fund was opened in England last February [1878] as the result of a meeting held at Lambeth Palace under the presidency of his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury [Dr. Tait], ‘ At the meeting, Sir Thomas F. Wade, K.C.B., the British Minister in China, Sir Rutherford Alcock, K.C.B., the Right Rev. Bishop Alford, late of Hong-kong, the Rev. James Legge, LL.D., Professor of Chinese at Oxford, and other gentlemen, spoke of the terrible famine which had for several months been prevailing in North China, and urged that a committee should at once be formed for the purpose of collecting contributions in the United Kingdom for the relief of the sufferers. This was done, and the present report will show the measure of BENE VOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 221 success with which the committee have appealed to the public for support. 1 It was hoped at first that the famine would cease in June, but unhappily the severe and protracted drought, which was the original cause of the famine, continued until it was too late to save the early crops, and consequently the committee were unable to relax their efforts in collecting money until the second or late harvest was gathered in. ‘ The efforts put forth by our countrymen have been heartily appreciated by the Chinese generally, and have been the means of saving many thousands of lives. ‘ A letter has been addressed to the Marquis of Salisbury, of which a copy is annexed, by Kuo-ta-jen, the Chinese Minister at this Court, conveying the grateful acknowledgment of the Chinese Government for the exertions made to aid the suffering population. Mr. R. J. Forrest, the British acting consul at Tientsin, also speaks confidently of the favourable impression made on the Chinese by the sympathy which England has shown them in their hour of need. The money raised here was remitted by telegraph to the committee at Shanghai, and distributed under their direction through the agency of both Protestant and Roman Catholic missionaries. The work of saving life has been carried on at great personal risk to those engaged in it, and several of the distributors have died in the midst of their work from fever caught in the discharge of their self-imposed duties. ‘ The balance-sheet shows that the total amount raised in connection with this fund has been ^32,303 8s. 9d. Of this sum a considerable portion has been forwarded to the treasurer in' London by local committees acting in various parts of the United Kingdom. ‘ In addition to the above-named sum of money, a further sum of about £ 16,000 has been contributed through various missionary societies in England, and has been sent by the treasurers of those societies direct to China.’ Report of the China. Famine Relief Fund (London). 222 ' CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. No. i. Kuo ta-jen to the Marquis of Salisbury. — ( Received October s^th.) Chinese Legation, 45, Portland Place, October 14 th, 1878. ‘My Lord, ‘ 1 have been instructed by the Tsung-li Yamen and the Grand Secretary Li, to request that your lordship will have the goodness to present to the subscribers of the China Famine Fund the grateful acknowledgment of the Chinese Government for the generous alacrity with which, on hearing of the fearful calamity which had befallen the northern provinces of China, they hastened to the assistance of the suffering population. ‘The noble philanthropy which heard, in a far-distant country, the cry of suffering, and hastened to its assistance, is too signal a recognition of the common brotherhood of humanity ever to be forgotten, and is all the more worthy of being remembered, because it was not a mere passing response to a generous emotion, but a continued effort, persevered in, until, in sending the welcome rain, Heaven gave the assuring promise of returning plenty, and the sign that the brotherly succour was no longer required. ‘ Coming from Englishmen residing in all parts of the world, this spontaneous act of generosity made a deep impression on the Government and people of China, which cannot but have the effect of more closely cementing the friendly relations which now so happily exist between China and the Government and the people of this country. But the hand that gave also as- sumed the arduous duty of administering the relief ; and here I would not forget to offer my grateful thanks and condolence to the families of those, and they are not a few, who nobly fell in distributing the fund. ‘To Englishmen in all parts of the world I beg to offer, through your lordship, the thanks of the Government and the people of China for the generous assistance afforded by them in a time of great calamity : but I more especially desire to thank his Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury, Sir Thomas BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 223 Wade, Sir Rutherford Alcock, the Governor of Hong-kong, and the various missionary societies who inaugurated the China Famine Fund, supported it with their influence, and advanced it by their strenuous exertions. ‘ Trusting that your lordship will convey to them this acknow- ledgment of the Chinese Government, I beg, etc., (Signed) ‘ Kuo Sung-tao.’ No. 2. The Marquis of Salisbury to Kuo ta-jen. Foreign Office, October 25 th, 1878. ‘Sir, ‘ I have the honour to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 14th instant, conveying to me an expression of the grateful acknowledgments of the Chinese Government for the assistance rendered by Englishmen in all parts of the world towards relieving distress in the districts of China recently stricken by famine ; and I beg leave to acquaint you, in reply, that I shall have great pleasure in communicating such acknow- ledgments to the persons who were instrumental in establish- ing the fund for the relief of the suffering population in China. I am, etc. (Signed) ‘ Salisbury.’ [The following extract is from the pen of R. J. Forrest, Esq., H.B.M. Consul at Tientsin. After describing the physical features of the provines of Shansi and Chihli, and giving some interesting information relating to these provinces, the writer proceeds : — ] ‘In November, 1877, the aspect of affairs was simply terrible. The autumn crops over the whole of Shansi, and the greater portion of Chihli, Honan, and Shensi, had failed. No rain had fallen, and the heavens were pitilessly blue. Tientsin was inundated with supplies from every available port. The Bund was piled mountain high with grain, the 224 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. government storehouses were full, all the boats were impressed for the conveyance of supplies towards Shansi and the Ho-chien districts of Chihli, carts and waggons were all taken up, and the cumbersome machinery of the Chinese Govern- ment was strained to the utmost to meet the enormous peril which stared it in the face. The watercourses were crowded with boats, the roads were blocked with carts. Refugees to the amount of some 100,000 poured into Tientsin, and were housed in hovels made of mud and millet stalks in the various suburbs. ‘Typhus fever was rampant, and in the villages of Ta-chih- ku, set apart for the reception of the destitute, it was not an uncommon event for from four to six hundred wretches to die in a single night, after the setting in of the cold weather. [Grain stuffs were sent in large quantities to the famine districts. A great part of the way there lay over a rough mountain pass.] ‘During the winter and spring of 1877-78 the most frightful disorder reigned supreme along This^oute. Huai-lu- hsien, the starting-point, was filled with officials and traders, all intent on getting their convoys over the pass. Fugitives, beggars, and thieves absolutely swarmed. The officials were powerless to create any sort of order among the mountains. The track was frequently worn out, and until a new one was made a dead block ensued. Camels, oxen, mules, and donkeys were hurried along in the wildest confusion ; and so many perished or were killed by the desperate people in the hills for the sake of their flesh, that the transit could only be carried on by the banded vigilance of the interested owners of grain, assisted by the train bands or militia, which had been hastily got together, but some of whom were armed with breech-loaders. The carriage of salt to Shansi was prohibited by the governor, owing to the scarcity of pack animals. Night travelling was out of the question. The way was marked by the carcases or skeletons of men and beasts, and the wolves, dogs, and foxes soon put an end to the sufferings of any BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 225 wretch who lay down to recover from, or die of, his sickness in those terrible defiles. Broken carts, scattered grain bags, dying men and animals, so frequently stopped the way, that it was often necessary to prevent for days together the entry of convoys on the one side, in order to let the trains from the other come over. No idea of employing the starving people in making a new, or improving the old, road ever presented itself to the authorities, and passengers, thankful for their escape from the dangers of the journey, were lost in wonder that the enormous traffic was possible. ‘At Szu-tieh the path ceases, and the traveller towards T’ai-yuen-fu, already impressed with the magnitude of the famine, would begin to realize in their fulness the horrors of the disaster. Industry had stopped, no sound of welcome or reprobation reached him from the villages as he passed along, only everywhere the silence of stupefied misery to which no alleviation could come. Starved men, crawling along and seeking for assistance which they did not expect, died on the road side in the bitter cold. A famine village could be detected at once by the absence of bark on the few trees which generally surrounded them, or of woodwork in most of the houses. ‘The mass of correspondence sent by foreigners and natives who became engaged in the work of relief, contains descriptions so revolting to every feeling of human nature, that they had better remain buried where they are. ‘The Chinese officials were not idle in the meanwhile in their efforts for relief. Tseng Kuo-chuan, the governor, an able and benevolent man, brother of the famous Viceroy •Tseng Kuo-fan, and uncle to the Minister to England and France (the Marquis Tseng), continually memorialized the Throne concerning relief, suggesting the sale of offices and even a foreign loan as a means for raising the necessary funds. ‘ The Viceroy of Chihli made vigorous efforts to co-operate with Tseng, and at the same time to relieve the starving Q 226 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. thousands of his own province. His urgent and very practical memorials to the Throne were at once assented to, and a sum of about half a million sterling and a large quantity of grain were collected for distribution in Chihli. The means em- ployed in giving the relief seem to have given general satisfaction, although, as might be expected, instances of fraud, to which it is useless to make further reference, were not infrequent. The nearness of Tientsin and the enormous quantity of grain stuffs to be obtained there rendered the relief of Chihli comparatively easy. The case was widely different in Shansi, whither a total of four millions of taels [about £ 1,000,000] was sent from Peking and the provinces, besides huge quantities of grain. ‘ On 14th March, 1878, a meeting was held at Her Majesty’s Consulate to consider the request made by the Shanghai Com- mittee, through the Rev. Wm. Muirhead, that a committee should be formed at Tientsin to co-operate with Shanghai, receive and forward to their destination funds sent for famine relief, and generally to aid in the scheme. The following gentlemen consented to act : R. J. Forrest, H.M.’s Consul ... ... } G. Detring, Commissioner of Customs... f airm en. O. N. Denny, U.S. Consul, W. Forbes, British Merchant, and a representative of each of the Protestant Missions. ‘ It was at the same time resolved that the distribution should be entirely unsectarian in its character, and that dis- tress should be the only claim to the funds, and to distress only would they be given. While it was admitted that the province of Shansi, from its greater extremity of distress, and distance from any relief base, merited the earliest attention, it was resolved, if funds permitted and opportunity served, to attempt some distribution of relief in the province of Chihli. ‘ The chief difficulty was to find a sufficient number of dis- BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 227 tributors, and it was necessary to trust entirely to the various missionary bodies for agents in the work. Many came forward with great alacrity, and as funds began to flow in fast, the work was begun by forwarding taels 15,000 (about ^3,800) in charge of the Rev. David Hill to Tai-yuen Fu, where the Rev. Timothy Richard had already commenced relief with funds supplied from other sources. From the departure of Mr. Hill the work went on steadily and well, until the partial success of the autumn crops practically ended the famine. A total sum of taels 125,480 (about ^3 1,400) has to date passed through the hands of the Tientsin committee, of which a small balance still remains for distribution. ‘Messrs. Timothy Richard, David Hill, A. Whiting, and Joshua Turner undertook the work in Shansi, and men better fitted for it would be hard to find. It would be invidious to make any distinction in recording the services of this devoted band, but Mr. Richard, whose Chinese name, Li Ti-mo-t’ai, is known far and wide among all classes of natives, stands out so prominent that he must be regarded as chief of the distri- butors. He had experience in 1877 i n similar work in Shan- tung, and by his great tact and power of organization has been a powerful agent in bringing the relief through to a successful termination. He and his friends were well and honourably received by the Governor Tseng, and the Famine Commis- sioner Luan Yao-heng ; districts were allotted to them ; and every sort of assistance afforded which lay in the power of the local officials. ‘The magnificent sobriety of the Chinese, or their accli- matization through many generations, render them little liable to the diseases which kill so many Europeans ; but typhus fever, a direct result of the famine, which broke out in the winter of 1877, slew thousands and thousands that the famine had spared. The distributors were of course fully exposed to the contagion. Mr. Whiting, of the American Presbyterian Mission, died early in the year, and his grave in the cellar of 228 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. a ruined house, is not the least noble in the valley of the Fen. 1 The Famine Commissioner followed next, and a large number of the assistants employed in distributing died, or were dis- abled by typhus. In Chihli, Mr. Barradale, of the London Mission, followed his wife into the tomb on the 23rd May (see p. 233). The wife of Mr. Hall, of the Methodist Mission, was taken with typhus, and awoke from a long delirium to find that her husband had during her unconsciousness contracted the disease and died. Three French sisters of charity perished at Tientsin. Mr. Turner, of the Inland Mission, and Mr. Smith, of the American Board, survived fearful attacks, and not one of the little band has escaped without severe shock to his health. The list of the gentlemen who gave their ser- vices will be found on page 232, and a braver or more unselfish band it would be difficult to find. ‘ As far as the native authorities were concerned, it must be admitted that at first the great bulk of them would rather have had no foreign relief, as they could not divest themselves of a dread of some concealed and ulterior design ; a feeling which is in no wise difficult to understand. When, however, the fact was patent to them in the spring of 1878, that the fund had been collected and would be properly distributed, two men came to the front, who from their official elevation and influ- ence compelled the submission of the subordinate officials. Li Hung-chang, Grand Secretary and Viceroy of Chihli, and Tseng Kuo-chuan, Governor of Shansi, threw themselves heartily into the work when they saw it was a reality. In Shansi the distributors came early face to face with very grave danger. With every desire to free themselves from all native official control, they soon learned that any distribution made in the districts where the Chinese had started no relief would 1 Since the above was written the Governor Tseng placed at the dis- posal of Mr. Richard the sum of 400 taels, to send Mr. Whiting’s remains to America. The deceased gentleman’s friends, however, not approving of the plan, the money was not accepted, but the Governor gave a cemetery instead, where the remains now repose. BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 22 $ inevitably lead to an insurrection among the desperate inha- bitants, who have hitherto been accustomed in times of dis- tress to join their disaffected neighbours in Honan and Shantung, and carry fire and sword from the Yellow River to the valley of the Han and Yangtse. A few foreigners giving help where the mandarins were doing nothing would have excited the people at once, and the pillage of one or two Yamens, and the murder of a few Wei yiians (officials), would have been the signal for a general conflagration. Mr. Richard and his coadjutors were compelled by this grave danger to confine their operations to such localities as were pointed out by the authorities ; but the mandarins were at the same time compelled to exertions which they otherwise would hardly have attempted. It may be fairly stated that while the foreign relief at one time, but for the extreme good sense of the distributors, gave cause for much political uneasiness, it eventually, by the emulation which it excited, prevented an insurrection with which the Chinese Government might have found it hard to deal. ‘In Shansi at the end of September, 1877, Messrs. Richard, Hill, Turner, and Mcllvaine assisted 100,641 people at a cost of 52,700 taels [about ^13,200], of which sum 51,900 taels were forwarded by the Tientsin committee, the balance having been sent prior to its formation, or taken thither by Mr. Mcllvaine. The actual cost of the relief of each individual would appear, therefore, to amount to 52 tael cents [about two shillings and ten pence]. ‘Of the number relieved, Mr. Richard superintended 40,201, and Mr. Hill 45, 440. Both these gentlemen kept very accurate records, but Mr. Mcllvaine’s estimate he himself admits to be rather doubtful. The plans chiefly adopted were : ‘ 1 st — To give at different times to the worst cases enough money to enable the recipients to live on until the autumn harvest ; and, 2ndly — to make grants alternately with the official relief given. ‘ In June, Mr. Richard had begun to interest himself on 230 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. behalf of some of the poorest orphans of T’ai-yuen, and had fixed on a temple in which to locate them, when the Governor Tseng informed him that he would undertake such an insti- tution in the city, and forwarded the rules under which he proposed to conduct it. Mr. Richard thereupon, with the Governor’s approval, commenced a systematic relief to the orphans, widows, and aged, in some scores of the surrounding villages. In September, 1878, seven hundred and forty-four names were enrolled under the the superintendency of Mr. Turner, and on the 17th January, 1879, the numbers were — Orphans... ... ... ... ... ... 822 Aged and Widows ... ... ... ... 334 Total ... ... 1,156 Mr. Hill, at Ping-yang Fu, has adopted a similar plan with the approval of the officials. 4 In Chihli and North Shantung Mr. Lees relieved ... 14,691 Mr. Stanley and friends 18,405 Mr. Lowry ... ••• 5,377 Mr. Innocent 6 , 53 i Messrs. Budd, Morse, and Farrago ... 84,696 Pfere Wynhoven 6,000 Total ... 135,700 at a cost to the Tientsin committee of 42,199 taels, or 31 tael cents, per head. The returns for Chihli, however, are admitted to be not reliable, and Pfere Wynhoven has sent none. That a much smaller sum would be required to give substantial relief to an individual in Chihli than in Shansi, can be accounted for by the proximity of Tientsin, with its vast stores of food, and the facilities which exist in the way of canals and roads to convey grain to the afflicted districts. Besides the above amounts, con- BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 23 1 siderable sums were expended by the various religious societies through special agents ; but as the purpose of this report is only to show what was effected through the Tientsin committee, detailed notice of their action cannot be attempted here. ‘The Roman Catholic missionaries, it should, however, be mentioned, played a very important part in the work of relief, their permanent and very extensive establishments in the stricken districts giving them greater facilities for going among the people than were enjoyed by missionaries of other denomi- nations. All the money distributed by them from the Famine Fund, excepting the small sum handed to Pere Wynhoven, was given by the Shanghai committee. ‘ If it is impossible to arrive at accuracy with regard to the numbers actually relieved by the foreign fund, it may be imagined that it is equally difficult to determine the number of those who perished of famine and the subsequent pestilence. The authorities are assured that in Shansi five millions and a half j in Honan, one million ; in Shantung, half a million ; and in Chihli, two millions and a half have perished ; and there is unfortunately too much reason to believe that the enormous total of nine millions and a half is substantially correct. ‘ You have learnt, I do not doubt, from Mr. Richard of the difficulties and obstructions he had to encounter at the very outset of his labours, and how he has gradually by his personal influence and patient persistency overcome the prejudices, first of the Grand Secretary, Li Hung-chang, and of the Governor of Shansi, and, finally, with the aid of Messrs. Hill and Turner, has succeeded in convincing the local authorities of P’ing- yang of the sincerity of their motives. One has only to go through the villages and towns where they are known to discover at once the place they hold in popular estimation. “ Do you know Li T’i-mo-t’ai (Mr. Richard’s name), or Li-Hsien-sheng (Mr. Hill’s) ? ” was a question I was everywhere asked ; and during an experience of natives lasting now eleven years, I may say that I have never heard foreigners individually spoken of with such respect and esteem as these gentlemen, a reputa- CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 232 tion that they have earned by their own influence and exertions. Lives which bear every mark of transparent simplicity and truthfulness, that will stand the test of the severest scrutiny, must in the end have their due effect. It seems presumptuous to offer a tribute of praise to men whose literal interpretation of the calls of duty have placed them almost beyond the reach of popular commendation, but perhaps I may be allowed to say that anyone who has seen the lives that these men are lead- ing cannot fail to feel proud of being able to claim them as countrymen of his own.’ Walter C. Hillier, Esq., H. B. M. Consular Service of China. List of Distributors other than Roman Catholic Missionaries. Shansi. 1877- 9, Rev. Timothy Richard, English Baptist Mission. 1878, Rev. A. Whiting, American Presbyterian Mission. [Died.] 1878- 9, Rev. David Hill, Wesleyan Mission. Mr. Joshua Turner, China Inland. 1878, Rev. Jasper Mcllvaine, American Presbyterian. 1878-9, Rev. Canon Scott, S.P.G. 1879, Mr. George Clarke, China Inland. Mr. Drake, China Inland. Mr. Elliston, China Inland. Mr. Parret, China Inland. W. C. Hillier, Esq., Consular Service. North Shantung. 1878, Rev. C. A. Stanley, American Board Mission. Rev. A. C. Smith, American Board Mission. Rev. H. D. Porter, American Board Mission. Rev. D. Z. Sheffield, American Board Mission. Rev. C. Goodrich, American Board Mission. Rev. W. N. Hall, English Methodist Mission. [Died.] Rev. J. Innocent, English Methodist Mission. BENE VO LEE T INSTITUTIONS. 233 Rev. W. B. Hodge, English Methodist Mission. [Died.] Rev. J. Robinson, English Methodist Mission. Chihli. 1878, Rev. Jonathan Lees, London Mission. Rev. J. S. Barradale, London Mission. [Died.] Rev. H. H. Lowry, American Methodist Episcopal Mission. Rev. J. H. Pyke, American Methodist Episcopal Mission. Rev. J. Pierson, American Board. Rev. W. G. Ament, American Board. Mr. C. Budd, China Inland. Mr. E. Farrago, Chinese Customs Service. Mr. B. Morse, Chinese Customs Service. The Rev. Messrs. Collins and Brereton, of the Church Mis- sionary Society, were distributors in Chihli of a special fund. Report of the China Famine Relief Fund, Shanghai. The Famine of 1888 and 1889. — ‘In 1888 an appalling calamity befel a large district in Honan, and the adjoining parts of Gan-hwuy. The Yellow River brings down an enor- mous amount of silt, and raises the bottom of its bed far above the level of some of the low-lying plains through which it passes. Embankments are raised from time to time, but sooner or later give way, and then a vast region is flooded before the river can be confined to its new course. On this occasion its banks burst in the district of Ching-chau, to the S.W. of Kaifung-fu, the capital of Honan, and covered a vast district from which the various affluents of the Hwuy River have been unequal to carry off the water. ‘ Dr. Nevius, a well-known and highly-esteemed missionary, having heard of the great distress prevailing in Shan-tung, left Chefoo on October 18th, to make an investigation. The result is given in the following statement taken from The Times , which will be read with painful interest : — ‘ “ Writing on November 10th from a place called Chang-lo, CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 234 he (Dr. Nevius) says that he found the distress more extended and greater than the reports had led him to expect. The district he visited had an area of about 6,000 square miles, and a popu- lation of 1,500,000. It had suffered much from drought during the past four or five years, and in one corner from the overflow of the Yellow River. The present calamity was the conse- quence of the unusual rains in August, culminating in what appears to have been a deluge on the 18th of that month. Although heavy rains are common and expected about that time, no one had before experienced such a rainfall there. The water rushing down from the mountains in the central part of the province swelled the streams, which burst their banks, and, uniting in one common flood, swept over nearly the whole of a vast plain which slopes gradually to the north and terminates in Pechili Bay. The people, who had lost their wheat crop in consequence of drought during the spring and early summer, were rejoicing in the prospect of a good autumn harvest, when the flood destroyed all. The millet and bean crops were destroyed at once. The tall sorghum, with its head above water, promised for a time to survive ; but much of it was borne down by the current and the wind. ‘ £t The houses of the people in many cases are gone as well as the food, for the floods, rising to the slight elevation on which the villages and towns were constructed, entered the houses and softened and dissolved the mud bricks which formed the foundations, so that they fell to the ground. Dr. Nevius describes as an instance one particular town, where the destruc- tion and misery are no worse than elsewhere, and not so bad as in some other places. The town is Han-chiao, on the Miho River, with a population of 2,000. It is surrounded by an earth wall twenty feet in height. The river banks gave way just above the town, and an opening was gradually made for a distance of about a mile. The water burst out towards the town, tearing away the surface earth from hundreds of acres of cultivated land, and covering it with sand. It soon broke down part of the mud wall and poured through the streets, filling the BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 235 whole space within the walls, and breaking out again on another side. Nine-tenths of the houses were carried away; household goods, furniture, farming implements, and timbers of buildings floated away towards the sea. The people saved themselves by climbing trees or the higher parts of the wall, where many of them remained standing in the water for hours. For two days they could obtain no food. The town, when seen by Dr. Nevius, was a scene of complete desolation. Large pools of water stood where there were recently busy streets and comfort- able dwellings. A few of the original houses remain, and some huts have been erected on the open spaces. Many of the in- habitants have fled to friends living in more favoured localities, and many are reduced to hopeless beggary. ‘ “ The whole region bore marks of the flood three months afterwards. The surface earth is carried away wholly in many places ; in the others the ground is too wet to plough. Small streams have formed lakes and covered large tracts of country. Around the city of Lo-ngan the people were found living prin- cipally on the seeds of alno grass or shrub, which grows on alkaline lands, and resembles the sage plant of the high American table-lands. In every village the people were found gathering this grass. The seed and husk are ground into powder, mixed with chaff, and made into a kind of cake, which is nearly tasteless, except that it has a slight herby flavour. It can contain but little nutriment. In none of the houses was any food except these cakes found. In one house a man showed a little flour in a gourd which he had brought for a sick child. It was made from coarse sorghum, which in ordi- nary times is only eaten by the very poorest, who can afford neither rice nor millet, but now it is a luxury. Death by starvation, says Dr. Nevius, is staring these people in the face. All the roads leading out of the region were thronged with refugees, usually able-bodied men with women and children. They endeavoured to plant their land, and were on their way to more plentiful regions to beg, so that more would be left for those remaining behind. They hope to return 236 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. to get in their spring crops. They take their farm wheel- barrows, to carry clothing, bedding, and a few utensils, with the younger children sometimes sitting on top of the load, and the adults trudging behind. It was estimated that 2,ozo per- sons were daily leaving the stricken districts in all directions, but especially towards the famine districts of 1877-8, where land is cheap on account of the dearth of the population. Sometimes illness of the wife or husband brought the family progress to a standstill, as the husband was too weak to propel the wheelbarrow with his wife added to the load, and vice versa. Many refugees were also returning, as they found it impossible to get a living by begging; but, as a rule, the frightful pri- vations of this exile deter all who are not absolutely driven to it. Some linger at home, loath to leave, until all the food is exhausted ; but even the chaff bread cannot last through the winter. Those who have property of any kind try to sell it, but nothing will fetch a tithe of its value. ‘ “ In conclusion, Dr. Nevius observes that any words can convey but a very imperfect idea of the misery, and it is sure to be worse in the spring, before which the limited supply of pro- visions will be exhausted. Those who have remained at home will be reduced to extremities, those who return from abroad will not have the means or strength to plant the spring crops. He estimates that a halfpenny a day, or fifteen pence a month, would, in addition to what the people can do themselves, sup- port life. The district magistrates have remitted taxes, but seem to have done nothing further to meet the awful situation.” ‘ Mr. Slimmon, of the China Inland Mission, writes from Chau kia-k’eo : “I arrived here on October 23rd, and found that the damage done by the water is greater than my worst imagination had pictured The water came on so slowly that the people would not believe there was any danger, and stayed till the water was up to their loins, when they could no longer carry off their effects. So they climbed up trees, and got on to the roofs of their houses, which are built either of mud or of sun-dried bricks, so the walls soon gave BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 237 way, and the people on the roofs perished. Those in the trees were many of them rescued in boats, but others in lonely situations, or those who could not hold out till help came, fell into the water and were drowned. Numbers of bodies have been found, some of them showing that piteous efforts to escape had been made. In one case, a string of men was found tied hand to hand ; in another, a father and child were found tied together.” ‘ In another letter he says : ‘ “ Just fancy a vast plain, about half the size of Scotland, thickly populated, suddenly turned into a raging sea ! This is what has taken place here, and one trembles to think of the great numbers that have been drowned. Misery reigns supreme in this place just now. Out of fifty-six streets in our portion of the town only five are not flooded ; the others are all destroyed, and perhaps as many perished by the falling of houses as by drowning ; yet one hardly knows whether to think those who are drowned or those who escaped the more fortunate, for those who perished are at least saved the misery of dying from cold and starvation. You would weep (as I did) were you to see the terrible desolation and distress that abound, and feel helpless, as I do, to relieve them. ‘Bread, bread!’ is the one cry; but bread is not the only thing they need. Hundreds have escaped with their bare lives ; their little all has been lost. They are huddled together in straw huts, with scarcely enough to cover them, and the nights are getting bitterly cold. Words cannot describe the scene. I am living in the midst of it, able to do little or nothing, for want of money. The distress will continue for many months to come ; cruel winter will soon be on us, and hundreds will perish from cold. . . . Even were the water to be dried up, the people could not sow, for all the present year’s harvest, that was safely gathered in, has been swept away, and they have no seed to sow. Their case is indeed desperate.” 238 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. ‘Mr. Coulthard writes from Chau-kia-k’eo on Nov. 12th : ‘ “ Last year at this time the poorest people from the surround- ing villages were collected in the three large fan-chang (enclo- sures), and were duly supported by the Government. Then, when I visited the villages, no distressed poor were to be found, and therefore we withheld our funds till needed. The people for the most part have returned to their villages, the jan-chang being almost deserted. We are able to disburse the funds in a quiet, orderly way. Now the relief is worth twice or three times what it would have been last year, when there was a plethora of silver, and provisions were as cheap again. Last week 400 taels (Shanghai 444 taels) were distributed among the inhabitants of seventeen villages, twenty or thirty li to the south-east of this city. Relief was given to 424 indigent families. ‘ “ The mode of procedure was as follows : The distributors first had an interview with the chief village elder, who furnished them with a list of the families in his village. The list was then verified, to prevent fraud. In one or two cases families misrepresented their number, but the distributors were able to correct this by personal examination. ‘ “ When the list was found or made correct, to each family was given a slip of paper, to be exchanged for cash notes for 1,000 or 1,500 cash, according to the need of the family. These cash notes are obtained from our banker, who holds all our silver, and gives us the required amount in cash notes. We are very fortunate in having with us an experienced and trust- worthy native, who helped to distribute relief during the time of the Shan-si famine. He is invaluable to us at the present juncture. • ‘ “ To-day 600 taels were exchanged for cash notes. The dis- tribution will begin to-morrow in another direction, to give relief (D.V.) to about 800 or 900 families. The money lying here is going rapidly ; I hope that more will arrive before our present supply is quite exhausted. Our present distributions will only provide for the wants of these needy families for about a month. We shall need to distribute again before the BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 239 inundated districts are covered with ice, when communication will be effectually stopped until after the New Year. Next time we should give them sufficient to support them for two months or more, as they will have to lay in a stock of provisions to last them until communication can be reopened. ‘ “ To-day I received a letter from Mr. Johnson, who, with Mr. Mills, is making a survey of the inundated districts to the east and north of this. They will skirt the flooded parts up to the breach, where they will hire a boat and travel by water from village to village, and see what can be done to relieve the dis- tress where help is most needed. Mr. Johnston writes me as follows : ‘ The course of our journey has been eastward as far as T’ai-k’ang, but from there we went west, in order to get nearer the flooded district. ... As regards the condition of the people, we have not been able to obtain much information, except that those in need have gone to the larger towns, where food is being distributed. This place, Chu-sien-chen, is the first of these [distributing centres] we have come to ; we have only just arrived, and cannot yet say anything about the prospects of the place. One of the large enclosures [similar to those at Chau-kia-k’eo] just inside the city seems to be literally packed with people, much more so than I have seen elsewhere. Still, of course, they are being provided for. I fancy it was reported at Shanghai that the water this year extended over a greater territory than last year. Whatever the state of the country was at the time the report was written, it is quite different now, as along our route we found that the water had receded to the extent of eight, ten, and twelve li in some places. On the whole, we have failed to hear of isolated cases of need ; the people complain, however, of depression in trade on account of the floods, which is to be expected, but cannot be remedied. We may probably remain here part of, if not all, to-morrow, and then make for the breach, and see about visiting the villages on our way down. As I write, a few interested individuals look in and impart to me the information that there are 30,000 people in this place receiving food from the Government CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 240 ‘ Mr. Coulthard further writes, under date of Nov. 16th : ‘ “ Our second distribution has been successfully accom- plished, and this time 810,300 cash was distributed among 673 families, living in twenty-six different villages. The villages lie to the north-east of Chau-kia-k’eo, at a distance of twenty or thirty li. The water is gradually receding, and in places is so shallow that the boat can scarcely be pushed along ; in some places the boat is ‘ poled ’ over mud, the water being in- sufficient to float it. ‘“We are pushing on with the distribution as quickly as possible, so that all the villages may be reached before the water entirely recedes. Then, when those in this district have received a first small supply, we hope that further supplies of silver will have reached us, to enable us to make a larger dis- tribution before the close of the Chinese year. This morning we changed 500 taels, and to-morrow morning the third dis- tribution will be made in a different direction. This sum exhausts our present supply, but I hope to make arrangements with our bankers to advance us about 500 taels, and so to have the work kept going until the silver written for arrives. The banker seems to have every confidence in us; as we are doing all the business through him, he will doubtless advance us the money. The first distribution has done much good. We are here in the midst of suffering, and will do all that we can to relieve it.” ‘ Mr. Johnston says, in a letter from Chau-kia-k’eo, Nov. 30th: “ We have just returned from our journey up the east side of the flooded district, and as far north as the breach, which lies about twelve li (four miles) to the west of Yang-k’iao. At T’ai-kang there are tents erected and Government relief afforded to the distressed. ‘“To the north the entire district seems only a vast sandy plain, with scarcely a trace of cultivation or habitation. This wilderness appearance continues all the way to and apparently beyond the breach ; but one is not prepared for the scene of activity and life that has grown up there. BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 241 ‘ “ We had been walking for some considerable time in the last old bed of the river, expecting to arrive at some compara- tively small town, but fancy our surprise to find on arrival a thickly populated place, that seems at least to have 100,000 people, and a splendid business going on. Shops of all descrip- tions have been opened, and judging from the rush of people it seems to be reckoned the ‘ gold-diggings ’ of China for the present. Prices, too, are high. ‘ “ We managed to secure one of the general places of shelter for the night, which consisted of a few poles erected, and sticks thrown across the top, with mats tied on the outside : through the mats as well as the larger apertures the sand was drifting plentifully. For this we paid 150 cash [6d., double or treble the usual inn-money] a night, and it was in this class of shelter that even the higher class Chinese officials had to take refuge ; the tent adjoining ours was occupied by a mandarin. ‘ “ The following morning we went to visit the scene of the disaster, and there we witnessed a sight that baffles description. The breach is from thirty to forty feet high from water mark, and from 300 to 400 feet wide. Judging from the rapidity, strength, and volume of current, it would seem that their attempts to stop it will be almost fruitless, at least this year. That they have material of a kind is true, and also in quantity, if millet-stalks and sand are going to stop it ; their trust for a successful issue seems to be placed in the millet, which has been brought from all quarters in enormous quantities, while cartloads are continuing to come in daily by hundreds. They pay 4,000 cash (13s. 4d.) a load for it, delivered on the place, and it would seem that 100,000 taels would scarcely pay for the quantity gathered. Besides they have hemp cables and bam- boo cables by the ton, as well as brick and small square stone, about twelve inch by four inch, in abundance. ‘ “The work has commenced this season on the west, but not as yet on the east side, and the thousands of men employed are used in wheeling clay and placing millet stalks in layers as they fill in piece by piece. It truly is an amusing sight, from CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA . 242 one stand point, to see thousands of able-bodied men with their barrows full of clay, equal to about a good shovelful, following each other and wending their way in and out, back and forward, like so many ants. They are paid 30 cash (ijd.) a barrowful. Many have no spades, but use their hands for loading, and were it not that each barrow-load has its official check one would think that they were striving who could bring least. Employ- ment of this kind, we learnt, was for all who cared to go, and so multitudes of those who have suffered from the flood have obtained employment, while their families have gone to the places for distributing food in their various districts. ‘ “ Having now reached our intended limit northward, we tried to procure a boat to return by water, but not even a small fishing-boat would consent to leave even for a three-days’ run, though we offered 700 cash (2s. 4d.) a day. Near Fu-k’eo the water had spread itself over the entire land, and it was about that district of country that the condition of the people seemed most deplorable. Hundreds and hundreds of villagers might be seen not only surrounded by, but actually standing in water. Scarcely any of these hamlets were entirely deserted. Where the houses are still standing, the people who could remain seem to have done so, probably upon the principle that ‘ There’s no place like home.’ ‘ “ It is not likely that one would meet with cases of absolute starvation, as almost from any centre within a radius of thirty li (ten miles) food is being provided and shelter afforded by the Government for any who are needy. But the distribution of a few thousand taels would greatly increase the very meagre share of comfort that some of those possess who expect to pass the winter in their desolate homes.” 1 China Inland Mission, February 19 th, 1SS9. f Through the kindness of many friends, we have been en- abled to telegraph money to China for the relief of the sufferers from famine as follows: — On Thursday, January 25th, ^200 ; Monday, January 28th, 300 ; Friday, February 1st, £ 700; BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 243 Wednesday, February nth, £800; and to morrow £600 more will be sent ; making in all, £3,600. This amount has come to us in sums varying from 6d. to ,£1,000 ; the latter generous gift being a family offering from “ Father, Mother, and seven Children.” ‘ To each contributor we offer our very grateful thanks, not only for his or her kind gift, but for the warm words of sympathy with the sufferers with which in so many cases the gifts have been accompanied. If the missionaries who distribute the relief thus provided can only put it into the hands of those who receive it with a sympathy as true as that manifested by those by whom it has been given, then surely the wish will not be in vain which so many of these have expressed, that this dire calamity may be overruled for opening more effectually a way for the Gospel message. ‘ The Lord Mayor of London, with a promptitude and energy which cannot be too highly commended, opened a fund for the sufferers from famine, and has been enabled to telegraph as- sistance to the extent of £ 12,00c, 1 a sum, which we earnestly hope will, without delay, be very largely increased. ‘From the districts affected by the Yellow River disaster the missionaries of the China Inland Mission have sent reports, from which extracts are now given. Dr. Douthwaite, of the same mission, earnestly calls attention to the awful destitution in the province of Shantung. The following is from his letter received yesterday ‘ “ Chefoo, ‘jfan. 1st — A district of about 6,000 square miles has been devastated so completely that at the lowest estimate 1,300,000 men, women, and children are now reduced to the verge of starvation. In many parts the people manage to sub- sist on the shrubs and grass growing on the hills, but now that the winter has set in that supply is exhausted, and unless relief is speedily afforded from without, the greater part, if not all of this great multitude, must inevitably perish. The native autho- rities are doing little or nothing to relieve this distress ; but can 1 The fund ultimately amounted to over £20,000. 244 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. we, as Christians, stand idly by, while so many of our fellow- creatures perish for want of food ? What mockery it seems to go among these people and preach the Gospel, unless we are prepared to give them a practical illustration of the power of that Gospel to lead to acts of self-denial on behalf of suffering humanity ! ‘ “ Here we have an opportunity of proving to them that, notwithstanding all they have heard to the contrary, we are indeed their friends. And surely if anything would remove the prejudice they have against us as foreigners, and incline their hearts to receive the divine truths which are being con- stantly proclaimed in their midst, it would be timely aid ren- dered to them in their hour of distress. For a Chinaman is not slow to perceive the truth of our old proverb, * A friend in need is a friend indeed.”” The above accounts are taken from China's Millions, for 1889. The Last Entry in a Missionary’s Note-book. — ‘ John Smith Barradale went out in connection with our Society thirteen or fourteen years ago. He did not live long enough to write his name very deeply either upon the heart of the Church at home or upon the history of the Christian Church in China. He lived only five years. His wife had been carried away by disease a few months before. I went down with him to our district in the south-west of Tientsin, to our country churches there, and spent a little time with him- We were engaged upon relief work. It was during the time of the great famine. After a day or two I left him to make a circuit, and we arranged to meet at a particular point and go home together. Circumstances so turned out, however, that I was called home more quickly. ‘A few days after, Mr. Barradale’s servants brought him home on a stretcher stricken with the terrible famine fever. There were intervals of consciousness, when he would say: “Oh, Lees, let me go; let me go home.” I said, “We cannot spare you ” ; but his reply was, “ Oh let me go home.” Then he would relapse into unconsciousness again. After two or BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 245 three days of pain and waiting, I had to close his eyes and lay him in the grave. ‘A few days later I opened his travelling-bag, and took out the note-book in which he had made jottings of the incidents of his journey. I turned it over and over, and at last what was evidently his last entry struck my eye. You must picture him in that little room, some ten feet square, with its whitewashed walls and uneven mud floor, with the door taken down and put across a couple of forms as his bed ; there he lies alone, far away from his countrymen, even from Christian Chinese, except two or three in the village who could not help him in his sorrow; there he is at midnight writing by the light of a Chinese candle. As I read those lines I felt there were eyes watching him there with love and tender sympathy : “Took cold and fell ill to-night. Somehow it is fixed in my mind that this will be my last night. Should it be so, the will of the Lord be done. His name be praised for evermore ! I should be glad, save that my work is such a shabby offering, and I shall have to leave my boy. Father, bless him and make him to follow after Thee, and to tread in his father’s footsteps with a nobler and more conquering tread ! Last night I dreamt that I was with mother and wife, but I awoke to yearn after them with bitter tears — the first since God took her. Does God still speak in dreams ? Is mother gone too ? Blessed be Thou, O God, who killest and who makest alive ! ‘ Though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.’ ” John Smith Barradale, though dead, yet speaketh. Who will be baptized for the dead ? ’ Rev. Jonathan Lees, L.M. S. Chronicle (June, 1887). Floods in Kwangtung. — * In the summer of 1885, a large tract of country in the neighbourhood of the North River, and about 40 miles distant from Canton, was visited with a terrible flood. Heavy and long-continued rains caused the river to overflow, or break through its embankments, filling up a wide area of low-lying country, and making a broad expanse of water CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 24 6 like the sea. Multitudes of Chinese were drowned, while others managed to escape, but only with their lives, to the hills. The officials and some wealthy and benevolent natives did what they could to relieve the distress, but thousands of villages were desolated, and it was impossible to send help to all of them. As soon as the facts became known, Europeans in Canton and Hong-kong subscribed liberally for the sufferers. Various missionaries of the English and American Societies undertook the work of distribution, and relief parties were organized, which made repeated visits to the distressed districts. Over 350 villages were visited, forty tons of rice, a thousand dollars’ worth of biscuits, and small sums of money were given away. It was estimated that more than 60,000 people were relieved in this way by the missionaries, and more than 11,000 dollars were distributed by them. One of the missionaries engaged in this work of benevolence thus writes of one of the results following on what had been done : “ In [our] recent visits we have been treated with profound and universal respect, in localities which a few months ago we could not have passed without being assailed with the cry of ‘kilo him,’ on every hand.” ’ Condensed from an Article by the Rev. H. V. Noyes, A.P.M. Chinese Recorder (Oct., 1885), pp. 374-377- APPENDIX. The Jews in China. — ‘The existence of Jews in China has long been known; but the information possessed relative to their present number, condition, and organization is very im- perfect. Mr. Finn published in 1843 a well-digested account of the data collected concerning them by Gozani and other Jesuits, in the last century and before. The only city where they are found in a separate community large enough to attract attention is Kaifung-fu, in Honan, where they are known by the designation of “ the sect which pulls out the sinew ” (in allu- sion to the consequences of Jacob wrestling with the angel). De Guignes says they are also called “ Mohammedans with Blue Bonnets,” because they wear a blue cap when they assemble in the synagogue. Their whole place of worship occupies a space between three and four hundred feet in length, and about one hundred and fifty in breadth, comprising four successive courts. The first court has in its centre a portal, bearing an inscription to the Creator and Preserver of all things. The second court, entered through a large gate with two side-wickets, contains dwellings for the keeper of the edifice. The third court contains a portal like that in the first, and tablets with inscriptions, and two chapels commemorative of their benefactors, with guest-chambers. The fourth court is divided by a row of trees, and half-way down there is a brazen incense vase, and some other vases and sculpture. Adjoining the northern wall is a recess where the sinews are extracted from animals slain for food. A hall of ancestors is placed on the north and south sides of this court, where the Old Testa- ment worthies are venerated at the equinoxes in the Chinese manner, their names being written upon tablets ; censers are in CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 248 them, dedicated to Abraham, Moses, and others. Between these two halls the booths used at the Feast of Tabernacles are annually erected. At the upper end of the court is the syna- gogue, a building about sixty by forty feet, having a portico with a double row' of four columns before it. In the centre of the room, between the rows of pillars, is the throne of Moses, a magnificent and elevated chair, with an embroidered cushion, upon which they place the book of the Law while it is read. Over it is a dome, and near by is the imperial tablet , 1 but his majesty’s title is surmounted by a Hebrew inscription, “ Hear, O Israel : the Lord our God is one Lord. Blessed be the name of the glory of His kingdom for ever and ever.’’ There is also another inscription in Hebrew in the room, on a portal : Blessed be the Lord for ever : The Lord is God of gods, and the Lord : a great God, strong and terrible.” There is a table on which are placed six candelabra, and an incense vase in the middle of them ; and near it is a laver for washing hands. Separated from the rest of the room by a railing is the beth-el. , or house of prayer, square outside and round within, where none but the rabbi can enter during the time of prayer. Rolls of the Law upon tables and the Ten Commandments in Hebrew on the wall, and closets containing manuscripts, occupy the remainder of the apartment. ‘ On entering, the people take off their shoes ; and the minister covers his face with gauze when reading, and wears a red silk scarf across his breast; no instruments of music are used in the services They observe circumcision, the Passover, and Feast of Tabernacles, the receiving of the Law, Sabbaths, and perhaps the Day of Atonement : they make no proselytes, and never intermarry with the Gentiles. They use their sacred books in casting lots, and pay homage to Confucius, as the Chinese do. They say Adonai for the ineffable name, and render it in Chinese by Tien, and not by Shangti. 2 They have no creed, but hold 1 A board on which is an inscription in gilt letters, expressing a wish that the Emperor may live for ten thousand years, i.e., ‘for ever.’ 2 See p. 145. APPENDIX. 249 to the unity of God, and the doctrines of heaven, hell, and a sort of purgatory, resurrection, final judgment, and angels. Of the Lord Jesus Christ they had never heard, nor had they (said the Jesuits who had visited them) any prejudice against the crucifix. They worship no idols, refuse to take an oath in a heathen temple, and pray westward towards Jerusalem. They (are said to) have all the canonical books of the Old Testa- ment ; but the Romish fathers who saw them were not able to read them, when they had the permission; these books are preserved with rigid care. Many of the books they once had have been destroyed by inundations, to which the city of Kaifung-fu is subject, from its nearness to the Yellow River. Comparisons were made between portions of their manuscripts and the Hebrew text ; the result of which showed a complete conformity in sense, with a few verbal differences only. The time of the arrival of the Jews in China is involved in great uncertainty.’ Williams' Middle Kingdom , 4th ed., Vol. II., pp. 287, 288. ‘ On the establishment of the Anglican Bishopric at Hong- kong, the London Jews’ Society, whose attention had been drawn to the subject by my book , 1 which they had published, conferred with Dr. Smith, the first Bishop, previous to his leaving England, he having already had some practical acquaint- ance with China ; and they placed at his disposal certain funds for carrying on researches about the Chinese Jews. Arriving at his post, his lordship made inquiries on the subject at all stations, among both civilians and missionaries. It was during a visit to Shanghai that Dr. Medhurst, of the London Mission- ary Society, recommended him to send to Kaifung-fu two Chinese converts to Christianity who were in the service of his Society ; and that proposal was adopted. ‘ One of these, K’hew-t’heen-sang, had been educated by the Mission at Batavia, and was familiar with the English language. The other, Tseang-yung-che, was a Chinese teacher to the 1 The Jews in China, by James Finn. London, 1843 (Wertheim). 250 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. Mission at Shanghai, and a literary graduate of the fourth or lowest degree. ‘The messengers left Shanghai in November, T850, carrying with them a letter in Hebrew, written by a person of the Jewish firm of Sassoon & Co., established there ; and in less than a month they reached Kaifung-fu, a river journey of seven hundred miles. There they saw the people whom they were commissioned to visit, and their place of worship. They copied inscriptions, inspected the rolls of the Hebrew Law, and succeeded in purchasing eight small books in Hebrew, of the Parashioth, or weekly allotted portions of that Law for reading in synagogue services. They left the city, however, in alarm, finding that the suspicions of the local authorities had been excited, and reached Shanghai on the 8th of January, 1851, after an absence of nearly eight weeks. ‘ Each man drew up his own report of what he had seen, and these reports are of remarkable interest. The one, written in English by the Batavian student, conveys his information in the shape of a plain, sensible journal, giving an account of the whole expedition, with curious notices on the geography and manners of the country through which they had passed, as well as of the discoveries made about the Jews. The other, by the literary graduate, was written in Chinese, but was afterwards translated, and consisted of a short journal and a condensed account of the Jews in Kaifung-fu and their worship. Copies of inscriptions found in the temple were included in the report. ‘ The two reports, with a preface by the Bishop of Victoria, were published in a pamphlet at Shanghai in 1851. ‘ Within the same year the messengers were dispatched once more to Kaifung-fu, and on their return they brought with them six of the twelve synagogue rolls of the Law, which had been sold to them ; they were accompanied by two members of the Israelite body, who stayed a few months with the Mission in Shanghai, but then becoming unsettled in mind they returned to their home. APPENDIX. 251 ‘Intelligence of the arrival of these rolls of the Law at Shanghai was received in Europe with enthusiasm, but not more than the circumstance deserved. One of them was forwarded to the London Jews’ Society, one to the British Museum, one to the Bodleian at Oxford, and one to the University Library of Cambridge. ‘ No variations of any consequence have been discovered between the text of these rolls and that found in the printed Hebrew Bibles of Europe. ‘The journal of K’hew-t’heeri-sang, referred to above, gives some interesting notices of the state of the Jewish community in Kaifung-fu in 1851. Having arrived at that city, the two messengers at once endeavoured to find the synagogue. Falling in with some Mohammedans, they learned from them that the Jews were then but few in number, very poor, and without any teacher of their religion. They were directed to the synagogue, which they found to be in ruins. ‘ Within the precincts of the temple were a number of small apartments, all inhabited by the descendants of the ancient people, who had spread out a great quantity of cabbages in the open air, just by the side of the temple. The residents there were mostly women, some of whom were widows. On asking them, How many people live here ? and is the szefoo (teacher) still alive? They said, We, who belong to this religion, are the only people who live here, and our teacher is no more ; our temple is all ruined, and we are nearly starved. We asked them, Are there any who can read the Hebrew character? They said, Formerly there were some who could, but now they have all been scattered abroad, and there is not one who can read it. ‘ Amongst other items of information which they gleaned are the following : “ The Jews at Kaifung-fu are not allowed to intermarry with heathens or Mohammedans, neither are they allowed to marry two wives. They are forbidden to eat pork, and are required to be strict in the observance of their religion, and to keep the Sabbath holy. . . . We heard also CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. 252 that whenever anyone was known to belong to the Jewish religion he was soon despised, and became poor; none of the Chinese would make friends with them, and they were treated as outcasts by the common people. Many of those who professed the Jewish religion did so in secret, and not openly, lest they should be despised also.” ’ -x- -x- * -x The city of Kaifung-fu was visited again in 1866 by Dr. W. A. P. Martin, a well-known missionary of the American Presbyterian Society ; and the following account of this visit, undertaken for the express purpose of inquiring into the affairs of the Jewish colony, appeared in the New York Times : — ‘ Arriving in this city on the 17th of February, I inquired for the Jewish synagogue, but getting no satisfactory answer, I went for information to a Mohammedan mosque, of which there are no fewer than six. I was well received by the Mufti, and the advent of a stranger from the West, who was believed to be a worshipper of the “ true Lord,” soon attracted a large concourse of the faithful. At the request of the Mufti, hold- ing a New Testament in my hand, I addressed them in relation to the contents of the Holy Book of Jesus, whose name he pronounced with great respect, as that of the most illustrious of their prophets, Mahomet, of course, excepted. The Jews he denounced as Kaffirs, and evinced no very poignant sorrow when he informed me that their synagogue had come to deso- lation. “ It was,” he assured me, “ utterly demolished, and the people who had worshipped there scattered abroad.” “ Then,” said I, “I will go and see the spot on which it stood ; ” and directing the bearers of my sedan to proceed to the place indicated by the Mufti, I passed through streets crowded with curious spectators, until I came to an open square, in the centre of which there stood a solitary stone. On one side was an inscription commemorating the erection of the synagogue in the reign of the Sung dynasty, a.d. 1163, and referring the first arrival of the Jews in China to the APPENDIX. 253 dynasty of Hon, b.c. 200 — a . d . 200. On the other side a record of its rebuilding in the dynasty of Ming, about 300 years ago; but in addition to these inscriptions it bore an unwritten record of decay and ruin — it was inscribed with Ichabod , “ The glory is departed.” ‘ Standing on the pedestal, and resting my right hand on the head of that stone which was to be a silent witness of the truths I was about to utter, I explained to the congregated multitude my reason for “taking pleasure in the stones of Israel, and favouring the dust thereof.” I then inquired if there were any of the Jews among my hearers ? “I am one,” responded a young man, whose face corroborated his assertion ; then another and another stepped forward, until I saw before me representatives of six of the seven families into which the colony is now divided. ‘ There, on this melancholy spot, where the very foundations of the synagogue had been torn from the ground, and there no longer remained one stone upon another, they confessed to me, with shame and grief, that their “holy and beautiful house” had been demolished by their own hands. It had been long in a ruinous condition; they had no money to repair the breaches of the sanctuary ; they had lost all know- ledge of the sacred tongue ; the traditions of the fathers were no longer handed down, and their ritual worship had ceased to be observed. In this state of things they had yielded to the pressure of necessity, and disposed of the timbers and stones of that venerable edifice to obtain relief for their bodily wants. ‘ In the evening some of them came to my lodgings, bringing for my information a roll of the Law ; and the next day, the Christian Sabbath, they repeated their visit, listening attentively to all I had to say concerning the relations of the Law of Moses to the Gospel of Christ. ‘ They were very ignorant, but answered, as far as they were able, my inquiries in regard to their past history and present state. Two of them appeared in official costume, one wearing 254 CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA. a gilt, and the other a crystal ball on the top of his cap ; but, far from sustaining the general character of their people for thrift, they number among them none that are rich, and few who are not pinched by poverty. Some, indeed, true to their hereditary instincts, are employed in a small way in banking establisments (the first man I saw was a money- changer), others kept fruit- stores and cake-shops, drive a business in old clothes, or pursue various handicrafts, while a few find employment in military service. ‘ The prevalence of rebellion in the central provinces for the last thirteen years has told sadly on the prosperity Kaifung-fu ; and the Jews have not unlikely, owing to the nature of their occupations, been the greatest sufferers. Their numbers they estimate, though not very exactly, at from two to four hundred. They are unable to trace their tribal pedigree, keep no register, and never on any occasion assemble together as one con- gregation. ‘ Until recently they had a common centre in this venerated synagogue, though their liturgical service had long been dis- continued. Now, however, the congregation seems to be fol- lowing the fate of their building. No bond of union remains, and they are in danger of being speedily absorbed by Moham- medanism or heathenism. One of them, to my knowledge, has become a priest of Buddha, taking, not very consistently, for his sacerdotal name, the characters Pen-tan , which signify, “One who is rooted and grounded in the truth.” The large tablet that once adorned the entrance of the synagogue, bearing on it the name of Israel , has been appropriated by a Moham- medan mosque, and some efforts have been made to draw the people over to the faith of Mahomet ; from which their practices differ so little that their heathen neighbours have never been able to distinguish them from Moslems. ‘ One of my visitors was a son of the last of their Rabbis, who some thirty or forty years ago died in the province of Kan- suh. With him perished the knowledge of the sacred tongue ; and though they still preserve several copies of the Jewish APPENDIX. 255 Scriptures, there is not a man among them who can read a word of Hebrew. Not long ago it was seriously proposed to expose their parchments to public view in the market-place, in hopes they might attract the attention of some wandering Jew, who would be able to restore to them the language of their fathers. ‘ Since the cessation of their ritual worship their children all grow up without the seal of the covenant. The young gene- ration are all uncircumcised, and, as might be expected, they no longer take pains to keep their blood pure from intermixture with Gentiles. ‘ One of them confessed to me that his wife was a heathen. They remembered the names of the Feast of Tabernacles, the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and a few other ceremonial rites which were practised by a former generation; but all such usages are now neglected, and the next half-century is not un- likely to put a period to their existence as a distinct people. ‘ On the margin of the Poyang Lake stands a lofty rock, so peculiar and so solitary that it is known by the name of the Little Orphan. Its kindred rocks are all on the other side of the lake, whence it seems to have been torn away by some violent convulsion, and planted immovable in the bosom of the waters. Such to me appeared that fragment of the Israelitish nation. A rock rent from the sides of Mount Zion by some great national catastrophe, and projected into the central plain of China. It stands there an “ orphan ” colony, sublime in its antiquity and solitude. But it is now on the verge of being swallowed up by the surrounding flood, and the spectacle is a mournful one. The Jews themselves are deeply conscious of their sad situation, and the shadow of an inevitable destiny seems to be resting upon them.’ The Orphan Colony of Jews in China , by James Finn, M.R.A.S., London (Nisbet), 1873, pp. 52-59 and 67-69, condensed and in part re-written, and pp. 98-104. LONDON : KNIGHT, PRINTER, MIDDLE STREET, ALDERSGATE, E.C. ELEMENTARY LESSONS IN CHINESE. BY THE EE Y. AENOLD FOSTEE, B.A., London Missionary Society , Hankow. 8vo. Paper Covers, 2 s. 6d. ‘The object of this little book is firstly to provide some easy lessons in the Chinese language for beginners who cannot obtain the help of a teacher, and secondly to give some hints to students which they will find useful throughout the whole of their student course. To attempt to acquire the Chinese sounds without a living guide to the right pronunciation of them is indeed useless ; but in the study of the written character there is a great deal of plodding work to be done by the student which is independent of a teacher, and in which a teacher, even if he were at hand, could give no material assistance. I venture to think that time spent in a careful study of the following pages will in no case be time wasted. What is here written it is necessary for every student of Chinese to know, in whatever part of the empire he may be stationed, and whatever dialect he may wish to learn. If he can succeed in mastering these lessons before he commences studying with a native teacher, he will find himself able at once to make much better use of his teacher’s services than he'would otherwise do ; and the work here marked out is not more than any person of average ability can easily get through, if he be fairly diligent, between the time of leaving England and that, of arriving at China.” From the Introduction. The Westminster Review. ‘ A very useful book admirably adapted to its purpose. It teaches things that are indispensable preliminaries to the acquisition of any Chinese dialect whatever, and which should precede the oral instruction, without which neither Chinese nor any other language can be practically acquired.’ London and China Telegraph. * A very useful little pamphlet, something for missionaries and others who are proceeding to China for the first time, and who intend to study Chinese, to peruse on their voyage out.’ Literary World. ‘ Admirably suited for its purpose. The object has been carried out in an unambitious but thoroughly satisfactory manner. It will prove a great boon to missionaries and others proceeding to China.’ London : Henry Frowdk, Amen Corner, Faternostkr Row. Date Due -Vit ; 'T- IWLizfcX ?L‘Hw4-^r IS Q 6 . h /fJ ~