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THE DUTY OF CHRISTIAN MISSIONS 
 TO THE UPPER CLASSES OF CHINA. 
 
 BY REV. GILBERT REID, M.A. 
 
 QUESTION I.— DOES A DUTY EXIST ? 
 
 the sphere of Christian Missions the predominating question 
 ^ of to-day is, “ How shall China from throne to peasant be 
 won to Christ, and how shall truth prevail ? ” Schools, books, the 
 preaching-hall, evangelistic itineration, and the medical work, these 
 are all answers to the question. There is a diversity, but all unity 
 presupposes diversity. Let a glad well-wish be the feeling of every 
 heart. 
 
 To the usual methods of mission work, we think the Rev. Dr. 
 Nevius is right in suggesting another. While most missionaries,” 
 he says, “ give their chief attention to the middle or more illiterate 
 class, a few feel a special call to attempt to influence the literati 
 and officials ; not only because they exercise a dominating influence 
 on the masses, but also because they have been in general too much 
 neglected.” 
 
 It has come to pass, however, among Protestant missionaries in 
 China, that not only there is a presupposition in favor of the regular 
 lines of work, and a belief that these lines are best fltted to reach 
 the common people; but also an unconscious feeling that all efforts 
 on the part of missionaries to reach the upper classes are futile, and 
 that any emphasis of such a work is contrary to the Bible and the 
 direct object of Missions. 
 
 But who may be regarded as the upper class in China ? Is 
 the upper class different from the ruling class ? In reply, it may be 
 said that while the ruling class properly means only men in office, 
 by the upper class is meant not only men in office, but all expect- 
 ants of office, all men retired from office or possessed of official rank 
 
 * A Paper read and criticised before the Presbyterian Mission of Shantung, Nov. 
 9th, 1887, and before the Missionary Association of Peking, January 27th, 1888. All 
 valuable suggestions have since been incorporated in the Paper, and the author, out 
 of awe for the learned critics, does not d&re to insinuate that any mistakes at present 
 exist. 
 
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 in their native towns, and who in China are classed as the gentry, 
 and finally the literati, who, while found in the preceding divisions, 
 are yet not confined to them. It is therefore plain that a class is 
 termed “ upper ” for a reason, and that is influence, either from 
 education, rank, or official power. The class which is in contradis- 
 tinction to it is termed lower,” merely because its influence is 
 inferior, first in quantity and thus, probably, in kind. This difference 
 is manifestly one of nature, of society, and, temporally at least, of 
 Providence. There being such distinctions, he only is wise who 
 carefully notes them. 
 
 In considering the bearings of Christian Missions on the upper 
 classes of China, the first question that arises is, “ Is there a duty ? ” 
 To answer aright this question, not only should arguments in 
 support be presented, but the objections of opponents should be 
 examined. 
 
 The first objection against special attention to the upper class, 
 is that the Scripture seems to give special attention to the poor. 
 There is hope in the work, The poor have the Gospel preached to 
 
 them, ” but this is due not to a superiority of the poor, but to a 
 recognition of the rights vouchsafed by Christianity not only to 
 the favored, but to the unfortunate and neglected. Whoever is 
 neglected, whoever is lost — not whoever is poor — has a claim on 
 Christianity. One counselling us to know no man after the flesh 
 will oftentimes by practice, if not by theory, draw attention 
 especially to the poor. Christ, however, came to save, not the poor 
 man, but man. In His ministry in Judaea he favored the poor, not 
 because the rich, the rulers, and the learned, needed no favors, but 
 because their favors were already abundant. “ We sometimes speak 
 and feel,” says Rev. Phillips Brooks, as if Jesus had only to do 
 with the poor and needy. Yet Jesus was not simply the champion 
 of the poor and sinful. He was the representative of humanity, in 
 order that he might inspire humanity with love to God. He asserted 
 the way in which a man shall be superior to the fact of poverty or 
 the fact of wealth.” Dr. Alex. Williamson, in referring to the 
 literati of China, says : It is of the very last importance that we 
 direct efforts toward them. ‘ To the poor the Gospel is preached,’ 
 but not to the poor only. Our duty is to win China as a whole to 
 the Lord, and till we win them we can never win China.” What, 
 
 then, is the principle? The common people as well as the upper 
 elasaes, and the upper classes as well as the common people. One 
 intimate with the upper classes should also show a friendly sympathy 
 .with the common people. Special attention given by one to a 
 particular class does not imply a necessary restriction to that class. 
 
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 It is only because mission work in China has been largely confined 
 to the masses, with only casual notice of the influential classes, that 
 there seems a need of emphasizing the indebtedness to the latter, 
 while acknowledging a7i equal indebtedness to the former. 
 
 The second objection is the fact that the lower classes are more 
 easily reached than the higher. Being a fact, there is no denial 
 of the fact, but only a denial of the validity of the objection. 
 Difficulties may exist more with one man or deed than with another, 
 but “ the wise and active conquer difficulties by daring to attempt 
 them.” An attractive, wealthy young man came to Christ with a 
 solemn question, and the answer was one of love as well as truth. 
 From an after-remark, however, the disciples concluded that the rich 
 more than others were excluded from salvation ; but this idea of a 
 low humanizing faith was shattered by an appeal to a Power unseen 
 but not unfelt, “With men it is impossible but not with God.” 
 Spiritual life as it works in the heart of man, whatever his rank, is 
 divine alone, but the presentation of truth is by the co-operation of 
 human agency. Whether the upper classes of China are to become 
 converts or not can be no criterion of our duty as heralds of truth. 
 Starting with the preconception that in no respect can they be 
 influenced for good, is raising a barrier between man and man, and 
 stretching a cloud between earth and heaven. In China, as once 
 was true in Athens, Corinth and Borne, God may call “not many 
 wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble ; ” but 
 for the few called to-day, there springs the hope that by and by in 
 the developed histoi-y of Christ’s kingdom, “all kings shall fall 
 down before him, all nations shall serve him.” 
 
 A third objection is ; We should not seek the upper classes, but 
 wait for them to seek us. One of the oldest missionaries in China 
 says in a private letter, “ Mandarins and Buddhist priests are the 
 most hopeless of the inhabitants of China. If they let us alone, we 
 can afford to let them alone.” In the intercourse of Western 
 Powers with the nations of the Orient, or of Christian people with 
 the heathen, the former have always shown a priority of approach, 
 because recipients of prior favors. Waiting to be invited has never 
 been the law of commerce or of missions. Furthermore, it should 
 be remembered that if Chinese etiquette were adhered to by guests 
 from abroad, the guests must be the first to pay respects. It was 
 in such conformity to Chinese etiquette, with no aid of International 
 Treaties, that the Roman Catholic priests, dressed in the garb of j^he 
 literati, gained an entrance into the high ranks of society in the 
 previous dynasty. Seizing all the opportunities that are more and 
 more arising for respectful intercourse with the Chinese in power 
 
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 should not be left to merchants, engineers, speculators and diplomats, 
 but is a reasonable duty of the Christian missionary. 
 
 The fourth objection is : As all work cannot be done, the most 
 important should be done first. But, it may be asked, is work with an 
 important class to be mooted as unimportant? Should the missionary 
 seek to gain no influence over an influential class? The almost 
 general statement of missionaries is, “ The opposition we receive is 
 almost entirely from the gentry and officials.” If so, it is vitally 
 important that by the wisest methods this opposition be overcome. 
 Certainly non-attention is not a very high-minded policy. If the 
 missionary ignores the influential, the influential will disparage, if 
 not oppose, the missionary. “Fear to whom fear, honor to whom 
 honor,” will necessarily lead to a greater attention to, and higher 
 respect of, the ruling classes. 
 
 A fifth and final objection is : The Gospel proceeds from the bottom 
 up, not from the top down. In harmony with this idea, an American 
 missionary, Bev. Andrew Gordon, in his intensely interesting volume, 
 “Our Mission in India,” says: “We have corrected some funda- 
 mental mistakes, and got down to the level on which Christ himself 
 labored. Instead of beginning at the top, with our large cities, 
 principal stations, and better classes, we have got down to the Chuhrds 
 and are beginning to build upwards.” On the other side it is well 
 known how another missionary to India, Dr. Alex. Duff, aimed by 
 Christian educational work to reach the very highest. “It must 
 never be forgotten,” he said, “that while the salvation of one soul 
 may not in itself be more precious than that of another, here is 
 a prodigious difference in the relative amount of practical value 
 possessed by the conversion of individuals of different classes, as 
 regards its effect on society at larged A practical man of the world, 
 Henry M. Stanley, gave this advice to a Methodist Conference in 
 America : “ When you are going to settle down and locate yourself 
 in that region [Congo] you must, first of all, have a proper introduc- 
 tion to the Emperor, and if you have a proper introduction to the 
 Emperor, I think your happiness is secured so far as he can do it, and 
 if you can convert him, no doubt you will be able to convert his 
 people.” When the followers of Francis of Assisi first went into 
 Germany, they went without credentials, and met with failure. On 
 their second visit they were fully supplied with letters of recommend- 
 ation and a copy of the Pope’s bull, which gave them a recognized 
 character. The conversion of a nation to Christianity is the result of 
 countless forces, direct and indirect, religious, secular and political, but 
 all dominated by the higher force of Providence. Whether the high 
 or low in any land shall first enter the kingdom of heaven, is all 
 
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 unknown to man, for the experience of one nation can never necessitate 
 a similar experience in another, unless the conditions as well as the 
 inherent law are the same. To all classes of society should love go 
 forth and truth be taught, now affecting this one in one way and that 
 one in another, now in much quietness and then through much tribu- 
 lation, a multitude of thoughts, theories and agencies mingling and 
 intermingling, until God, by a wise adjustment of cause and 
 circumstance, in the fulness of time, leads His Son into the hearts of 
 all men. 
 
 The reasons proving the duty of missionaries to the upper classes 
 have already been evident in the examination of the objections. A 
 few specifications should be stated to enforce the argument. 
 
 Firstly : Such obligation is the teaching of Scripture. Christ set 
 the example in his death for universal salvation, and to this was shortly 
 added the testimony of Paul, “ I am debtor both to the Greeks and to 
 barbarians, both to the wise and the unwise.” Certainly there is here 
 no countenance of indifference. In a letter to Timothy, Paul even 
 give a special recognition when, after exhorting prayer for all men, 
 he specifies kings and “ all that are in high place.” The reason given 
 for this special recognition is no more than the one of general effect, 
 ‘‘ that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life.” If the Chinese man. 
 darin cannot be made a convert, let him be made at least a friend, if 
 not for the peace of the foreign missionary, at least for the peace of 
 the native church. If religion and expediency do not enjoin a special 
 attention to the upper classes, let us do no less than pay at least eq^ual 
 attention, because of their equal moral worth, and from the principle 
 of universal indebtedness. 
 
 Secondly : A special attention, even, should be given to the upper 
 class of China because in harmony with the universal sentiment of the 
 nation. Chinese custom and Confucian teaching are imbued with the 
 ideas of the precedence of the superior — filial piety and fraternal 
 submission. Minor officials follow the beck of their superiors. The 
 people conform to the wishes of the gentry. From the Provincial 
 capital radiate infiuences throughout every district of the Province, 
 while the toleration or disfavor of Imperial authority affects mission 
 work throughout the Empire. Wherever possible, those high in power 
 should be infiuenced, and naturally a salutary impression will be made 
 on all beneath. In China it is not democracy, but monarchy and 
 aristocracy combined. The constitution of society is different from that 
 in our Western lands, since, in the latter, individualism is more highly 
 developed, while in China it is restricted, social obligation binding 
 the multitude to uniformity, and national custom of long standing 
 enforcing reverence to all who are above. Therefore, Paul would say 
 
6 
 
 here, as once he said in the Roman Empire, “ I am made all things to 
 all men, that I might by all means save some.” 
 
 Thirdly ; The upper class of China should be influenced for the 
 sake of the lower. The Christian Church at present in China is almost 
 wholly recruited from the common people, but the peaceful security of 
 the church, the home, and the individual, is largely dependent on the 
 spirit and action of the mandarins and gentry. The words of Sir 
 Rutherford Alcock on this point have much of truth : “ The hope of 
 establishing Christianity in China without first enlisting on its side 
 the sympathies and good-will of the higher and educated classes is, 
 I fear, entirely chimerical.” While opposition and persecution can 
 never silence the lips of truth or crush the Christian’s faith, it yet 
 should he the desire of the missionary, not only from reasons of 
 compassion, to relieve the native Christians of their sufferings, but 
 for the sake of truth to relieve them of the aspersions cast upon them, 
 and to lead their foes, who are especially the foes of the foreigner, to 
 a correct understanding of the Church’s intent, and to an appreciation 
 of the prophet sent from God. Plans for the amelioration of the poor 
 and suffering, reform of the vicious, correction of national abuses, and 
 the gradual elevation of the masses, need the countenance and co- 
 operation of the influential. The foreigner or the native Church alone 
 can never effect these national measures. Men of power, native to 
 the soil but progressive in spirit, must be imbued with Christian 
 principles, though without the pale of the Church. Then will plans, 
 otherwise impossible, be successfully executed. 
 
 Finally, the missionary should exert himself for the upper class, 
 for it is in his power alone to meet the felt needs of this class and 
 atsisfy the highest aspirations of heart and conscience. There is not 
 a progressive man in all China but feels disgust for the vast intricacy 
 of corruption in the political system, and longs to find a remedy 
 peaceful and yet powerful. The apparent craze for material prosperity 
 — for gun-boats, arsenals, rail-roads, and scientific apparatus — only 
 bespeaks the deeper dissatisfaction with existing defects. The church 
 of Christ comes with all science and knowledge, with the loftiest 
 purposes and the purest aspirations, and is willing step by step and 
 line upon Tine to save the nation as well as men. Though Christian 
 teachings are largely rejected by the ruling classes, while the accom- 
 paniments of Christian civilization are praised and adopted, yet the 
 missionary knows well that no true prosperity can be gained without 
 a recognition of the Divine and an allegiance to the Divine commands. 
 Confucianists, while exalting their doctrines, yet seek ever and anon 
 for peace from Buddhism and Taoism, and many, even among high 
 mandarins, failing here, enter the ranks of some secret sects. The 
 
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 restlessness of Chinese thought to-day can only he satisfied by the 
 lofty teachings of Christ, who ever aimed, as we should aim, to give 
 grander glimpses of truth, when all may see 
 
 “ One God, one law, one element, 
 
 And one far off Divine intent, 
 
 To which the whole creation moves.” 
 
 Christianity was meant for man, as man was meant for God. Chris- 
 tianity, as it works, is sometimes imperceptible, like those quiet 
 changes of atmosphere produced by winds blowing in distant places ; 
 and again it comes with conspicuous power, like the mighty commo- 
 tions of winds and clouds, rushing around and over us. Whether 
 early or late, all thought and all souls are touched by the mysterious 
 influences of the Divine and Unseen, and it remains for the Christian 
 missionary to marshal the forces of Truth together, and by their 
 mighty combination to reveal the length and breadth, the depth and 
 height, not only of God’s wisdom and power, but of God’s love. 
 
 QUESTION II.— WHAT IS THE NATURE 
 OF THE DUTY? 
 
 The existence of a duty being established, it is incumbent to 
 consider the nature of such a duty. 
 
 Certain principles that can be deduced from Bible History are 
 applicable to the work in China. In this history it is noticeable 
 that the Old Testament gives special prominence to kings and 
 princes, judges and rulers, while the New Testament unfolds 
 especially the progress of the church among the common people. To 
 this general phase of the New Testament, however, there are several 
 striking divergencies. It is related that one time, when certain 
 Pharisees and high priests sent some small officers to seize Christ, 
 these men failed to execute their mission, being led to admiration 
 and belief by the matchless words of Christ. Surprised by such a 
 result, some of the Pharisees, as if to crush forever the popular 
 craze, boastfully asked, “ Have any of the rulers or of the Pharisees 
 believed on him ? ” How little did these men know that the 
 patient beneficent life of Christ had produced its effects even within 
 their own ranks, — that among the chief rulers many believed on 
 him, only because of the Pharisees they did not confess him.” 
 Striking, indeed, was the fact that the first persons to come boldly 
 forward and honor the burial of Christ were two members of the 
 Jewish Sanhedrin, Joseph, an honorable counsellor, and Nicodemus, 
 
8 
 
 a secret inquirer ! It was a certain small official, a tax-gatherer of 
 the Roman Empire, who was called by Christ immediately from the 
 toll-booth, and became afterwards one of the twelve Apostles. One 
 of the first converts of the Apostolic Church was a treasurer of the 
 heathen Queen of Ethiopia, who, according to tradition, was instru- 
 mental in establishing the first Christian Church in that land. So, 
 also, one of the first converts in the city of Athens was Dionysius, 
 a judge of the court of the Areopagus, who, according to tradition, 
 became the first Bishop of that city. The Apostle Paul, while a 
 prisoner at Rome, gained a hearing and influence in the imperial 
 palace, and certain of Cesar’s household believed on Christ. Two 
 functionaries living at Capernaum, the one a centurion and the other 
 a nobleman, were led by the healing skill of Christ to become firm 
 believers. The relation of John the Baptist with Herod, of Christ 
 with Pilate, and of Paul with Felix and Agrippa, shows the friendly 
 desire of these officials, though overpowered by the rage and oppo- 
 sition of others. 
 
 While the Bible seldom seems to direct special attention to the 
 conversion of persons high in rank or authority, except in the 
 theocratic Government of Israel, yet contact with such a class 
 always existed, and a beneficent influence was always sought. It is 
 of such relationship that some of the most romantic incidents of the 
 Bible consist. Joseph rising in the Egyptian Kingdom to the most 
 dignified position next unto the Throne ; Moses, versed in all the 
 wisdom of the Egyptians, becoming a sagacious revolutionist in a 
 tyrannical kingdom, the human founder of the only theocratic 
 Government that has ever existed, and one of the most profound 
 legislators that history has recorded ; Daniel, instructed in the 
 language and arts of the Chaldeans, appointed first by the royal 
 favor of Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar to be ruler over the whole 
 Province of Babylon, then under Darius the Mede elevated still 
 higher to supreme head of the pashas, and, finally, in the succeeding 
 Persian Dynasty of Cyrus the Great, by a retention of his previous 
 power being probably instrumental in the issue of the royal edict 
 that commanded the restoration of the exiled Hebrews to their 
 native land ; Esther and Mordecai in the reign of Xerxes, securing 
 by their admirable dexterity as well as by providential interposition 
 the most honorable of positions, the one that of queen, and the 
 other that of chief minister ; Ezra, by the esteem of Artaxerxes, 
 chosen civil ruler of the Jewish Province, and securing special 
 privileges for his unfortunate race ; and, later on in the same reign, 
 Nehemiah gaining first as royal cup-bearer the friendship of the 
 heathen Monarch, then generously commissioned to rebuild the city 
 
 
9 
 
 people in tlieir intercourse with the heathen monarchies of Egypt 
 and Babylon, Media and Persia. 
 
 From the lessons of Scripture, as well as from a consideration 
 of the needs and conditions of China itself, the nature of the duty to 
 the upper classes may be easily specified. The specifications are three. 
 
 The first specification is the conversion of souls. It was John 
 A.ngell James who used to say, “ I pray every night of my life for 
 the conversion of a Chinese Mandarin.” Would that from every 
 Christian in China, both native and foreign, there might be an 
 imitation of this example, and to the power of such a combined sup- 
 plication there should be added the other power of earnest effort ! 
 It matters not that the task is difficult, so long as Heaven’s love is 
 love for ail, and Heaven’s order is to pray and work for all. That 
 the higher class as a class is less accessible to religious motives is 
 true, and yet individual exceptions now and then appear, demand- 
 ing careful and considerate attention. The aged official, weary of 
 the vanity of past ambitions and petty jealousies; the young ex- 
 pectant of office, meeting rebuffs and disappointment ; the country 
 gentleman and scholar, privately examining the teachings of the 
 West, these are the first to beckon to us from the compact ranks of 
 proud, unprincipled selfishness. The object is to reach a class that 
 can affect the nation, but the method here, even more than else- 
 where, is individual effort. 
 
 The difficulties of a Mandarin accepting Christianity are not 
 only due to the natural prejudices of the class as a class, but also 
 to the supposed restriction of Imperial rule. For a man to be 
 an official it is the law of the laud to worship at the temples. 
 Christianity, however, has already an advantage secured, not only 
 from the toleration clauses of the treaties with Christian nations, 
 but also by special edicts of the Throne. While no reference is 
 made to the official or other class, yet since the Chinese as such are 
 allowed to forego observance of long-standing customs because of 
 the requirements of Christianity, so it would seem that such liberty 
 could be granted to officials. While it is true that one should be 
 willing to relinquish official or other position, if incompatible with 
 Christian principles, yet a question remains as yet unbroached, 
 whether a Christian in the sight of the law — to say nothing of the 
 incidental evils of public life — can be a civil official or not. Military 
 officials are exempt from such thraldom, and we may hope that as 
 in every land certain laws become a dead letter owing to the over- 
 ruling of higher laws, so in China official position may be offered 
 not only to rich and poor, but also to any religion whose aim is to 
 teach virtue. In fact, at present the conversion of one Chinese man- 
 
10 
 
 (larin, who desires to remain a mandarin, would raise issues that the 
 -Emperor and Boards of Peking would be obliged to take cognizance 
 of, and which would effect every one of the eighteen provinces. 
 
 Perhaps, likewise, the one great reason for disapproval of Chris- 
 tian work among the higher classes of China, whether in office or 
 not, is a failure to trust that Higher Power, supreme over all. 
 When William Carey proposed work among the heathen, a senior 
 divine replied, “ When God pleases to convert the heathen. He will 
 do it without your aid or mine.” If, perchance, this be the spirit of 
 much of the opposition to work among the upper classes, no better 
 answer can be given than the two points of Carey’s first missionary 
 sermon : “ Expect great things from God ; attempt great things 
 for God.” 
 
 A second specification is the advancement of truth and knowl- 
 edge. Good Isaac Watts was wont to sing : 
 
 *• Seize upon truth where’er ’tis found, 
 
 Among your friends, among your foes, 
 
 Ou Christian or on heathen ground, 
 
 The flower’s divine where’er it grows ; 
 
 Neglect the prickles, and assume the rose.” 
 
 In such a spirit should the missionary prosecute his work. 
 One truth may be more vital and supreme than another, and one 
 truth may be more adaptable than another. Knowledge that is 
 spiritual may be higher than scientific or ethical knowledge, and 
 yet the latter may unlock human hearts — be the schoolmaster to 
 lead to Christ. The missionary in his own mind should ever hold in 
 logical proportion all truths and value aright all knowledge; and 
 yet in contact with his fellow-man there may be a temporary uplift- 
 ing of the subordinate and emphasis of the auxiliary. If China by 
 Imperial authority is to introduce Western science into all the 
 provincial examinations, the missionary for the sake of higher truth 
 should pre-occupy the ground and forestall still greater events. 
 Indifference or tardiness is not the policy for even conservative 
 China. Like the parable of the wise virgins, our lamps should be 
 trimmed and burning. Being ready is never premature. David 
 Livingstone in resisting the attacks of his critics, said, “ The con- 
 version of a few, however valuable their souls may be, cannot be 
 put into the scale against the knowledge of the truth spread over 
 the whole country. In this I do and will exult.” 
 
 To spread truth in China, whom should we more reasonably seek 
 than the most influential men of literary ability, versed in a pure 
 native style and able to command respect for whatever cause they 
 advocate ? Eev. Timothy Eichard, in pleading for high educational 
 work in all the centres China., says : “We should meet the awaken- 
 ing’ thirst of the Chinese for Western knowledge, and keep before 
 
11 
 
 them the true relatiou of Christianity to all knowledge.” And again ; 
 “Officials and scholars are, many of them, even eager to get instruc- 
 tion. Having known personally the chief rulers of eleven of the 
 provinces, I can testify that all of these, without exception, desire 
 more Western knowledge, and the repeated Imperial edicts leave 
 no doubt as to the views of the Peking cabinet on the subject.” 
 The spirit of the China of to-day is aptly summed up in the words of 
 Confucius, “ Be zealous for the old and know the new, so will you 
 be a teacher.” We need no longer to pitch our tents or i-est on our 
 arms. The day of truth, and so of evangelization, is dawning in China. 
 The call to the missionary is to arise for a stupendous conflict, whose 
 termination in China will likewise see a glory-encircling earth. 
 
 The third specification is that of utilising the dominating 
 influence exerted on the masses by the official class. This is an 
 advantage more conspicuous at present than any other. Being an 
 advantage, there is an obligation to secure it. Securing it, there 
 may not neces.sarily be an immediate conversion of the upper classes, 
 but it may be auxiliary to the conversion of the masses and the 
 peace and security of the Church. This has been a noticeable 
 characteristic of the mission-work in Japan, where many prominent 
 men, though unbaptized in the faith of the Church, yet recognize 
 the exalted character of the Christian religion, and even plead for 
 its embodiment in the national life as the surest means of national 
 prosperity. Likewise in the little kingdom of Siam, the king, while 
 still the head of Buddhism, has by money, protection and many acts 
 of kindness largely freed the Church from restrictions and violence. 
 It is a custom of a successful missionary in that land on arriving at 
 a city, first to call on the local official, not so much for the official’s 
 sake as for the impression that is produced on the people by raising 
 himself in their respect, attaching importance and legality to his 
 mission, and by allaying all fears and suspicions. In the history of 
 the Roman Catholic Church in China during its glorious prosperity 
 in the previous dynasty and the early part of the present, we have 
 furnished a striking illustration of the value of the patronage of the 
 exalted, and how ber peace and power might have remained, if it 
 had not been for a foreign papal domination, interfering in the 
 edicts of the Emperor and the customs of the nation. When the 
 Rev. Dr. Nevius first went to the city of Hang-chow^, he found that 
 the distrust and suspicion of the people were so great that he could 
 not carry on his work to advantage, without acquiring a character 
 and position which could only be gained by public official recogni- 
 tion. He therefore called on all the officials, from the Governor down 
 to the Magistrate, and received also return calls, all being followed 
 
12 
 
 by tbe most bappy results. When the Rev. Grriffith John some twenty 
 years ago desired to secure property in the important city of Wu- 
 chang, he first called on the Viceroy to gain the proper permission, 
 and thereby, in the collision that ensued with the gentry, succeeded in 
 carrying out his purpose to a satisfactory conclusion. More valuable 
 than all in the good that has resulted were the efforts of two men 
 of missionary standing, Drs. Williams and Martin, who at an op- 
 portune time in 1858 succeeded in the incorporation in the American 
 Treaty of the Toleration Clause, a clause which was also in sub- 
 stance incorporated subsequently in the British Treaty. 
 
 While seeking by individual effort for individual conversions, 
 whether of the rich or poor, high or low, there yet are influences 
 that may be put in operation that in due time will affect the public 
 sentiment of the whole empire. While it is true that the early 
 Christian Church did not first begin with the highest, yet as soon as 
 the converts became too many to be ignored, then the new phase 
 appeared of Christianity being adopted by the ruler, and then by 
 the nation as a whole. In the medieeval period. Dr. Maclear, iu his 
 “Apostles of Mediaeval Europe,’’ rightly declares that “with an 
 almost monotonous uniformity, in Ireland and England, in Southern 
 and in Northern Germany, among the Slavonic no less than the 
 Scandinavian nations, the conversion of the people followed that of 
 the king or chief.” The nationalistic and individualistic methods 
 intermingle and interact. In illustrating still further the distinction, 
 we add the statement of Dr. Thomas Smith, formerly a missionary 
 in Bengal. He says : “ The nationalistic method of operations was 
 characteristic of the Romanist ecclesiastics and missionaries ; the 
 individualistic, of the British and Irish or Scotch. Perhaps it 
 might be necessary that the two methods should be prosecuted 
 simultaneously; and it may be that in order to effect this the Romish 
 missionaries were in the providence of God brought into Britain.” 
 May it not also be, we are now inclined to ask, that providence, by 
 the light of past history, may now be teaching us that the Protestant 
 Church can best prosecute missionary work, not only by mingling 
 among the common people and seeking for individual conversions, 
 but by influencing the men of power, and so converting the nation ? 
 Whatever the preliminary steps, the conversion to Christianity of 
 the rulers has always preceeded, not followed, the conversion of the 
 nation. If this is inevitable, why should attention to the “ higher 
 powers,” to the respectable and educated classes, be eliminated from 
 thought and from plan, from prayer, ambition and effort ? In 
 gaining the influential, you gain not only them, but with them the 
 nation. 
 
13 
 
 QUESTION III.— WHAT IS THE NATURE OP 
 THE DUTY? 
 
 The establishment of a duty and the analysis of its nature are 
 matters preliminary and theoretical. The one of vital import is 
 the consideration of the methods for discharging the duty. The 
 former we have already considered in respect to our theme, and 
 we hope so completely and minutely that even the most biased 
 opponent will be inclined to approve. Whether such be the case 
 or not, we should no longer defer the real practical issues. 
 
 Viewing the present status of mission-work in China, the most 
 essential requirement for dealings with the upper classes is the 
 general rule : Watch for every opportunity to show friendliness 
 and create friendliness. This rule is important and fundamental, 
 for the conditions are by no means the same in all parts of even one 
 land. A striking difference would be the work with the upper class 
 in a treaty-port and that in the interior. Also that in a district or 
 prefectural city and that in a provincial or metropolitan capital. 
 Sometimes friendship may be first established with the scholars, 
 sometimes with the officials, and again with the native gentry. 
 Even friendliness with the masses may at times be an aid, as a 
 means of diminishing unpopularity or misunderstanding. Several 
 foreigners by specially informing themselves on topics that prove 
 of interest and importance to high officials have thereby secured 
 considerable influence. Foreigners in the Imperial Customs service 
 do not confine themselves to mere routine of office-work ; and so 
 missionaries, seeking primarily the welfare of the people and the 
 advancement of the nation, should not content themselves with the 
 mere routine of mission-work. Everything that tends directly or 
 indirectly to uplift, reform or save, should be cherished and utilized. 
 
 The general object and spirit having been stated, certain 
 particulars may now be specified. 
 
 Of these the first one is the medical work. This work knows 
 no class, the Hanlin or the mute, the beggar or the Viceroy. 
 Broad in spirit, it reveals true Christianity, and removes opposition 
 and prejudice. In our present discussion we only emphasize one 
 phase. Incidents from every hospital in the land could be drawn, 
 but we only need to cite the work of Drs. Dudgeon and Pritchard 
 among a few of the prominent families of Peking, Dr. Mackenzie 
 
14 
 
 and Dr. Howard King in securing the munificent patronage of 
 Viceroy and Lady Li, Dr. Kerr in Canton aided not only by foreign 
 donations but annually by the leading officials, and the hospitals in 
 Shanghai, Hankow, Soochow, Nanking, Hangchow and Foochow. 
 Where others fail to enter, the physician sometimes succeeds, and 
 this, too, without any particular regard to his manner or his creed. 
 
 A second specification is the formation and distribution of a 
 scientific and religious literature. Under this head, so thoroughly 
 discussed by abler men, there is a need at present of popular 
 rudimentary treatises on the different sciences, somewhat like those 
 which Dr. Edkins is now issuing from the press of T'ung-wen 
 College. Also, as still more noticeable, there is a great need of 
 religious books of a more scholarly and robust nature. At present 
 Dr. Martin’s “ Evidences of Christianity,” Dr. Williamson’s 
 “Nat. Theology” and “Life of Christ,” Faber’s “Com. on 
 Mark,” and “ The Eemoval of Doubts,” prepared by native 
 Christians, are about the only religious works that one would dare 
 to consider a respectable present to an infiuential and scholarly 
 man. “ Tracts and booklets,” however multitudinous and however 
 suited for the average scholar, are not in demand for the higher 
 literati, hypercritical of the Christian religion. The books already 
 prepared that are the most acceptable to the better scholars, and are 
 at the same time conducive to breadth, morality, and enlightenment, 
 if not to conversion, are such as Dr. Allen’s “ China and Her 
 Neighbours,” Sheffield’s “Universal History,” Faber’s “Civiliza- 
 tion” and Dr. Martin’s “International Law.” Dr. Edkins has 
 said, “ Through the efforts of Dr. Martin the works of Wheaton, 
 Woolsey, and Bluntschli, have been translated and published, and 
 we know that they have produced a good effect in many ways in 
 modifying the opinions of the Chinese official class.” By presenta- 
 tion to personal friends or by distribution at the provincial and 
 metropolitan examinations, incalculable good may be accomplished 
 in reaching the ruling minds of the nation. 
 
 A third specification is the educational work. This work has 
 already been a prominent feature of mission policy, well exemplified 
 in the St. John’s College and the Methodist College of Shanghai, 
 the St. John’s at Ningpo, the Methodist School at Foochow, the 
 Presbyterian High School in Shantung, and the late project of Dr. 
 Happer for a University at Canton. These are supported by 
 Mission funds, and meant to raise up Christian men. In this 
 respect they are a necessity and a blessing. At present, owing to 
 the new attitude in the Chinese Government, a new opportunity 
 will more and more be presented to reach men of degree and of the 
 
15 
 
 better families. Chinese and Western education are to be combined 
 in the literary examinations, denationalization is to be avoided. 
 Mathematics, of all the sciences, stands foremost. The Imperial 
 College under Dr. Martin is to be the supreme institution in the 
 Western education. There is opening up a work in China which 
 the Church in Japan has only in part succeeded to accomplish. 
 After Peking the next position to be seized will be each of the 
 provincial capitals; and should it not be our desire, that though 
 Missionary Societies may not deem it fitting to support this form of 
 education, Christian men of education may be induced to occupy 
 beforehand all these centres, and so by precluding scepticism and 
 overcoming superstition, prove the handmaid of the Church ? Over 
 2,000 young men in the colleges of America have indicated a 
 willingness to enter on mission-work, and while the majority may 
 further graduate from the theological seminaries and enter on 
 direct evangelistic work, would it not be grand to secure others of 
 them at once for this new sphere of high education in China ? In 
 the memorial to the throne occur these words : “ With regard to 
 scholars of the second and third grades, as also mandarins of the 
 lower ranks, we request Your Majesty to open the portals and 
 admit them to be examined as candidates, that we may have a 
 larger number from whom to select men of ability for the public 
 service.” With the change in the spirit of the G-overnment, there 
 should likewise be modifications in the methods of the Church. 
 The progress on the one side demands a progress on the other. 
 
 A fourth specification is that of social calls. While at the ports 
 such a work may be accomplished by the observance of foreign 
 ways and thought ; in the interior there should be an appreciation 
 of Chinese thought, and an observance of Chinese etiquette. The 
 reason for the latter is that so strongly stated by Sir Richard Steele 
 in the Spectator: “No man ought to have the esteem of the 
 rest of the world for any actions which are disagreeable to those 
 maxims which prevail as the standards of behaviour in the country 
 wherein he dwells.” So Dr. Nevius, in referring to work among 
 the oflBcials of China, has said : “It is obvious that this kind of work 
 is attended with peculiar difficulty, and requires special preparation, 
 particularly in acquainting one’s-self with Chinese etiquette.” This 
 advice is all-important, and yet how frequently has the idea been 
 characterised as an eccentricity. One country may be pushing, pro- 
 gressive unceremonious America; and the other proud, exclusive 
 conservative China, — the two in sentiment and etiquette well-nigh 
 at antipodes. In fact, all Oriental politeness seems to an Occident 
 cringing; and Occidental politeness — even if such is supposed to 
 
16 
 
 exist — seems to an Oriental loose and disrespectful. In either case 
 the reality is different from the seeming. Chinese etiquette as 
 performed by a foreigner is not by any means cringing, but teaches 
 self-respect as well as respect to others. The etiquette must be 
 reciprocal, — of mutual independence and mutual respect. If such 
 fails to be the result, better to keep along in manly dignity, waiting 
 for a Chinese observance of Chinese principles. 
 
 To know the exact forms of Chinese ceremony and personal 
 address, and to be familiar with polite expressions, one should 
 secure the aid of a person familiar with Chinese official life, rather 
 than one noted for mere scholarship. What forms are in conformity 
 with the Chinese and yet applicable to a Western scholar, or how 
 far these forms should be modified in order to make personal 
 acquaintance possible, will require much inquiry and discrimination. 
 
 In the proper observance of the Chinese code of etiquette, 
 social calls, if made at all, must be inaugurated by the missionary 
 himself. In this feature there is a similarity to the practice in the 
 foreign communities in China. The stranger must make the first 
 call. The rank of the person to be visited will determine the 
 degree of respect to be observed. In general, the higher the 
 official, the more the need of strict adherence to Chinese rules of 
 ceremony. 
 
 The first persons to be visited are the officials in power, and 
 this, if done with caution and propriety, will meet with more or less 
 of success. Then come the native gentry. As these gentlemen 
 have been even more neglected than the officials, and are generally 
 of a more hostile and prejudiced mind, it is uncertain how their 
 acquaintance can be formed. If known to be friendly and the 
 sentiment of the people at large is also friendly, the strict rule 
 requiring the stranger to take the initiative may also be heeded 
 here. If, however, there is a decided barrier, observance of Chinese 
 etiquette, however essential, will probably fail to open the door of 
 the house or heart. 
 
 One useful means to secure interest and make acquaintance, 
 and so prepare the way for the interchange of calls, is to fit up 
 in handsome Chinese style a book-depository and reading-room, 
 provided with a guest-room, or still better an extensive polytechnic 
 with which may be connected a lecture-hall, where lectures may 
 be given from time to time. It should also be remembered that 
 many officials with whom we come in contact, will in time return to 
 their own homes, and there be classed as the gentry. The gentry 
 of to-day were the conservative officials of the past, and the officials 
 of to-day will be the gentry of the future. 
 
17 
 
 The aim should always be to reach the highest first, whether of 
 village elders and men of degree in the country, or local magistrate 
 in a district city, or of the governor in a provincial capital. The 
 higher one effects a social relationship, the more extensive will be 
 the succeeding usefulness. 
 
 Closely connected with the intercourse of a social nature, there 
 exists as a fifth specification the intercourse for purposes of public 
 business. Of the part that missionaries take in such matters there 
 are needed a few explanations. 
 
 First of all it is desirable that matters of business should be 
 such as are plainly of benefit to the people and of interest to the 
 officials. Troublesome business should be avoided, except in critical 
 cases, and then not until patience has had a full trial. Personal 
 protection, litigation, persecution cases, and property questions, 
 however inevitable in organized work, are in themselves hardly a 
 help, and yet if managed with respectfulness and moderation, with 
 a due regard for past customs and ideas, may be the entering wedge 
 for more congenial consultation. That missionaries in the interior 
 will necessarily have to hold relations with Chinese ofiicials is 
 evident, but how this may be best accomplished can only be deter- 
 mined by experience. It should always be the aim to so consult the 
 convenience of the ofiicials by well-directed plans, that important 
 matters may not be cast aside as an interference. If there is a time 
 when no business is on hand, then peace may be so strongly 
 established that troubles of the future may be largely prevented. 
 It is a false idea that officials should be ignored till trouble lies at 
 the door. In fact, much of the opposition to missionaries is due 
 to the fact that all that is known of them is as emersed in riots — 
 certainly not a very high commendation for Christianity. Whether 
 all missionaries in a place should alike seek such relations with 
 officials, or whether particular persons should represent the rest, will 
 largely be determined by the circumstances of the time and place. 
 As a general principle, amid the large number of undertakings 
 and in so large a field, with a regard to economy of forces and 
 time, division of labor is desirable, and here only needs further 
 application. 
 
 Secondly, in public business there should also be a clear 
 understanding of the distinction between the policy of the Roman 
 Catholic missionaries and the Protestant missionaries. Owing to 
 the political nature of the Roman Catholic Church, not only in 
 China, but in all lands, it has seemed to many that the Protestant 
 missionary, in order to maintain the spiritual nature of the Church, 
 should avoid not only public dealings with officials, but should hold 
 
18 
 
 for the present the attitude of indifference. There is demanded, 
 however, no extreme policy of neglect, especially so long as difficul- 
 ties inevitably arise which must be managed by some one. 
 
 According to the policy heretofore adhered to by the Roman 
 Catholic Church, the different provinces of China are divided among 
 the different Orders of the Church ; Bishops are appointed by the 
 Pope; the Pope is regarded as holding a position similar to that 
 of an Emperor, and the Bishops similar to that of Governor. The 
 Bishop adopts, therefore, the style and rank of a High Mandarin. 
 In many places the Bishop in going to the yamens wears a button 
 of 1st or 2nd rank, rides in a sedan-chair of four or even eight 
 bearers, and is accompanied by outriders and runners. Such a 
 policy has both advantages and evils. The possibility of native 
 officials dealing with particular persons in the Church on church 
 affairs is highly acceptable, and by such a method facility of inter- 
 course is promoted. The particular kind of power possessed by the 
 Bishop is also a matter of respect. The adoption of official style 
 and rank with all the distinctive marks of Imperial authority is 
 apt to arouse jealousy. The dictatorial management of persecution 
 cases, though generally permitted in the past, is yet offensive. The 
 shielding of lawless persons, the claim to a protectorate over all 
 native Christians, and the assumption of political as well as spiritual 
 power, — these are the special causes of friction and opposition. It 
 should, however, at the same time be acknowledged, that sometimes 
 in spite of these features, and at other times because of these very 
 features, the Roman Catholic Church has established a relationship 
 with the Chinese officials, — a relationship which afterwards has been 
 granted to Protestants as well. Futhermore, that what might 
 appear as an assumption in a representative of any of the Protestant 
 Churches, might be the right of a Bishop of the Roman Catholic 
 Church, if the policy of that Church be granted as sound. 
 
 What now should be the attitude of the Protestant missionary ? 
 May not the wisest policy be one which conforms to moderation, 
 avoiding all the evils of the Roman Catholic policy, and accepting 
 all the good ? Certainly the missionary should assume no official 
 rank — unless actually possessing such, should countenance no law- 
 less persons, withdraw from Chinese authority no native converts, 
 and plead for no one persecuted for other than righteousness’ 
 sake. If he adopt the Chinese costume, he will be able to conform 
 to Chinese etiquette, dressing in the official garments, which more 
 properly are merely a dress-suit, and which are always worn on 
 visits of ceremony by scholars as well as officials. Being a guest, the 
 missionary is entitled to respect, and he in turn should conform to 
 
19 
 
 the manners of his accomplished host. Being a scholar with a 
 literary degree, and belonging to the professional class, he is in 
 many countries the equal of persons of political rank, while in 
 China he would also be regarded with special honor. Futhermore 
 he is the delegate of a Church, though not of King or Pope, the 
 representative of a large body of people, and by no means a mere 
 private individual. The main thing desired is that the missionary as 
 a missionary, and not as a political agent, should be duly recognized. 
 
 Thirdly, the public affairs of missionaries have also a close 
 relation to the efforts of consuls and diplomats. The frequent 
 aid that has been rendered by Representatives of the different 
 Governments, the missionary should not fail to appreciate. In 1844 
 by the intervention of the French Representative, M. Lagrene, the 
 Emperor removed disabilities from the Roman Catholic Church, but 
 prohibited the foreign priests from going beyond the five ports. 
 In 1845 by the intervention of the British Representative, Sir John 
 Davis, the same privileges were grafted the Protestant missionaries. 
 From this time forth the Roman Catholic missionaries began to go 
 into the interior with the tacit consent of many of the officials. 
 Later on the Protestant missionaries followed the same precedent. 
 In 1858 and 1860 appeared the different treaties tolerating 
 Christianity, while in the French treaty there was a clause intro- 
 duced into the Chinese text with the knowledge and consent of the 
 Chinese Representative, whereby French missionaries were granted 
 the right to purchase property in all the provinces. Some of the 
 treaties, either then or later on, stated the full right to propagate 
 Christianity in the interior with full protection of the authorities. 
 In 1862 there appeared the Rescript of Prince Kung and the 
 Chinese Foreign Office on the basis of a previous Edict of the 
 Emperor. This Rescript has these words: “As missionaries are 
 not Mandarins, they cannot take part in other matters, public or 
 private, or protect their proselytes, but whereas they are well 
 disposed men, and are in their own country greatly respected of 
 others; and whereas their first object is to instruct men to do good, 
 they must be treated with more than usual high consideration.” 
 The right of petition to the local authorities was also granted. 
 By the year 1881, through the intervention of the United States 
 Representative, Hon. James Angell, similar rights as contained in 
 this Rescript were allowed Protestants by the Chinese Foreign 
 Office. In the years 1882 and 1886 the Foreign Office issued orders 
 to all the provinces, on the basis of an Edict of the Emperor, 
 enjoining the protection of the converts and chapels of the Roman 
 Catholic Church. 
 
20 
 
 Notwithstanding all this aid, troubles still continue to arise in 
 the interior, both for the missionary and the convert. In order to 
 present such matters to the authorities, it neither seems necessary 
 nor desirable to appoint consuls for the interior, nor to appoint 
 missionaries to act in the capacity of consuls. Now and then it will 
 be found possible for ministers or consuls to help strengthen the 
 status of missionaries with the native officials by introduction or 
 recommendation, just as happens with merchants and representa- 
 tives of syndicates. Instead of the missionary or convert presenting 
 their grievances to the foreign official, the way may be so opened 
 that this may be done with the native official, and with an equal 
 assurance of gaining redress. Thus the missionary will less and 
 less annoy consuls and ministers, and the Christian Church will 
 appear more and more as the Church of China. 
 
 Such are some of the ways for Christian Missions to reach the 
 upper classes of China. If many missionaries seek the common 
 people, should not some at least seek in a special way the upper 
 classes ? Should not efforts in this direction meet with sympathy, 
 encouragement and aid, rather than with coldness and indifference, 
 frustration and criticism ? A disagreement with a few minor points 
 that have been advanced should not cause a rejection of the whole 
 line of argument. Realizing a duty — the duty is already half per- 
 formed. “ Comprehension,” says Prof. Huxley, “ is more than half 
 way to sympathy.” 
 
 The Church in its evangelization aims to do everything, but 
 each one can only do a part. In general harmony there is individual 
 speciality. For one to insist that a class shall be neglected by the 
 Church is plainly untenable. And for one to insist that he him- 
 self — rather than the Church — will work for all, is plainly impossi- 
 ble, for no man since the time of our Saviour can rightly be 
 regarded as a universal genius. 
 
 One sows and another reaps, but both ‘‘may rejoice together.” 
 The efforts of to-day bespeak the triumphs of the future. The labor 
 for one affects the multitude. The course is ever forward ; the era 
 is that of progress. The Church, undivided by time as unbroken 
 by death, moves forward with radiant faith, as with the swing and 
 stride of a giant’s strength it transforms nations, overpowers thrones, 
 turns art, music and learning into its service, chastens the rich and 
 uplifts the poor, serves with the menial and rules in the ruler, and 
 by hidden voices speaking to all, vindicates the sovereignty of the 
 Divine, who with illimitable sway shall reign over all and in all dwell. 
 Then shall be fulfilled the song sung 2,500 years ago, “ Grentiles 
 shall come to Thy light, and kings to the brightness of Thy rising.” 
 


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