FOR PRIVATE CIRCULATION. Ch e Students OF China for Christ. By ROBERT E. LEWIS. THE STUDENTS OF CHINA FOR CHRIST. By ROBERT E. LEWIS, Secretary-Elect to China. International Committee Young Men's Christian Associations, New York, 1898. LIBRARY OF THE STUDENT VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS, a West 29th Street, New York City. Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2017 with funding from Columbia University Libraries https://archive.org/details/studentsofchinafOOIewi Contents. I. Age and Extent of Cnina. II. Secret of the Long Life of this Nation. III. Students, the Rulers of the Empire. IV. The New China Against the Old. V. China in Search of a Religion. VI. I he \\ inning of China and America Com- pared. VII. '['he Recent Student Uprising. VIII. The Ephesus, Corinth, and Rome of China. IX. An Object Lesson at Tientsin. “Oh mighty fortress When shall these impene- trable brazen gates of thine be broken through ? ” — Valignani. Morrison was asked ( i8oy ), “ So then, Mr. Morrison, you really expect to make an impression on the idolatry of the great Chinese Empire ? ’ ’ He replied : “No, sir, but I expect that God will." £be Stubents of Cbina for Cbrist. i. Ube Ege anb Extent of Gbtna. It is a remarkable fact that China as a nation should remain intact for so many centuries. It may set it clearly before the mind to note that the Chinese nation has preserved its solidarity from the seventh century before the Exodus, the fifteenth century before Rome was founded, and the twenty- second century before Christ. 1 There is no paral- lel case of longevity in the history of the nations of the world. China has maintained itself as a great oriental people against the assaults of enemies and of time, while many other nations have come and gone. Dr. Martin, Ex-president of the Imperial 'rung- wen College, gives a careful analysis of the popula- tion of the various provinces of the Empire and seems to draw the reliable conclusion that at least 399,000,000 people make up the Chinese Empire.' This is practically one-third of the human race. 7 India is the only other country which in any way compares in population to China, and is itself 100,000,000 smaller. 1'hat is, to the population of India add the population of North America, from the Central American states to the Arctic Zone, and you have not yet reached the popula- tion of China. The territorial extent of the Chinese Empire is likewise impressive. The size of the United States is in round figures 3,600,000 square miles; the extent of the Chinese Empire is 5,000,000 square miles. It is a striking fact that when one faces this greatest nation of the Orient he looks upon an empire which not only includes nearly one-third of the population of the world, but itself covers one-tenth of the habitable globe. 1 Leonard’s “ Hundred Years of Missions.” ■ Martin’s “A Cycle of Cathay.” Also, Lawrence’s “ Modern Missions in the East.” II. TTbe Secret of tbe Xono QLtfe of tbis IRation. While other nations have flashed into the politi- cal horizon of the world and have gone out again in the night, China has remained unchanged. Assyria, Egypt, Greece and Rome have passed away. They have risen and fallen, while China has been undisturbed. Spain with her once vast domain, France and her Napoleon, Britain the queen of the seas, Russia as an international power, are but youths compared to aged China. The Western hemisphere has been discovered. America has passed into commanding eminence. China was before all of these and remains to-day stronger than it was thirty centuries ago. Dr. W. A. P. Martin says of the student class that it has “done more than anything else to hold China to- gether.’’ 1 The solidarity of this great people has been preserved through the cycles largely by popu- lar and higher education, a fact scarcely paralleled in any of the other great nations. Hon. Chester Holcombe, a representative of the United States in 9 government service at Peking, says, “An emperor of the Tang dynasty, some nineteen hundred years ago, inaugurated the present plan of preparing and selecting officials by means of study and literary examinations. The system has not been essentially modified since. Like nearly all things else Chinese, it appears to have sprung into full form at once and to have known neither growth nor decay.’’ 2 1 “ A Cycle of Cathay.” 2 “The Real Chinaman.” Also, Robert K. Douglas’ “Confucianism and Tau- ism.” Archdeacon Moule’s “ New China and Old.” io III. Students, tbe IRulers of tbe JEmpire. The fact that the student class exercises such a powerful influence leads to an examination of education in China. We first take up the native system of education, which is radically different from Western education. A general, and what might be considered primary, education, is ideally recommended in all sections of China. Though the work done is exceedingly narrow from our standpoint, yet not so from the Chinese. “ Schools are found in every city, village and hamlet in the Empire and public sentiment in favor of education is universal, and it is a reproach to any parents, however poor, if they neglect to send their sons to school.” 1 When this has been said it remains to be pointed out that “ female education is un- known ” in the native Chinese system. This gen- eral sentiment in favor of, and more or less partic- ipation in, preliminary education prepares the way for the Chinese competitive examination system, which Mr. Mott calls “The Gibraltar of the Stu- dent World.” 1 1 This system of higher education in China is open to all competitors, high or low, poor or rich, but results in the development of an aristoc- racy of neither blood nor wealth but of learning. These are the literati. Mr. Mott, the General Secretary of the World’s Student Christian Federa- tion, has made a most careful examination of the student status of China and concludes that in this Chinese student system 500,000 students present themselves annually for the first degree, which can only be competed for after preliminary examinations have been passed in the various dis- tricts of the provinces; that 150,000 men present themselves for examination twice every three years for the second degree; and that for the third or highest degree at least x 0,000 students compete once in three years." Thus it will be seen that the student body of China is the greatest of any coun- try of the world, and adding to this, other striking characteristics, we are more easily able to under- stand the perpetuity of the Kmpire. While the spoken language of the literati is more or less uniform, the written language is uniform throughout the length and breadth of the country. T his makes possible the wide circulation of Chris- tian literature and of the Word of God. The actual reverence for the printed page in all sec- tions of China, a feeling of which the Anglo-Saxon knows nothing, promotes practical approach to educated Chinese. Instead of throwing books awav thev cordially receive them. At an examin- ing centre a personal friend of the writer not only saw his large stock of Christian literature melt down under the demand of the students, but as they rode away he was glad to see them closely perusing the pages. In “A Cycle of Cathay” Dr. Martin observes “ The civil sendee examinations, which are gaining ground in England, France and the United States, are borrowed from the experience of the Chinese Empire.” This Eastern system of education by examination has developed many extraordinary features. Take for example the great examination halls, which are said to be most striking features of the capital cities. At toochow and Canton the examination halls accommodate at one time about ten thousand students each ; another at Nanking is so arranged as to receive thirty thousand students for examination at once, lhese examination build- ings are most carefully policed. Each student is sent alone into a small booth, having been previous- ly searched from head to foot, and stays by himself under watch of the police until his theses are com- pleted and handed over to the authorities. The largest universities of America draw together be- tween three and four thousand men for study : an average second degree examination center m China will draw together twenty thousand students for examination purposes, they having studied by themselves under private instruction. To be sure, the breadth of education in the two countries is not to be compared ; the results in real scholarship 13 are in no degree of the same order. Yet one can- not fail to admire the literary accomplishments of the Chinese. Nor can he fail to recognize that the literati in such a nation are the actual power behind the throne. Holcombe cites a representative in- stance which shows how highly the winning of de- grees is esteemed in China. The father of a stu- dent who had been successful in the examinations at the capital placarded the streets of his native town with the following poster: “Good News! Mr. Wang has the happiness to announce that his son, Ah Sin, by the grace of His Imperial Maj- esty, has been named No. 169 in the list of suc- cessful candidates for the degree of Master of Arts at the recent provincial examinations. Rejoice ! Rejoice ! ’ ’ Among the results of the competitive civil serv- ice examinations of China are the following : First : A literary caste is developed, with happily no similarity to the Brahman caste in India, which holds practically all the offices of the Empire and which is therefore the ruling force in the affairs of China, shaping the laws and administering the government. They have the power to levy taxes, and they are the guardians of letters and religion. Second : Not only are they the practical rulers of the Empire, but in all matters pertaining to West- ern civilization or progress, commercial and edu- cational, they are the most absolutely conservative. Third : Not only are they the rulers and the con- servatives of China but the student class has also 14 been Christianity’s strongest opponent. Besides blocking the wheels of what all Western nations consider progress, they as a class stand athwart the pathway of Christianity with sullen defiance, and more, “ the instigators of mobs are generally man- darins or members of the student class.” ' Holcombe’s “ The Real Chinaman.” 2 Mott’s ‘‘Strategic Points in the World’s Con- quest.” 1 5 IV. IT be IRew China Hiiain:?t tbe Olb. Since the treaties have gradually opened up China to the merchant and the missionary, a sur- prising change, for so conservative a country, has been noted among the leading Chinese. The arrogant assumption of Chinese pre-eminence is gradually giving way to the desire to profit by West- ern civilization. There can be observed a grow- ing interest in science among the literati and officials ; and science underlies all our modem edu- cation. The Chinese have been from time im- memorial the masters of letters, but of real science they have known nothing. Applied mathematics, biology, chemistry, physics, a pure astronomy, en- gineering in its various forms, scientific medicine, the principles of international law, psycholog}', philosophy, these sciences are now beginning to ap- peal by their own worth to China. Prince Kung, of the imperial family, addressed an official letter to the throne, of which the following is part: “The machinery of the West, its steamers, its fire-arms and its military tactics, all have their 10 source in mathematical science. Now at Shanghai and elsewhere the building of steamers has been commenced ; but we fear that if we are content with the superficial knowledge, and do not go to the root of the matter, such efforts will not issue in solid success. “Your Majesty’s servants have accordingly to propose, after mature deliberation, that an addi- tional department shall be established, into which no one shall be admitted but those who are over twenty years of age, having previously gained a de- gree in Chinese learning. For we are convinced that if we are able to master the mysteries of mathematical calculation, physical investigation, astronomical observation, the construction of en- gines, the engineering of water courses, this and only this will assure the steady growth of the power of the Empire." We are not surprised therefore to know that the government has already established and supports a few colleges and universities teaching the Western education. We are not surprised to note that in the established system of examinations the gov- ernment has been pressed to introduce examination papers in modern science. China is arousing himself. The Empire is a great giant drugged in his sleep, but when he breathes deep breaths of modern civilization he will throw off his lethargic slumbers; those who would keep him asleep will fail; he is eager al- ready for the new education and will not be satis- 17 Tied. The question arises, Shall he presently take the methods of our merchantmen and the resources of our science, and divorce them from Chris- tianity? 1 This is now the greatest question in re- gard to China. ’Dennis’ “Christian Missions and Social Prog- ress.” Also, Archdeacon Moule’s “ New China and Old.” China in Search ot a IReligion. The Emperor Ming-Ti, in the year 65 A. D., sent a deputation to India to find a new and better religion than those which prevailed in China. Thus the titular head of Confucianism acknowl- edged the insufficiency of the native religions of China. This deputation to India brought back Buddhism and planted it as a religion in the Em- pire, and it has lived side by side with Confucianism and Tauism. 1 Mohammedanism has also its mill- ions of followers in the western part of the Em- pire. These religious systems are not satisfactory, and though in these days no emperor has sent to Britain or to America to ask that Christianity take the place of the religions in China, yet it is not hard to find evidence of the insufficiency of these old religions. China is bound to have the new education and with it Western civilization. Shall it be a Godless education and a Godless civilization? To this the tireless force of missionaries answers “ No.” Rev. Gilbert Reid, of the Mission among the Higher Classes, Peking, says, “If the experience of India and Japan is a safe criterion, there will be an inev- itable tendency to take the material and intellect- ual features of another civilization, but not the spiritual. There is even a danger that the new civilization will have less moral character than the old, that wealth rather than righteousness will be- come the ambition of young China, and that Cod will be even less honored in the teachings from Christendom than in the teachings of Confucian- ism. To direct in right channels the current of progress it is necessary to watch the beginnings, and to win to the truth as it is in Christ these young students who are just beginning to admire the new ideas of other lands. The contest with them is now on, and cannot be postponed.’’ 2 The real worth of the two great Chinese relig- ions can be judged from these impartial state- ments made by Dr. Martin, for twenty-five years a leader in the government educational system. “ In contrast, however, with our Holy Scriptures, the religious element in them (the books of Con- fucius) is so faint and feeble as to suggest the aurora boreaiis rather than the life - giving sun- shine.’’ 3 In regard to Buddhism he is still more emphatic, “ No longer doing anything to strength- en or renovate Chinese society, Buddhism clings to it as an ivv clings to a crumbling tower, de- riving its nourishment from the rottenness of the structure.’’ Rev. Arthur H. Smith says, “Of China it might be said, as Gibbon remarked of 20 Rome, that to the common people all religions are equally true, to the philosopher all are equally false, and to the magistrate all are equally useful. Of the Emperor of China, as of the Roman Em- peror, it might be affirmed that he is ‘ at once a high priest, an atheist and a god ’ ! To such a state has Confucianism brought the Empire.” ' After the China-Japan war, certain Chinese governmental leaders were convinced that the Empire must change front ; it had been facing to- ward the past. Not wishing to confide in the am- bassadors of any of the nations, under the circum- stances, it is a fact that they sought counsel from Christian missionaries. After frequent interviews, high government officials requested the mission- ary leaders who were in their confidence to put in writing their suggestions for the reform of China, and this was done. One immediate result was a special order to the provinces making it emphatic that missionaries are to be not only tol- erated but protected. Rev. Timothy Richard, one of the leaders in this movement, who has been for twenty-seven years in China, says, “ When I think of the importance of this move- ment I feel appalled by its magnitude. The lead- ers of four hundred millions of people turning to the Christian Church for light and leading! Take time to realize what that means. And now that they come to you, I hope that you will not allow them to go astray for lack of a sympathizing hand to lead them in the way of righteousness.” 5 Who shall the new God of China be? The Em- pire is coming to seek emancipation from an effete system. Shall it be led by materialistic education into a fearful liberty, or by a scholarship which knows God into the fulness of His plan for it among the peoples of the world? How shall the one be averted and the other accomplished? 'Williams’ “ Middle Kingdom.” 2 In “The Evangelization of China.” 8 “ A Cycle of Cathay.” 4 “ Chinese Characteristics.” 5 Briwn's “ The Awakening of China.” Also, Ernest Faber’s “ Systematical Digest of the Doctrines of Confucius.” VI. Ube '©dinning of China anb Hmerica Compareb. Reasoning from analog}’ does not always satisfy the rules of logic and so we will not press the com- parison too far. There are striking similarities, however, in the way the forces of God were mar- shalled for the conquest of America and now later of China. China has a coast line of hundreds of miles, washed by a great ocean, and out from this coast line the people look towards the rising sun. America has an eastern coast line of hundreds of miles washed by another great sea, whose people look towards the morning. The Christian strate- gist in the colonial time in America was a univers- ity-bred man, and on landing on the new con- tinent established higher education in the fear of God. T here have landed within the past hundred years many university-bred men and women upon the eastern coast line of China, who have there passed on the blessing they received in earlier years, and have established seats of learning in 23 which Cod is honored. What would have been the tendency of the early Republic had not the Episcopalians been present to plant Columbia University and the University of Pennsylvania ; the Baptists to establish Brown University; the Pres- byterians, Princeton ; the Congregationalists, Har- vard, Yale, Williams, and the other Christian bodies their great seats of learning? In the colonial period of America’s development Christian- ity and scholarship were forever wedded. This was Christian statesmanship of the highest order. Up and down the eastern coast line of China, like that line of universities in America, from the Uni- versity of ( Georgia at the South to the University of Vermont at the North, there has been estab- lished a chain of colleges, from the Presbyterian College of Canton in the South to the Methodist University of Peking. No one can estimate how new China will be influenced by such institutions as the Anglo-Chinese College of Foochow, the Anglo-Chinese College of Shanghai, the Presbyter- ian College of Teng-chow, the Congregational College of Tung-cho, the Methodist Universities at Nanking and Peking, St. John’s College at Shang- hai, the strong institutions at Tientsin, Ningpo, Amoy, Hangchow, and many others. After the coast line of colleges in America had been planted higher education worked its way inland, and so with the colleges in China. In America, after the colonial institutions had been established, the government took upon itself 24 the planting of the great state universities, in which,, of course, religion could play but a small part. In this crisis the voluntary organizations of students came into being, which more effectively than any other force has held the students in the faith and enlisted them in the direct sendee of Christ. In China the provincial governments have begun to plant state institutions on the basis of Western learning. More and more of these will be en- dowed. Christianity will not be an integral part of these institutions as of the Christian colleges. How shall the student body of not only the govern- ment examination system, but of these new, and prospective, universities be led to Christ? This is no small problem, and to the question is there a direct and positive answer? Having been won to Christ, how shall they, and the students of Chris- tian colleges, be enlisted in the Christianization of their native land? They will, if properly enlisted for the campaign, be the generals of the Christian, army of new China. VII. Xlbe IRecent Stubent inprismg. The problem 'has been stated. The facts are before us. The necessity for action is apparent, and already we trace the unfolding of the plan of God. He has certain men under His command. As He said to Joshua so He has said to them, “ Have I not commanded thee? Be thou strong and of good courage. Be not afraid neither be thou dis- mayed for the Lord thy God is with thee whither- soever thou goest. This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth ; for thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.” A score of years ago the problem of winning the students of Britain and America to Christ was most difficult. No satisfactory solution of the problem was forthcoming. God called into being the College Young Men’s Christian Association, which has been able to bind together in the United 26 States and Canada, for aggressive Christian work, students in five hundred institutions of higher learning, and similar movements are at work in Britain, and in the great Continental universities. As President Hitchcock pointed out, to this or- ganization has been given the direction on interde- nominational lines of the religious life of the uni- versities of these lands. In America and Canada alone between 30,000 and 40,000 professors and students are engaged in this work. Mr. Mott observes that, “ More than 30,000 students have been led through the work of the Associations to become the disciples of Jesus Christ. Moreover, nearly 5,000 young men, representing some forty different branches of the Church, have been influenced to become clergymen, and even a larger number of students have been led to dedi- cate their lives to foreign missions through the in- fluence of the Student Volunteer Movement.” 1 It was to represent such an actual spiritual force among the college men of North America that Mr. Luther D. Wishard spent over three years in the Orient on a remarkable tour of investigation of the student status of Asia. Following this tour the Chinese missionaries, representing many denomina- tions, united in petitioning that secretaries of the Young Men’s Christian Association be sent to devote their lives to the work among the young men of China. After great pressure had been brought to bear upon the International Committee of the Young Men’s Christian Associations in New 27 York, on the part of leaders in the missionary •enterprise, the work in the Orient was undertaken, and finally in 1895, Mr. I). Willard I.yon, Educa- tional Secretary of the Student Volunteer Move- ment, was sent to China and established headquar- ters at Tientsin. The results of his work from the beginning were so unusual as to attract general attention. The leaders of the missionary enterprise in China recognized the position which this work for Chinese students held, so that when Mr. John R. Mott landed in the fall of 1896 in the Empire, •careful preparatory plans had been made, and under the blessing of Ood a large Christian upris- ing of the students in China was witnessed. He treats in attractive detail of this matter in his book “ The Strategic Points in the World’s Con- quest.” Suffice it to say that large Christian conventions were held in Chefoo, Peking, Shang- hai and Foochow, calling together 2,883 dele- gates, 2,352 of whom were Chinese students, professors and native Christians, and 41 1 of whom were missionaries of thirty-seven missionary societies. Within the year 1896-7, about 100 educated Chinese have offered themselves for ag- gressive Christian work. After these spiritual con- ventions were over, leaders in the missionary enter- prise in China, including seventeen college presi- dents, met for a special conference in Shanghai, Nov. 3-5, 1896. The organization of the College Young Men’s Christian Association of China was here perfected and placed under the direction of 28 a national committee of fourteen experienced lead- ers — seven Chinese and seven foreign. Mr. Mott writes, “An association is now planted in every important institution in the Empire. They exist not only, in Christian colleges but in all government institutions in which there is a suffi- cient number of Christian students to sustain an organization. . . . 1'he leaders of the new China are to-day being trained in those institutions which give the modern education. What shall that leadership be? . . . When we recall the awful spiritual crisis of China, involving the destiny of one-third the human race, can we question that the student volunteer idea has been divinely planted in the Chinese student field? ’ ’ 1 All who are interested in the great struggle of China are rejoic- ing to note that the strength of this Christian move- ment among the student class is not in numbers, though they be gratifying, but in a complete sub- mission to the Holy Spirit and to the overmastering desire to learn and do the will of Cod. The Chinese student movement is characterized by the prayer spirit, and it has just begun to enter into the fulness of its opportunity in the Empire. Mr. Lyon has been called by the National Committee as Travelling Secretary, pamphlets and literature sufficient to meet the necessary requirements are in circulation, and the national work takes on not only a permanent but an aggressive form. 1'he writer is under appointment of the American International Committee and hopes shortly to begin 29 work in Central China, with headquarters in Shang- hai. Robert R. Gailey, a Princeton man, and a travelling secretary of the Student Volunteer Move- ment, will sail at the same time under the same auspices to take up student work in China, at some other leading center. At the recent meeting of the World’s Student Christian Federation in America one of the most striking figures was Mr. Ding Ming Uong, of Foochow, a member of the National Committee of China. He came to the United States to represent the College Young Men’s Christian Associations of China at the Federation gathering, and won the confidence and esteem of the student leaders of the other nations. ’Mott’s “Strategic Points in the World’s Con- quest.’’ 30 VIII. Ube Epbesus, Corintb aub iRome of Cbtna. Christ commended the missionary enterprise to the scholar whose heart He had touched. Paul’s scholarship did not of itself equip him to found the great foreign missionary enterprise. His spirit- uality was of more significance, but when this abundant spirituality was seconded by striking in- tellectual power he could not be withstood, and though there were overwhelming obstacles, his cause triumphed. Paul established and fortified his cause in the great intellectual and commercial and religious centers, Ephesus, Antioch, Corinth, Athens and Rome. He did not neglect other op- portunities, but he entrenched himself in the cen- ters. We need not enter into a discussion of his reasons for this masterful policy. Should not we who would win to God the Empire of China do well to consider the Pauline plan. Shanghai, Foo- chow, Tientsin and Peking may be considered the Ephesus, Corinth, Athens and Rome of China, and in them and the other great centers, like Can- ton, Wuchang and Amoy, the special work for edu- cated Chinamen must be centered. In these great vortices of irreligion and false religion the Cross 3 1 LIBRARY OF THE STUDENT VOLUNTEER MOVEMENT FOR FOREIGN MISSIONS, & West 29th Street, New York City. must be held high, for it will ultimately draw all men to itself and its Christ. Rev. Gilbert Reid is quoted as saying: “The early church, both among the Latin and Greek Fathers, had Apologists in every way the equal in logical acumen and literary finish to the men ar- rayed against them. This is the need to-day in the church of China. Herein there is a strategic importance.’’ 1 A nation which has for one of its maxims, “ Study is the highest pursuit a man can follow,’’ is worth winning to God, and in this Christian warfare steel must be met with steel. Although this is so, the greatest catastrophe that could overtake the effort to Christianize the student class would come from the pride of learning, and we are thankful to know that no man who has been called to this service dares for a moment to trust in the arm of flesh. “Be not high-minded but fear,’’ was Paul’s trenchant instruction, and he added — “ lest ye be wise in your own conceits.” God forbid that any one who supports by prayer or means, or who personally engages in, this work should put his trust in the lower things. John asks the question, “ Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?” And Paul replies, “ Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.” And we are assured, “ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the Sons of God.” 1 In “ The Evangelization of China.” IX. Bn Object Xesson at ^Tientsin. We have already mentioned the Christian awak- ening of students, resulting in the conferences of 1896 and the formation of the National Committee of the College Young Men’s Christian Association of China. But what is meant by manning the in- dividual student centers can best be told by a typical instance. Mr. Lyon landed in China in the fall of 1895 and taking Tientsin as his immediate field began his work among the students. Tient- sin, beside being a city of 1,000,000 inhabitants, the port of Peking, and the residence of Li Hung Chang, is one of the centers of Western education. Before he had been in Tientsin six months an intercollegiate Young Men’s Christian Association had been formed of Chinese; headquarters had been established ; regular devotional meetings were held at the headquarters, and also in college build- ings ; a devotional Bible class of twenty to thirty was meeting regularly; ten students had publicly confessed Christ. He began the work there late in 1895, and in 33 the spring of 1897 the Christian work among students had enlarged so as to require a special building. Through the liberality of an American woman a commodious Association building was erected to be the center of the aggressive Chris- tian work among the educated Chinese of Tientsin. There will be courses of lectures and addresses clearly setting before the aroused Chinese mind phases of Western civilization : there will be social and educational events in this building; but all things will converge on the two great objects, first, leading students to Christ, and, second, set- ting them to work for Him among their country- men. To show exactly how this aggressive work in the great student centers is considered in China we quote from the Peking and Tientsin Times (a sec- ular periodical) the following, on the dedication of the students’ Association building in Tientsin : “ If the China of the future is not vastly and immeasurably removed in an exalted sense from the China of yesterday and to-dav, it will assuredly not be due to any lack of ennobling influences and endeavors on the part of her numerous well-wishers of all nationalities. . . . Tientsin, although so near the capital, the hot-bed of all that is most rigidly conservative, has been the starting point of many educational movements, and now has the honor of possessing the first Young Men’s Chris- tian Association established in China. The fine building formally opened on Saturday 34 comprises a large lecture hall containing a fine piano, a reading room with a good assortment of English books and newspapers, and a recreation room with a large and comprehensive stock of games. . . . Nothing would probably have given Mrs. Taylor greater pleasure than the ad- dresses of two Chinese students, extracts from one of which we append below. It was a most en- couraging sign, especially to those outside the sphere of missionary labor and who only see the worst side of China, to hear these young men speaking with a quiet confidence and loftiness of sentiment which would have done credit to any European or American students of the same age and experience. It was distinctly encouraging, too, to see such a large number of young men present, and we were particularly struck with the genuine welcome extended in word and smile by the Christian members to each new-comer. There can be no doubt that at the next great interna- tional gathering of Young Men’s Christian Asso- ciation representatives, held either in London or America, China will not be, as Mr. Pyke remarked in the course of his address, the only race con- spicuous for its absence.” 35