The Missionary Situation 
 in China 
 
 Henry T. Hodgk in 
 
 An address delivered at the Foreign Missions 
 Conference of North America in Atlantic 
 City, N ew Jersey — January 10-13, 1928 
 
 '’Printed by order of the Conference 
 
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THE MISSIONARY SITUATION IN CHINA 
 
 In attempting to give you a survey of the missionary situation 
 in China I must preface my remarks by insisting upon the fact that 
 generalizations are dangerous and liable to be challenged from vari- 
 ous points of view. I see in the audience a number of people whom 
 I should rather listen to than address, and I hope that what I say 
 will be corrected by the experience and viewpoint of those con- 
 tributing to this discussion. But at least one can try to give the 
 situation as one sees it, realizing that nobody sees more than a part. 
 
 I think it is necessary in looking at the missionary situation for 
 us to reach it through a consideration first of the general situation 
 in the country as a whole, and secondly through a consideration of 
 the condition and point of view of the church in China. In taking 
 up these questions it is necessary for us to take a long view and to 
 use some point for comparison with the conditions as we find them 
 today; and in my own mind I have been using the period of five 
 years as a convenient one for comparative thinking. 
 
 I. THE GENERAL SITUATION. 
 
 Let us look then first of all at the general situation in the coun- 
 try, first of all emphasizing elements in which the contrast between 
 today and five years ago is fairly easily seen and then trying to esti- 
 mate which are the more temporary and which are the more per- 
 manent elements in the situation. 
 
 (1) The most obvious change in the situation is of course due 
 to the rapid advance of the Nationalist armies under the leadership 
 of the Kuomintang (Republican party). Five years ago the influence 
 of the party was almost confined to the southeast corner of China, 
 though of course there were members in other parts of the country. 
 China as a whole was under the influence of the Tuchuns or military 
 governors who had been contending for position and using the name 
 of the republic without having any convictions in regard to democracy 
 or in fact to the public good. Of course there were many elements 
 that led to the drastic change in fortune of the Republican party 
 which had its headquarters in Canton five years ago. I should like 
 to emphasize what seem to me to be the three most important ones. 
 
 The first of these was the death of Dr. Sun Yat Sen. During 
 his lifetime this great Nationalist leader had not been successful in 
 gathering around him a group of men adequate to share with him 
 
 1 
 
and carry on his policies, nor in winning the enthusiastic support of 
 the masses of the people. When he died his personality was at once 
 made the central point in a widespread Republican propaganda, and 
 the three principles for which he had contended were expounded in 
 numberless cities all over the country at memorial services. Dr. 
 Sun’s portrait is reproduced and venerated in all parts of the country. 
 His will is read as a sacrament at gatherings of all kinds. His prin- 
 ciples are taught in every school and regarded as inspired. In fact 
 one may almost say that from the time of his death Dr. Sun became 
 a far greater force in the life of the country than he ever had been 
 even in his life, and what happened might almost be spoken of as 
 his canonization. 
 
 The second influence which has contributed to the Nationalist 
 advance was the opening of the doors of the Republican party to 
 the Communists. This of course took place before Dr. Sun’s death, 
 as it was by his own deliberate decision that it was done. But its 
 full effect was not apparent until after he was gone. It was made 
 possible largely by the agreement of Russia to surrender her special 
 privileges in China and the concluding of a fresh treaty between 
 Russia and China. But the immediate object was that the Kuomin- 
 tang was in danger of losing its enthusiasm and becoming a mere 
 group of theorists who were by no means agreed among themselves. 
 Dr. Sun saw that by letting in the Communists he would bring an - 
 element of enthusiasm, vigor and efficiency into the party, and this 
 result was achieved. What Russia has contributed to China has 
 not been mainly money or munitions. It has been ideas in the realm 
 of military training, party organization, the development of laborers’ 
 and peasants’ unions, and perhaps more important than all the appli- 
 cation of the best technique to the propaganda department which has 
 been coordinated with the military in the armies. While the coming 
 of the Communists had of course many serious results for China, 
 it has certainly been a very important not to say a crucial factor in 
 the recent Nationalist advance. 
 
 The third factor is the events which took place on and after the 
 thirtieth of May, 1925, in Shanghai. The main outlines of this 
 matter are sufficiently in your minds, but I would just remind you 
 that it was made the occasion for a widespread anti-foreign propa- 
 ganda concentrating largely upon my own country. I have no desire 
 to apologize for the acts of Britain or any other foreign power in 
 China, and I am not by any means oblivious to the very real griev- 
 ances from which China has suffered. Nevertheless, it is true to say 
 that these events were emphasized far out of proportion to their real 
 significance, and that the anti-foreign propaganda was deliberately 
 used as a means for stimulating the Nationalist spirit. We have no 
 cause to throw stones at China on this account when we remember 
 that in practically every country in the world the spirit of patriotism 
 
 2 
 
has been developed -though antagonism to some other nation or 
 nations ; and most of all when we think of our own war propaganda 
 during the European war. Stress thrown upon the grievances which 
 China has suffered from other nations was excessive, and was due 
 to the value of such propaganda in increasing the national spirit. 
 
 As a result largely of these three causes, each viewed alone a 
 misfortune but in their final result very helpful to the cause of 
 nationalism, the movement swept forward with the rapidity and with 
 the excesses which have frequently accompanied such national out- 
 bursts in other countries, and to the amazement of many who still 
 thought of China in terms of her ancient civilization. 
 
 (2) Largely as a result of this movement we may say that among 
 all classes of Chinese there is a very great deal more thinking on 
 political questions than was the case five years ago. Then people 
 were weary of the constant fightings and changes, in almost none of 
 which could any big principle be discerned. Today people feel 
 that there are principles at stake. They are intensely interested in 
 political things. Politics is the one subject of conversation. It invari- 
 ably turns up when people get together. In fact one may say that 
 at the moment the mind of the country is somewhat obsessed with 
 the discussion of these political and international issues. No doubt 
 this is a real danger to the life of the church, whose members could 
 not possibly avoid being swept into the political maelstrom. In our 
 judgments of actions taken by Christian bodies we have need to 
 remember to what an extent the mind of China has been drawn into 
 the political field. 
 
 (3) It is not only politics in the ordinary sense of the term 
 which engages the mind of China today. Economic facts and theories 
 are also constantly under discussion. This is largely due to the 
 challenge of Communism. A friend of mine recently was traveling 
 in his native province of Hunan, and before the reaction against 
 Communism had set in described to me some of the distressing results 
 of the crude application of Communistic principles to conditions 
 there. But he said to me this : “The result of Communism has been 
 in one respect good, because I find the common people thinking on 
 economic questions as they never have thought before.” He found 
 they were asking questions of the agitators which the latter were 
 unable to answer ; that the changes which had been made were caus- 
 ing them to think into the principles on which a stable economic 
 order can be established. And though much of this thinking is 
 vague and inconclusive, the interest in these questions among great 
 masses of the people is a striking and in itself a hopeful aspect of 
 the present situation. It involves a very definite challenge to the 
 Christian Church and to all who think that they have any construc- 
 tive principles or policy to offer which may help in the solution of 
 China’s economic problems. 
 
 3 
 
(4) Throughout China there is a passion for unity which is 
 certainly much more expressive than was the case five years ago. 
 This passion for unity is not confined to the areas under the National- 
 ist government. While there are many differences of opinion in 
 regard to the Kuomintang and in regard to the present government 
 in Nanking, there is an ever growing unity in the thinking of China, 
 a unity which has doubtless been greatly fostered by the study of 
 Dr. Sun’s three principles. Young China in my opinion is not going 
 to be satisfied with any adjustment between the rival groups. There 
 may be such adjustments, but in my judgment, if so they will be 
 but temporary and unsatisfactory. The demand for an expression 
 of China’s unity in her national life is practically universal, and is 
 only thwarted by the selfishness and shortsightedness of her present 
 leaders. This temper of the people is also profoundly significant in 
 its influence upon the thinking of the Christian Church. 
 
 (5) I do not purpose here to deal more than very briefly with 
 the educational situation, but we have to recognize here that the 
 great advance in education which was one of the most marked fea- 
 tures of China of five years ago has been temporarily halted. There 
 has been a steady determination among Chinese educationalists to 
 bring the whole of China’s education -into one system, and various 
 suggestions for registration have as you know been put out. But 
 it seems to me that there are two big dangers in the present moment 
 which Chinese education is facing. The first of these is the danger 
 from the excesses and from the somewhat destructive nature of 
 much of the propaganda, and from the consequent disturbance of 
 regular study. Comparatively few of the present student generation 
 are being adequately trained in the schools which have been griev- 
 ously upset in their working during the last few years. A further 
 danger is the use of the schools for party propaganda. Such propa- 
 ganda is just as much open to objection from an educational point of 
 view as the use of school for religious proselytism; and there can 
 be no comparison between the value in character building of sound 
 Christian education on the one hand and the extreme type of party 
 propaganda which is seen in many of the schools on the other hand. 
 Both these dangers are, however, I hope due to passing conditions 
 which will tend to be removed as the country is unified and settled. 
 
 (6) There has no doubt been a considerable element of disillu- 
 sionment during the last few months in regard to the whole situa- 
 tion. The tremendous enthusiasm and confidence generated by the 
 Nationalist movement to the Yangtze valley has given way under 
 the shock produced by Communist excesses and by the discovery 
 that within the party itself there are strains and stresses and per- 
 sonal differences which seriously threaten its power to interpret the 
 idealism of young China. This disillusionment has led to a some- 
 what more sober estimate of the future, and I think we may say 
 
 4 
 
that many of the best Chinese today are settling down to the thought 
 of a longer period during which China will struggle through to the 
 fulfillment of her aspirations. We hear many people talk today of 
 ten, fifteen or even twenty years as a period which will be marked 
 by a good deal of civil strife, unsettlement and uncertainty. But 
 this soberer view does not mean that those concerned are losing 
 their confidence in the ultimate success of the Nationalist move- 
 ment. 
 
 (7) During the last few years the anti-foreign wave has been as 
 we all know very pronounced, involving also a good deal of criticism 
 of Christian missions. Even those good things which have been 
 done for China by other countries and by their individual citizens 
 are today subject to criticism and perhaps scarcely at all appreciated. 
 There is a feeling that we have given our help to China on our own 
 terms, and have not been willing to accept hers. This anti-foreign 
 movement is I think an inevitable accompaniment of the awakening 
 of China to the possibilities of a free development of her national 
 life; but it is for us a trying experience. Just now China turning 
 away with a rather excessive- repugnance from Russia seems to me 
 to be looking wistfully to England and America, feeling that sym- 
 pathy, and it may be practical help, should come from some quarter, 
 and wondering whether the Anglo-Saxon world may not after all 
 give her a more lasting and valuable friendship than anything which 
 in its present mood the Slav world has to offer. Much hangs on 
 the nature of the response. 
 
 Let me summarize very briefly what I see to be the temporary 
 and more permanent elements in this baffling situation. I think that 
 we may regard as temporary the following things : (a) The destruc- 
 tive wave, with an emphasis on throwing down ancient traditions 
 and many things that are of value, as well as others that are effete, 
 (b) The anti-Christian movement, by which I mean the excessive 
 and intolerant attitude which has been shown in some aspects of 
 this movement. We must of course reckon with the fact that there 
 is in China a philosophical criticism of Christianity, and especially 
 among intellectuals, which may last for many a long day. But I 
 think that the tendency to identify the whole Christian movement 
 with militarism and imperialism and economic exploitation is passing 
 and will rapidly pass as our acts and words make clear that the 
 Christian criticism of these things is as forthright as that which 
 comes from any other quarter, (d) The anti-foreign movement. 
 This I believe will slowly subside. Other anti-foreign waves have 
 passed and it certainly seems to me possible to bring about the 
 subsidence of this wave, if the foreign governments will steadily 
 pursue policies such as those which have been outlined both in Wash- 
 ington and London during the last year or so. I do not think the 
 Chinese people, any more than any other, can live long on hate, (e) 
 
 5 
 
Communism. I think it is extremely likely that the present reaction 
 against Communism may produce a further swinging back toward 
 Communism. The movement may be driven underground, and may 
 appear again. But I do not believe that the great mass of the people 
 of China are going to go in for wild economic experiments. That 
 Communistic thinking will have some influence on the economic 
 development of China may be taken for granted ; but the ideas of 
 class consciousness and class antagonism are in my view imported 
 ideas and will not really take root permanently in the life of China, 
 (f) The chaos in which China is today, the enormous increase of 
 banditry, the stagnation of trade, and other disquieting symptoms are 
 in my view also among the passing things. We need not be sur- 
 prised if they last for some time. But we should not base our poli- 
 cies in China upon the acceptance of these conditions as permanent. 
 We should doubtless realize that while they persist we must still go 
 forward with our Christian service to China, in such ways as are 
 open to us. We must not halt in our advance until these more tem- 
 porary elements have entirely subsided, but we must try and main- 
 tain a true perspective and realize that a sound Christian policy in 
 China can only be developed as we discriminate between the temporary 
 and the permanent. 
 
 What things then are permanent in this situation? (a) The 
 demand for political unity is apparently permanent and will not dis- 
 appear until the end is achieved, (b) The economic and industrial 
 changes will go on for many a long day, and thinking of China in 
 regard to economic questions is something which must be reckoned 
 with in making our policies for the future, (c) The demand for 
 Western education will continue, not in an excessive way perhaps, 
 but with the determination to reach a synthesis between the thought 
 and experience in East and West. We may be sure that China will 
 yet wish to go on learning much from Western countries, (d) The 
 democratic wave is not going to spend itself at once. China may not 
 be ready yet for democracy in the fullest sense — what country is? 
 But she is not going back to monarchy. She is determined to be 
 master in her own house. She is not prepared to accept what seem 
 to her to be limitations on her rights as a great nation. That demand 
 will continue until it is satisfied, (e) China needs help from the 
 West and that need will remain for many a long day. How the 
 help is to be given is a very difficult question. For us to press our 
 assistance upon China will probably mean to meet with rebuffs, but, 
 in her economic development, in various specialized lines of service, 
 in education and in other ways, China will be glad of such help as 
 can be given consistently with the recognition of China’s own rights 
 and under the direction in a general way of the Chinese people. 
 
 In this review I have tried to bring before you some of the 
 elements in the general situation which it is easy to see bear directly 
 
 6 
 
upon our whole thought about the missionary movement. We need 
 to watch this situation with great patience and yet with hope; to 
 stand ready to help when China has need ; to learn to see what is really 
 happening ; to feel with China in her struggles and to avoid the irri- 
 tation and the cynical criticism which may easily be developed, and 
 has been developed by a good many foreigners who have been in 
 the situation or watched it from the outside. 
 
 11. THE CHURCH IN CHINA 
 
 When we come to consider the church in China we are bound to 
 realize that the term is a very vague one, and if used in the sense 
 of a fully organized and equipped institution, comparable to the 
 churches of the West, we may almost say that the church of Christ 
 in China does not yet exist. But there is a church in the very real 
 sense of a great body of men and women who are members of the 
 body of Christ ; and there are already some methods in use whereby 
 these persons can express themselves and can act together. Some 
 people are inclined to discount the Chinese church because it has not 
 yet acquired all the forms and activities to which we are accus- 
 tomed ; but it seems to me a truer understanding of the situation 
 leads us to value very highly what has already come into existence 
 and to take every possible means of understanding its point of view. 
 Of course I am again very much alive to the fact that generalizations 
 are dangerous in regard to this church whose leaders in the big centers 
 are well trained men with a broad outlook and understanding of 
 public affairs, while in innumerable smaller and more distant places 
 there is a vast deal of ignorance and little understanding of prob- 
 lems such as we discuss here. 
 
 It seems to me necessary, however, to take the church at its high- 
 est point intellectually and spiritually, while realizing that there is 
 this large body of relatively unformed opinion. Let me put in a few 
 propositions what the church is not. It is not fully organized for 
 carrying on all functions of the Christian church as we understand 
 it. It is not economically independent. It is not on fire with 
 evangelistic zeal. It is not sure of its own mind. It still needs to 
 do more thinking in regard to the great Christian fundamentals and 
 how to express them. It is but dimly feeling after adequate doctrines 
 of God and Christ and the nature of the church. 
 
 But what is far more important is to consider what the church 
 is. (1) The church of Christ in China is Chinese. This means 
 that through the Christian leaders in their church life there is a pos- 
 sibility of understanding the Chinese point of view as it is impossible 
 even for those of us who have been longest in the country to do. The 
 Chinese people or churches may make mistakes in ways that we 
 should be quick to see and criticize. But let us remember that we 
 foreigners make many mistakes that they see, just because we are 
 
 7 
 
not Chinese, and have not the feel of the situation as a Chinese 
 group has. This is a tremendous asset. 
 
 (2) The Chinese church has a genuine Christian experience. 
 We may feel doubt about many of the expressions of the Christian 
 faith which come from China, but let us be very sure of this : There 
 are multitudes of men and women today in China who know the 
 power of Christ in their own lives, who have found him for them- 
 
 ' selves. This itself must give us great confidence in the Chinese 
 church. Let me give to you a few words from a leading Qiinese 
 Christian whose writings have come under criticism because it has 
 been said that they are not what some people regard as orthodox. 
 Let us listen to what he has to say in a very recent statement : 
 
 “We have been hearing, not perhaps without a measure of 
 impatience, that we must interpret Christianity in terms of 
 Chinese culture. There is a good deal in it ; but what we really 
 need is a thorough understanding of the teachings of Jesus, 
 and a direct experience of Christ, through a living of His kind 
 of life. The Christian message is clearly far above what Con- 
 fucius can offer and what his followers will give. Mankind 
 wants God. My personal opinion is that God can be found 
 in clear expression only in the Lord incarnate, our Lord 
 Jesus Christ. The greatest task ahead, it seems to me, is a 
 creating of the direct experience of God through our faith in 
 Christ. The Christian message lies clearly in the definite 
 faith in God as Father, with whom His believing children 
 can have personal communion through the living of a life as 
 exemplified in Jesus, a life of moving and conquering love. 
 It is clear that Gonfucius has not given us a gospel, a simple 
 yet magnificent gospel, of the love of God the Father, who 
 wants us all to be like Christ, and to have the most abundant 
 life, that contains in it a wonderful peace and joy and a con-, 
 tact with everlasting reality.” 
 
 I give this not of course as an isolated expression, but as the kind 
 of thing I have heard again and again from Chinese Christians. Let 
 us thank God for their genuine religious experience. 
 
 (3) The Chinese church is Nationalistic in its outlook. It would 
 I think be fair to say that throughout the entire country Chinese 
 Christians are in sympathy with the Nationalist movement and are 
 eager for its complete success. They may be too nationalistic. They 
 may be too little alive to the international conception of the Christian 
 faith. But that is a thing which I think vdll right itself. Chinese 
 Christians see in the national issues that are being raised today, and 
 more particularly in China’s relation, to foreign nations, grave moral 
 issues, and there is a very genuine feeling that on these moral issues 
 
 8 
 
Chinese Christians, and if necessary the church itself, should be pre- 
 pared to speak with no uncertain Voice. 
 
 (4) The Chinese church is beginning to awaken to its social 
 duties. Already Chinese Christians have expressed themselves on 
 such questions as opium, where a grave social evil must be resisted 
 with all the power possible. Not a few have suffered for their out- 
 spokenness on this question. Again and again in retreats and small 
 groups of Christian Chinese I have found the deepest concern in 
 regard to family life, and a determination on the part of Chinese 
 Christians that in the profound changes taking place in this sphere 
 the principles of Jesus shall be made clear, and that the church should 
 use its influence to see that they prevail. On industrial questions 
 there is also the beginning of a real attempt to deal with these com- 
 plex matters in the spirit of Jesus. The Chinese church is groping — 
 as we all are — but in the conference held by the National Christian 
 Council last summer a very serious attempt was made to face up to 
 the problems of rural life and of industry in the big cities from 
 the standpoint of Jesus Christ. 
 
 (5) The church in China is beginning to take hold of its respon- 
 sibilities. It is not yet able to take them all, but it has made very 
 real progress, especially during the last year or two. There will be 
 disappointments — there have been in the past — where those who are 
 called to take responsible positions fail to realize what they are under- 
 taking and do not meet the situation satisfactorily. But one of the 
 greatest problems now is to see that we do not take back from the 
 Chinese, unconsciously and perhaps unwillingly, responsibilities which 
 they have begun to carry in these times of special stress, and which 
 we may feel that they are not bearing quite as well as we had hoped. 
 As a matter of fact in many cases the surprising thing is to see how 
 finely these fresh responsibilities have been carried by Chinese Chris- 
 tians. 
 
 (6) The Chinese church is ready to learn. It is not feeling self- 
 sufficient. It is not pushing aside the foreigners. Here and there 
 manifestos have been issued which may seem to suggest that point 
 of view, but these are the rare exceptions. Chinese Christians 
 have repeatedly said that they still want missionaries, that they feel 
 greatly the need of help from abroad. But we have to remember 
 that they need that help to be given in the right way, and they are 
 becoming more and more articulate in regard to the kind of help 
 which they are prepared to welcome. They may not always be as 
 ready to learn as they are today. There may be some day a much 
 deeper spiritual revolt against ideas which have come from without ; 
 but I think if that comes it will be our fault for not taking in the 
 right way the opportunity to help the Church in China today. 
 
 (7) The Chinese church is eager for experiment. It is not pre- 
 pared simply to continue along old lines because they have worked 
 
 9 
 
in the past. It has in it the spirit of adventure. These experiments 
 may lead into unconventional lines and paths. They may involve 
 what we should call tremendous mistakes ; it may mean breaking 
 away from ideas which we have cherished and tried to inculcate; but 
 I believe most firmly that we have to trust the Spirit of Truth who 
 I am confident is guiding that church. 
 
 (8) The church of Christ in China is seeking for a fuller expres- 
 sion of unity. Whether that is to come along the lines of the re- 
 cently organized church of Christ in China or in other ways there is 
 no time here to discuss, nor should I wish to prophesy on this ques- 
 tion. But I am convinced that the sentiment toward unity which 
 I have already noted in the country at large is very fully shared by 
 the church, and that anything which seems like standing in the way 
 of it on our part would be most inadvisable in these days. 
 
 (9) The church in China is the Church of the Living God. He 
 is looking after it, and it is not for us to rush in too eagerly, to try 
 and prevent what seems to us to be mistaken policies or ideas. Let 
 us give thanks rather, with all our hearts, that God has created and 
 is using this church, expressing itself in different ways and through 
 different organizations. Let us study with ever greater care how 
 we may play our part truly in futhering the work of God through 
 His own childen in China. 
 
 III. THE MISSIONARY BODY 
 
 Having looked at the general situation and at the church in China 
 I want to say a few things about the missionary body. And here 
 perhaps even more than in the other cases I realize the very great 
 difficulty of making generalizations. But I can give you for what 
 it is worth my impression of the state of mind of those of us who 
 belong to the missionary body in China. 
 
 (1) The missionary body has been badly shaken and somewhat 
 confused. There is no doubt that many are bewildered. Perhaps 
 we are beginning to get through this stage, but the effects of the 
 last few years have not passed. The anti-Christian movement; the 
 necessity for evacuation from many parts of China; the grave dis- 
 appointment of many of our hopes when the Nanking incident took 
 place ; the questioning as to the future which arises through realizing 
 the significance of the growth of the church in China — all these are 
 factors which must be seriously weighed, and they have had in 
 greater or less degree their effect upon missionaries all over China. 
 I do not think it is any wonder that there has been some confusion 
 and even some sense of discouragement. 
 
 (2) The missionary body is in deep sympathy with China in her 
 stupendous struggle. There may be, there are, individuals who do 
 not know how to show that sympathy. There are some who feel it 
 
 10 
 
much less than others. There are some who are so afraid of entering 
 into politics that they stgjid aside and perhaps are misunderstood by 
 their Chinese brethren. But broadly speaking, I have no doubt in 
 saying that the great mass of missionaries have the deepest sym- 
 pathy with China in the supreme effort she is now making to find 
 and express her new life. 
 
 (3) The missionary body believes that China will come out 
 triumphant through this period of unsettlement. Here and there you 
 may find individual missionaries who look cynically and doubtfully 
 on the whole situation, but I am confident that the vast majority look 
 forward with real expectation to the triumph of the principles of 
 freedom and righteousness in China. We believe that the Chinese 
 people will not be swept away by wild extremes. We believe that 
 in time they will find a leadership worthy to carry the movement 
 forward to success. This optimism seems to me to be based upon 
 our knowledge of the people with whom we have lived and upon our 
 deep conviction that God is moving in this great land today. 
 
 (4) Missionaries generally where they have been compelled to 
 leave their work are eager to be back, but many are uncertain as to 
 the wisdom of returning. A few missionaries have felt that the 
 time has come for them to give up their work, but in the main they 
 desire once more to be on the spot, facing difficulty and the oppor- 
 tunities of this day with their Chinese friends. They question in 
 many cases the wisdom of going back too soon. Where Chinese have 
 stepped into new positions missionaries are anxious that they should 
 work there long enough to carry on even when their missionary 
 friends come back, and might naturally be expected to slip into the 
 old relationships. Something has happened through this difficult 
 time. A stage has in many cases been passed which might other- 
 wise have been delayed for many years, and we are eager to guide 
 our actions in such a way that we shall not lose the gains and slip 
 back, almost unconsciously, to the past position. 
 
 (5) The missionaries are delighted to see the Chinese Chris- 
 tians taking this larger responsibility. For some missionaries this 
 means retirement; for some stepping down from important posi- 
 tions into secondary ones. In not a few cases it means facing life 
 afresh at a time when this involves real hardship; and I know some 
 who have found the difficulty of making the adjustment very, very 
 great. But even while suffering themselves it seems to me that most 
 missionaries have with great gladness accepted the idea that these 
 larger responsibilities can now be taken by their Chinese brethren. 
 
 (6) Missionaries are also convinced that there is still a great 
 need for missionary service in China. Here and there individuals 
 may have to step out, but there lies before us a vast land to be pos- 
 sessed. Some may be uncertain today as to their message or as to 
 the methods which they should use. There is a good deal of ques- 
 
 11 
 
tioning on somewhat fundamental lines. I believe that broadly 
 speaking the missionary body is convinced that China still needs 
 what the churches in the West have to give* if we will but give it in 
 the right way. 
 
 (7) I find further that among many missionaries there is a 
 great desire to get down to the deeper things. This period of con- 
 centration upon political and economic questions has been trying to 
 not a few. While ready to do all we can to interpret the meaning of 
 Jesus in the larger life of mankind, there are many who feel that 
 there is a danger of slipping away from the central spiritual emphasis 
 which we need in our own life and in our own work. I have had 
 peculiar opportunities of observing this during the last few months 
 and have received scores of letters from missionaries emphasizing 
 this yearning for a richer spiritual life and a stonger emphasis in the 
 future on our distinctly religious message. 
 
 (8) The missionary body is increasingly ready to take risks. 
 In regard to our attitude toward military protection and the “unequal 
 treaties” there are of course still many differences of opinion ; but I 
 have seen a great change during the last few years, and it seems 
 to me that many missionaries have come to realize that the only way 
 in which we can carry the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to China 
 with any satisfaction to ourselves, or with any confidence of com- 
 mending it to the people, is through giving up all such privileges and 
 rights and taking our stand in these difficult days along with our 
 Chinese brethren. Many I am sure are yearning for some escape 
 from the relationship which they have been compelled to take to 
 the military expression of the national life. 
 
 IV, OUTSTANDING PROBLEMS 
 
 In the light of this review what have we to say about the prob- 
 lems confronting us today? Pardon me if shortness of time makes 
 me more dogmatic than I wish to be. 
 
 (1) Let us consider first those that bring up our relationship 
 to our governments, (a) What ought we to do, if anything, about 
 the “unequal treaties”? It seems very clear to me that there is a 
 difference between the position of the missionary and that of the 
 business man. We may at once admit that the problem of the 
 immediate revision of treaties is very difficult. Missionaries and 
 missionary boards have expressed themselves as eager to see those 
 treaties revised and new ones brought up on a basis of equality and 
 reciprocity. The processes for carrying this into effect are necessarily 
 tedious ; but the missionary position surely must be this, that the 
 sooner we can be rid of this incubus the better ; that the Gospel 
 which we came to preach is hindered by our claiming even the rights 
 which we may fairly claim. I hope that some way may be found 
 
 12 
 
whereby missionaries can be recognized by governments as standing 
 in a diflferent position to business men, not because they claim more 
 rights but because they claim less. 
 
 (b) , What ought we to do about consular advice? It is clear that 
 the consuls are not in position to give definite instructions to mis- 
 sionaries. No doubt it is right where possible to follow advice. But 
 I for myself am very glad indeed that a number of missionaries have 
 not followed consular advice during the last year or two. I do not 
 think that we ought for one moment to contrast the missionaries who 
 have stayed at their stations with those who have gone away. A 
 multitude of considerations have come in, and neither those who 
 stayed or those who have gone away are desirous that such contrasts 
 should be made. I believe it was best that most should come away. 
 I also believe that great service has been rendered through some 
 staying, for it has shown clearly to the Chinese that the missionary 
 movement is not simply a part of the political expression of the vari- 
 ous nations. We must remember that we have had to take these de- 
 cisions at a time when the church has been under the fiercest criticism 
 because of its supposed subservience to governments which are 
 being criticised. I am therefore very glad that it has been shown 
 clearly that in the last resort we owe our allegiance to a higher 
 power than an earthly one. 
 
 (c) What are we to do about indemnities? Here again I must 
 be dogmatic and simply give my own opinion which is this, that we 
 ought not to file claims for indemnities either on account of loss of 
 life or property. I do not believe that indemnities claimed by our 
 governments on our behalf will in the end bring good results to the 
 Kingdom of God. If an indemnity is freely offered by any Chinese 
 body I think the question of accepting it should be considered with- 
 out prejudice, and there may be cases where it should be accepted ; 
 but my own conviction is that we should not make any claim. 
 
 (2) Problems involving relationship to the Chinese church. In 
 this connection the main point to emphasize is that we are reaching 
 a stage in China where we must more adequately recognize the 
 rights of the Chinese church even if it is not yet fully organized 
 or sure of its own mind. We have got to discover ways by which 
 the Chinese can be more effectively related to the whole missionary 
 movement, including the use of missionaries, the training of mis- 
 sionaries, and even the selection and call of missionaries. I will put 
 it to you that there is great need for our various Boards .to enter into 
 a serious consideration of this topic in order that we may find out 
 what methods will really be most conducive toward the end we have 
 in view, that we in foreign lands should serve this Chinese church 
 at the points and in the way which it most desires. The process of 
 working this out may be a long one, but the time has now come to 
 face up to it and to bring our Chinese friends into consultation with 
 
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US, so that it may be adequately carried through. Furthermore, there 
 is need that we should appreciate more fully the nature of the demand 
 of the Chinese Christians for clearing out of the way the differences 
 which separate Christians in China from one another. It is nothing 
 short of a crime that there should be acute controversy within the 
 church in China, which has originated in other lands and been intro- 
 duced from without. But apart from this acute controversy there 
 are the barriers which separate one group of Qiristians from another, 
 and the time has come when we should make absolutely clear to our 
 Chinese friends that we hold them free to move forward toward a 
 united church, toward fresh experiences of Qiristian faith, toward 
 fresh forms and rights or toward the discarding of these as they may 
 be led by the Spirit. I wonder whether a very clear pronouncement 
 on the essential rights of the church in China to move in its own 
 way might not be desirable. While efforts are being made in various 
 ways to discover the opinion of Chinese, let us remember that in 
 the minds of many Chinese Christians there is a subconscious con- 
 viction that action along certain lines will dry up the sources of 
 supply or will bring to an end the effective cooperation of Western 
 with Eastern churches. 
 
 (3) What are the main gifts which the churches of the West 
 have to bring to China today? This problem must of course be 
 worked out with our Chinese friends, but perhaps you will allow 
 me to give a few thoughts upon it. 
 
 (a) China seems to need more help than we are yet giving her 
 in the thinking out of the meaning of the Christian faith in relation 
 both to China’s own past and to the problems of thought which are 
 being created for the modern mind. What concerns me in thinking 
 of the independent development of the church in China is not so 
 much the problem of money or missionaries or effective organization ; 
 It is rather the question as to whether there are enough men and 
 women to lead the church into a strong and dynamic expression of 
 the Christian faith, adequate to meet the needs of today. I wish to 
 suggest to you that the time has come when the visits of senior men 
 and women for periods of one, two or three years to China should 
 be taken up much more seriously and worked out definitely. Hitherto 
 these visits have largely been haphazard. Some one has the idea that 
 his sabbatical year might be spent in a world tour. Some group of 
 people think that they would like to send a loved and honored friend 
 to the Far East. In China different groups take hold of such a prop- 
 osition and very often the individual is simply sent around to the 
 same few places, spending far too little time in each, and many of 
 the smaller but very important places are omitted altogether. It 
 seems to me the time has come to coordinate this work and to make 
 it a very definite part of the missionary enterprise. I should like 
 to see congregations doing the far more difficult thing of setting aside 
 
 14 
 
their pastor for one or two 5^ears for work in the field instead of 
 simply sending a young man as a missionary. I should like to see 
 provision made for leaders of thought to spend long enough in a 
 few university centers to dig right into the big questions of the day 
 with the best type of Chinese. Much could be done in the English 
 language. I believe we owe this kind of absolutely first class help 
 to China and it seems to me that if we put 2^4 or 5 per cent of the 
 expenditures of our Boards in China aside for this purpose we should 
 be doing a very worth while piece of service. 
 
 (b) I suggest that the times we are facing in China call for 
 the very best thing that we can bring and the honest facing of 
 facts. It seems to me one of China’s greatest difficulties today is 
 unwillingness to look quite squarely at all the facts in the situation. 
 Our missionary schools and colleges can do no greater thing than to 
 turn out Tnen and women who have a tremendous respect for facts 
 and are determined to know the truth. In selecting candidates for 
 the mission field we need to have men and women who know at least 
 one subject so well that they know what it means to be absolutely 
 master of it, rather than having a slight knowledge of many things. 
 Through such men and women the Christian church at home should 
 be able greatly to serve the whole cause of Christ in China. 
 
 (c) I would further suggest that in regard to the economic prob- 
 lems which China is facing today the churches at home ought to be 
 able to make a big contribution. We have at least had the experience 
 of passing through our own industrial revolution. We are beginning 
 to think our way into new alignments in the world of capital and 
 labor. A number of people in our churches are facing fearlessly 
 the implications of the Christian faith in relation to industry. We 
 need to help Chinese Christians to realize that a mere redistribution 
 of wealth is not a sufficient solution of their problem, and that they 
 need to stimulate larger productivity along right lines. We need to 
 bring continuous constructive criticisms to bear upon some of the 
 wild theories that exist in China today. In this connection I think 
 the churches of the West ought to be able to make a big contribu- 
 tion. 
 
 (d) And finally, we need to help the church in China to a new 
 evangelism. This is perhaps our very greatest need. Some of the 
 older methods are no longer proving successful. Some of the older 
 emphases must be forsaken, but what of the new? How are we to 
 make the message of the living Christ powerful for individuals and 
 for the whole of this great people? Surely here we need to sit down 
 with our Chinese brethren and face the demands of a new age, to 
 go out with them, to experiment, and to serve in the spirit of Christ. 
 
 Coming through Japan I found that the Japanese people are 
 beginning to feel the emptiness of a material civilization ; that many 
 thoughtful men and women are seeking a spiritual basis for their 
 
 15 
 
new national life. The question is whether the Christian church in 
 Japan will be able to meet this new and amazingly hopeful demand. 
 It looks as if many of the churches were unfit to do so. What about 
 the church in China? Is it not certain that sooner or later the em- 
 phasis on the material things, on politics and economics will pass 
 and give place to a deeper expression of the national aspirations and 
 longing to find some spiritual basis for their new life? When such a 
 time comes we need to be ready to give the Gospel, not just simply 
 by repeating the formulae of the past, but in the most vital modern 
 way so that Jesus Christ may be seen by the people of China to be 
 what He is — their one hope of salvation. Above all other things I 
 long that we of the West may be able to help China at this point. 
 
 Dr. Henry T. Hodgkin. 
 
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