Christian progress in China; gleanings from the writings and speeches of many workers

Front matter

0t t\w Shfotogicji/ &

PRINCETON, N. J.

Purchased by the Hammill Missionary Fund.

Preface

Missionaries of all English Protestant Churches, but my task has had to be done hurriedly and amidst many interruptions, and I have therefore been compelled to make most use of those materials that were most accessible to me. If I appear to have ignored the work of any particular Society or of any particular persons, I regret the fact; but it has been quite unintentional on my part. I have not attempted to give any account of the work being done by Roman Catholics, and I have not been in a position to do more than make occasional references to the work of American and German Protestants.

Another purpose, besides the one which I have already mentioned, has been present to my mind in compiling this book. From time to time, one meets with criticisms upon Missions, which, if they were true, would be very damaging alike to the reputation of Missionaries and of their converts. When these criticisms proceed from persons who have travelled abroad, and who therefore profess to speak as eye-witnesses and authorities, they naturally carry some weight with them, to the minds of people in this country who are entirely ignorant of the facts to which they refer. It is not desirable, I think, as a rale, to attempt to meet these criticisms with a direct answer. They are frequently conceived in such a spirit, that it would be useless to enter into any discussion with the authors of them ; 1 but I trust the following pages will

1 For a specimen of this kind of criticism, see Major Knollys’ English Life in China. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885. The fitness of this writer to be a critic of any religious work whatever, may be imagined by anyone who will take the trouble to read pp. 283-287 of his book. Few missionaries, I should think, would desire, either for themselves or for their work, the commendation of the person who could write those pages. That ‘four eminent Chinese merchants (heathen, of course) should provide

PREFACE. 7

serve as an indirect, yet conclusive answer to many of the charges which are often brought against Missionary work, and especially to those charges which affect the character of our native Christians in China. These poor people are often represented as embracing Christianity simply with a desire for worldly gain, or from some other equally unworthy motive. The reader of Chapter II. of this book will be in a position to judge for himself what amount of truth there is likely to be in reckless accusations of this sort made against our converts.

I must say, in conclusion, that I desire to tender my grateful thanks to the secretaries of various Missionary Societies, and others, who have aided me in collecting my materials. I hope that one result of my work will be to lead some who have not hitherto taken much interest in Missions, to feel how intensely real our work is, how manifold are the agencies which are being employed by the Christian Church to save and help and bless the Chinese, and how grand an opportunity now exists for spreading in China the knowledge of the glory of the Lord.

a dinner at which prostitutes were present, to amuse the guests with their badinage, will surprise no one who knows anything of the abominations of heathen society ; that an English officer should describe the occasion and the persons present, in the terms that Major Knollys has thought fit to employ in a book intended to go into English drawing-rooms, is certainly a little surprising to those who have been accustomed to regard with loathing and horror the whole manner of life in which heathenism revels, but which Christianity unsparingly condemns. Major Knollys, however, writes apparently in complete unconsciousness of the sort of impression which his account of that dinner party is likely to make on those of his readers who support the Missionary institutions which have so offended his taste and ideas of good breeding.

CONTENTS-

CHAP. PAGE

1. The Bible in China : a Record of Various Translations of the Holy Scriptures —

I. Prior to the commencement of Protestant Missions 29 II. From the commencement of Protestant Missions ill. A more recent Version 46

11. The Church in China : Memorials of Christian Life and Character, Zeal and Endurance —

‘ Saved by Hope ’ 47

The contrast between Confucianism and Christianity 49

Helping the Widow 50

‘ Love of the Brethren ’ 51

Trust in God 52

Willing Workers 53

Opposition overcome by Kindness S3

Christianity influencing Social Life 54

The Seed growing secretly 55

A Christian Servant 56

The Observance of the Lord’s Day 56

First Fruits in Shansi 58

The Beginnings of Work in Lo-nguong ... ... 70

. The First Native Clergyman of the C.M.S. in

Fuhkien 73

First Native Wesleyan Minister in Central China 75

A Preacher at Hankow 76

A Travelling Tinker near Ningpo 78

IO CONTENTS.

CHAP. PAGE

The Work done by Native Preachers 78

Mission to Corea 80

Mission to the Pescadores ... ... 80

Christian Aborigines of Formosa 80

A Secret Disciple 81

A Sympathizer with Missionary Work 82

What an European Layman may do ... ... 82

Growth in Christian Character ... 82

Refusing to Contribute to Heathen Festivals ... 84

Social Difficulties that meet a Chinese Christian ... 85

Persecution and Martyrdom at Pok-lo ... ... 88

Another case of Persecution and Murder 91

Another Case ■ 92

A Woman Beaten ... 94

A Woman’s Possessions Stolen 94

A Soldier Dismissed 95

Some consequences of the Franco- Chinese War,

1884 95

Troubles in Formosa ... ... 100

The Character of Chinese Converts ... ... 101

nr. Methods and Results of Missionary Work—

The Opportunities afforded by Preaching 104

Direct Results of Preaching 105

Indirect Results 106

A New Year’s Illustration ... no

A Chinese Preacher in

Ho Tsun-sheen’s Reputation as a Preacher ... 120 Itinerancy should be confined to a limited space... 121 The Country, open to the Itinerant Preacher ... 121

Seven Years’ Wanderings in China 122

Murder of Mr. Johnson ... 126

Death of the Rev. J. Williamson, L.M.S 128

A Dangerous J ourney 129

Contents

1 1

PAGE

Attack on a House in which Missionaries were

Introduction

is being absorbed by the cultivation of poppies for the supply of China’s curse — opium. So enormously has the illegal growth of native opium increased, that it is said it will soon exceed the amount imported. And this is the natural development of that small beginning when British subjects first smuggled opium into China in defiance of all prohibitions, and then (notwithstanding all remonstrances from the Chinese Government) legalized the traffic by a treaty compelling China by the persuasive eloquence of the cannon to sanction our supplying her millions with the poison which none dares to sell in Britain except it be marked as such.

The Government of China is an absolute monarchy, the Emperor being responsible only to the gods, whose earthly vicegerent he is supposed to be : hence his suggestive titles, as ‘Son of Heaven, the Imperial Supreme.’ He is regarded as the representative of Heaven, while the Empress represents Mother Earth. The Emperor is assisted in the administration of government by a Cabinet Council and six supreme tribunals ; but the ultimate decision on all points rests in his own hands, his sanction being conveyed by the Imperial Seal, and his remarks recorded by ‘ the vermilion pencil ’ — in other words, in red letters, red being the emblem of all good.

China’s historical records are probably authentic to as early as 2000 b.c. (when they merge into mythology). The earliest recognised dynasties are those of Hia and Shang, the fathers of agriculture and letters. But really authentic history dates from the beginning of the Chow dynasty, about 1100 B.c., at which time China seems to have been divided into many independent States, though all acknowledging the suzerainty of its chief ruler. About 250 b.c. the Chow family were superseded by one of the Tsin family, who, having reduced all surrounding States to subjection, assumed the title of Emperor, and gave to the consolidated Empire his own name, Tsina or China.

This first Emperor built the Great Wall, called Wan-lichang (myriad mile wall), as a protection against the Manchu

Tartar tribes or Huns, who had ever been dangerous neighbours, and who continued to make incursions during the reigns of the Han (b.c. 206), the Tang (a.d. 608), and the Sung (a.d. 960) dynasties.

About the year 1269 one of the Sung Emperors was so rash as to appeal to the Grand Khan of the Mongols or Western Tartars to aid him in expelling the Manchus. Accordingly, Kublai Khan arrived at the head of an immense army ; and having driven out the Manchus, he took possession of the throne, founding the new dynasty of Yuen, the first foreign rulers of China. He afterwards conquered Manchuria, so that his dominions extended from Corea to Asia Minor, and from the Frozen Ocean to the Straits of Malacca — an extent of territory which neither previously nor since that time has ever been ruled by one monarch. He died at Peking in a.d. 1294.

In 1368 the Chinese succeeded in expelling these usurpers, and founded the Ming dynasty, which reigned 246 years, when Imperial misgovernment led to a rebellion, and the throne was usurped by a Chinaman. A general of the deposed Emperor now invited the aid of the Manchu Tartars. These came, and, after a seven years’ struggle, acquired the sovereignty of the whole Empire. They then established themselves in Peking in 1644, and placed on the Imperial throne the first representative of the dynasty of Ts'ing, which still reigns, exercising absolute control over all the millions of Chinese.

Till within the last few years, all Chinese intercourse with foreigners has been only calculated to excite hatred and contempt. So early as the sixteenth century the Spanish and Portuguese aroused their hostility. Then followed the first Opium War with Britain in 1839. In 1842, the Treaty of Nankin was signed, whereby China was compelled to cede the Island of Hong Kong to Britain in perpetuity, and to throw open to foreign trade the five ports of Canton, Amoy, Foo-chow, Ning-po, and Shanghai.

INTR OD UCTION.

The continuance of extensive opium smuggling led to the renewal of war in 1856, and in the following year Canton was stormed by the allied French and English forces. The forts at the mouth of the Peiho were captured in May, 1858, and a month later a treaty was signed at Tientsin, by which China was required to pay another very heavy indemnity towards war expenses, and to British subjects at Canton. She was also compelled to grant protection to all of her subjects professing the Christian religion, and to throw open for residence of foreigners nine other places of importance, namely, New-chwang, Tientsin, and Chefoo, in the north; Hankow, Kiu-kiang, and Chin-kiang, on the Yang-tse-kiang River; Tai-wan and Takao in Formosa, and Swatow in the south.

While endeavouring to defend herself against foreign aggression, China was torn by that most terrible civil war, the Tae-ping Rebellion, which broke out in 1850, and was not suppressed until 1865.

In 1876 it agreed to throw open four new treaty ports, namely, Pak-hoi, on the coast of Kwang-tung ; Wan-chow, on the sea-coast, between Fuh-Chow and Ning-po ; the river-pert of Wuhu, fifty-five miles above Nanking, on the Lower Yangtse ; and Ichang, about nine hundred miles inland on the same river, — making in all about twenty great centres to which Europeans have access by treaty. From these the preaching of the Gospel can readily be carried on in the Maritime Provinces ; and zealous servants of the Master now find it practicable to penetrate to the remotest provinces. In fact, by treaty, they have the right of access to every part of the Empire, and there are comparatively few places in the eighteen provinces where it would be dangerous to claim their privilege.

Over the vast area of China only one literature is reverenced, and one system of education recognised. One of the most remarkable characteristics of the whole race, is such veneration for the written character, that it is an act c

CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA.

of merit to collect and respectfully burn all fragments of waste paper on which good words may possibly be inscribed. Printing was invented in the beginning of the tenth century, and in a.d. 932 an Imperial edition of the Sacred Books was printed. The invention of the characters now in general use is attributed to the Emperor Fuh-hi, who lived b.c. 2852 ; so they possess whatever merit attaches to the antiquity of having existed for four thousand years ! The records of still earlier date were inscribed in a sort of hieroglyphic, generally known as ‘the tadpole character.’

In point of fact, the characters now in use were also originally hieroglyphic, appealing to the eye by a rude picture of the object to be described. In course of ages, from being more and more rapidly sketched, these forms became conventionalized into groups of symbolic lines, retaining no manner of resemblance to the original forms. The very learned Chinese reckon the number of these characters at 50,000 ! Happily, they are not all in constant use, and the man who has acquired a perfect knowledge of four thousand is considered to be respectably proficient. Even to read the very simplest book involves recognizing at sight twelve hundred of these intricate, crabbed characters, but to read the Bible necessitates mastering the four thousand — a task terrible alike to sight and memory, and one which generally costs a Chinese student about six years of close study.

From time immemorial the maxim that ‘only the wise and able should rule ’ has been acknowledged by all classes ; hence the enormous care bestowed on education, beginning with self-supporting day-schools in every village, and culminating in the marvellously elaborate system of Competitive Examinations, which year by year sifts all the intellect of the whole land, giving every opportunity for the son of the poorest peasant to rise to the highest post in the Empire.

Hitherto the subjects in which proficiency is required have been those stereotyped by the sanction of Confucius about 2400 years ago ; but in the summer of 1887 the Imperial

Government announced a totally new feature in its programme — simple enough, it may appear to us, but in truth tremendously significant and far-reaching in its effects, as carrying the triumphs of recent science, and all the knowledge of the West, into the homes of the hitherto prejudiced people in remotest villages. This marvellous innovation is nothing less than a decision that henceforth philosophy, mathematics, mechanics, engineering, international law and history, naval and military tactics, torpedoes, and marine artillery, are all to be included in the subjects of examination, though the necessity of being a thorough master of literary composition still holds the foremost place.

L Such is the extraordinary reverence of the Chinese for their 'own literature that it may be affirmed of a large proportion of the educated classes that beyond the worship of their own ancestors, their religion consists solely in acts of homage to Confucius, the great saint who, bornB.c. 551, took upon himself the herculean task of classifying a mass of manuscripts dating from the remotest ages, and having reference to early Chinese history, religious ceremonies, and scientific discoveries. From these ancient materials he compiled a hundred books, and whatever further knowledge he deemed worthy of preservation was incorporated with his own voluminous writings, which have ever since been recognised as the most sacred heritage of every Chinaman, but which, while inculcating much that is excellent, have fossilized the national mind, the whole race assuming that the highest pinnacle of perfection was attained by Confucius, and that thp idea of originating anything new is absolutely sacrilegious. V

\J His teaching concerned man’s moral duty to his neighbour in the practice of benevolence and wisdom, but as for his relation to the spiritual world, that was a subject on which he abstained from comment. Consequently his followers, finding no instructions on the worship of any god, consider that none is essential, and so the pure Coniucian is a true agnostic, though he renders to the sage (as to his own ancestors)

CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA.

sacrifices and homage, not to be distinguished from worship. In every city there is a Confucian temple; some of these are very fine, but all are simply ancestral halls, containing only ornamental tablets bearing the names of noted saints.

v Of these, the most noted was Meng-tsz (whom early Jesuit writers call Mencius). He was born b.c. 372, and was a zealous Confucian missionary. His writings are very highly esteemed.

Although every Chinaman may be assumed to revere Confucius, the divinely-implanted instinct of worship leads most to at least a nominal adherence to the teaching of either Buddha or Lao-tsz. The latter was the contemporary of Confucius, but was more imaginative, and greatly occupied with speculations about the unseen powers and the human soul. His system has developed into the Taoist, which recognises the divinity of the five planets, as representing the five elements of our globe: Mercury representing water ; Venus, metal; Mars, fire; Jupiter, wood; and Saturn, earth. All powers of nature are deified. Thunder and lightning, wind and storm, sea-gods and river-gods, many of whom are symbolized by mysterious dragons. But the Taoist temples are full of hideous idols, and its priests deal largely in astrology and the exorcising of devils, and are simply quacks and conjurers, living by the sale of charms to the ignorant.

The national gods of the Empire, chief of whom is Kwan-te, the god of war, are among the Taoist deities, but we also find their images in great Buddhist temples, together with those of many Hindu divinities, and in truth, notwithstanding all that has been written about the theoretical beauty of Buddhism, its pure practice is unknown in China, as elsewhere; and these various systems of idolatry are inextricably blended one with the other, like many-coloured skeins of tangled silks — indeed, it is by nto means uncommon for one person to be an avowed adherent of all these different religions ! N

But whereas Confucianism and Taoism aVe indigenous, and

INTRODUCTION.

their sacred books are written in classical Chinese, Buddhism, with its Sanscrit sacred writings, was introduced from India. It inculcates no worship whatever, while requiring of its disciples the practice of the purest virtues, without hope of any supernatural aid in acquiring these, and with the certainty that till they do acquire them they must pass through endless transmigrations, either upon earth or in one of the many heavens, until at last they attain to such absolute perfection, and freedom from any manner of desire, that they arrive at Nirvana, which seems to mean practical extinction. On the other hand, they may pass from bad to worse — from the high estate of a prince to that of a slave, and thence to a reptile or a plant, his condition being always exactly regulated by his conduct, for ‘ whatsoever a man soweth that shall he reap.’ Should he fail to improve during his earthly transmigrations, he has the prospect of passing through 136 hells, with graduated intensity of suffering, and also as regards the length of penal servitude involved, the shortest term, however, being ten millions of years ! Assuredly, of this ‘ Light of Asia ’ we can only say, ‘ How great is its darkness ! ’

Mohammedan preachers arrived in China in the seventh century, uncompromisingly declaring the Unity of God and the iniquity of idolatry. They made many converts, and the total number of Chinese Mohammedans is now estimated at thirty millions. They are most numerous in the Northern and Western Provinces, where about one-third of the inhabitants profess this creed, to which they rigidly adhere. They have mosques in all parts of the Empire, from Pekin to Canton.

In point of fact, the Chinese are remarkably tolerant of all religions, provided they are not made a cloak for political aggression, and do not interfere with ancestral worship. To these two features must be attributed much of the success and all the failures of Roman Catholicism, which at the present time reckons its native adherents at one million.

Ip consider! China as a mission-field one may well feel

CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA.

staggered by the stupendous extent of territory, which comprises one-tenth of the habitable world, and the enormous population of this vast empire. China possesses an area of 5,300,000 square miles; Europe, with its islands, 3,797,256 square miles ; and hence the sway of the Chinese Emperor extends over a territory about one-fourth larger than the whole of Europe. Only about two-fifths of this vast area are comprised in the eighteen provinces of China proper, which include the two large islands of Hainan and Formosa. The remaining three-fifths include Thibet, Chinese Tartary, Mongolia, Manchuria, and Corea on the north, and Cochin China on the south.

Though so vast in extent, Thibet, Mongolia, and Manchuria contribute a comparatively small proportion of the population — probably not more than 23,000,000, whereas that of the eighteen provinces amounts by the lowest recent computation to 227,000,000, thus giving a total of 250,000,000. But on this subject it is impossible to obtain anything approaching to authentic information; the Chinese themselves say that no complete census has been taken since the close of the last century ; and although forty years ago the generally accepted estimate was about 400,000,000, it is now understood that the wide-spread devastation of the prolonged civil war, and repeated appalling famines, floods, and pestilence, have largely reduced that total. Add to these the rapidly increasing habit of excessive opium-smoking, which tells so fatally on the offspring of the smoker, both as regards their numbers and their vitality, and allow also for extensive emigration to many foreign lands, and it is evident that (although so competent a judge as Sir Thomas Wade allowed 320,000,000 to pass as a fair estimate in connection with the London Relief Committee at the time of the terrible famine in the northern provinces) there may now be good reason for accepting the reduced calculation. Even this shows that China’s millions constitute about one fifth of the human race — and that, too, a race which seems destined to colonize in every corner of the world, so that whatever influence can be gained with these is likely to be far-reaching indeed.1

No one can understand anything of Chinese life and motive, till he realizes how entirely Ancestral Worship is the keystone of all existence in the Celestial Empire.2 It permeates all life, affecting even the most trivial details of every-day existence, and is in inAuence tenfold more potent for keeping the people in the bondage of gross superstition than all the countless idols of the land, inasmuch as it compels every man to be for ever looking backward instead of forward, in fear lest he should by any action offend his very exacting ancestral spirits. In short, from his birth to his grave, the chief aim and end of every Chinaman is this constant propitiation of the dead.

This degrading slavery of the living to the dead involves a system of worship and sacriAces which must be offered ceaselessly, not necessarily from love to the departed, but in order to avert calamity, should their displeasure be incurred by any neglect, or departure from ancient custom. It is a system of fear, which controls every act of life, and all social organization, affecting alike the Imperial throne and the meanest coolie. However Tartars or Chinamen, from the far north or the extreme .south, may differ on other matters, such as systems of religion, social position, dialect, etc., this is the one point on

1 ‘ It has been the custom of late to disbelieve in the ancient estimates of the population of China ; but the North China Herald , a well-informed journal, publishes statistics which strongly support them. It appears that the authorities at Peking have recently taken a census for taxing purposes, and that the village bailiffs, whose interest it is to understate the figures, return the population at 319,383,500. Five provinces are omitted, and their population, as recorded in the last census, brings the total up to 392 millions. Even this figure is independent of the population of Thibet, Kashgar, Ili, and Corea; and the total number of souls ruled by the Emperor of China, therefore, exceeds 400 millions, and still displays a tendency to increase. ’ — The Spectator, October 15th, 1887, p. 1375.

2 For fuller details see Wanderings in China, by C. F. Gordon- Gumming. Published by W. Blackwood and Son.

CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA.

which all the three hundred millions are agreed — it is the one faith which all alike hold in awe and reverence, and which is indelibly impressed on their minds from their earliest infancy. No matter what other religion he professes, Buddhist, Taoist, or Confucian, every Chinaman’s first duty is the care of sacrificing to his ancestors. This was the primitive religion of the land, and from it were derived the systems both of Lao-tsz and of Confucius.

This great sage inculcated filial reverence as the primary obligation of mankind, and the majority of the Chinese obey his precept ; for however bad a son may have been to his parents during their lifetime, from the hour of their death he becomes most punctilious in the observance of every detail of ancestral worship, lest the dead, who have suddenly become so powerful, should return to torment him, accompanied by a multitude of spirits more vicious than themselves.

The condition of the dead in the spirit world is supposed to depend entirely on the provision made for them by their survivors ; these offerings should be presented by the nearest male relative, and it is very important that the relative should be a son. Hence, anxiety to secure a male heir to officiate at the ancestral worship is the true key to very early marriages, and to many domestic sorrows. The little bride may prove childless, and must accept the sons of secondary wives — a fruitful source of heart-burning. Hence, too, the lamentations which too often greet the birth of a baby girl, who is incapable of ministering to the spirits, and is therefore in many cases not considered worth the expense of rearing. Thus it is that ancestor-worship lies at the root of the appalling female infanticide of China, a practice which is fully sanctioned by public opinion.

There can be no doubt that the great numerical success of Roman Catholic missions in China is in a large measure due to their sanction of something closely akin to ancestral worship, in the form of masses for the dead — services scarcely to be distinguished from those which the convert has ever believed

INTRODUCTION.

to be the highest form of worship — together with a similar teaching regarding purgatory, and highly realistic pictures of the tortures of a material hell.

According to the Roman Catholic Register of Hong-kong, the statistics of Roman missions in the Empire are as follows: Bishops, 41; European priests, 664; native priests, 559; colleges, 34; convents, 34; native converts, 1,092,818.

Long ere China had begun to sanction foreign intercourse with her people, devoted Jesuit missionaries, in the dress of the country, had contrived to effect an entrance, and in the 1 6th and 17 th centuries, having secured a footing by reason of their scientific attainments, were able to preach with much acceptance, making many converts. Had they adhered to religious teaching, their converts would doubtless have been legion ; but the usual rash meddling with politics soon aroused fear of foreign aggression, leading to violent opposition and terrible persecution, which have been repeated with every fresh scare of undue political influence. Hence those terrible massacres in Southern Annam in the autumn of 1885, when the number of victims was estimated at 35,000, only 6,000 of the Christian population of an entire district being saved ; churches, schools, convents, hospitals, and asylums were burnt to the ground after they had been pillaged, and the Roman Catholic Mission, which had taken so many years to create, was totally crushed.

All this bloodshed was due simply to the political connection between the Roman Catholics and the French, who claimed jurisdiction over all such, and also their exemption from taxation. It is this arrogation of temporal authority which has so incensed the Chinese, and accounts for much of the hostility to missionaries and converts of all Christian churches and denominations, as the ignorant masses naturally could not discriminate between Protestants and Roman Catholics. Hence, in the Edict of Toleration proclaimed in 1886, the Imperial Government deem it necessary to state that men who may embrace Christianity do not cease to be Chinese, but as such

CHRISTIAN PROGRESS IN CHINA.

are entitled to all protection from their own government, to which alone they owe obedience. The promulgation of this edict followed immediately on the decision of the Pope to send a Papal Legate to the Court of Peking, to represent him as the sole foreign power interested in the Chinese Roman Catholics, thereby totally disclaiming all political protection from France.

This edict promises to mark an altogether new era for Christian work in China. Just before the year of Queen Victoria’s accession, in 1837, when there was scarcely a dozen Protestant Christians in the Empire, the Emperor of China fulminated an edict against Christianity. To-day there are

UPWARDS OF A HUNDRED THOUSAND RECOGNIZED MEMBERS OF DIFFERENT PROTESTANT BODIES, AND OF THESE TWENTY-TWO