f 2 . i , 2. 
 
 LIBRARY OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY 
 
 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
 Purchased by the Hamill Missionary Fund. 
 
 Division 
 
 Scction.s.> 
 
 .1*5-12.1 
 
 C537 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2016 
 
 https://archive.org/details/chinatodaythrougOOIewt 
 
CHINA TO-DAY 
 
 Through Chinese Eyes 
 
CHINA TO-DAY 
 
 Through Chinese 
 
 BY 
 
 Dr. T. T. LEW 
 Prof. HU SHIH Prof. 
 
 Dr. CHENG CHING YI 
 
 NEW 
 
 YORK 
 
 GEORGE H. DORAN COMPANY 
 
China To-day Through Chinese Eyes 
 — A — 
 
 Printed in the United States of America 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 For the delegates of the World’s Student Christian 
 Federation Conference in Peking, in April of this year, 
 the Chinese Student Christian Movement prepared 
 some account of the “New Tide of Thought,” the 
 great Renaissance Movement which is sweeping 
 through China to-day, and of the economic, intellectual 
 and religious forces which form the background of it. 
 
 By their permission we reprint striking articles con- 
 tributed by four of the leaders of the younger genera- 
 tion of present-day China, and two articles from The 
 Life Journal , the organ of a group of Christian leaders 
 of the Renaissance Movement in Peking. 
 
 Those who would understand the intellectual, reli- 
 gious and economic forces which are moulding Chinese 
 life and thought at this time cannot do better than 
 study this Chinese account of them. The following is 
 a short account of the writers. 
 
WHO’S WHO 
 
 Dr. T. T. Lew is Dean of the Theological Faculty- 
 in Peking University; Professor in another College; 
 Pastor of a Church, and Editor of The Life Journal — 
 a paper which is known throughout China, and is the 
 organ of the Christian leaders of the Renaissance. Dr. 
 Lew is recognised as one of the ablest and most 
 prophetic members in the Chinese Church. 
 
 Professor Hu Shih (Suh Hu). One of the ablest 
 and most devoted of the Renaissance leaders. He is 
 not a Christian, but has many Christian friends and 
 much of the spirit of Christ. He has done more than 
 any other single individual to replace the old classical 
 style in literature by the Bai Hwa or “plain language/’ 
 In 1916 he took the revolutionary step of publishing a 
 poem in the vernacular and thus showing how it was 
 the best expression of living thought. He has suffered 
 persecution for his boldness in disregarding any con- 
 ventions which hinder progress. The spread of the 
 Renaissance Movement to all classes is largely due to 
 his courageous efforts, which have put the new thought 
 not into the language of the pedant and scholar, but of 
 the common man ; a change as significant and as potent 
 for good as the change from Latin to English in our 
 own country at the beginning of the European 
 Renaissance. 
 
 Professor Y. Y. Tsu. An old scholar of Union 
 Seminary, New York, is a professor at St. John’s 
 College, Shanghai — the foster-mother of so many of 
 
 Vll 
 
Vlll 
 
 Who’s Who 
 
 China’s ablest young leaders. He is one of the first 
 Chinese theologians — and his clear thinking and thor- 
 ough knowledge and understanding of Confucianism 
 and Buddhism are laying sound foundations for the 
 theology of the Chinese Church. 
 
 Dr. Cheng Ching Yi. One of the greatest figures 
 in the Chinese Church. He is recognised as a leader 
 whom all sections trust and delight to follow. He was 
 a representative of China at the Edinburgh Conference 
 in 1910, and Chairman of the recent National Confer- 
 ence of Christian workers in Shanghai. He knows 
 more about and is probably more representative of the 
 Chinese Church than any other Christian leader in 
 China. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Foreword v 
 
 Who’s Who vii 
 
 I China To-Day 13 
 
 Reprinted from The Life Journal 
 
 II China’s Renaissance 21 
 
 By Timothy Tingfang Lew 
 
 III The Literary Revolution in China . 48 
 
 By Hu Shih (Suh Hu) 
 
 IV The Confucian God-Idea .... 58 
 
 By Y. Y. Tsu 
 
 V Present Tendencies in Chinese Bud- 
 dhism 74 
 
 By Y. Y. Tsu 
 
 VI The Impression of Christianity Made 
 
 upon the Chinese People through 
 Contact with the Christian Na- 
 tions of the West 94 
 
 Reprinted from The Life Journal 
 
 VII The Chinese Church 
 
 By C. Y. Cheng (Cheng Ching Yi) 
 
 . . 103 
 
CHINA TO-DAY 
 
 Through Chinese Eyes 
 
CHINA TO-DAY 
 
 THROUGH CHINESE EYES 
 
 i 
 
 China To-Day 
 
 I T is a significant fact which deserves our most 
 serious attention that the Federation Conference 
 should be held at this time in China. China of to-day 
 in more than one aspect deserves the study of the 
 members of the Federation who have the interest of 
 the world at heart. 
 
 Politically, China is in a state of difficulty. To a 
 casual observer the difficulty consists of disunity, in- 
 efficiency and weakness. One hears about the two 
 governments, one in Peking known as the Central 
 Government, and one in Canton known as the Southern 
 Government. One also hears of the undue power of 
 the military governors and the super-tuchuns who hold 
 sway in the various parts of the country. They even 
 meddle with the authority of the Central Government. 
 There is lack of unity in policy and in ideals. 
 
 One also sees and hears about the inefficiency which 
 is apparent everywhere from the Central Government 
 down to the local administration of a city. You will 
 find antiquated methods being still used alongside of 
 modern methods. Obstacles and interruptions are 
 
 *1 
 
14 China To-Day 
 
 abundant, hindering the successful application of new 
 principles and plans. Many new schemes have been 
 introduced and many new plans have been initiated, 
 but so many of them exist only in name and form, and 
 not in actual practice. Worthy enterprises have been 
 launched but have made little headway. Inefficiency 
 through the lack of public spirit, inefficiency through 
 the lack of resources, is apparent everywhere. 
 
 One also sees the helplessness of the nation’s posi- 
 tion in the world, an old story of the last hundred 
 years, aggressions from foreign nations in one form 
 or another which have made the country a common 
 prey. The economic exploitation which is rapidly tak- 
 ing the place of political aggression, more subtle, and 
 with more far-reaching results than the latter, is tower- 
 ing over the present and the future of the nation. 
 
 Thus pessimists are easy to be found who in a few 
 minutes’ time can relate these facts to visitors and make 
 them feel that China is indeed hopeless and helpless, 
 politically. A closer examination of events, however, 
 will disclose other facts, which exist in spite of the 
 disunity of political control due to the various political 
 parties and the military generals. There is a funda- 
 mental and essential unity among the people. The two 
 most important organisations of the nation, the Na- 
 tional Educational Association and the National Fed- 
 erated Chambers of Commerce, have never been 
 affected by all these disturbances and interruptions. 
 The people stand as one unit when they face the funda- 
 mental problems of the nation. They rise above the 
 differences and they are free from the interference of 
 military power. The inefficiency of the present hour 
 is due to the nature of the work and of the necessary 
 stages through which a nation must go during a period 
 
China To-Day 15 
 
 of transition. There are abundant facts to convince 
 us that the whole nation is coming out of the old self- 
 satisfied state of mind, and striving to push forward. 
 Much of the inefficiency is not a sign of inability, but 
 rather a sign of growth ; for the nation is learning and 
 developing. The first attempts of the learner are neces- 
 sarily full of defects but it is only through trial and 
 error that a nation as well as an individual can learn. 
 The position of China among the nations of the world 
 has become more clearly and definitely stated by her 
 people themselves and by her sister nations. In the face 
 of all difficulties and the existing menace of economic 
 exploitation, the people have a profound faith in the 
 ultimate victory of truth and justice. The Chinese 
 people are more convinced of the fact that interna- 
 tional comity is not only desirable and possible, but 
 obligatory, and that each nation should contribute her 
 share in the creation and maintenance of that comity. 
 In short, this nation is in a state of political transition 
 with true democracy as its goal, and in the process of 
 attaining the goal she shirks no responsibility, fears no 
 difficulty, and is going through all the troubles and 
 experiences of the effort. China also has world democ- 
 racy as her ultimate hope, and in that hope she finds en- 
 couragement and stimulus in her efforts to reorganise 
 and develop herself. 
 
 Intellectually, one can also find things open to criti- 
 cism. The illiteracy of the masses is still very high. 
 The educational opportunities for the mass are far 
 from satisfactory and sufficient. Dense ignorance is 
 prevalent. Educational equipment and support of in- 
 stitutions of all grades are not only insufficient but even 
 uncertain in some places. Superstitions due to lack of 
 knowledge are still rampant, affecting individual and 
 
16 China To-Day 
 
 social living. Poverty due to lack of scientific eco- 
 nomics and technical knowledge, together with other 
 causes, is all prevailing. The general view of a candid 
 observer is discouraging. 
 
 But when we look deeper into the situation we im- 
 mediately feel the beating of a strong pulse. China as 
 a nation, in fact, is in an age of a great renaissance. 
 The time-honoured custom and firmly established 
 habit of respecting learning and the learned has not in 
 any way diminished. The desire for knowledge and 
 the diligence to acquire it is increasing in intensity. 
 During the last five years great change has been brought 
 about in connection with the life of the Chinese people. 
 Instead of merely seeking after a knowledge of ex- 
 ternal things, the Renaissance Movement has been 
 changing the people’s general attitude toward life. This 
 is the culmination of a long process of intellectual revo- 
 lution which has been going on ever since China came 
 into contact with the West. The emphasis has passed 
 from the desire merely for the products of science, to 
 the appreciation of the principles of science, from the 
 thirst after the achievements of Western civilisation to 
 the attempts to interpret the meaning and value of such 
 achievements. The Movement now is to pierce into the 
 deeper meaning of modern science and philosophy, not 
 merely to adopt its superficial externals. Along with 
 this, there has been also a marked change of attitude 
 toward the material and spiritual achievements of the 
 Chinese race. This change is still going on. It is 
 merely a beginning. The Movement has put up as its 
 platform four big tasks, namely, the reorganisation, 
 the re-statement and the re-evaluation of Chinese civili- 
 sation; the importation of Western civilisation with 
 critical examination of it; a thorough and scientific 
 
China To-Day 17 
 
 study of theories and facts ; a reconstruction of individ- 
 ual and social life. This is an ambitious platform but 
 the progress thus far has been encouraging. 
 
 Educational work has been greatly advanced. In 
 spite of the lack of funds, schools multiply. The last 
 two or three years have witnessed the birth of several 
 institutions of higher learning. Newspapers have in- 
 creased both in number and in circulation. 
 
 The Bai Hwa 1 Movement has not only put knowl- 
 edge at the disposal of the masses by giving them a 
 more effective tool, and a tool easier to acquire, but 
 has also changed the attitude of the people toward 
 knowledge. Knowledge has been made a democratic 
 property belonging to all. No less than two hundred 
 periodicals have come into existence in the last four 
 years as the response to this Movement, covering all 
 the subjects which anybody in China cares to discuss — 
 from the scientific treatment of an historical incident 
 centuries ago to the latest economic or political theory 
 known to the world. Foreign books are translated in 
 large numbers. Not only are these books better trans- 
 lated than ever before, but a wiser selection is being 
 made. In scholarship we have witnessed the production 
 of some very valuable contributions to the re-interpre- 
 tation of Chinese philosophy and Chinese history. A 
 beginning is also made on the methodology of studying 
 things Chinese and things Western. Leaders in educa- 
 tion have made a distinct advance in conducting thor- 
 ough surveys of educational conditions and needs. They 
 are hard at work at genuine constructive measures and 
 are making fundamental changes in educational policy. 
 The National Educational Association has also passed a 
 measure which involves a radical reform of the whole 
 
 1 ‘‘plain language,” see pp. vii, 26, 55. 
 
i8 
 
 China To-Day 
 
 educational system. The emphasis upon vocational 
 education represented by the China Vocational Educa- 
 tion Association, is also gaining headway in various 
 parts of China. In short, China has in the last few 
 years attained a clearer vision of the goal of intellectual 
 development, has received a new driving force to push 
 on to this goal, and has acquired an unprecedented 
 freedom with which to reach this goal. 
 
 Religiously, one can even state in stronger terms 
 the darker side. The historical religions in China have 
 shown an impotency and lack of vitality. Superstitious 
 beliefs still hold power over the ignorant masses, not for 
 better living but as a bondage and an obstacle to the free 
 -development of the individual. Old standards of moral- 
 ity have received shocks from the invasions of modern 
 ideas. Everywhere one sees discrepancies and malad- 
 justments. The craving after material property has out- 
 run the desire for spiritual enlightenment. Destructive 
 forces have come in from various directions without 
 the sign of constructive relief measures. Indifference 
 to religion and the contempt for religion is gradually 
 spreading on the one hand, and a strange outcropping 
 of superstitious sects preying upon the ignorant masses 
 is found on the other hand. It is indeed a situation in 
 which religion may be said to be at a low ebb. 
 
 Yet, the brighter side has never been brighter. Many 
 superstitions have been destroyed by the flooding in of 
 intellectual light. Political and social change have also 
 shattered idols of centuries’ standing. Thoughtful 
 people are coming more and more to see the need of 
 moral strength for the task of reconstruction. It is a 
 significant fact that the older religions have started re- 
 form within themselves. Reinterpretation and reor- 
 ganisation have become the battle-cry of the followers 
 
China To-Day 19 
 
 of these religions. No less than half a dozen new 
 journals have come into existence within the last few 
 years in Buddhism alone. While materialistic philoso- 
 phy and antitheistic teaching are gaining headway, there 
 are increasing numbers of young men and women who 
 turn their faces toward religion for the solution of life’s 
 problem. School girls and educated men in the prime 
 of life have left their schools and their occupations and 
 joined the ascetic life of Buddhism. The attempt to 
 reorganise Confucianism into a religious church, al- 
 though it has met with much opposition, is yet gaining 
 adherents in many quarters. All these point toward an 
 increasing sense of religious need felt by the people at 
 large. In addition to that there is also the recognition 
 of the universal element in religion. An organisation 
 has been born with the aim of unifying the old religions 
 and calls itself the “Society for the Common Good.” 
 While the organisation has not yet achieved any result 
 worth serious consideration, yet it is at least a sign of 
 the desire for religious unity. While the Renaissance 
 Movement in the main pays very little respect to re- 
 ligion, and does not recognise the necessity of religion, 
 yet by its very principle of free inquiry and critical 
 judgment it has encouraged people to study religion and 
 to study it seriously. In fact, a religious revival is on 
 its way to China. 
 
 Within the Christian church there is a rapidly de- 
 veloping consciousness of a Chinese church. The desire 
 for an indigenous church which does not sever its con- 
 tinuity from the historic churches of the West, but takes 
 full cognizance of the spiritual and racial inheritance of 
 the Chinese people, has become the rallying point of 
 many Christians. Along with it there is the insistent 
 desire for a more thorough understanding and more 
 
10 
 
 China To-Day 
 
 adequate interpretation of Christian teaching, and a 
 more effective application of it to social and individual 
 life. From every part of the country Christians are 
 yearning for better preachers, better Christian literature 
 and a more thorough Christian programme. Among 
 the missionary workers in the field there have been 
 an increasing number of people who have enlarged 
 the scope of Christian missionary endeavour, and have 
 come to appreciate the necessity of restating the mis- 
 sionary aim, so as to make it more comprehensive and 
 more effective in meeting the needs of the people whom 
 they have been loyally serving. Beginnings have been 
 made toward greater efficiency in missionary service 
 through union and fuller co-operation. Such new quali- 
 ties combined with the growing consciousness of the 
 Chinese church itself promise great development. 
 
 As we look forward into the future we see many 
 problems ahead of us in industrial development, in 
 economic change and in the disintegration of the family- 
 system as the result of the various forces at work. 
 China is at the cross-roads. Is she heading towards 
 full emancipation and progress or to narrow and one- 
 sided development and confusion? Shall China go 
 through all the mistakes and the travail of Western 
 nations in her next few decades of transformation or 
 shall she be able to profit by their experience? 
 
 There is no time more critical and yet more full 
 of promise. There is no time when consultation and 
 co-operation on the part of Christian leaders is more 
 urgently needed to make their contributions to the sal- 
 vation of the nation — a nation which includes one- 
 fourth of the human race. 
 
II 
 
 China’s Renaissance 
 
 By Timothy Tingfang Lew, 
 
 Acting Dean, Faculty of Theology, Yen Ching University f 
 
 Peking 
 
 i: WHAT IS china’s RENAISSANCE? 
 
 C AREFUL students of oriental history will have 
 noticed that there are four important stages 
 through which China has gone in the last hundred years. 
 The great empire, isolated from the rest of the world on 
 account of its geographical limitations, began to have 
 its barriers broken down through modern steamships, 
 and the sleeping giant was rudely awakened by the 
 naval powers of the West. About the middle of the 
 nineteenth century the Chinese people began to take 
 serious notice of the scientific and military powers of 
 Western nations. They gradually realised that there 
 was something which the Western nations possessed 
 and they themselves did not have. This change of 
 opinion toward the West began the movement for in- 
 troducing modern mechanical science. From that time 
 on until the last decade of the nineteenth century, a 
 period of forty years, several leading statesmen did all 
 they could to overcome prejudices, and started the 
 building of arsenals and shipyards and a navy, and 
 
 21 
 
22 China To-Day 
 
 the translating of Western books related to these forms 
 of activity. The change was gradual, but nevertheless 
 significant. A perusal of the writings of scholars and 
 memorials to the throne by progressive officials, and 
 the papers written by the candidates for Government 
 examinations will show that there was an increasing 
 number of people, year after year, whose attention vras 
 directed toward the movement for introducing that 
 which in their sight made the Western nations strong. 
 
 Then came the war with Japan, with its defeat. A 
 second change began its operation, for people began 
 to realise that it was not merely guns and battleships 
 .and such mechanical devices that represented the source 
 <of Western power. More than a navy, guns and ma- 
 chinery, was needed — the men behind the guns, the 
 minds that control the navy, and skilful hands to operate 
 the machinery. Thus, attention was shifted from the 
 outward scientific mechanisms toward the training of 
 men to meet the scientific demand, and the movement 
 for New Learning became popular. The old examina- 
 tion system was to be abolished and a new educational 
 system to be introduced, but this important movement 
 was frustrated by the coup d'etat of 1898, with its 
 ^subsequent reaction of 1900, which put China in a very 
 awkward situation politically. 
 
 When the nation passed through the excruciating 
 pains of the Boxer struggle, the third change was 
 brought about, for people began to see that without a 
 new system of government there could be very little 
 progress along the line of education. Thus the people 
 directed their attention to the reformation of the gov- 
 ernment. Some directed their efforts toward the attain- 
 ment of a constitutional, monarchical form of govern- 
 ment ; but others joined the ranks of those working for 
 
China’s Renaissance 23 
 
 a revolution, which resulted in the overthrow of the 
 monarchy and the establishment of The Republic. 
 
 Since 19 11, the people have been led to see that a 
 mere change of government, while it has brought many 
 boons and freed people from many evils that are in- 
 herent in the monarchical form of absolute control, is 
 not enough, and that the secret of the strength of a 
 country and the regenerate life of a nation has to come 
 through a more far reaching change than that of a 
 change of governmental system. The time was ripe 
 for the fourth change, the change of point of view, a 
 movement for a change in the philosophy of life. 
 
 This movement is a logical sequence of a series of 
 past changes. It burst into bloom like a glorious 
 flower whose bud, protecting leaves, twigs and root can 
 be traced without much difficulty, though its beauty 
 and richness crown the whole process of growth and 
 startle the onlooker. To this movement we shall give 
 the name of “China’s Renaissance,” and in this short 
 article we shall endeavour to give a few of its im- 
 portant aspects and its significance, not only for the 
 Chinese people themselves, but also for the world. 
 
 II : WHAT ARE THE PREDOMINANT NOTES OF EMPHASIS? 
 
 We call this movement “China’s Renaissance” be- 
 cause, first of all, it is a movement primarily of learn- 
 ing. It has its nursery in some of the leading higher 
 institutions of the land, and the people who were im- 
 mediately connected with the movement and who have 
 rendered the most significant service are the university 
 and college professors and the students. 
 
 Second, this is a movement of many sided interests, 
 touching the life of society and the life of the individual 
 at many points. 
 
24 China To-Day 
 
 Third, it is a movement which advocates a more 
 ardent study of things Chinese, of all things ancient, 
 literature, history and philosophy, but by the application 
 of new methods of research. 
 
 I Fourth, this is a movement which welcomes every- 
 ' thing new from whatever source. 
 
 Fifth, this is a movement which centres its interest 
 around man — man in the present world, man in this 
 life, and aims at the improvement of the well-being 
 of man and to hasten its progress. 
 
 Sixth, this is a movement which places a peculiar 
 emphasis upon art, besides its emphasis on literature. 
 
 The movement in Chinese is usually known as the 
 “Hsing Wen Hua Yuan Tung which literally trans- 
 lated would be “The New Civilisation Movement ” for 
 its hope is to recast the old civilisation and to build up 
 a new one. Taking the movement as a whole, we will 
 note that there are certain predominant points of em- 
 phasis. 
 
 First, there is the emphasis upon science : science of 
 every kind, and science in its various aspects, is em- 
 phasised. Science as a method is strongly advocated 
 and persistently followed. Before its sceptre all au- 
 thorities, ancient and modern, must pass in review. 
 Nothing is to be accepted unless it can stand the tests of 
 the scientific method. 
 
 Second, there is an equal emphasis upon democracy. 
 The movement has been a relentless foe to despotic 
 government and autocratic institutions of every sort. 
 Its work is a searchlight to expose the faults and weak- 
 nesses of the systems that are undemocratic. It causes 
 their shortcomings to stare in the faces of the people. 
 It stirs up men’s reason against them, and it pushes 
 on like a mighty force to fight against them. „ 
 
China’s Renaissance 
 
 25 
 
 Third, there is the emphasis upon social reform. The 
 movement has been increasing in the intensity of its 
 social point of view. Different from all past move- 
 ments, it calls the attention of the people to the fact 
 that since it is the people who constitute the nation, it 
 is the people who sustain the government. No reforma- 
 tion of government could effectively be made by merely 
 changing the political organisation. If there is any 
 hope for a reform at all, it must begin with the people. 
 Social problems in their technical sense therefore be- 
 come the fundamental problems, and a social point of 
 view becomes the all-embracing point of view. The 
 movement is seriously discussing how to reconstruct the 
 family system, how to mitigate the sufferings of the 
 people, and particularly of those people who belong to 
 the so-called socially inferior strata. The problem of 
 labour and capital, the problem of non-employment, the 
 problem of divorce and all the problems that are related 
 to social improvement have taken the centre of interest. 
 
 In the fourth place, the movement lays the emphasis 
 upon relentless thoroughness. The movement has thus 
 far proved to be one which has unusual courage and 
 persistency. No obstacle is too great to overcome, and 
 no compromise is small enough to be tolerated. It does 
 not rest satisfied with any temporary shiftwork or 
 patchwork, it aims at a thorough-going change, if any- 
 thing needs change at all. So, there is nothing too 
 radical for examination. Conventions and traditions 
 have lost their prestige. Time-honoured practices, if in 
 any way they do not meet the exigencies of the present 
 day, are to be cast aside, root and branch, altogether. 
 Proprieties and customs which have ruled for centuries, 
 give way unless they can withstand the challenge that is 
 being put to them. The movement does not hesitate to 
 
26 
 
 China To-Day 
 
 overturn every stone in the social structure if in doing 
 so it sees the promise of a new and better structure. 
 
 Ill : WHAT ARE ITS CHIEF ACTIVITIES? 
 
 With these main emphases the movement has carried 
 on, or rather expressed itself in many forms of activity, 
 a few of which are worthy of special attention. 
 
 First, its leaders are working for a thorough reform 
 of the Chinese written language. The vast territory of 
 China, embracing 400,000,000 inhabitants, owing to its 
 geographical structure and its insufficient transport 
 facilities, has gradually developed a number of dialects, 
 which while fundamentally similar in syntax and word 
 construction, are different in pronunciation and in many 
 cases in the expressions used. But the nation was 
 united under the one system of the written language, 
 which, though pronounced differently when read accord- 
 ing to the variations of the different dialects, yet carries 
 the same meaning and is uniformly understood through- 
 out the country. But this w T ritten language has a his- 
 tory of several thousand years. It has been developed 
 and over-developed in its intricacy, in its beauty and 
 richness. Its relation to the spoken language is very 
 similar to that which existed between Latin and the 
 various spoken vernaculars of European nations a few 
 centuries ago. It does not require much effort for the 
 average student of history to realise the inconveniences 
 which were experienced by the peoples of Europe a 
 few centuries back when all learning was perpetuated 
 through Latin, and how the different vernaculars of the 
 various nations gradually shook off the bondage of 
 Latin, and made for themselves worthy places in the 
 evolution of European civilisation. Now, China has 
 just been facing the same difficulty. All education is 
 
China’s Renaissance 27 
 
 carried on with the classical style of writing as its 
 medium. It is a beautiful and precious heritage of the 
 race, but it is not a convenient tool for an age in which 
 education must be made democratic and within the 
 reach of every citizen. The Renaissance Movement in 
 China, therefore, has concentrated its effort in the last 
 three or four years on fighting for a place for that 
 which is known as the conversational style of writing. 
 This, hitherto, has been confined to the writing of cer- 
 tain novels and has never been regarded as the language 
 of polite writing. But it has the advantage over the 
 classical style in its directness, in its simplicity and in 
 the closeness to the everyday conversational vernacular. 
 The effort of enthroning this style of writing in the 
 place of the classical style has been nothing short of 
 a terrific war waged between the scholars — a multitude 
 of scholars on the one hand and a handful of leaders 
 of the new movement on the other. But the latter have 
 won the war. They have been consistently urging upon 
 the nation that everything must be written in this collo- 
 quial style, for it is only by doing so that we can shake 
 off the shackles of the undemocratic ideas which 
 through their representatives were the patrons of the 
 classical style. The old classical^ style has been moulded 
 and shaped to show the differences of the higher and 
 the lower, the ruler and the ruled. It was made diffi- 
 cult so that it could not be a handy tool for the common 
 people. It has also been imbued with the superstitions 
 of the ages, thus making it unfit as a category to be 
 employed by men of science. 
 
 This work is very fundamental for in it all the points 
 of emphasis of the movement find their concrete 
 expression : scientific methods, democratic principles, 
 social idealism and thorough-going reconstruction. 
 
28 
 
 China To-Day 
 
 This work ha9 been justifying itself because it has 
 given people a new tool for expression. The conversa- 
 tional style hr 3 been steadily improving itself in dic- 
 tion, in clearness, in brevity and other fine qualities. It 
 has also revolutionised poetical writings. Free verse 
 has been introduced which has liberated the inarticulate 
 thought and feeling of many inspired hearts. 
 
 Second, the movement has been working hard in 
 introducing the literature of foreign nations. China 
 has been engaged in translating foreign books for 
 years, but always with two defects. First, there has 
 been the defect in selection. The selection has been 
 rather narrow and along certain lines and the choice 
 has been largely superficial. Second, the translations 
 have been rendered in the old classical style. The new 
 wines were put into old bottles with the result that both 
 were spoiled. This movement with its effective tool 
 of expression in the conversational style has remedied 
 the second of these two defects and with remarkable 
 rapidity it has introduced into China all kinds of 
 Western writings which possess fundamental signifi- 
 cance. One will be surprised to find the kind N of sub- 
 jects that are being discussed in the Chinese magazines 
 and books and daily newspapers, and the points of view 
 expressed and theories advocated therein. The move- 
 ment has, therefore, also remedied the first of the two 
 defects, the one of superficiality and narrowness in the 
 choice of books to be translated, and of theories to be 
 imparted and of topics to be discussed. One can pick 
 out from any bookstore a score of magazines and 
 books in which one finds the same kind of subject 
 matter as one would find in any assorted collection of 
 magazines and books to be found in the bookstores of 
 London, New York, Paris or Berlin. 
 
China’s Renaissance 29 
 
 Third, the movement has started the systematic re- 
 search of the Chinese civilisation of the past. The 
 vast amount of philosophical writings which have hith- 
 erto been left in unorganised form are now being sys- 
 tematically reduced in order and being put within the 
 reach of the understanding of the average student. 
 Canonical writings of ancient sages, writings which 
 have been held in awe and reverence, to be memorised 
 and to be revered and not to be criticised or scrutinised, 
 are now being put through the rigid test of higher and 
 lower criticism. They are examined and evaluated, 
 and interpreted for the average mind. The most popu- 
 lar books include the volumes of the History of 
 Ancient Chinese Philosophy , History of the Thought 
 of the Manchu Dynasty, and books of a like interest. 
 The application of scientific methods of historical criti- 
 cism, the liberation from slavish obedience to the past, 
 the new interest in social reformation and the un- 
 daunted courage with which thoroughness is aimed at, 
 these combined are giving new impetus to the study of 
 things Chinese and the treasures of China’s past. 
 
 Fourth, the movement has encouraged the organisa- 
 tion of groups and societies, local and national, to 
 study the various problems in a democratic and open 
 way. One can hardly make a complete list of the vari- 
 ous! organisations that are springing up in various quar- 
 ters throughout the land, emphasising one aspect or 
 another of the movement, and encouraging the study 
 of one social problem or another. Some of these are 
 naturally short-lived, but there are quite a few which 
 are full of promise for an important future. The 
 movement has developed a habit among people, and 
 particularly among students, of being dissatisfied with 
 existing conditions. It encourages them to study pres- 
 
30 China To-Day 
 
 ent-day problems with all seriousness and with all the 
 facilities within their reach. To mention just a few 
 names : — “Society to Discuss Family Reconstruction,” 
 “Science Society/’ “Society for Promoting New Edu- 
 cation,” “Philosophical Society,” “Marxian Society,” 
 will suffice to show us the varieties and the breadth of 
 the interest this movement represents. 
 
 Fifth, the movement has given birth to several hun- 
 dred new periodicals, weeklies, monthlies, quarterlies 
 and annuals. My last census, which was naturally in- 
 complete because made last winter, showed that there 
 were over two hundred periodicals, all written in the 
 conversational style, and discussing all kinds of prob- 
 lems, from Civic Liberty to Communism, Women’s 
 Education to Birth Control, and from an Interpreta- 
 tion of Dante to Criticism of Dostoievsky. The num- 
 ber of periodicals is still increasing, although some of 
 them have been outlived by others, and it will be not 
 only surprising but also really interesting for a West- 
 erner to see some of the magazines which may include 
 in a single issue a complete play by Hauptmann, 
 Maeterlinck, Bjomsen, or Oscar Wilde. In the same 
 volume one may find an abstract of the philosophy of 
 Bergson, a discussion on Eucken, a criticism of Ber- 
 trand Russell, and the review of a book by John Dewey. 
 New terms are being created and new expressions in- 
 troduced which dazzle the reader’s eyes and create 
 hunger for some study in order to get further explana- 
 tion. 
 
 Sixth, the movement has been crystallising the 
 efforts of various leading organisations that promote 
 learning and some of the higher institutions to invite 
 Western scholars to lecture in China. There has been 
 organised in Peking the society known as “The So- 
 
China’s Renaissance 31 
 
 ciety for Lectures on New Learning,” patronised by 
 distinguished publicists and co-operated in by the 
 National Universities and Colleges. The society with 
 its co-operators has been instrumental in bringing over 
 to China several of the world’s leading scholars. John 
 Dewey of America was the first one thus honoured. 
 Bertrand Russell followed. Driesch and Bergson are 
 expected to come in the near future and plans have been 
 under way to invite other scholars from Europe and 
 America. Those who are interested in education also 
 organised what is known as “The Educational Survey 
 Society.” Paul Monroe of America has been invited 
 to make a thorough and critical survey of the present- 
 day education of China. All these societies are sup- 
 ported by voluntary contributions and the approval and 
 co-operation of the leading scholars, educationists, and 
 publicists of China. The visiting scholars have found 
 a hearty welcome everywhere they went, and whatever 
 they had to present was eagerly examined and care- 
 fully scrutinised. The works of these scholars find 
 considerable sale in their original languages in China 
 and translations into Chinese are being rapidly turned 
 out. The conservative publishers in some cases have 
 been surprised at the good sale of these books, seem- 
 ingly obscure and difficult to understand. One illustra- 
 tion will suffice. When Bertrand Russell was lecturing 
 in Peking, an arrangement was made to take down his 
 lectures verbatim and a special monthly was published, 
 known as The Russell Monthly. The first issue was to 
 be 6,000 copies. The publisher undertook the order 
 with reserved distrust, but later on confided to the 
 editor of the monthly that he never dreamed that 6,000 
 copies were not enough and that further editions would 
 actually be in demand. 
 
32 China To-Day 
 
 IV : WHAT IS IT ACCOMPLISHING? 
 
 Any discerning reader will gain from the discussion 
 thus far an idea of what importance the movement has 
 with all these emphases and activities. The movement 
 in its definite expression is only a few years old. One 
 needs perhaps to reserve his judgment as to its future, 
 but one cannot be blind to the effect which it already 
 has produced, however uneven it may be in various 
 places. Only a few of the outstanding points of 
 importance will be enumerated. 
 
 First, it has been revolutionising the thinking of the 
 students. The movement has worked upon the mental 
 isolation of the people as previous movements have 
 acted upon the geographical isolation of the nation. 
 One after another, the closed doors have been broken 
 open and impassable barriers removed. The oriental 
 horizon of the people, particularly of the students, is 
 being steadily expanded. They see problems which did 
 not exist for them before. They acquire points of view 
 which were beyond them in the past. They are given 
 categories in which to think, which were not at their 
 disposal in days gone by, and they are being drilled 
 in new methods of using their thinking capacity. They 
 are given the freedom to think as they see fit and as 
 the situation demands. They do not have to bow down 
 before ancient authorities which have controlled their 
 thoughts and the thoughts of their ancestors for 
 generations. 
 
 Second, it is giving birth to a rational and better 
 balanced national consciousness. All students of China 
 have noticed the development and growth of national 
 consciousness in China in the last few decades, but a 
 careful analysis will find that it has gone through 
 
China’s Renaissance 33 
 
 various stages. There was, first, tne stage in which 
 the nation was rudely shocked by foreign invasions, but 
 comforted itself in its past greatness and the blind con- 
 fidence in its past power to overcome all difficulties. 
 Then, it went through the stage which was character- 
 ised by reactions born out of the desperate situations 
 involved in its efforts to check foreign aggression. 
 Such efforts resulted in anything but improvement of 
 the situation. The nation then went through the third 
 stage, which was characterised by a kind of discour- 
 agement which magnified the helplessness of the situa- 
 tion, coupled with timid confusion, undue recognition 
 of the strength of modem powers, and a stoic resigna- 
 tion toward existing conditions as unavoidable. The 
 movement came at this critical stage to awaken in the 
 hearts of the people new courage and hope. It points 
 out the way for reformation and for change, however 
 difficult and gigantic the task may be. It teaches the 
 people not to be discouraged simply because the prob- 
 lem is difficult, by pointing out to them that each nation 
 has its own difficult problems. It teaches the people to 
 be neither the slaves nor the scoffers of the past, but to 
 study the past with a fresh insight, for it believes that 
 the Chinese race with its history of 5,000 years has a 
 valuable spiritual inheritance which being properly in- 
 terpreted will furnish a great deal of that which China 
 needs to-day. It teaches the people neither prejudice 
 against things foreign nor the acceptance of them with- 
 out reserve, but to learn from other nations as a humble 
 disciple the things which China does not possess in 
 equal measure, and to strive to make contributions to 
 other nations as she should. In the last few years, one 
 can notice that the educational efforts in China have ? 
 been centred around a desperate fight to overthrow that 
 
34 China To-Day 
 
 idea of nationalism which has been imported from 
 Japan — a narrow, self-centred, selfish nationalism, and 
 replace it by a well-balanced, democratic nationalism 
 such as is demonstrated by the better part of the demo- 
 cratic nations of the West and reinforced by the peace- 
 loving nature of the Chinese people. 
 
 Third, it has inaugurated a nation-wide tendency to 
 progress. The movement has made people acquire a 
 wholesome dissatisfaction with existing conditions. 
 Such dissatisfaction has been most difficult to develop 
 among people who have a great past to revere, and who 
 have deeply ingrained habits due to the long life of the 
 nation. Both of these factors have inevitably led the 
 people into self-satisfaction, and on the top of this 
 there also come the economic stringency due to a great 
 population. All these combined to create an inertia 
 both in the individual and in the nation against the 
 adoption of things new and against the continual effort 
 necessary after renewal. This movement has “hit the 
 mark.” It creates dissatisfaction and it does more 
 than that. It helps to make every dissatisfaction more 
 specific and concrete, it constantly reminds people that 
 such dissatisfaction can only be ended by putting forth 
 proper efforts, adopting right methods, and reinforcing 
 these with persistence. Nothing is too new to be dis- 
 cussed in China to-day, and nothing too radical for 
 experiment. Given opportunities, one is reasonably 
 sure that in a few years many experiments, social and 
 political, may be made. Thorough-going changes will 
 be put into actual practice, for this movement will not 
 rest satisfied with any temporary amelioration of the 
 sufferings and difficulties ; it has in it the seed of per- 
 petual life, pushing on and on. 
 
 Fourth, the importance of the movement .can further 
 
China’s Renaissance 35 
 
 be noticed by its ability to permeate the whole fabric 
 of the nation. The movement began with the univer- 
 sity professors and students, and it is now rapidly 
 trickling through the various strata of society. Books 
 and periodicals are being read by various kinds of peo- 
 ple. New ideas are invading families of even the most 
 conservative sort. Authorities are shattered in various 
 quarters. Many changes that are going on may not 
 clearly and definitely be credited to this movement, yet, 
 nevertheless, they are being fed by the inspiration and 
 encouragement of this movement. It is a significant 
 fact that in this movement it is neither the leaders nor 
 the formal organisations that figure the most. In fact, 
 the movement takes upon its own shoulders as one of 
 its tasks the dethroning of every idol, and it makes no 
 attempt to establish any nation-wide formal organisa- 
 tion or to state any definite platform. The pervading 
 atmosphere which it creates everywhere, the subtler in- 
 fluence which works upon the minds of thinking people, 
 and its persuasive ability to encourage people to make 
 a right-about turn, these constitute the power of the 
 movement; and, what is more, its tenacity in clinging 
 to whatever quarter it is invading, is bound to make the 
 influence of the movement permanent wherever it takes 
 root. 
 
 Fifth, and what is most important of all, it is leading 
 people on to search for a new philosophy of life. The 
 movement has again and again brought people back to 
 the fundamental question, “What is life?” and “What 
 is the philosophy of life?” Young and old, men and 
 women, teachers and students, are inquiring into this 
 fundamental question. They have discussed the prob- 
 lem. They have debated over it. They have written 
 on it, and some of them have died for it. Thus far, 
 
36 China To-Day 
 
 the movement has told people that the rational life, fol- 
 lowing the principles of science, working for the social 
 improvement of the whole with eyes wide open to the 
 problems of the present — this constitutes the gist of the 
 best philosophy of life. It is very noteworthy that the 
 attitude of the movement towards religion is imma- 
 ture, dogmatic and one-sided, and yet full of promise. 
 This leads me to the next main topic, the effect of the 
 movement upon religious life. 
 
 v: WHAT IS ITS SIGNIFICANCE FOR THE RELIGIOUS 
 LIFE OF THE PEOPLE? 
 
 Any thorough-going discussion of this problem will 
 naturally be an elaborate one. Elsewhere 1 I have pre- 
 sented the various aspects of the attitude of the move- 
 ment toward religion in general and Christianity in 
 particular, and its effects upon Christianity in general 
 in China. Space only permits of the barest outline. 
 Here the outstanding views with regard to religion are 
 of the following kinds : — 
 
 First, some challenge the necessity of religion in a 
 world of science. 
 
 Second, some emphasise the fact that religion needs 
 more adequate interpretation and assistance from 
 philosophy. 
 
 Third, some urge the purification of religion from 
 superstition and dogmatic beliefs and despotic control. 
 
 Fourth, some advocate the substitution of aesthetics 
 for religion because the former contains all the values 
 which religion possesses. 
 
 Fifth, some doubt that religion offers any benefit at 
 all that is unmixed with evil and whether the game is 
 worth the candle. 
 
 1 Chinese Recorder, May, 1921, pub. in Shanghai, China. 
 
China’s Renaissance 
 
 37 
 
 Sixth, some believe that it is possible as well as desir- 
 able to obtain all the values such as spirit and courage 
 and faith, and to claim the products of religion, without 
 accepting religion itself. 
 
 Seventh, some point out the fact that religion is in- 
 dispensable because no human being can escape the four 
 inevitable facts of life — birth, sickness, age, and death. 
 
 This, roughly and briefly, represents the various 
 views on the subject of religion which have been pre- 
 dominant in this movement. 
 
 VI : WHAT SIGNIFICANCE HAS IT FOR CHRISTIANITY IN 
 CHINA? 
 
 For us Christians the problem that is of tremendous 
 interest is the attitude of the movement toward Chris- 
 tianity, with some of its effects. 
 
 First of all, the movement challenges the place of 
 Christianity in individual and national life, for, if the 
 existence of any religion is in question, Christianity 
 cannot alone escape the same tests. Is Christianity 
 really a mere concomitant of the backwardness of civi- 
 lisation, and absence of science, and an incomplete phi- 
 losophy? If so, shall China continue to be contented, 
 like the rest of the world, with the existing conditions 
 of the past which made religion more or less useful? 
 Or, shall China work for a better civilisation and a 
 greater progress in science and a more reliable philoso- 
 phy rather than accept provisionally a temporary relief 
 through religion? Or, if she chooses such temporary 
 relief, should that religion be Christianity? 
 
 Second, the movement encourages the study of 
 Christianity. Christianity has in China passed through 
 three stages. The first stage was one of pure prejudice 
 on account of its being something newly introduced by 
 
38 China To-Day 
 
 foreigners. Then it went though a stage of contempt 
 for its alleged crudity and inadequate presentation, 
 owing to the difficulties involved in using the Chinese 
 language and understanding the Chinese people and 
 thought on the part of the missionaries. 
 
 Then we come to the third stage, the stage of indif- 
 ference, an indifference which closed the door more 
 tightly than either prejudice or contempt. This indif- 
 ference is now being removed by this movement. For 
 the very principle of this movement forbids indiffer- 
 ence, to say nothing of prejudice. Christianity does 
 constitute a problem of society; it is a problem of the 
 people, and it is also a problem of the philosophy of 
 life. At the very least it is a problem ! And as such it 
 deserves a critical examination before we pronounce 
 our verdict of rejection or acceptance. For this very 
 reason Christianity is finding people who are paying it 
 earnest attention as a subject worthy of study and dis- 
 cussion in circles and among individuals where Chris- 
 tianity never had a chance of being heard heretofore. 
 
 Third, this movement is making way for Chris- 
 tianity. Both Christianity and this movement have 
 found a common foe in the existing superstitions, 
 whether in the life of the individual or of society. 
 Much of the work of Christianity has been fighting 
 against superstitions which were the products of igno- 
 rance. The ignorance may be due to a lack of scientific 
 knowledge of the natural world or due to the lack of 
 critical insight into the spiritual life. Christianity has 
 been waging an incessant war in the last century, ever 
 since her arrival upon the soil of China, against idola- 
 trous worship, the trust in pseudo-scientific astrology, 
 popular trust in distorted practices based upon certain 
 relics of half-understood philosophy, and many other 
 
China’s Renaissance 39 
 
 similar beliefs and practices, parallels to which his- 
 torians could easily find in the history of European 
 peoples in former ages. Christianity has fought these 
 wars almost single-handed. Now this movement is 
 fighting against the very same enemies and with even 
 greater relentlessness. By its very tenet of accepting 
 nothing unless it is critically examined and proven to 
 be worthy of acceptance, it has knocked down and 
 shattered many an idol which has held sway over the 
 people and which Christianity has often failed to root 
 out as completely as she wanted to. 
 
 Fourth, this movement has directly or indirectly 
 given recognition to Christian work. It is only blind 
 prejudice or unscientific partiality which could make 
 one deny the various contributions, however limited 
 they may be in scope, which Christianity has made 
 towards the social progress of China in the last fifty 
 years. The fight which Christians waged against the 
 evil of opium is a notable one. The fact that the 
 opium was introduced into China at the point of the 
 bayonet by a Christian nation often overshadows the 
 heroic fight Christians put up through all these years. 
 The introduction of free medical service according to 
 modern scientific practices has another notable record. 
 One can mention other items which have directly or 
 indirectly contributed to social progress or which have 
 led others to work for that end. But these good works 
 of Christians have been given very little proper recogni- 
 tion, simply because they were under Christian auspices ; 
 to the average mind it was taken as a necessary part 
 of the scheme of propaganda. The real significance of 
 social service as an expression of Christian faith and 
 the real motive power which is behind all these Chris- 
 tian social services have not been properly understood. 
 
40 China To-Day 
 
 This movement with its increasing emphasis upon 
 social progress and humanitarianism has opened the 
 eyes of the people to see the real value and proper 
 motive of social service. The raison d'etre of various 
 forms of Christian activities is gradually being under- 
 stood and the simple notion of regarding all Christian 
 social service as a mere scheme of propaganda with 
 ulterior motives is gradually passing away. 
 
 Fifth, as a natural consequence, this movement prom- 
 ises the possibility of increasing popular support to 
 Christian work. One is not ready to say that this move- 
 ment will lead people to accept the Christian faith and 
 help them to bear the Christian yoke of service, but 
 through its continual instruction there will be more 
 people who appreciate social service and who will 
 acquire some of the fundamentals required in the carry- 
 ing on of any form of social service. The people will 
 be better prepared to respond to any Christian call for 
 social betterment. They will, at least, understand what 
 Christians are trying to do. One can thus within a 
 safe limit prophesy that, if this movement should go 
 on without wavering from its social principle, it will 
 give indirect and even direct support to genuine Chris- 
 tian work. Indications of this kind are already not 
 lacking. “Anti-bad-habit societies,” “Social service 
 clubs,” “Free Schools for the children of the poor,” 
 conducted by volunteers and many other similar activi- 
 ties are being organised by students all over the coun- 
 try, and in the large centres these societies and organisa- 
 tions have proved their readiness to co-operate with 
 similar societies and organisations founded under 
 Christian auspices. Christian theology may not attract 
 the students, but Christian expressions of social service 
 
China’s Renaissance 41 
 
 have furnished a common ground upon which all forces 
 can unite. 
 
 Sixth, the most important effect which this move- 
 ment has upon Christianity and the students’ life is to 
 be found in the creative work of the conversational 
 style of the written language which has been described 
 above. Christianity came to China out and out as the 
 gospel for the poor, the gospel for the ignorant, and 
 the gospel for those who are in darkness. The Bible 
 was translated into the vernacular as well as into the 
 classical written language, but the predominant usage 
 in the Christian church throughout the century was the 
 vernacular of the Holy Scriptures, and most of its 
 tracts and books were written in the vernacular. For 
 this reason Christianity was looked down upon and 
 suffered seriously at the hands of the public. There 
 was very little respect for Christianity because the 
 obtrusiveness due to its strangeness was aggravated 
 by its undue simplicity. It was regarded as a religion 
 beneath the attention of the elite and the cultured. But 
 Christianity held on its way unwaveringly. This move- 
 ment has suddenly declared to the people that the 
 ancient classical language, the beautiful, the elegant, the 
 difficult-to-understand, the polite, was also the high- 
 brow, the autocratic, the undemocratic, the anti-social, 
 unfit for citizens of a republic. That which is to be 
 honoured because it is useful, because it is good for 
 the many, because it is within reach of all, because it 
 can be acquired in a much shorter time, is the very 
 vernacular which they have despised. It points out the 
 fact that they despised the vernacular simply because 
 they were fooled by the autocrats who used the diffi- 
 culty of the classical language to keep knowledge from 
 the people and to make their own position look more 
 
42 China To-Day 
 
 dignified. Students of to-day, while studying the 
 classical language in institutions of higher learning 
 have made an almost right-about turn in their attitude 
 toward the vernacular, and the kind of vernacular which 
 they are adopting and developing, whose style and 
 beauty they are creating, is very near to the type of 
 vernacular which has been used, advocated, and taught 
 in the Christian church. What a tremendous change 
 of opinion this involves one can hardly realise in its 
 fullness. 
 
 Seventh, this change in the problem of literature 
 brings about a latent possibility of revival in Christian 
 learning because the effect of this change is beneficial 
 in a mutual way. Not only the non-Christians have 
 thereby acquired a better and more correct attitude 
 toward the Christian literature, but also the Christian 
 students themselves have begun to realise how much 
 there is to be done in improving the vernacular which 
 has been in vogue in the Christian Church heretofore. 
 For this movement not only aims at using the ver- 
 nacular as a tool for expression, but is also trying to 
 make the vernacular a basis for a new literature not less 
 elegant or less effective than the ancient classical lan- 
 guage. Christian students are therefore urged to work 
 for a better and more perfect vernacular, in which to 
 present Christian faith and Christian thought, to inter- 
 pret Christian experience, and to express Christian 
 aspirations. Under such pressure of encouragement 
 one can confidently look forward to the production of 
 an amount of new Christian literature, more expres- 
 sive, more beautiful, and more worthy of its content. 
 
 Eighth, there will be also a deepening and enrich- 
 ment of Christian experience and Christian faith among 
 the students who are already Christians in China. No 
 
China’s Renaissance 43 
 
 intelligent Christian student who is not out of touch 
 with the currents of the time can be free from the 
 healthy influence of this movement. The very inquir- 
 ing attitude and critical temper with which this move- 
 ment has filled the atmosphere affects also the Christian 
 students and produces revolutionary effects upon their 
 faith. They begin to ask questions, they begin to 
 search for the whys and wherefores of every Christian 
 doctrine and ecclesiastical practice. Their views of the 
 Bible are being put through a hot crucible. People 
 begin to be interested in the formation of the canons 
 of the Old and New Testaments and in the origins of 
 Christian traditions, and to appraise the values of ortho- 
 doxy. With proper guidance such a self -initiative 
 activity of mind can produce very valuable contribu- 
 tions to the Christian life of the individual students 
 and through them to the Christian life of the Church 
 as a whole. 
 
 VII : WHAT IS ITS RELATION TO THE WORLD BROTHER- 
 HOOD OF STUDENTS? 
 
 One can see even at a glance what bearing the effects 
 produced by this movement upon the students of China 
 have upon the brotherhood of students throughout the 
 world, for there are several points of great importance 
 that deserve the attention of this brotherhood. 
 
 First of all, we may note the very significant fact 
 that the interests of students in China from now on 
 are becoming identical with the interests of students 
 throughout the world. The problems which interest 
 the Chinese students are the very problems which are 
 of interest to the students of other nations. They 
 admire, they scoff at, they criticise, they worship the 
 
44 China To-Day 
 
 same group of savants, philosophers, scientists, heroes, 
 and martyrs. As fast as new theories are being ad- 
 vanced and made known in other nations they are dis- 
 cussed by the students in their publications and in their 
 forums. With the increasing facility for translation, 
 new books are being translated which guide and direct 
 the attention of Chinese students along the same chan- 
 nels through which the thoughts of the students of 
 other nations are moving. 
 
 Second, we should note the more significant fact 
 that the Chinese students are not only interested in the 
 same problems as those in which the students of other 
 nations are interested, but they are also thinking on 
 these same problems in the same categories and using 
 the same terms. This is going on in two ways. First, 
 the translation of the terms and categories from foreign 
 languages into Chinese, and second, there is an increas- 
 ing number of students studying foreign languages. 
 The latest deliberations of the National Educational 
 Association in China, representing every province of 
 the Republic, recorded in its new programme for 
 national education the requirement that every student 
 going through the college or university should learn at 
 least two foreign languages. This shows the trend of 
 the times. In education, in politics, in commerce, and 
 in every line of thought, the students are brought into 
 contact as far as the conditions permit, with the latest 
 and most popular categories of thinking in foreign 
 nations. The rapidity with which the Chinese students 
 absorb these and make them their own ha9 been very 
 noteworthy. 
 
 Third, there is a still more important^ fact, more 
 important than the interest in the same problems, more 
 
China’s Renaissance 45 
 
 important than thinking in the same categories, and 
 that is the setting up of the same aims and the cher- 
 ishing of the same hopes. Take, for instance, interna- 
 tional brotherhood and universal peace. What higher 
 aim and what more blessed hope can one entertain? 
 The Chinese students even in these critical hours of 
 their national destiny, facing internal difficulties and 
 external aggression, are still working for the same high 
 aim and fostering the same high hope which the very 
 best students throughout the world are working for 
 and cherishing. They are trying their best to take the 
 sting out of the hardship which China is suffering under 
 the international injustices of the last few years by 
 keeping alive their faith in the final victory of justice 
 and righteousness. Against the very enemies which 
 are encroaching upon the sovereignty and blighting the 
 future of their country they are using not the weapon 
 of blind hatred, but the solemn warning that the 
 righteous forces for universal world brotherhood ulti- 
 mately shall triumph. It is very significant that this 
 movement while stirring up the nation by reminding 
 the students day after day that unless they fight a 
 decisive battle for a regenerated nation there is no hope 
 for China, yet through the same mouthpiece has never 
 failed to preach the gospel of the brotherhood of men 
 throughout the world. 
 
 There are other hopes and there are other aims, 
 expressed or unexpressed, held by the students of 
 other nations which are finding echoes and spiritual 
 responses among the Chinese students. The same 
 successes inspire the students of China and the students 
 of other nations, and the same failures dishearten them 
 equally. 
 
46 China To-Day 
 
 VIII : WHAT HOPES DOES THIS MOVEMENT INSPIRE? 
 
 Facing the tremendous power of this unprecedented 
 movement, shall we as the members of the student 
 brotherhood of the world not confidently hope for 
 great results? 
 
 First of all, shall we not hope that the Chinese 
 students in going through this process of mental revo- 
 lution in their growing contact with the minds of the 
 West, will profit not only by the passing thoughts of 
 the West, but also by the actual experience of this 
 rapidly moving age? The students of the West and 
 the people of the West in general are going through 
 many experiments and tests. Their successes and 
 failures, their bitterness and joys can all be of tre- 
 mendous value to the Chinese students, so that in the 
 process of social, national and racial transformation 
 the Chinese people should not have to go through all 
 the profitless and misdirected ways of the past. They 
 need not begin where the Western nations started, but 
 where the latter left off. 
 
 Second, shall we not also hope that the students of 
 China, with the rich heritage of a noble past, and with 
 fine innate qualities recognised by all impartial students 
 of the world, in going through the process of restudying 
 the wisdom of the sages and reinterpreting the spiritual 
 inheritance of their race, reappraising the value of their 
 5,000 years of national experience, may make such 
 contributions as will not only be beacon lights to them- 
 selves but also to the world? 
 
 Third, when these two processes are going on can 
 we not find a surer ground for hope of a genuine and 
 lasting internationalism — an internationalism that is 
 based not on treaties and covenants which can be torn 
 
China’s Renaissance 47 
 
 up at any time as mere scraps of paper, an internation- 
 alism which is based not upon clever interpretations 
 of carefully worded promises which can be manipulated 
 and twisted in the hands of knaves as the very weapon 
 to destroy its own life, but an internationalism based 
 upon the unity of interest, unity of thought, unity of 
 aims and hopes, and unity of hearts. 
 
 The students of China are ready. L What will the 
 students of other nations do? 
 
 January , 1922. 
 
 Peking. 
 
Ill 
 
 The Literary Revolution in China 
 
 By Hu Shih' (Suh Hu) 
 
 Professor of Literature, National University, Peking 
 
 I N order to appreciate the full significance of the 
 literary revolution in China, the reader will do well 
 by recalling the history of the rise of the national 
 languages of modern Europe. Hardly five centuries 
 have passed since Latin was the recognised literary 
 language of whole Europe. Italy was the first to revolt. 
 Dante, Petrarch (in his youthful days), and Boccaccio 
 produced their best works in the dialect of Tuscany, 
 and the popularity of their writings succeeded in finally 
 making the Tuscan dialect the national language of the 
 Italian people. By that time, the dialect of Paris was 
 fast becoming the official language of France. In 1539, 
 Francis I. ordered that all public documents should be 
 in the French of Paris, though it was still foreign to 
 nearly half of the population in the kingdom. In the 
 middle of the sixteenth century, there arose the group 
 of French poets known as the Pleiade, who consciously 
 advocated the use of the French language as a means 
 of poetic expression. Rabelais and Montaigne achieved 
 an even greater success in prose. Thus by the end of 
 the sixteenth century the French of Paris -became the 
 undisputed national language of France. 
 
 48 
 
The Literary Revolution in China 49 
 
 The case of modern English, being more similar to 
 that of modern Chinese, is all the more instructive. 
 As late as the latter part of the fourteenth century, 
 there were three main dialects competing for supremacy 
 in England. The Southern dialect, spoken south of 
 the Thames, was the most conservative, being full of 
 old forms and inflections. The Northern dialect, which 
 extended from the Humber to Aberdeen, was, owing to 
 the Danish settlements, undergoing such rapid and 
 radical changes that it became almost an entirely new 
 language. Between these two extremes stood the Mid- 
 land dialect, which was more or less comprehensible 
 to the speakers of both dialects. This Midland dialect, 
 being the language of London and of the two great 
 universities, soon came to be adopted as the standard 
 speech. Chaucer, the greatest poet of the fourteenth 
 century, wrote his poetry in this dialect; and his great 
 contemporary, Wy cliff e, too, used it in his English 
 translations of the Bible. The immense popularity of 
 their writings and the introduction of the printing press 
 in the following century made the Midland dialect the 
 undisputed national tongue of England. 
 
 The lesson taught by such recent history seems to 
 have been forgotten by those who now look upon the 
 Chinese literary revolution with disfavour and sus- 
 picion. But a little unbiased reflection and historical 
 study will readily lead us to the conclusion that what 
 is now called the literary revolution is no more than 
 a culminating stage in a long process of historical 
 evolution. 
 
 The story is indeed a long one, but the salient facts 
 are simple. As early as the second century b.c., the 
 classical language had already become unintelligible to 
 the people. Thus about the year 120 b.c., in a memorial 
 
50 China To-Day 
 
 to the emperor, Premier Kung-sun Hung said: “The 
 imperial edicts and laws that have been proclaimed, . . . 
 while they are most elegantly worded and containing 
 benevolent instructions, are not generally understood by 
 the public officers who are too inadequately educated 
 to explain these to the people.” In order to meet this 
 most serious difficulty the government hit upon a system 
 under which public offices were conferred upon those 
 who had studied the classic writings. This system, 
 which was later perfected into the great system of 
 literary examinations, has succeeded in maintaining 
 to this day the supremacy of the classical language, 
 which had become unintelligible to the public officers 
 over two thousand years ago. 
 
 But no governmental power, however great, can 
 prevent language from undergoing the inevitable pro- 
 cesses of phonetical change and grammatical levelling 
 gradually and unconsciously brought about by the 
 common sense of the people. In China, these processes 
 by a stroke of good fortune have been allowed to go 
 on unimpeded and uninterfered with by the literary 
 class which was busily occupied with the task of mas- 
 tering the subtleties of the dead classical language. 
 For a long period of over twenty centuries, the dialects 
 have been permitted to keep on changing and modifying 
 until some of the dialects have become as distinct from 
 the classical language as any two cognate languages 
 can possibly be different from each other. As in the 
 case of the English dialects, the dialects of Northern 
 China, owing to the influence of numerous barbarian 
 conquests and settlements, have undergone the most 
 radical changes both in pronunciation and intonation 
 and in grammar. It is the Northern and Middle dia- 
 lects, generally classed as the “Mandarin dialects,” 
 
The Literary Revolution in China 51 
 
 which now form the kuo yu, or national language of 
 China. , 
 
 While conservative Chinese scholars still look down 
 upon the living spoken language as the degraded jargon 
 of the vulgar and the illiterate, the student of compara- 
 tive languages can easily convince himself that the 
 living national tongue is the culmination of over twenty 
 centuries’ linguistic revision and reform, and is con- 
 sequently by far superior to the long dead classical 
 language. I have elsewhere tried to prove this point 
 by numerous illustrations, 1 but the limitations of this 
 paper do not allow me to take up a subject of such 
 technical nature. So I shall confine myself to the 
 development of literature in the spoken language. 
 
 The first barbarisation of Northern China, which 
 took place during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries 
 a.d., and its concomitant event of the shift of the centre 
 of Chinese civilisation to Southern China — these two 
 factors combined to produce a large number of popular 
 poems both in the North and in the South. The new 
 races in the North made their heroic and warlike songs, 
 but the popular literature of the southern peoples chiefly 
 consisted in little lyrics of love. The unmistakable 
 beauty and simplicity of these songs of the people 
 gradually came to be appreciated by the literary men 
 of the time and they soon became models of poetic 
 composition under the general name of Ku yo fu, or 
 Old Songs. In this way the literature of the literati 
 was influenced by the poetry of the people, and the 
 greatness of the poetry of the Tang dynasty (620-900) 
 owes much to the influence of the popular songs of the 
 pre-Tang period. It is safe to say that the best poems 
 
 1 Hu Shih, Selected Writings, vol. III., pp. 1-80. Also Hu Shih, 
 The National Language of China, in a volume to be published 
 by the American University Club of Shanghai. 
 
52 China To-Day 
 
 of Tang are written either in the popular tongue or 
 in a style nearest to it. It is said of Po Chu-I, the 
 greatest poet of the Mid-Tang period, that his poems 
 were often shown to an old woman, whose inability to 
 understand a certain poem would cause its rejection 
 or revision. 
 
 It was also under the Tang dynasty that vulgate 
 prose first arose. The great teachers of the Oman 
 or Zen School of Buddhism first used it in preaching 
 and recording sayings and discourses. The style proved 
 to be so effective in philosophical writings that the 
 Neo-Con fucian philosophers of Sung and later 
 dynasties had to adopt it in most of their philosophical 
 discussions. 
 
 Meanwhile Northern China was undergoing a second 
 period of barbarization which began in the tenth cen- 
 tury and lasted until the latter part of the fourteenth. 
 The Kitan Tartars were conquered by the Luchen 
 Tartars, who in turn were conquered by the Mongols. 
 The latter people in the year 1239 succeeded in sub- 
 jugating the whole of China. While these barbarian 
 conquests were politically and socially disastrous to 
 the Chinese people, it cannot be denied that they have 
 had immense beneficial effects upon the language and 
 literature of the people. That the language was bar- 
 barized can be easily seen in the numerous edicts and 
 other public documents of the Mongol dynasty, which 
 have been preserved to us and which were all written 
 in terribly barbarized Chinese, in a style which is 
 apparently Mongol syntax clothed in Chinese characters. 
 
 It was during this period of barbarian occupation 
 that the great dramas were produced. The literary 
 examinations were suspended for nearly eighty years 
 (1237-1313); the authority of the classical language 
 
The Literary Revolution in China 53 
 
 and literature was swept away. Even the greatest 
 geniuses now condescended to write plays for the enter- 
 tainment of the people. And some of the Yuan dramas 
 were written by the members of the lowest stratum 
 of society. This accounts for the simplicity in the 
 content and style of the dramas of that period. 
 
 And then the necessity of educating the barbarian 
 and barbarized population in the great Chinese tradi- 
 tion gave rise to a class of prose literature known as 
 the yen yi, or popular histories. These narratives soon 
 developed into historical novels and then into novels of 
 all kinds. For centuries it has been thought that the 
 several great novels of unknown authorship were 
 written under the Mongol dynasty, but my own re- 
 searches have convinced me that the novel only reached 
 its infantile stage in the thirteenth and fourteenth cen- 
 turies and that such novels as San Kuo Chih, Shai Hu 
 Chuan, and Hsi You Chi had only crude origins in the 
 Mongol period and went through a series of collective 
 and individual revisions until they appeared in their 
 finished form in the sixteenth century. 
 
 With the exit of the Mongol conquerors and with 
 the institution of a new and more rigid system of 
 literary examinations under the Ming dynasty (1368- 
 1644), the authority of the classical tradition was 
 gradually restored. The literati took hold of the dramas 
 and made them classical and therefore unintelligible 
 to the mass of the people. Poetry and prose both tended 
 to a classical revival. The cries of the day were, 
 “Back to Tang and Sung,” and “Back to the Pre-Tang 
 periods.” But the novel alone remained uncontaminated 
 by the reactionary influences and continued to develop 
 itself. While official recognition and literary honours 
 continued to be eagerly coveted by the literary class. 
 
54 China To-Day 
 
 the immense popularity of the novels was also a 
 sufficiently powerful inducement to tempt gifted authors 
 to undertake this despised branch of literature. It is 
 significant to note that practically all the novels written 
 under the Ming dynasty were anonymous and that it 
 was not until the Manchu dynasty that authors allowed 
 real names to be attached to novels. 
 
 The last four centuries have been very productive in 
 novels. Of the hundreds of novels that have been 
 preserved and are being reprinted in numberless cheap 
 editions, many are of little or no literary value. But 
 the best of them, such as the Shui Hu Chuan, Hsi You 
 Chi, Ju Lin Wai Shi ( The Literati ), Hung Lou Mung 
 ( Dream of the Red Chamber), and a few others, can 
 certainly be ranked among the world’s greatest master- 
 pieces. Near the end of the Manchu dynasty, a number 
 of social novels were produced, modelled more or less 
 after the fashion of The Literati, a realistic and satirical 
 novel written in the middle of the eighteenth century. 
 Aside from the effects of their outspoken attacks on 
 Chinese officialdom, these modern novels are significant 
 in the fact that, while they were all written in the 
 Mandarin dialect, their authors were all southerners to 
 whom the northern and middle dialects were not at all 
 native. This fact shows the tremendous educative 
 effects of the great novels which have in the course of a 
 few centuries succeeded in standardising the national 
 language and have been its greatest teachers and 
 propagandists. 
 
 From the above account, it is clear that spoken 
 Chinese as represented by the Mandarin dialects is 
 well qualified to become the national language of China. 
 In the first place, it is the most widely spoken language 
 in the country. In the second place, it has produced a 
 
The Literary Revolution in China 55 
 
 vast amount of literature, a literature more extensive 
 and varied than any modern European language ever 
 possessed at the time of its establishment as a national 
 language. It seems incredible that a language of such 
 vitality and currency should have to wait so long 
 before it was ever thought of as a possible substitute 
 for the long dead classical language. But the explana- 
 tion is really simple. The authority of the classical 
 language and literature has been truly too great to be 
 easily overcome. This authority became truly formid- 
 able when it was enforced by the power of a long united 
 empire and supported by a fairly extensive system of 
 education, the sole object of which has been to win 
 official honour and recognition on the strength of the 
 ability to read and write in the classical language. 
 
 Moreover, there was lacking in the history of spoken 
 Chinese one important factor without which the author- 
 ity of the classical language could never be destroyed. 
 That important factor is a conscious and frank recog- 
 nition of the fact that the classical language is a dead 
 language and as such is disqualified to continue as the 
 national language of a modern nation. Dante not only 
 wrote in the vulgar tongue, but also defended it in his 
 treatise De vulgari eloquentia. Boccaccio, too, was a 
 conscious defender of the language he employed as 
 literary medium. In France, the Pleiade were also con- 
 scious advocates of the French language; indeed, Du 
 Bellay, one of the poets who formed the Pleiade, wrote 
 La defense et illustration de la langue frangaise, in 
 which he asserted the right of the French language to 
 stand as a medium of poetic expression. It is this 
 element of conscious advocacy that was lacking in the, 
 case of spoken Chinese. There were large numbers of 
 writers who were in one way or another attracted 
 
56 China To-Day 
 
 by the vulgar tongue and wrote in it. There were 
 none, however, who openly questioned the supreme 
 authority of the classical language or who consciously 
 defended the living tongue as the only legitimate 
 medium of literary composition. And it is this absence 
 of an articulate movement which has made it possible 
 for the dead language to reign supreme two thousand 
 years after its death. 
 
 What the recent literary revolution did was to supply 
 this very factor which was lacking in the long history 
 of the living tongue, and to openly declare that the 
 classical language has been long dead and that the 
 pei hua which has been the literary medium for many 
 centuries, is and will be the only proper and effective 
 means of literary expression in verse as well as in prose. 
 “No dead language can produce a living literature,” 
 was the war cry of the literary revolution. Its con- 
 structive policy is summed up in the motto, “Produce 
 literature in the national language, and you shall have 
 a national language of literary worth.” 2 In 1916, the 
 present writer made a resolution never to write any 
 poetry except in the spoken language. The first public 
 declaration of the revolution was published on the first 
 day of the year 1917. The controversy went on for 
 two years; after that, opposition gradually died down. 
 Since the summer of 1919, the pei hua has spread far 
 and wide. In 1920, the Ministry of Education issued 
 an order to the effect that, beginning with the fall 
 opening of that year, the national language should be 
 taught in the first two grades of the primary school. 
 In the course of a few years, all the grades in the 
 primary schools will be using the living tongue in the 
 
 2 For the war literature of the literary revolution, see Hu Shih, 
 Selected Writings, vol. I., pp. 1-320. 
 
The Literary Revolution in China 57 
 
 place of the classical. This change has of necessity 
 affected the middle and normal schools where the 
 primary teachers are trained, and these higher schools 
 are anticipating the coming change by voluntarily 
 adopting texts in the vulgate. Most of the recent 
 publications have been in the vulgate. The newspapers 
 and periodicals have in most cases ceased to publish 
 poems in the classical language, and “new poems” in 
 spoken Chinese are taking their places. It is safe to 
 say that the controversial period is now almost over, 
 and the era of constructive and creative work is 
 before us. 
 
 The moral of this easy success of the literary revo- 
 lution is obvious. It was not the work of any individual 
 or individuals that has brought about its success. The 
 time has long been ripe for this revolution; two 
 thousand years of collective effort in linguistic revision 
 and ten centuries of literary activity in the living tongue 
 — these are the real factors which have made such a 
 rapid success possible. The common sense of our 
 people has for twenty centuries been unconsciously but 
 steadily and incessantly preparing for this day. The 
 literary revolution of the last five years is no more 
 than a culmination of twenty centuries’ historical 
 evolution. All unconscious processes of natural 
 evolution are of necessity very slow and wasteful. 
 Once these processes are made conscious and articulate, 
 intelligent control and experimentation become possible, 
 the work of many centuries may be telescoped into a 
 few years, and an easy success befall those who are in 
 reality, to use a classical phrase, “getting the credit 
 which properly belongs to Nature.” 
 
 February, 1922. 
 
IV 
 
 The Confucian God-Idea 1 
 
 By Y. Y. Tsu 
 
 St. John's University, Shanghai 
 
 T HE researches of Legge, De Groot, Ross, and 
 others have made clear to us the main features 
 of the ancient faith of China, as reflected in the old 
 classical literature, especially in the Books of History 
 and Poetry, the Shu-king and the Shih-king. De 
 Groot’s theory is that the core of Chinese religion, 
 past as well as present, is animism. But other scholars, 
 like Legge and Ross, do not share his view. It is true, 
 they say, that spirits of the hills, rivers, and valleys 
 and their worship are recorded in the Classics, but the 
 first place in thought and in worship in ancient times 
 was always given to T’ien or Shangti (Heaven or 
 “Lord on High”). T’ien or Shangti was the supreme 
 power or being in the universe, and all others, man or 
 spirit, were subordinate to Him. And so they conclude 
 that the ancient religion of China was monotheism. In 
 the words of Legge, “five thousand years ago the 
 Chinese were monotheists — not henotheists, but mono- 
 theists, and this monotheism was in danger of being 
 corrupted, we have seen, by a nature worship on the 
 
 1 Originally published in Christian China. 
 
 58 
 
The Confucian God-Idea 59 
 
 one hand, and by a system of superstitious divination 
 on the other.” 2 
 
 Whether the ancient religion was pure monotheism 
 or not, some kind of unity of religious thought had 
 already been achieved, the existence of a supreme being 
 or power ruling over kingdoms and men was 
 acknowledged. But what was the supreme being or 
 power whose existence men acknowledged? Was it 
 impersonal or personal, a moral principle or a righteous 
 God ? Legge thinks that Tien or SJmngti is equivalent 
 to the Christian term, God, or, at least, the Jewish term, 
 Jahve. He says, “T’ien has had much of the force of 
 the name Jahve, as explained by God Himself to Moses ; 
 Ti ( Shangti ) has presented that absolute deity in the 
 relation to men of their lord and governor. Ti was to 
 the Chinese fathers, I believe, exactly what God was 
 to our fathers, whenever they took the great name on 
 their lips.” s If the interpretation is correct, then we 
 may rejoice with Soothill “that great preparation has 
 been made in China for Christian enlightenment in 
 the recognition of a Power above, great, beneficent, 
 and just, who rewards virtue and punishes vice, and 
 who can be approached in prayer.” 4 
 
 A somewhat different attitude is taken by Suzuki in 
 his History of Chinese Philosophy . He says, “It may 
 not be altogether proper to consider Shang Ti as a 
 being residing in heaven (t’ien). Though it is certain 
 that he was not merely a moral power nor the personi- 
 fication of Heaven as some Christian missionary 
 scholars of Chinese religion are inclined to believe, 
 he was not a person in the fullest sense of the word. 
 But he had something of personality in him and could 
 
 1 Legge, Religions of China, 1880, p. 16. 
 
 3 Ibid, p. io. 
 
 4 Soothill, Three Religions of China, 1913, p. 144. 
 
6o 
 
 China To-Day 
 
 properly be called “he” instead of “it.” There is 
 no doubt, however, that the early Chinese did not 
 conceive their Shang Ti as did the Jews their Yahveh. 
 When the Chinese spoke of Shang Ti, they had in 
 their minds something of an august, supreme being in 
 Heaven above, who was the arbiter of human destiny, 
 though not their creator. He did not, exactly speaking, 
 reside in Heaven, but Heaven was his material or 
 objective expression.. Figuratively speaking, Heaven 
 was Shang Ti, and Shang Ti was Heaven.” 5 
 
 In other words, we have certain terms and expres- 
 sions, which have been handed down from the remote 
 past, and which are current more or less at the present 
 time, but their exact meaning, as far as the ancients 
 were concerned, is a matter of uncertainty, depending 
 upon our ways of interpretation. In trying to interpret 
 passages in the ancient classics, we have to bear in mind 
 the following points : First, our personal beliefs are apt 
 to colour our interpretation. There is always a great 
 temptation for us to read into the passages the meaning 
 that is most congenial to us. In religious matters, 
 because of our great interest, this temptation is 
 especially strong. We are inclined to idealise the 
 ancient religion of China, in our effort to discover the 
 so-called “preparation” in China for the Christian 
 religion. 
 
 Secondly, in dealing with the religious ideas of the 
 ancient Classics, we must remember that we are dealing 
 with a state religion, the religion of the imperial court, 
 and not the religion of the common people. The Court, 
 for reasons of its own, might uphold an exalted mono- 
 theism, while the people might all the time, as De Groot 
 contends, be sunk in the grossest animism. 
 
 6 Suzuki, History of Chinese Philosophy, 1914, p. 174- 
 
The Confucian God-Idea 
 
 6l 
 
 Thirdly, literary expressions should not be received 
 without critical estimation of their real value as dis- 
 tinguished from their face value. The ideals we 
 proclaim in public are as a rule higher than those we 
 live by in private. We are used to certain high- 
 sounding ethical statements in governmental proclama- 
 tions and professions and we know they are merely 
 formal and conventional expressions, with little reality 
 behind them. Similarly, we should accept the lofty 
 religious expressions in the Classics with reserve. They 
 might be merely a part of the impressive paraphernalia 
 of state rule, based upon the Divine Right theory. In 
 this connection we recall Legge’s attempt to prove the 
 exalted faith of the nation by the language of the 
 hymns and prayers used by the Ming emperors at the 
 Worship of Heaven . 6 Those hymns and prayers were 
 wonderful, breathing the spirituality of the psalms of 
 David and Solomon, but could we be sure that they 
 were more than beautiful poetic forms composed for 
 specific occasions and read, perhaps, by the emperors, 
 with no more comprehension than a child has when 
 reciting the “Great Learning,” or the Analects of 
 Confucius? 
 
 Finally, the best interpretation is that afforded by 
 historical development. By the fruits we shall know 
 of the nature of the tree. To appreciate the quality 
 of the ancient religion, we should not only study the 
 literary remains of the past, but also examine the 
 religious conceptions of the living who trace their 
 spiritual ancestry to the ancient source. We should 
 therefore find out the religious conceptions of the 
 Confucianist scholar of to-day. He may have been 
 
 a Legge, The Notions of the Chinese Concerning God and 
 Spirits, 1852, p. 23ft. 
 
62 China To-Day 
 
 influenced in his thinking by Buddhist and Taoist 
 doctrines, and in recent years by Western sciences and 
 philosophies, but in the main he is the faithful product 
 of that culture, recorded in the Classics, standardised by 
 Confucius and his followers, and broadly known as 
 Confucianism. 
 
 Let us proceed in our discussion in the following 
 order: i. The ancient faith. 2. The religious ideas of 
 Confucius. 3. The religious ideas of Chutze, the 
 foremost expositor of Confucianism, a.d. 11301201. 
 4. The religious ideas of the present-day scholars. 
 
 1. The ancient fcdth. The ideas about God, that is 
 about Shangti or T’ien, in the Books of History and 
 Poetry, are summarised by Soothill as follows: “He 
 hears and sees; He enjoys offerings; He has a heart, 
 or mind ; He is aided by men, and deputes His work, 
 especially to kings and their ministers; He can be 
 honoured and served; He is awe-inspiring, of dread 
 majesty, and to be feared; He confers on men their 
 moral sense, and makes retention of this favour 
 dependent on moral character ; His will is glorious, may 
 be known, and must be complied with ; a virtuous king 
 is after His own heart, but He will have no regard 
 to the ill-doer; with such a one He is angry; the 
 virtuous king He will reward with ease and dignity; 
 the appointment to kingly office is in His hands, such 
 appointment is contingent, and favour may be lost; He 
 protects, but may withdraw His protection ; He warns, 
 corrects, and punishes the evil king, even afflicts, ruins, 
 and destroys him, and of this instances are clearly 
 given.” 
 
 “T’ien gives birth to the people; It gives valour 
 and wisdom to princes; It gives blessings to the good 
 and woes to the evil; It ordains the social order, the 
 
The Confucian God-Idea 63 
 
 religious and social ceremonies, and human virtues; 
 It sends down rain; It is gracious to men and helps 
 them; Its will is unerring; It does not shorten men’s 
 lives, they do that themselves; It is not bound to 
 individuals by ties of biased human affections ; It com- 
 mands men to rectify their character; It gives man his 
 nature, compassionates him, and grants his desires; 
 It is only moved by virtue, but men may cry and weep 
 and pray to It, for It will hear.” 7 
 
 In discussing the Chinese ideas about God, Suzuki 
 points out the interesting fact that He was never 
 conceived of as having close personal relationship with 
 human beings, or as having manifested Himself to 
 them in any direct way through the senses. “He was 
 a quiet, deliberate, ethical power that discharged or 
 exercised his function rather impassively. He never 
 showed himself in the midst of fires, thunders, or 
 lightnings to vent his personal ire upon the creatures 
 below. The Chinese never caught a glimpse of their 
 God. He was hidden far up in the azure skies, he could 
 not be brought into immediate personal touch with 
 mortals.” 8 God was conceived of pre-eminently as the 
 moral authority of the universe, and in this aspect He 
 was supreme and His will absolute. His dealings with 
 men had to do primarily with moral conduct. A mor- 
 ally good life was the only way to get His favour. In 
 other words, the strongly practical Chinese mind did not 
 w r aste itself in vain imagination but made full use of 
 its religion in promoting the welfare of common-day 
 life. And so, while weak in spiritual fervour, the 
 ancient faith was strong in ethical application. This 
 characteristic, rather than decreasing as time went on, 
 
 7 Soothill, p. 143-4. 
 
 8 Suzuki, p. 129. 
 
64 China To-Day 
 
 increased to such proportions that finally ethics over*- 
 shadowed religion, and spiritual interests were lost sight 
 of through concentration of attention to mundane 
 affairs. 
 
 2. The religious ideas of Confucius. Confucius was 
 pre-eminently a moralist. His interests were this- 
 worldly. He had no taste for metaphysical speculation 
 or religious contemplation. Excepting the one refer- 
 ence to his desire for the study of the mysteries of the 
 Book of Changes, he consistently devoted himself to 
 the study and solution of the practical problems of 
 human relationships, and the teaching of right conduct. 
 He showed no curiosity for the mysterious and un- 
 known, and discouraged his disciples in their efforts to 
 understand those things. His own words are well 
 known . 9 
 
 “Not knowing how to serve men, how could we 
 serve spirits?” 
 
 “Honour the gods, but leave them alone.” 
 
 “How could we know about death, when we have 
 not understood life?” 
 
 “Sacrifice to the spirits, as if they were here.” 
 
 “Having offended Heaven, it is vain to pray for 
 forgiveness.” 
 
 “If I say the dead have consciousness, I am afraid 
 the filial sons will neglect the living and serve the 
 dead ; but if I say the dead have no consciousness, 
 I am afraid the unfilial sons will give up burying 
 their dead and sacrificing to them. Whether the 
 dead have consciousness or not, we shall know it 
 when we ourselves die. It is not too late.” 
 
 These utterances, given in reply to the questions 
 of the disciples concerning the occult, mysterious death, 
 
 8 Confucius’ Sayings in Chinese. 
 
The Confucian God-Idea 65 
 
 ghosts, and the spiritual world, reveal to us the attitude 
 of the Sage, in the public role of the Teacher. In his 
 private life, he showed strong faith in the Providence 
 of Heaven as giving him his allotted life and work on 
 earth, and protecting him against the evil designs of 
 his enemies. On two occasions, he used the highly 
 religious words, “Heaven has entrusted me with a 
 mission, what can my enemies do to my life ?” 10 
 Furthermore, sometimes in his quiet hours, he did 
 allow questionings about the “other world” to trouble 
 hi9 mind. “How surpassing great are the powers of 
 the spirits. Looking, we cannot see them; listening, 
 we cannot hear them ; embodying themselves in things, 
 they cannot be neglected. They make all men bathe, 
 fast, put on sacrificial apparel and worship them. 
 Vague and yet pervading, they seem to be above and 
 around us.” 10 But whatever his private religious 
 views, Confucius in his public life as Teacher was an 
 agnostic and positivist. 
 
 In those days there were other schools of thought 
 than that represented by Confucius. For example, 
 Laotze and his followers were building up a philos- 
 ophy, mystical, spiritual, and idealistic, defiantly 
 antagonistic to the utilitarian and materialistic system 
 of Confucius. Then there was Muh-tze, whose essays 
 on Universal Love, the Existence of God and His 
 attributes contain many conceptions which are strikingly 
 similar to Christian teaching. 11 But through his 
 strong personality, his conservatism, and his assumption 
 of the role of the champion of ancient culture, Con- 
 fucius was able to win Chinese thought to his standard 
 
 16 Confucius’ Sayings in Chinese. 
 
 11 Muh-tze’s essays “Universal Love,” “Against War,” “Will 
 of Heaven,” “Knowledge of Spiritual Beings,” etc. 
 
66 China To-Day 
 
 and to make his school the orthodox, and the rival 
 schools heretical. Henceforth Confucianism reigned 
 supreme. As far as the religious development of the 
 nation was concerned, this victory of Confucianism 
 was a decided set-back, for the spirit of Confucianism, 
 after its Founder, was sceptical and unfavourable to 
 religious growth. Although it professed to preserve 
 the ancient culture, and inherited the Classics as sacred 
 literature, Confucianism contributed nothing to the 
 enrichment of religious thought, the germs of which 
 were embedded in that literature. The God-idea of the 
 Classics instead of being clarified, grew dim and vague 
 in the atmosphere of Confucianism, and finally, in the 
 ambiguous term, T’ien, it became no more than an 
 impersonal moral principle or 1 law of the universe. 
 
 3. The religious ideas of Chutze. Chutze was the 
 greatest expositor of Confucianism and commentator 
 of the Classics. He lived in the Sung Dynasty, known 
 as the Period of Confucian Renaissance, and was the 
 chief exponent of the so-called “modern Confucianism” 
 which has come down to our day. The illustrious 
 Emperor K’ang-hsi, admiring Chutze as the true teacher 
 of Confucian orthodoxy, appointed a commission of 
 fifteen learned scholars to collect and publish all his 
 known works. The result was the Complete Works of 
 Chutze , in sixty-six volumes. It is unnecessary to 
 reproduce all that Chutze said on religious matters. 
 They are found especially in Volumes XLIX. and LI. 
 
 In his cosmogony, there was no place for a Creator. 
 Li and Chi or Law and Air, or, in the language of 
 Physics, Matter and Force, were the eternal dualism 
 sufficient to explain the universe and all things therein, 
 including life and mind. 12 The universe was, to borrow 
 
 “Quotations from Chutze regarding Creation. 
 
The Confucian God-Idea 67 
 
 Spencer’s phrase, a moving equilibrium, and subject to 
 successive evolution and dissolution. This theory of 
 evolution and dissolution is almost Spencerian, but 
 Chutze gave as reason for the universe returning to 
 chaos or dissolution the climax of human wickedness. 
 He did not commit himself to any position affirmative 
 or negative, in regard to the existence of God. But 
 once, when asked point-blank whether the Classics 
 meant an actual Supreme Being in Heaven, in such 
 sentences as “Shangti sends down the virtuous nature 
 upon the people,” “Heaven protects the people and 
 appoints princes,” “Heaven generates things, and in- 
 creases their powers according to their capacity; upon 
 the good it sends down innumerable felicities, and on 
 the evil innumerable calamities,” etc., or merely em- 
 ployed the expressions as figures of speech to mean 
 that owing to Law things were so, Chutze had to 
 answer one way or the other, and his answer was, 
 “Such statements have but one interpretation: it is 
 merely that Law is so. The revolving Air, from the 
 beginning, has experienced fullness after decline and 
 decline after fullness, ever thus revolving in a circle.” 
 Chutze’s theory of the creation and fate of the universe 
 is the typical Confucian theory of to-day. In its idea 
 of successive worlds, of repeated creation and chaos, 
 it reflects Buddhist influence, but the theory of dual 
 forces, the positive and negative, was derived from the 
 Book of Changes. 
 
 In regard to the existence of spirits, Chutze took 
 the thoroughly orthodox attitude. “Those that have 
 neither form nor shade are difficult to apprehend. Do 
 not bother about them. Devote yourself to the work 
 of daily existence which calls for continual exertion. 
 The Master has said, “Not knowing how to serve men, 
 
68 China To-Day 
 
 how could we serve spirits?” “How could we know 
 about death, when we have not understood life?” 
 “He has said all there is to say about the matter.” 
 “Whether there are spiritual beings or not, it is not 
 easy to tell in an off-hand way. Even if I told you, 
 would you understand and believe? You should try 
 to understand first the natural law ; then this question 
 will be cleared by itself. Someone asked the Master 
 about them. He replied, ‘Honour the spirits, but leave 
 them alone/ This is wisdom. Let us try to understand 
 ■what ought to be understood, but leave what we cannot 
 understand aside for the present. When you have 
 understood perfectly the principles of daily life, you 
 will naturally perceive the law about spiritual beings.” 13 
 But Chutze did try to explain in a materialistic way 
 the existence of spirits, especially ancestral spirits, as 
 the Worship of Ancestors called for . 14 At death, the 
 breath leaves the body and is scattered and mingled 
 with the universal air. But it is capable of coming 
 together again at the time of ancestral worship, on the 
 law that the like responds to the like. That is, the de- 
 scendants who conduct the worship have the same 
 breath in them that once animated their ancestors. 
 When the descendants in sincerity and concentration of 
 spirit beckon the ancestral spirit to return to the house, 
 on such occasions the scattered spirit is capable of 
 assembling again and returning. However, this “re- 
 formation” of the scattered spirit into a unity is only 
 temporary, being held together only by the intense 
 concentration of the worshipper’s mind during the 
 worship. And so it is impossible for the ancestral 
 spirit to unite and reincarnate itself in a body and 
 
 “Chutze on Spirits. Vol. LI. 
 
 14 Chutze on ancestral worship. Vol. I. 
 
The Confucian God-Idea 69 
 
 thus have a second life, such as the Buddhists teach. 
 Thus Chutze tried to explain ancestor worship. His 
 explanation undoubtedly is the one accepted and 
 current to-day. 
 
 4. The religions ideas of the present-day Confucian - 
 ists. In order to ascertain the religious ideas of the 
 present-day Confucianists, we recently put the question, 
 “What does T’ien or Shangti mean according to the 
 Confucian standard?” to a number of Chinese scholars. 
 The following replies are given because we believe 
 they are typical of the present attitude of the educated 
 people of the country outside of the Christian Church. 
 
 One scholar, a man of both Chinese and Western 
 learning, and editor of an important educational 
 magazine, says: “ T’ien or Shangti in Chinese means 
 exactly the same as God in English. But the God-idea 
 is now discredited by the educated people. We do not 
 believe in a personal God any more.” 
 
 This man has spoken for a very large number of 
 people. In matters of religion they have done no 
 independent and deep thinking for themselves. Their 
 Confucian education has pre-disposed them to agnos- 
 ticism and unbelief. They accept certain views of 
 well-known men, like Huxley and Spencer, as their 
 own and consider the questions therein involved thus 
 closed and settled. They have thrown overboard the 
 idea of a personal God as being incompatible with 
 the teachings of modern science. These people consider 
 all religions as superstition and so cannot see any good 
 in the Christian religion. We are inclined to entertain 
 the hope that Christianity, by its higher conception of 
 God, may resuscitate and purify the Chinese idea of 
 God and so lead men back to Him. But very often the 
 effect of the contact of Christianity with the native 
 
70 China To-Day 
 
 religion is to produce conflict, and in their defiance of 
 Christianity the native scholars would even throw away 
 their old faith in God. 
 
 Another scholar, an educationalist widely known 
 among Chinese and missionary educational circles, 
 made this reply, “Let us exclude for the present the 
 beliefs of the ignorant classes and consider the religious 
 attitude of the educated classes only. To us, the T'ien 
 or Shcmgti is a collective [noun?] and stands for all 
 that is mysterious and unexplained. The ancients were 
 surrounded by mysteries and they had no means of 
 understanding them and so invented the belief in the 
 existence of a mysterious being which they called T’ien 
 or Shangti. The idea has persisted to this day because 
 it has been found a useful means of social control. 
 The ignorant classes have no self-control. The ‘per- 
 sonal God’ idea excites fear and so acts as restraint 
 upon their conduct. As to the references in the Classics 
 about the justice of Heaven, of rewards and punish- 
 ments, that is only a way of writing or speaking. 
 There is in Nature the law of cause and effect, which 
 works positively, and so there is no necessity for postu- 
 lating a Personal Being in the universe dispensing 
 rewards and punishments.” 
 
 That religion is useful as a police force in dealing 
 with the ignorant classes that are weak in self-control 
 is an idea that one meets with all the time. The 
 idea is generally entertained by the educated classes 
 with a good deal of self-complacency, for the other 
 side of the statement is that the educated person who 
 knows his duties and rights has no need for religion. 
 To them religion is something that will be outlived. 
 When science gets at the mysteries that still remain 
 
The Confucian God-Idea 71 
 
 and throws on them the light of knowledge, then 
 religion will disappear. 
 
 A third scholar, who is a professor of Chinese 
 History and Philosophy in a university, made this 
 reply, “I have thought a great deal on the subject. 
 It seems to me, Christians and Confucianists do not 
 differ very much in the belief in the existence of 
 Shen Ling (spiritual and divine beings), but in one 
 thing we differ fundamentally. Christians say, ‘We. 
 know that God is personal/ whereas we Confucianists 
 say, ‘We do not know, for we have no way of finding 
 out what God is like/ ” 
 
 This agnosticism is characteristic. God exists but 
 He remains the Unknowable. This is the Creed of 
 Confucianism. The first part makes you glow with 
 pleasant anticipation of the wonderful vistas of 
 spiritual insight that may be opened to you, but the 
 second part slams the door right to and you are 
 face to face with a solid stone wall. This stone wall 
 of agnosticism is more difficult to surmount than open 
 hostility, because the agnostic is always self-satisfied. 
 Doubt is the prerequisite of inquiry and knowledge, 
 but the agnostic excludes doubt, for he is positive of 
 his own ignorance. He says human intellect is finite; 
 it is vain for it to strive to know the Unknowable. 
 “Honour the gods, but let them alone/’ 
 
 As another example of the religious attitude of the 
 modern Confucianist — this time, a written testimony 
 —-we quote from the New Citizen Magazine edited by 
 Liang Chi-chao, the foremost living scholar of China, 
 and published about ten years ago. “The religions 
 of the world may not be identical in their aims, but 
 they are alike in urging respect of Heaven and love of 
 man. But while Jesus said, ‘I am the Son of God/ 
 
72 China To-Day 
 
 Mahomet, ‘I am God’s Prophet,’ Buddha, ‘In heaven 
 above and on earth below, I am alone Great,’ Confucius 
 said only this, ‘I am trying to follow and support the 
 development of Heaven and Earth.’ But really Con- 
 fucius’ aim is the soundest of all, for the edification 
 of mankind, and cannot be likened to the empty 
 claims of the other religious leaders. . . . All religions 
 talk about heaven and hell, but Confucius silenced all 
 curiosity about spirits and the spiritual world by saying, 
 ‘Not knowing how to serve men, how could we serve 
 spirits?’ . . . The ancients were stupid; without a 
 heaven it was impossible to encourage them in good 
 work, and without a hell it was impossible to restrain 
 them in evil doing. Later knowledge became fuller 
 and civilisation more advanced. Everyone knew that 
 he must do his duty while he had a breath in him, and 
 he dared not and cared not to stop one moment and 
 waste his time in inquiring about heaven above or in 
 contemplating with fear the hell underneath. He 
 knew that if everyone did his best to fulfil the law 
 of human life, it was the true way of what Confucius 
 called ‘following Heaven and Earth.’ When the world 
 reaches this stage, the religion of humanity will prevail. 
 In short, do not indulge in empty talk about the 
 mysterious and hidden, but converse about the common- 
 day food and drink facts' of existence, and the teachings 
 of Confucius will have become triumphant.” 15 
 
 In conclusion, we may say that Confucianism has 
 very little to tell us about God. The most generally 
 used word for the God-idea is T'ien. It is ambiguous 
 and stands for a personal Being at one time and an 
 impersonal object at another, and no attempt has been 
 
 19 The New Citizen Magazine. 
 
The Confucian God-Idea 73 
 
 made to define its nature. “Heaven has five titles: 
 In our great respect for it, it is called, Heavenly 
 Emperor ; to show its extent, it is called Great Heaven ; 
 on account of its benevolence, it is called Merciful 
 Heaven; as it is above us and looks down at us, it is 
 called High Heaven; it is azure, as we look at it from 
 afar, and so it is called, Azure Heaven.” x& Since 
 Chutze and the Sung Dynasty, T’ien has lost its 
 personal quality, and is identified with Natural Law 
 or just Nature. “There is only one nature and no 
 other. Referring to its substance, it is called heaven; 
 considered as ruler or lord, it is called Shangti (God) ; 
 viewed as functioning, it is called fate; as given to 
 men, it is called disposition; as controlling the body, 
 it is called mind.” 17 Such expressions as the “Virtue 
 of Heaven” ( T’ien Tuh ), the “Reason of Heaven” 
 ( Tien Li) and the “Word of Heaven” {T’ien Tao) 
 are commonly used in literature of the present day, 
 but they are only figurative and poetic names for 
 Nature and Natural Law. In short, to the Confucian- 
 ists, the question of God and man’s personal relationship 
 to Him is a dead issue, for they are not interested in 
 religion. 
 
 “Five Titles for Heaven. 
 
 “Wang Yang Ming (a.d. 1472-1529), the greatest scholar of 
 Ming Dynasty. See Philosophy of Wang Yang Ming, Heiuke, 
 
 1916. 
 
V 
 
 Present Tendencies in Chinese Buddhism* 
 
 By Y. Y. Tsu 
 
 St. John's University, Shanghai 
 
 I N the rapid transformation of thought and life which 
 is sweeping over Eastern Asia as a result of the 
 impact of Western civilisation upon Oriental culture, 
 there is one phase that is being watched with special 
 interest by students of the history of religions on 
 account of what it portends for the spiritual future of 
 the Oriental peoples in particular and of the world in 
 general, namely, the reaction of the old religions to 
 modern influences. The disruptive effect of modern 
 science upon ancient faiths is wxll known, but it is not 
 to be supposed that the latter are so valueless and 
 discredited as to succumb readily to the onslaught of 
 new ideas and pass out of existence quietly without 
 an effort at self-defence. On the contrary, the danger 
 that faces them serves often as a powerful stimulus 
 to rouse the old religions to renewed activity and 
 reformation in an attempt to adapt themselves to 
 changed conditions and so retain their hold upon the 
 loyalty of their followers. A classic instance of this 
 kind in European religious history is the so-called 
 Counter-Reformation within the Roman church and 
 
 1 Originally published in the Journal of Religion. 
 
 74 
 
Tendencies in Chinese Buddhism 75 
 
 the accelerated development of its missionary zeal 
 immediately following the Protestant Reformation. 
 We find to-day in India reform movements within 
 Hinduism, as indicated by the organisation of the 
 Brahma Samaj and similar bodies; in Japan, the na- 
 tionalisation of Shinto and the active revival of 
 Buddhism ; and in China the frustrated attempt to make 
 Confucianism the state religion of the republic and 
 lately signs of awakening in Chinese Buddhism after 
 centuries of quiescent existence. 
 
 It will be recalled that in the history of Buddhism, 
 China occupies a very important place. It was here 
 that reformed or Mahayana Buddhism received its 
 greatest development and from here spread into Korea 
 and Japan. In the sixth century, when Buddhism 
 was threatened with extinction in the land of its 
 birth, Bodhidharma, the twenty-eighth Indian Patri- 
 arch, removed his seat from India to China and became 
 the first Chinese Patriarch, thus making China the 
 centre of the Buddhist church of that time. Modem 
 students of Buddhism know that for much of our 
 knowledge of the life and teachings of Sakyamuni and 
 of the history of India and its condition in the time of 
 the founder, we are indebted to the records of the 
 Chinese Pilgrims, Fah-hsein, Hiuen-tsang, and I-ching, 
 who visited India in the fourth and seventh centuries 
 and spent years of research there. Only through the 
 French translation of Renusault in 1837 did any of 
 these records become first available for Western 
 scholars, and it is interesting to note in passing that 
 the exact birthplace of Buddha w r as not located until 
 toward the end of the nineteenth century, with the help 
 of data found in those records. While it is correct 
 to say, as Fenollosa and others have done, that China 
 
76 China To-Day 
 
 owes much of its finest in literature and art to 
 Buddhism, it is equally correct to say that Buddhism 
 in its historic development and expansion owes much 
 to China. China is still the largest Buddhist country 
 in the world, and in its language the most complete 
 and extensive canon of Mahayana Buddhism is to be 
 found. What will become of Buddhism in China will 
 largely determine the fate of that religion in Asia, and 
 on this account the present manifestation of new life- 
 currents running through this old faith in China is of 
 unusual interest and significance. 
 
 The reform movement in Chinese Buddhism began 
 a little over ten years ago in the closing decade of 
 the now defunct Manchu Dynasty. Those were 
 thrilling days for the nation, astir in its every part 
 with new life. Within the compass of those ten short 
 years were crowded together events of tremendous 
 moment, such as had never occurred at any other 
 time in the history of Eastern Asia. The year 1898 
 saw the abortive launching of the educational and 
 political reforms by Emperor Kuanghsu in collab- 
 oration with K ang Yu-wei, which brought down upon 
 them the fury of the then reactionary Empress Dowager 
 and resulted in the virtual imprisonment of the 
 Emperor and the flight of K’ang from the country. 
 Two years later, in 1900, came the cataclysm of the 
 Boxer Uprising, the humiliation of the Imperial Court 
 and its ignominious flight to far-away Sian-fu. When 
 the Empress Dowager returned to Peking she was a 
 wiser woman, and espoused the cause of reform. In 
 1904-5 the war between Japan and Russia was fought 
 and the spectacular victory of Japan over the forces 
 of the northern Octopus stirred the hearts of all Asiatic 
 peoples with new hopes and ambitious dreams of the 
 
Tendencies in Chinese Buddhism 77 
 
 future. In 1908 the Imperial Court, after having sent 
 special commissions to Japan and Europe for the study 
 of constitutional government, and having received their 
 favourable report, announced a programme for the 
 gradual transformation of the government into a con- 
 stitutional monarchy and authorised self-government 
 for the provinces and districts. Had the programme 
 been worked out to its culmination, China would have 
 been a constitutional monarchy in 1913. But something 
 happened which deflected the course of events. In 1908 
 occurred the mysterious death of Emperor Kuanghsu, 
 still in his thirties, simultaneously with that of the 
 Empress Dowager; with the strong hand of the old 
 lady withdrawn from the helm, the ship of state drifted 
 into a condition which set the stage for the Revolution 
 of 1911. 
 
 It was in those days of national self-consciousness 
 and social and political upheaval, which wrought havoc 
 to conventional attitudes and antiquated traditions, 
 that the Buddhist church first felt the shock of changed 
 times and the challenge of the new day. For better 
 self-preservation and expression the Chung Hua Fu 
 Chiao Tsung Hui (Chinese National Buddhist Society) 
 was organised under the leadership of Chi Ch’an Ho 
 Shang, abbot of Tien T’ung Ssu Monastery, Ningpo. 
 The inauguration meeting was held at Liu Yun Ssu 
 Monastery, Shanghai, in April, 1910, and an ambitious 
 programme was adopted, of which the following were 
 its chief provisions (free translation) : 
 
 1. This society is formed by the union of all 
 Buddhist monks. 
 
 2. With branches all over the country, it exercises 
 supervision over all the monasteries and monks. 
 
 3. All monks, formally admitted into the Order, are 
 
78 China To-Day 
 
 given certificates attesting to their membership in the 
 society. 
 
 4. No monk is permitted to receive any pupil 
 [candidate for the Order] unless the candidate is a 
 bona-fide applicant and of good family. 
 
 5. No monastery is permitted to alienate any of its 
 property without authorisation from the society. 
 
 6. Observance of monastic rules should be strictly 
 enforced ; for violation of the same rules, monks are to 
 be punished. 
 
 7. Seminaries for the training of candidates for the 
 Order are to be established, and in it Buddhist scriptures 
 and Chinese classics are to be taught. 
 
 8. Persons under twenty years of age are not to be 
 admitted into the Order ; also those who have not had 
 three years of theological training. 
 
 9. For monks to hire themselves out for the per- 
 formance of funeral services, especially appearing in 
 funeral processions, is considered derogatory to the 
 dignity of the monastic order, and so the practice 
 is to be strictly prohibited. 
 
 We note that the society aimed to purify the monastic 
 order of its existing evils. Of them, the two most 
 prominent are the ignorance of the monks in the 
 elements of their own religion and the mercenary spirit 
 of the monks in rendering their religious services to 
 the people; hence the emphasis placed upon better 
 theological preparation of the candidates and the pro- 
 hibition of the monks taking part in the funeral 
 services. 
 
 Other societies that appeared at that time in different 
 parts of the country were: Fo Chiao Kung Hui (the 
 Buddhist Church Club), Chung Hua Wang Man Tsu 
 Hui (the Yellow Swastika Society, corresponding to 
 
Tendencies in Chinese Buddhism 79 
 
 the Red Cross Society in its objects), Fo Chiao Chin 
 Te Hui Buddhist Moral Endeavour Society), Fo 
 Hsueh Yen Kyeu She (Buddhist Research Society), 
 etc. Two magazines were published as organs of the 
 new movement: Fo Chiao T/ung Pao (Buddhist 
 Miscellany) and Fo Chiao Yeuh Pao (Buddhist 
 Monthly). 
 
 This was the first wave of Buddhist revival. In its 
 nature it was political rather than spiritual, and it 
 resulted in better organisation rather than moral 
 reformation. As a reaction to external circumstances 
 enthusiasm surged high at first, but there was nothing 
 within the Order to uphold it, and so, when the first 
 impetus had spent itself, the movement fell to pieces. 
 One by one the activities such as educational and chari- 
 table institutions, lectures and magazines were given 
 up, and the various societies, which had sprung up like 
 mushrooms, disappeared as quickly. 
 
 In justice to the movement it must be said that the 
 Revolution of 1911, which resulted in the formation of 
 the Republic, was at least in part responsible for the 
 breakdown of the revival. The spirit of the Revolu- 
 tion was iconoclastic, especially toward monastic Bud- 
 dhism, and the Republican Government has not dealt 
 kindly with it. Although the constitution has prom- 
 ised religious liberty and equality of treatment of all 
 religions, yet the government has seen fit to exercise 
 stringent supervision over Buddhism. In doing this it 
 is merely keeping up the tradition of the past dynasties, 
 which had always looked upon Buddhism as a ward of 
 the State, owing to the fact that historically Buddhism 
 was introduced into China through royal patronage and 
 had been more or less dependent for its support upon 
 the munificence of the imperial court. Perhaps the 
 
8o 
 
 China To-Day 
 
 other reason for government supervision is that official 
 China, being Confucianist in its political and social 
 philosophy, is always apprehensive of a religion which 
 values monastic life as superior to the life of the house- 
 hold, and so thinks that it should be carefully guarded 
 against too successful a propagation lest it weaken the 
 State, which is built according to Confucian tenets 
 upon the family as its cornerstone. 
 
 Whatever the motive behind the governmental policy, 
 soon after the political reorganisation of the country 
 was fairly well in hand, President Yuan Shi-kai, first 
 president of the Republic, ordered to be promulgated 
 through Parliament in 1915, “Regulations for Govern- 
 ment Supervision of Temples and Monasteries.” While 
 these regulations were supposed to apply to Buddhist 
 and Taoist institutions without discrimination, it was 
 clear that owing to the fact that Buddhist institutions 
 far outnumber those of the Taoist faith and that Taoism 
 has no monks anyway, the regulations would fall more 
 heavily upon the Buddhists — in fact, that was the in- 
 tention of the government. The government justified 
 itself by arguing that temples and monasteries are 
 public institutions and many of them are of historic 
 and artistic importance, and so supervision was neces- 
 sary to prevent their falling into private hands. The 
 chief features of the regulations are: (1) registration 
 of temples and monasteries, monks and nuns; (2) taxa- 
 tion of temple property; (3) non-alienation of temple 
 property; (4) subjection of religious activities and 
 preaching services to police regulation. 
 
 This action brought forth vehement protest from 
 the Buddhists, and because of this protest and also of 
 the fall of the Yuan regime in 1916, the regulations 
 were not enforced. But in retaliation for the protest, 
 
Tendencies in Chinese Buddhism 81 
 
 the government closed down the National Buddhist So- 
 ciety on the pretext that its existence was dangerous to 
 public safety. The society was reorganised after 
 Yuan’s fall, but in 1917 it was again closed by the 
 government at the time when the regulations were put 
 into effect. 
 
 As an illustration of the way the government has 
 dealt with Buddhist establishments, when pressed by 
 circumstances, we recall the fate of Lung Hua Ssu, an 
 ancient and famous monastery in the western suburb 
 of the city of Shanghai. In pre-republican days, it 
 enjoyed wide popularity, not only on account of its 
 architecture, but also because of its beautiful rural sur- 
 roundings. In the springtime its courtyards were 
 thronged with pilgrims and children who came to wor- 
 ship and enjoy the many-coloured peach blossoms for 
 which the countryside around the temple is famous. 
 Then came the Revolution of 1911 and with it the 
 battalions of new soldiers in khaki uniforms. Some of 
 them were despatched to Shanghai for its protection. 
 But there were no barracks and the government had 
 no money to build them. Someone with a business 
 mind, but little capacity for spiritual values, suggested 
 that the commodious equipment of Lung Hua Ssu was 
 available, and the army could have it for less than a 
 song, for the monks were powerless to resist. And so 
 one morning, soldiers came, turned out the monks, and 
 established themselves there. That was eight years ago 
 and the khaki-uniformed soldiers are still there. The 
 droning voices of the bonzes in their chanting, the 
 temple bells, and the footsteps of pilgrims in springtime 
 have all disappeared, and in their place one hears the 
 mingled notes of the bugle and the drum, and the 
 measured thud of the soldiers’ boots resounding in the 
 
82 China To-Day 
 
 yards as they practise the goose-step to the rhythm of 
 the “Left-Right” of the leader. A sight which one 
 can hardly forget on entering the main hall is to see in 
 place of the beautiful tapestries, candlesticks, kneeling 
 stools, and burning lamps — the paraphernalia of wor- 
 ship and adoration — the entire floor space crowded with 
 stacks of rifles with shining bayonets, soldiers’ kits and 
 camp-beds — the paraphernalia of warfare and destruc- 
 tion. But in the centre there remains the majestic 
 image of Buddha, seated on a raised platform, with a 
 serene and unperturbed face, looking down upon this 
 strange sight with infinite pity in his eyes for poor 
 humanity thus gone astray, yet patiently waiting for 
 its return to the path of peace and brotherly love. To 
 see this is truly to see the abomination of desolation 
 standing in the holy place, but military necessity knows 
 no sanctity. 
 
 The failure of the first wave of Buddhist revival to 
 achieve spiritual results was in large measure due to 
 the lack of a truly great spiritual leader. Now such a 
 leader seems to have appeared in the person of T’ai 
 Shu Fa Sz, a monk of great learning and saintly char- 
 acter, and with his appearance has commenced the 
 second wave of Buddhist revival. As the first was 
 political in nature, the second is essentially spiritual. 
 A genuine desire to reform monasticism, to reconstruct 
 Buddhist theology according to modern philosophy, and 
 to promote human welfare on the basis of the teachings 
 of Buddha is the dominant note. Instead of attempting 
 to organise a nation-wide society to include all Bud- 
 dhists, spiritually minded monks and laymen have 
 united to form a society for the working out of the 
 new ideas and aims and adopted for it the significant 
 name of Bodhi (Enlightenment) Society. The objects 
 
Tendencies in Chinese Buddhism 83 
 
 of the new organisation are set forth in the following 
 words : — 
 
 1. To propound the essence of Mahayana Buddhism 
 so that opposition may be dissolved, doubts removed, 
 faith strengthened, religion energised, and mankind 
 transformed into saintly and heavenly beings. 
 
 2. To propagate the essence of Mahayana Buddhism, 
 so that the wicked may be led into loving kindness, the 
 selfish persons to righteousness, the wise to thirst for 
 the doctrine, the strong to love of virtue, and the strug- 
 gling misery-filled world transformed into a place of 
 peace and happiness. 
 
 Membership requirements are high. To be a mem- 
 ber one must express sympathy for the objects of the 
 society, and faith in the Three Treasures (Buddha, 
 Law, and Order) ; he must also declare Four Great 
 Vows (to save all beings, to destroy all passions, to 
 know and teach others to know the law, and to lead 
 others to understand the teachings of Buddha) and 
 observe the Ten Commandments (not to kill, not to 
 steal, not to commit adultery, not to lie, not to exag- 
 gerate, not to slander, not to be double-tongued, not to 
 covet, not to be angry, not to be heretical). Besides 
 these he has to be diligent in the study of the sutras 
 and observance of rules of fasting, medication, and 
 charity. The society was first formed in 1915. 
 
 For effective propaganda the society publishes a 
 monthly magazine, called Hai Chao Yin (the Voice of 
 the Sea Waves). It aims to lift the voice of Mahayana 
 Buddhism for the guidance of mankind tossed as it is 
 by the waves of modern thought. The magazine con- 
 tains (1) exposition of Buddhist doctrines, as, for 
 instance, a new commentary of “Mahayana Craddhot- 
 pada-castra” (Awakening of Faith) ; (2) apologetics 
 
84 China To-Day 
 
 or defence of the faith in face of modern criticism ; (3) 
 advocacy of reformation, as reorganisation of the 
 monastic order; (4) testimonials : stories of conversion 
 experience, lives of saintly devotees, etc; (5) critical 
 review of works on religion and philosophy, especially 
 on Buddhism. It is of high literary quality and is 
 edited by T’ai Shu Fa Sz himself. 
 
 About the early life of the new leader little is known. 
 He is much sought after for spiritual advice and for 
 conducting lecture and devotional meetings. His writ- 
 ings are read extensively and through them he exer- 
 cises great influence upon thinking men and women of 
 the day. He has travelled in Japan and there met some 
 of the leaders of Japanese Buddhism. From his auto- 
 biographical sketch, which appeared in the first issue 
 of the Hai Chao Yin, the following is extracted, as 
 showing the spirit of the man : — 
 
 “T’ai Shu in youth did not know Buddhism. Later 
 I was attracted to it and I studied deeply into Buddhist 
 books. After some time knowledge of the Buddha 
 came to me like a pearl, lost and found again, and with 
 it, as with a mirror, I was enabled to see clearly through 
 the changes of this life and the world. 
 
 “Toward the last days of the Tsing (Manchu) 
 Dynasty, the wish gradually formed within me of 
 applying the law of Buddha for the harmonising of 
 the philosophies of ancient and modern times and of 
 the east and the west, and of leading the nations of the 
 whole world to follow the teachings of Sakyamuni. 
 Since then, during the past decade, through circum- 
 stances favourable and unfavourable, whether travel- 
 ling abroad or staying at home, whether engaged in 
 mundane affairs or retired in lonely hermitage, this 
 
Tendencies in Chinese Buddhism 85 
 
 wish has not for one moment been permitted to leave 
 my mind. 
 
 “Then the European War broke out Added to the 
 rottenness of the inward life of man was the brutal 
 struggle of the outward world. I was convinced of 
 the magnitude of human calamity, which like a wagon- 
 load of hay on fire could not be extinguished with a 
 cupful of water. 
 
 “Since it was ordained that I should wait until the 
 ripe time to carry out my wish, I decided to make use 
 of the waiting to exercise my religion [contemplation], 
 and so I ‘shut myself’ on Pontoo Island for three years. 
 
 “After that, I travelled in Japan and Taiwan, and 
 wherever convenient I preached the doctrine. [He 
 published afterward an account of his travels.] 
 
 “The next year, I was invited to visit the South Sea 
 Islands [where there are colonies of prosperous Chi- 
 nese emigrants]. I formed the idea of building a 
 national monastery. My observation leads me to feel 
 that the monastic institutions in our country have fallen 
 away from ancient pure ideals and are corrupt beyond 
 reform. If I could raise the fund from people abroad, 
 I would build the national monastery [as model of 
 renewed and purified monasticism] . If I should fail to 
 attain my object I would reconcile myself to*the life of 
 a wandering mendicant and, leaning upon Buddha’s 
 mercy, thus travel to my life’s end. 
 
 “When I was at Pontoo, some earnest devotees 
 requested me to lecture on ‘Wei-shi-lun’ [Shastra 
 Vidyamatrasiddhi]. I talked to them about my wish 
 to reform monastic institutions and my plan to go 
 south. They also saw the works I have written. They 
 strongly advised against the southern trip at the time, 
 as the European War was at its height, and it would 
 
86 China To-Day 
 
 be difficult to raise money there, but urged me to pub- 
 lish my works and to organise a society for the promo- 
 tion of Buddhism in China as the first step of my larger 
 plans. And so we organised the ‘Bodhi Society’ in 
 Shanghai. . . 
 
 [Here he mentioned plans for establishment of 
 Buddhist University, model monasteries for training 
 preachers, encouraging philanthropies, etc., also raising 
 fund for trip around the world in the interest of 
 Buddhism.] 
 
 “Lately I have been living in Chin-Van Yuan Monas- 
 tery, on the side of the Western Lake, Hangchow. 
 Here I had desired to live quietly for the practice of 
 contemplation, but the members of the Bodhi Society 
 have asked me to edit a new magazine, called Hao 
 Chao Yin [the Voice of Sea Waves] to meet the needs 
 of the time. I have consented to do it for one year, as- 
 the work is congenial to my original wish, and so for 
 this year, I have decided to lay aside other work and 
 devote myself to editing the magazine. What of the 
 future, a year hence, none can foretell. But at the close 
 of ten thousand years, the Tathagata will surely raise 
 up men to establish the Law and spread it throughout 
 the world of the living. I shall wait awhile. 
 
 “Dated 20th Day of 1 ith Moon of 2946th year after 
 Buddha (1920)-— H.C.Y., Vol. I.” 
 
 T’ai Shu being a monk himself, is fully conscious 
 of the weakness of the Buddhist church (1) in the 
 lack of efficient organisation for the propagation of 
 the religion, and (2) in the corruption of the monastic 
 order, and so he has addressed himself to the task of 
 reorganisation and reformation. He proposes to have 
 a national system embracing preaching chapels and 
 parishes in every city, a certain number of monasteries 
 
Tendencies in Chinese Buddhism 87 
 
 and charitable institutions in each province, and a 
 national monastery and university in the capital city 
 of the country. As a part of the national institution he 
 would have a library containing an extensive collection 
 of Buddhist literature and a museum for Buddhist art. 
 Into the museum he would have all images moved, so 
 that other buildings could be free of them. Belonging 
 as he does to the Dhyana or Meditation School, 
 founded by! Bodhidharma in the sixth century, Tai Shu 
 is opposed to idolatry and tolerates it only as an accom- 
 modation to the weakness of the masses. As to the 
 monks, he would encourage manual labour as an anti- 
 dote to laziness and would encourage more time being 
 spent in meditation and study for spiritual develop- 
 ment. In his account of his travels in Japan and 
 Taiwan he had a brief reference to his daily life to the 
 effect that it has been his practice to spend at least 
 three or four hours every day in meditation, and he 
 has never allowed a day to pass without it, even the 
 busiest day, during the past ten years. How far he 
 will be able to carry out the reforms which he has con- 
 ceived in his mind only time will show. Meanwhile he 
 has been influential in winning many serious-minded 
 men and women to the pursuit of the religious 
 (monastic) life. 
 
 In the spring of 1920, three men renounced the 
 world and entered the Order together, adopting as 
 their religious names, Great Mercy, Great Awakening 
 and Great Valour. They were literati and had served 
 the Republic in public life, but were converted through 
 the preaching of T’ai Shu to become teachers of the 
 Law of Buddha. On taking the step each person wrote 
 out a statement giving his reasons for his action. On 
 reading these statements, which appeared in the Hai 
 
88 
 
 China To-Day 
 
 Chao Yin , one realises what a strong appeal the simple 
 gospel of Buddha still makes to the minds of men and 
 women in the East, who, dissatisfied with existing con- 
 ditions of life, are seeking a way of escape whereby 
 they can rise above the turmoil and adversities of 
 troublesome life, be free from the shackles of circum- 
 stances, and have peace of mind. In the practice of 
 self-discipline, of strenuously controlling and sup- 
 pressing one's insatiable desires — the root of all misery 
 in the world, as Buddha taught twenty-five centuries 
 ago — men feel they have found the way of salvation 
 for themselves and for others, and having found it 
 they become, like Buddha himself, fervent messengers 
 in bringing the truth to others. The following, taken 
 from one of the above-mentioned statements, expresses 
 the spirit of the present movement in Buddhism : — 
 “The Law of Buddha is the most true, most excel- 
 lent, most profound, and most universal way for all 
 phenomenal and supra-phenomenal worlds — unexcelled 
 and the only one — because it meets the sore need of 
 the world, which is spiritual and of the heart. Let us 
 consider the recent world-war as a case to the point. 
 Did it not arise on account of the greed, ignorance, and 
 madness of human egotism? The greater the desire, 
 the greater the seeking. Blind movement leading to 
 blind steps, eagerness for struggle, eagerness for vic- 
 tory, false grappling, false possession — from such 
 activity [deeds] on the part of many there has resulted 
 the world calamity. To go forward with such a heart 
 unchanged, the more one tries to restore order, the 
 greater will be the chaos. And so to seek for true, 
 universal, and permanent peace and happiness, the only 
 way efficacious is for everyone to be willing in his heart 
 to reduce desire, to be contented, to cease struggling, 
 
Tendencies in Chinese Buddhism 89 
 
 and relinquish one’s hold. Hence my conviction that 
 world-salvation requires the Law of Buddha. But thi9 
 cannot be accomplished without my earnestly and 
 speedily proclaiming the Law among men. To do this, 
 the best way is for me to strengthen my will, study the 
 doctrine, and thus prepare myself to give my personal 
 testimony of faith. Hence the primary step on enter- 
 ing the Order. My now doing this, namely, leaving 
 family, and society, and learning the Law of Buddha, 
 is to prepare myself for the task of saving the world 
 with the Law. It is not dissimilar to my previous 
 action of leaving home and studying military art to 
 prepare myself for the task of saving my own country. 
 The difference is that previously my aim was the salva- 
 tion of my country and people, while now my aim is 
 the salvation of all living creatures. — H. C. Y., Vol. I.” 
 Not only are men renouncing the world and entering 
 the monastic order, but educated women are doing it 
 also. In Hai Chao Yin was published a remarkable 
 letter written by a young woman to T’ai Shu for spir- 
 itual advice. Documents of this kind, recording as this 
 does the inner spiritual life in non-Christian religions, 
 are not common or easily accessible, and so we have 
 given below the letter as a whole : — 
 
 “At present, Buddhism has deterioriated and 
 reached the lowest ebb. The main reason is the cor- 
 ruption of monastic orders, male and female. The 
 monks and nuns do not know how to save themselves, 
 not to think of their saving others. Not one out of 
 a hundred can keep the discipline and read the sutras. 
 This is indeed most sad. So I think we cannot hope 
 for improvement of the condition unless there come 
 forward monks and nuns, of genuine motive for sav- 
 ing the world, with deep knowledge of the Law and 
 
90 China To-Day 
 
 respect for the Order, determined (i) to purify the 
 monastic life, and (2) to propagate the religion. But 
 how few are such choice spirits, like your reverend 
 self, and others [mentioned by name]. If only more 
 would take up the monastic vow ! But some say that 
 one may serve Buddha without laying aside family 
 and social life. In my opinion, at the present time, to 
 purify monastic life and propagate the religion, it is 
 absolutely necessary to shave off the hair and enter the 
 Order. I am therefore greatly surprised to read in one 
 of the numbers of the Magazine that you, reverend Sir, 
 wrote, ‘The best way is to practise bodhi without for- 
 saking the world [becoming a monk].’ Now, you, 
 reverend Sir, are yourself a monk; why then advise 
 others against becoming monks? There must be a 
 reason. Will you instruct me? 
 
 “Formerly I was a student at a school, and was not 
 inclined to believe in Buddhism. Later unconsciously 
 my faith sprang up and then I became convinced that 
 the Law of Buddha is the absolute and only true 
 religion, unbounded and most lovable. So, at the age 
 of nineteen, I made a vow before Buddha, that in this 
 life I would never marry, but give my life to Him as 
 a nun. I have kept this vow for four years, and many 
 times I wanted to shave off my hair, but was prevented 
 by my parents. I am sorry that I cannot be a nun 
 early in life. I have three friends with the same mind. 
 One is married, but she daily thinks of shaving off her 
 hair and ‘forsaking the world’; only she is prevented 
 from doing so by her husband. But she is persuading 
 him to become a monk, and I won’t be surprised if 
 they two should ‘forsake the world’ together before the 
 end of the year. For a girl to be able to shave off her 
 hair and be a nun is the most happy thing. Now-a-days 
 
Tendencies in Chinese Buddhism 91 
 
 some nuns complain that their lives are unhappy, while 
 the lives of lay-folk are happy. I really cannot under- 
 stand their way of thinking. The other two friends 
 were both my school-mates. One is called ‘Pure root’ ; 
 she has no parents, but a brother — none to prevent her 
 — and so she became a nun in the spring of last year. 
 The other is only eighteen, and yet her determination 
 to ‘forsake the world’ is unusually strong. This year 
 her mother wanted to betroth her to some one, and so 
 she decided to leave home secretly. I recommended 
 her to a certain nunnery. Of us four, two have already 
 realised their wish, leaving my cousin and myself out- 
 side the fold. I feel grieved and also envious of their 
 good fortune. 
 
 “At first we thought that by becoming nuns we 
 would escape from the world’s misery and sorrow, 
 enjoy peace, and work off by penance some of our 
 sinfulness. Furthermore, by becoming nuns we sisters 
 could live together and never be separated, which is 
 supreme joy. 
 
 “But now, after reading Hal Chao Yin, we know 
 that ‘to forsake the world’ is to benefit others, not 
 ourselves. Having known this my will to be a nun 
 has become stronger than ever. I wish that I could 
 now and here shave off my hair. I have a few ques- 
 tions which I hope my Master in the Law will answer 
 fully. I shall be most grateful. (1) How could one 
 secure parents’ and elders’ consent? (2) Failing to 
 secure the consent, could one be justified in secretly 
 leaving home and entering the Order? (3) How could 
 one get rid of the emotion of love? (4) Could one 
 abandon one’s husband and be a nun? (5) Is it right 
 to persuade one’s wife, husband, or others to ‘forsake 
 the world’? (6) Is it right to abandon one’s children 
 
92 China To-Day 
 
 and become a nun? (7) If I were a man I would have 
 chosen you, Sir, as my Teacher, but being a woman 
 that is not proper. Could you recommend to me a 
 nunnery where I can go? 
 
 “In my study of the sutras, I have unfortunately no 
 one to teach me. I can only try my best to recite them, 
 with or without true understanding. In case I come, 
 across passages I cannot understand, would you permit 
 me to write you for help ? 
 
 . . Kindly reply through the magazine. . . . 
 
 [Signed: Purified Heart]. 
 
 “P.S. — I am determined, whatever happens, to 
 shave off my hair this year. After becoming a nun, 
 I propose to reform and change the life of the nunnery 
 with all my might. I hope to ask your advice in the 
 future.”— Quoted from H.C.Y., Vol. V. 
 
 As yet this spiritual revival in Buddhism is confined 
 to a small group of educated monks and lay brothers. 
 The vast mass of Buddhist monks and nuns (estimated 
 at 400,000 monks and 10,000 nuns) are untouched by 
 it. These still continue their religious life in the con- 
 ventional way, bow before the image of Buddha, repeat 
 the sutras without understanding, and trust to the 
 magic passport, Namo Omito Fo (Namu Amida 
 Butsu ) — “Praise to Amida Buddha” — for entry into 
 “Western Paradise” after death. The reformers have 
 a great task before them in purifying and energising 
 the faith of this multitude. Will the revival succeed 
 in transforming Buddhism to meet the changed condi- 
 tions and demands of modern life, so that it will stand 
 out in Asia as a rival to Christianity or Mohammedan- 
 ism for centuries to come, or will the revival fail in its 
 object and leave this ancient religion to the fate of 
 
Tendencies in Chinese Buddhism 93 
 
 ultimate extinction from internal corruption, and ex- 
 ternal disruption ? The question is not easy to answer, 
 but one feels that the essentially pessimistic spirit of 
 Buddhism and its conception of the worthlessness of 
 life are fundamentally opposed to and incompatible 
 with the buoyancy of the modern spirit and the modern 
 conception of the worthfulness of life, and unless 
 Buddhism is transformed to fit in with the new age as 
 a religion it has no vital message, although as a phi- 
 losophy of life its influence will persist in men’s think- 
 ing. But Buddhism with its pessimistic spirit and 
 outlook amputated will no longer be itself, but become 
 something else, although the name may remain. Bud- 
 dhist reformers are trying hard to find a way out of 
 the dilemma, and the probable course they will take, as 
 indeed they have already done, is to return to Sakya- 
 muni’s Ethics of the Middle path and make it their 
 creed and message. But in doing this the Buddhist 
 reformers will meet with a serious difficulty in the 
 question, What is the goal of the ethical life in a system 
 that denies human personality and social reality ? And 
 so when one reviews the work of the reformers, so 
 heroic and devoted in their effort to stem the tide of 
 disintegration and to build up the glory of their religion 
 in a new age, one senses in them a feeling of loneli- 
 ness, want of self-confidence, and the absence of 
 genuine zest, because of the lack of an adequate goal. 
 We recall the pathos of what T’ai Shu, the leading 
 reformer, said, "If I should fail to attain my object, I 
 would reconcile myself to the life of a wandering 
 mendicant, and, leaning upon Buddha’s mercy, travel 
 thus to my life’s end.” 
 
 St. John's University, 
 
 Shanghai. 
 
VI 
 
 The Impression of Christianity Made Upon 
 the Chinese People Through Contact 
 With the Christian Nations of the West 
 
 T HIS article is not written because we wish our- 
 selves to criticise any particular policy pursued 
 or work done in China by the countries of the West, 
 but because as Chinese Christians we much desire to 
 see Christianity widespread in our country. It is based 
 upon candid study of the facts as to the relations 
 between China and foreigners in the past, and upon 
 the present psychology of the people, our purpose being 
 to supply to fellow-Christians in Europe and America 
 material for studying the situation. We also wish to 
 avail ourselves of the opportunity afforded by the 
 meeting here of the World’s Student Christian Federa- 
 tion. We do not expect that those in power in the 
 countries of the West will make immediate changes in 
 their programmes or policies of work, but we trust that 
 the Christian students and leaders of the world, learn- 
 ing that the Chinese people really have such conceptions 
 of Christianity, may, because of their earnest desire 
 for the spread of that faith, give publicity to this 
 article, that the material here presented may lead their 
 people more carefully to think out the applications of 
 Christian faith. If this is accomplished, we shall not 
 have written in vain. 
 
 94 
 
The Impression of Christianity 95 
 
 Again, since the contents of the article concern the 
 conceptions of the Chinese people in regard to certain 
 policies pursued and work done by the countries of the 
 West, why should we speak of the impressions of 
 Christianity made upon the Chinese people, and why, 
 particularly, should we call the countries of the West 
 Christian countries? There are two reasons. First, 
 missionaries in China in presenting the case of Chris- 
 tianity, frequently take the most advanced countries in 
 the West as examples, and also admit that the civilisa- 
 tion of these countries has been built up largely by 
 people who believe in Christianity. Although, there- 
 fore, it is a question whether the countries of the West 
 have really practised the principles of Christianity, 
 nevertheless in this article we have temporarily to think 
 of them as Christian countries. Second, usually people 
 judge by deeds and not by words. The countries of the 
 West, it is certainly true, have advanced because of 
 their faith in Christianity. But as most of the people 
 of China have never been in the West to observe the 
 actual conditions, no matter how much the missionaries 
 may praise their countries, the Chinese people see no 
 proofs of their words. On the other hand, the policies 
 pursued, and the work done by these countries in China 
 are a part of the actual experience of the Chinese peo- 
 ple, and therefore much attention is paid to them. 
 Although those who have pursued these policies and 
 done this work may not really be Christian people, yet, 
 since the Chinese think of them as from Christian coun- 
 tries, their acts and policies are considered Christian, 
 and leave in the Chinese mind a certain definite impres- 
 sion as to what Christianity is. 
 
 As we have briefly stated the reason for writing this 
 article, we are now prepared to mention some of the 
 
96 China To-Day 
 
 facts referred to. It is now several hundred years 
 since China came into contact with the countries of the 
 West. It is neither possible nor necessary to mention 
 all the happenings between China and these countries. 
 What we shall speak of are their diplomatic and eco- 
 nomic policies toward China, and the educational and 
 missionary work of these countries in China. 
 
 First, diplomacy. In the diplomatic dealings which 
 China has had with foreign countries during the last 
 hundred years, she has always failed to achieve her 
 ends, and always had the worst of the bargain. On the 
 whole she has received much benefit from her contact 
 with foreign countries, but only a few far-sighted indi- 
 viduals hold this point of view. The people in general 
 only know things as they happen. These happenings 
 they criticise, often blaming other countries for them. 
 Foreign governments have been always reaching out to 
 extend their power, and it has been easy in many places 
 to disregard justice. China’s Opium War with Eng- 
 land was immediately followed by treaties with dif- 
 ferent countries permitting trade and missionary work. 
 These countries, seeing China’s weakness, have often 
 taken advantage of her. Happenings of very minor 
 importance, and the loss of a few lives have been used 
 as a pretext to compel China to give up hundreds of 
 miles of territory, and to pay hundreds of thousands 
 in indemnities. Sometimes all kinds of concessions 
 have been demanded without cause, using such ideas 
 as the necessity for ‘‘balance of power” and “spheres 
 of influence” to justify such actions. In fact, most of 
 China’s diplomatic dealings with foreign countries, and 
 the treaties made with them, have been put through 
 when she was defeated. In other cases, the threat of 
 compulsion, backed by military power, has wrested 
 
The Impression of Christianity 97 
 
 treaties from her. It is true that recent Conferences, 
 like those in Versailles and Washington, have openly- 
 professed to uphold justice, so that China has been able 
 to send delegates to represent the opinion of her people, 
 hoping to find redress for the injustices done her in 
 the past. But among the countries represented at these 
 Conferences there have been few who wished to see 
 justice done to China. Always in the end they have 
 put the benefit of their own countries first, so might 
 has won and justice has been defeated. 
 
 Second, Economic Policies. China has repeatedly 
 failed in her diplomatic relations with foreign coun- 
 tries and has been the victim of their aggressive policies 
 to such an extent that she has not been able properly 
 to develop in national strength. In addition, through 
 internal troubles, the living conditions of the people 
 have become more difficult. Foreign nations have 
 recently changed from their former military aggression 
 to economic permeation and exploitation, which fastens 
 much more subtle and dangerous hands upon the na- 
 tional life. During these years the finance of the Chi- 
 nese Government, aside from the balance from the 
 foreign controlled customs and salt revenues, has 
 looked to foreign loans. Looking at the matter superfi- 
 cially, we may say that foreign countries have greatly 
 benefited China, but this benefit, how shall we dif- 
 ferentiate it from the quenching of thirst with poison? 
 
 On the other hand, the principle of self-sacrifice for 
 others is incompatible with the principles of economics 
 as generally understood. It seems too much to expect 
 that foreign countries should do other than seek their 
 own benefit and disregard others ; but, the people can- 
 not understand when the representatives of the West- 
 ern nations on the one hand talk about righteousness. 
 
98 China To-Day 
 
 love, and friendship, while on the other hand their 
 governments practise these oppressive policies. Look 
 at the insistence upon the payment of the indemnities 
 with limitation of the raising of import duties. This 
 they think is only to suck the blood and the fat of the 
 Chinese people for the sake of adding to the wealth of 
 foreign countries. 
 
 Third, Educational Work. The earliest steps taken 
 towards the reformation of the educational system of 
 China were in connection with the old examination 
 system. It is a well-known fact that the schools started 
 by the Christian Church in various places helped to 
 give the impetus needed to produce this change, and 
 that the foreign missionaries have greatly assisted in 
 creating the modern system of education in China. 
 We can never forget this. They have raised large 
 sums of money in their own countries, and have come 
 here to start schools and train leaders for China. The 
 graduates of these missionary schools have served in 
 different professions, and many of them have won their 
 place in popular regard. Moreover, these schools have 
 paid special attention to the children of poor families 
 and have tried their best to help them. Since mis- 
 sionary educators have done so much to benefit the 
 Chinese people, in what way can they criticise them? 
 First of all, they say that the objective of these mis- 
 sionary schools was to preach the doctrines of Chris- 
 tianity. But religion and education are to them two 
 different things. Since missionary schools have as 
 their objective the preaching of Christianity, they nat- 
 urally did not pay as much attention to education as 
 educational institutions should. Not having much con- 
 tact with other local schools, they did not know of the 
 new orders issued by the government, and so often- 
 
The Impression of Christianity 99 
 
 times did not change their old-fashioned text-books for 
 years. Owing to the fact that they did not pay much 
 attention to the Chinese course of study, they failed to 
 secure Chinese teachers of the right type. Most of the 
 students at these schools failed to appreciate Chinese 
 studies to such an extent that they could not tell the 
 general outline of Chinese history and geography. As 
 to their character most of the emphasis was laid on the 
 side of obedience and faithfulness, thinking that the 
 type of men thus produced, would make suitable preach- 
 ers. But initiative and independence were not empha- 
 sised. The pupils were often left without adequate 
 knowledge of world movements, and of the great hap- 
 penings in their own country, except for the meagre 
 amount given them in their school text-books. These 
 are the grounds on which popular criticism rests. 
 
 Again, the principal and teachers were sometimes 
 autocratic, exercising absolute authority over the stu- 
 dents. They said that this was to train the students in 
 obedience; but in fact, it tended to make education 
 servile. Also, without regard to whether the students 
 had been Christian or not, they compelled them to 
 study the Bible, and to go through morning and 
 evening prayers, contrary to the principle of religious 
 freedom. This easily evoked ill-feeling on the part of 
 the people. Sometimes they remarked that the mis- 
 sionary schools filled the young people’s minds with 
 legendary stories and thus spoiled them. This criti- 
 cism may be exaggerated, but it is true that the mis- 
 sionaries have mixed up the objectives of religion and 
 education. As a result, they have failed in realising 
 completely their aim, and have at the same time earned 
 the criticism of being over-conservative in education. 
 
 Fourth, Missionary Work. The people of the West- 
 
100 China To-Day 
 
 ern nations have come to China to preach Christianity. 
 Chinese, while admiring the evangelistic enthusiasm 
 of Christians, cannot but observe certain points open 
 to criticism. We need not go too much into detail, 
 but will merely mention several more important mat- 
 ters. The churches of the nations of the West, not 
 only pray for the victory of their own countries in 
 war-time, but also directly or indirectly use the 
 strength of the Church to aid in war. Is this not con- 
 trary to Jesus' ideal of peace? Again, Jesus’ pro- 
 gramme of world reconstruction certainly seeks the 
 abolition of social and national evils, the turning of 
 darkness into light. But the churches of the Western 
 nations, wishing to preserve their own positions, too 
 often keep silent as to the faults of their governments 
 instead of fighting them. Again, they are complacent 
 in the face of evil social customs. Is this, they ask, the 
 spirit of Christian reconstruction ? 
 
 Again, the Christian truth is evolutionary ; and 
 adaptable to humanity’s changing need. But the 
 churches of the present age still hold to the old the- 
 ology of their forefathers, and to the creed of ancient 
 times. They are not willing to make changes in the 
 constitution of their organisations. They not only do 
 not take the lead in social reform, but are even willing 
 to be left behind. Seeing society advance they them- 
 selves do not want to be renewed or make any improve- 
 ment. How can such organisations show the greatness 
 and the universality of Christian truth? Again, they 
 clearly see that the Chinese people in general have quite 
 different ideas of Christianity from formerly and that 
 the Christian Chinese in particular have also advanced 
 in enlightenment. But the churches, lagging behind*, 
 have failed to train the right kind of leadership to meet 
 
The Impression of Christianity 101 
 
 this situation. It might almost seem as though the for- 
 eign missionaries sometimes feared that if the Chinese 
 preachers were more highly cultivated, they could not 
 so easily use them before. 
 
 Again, they know very well that the standard of 
 living in all places in China has risen many fold, while 
 the salaries of the Chinese preachers have not been ad- 
 vanced accordingly. Although they have seen preachers 
 resign and enter other lines of work because of in* 
 ability longer to suffer family financial difficulties as 
 well as hunger and cold, still they do not seem to care. 
 If we compare their condition with that of the Chi- 
 nese preachers, the difference is very great. How far 
 are these things from that teaching of equality which 
 is Christian ! In a word, Christianity as preached, how 
 sublime, how profound! but if we consider the activi- 
 ties of the Church and the attitude of many of the 
 missionaries, how far removed from that preaching! 
 
 From the facts which have now been presented in 
 this paper, we see that the countries of the West have 
 benefited China through contacts political, economic, 
 educational, and religious. Recently these countries 
 have promoted the limitation of armaments, the re- 
 turning of the indemnities, the formation of the Con- 
 sortium, the sending of the Educational Commission 
 to China, and the formation of independent Chinese 
 Churches. These are all indications of progress. Some 
 of the facts mentioned in this paper may never have a 
 chance to appear again. It might seem unnecessary to 
 relate things already past, but the political aggression, 
 economic oppression, educational conservatism, and 
 religious unreality, of which we have spoken, all these 
 we still find existing in some measure, a fact which 
 leaves a very bad impression in the minds of the Chi- 
 
102 
 
 China To-Day 
 
 nese people, and one which cannot easily be erased. 
 They may continue to feel that Western nations have 
 inflicted upon China such indescribable losses, that she 
 will be unable soon to recover herself and make the 
 needed progress in various phases of her life. We need 
 not discuss this further. But from the standpoint of 
 Chinese Christians, suppose they are asked, Can all this 
 above-mentioned aggression, oppression, conservatism, 
 and unreality exist in a Christian country? What can 
 they answer? They may say, China has many weak 
 points, and should not blame others more than herself. 
 But as to the countries of the West, since they are 
 “Christian*’ and “advanced” they should feel more 
 responsibility to act according to Christian truth. For, 
 as Jesus says : “To whomsoever much is given, of him 
 shall much be required; and to whom they commit 
 much, of him will they ask the more.” 
 
VII 
 
 The Chinese Church 
 
 By C. Y. Cheng (Cheng Ching Yi) 
 
 Chairman of the National Christian Conference, 
 Shanghai, 1922 
 
 I T is obvious that it is impossible to deal, in any 
 measure of adequacy, with such a vast subject as 
 that of the Chinese Church in a brief article of only 
 a few thousand words. The question is at once many- 
 sided and complicated. In this paper we can only touch 
 upon a few of the more pressing problems that are 
 facing the Church of Christ in this land of ours, and 
 that from a purely Chinese point of view. 
 
 In dealing with the subject we may appear to some 
 to be unduly bold and frank in expressing our opin- 
 ions and ideas. This does not mean that we have found 
 the solution to all the problems ; it rather indicates that 
 there is a sincere desire on the part of Chinese Chris- 
 tians to meet the situation and to seek for further 
 light. 
 
 The missionary body is China’s best friend, and is 
 the best friend of the Chinese Church. In none of 
 the remarks made in this article, which may seem 
 rather critical, is there any reflection upon our mis- 
 sionary friends, who have done, and are doing, their 
 best for the Chinese Church. W e are, under God, very 
 
 103 
 
104 China To-Day 
 
 grateful to our Western friends who have come to our 
 midst with the noble idea of bringing to us the Glad 
 Tidings of Salvation. Everything in this paper is 
 written in the truest spirit of appreciation and 
 friendliness. 
 
 While there are many points of excellence in the 
 enriched Christian experience of our friends of the 
 West which we desire to share and imitate, the time is 
 fast coming for the naturalisation of the Christian 
 Church in order to secure a more speedy Christianisa- 
 tion of China. Christianity is beyond and above racial 
 and national differences, and is capable of becoming 
 indigenous in every land ; Christianity in China is 
 therefore Chinese Christianity. The Gospel is uni- 
 versal and is applicable to all mankind, but at the same 
 time its varying elements should be adjusted to the 
 needs of the people of the time. 
 
 It is important, we think, to know the circumstances 
 under which the Chinese Church is trying to realise 
 itself and to bear its burdens. In the hope that we may 
 understand the situation better and thus be able to pray 
 for it more intelligently, let us state some of the prob- 
 lems that are facing the Church of Christ in China at 
 the present time. These problems may be broadly 
 divided into two groups, namely, those related to the 
 missions, and those related to the Church. Let us 
 begin with the former. 
 
 We are not far wrong when we say that Christianity 
 has come to China with a great deal of European col- 
 ouring. In bringing to the people of the Orient the 
 Gospel of Salvation, the missionary has brought with 
 him much of the thought, manners, customs, methods, 
 temperament, and atmosphere of the West, some of 
 which do not seem to be quite suitable for the people 
 
The Chinese Church 
 
 105 
 
 of the East. No one is to be blamed for this state of 
 things. It is unavoidable. But it has given occasion 
 to the rise of many problems which are being felt 
 more acutely as the Church begins to take up its 
 responsibilities. 
 
 The Oriental Christian is beginning to view the 
 Christian message through his own eyes, and to realise 
 that Christ has come to China not to destroy but to 
 fulfil all that is beautiful, good and true in the past. 
 For instance, the question of ancestor commemoration 
 has been a subject often discussed at missionary meet- 
 ings and conferences. The general practice of the 
 mission churches has always been the rejection of 
 everything connected with this custom. This has been 
 one of the greatest hindrances to many who would 
 otherwise have joined the Church and become its mem- 
 bers. Thoughtful Christians to-day are trying to show 
 to their non-Christian friends that, while they reject 
 all that is superstitious and idolatrous in this com- 
 memoration, yet they wish to uphold and enrich all 
 that which is in keeping with the teaching of the 
 Christian religion. Christian memorial services are 
 therefore held each year by Churches and Christians 
 to celebrate, in a Christian way, the commemoration of 
 the departed parents. This has not only removed a very 
 real difficulty and much misunderstanding, but has also 
 enriched and beautified the ancient custom which, in its 
 original simplicity, was perfectly commendable. 
 
 Because of the dominant position held by the mis- 
 sionary in the church, the Mission looms very much 
 larger than the church. Many of the 6,000 Protestant 
 churches that are in existence in China to-day must 
 still be regarded as “Mission Churches,” i.e., churches 
 supported and to some extent controlled by the Mis- 
 
106 China To-Day 
 
 sion. Circumstances have led the modern mission to 
 adopt the method of supporting almost every branch 
 of religious, educational, and benevolent activities. 
 The mission is therefore a huge concern with property 
 in land and buildings, the value of which amounts to 
 many millions. Church buildings, schoolhouses, hos- 
 pitals, etc., are realities of the modern mission. It is 
 estimated that no less than twelve million dollars 
 silver are being spent in China by the various missions 
 annually, not counting money spent on property. One 
 leading missionary once said that he did not like to see 
 a mission run its work in a beggarly way. That shows 
 the spirit of the time. 
 
 In view of such a situation, the position of the infant 
 Church can be easily imagined ; it hangs on to the mis- 
 sion like the tail of an elephant. Happily many Chris- 
 tian leaders have realised this top-heavy situation, and 
 are working and praying for a speedy change. The 
 Church, not the mission, is the permanent organisation 
 in this as well as in other lands. 
 
 It is reported that the total number of communicant 
 Christians in China at the present time amounts to 
 360,000. Out of that number there are no less than 
 24,000 men and women who are salaried workers of 
 the missions and churches, engaged in evangelistic, 
 educational, medical, and other forms of service. In 
 other words, one in every fifteen church members is in 
 the employ of the Missions. Most of these workers 
 are inadequately trained and poorly supported. They 
 hold, in the nature of things, the position of “native 
 helpers” to the missionary leaders. It could not have 
 been otherwise. Speaking broadly, the missionary has 
 had the opportunity for getting a better education, he 
 has more experience, a wider knowledge in mission and 
 
The Chinese Church 107 
 
 Church affairs, and greater Christian background. 
 The Chinese helper has had very few of these advan- 
 tages. He has therefore to be contented to hold a sec- 
 ondary position in the mission churches. The mis- 
 sionary has the say in the policy of the work and the 
 disbursement of funds. Sometimes he chooses to seek 
 the advice of his Chinese workers; often he does not. 
 Now let this question be asked: Who is after all the 
 helper, the Chinese worker or the missionary? The 
 young Christian Church would make bold to say posi- 
 tively: In the truest sense of the word the missionary 
 is the helper to the Christian Church in China, a position 
 which is his crowning glory in the Church. Two or 
 three missionaries are now acting in one of the inde- 
 pendent Chinese Christian churches in North China as 
 deacons and other similar church officers. Such a prac- 
 tice is, we believe, sound in principle. It is only human, 
 however, when the time comes for a real change, for 
 devolution, or transfer of control, we find some who 
 are not ready to make the sacrifice — for it is a real 
 sacrifice for those who have held the reins of things for 
 so long to be willing to give them over to others. The 
 excuse generally given is that “the time is not yet ripe 
 for such a radical change/’ and “the Church is unable 
 to assume such a responsibility.” 
 
 While Christianity is an oriental religion, it has 
 come to China by way of Europe and America. It did 
 not come in its primitive simplicity, but with many 
 accretions acquired during its spread in Western lands. 
 There are no less than 140 autonomous missionary 
 Societies working in various parts of China at the 
 present time. While in general the purpose of all these 
 various bodies is one and the same, viz., the preaching 
 of Christ to the people of this land who are still in spir- 
 
108 China To-Day 
 
 itual darkness, yet each society or missionary organisa- 
 tion has its own special interests, features, tempera- 
 ments, and points of emphasis. This in itself is be- 
 wildering to the Chinese, both within and without the 
 Church, especially when denominational differences are 
 being emphasised to the extent that the members of one 
 society or church are incapable of working in unity and 
 harmony with those of another. A missionary teacher 
 once said that his work in China was to give to the 
 Chinese correct definitions regarding the particular 
 teaching of his Church. One wonders whether that 
 was really his main task in China. 
 
 Out of the 1,713 counties in China, with the excep- 
 tion of only 126, every one has a mission place in it. 
 The whole of China except the special areas (Mon- 
 golia, Sinkiang, etc.) is being claimed by one or more 
 missionary societies as a “sphere of influence” in a 
 religious sense of the phrase. When a field is “claimed” 
 it does not necessarily mean that the field is really occu- 
 pied, and the work of evangelisation thoroughly done 
 — not by any means. Different types of teaching, dif- 
 ferent forms of church government, different lines of 
 emphasis, different types of activity are evident in the 
 areas claimed by different missions. It results that the 
 conception of Christianity held by Chinese Christians 
 varies widely in different sections. 
 
 Without any clear understanding of the causes which 
 give rise to the many different denominations of the 
 West, it is only natural that the Chinese followers of 
 the Master should find themselves unable to come into 
 very deep appreciation of Western denominationalism. 
 These differences do not seem to us so vital to the life 
 of the Christian Church as they do to our friends from 
 the West. Chinese Christians welcome union in every 
 
The Chinese Church 109 
 
 possible way, and are only held back from much closer 
 union by the inability of their missionary friends to go 
 with them. Happily in recent years the desire for 
 closer co-operation is growing among missionaries, and 
 some progress along this line has already been made. 
 Union institutions for higher education have been 
 established, amalgamations of organisations doing 
 similar work and organic union of churches of the 
 same and of different denominations have taken place, 
 frequent union meetings and conferences have been 
 held, and in a number of other ways the Christian 
 forces in China are trying to “dwell together in unity.” 
 For this we are profoundly thankful to the Lord. 
 
 In considering the problems between the missions and 
 the churches, and between the missionaries and the 
 Chinese Christians, we are not blind to the wonderful 
 work done by the missions for the benefit of the 
 Church, nor of the noble example given us by a large 
 number of our missionary co-workers. The Christian 
 Church in China owes its origin to the work of the 
 missions. We shall always appreciate the great work 
 done for China by the missions and their missionaries. 
 Nevertheless we have boldly stated some of the prob- 
 lems affecting the relationship between the missions 
 and the churches in the hope that in the days to come 
 the work will be more efficient and mutually helpful 
 than in the past. For, after all, whether we speak of 
 missions or churches, men of the West or of the East, 
 the chief end in view is absolutely the same. 
 
 There is another group of problems which is more 
 closely related to the Church itself. Let us make 
 mention of a few of them. 
 
 The word of our Lord, “The poor have the gospel 
 preached to them” has its fulfilment in China. Until 
 
no China To-Day 
 
 quite recently most of those who have accepted the 
 Christian faith have been men and women of the 
 humbler and less influential classes. The better edu- 
 cated and more influential people of the land generally 
 looked upon Christianity with distrust and contempt. 
 It was, in their estimation, a religion for the unlearned 
 and ignorant. It was quite beneath their dignity to 
 take any serious notice of this foreign religion. The 
 Bible was too simple for them and the church too com- 
 mon a place. This was true in the past, it is also true 
 to a large extent at the present time, though a consid- 
 erable change has taken place. It is estimated that 
 thirty-five per cent, of the men, and sixty-five per cent, 
 of the women in the Christian Church in China to-day 
 are still unable to read or write. That means they 
 have no direct access to the Word of God. Because 
 of lack of education, the Bible is not an open book 
 to these brethren in Christ. What a drawback ! They 
 are thus deprived of one of the most important means 
 for the development of the Christian life. This is 
 indeed lamentable. It constitutes a pressing problem 
 not merely of the Church, but of the nation as well. 
 Illiteracy is, no doubt, one of the greatest hindrances 
 in the way of the progress of the Christian faith in 
 China. 
 
 Realising the danger of ignorance many servants of 
 God are doing their utmost to fight against this common 
 enemy of the Church. There is a movement on foot 
 to secure in the shortest possible time a Bible-reading 
 Church. Various means are being used to gain the 
 desired end. Among other methods the use of the 
 national phonetic script is being pushed with great zeal 
 and determination. Adult illiterates have been taught 
 to read the Bible in a very short time. Portions of the 
 
The Chinese Church 
 
 ill 
 
 Scriptures, the whole of the New Testament, and other 
 literature, are being widely circulated and used. The 
 work of the Phonetic Promotion Committee of the 
 China Continuation Committee, headed by Miss S. J. 
 Garland, of the China Inland Mission, is doing very 
 effective work. The motto of the committee is “Every 
 Christian a Bible reader, and every Christian a teacher 
 of illiterates.” We are glad to say that in this 
 phonetic propaganda the Chinese Government and a 
 number of the larger! Chinese publishing houses are also 
 taking a lively interest. When the enemy of illiteracy 
 is conquered, the Church as well as the government 
 will have done a great deal. 
 
 Modern missions have made the question of the 
 Church’s independence of the Mission a burning 
 problem. No healthy Christian can be satisfied in 
 remaining in a position of dependence. Every Chinese 
 Christian says “amen” to the strong words of our 
 Japanese friend, the Rev. Masahisa Uemura, when he 
 voiced the keen desire of his fellow Christians in Japan 
 by saying that “To depend upon the pocket of for- 
 eigners for money to pay the bills is not a situation 
 which ought to satisfy the moral sense of Japanese 
 Christians. Likewise in the realm of religious thought, 
 is it not shameful to accept opinions ready-made, relying 
 on the experience of others instead of one’s own? 
 Those of us who are insisting on the independence of 
 the Church in our country are not moved by narrow 
 nationalistic ideas. ... We are moved by the positive 
 power of a great ideal. Every nation has its special 
 characteristics. ... Is it not a great duty we owe to 
 God and to mankind, to develop the religious talent 
 of our people, and to contribute our share to the 
 religious ideas of the world?” We believe the Church 
 
112 
 
 China To-Day 
 
 in the country of the Rising Sun has made much 
 progress because of this spirit of independence. 
 
 Such a spirit of independence is, in a measure, in 
 existence in the Chinese Church also. It has manifested 
 itself in directions both healthy and otherwise, and 
 thus creates a real problem of the Church. Some, 
 dissatisfied with the foreign dominance now existing 
 in the church, are finding it difficult to get along with 
 the missionary, and have as a result of much wounded 
 friendship established independent Churches which are 
 beyond the control of the missionary. When independ- 
 ence is the result of such causes it is indeed regrettable. 
 A house built on such sandy foundation cannot possibly 
 weather the storm for long. But this is fortunately 
 only one of the motives leading to a desire for an 
 independent Chinese Church. There exist to-day in 
 China independent churches built on the solid founda- 
 tion of faith in Christ and maintaining a most cordial 
 relationship with the missionaries from whose hands 
 they have received the Gospel of Christ. In some of 
 these churches the missionary is performing a true 
 ministry of help to his Chinese fellow Christians. His 
 word of advice is freely given and readily taken, and 
 the relationship is all that could be desired. While the 
 Church in China must move along independent lines, 
 its ideal is not independence so much as co-operation. 
 The latter is a much larger word than the former. 
 This is true not only in the Church but in the inter- 
 national relationships of the nations as well. 
 
 In connection with the whole subject of developing 
 self-reliance in the Church there are the three ideals 
 that have long been in the minds of all who are 
 seeking for the growth of the Church life in China, 
 namely: self-support, self-government, and self-propa- 
 
The Chinese Church 
 
 113 
 
 gation. A healthy Church requires all these elements 
 of development. Situated as the Church is at the 
 present time in China, many problems are involved in 
 bringing about a state of things where those conditions 
 apply, and they need very careful and prayerful 
 consideration. 
 
 Speaking as a whole no noteworthy progress in the 
 matter of self-support has been made in the mission 
 churches in China. The attitude and practice of the 
 missions in developing self-support vary greatly. Some 
 urge the immediate realisation of entire financial sup- 
 port by each church from the time of its organization ; 
 some believe it is a matter of growth to be attained by 
 degrees; some measure the amount of control to be 
 given to the Church by the amount of financial support 
 given by its members. If the Chinese people are gen- 
 erous supporters of non-Christian religions, and are 
 willing givers to all kinds of benevolent work, as we 
 no doubt believe they are, then the slow progress in 
 attaining self-support by the Christian Churches should 
 certainly cause us to pause and ask ourselves what is the 
 root cause of this stagnation. 
 
 In our opinion the matter is largely a question of 
 Training. It is not an uncommon thing for the 
 Chinese believers to think that the mission has unlimited 
 wealth, and that there is no real necessity for the few 
 cash the members of the Church are in a position to 
 give. What is the good of adding one drop of water 
 to the ocean? people ask. Therefore it is of great 
 importance to Christians to feel that the giving for 
 the support of the Christian cause, however small, is 
 a means of grace and a great privilege, and is not 
 merely a duty to be performed. Furthermore, the 
 giving of money to the Church does not exhaust the 
 
114 China To-Day 
 
 whole question of self-support. The giving of time, 
 thought, labour, prayer, and love, are equally acceptable 
 in the sight of the Unseen, if not more so. The rela- 
 tionship of the mission and the Church should never 
 be a dollar-and-cent one. 
 
 Perhaps it will prove interesting to note the progress 
 that has been made along this particular line in some 
 of the churches which are entirely independent of the 
 missions. In a recent Conference of the Chinese 
 Christian churches in North China it was found that 
 there are nine or ten such churches in the provinces of 
 Shantung and Chihli. The total income of these bodies 
 for the year 1920 1921 amounted to $23,000 silver. 
 This amount included some money for building pur- 
 poses. The total membership of these churches is 2,600. 
 Knowing the former condition of these small groups 
 of believers one is gratified for the advance made 
 thus far. 
 
 If the question of self-government is looked upon, 
 either by the missionary or by the Chinese Christian, 
 as an attempt to get more power on the one hand, 
 or to withhold it on the other — a state of things 
 common in the political dealings of the nations — we 
 may as well abandon the struggle, because we think 
 that such a motive is wrong. The matter must be 
 approached from the point of view of helping the 
 young Church to begin to shoulder its own responsi- 
 bilities. Political methods and scheming for power 
 are unworthy of the object to be attained. It is no 
 doubt true that with many churches the time has not 
 yet come to assume full control and full self-govern- 
 ment ; but we do believe the time has come for starting 
 a movement in that direction. No buying-and-selling 
 
The Chinese Church 115 
 
 method is capable of dealing with this essentially 
 spiritual problem. 
 
 There is more evidence in the Chinese Church in 
 recent years that a spirit of self -propagation is 
 developing. Many signs of life and strength are 
 revealed here, but we shall limit ourselves to only two 
 incidents. 
 
 The name of General Feng Yu-hsiang, Governor of 
 the Province of Shensi, stands out as a notable example 
 among individual Christians who have exerted a posi- 
 tive Christian influence. Since he became a follower 
 of Christ the greater part of the 10,000 men under his 
 command have been won to the Christian faith. Wher- 
 ever he and his men have been they have left behind 
 them a people full of appreciation and gratitude. This 
 means all the more because the general feeling of the 
 people is strongly opposed to the military classes. 
 
 In team work the movement of the Chinese Home 
 Missionary Society is worthy of special mention. 
 Thousands of Chinese Christians are taking a deep 
 interest in this missionary enterprise. The distant 
 province of Yunnan has been selected as its mission 
 field. Recently the home missionary society of the 
 Presbyterian churches in the Manchurian provinces has 
 been linked up with the Chinese Home Missionary 
 Society. This movement was started by a small group 
 of Christian ladies at Ruling three years ago, after 
 very earnest prayer and waiting upon God. Ever since 
 it was launched it has been making fine progress. Nine 
 Chinese missionaries are now working in the province 
 of Yunnan in the south-west of China, and two 
 ordained pastors are labouring in the province of Hei 
 Lung Chiang, in the North. Chinese Christians of 
 many churches in almost all the provinces in China, as 
 
ll6 China To-Day 
 
 well as Chinese abroad, have joined in the support of 
 this movement. When a Church is on fire with zeal 
 for the spreading of the message of salvation, we know 
 for certain it has life; it has in it that which is capable 
 of expanding and growing, however small its beginning 
 may be. 
 
 Much attention is being directed to the all-important 
 question of Christian leadership. All the problems 
 that are facing the young Church in China point to 
 the need of more and better trained leaders. We are 
 grateful to God for the large number of men and 
 women who have faithfully devoted their talents and 
 lives to the work of the Christian Church; especially 
 for the few outstanding leaders that God has from 
 time to time raised in the Chinese Church. We refrain 
 from giving the names of these men and women whose 
 life and service are not only precious to the Chinese 
 Church, but precious also to the Head of the Church, 
 even our Lord Jesus Christ. 
 
 Such great leaders, however, are extremely few in 
 the Chinese Church. We need many more of them. 
 How are they to be secured? how trained? how used? 
 how held ? are some of the questions that press for an 
 answer. Have we taken the pains to discover possible 
 leaders ? Are we prepared to give them the best possible 
 training ? How are such men and women to be treated ? 
 Can they be made to feel perfectly happy in the Chris- 
 tian service? Is the making of contracts with such 
 leaders a satisfactory method of holding them in the 
 service of the mission or Church? Is the practice of 
 increasing their support in proportion to the number 
 of people they are able to lead to the Church a sound 
 method? As long as the missions or churches adopt 
 
The Chinese Church 117 
 
 the method of employing Christian workers, these and 
 similar questions will be with them. 
 
 But sometimes one wonders how far the Christian 
 movement should follow the generally accepted method 
 of employing a large staff for the propagation of the 
 Christian faith in the world in general, and in China in 
 particular. We do not place overmuch reliance in 
 statistics, because they do not reveal everything, and 
 sometimes they are even misleading. But if statistics 
 have any suggestive value at all, the fact that the net 
 numerical increase of all the Protestant missions in 
 China last year was only 20,671, while the staff of full- 
 time Chinese workers in the employ of the missions 
 was not fewer than 24,732, should make us think. Of 
 course numerical strength is only one part of the 
 problem, and not even the major part. But the fact 
 remains that the increase of the Church is indeed small. 
 Should not more attention be paid to the discovering, 
 the training, the utilising, and the holding for the Chris- 
 tian service of leaders not paid by the mission or 
 Church, men who are willing to render to the cause of 
 Christ voluntary service? The task of winning China 
 for Christ must be the burden of every one of all the 
 360,000 members of the Church before we can hope for 
 the accomplishment of this gigantic task. 
 
 Another problem that is confronting the young 
 Church in the East is its relation to matters of a 
 national or international character. In the recent 
 patriotic movement led by the student classes of this 
 country, the Christians have shown their sympathy, 
 and, in not a few cases, given their support. We 
 believe the Church should be the director of the public 
 conscience, and should be the leader in every activity 
 that works for enlightenment, righteousness and truth. 
 
ll8 China To-Day 
 
 The Church as an organisation should, however, not 
 be mixed with matters of a political nature. Political 
 parties are not blind to the fact that if the churches 
 can be induced to serve their political purposes the 
 advantage to them will not be small; but the Church 
 should stand firm and remain a purely religious and 
 spiritual institution. 
 
 The whole world knows of the strained relationship 
 between China and her nearest neighbour, Japan. The 
 Chinese Christian feels as keenly as the rest of his 
 follow countrymen the injustice of the high-handed 
 treatment of China by the military masters of that 
 country. There is, however, no ill feeling against the 
 Japanese people on the part of the Chinese Christians 
 and of all intelligent people in China. But we feel it is 
 the duty of every lover of truth and justice to hate 
 injustice and despotism and fight for righteousness and 
 freedom. Has Christianity a helping hand to extend 
 to save the situation? Have the Christians of these 
 two nations anything to say or do? Can those who 
 would live and die for the same Christian principles 
 stand together against the common foe, irrespective of 
 nationality? Are we willing and daring enough to 
 stand for right against might? The world has yet 
 to see what the forces of the Christian army can do, 
 in the strength of their Lord, in helping to solve such 
 world problems of which there are many. 
 
 The intellectual awakening in China, commonly 
 known as the Renaissance Movement, presents to the 
 Christian Church a wonderful opportunity as well as 
 a real problem. The attitude of the more educated and 
 influential classes towards the Christian religion and 
 its followers has greatly changed in recent years. The 
 purpose of the Church in seeking the good of China 
 
The Chinese Church ng 
 
 is generally recognised. During the recent famine in 
 North China a large part of the more than seventeen 
 million silver dollars raised for famine relief was 
 entrusted to the Christian leaders for distribution 
 among the suffering people. Missionaries have been 
 appealed to by both officials of the government and 
 those opposed to it for settling disputes between them. 
 Many are willing to study the teaching of Christ, 
 and some have openly accepted the faith, and joined 
 the Church. One of the oldest, if not the oldest non- 
 Christian daily paper, which has the largest circulation 
 in the whole of China, was willing to issue a special 
 Christmas number last year, which contained many 
 especially written articles on the significance of the 
 advent of Christ, and the various activities of the 
 Christian movement in China. The country has an 
 open door and the people have an open heart for the 
 Gospel message. 
 
 In this connection there is also another line of 
 development. The New Thought Movement has helped 
 the educated youth of China to think for themselves. 
 They want to ask “Why?” about everything, and to 
 take nothing for granted. Naturally they apply the 
 same principle to Christianity. They study the history 
 and the teaching of the Christian Church in that 
 critical attitude. Some say that Christianity has served 
 its day and is no use to the scientific world of to-day ; 
 some declare that aesthetics can take the place of 
 religion ; others are positive that Christianity has done 
 more harm than good in the world; still others think 
 the Christian religion is nothing but foolishness and 
 superstition and has no place in the present enlightened 
 age. More has been written against the Christian faith, 
 its teaching, its organisation and its followers, in the 
 
120 China To-Day 
 
 last two or three years than perhaps in all the past 
 years combined. 
 
 All this opens up a remarkable opportunity for the 
 Church to bear witness for its Lord and Master. 
 But one asks : “Is the Church ready to meet this 
 unusual situation ?” “Where is the prophet of the 
 Lord that hears the Message so much needed at the 
 present hour?” “Where is the timely Christian litera- 
 ture that will really meet the needs of the people who 
 are seeking for light and truth?” “Where are the 
 leaders ?” “Are the various Christian forces sufficiently 
 awakened to the significance of the present situation?” 
 “Are they in thought and action sufficiently united to 
 capture the opportunity and make a great advance?” 
 Think of the results of success, or the consequences of 
 failure, to the Church as well as to the nation ! 
 
 Leaders of the Church are looking with eager 
 expectation toward the National Christian Conference 
 to be held in Shanghai early in May, 1922. For the 
 first time in the history of the Church in China a 
 Conference is to be held composed of approximately 
 1,000 Church and Mission delegates, half Chinese and 
 half missionaries, elected by their respective Church 
 and Mission authorities. The theme of the Conference 
 is “The Chinese Church.” The preparation of material 
 for presentation to the Conference has been entrusted 
 to five Commissions. These Commissions will deal 
 with “The Present State of Christianity in China”; 
 “The Future Task of the Church” ; “The Message of 
 the Church” ; “The Development of Leadership in the 
 Work of the Church”; and “Co-operation and Co- 
 ordination in the Work of the Church.” We hope 
 that some of the problems we have indicated in this 
 paper will find expression and solution at this great 
 
The Chinese Church 
 
 121 
 
 Christian gathering of next year. We hope the 
 Conference will mark another milestone of Christian 
 progress in this ancient land of ours. We confidently 
 expect that henceforth the Chinese Church will more 
 and more realise its true place and will speedily take 
 up its burdens and responsibilities to the glory of 
 Almighty God. 
 
 In the limited space at our disposal we have 
 endeavoured to state some of the more pressing prob- 
 lems of the Church in China at the present time. 
 Each one of these problems would require special 
 treatment to call attention to all the facts which enter 
 into a solution and to discuss them in relation to the 
 problem, but that is not possible at the present time. 
 If this paper in any measure arouses a keener interest 
 in the work of the Christian movement in China, we 
 shall be happy. 
 
 Let us remind ourselves that after all the supreme 
 'problem of the Church and of its members is a 
 spiritual one. It is along these lines we believe that 
 one must seek the real solution of all the problems that 
 are confronting the infant Church of the Far East. 
 Let us, therefore, earnestly and definitely pray for 
 THE OUTPOURING OF A DOUBLE PORTION OF THE SPIRIT 
 OF GOD UPON BOTH THE MISSIONS AND CHURCHES 
 THAT ARE WORKING IN THIS ANCIENT LAND OF 
 CATHAY. 
 
 January , 1922. 
 
 Shanghai. 
 
 THE END 
 

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