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 PRINCETON, N. J. 
 
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Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 in 2017 with funding from 
 Princeton Theological Seminary Library 
 
 https://archive.org/details/chinachinesegeneOOnevi_O 
 
CHINA 
 
 AND 
 
 THE CHINESE: 
 
 A GENERAL DESCRIPTION OF 
 
 THE COUNTRY AND ITS INHABITANTS: ITS CIVILIZATION AND 
 FORM OF GOVERNMENT; ITS RELIGIOUS AND SOCIAL INSTI- 
 TUTIONS; ITS INTERCOURSE WITH OTHER NATIONS; 
 
 AND ITS 
 
 PRESENT CONDITION AND PROSPECTS. 
 
 By the Rev. JOHN L. NEVIUS, 
 
 TEN YEARS A MISSIONARY IN CHINA. 
 
 WITH A MAP AND ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 
 HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, 
 
 FRANKLIN SQUARE. 
 
 1872. 
 
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1868, by 
 Harper & Brothers, 
 
 In the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern 
 District of New York. 
 
HELEN S. COAN NEVIUS, 
 
 EVER MY MOST 
 
 JUDICIOUS COUNSELLOR AND EFFICIENT HELPER, 
 THIS VOLUME IS INSCRIBED. 
 
FRF FA OF. 
 
 Our new relations with China, her practical nearness 
 to us, and more especially the late visit of the Chinese 
 Embassy, have served to awaken a new interest in that 
 Empire. Seldom have two parties been suddenly brought 
 together, who had before so thoroughly misunderstood 
 each other as have we and the Chinese. I have been ask- 
 ed by intelligent scholars in China — “Do you have schools 
 in your country?” When they discover that we, whom 
 they have been accustomed to regard as barbarians, give 
 evidence of some degree of mental culture, and are ac- 
 quainted with their language and literature, the question 
 naturally arises in their minds — “Do they obtain their ed- 
 ucation in China; or may they not have schools in their 
 own country?” When told that institutions of learning are 
 common with us, the inference is very apt to be — “ Then 
 the people of your honorable nation are also acquainted 
 with the books of Confucius;” supposing that wherever 
 throughout the world there are schools, the text-books 
 must of course be the Chinese Classics, as few of them 
 have a conception of a system of instruction derived from 
 any other source. 
 
 This ignorance of other countries is truly remarkable : 
 but hardly more so than that which exists among Western 
 nations with reference to the Chinese* I have been asked 
 by educated men in the United States — “Are not the 
 
(3 
 
 PKEFACE. 
 
 Chinese a remarkably dull and uninteresting people ? Are 
 they susceptible of feelings of affection and gratitude ? 
 Are you able to develop their intellectual and moral per- 
 ceptions ; and have any of them really become true and 
 reliable Christians ?” 
 
 The erroneous views which we mutually entertain of 
 each other are due to a want of reliable information ; and 
 this want has resulted from our wide separation, and our 
 infrequent and imperfect intercourse. 
 
 Now that China — which we have heretofore thought of 
 as situated in the extreme East, and shut off from us by 
 the intervening nations of Europe and Asia — has become 
 our next neighbor on the West, it is very important that 
 we become better acquainted with its inhabitants, and that 
 we and they should cultivate that mutual respect and sym- 
 pathy which ought to characterize two great nations whose 
 interests and destinies are in the future to be so closely 
 united. 
 
 To promote this desirable end is the principal object of 
 this book ; and if it should in any good degree subserve 
 so important a purpose it will require no apology for its 
 publication. 
 
 It has been my design to give a general description of 
 China and the Chinese, rather than detailed information 
 on particular subjects, having special reference to the re- 
 ligious condition and wants of the people, and the charac- 
 ter and results of the labors of missionaries. 
 
 While making occasional use of other works on China, 
 I have depended, for the most part, on my own observa- 
 tions and experiences during ten years of familiar inter- 
 course with all classes of the people, and in different parts 
 of the Empire. 
 
 Most of the contents of the chapters relating to the 
 prevalent religions and superstitions are taken from letters 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 7 
 
 which I prepared while in China, which were published in 
 “ The Horae and Foreign Record” and the “ Foreign Mis- 
 sionary.” 
 
 In quoting from the Chinese Classics in the third chap- 
 ter, I have generally adopted the excellent translation 
 made by Dr. Legg of Ilong-kong. 
 
 I have been careful not to make statements of facts 
 without their being well authenticated; and I believe that 
 the opinions advanced in this book will accord in the main 
 with those of other persons \^ho have had the same oppor- 
 tunities for observation. * 
 
 John L. Neyius. 
 
 Ovid, N. Y., August, 1868. 
 

 
 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 GENERAL VIEW OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 
 
 The word China not Known by the Chinese. — The Names they Use to Desig- 
 nate their Country. — General Resemblance of China to the United 
 States : in Position, Form, Climate, Productions, Natural and Artificial 
 Divisions, and in Area. — Description of the Walled Cities of China. The 
 Population of the Empire. — Peculiarities of Climate, and their Connec- 
 tion with the Monsoons. — Rivers and Natural Scenery .... Page 21 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 GENERAL VIEW OF THE COUNTRY AND ITS INHABITANTS — CONTINUED. 
 
 Travelling. — Roads. — Streets. — Canals. — Boats. — Sculls. — Mud-slides. — 
 Sedans, or Kiau-ts. — Burden-hearers. — Beasts of Burden. — Mule- 
 litters. — Productions of the Soil. — Different Varieties of Teas. — Vegeta- 
 bles. — Fruits. — Implements. — The Threshing-floors of Scripture. — The 
 Use of Fertilizers. — Style of Architecture and Materials used. — Fire-walls 
 in Cities. — No Stoves in Northern Houses. — Artisans. — Business Men. — 
 Order and General Prosperity 31 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CONFUCIUS AND CONFUCIANISM. 
 
 The Relation of Confucianism to the Chinese Civilization. — The name Con- 
 fucius.— His Character and Mode of Life. — The Manner in which he is 
 Regarded by the Chinese. — His own Estimate of Himself. — Not the Orig- 
 inator of a New System, hut the Propounder and Perpetuator of an An- 
 cient One. — The Confucian Classics. — General Description of the Con- 
 tents. — The Five Relations of Life. — The Five Virtues. — The Political 
 and Governmental Feature of Confucianism. — Importance of Self- 
 government and Culture. — General Estimate of Confucius and his Sys- 
 tem 46 
 
10 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS AND SCHOOLS. 
 
 The Chinese Idea of the Qualifications of Officers. — Origin of the Competi- 
 tive Examinations. — Classes of Persons excluded. — Two Preparatory Ex- 
 aminations. — Examination for Conferring the 1st Degree. — For Confer- 
 ring the 2d Degree. — 3d Degree. — Corresponding Military Examinations. 
 — Various Advantages secured by the Literary Examinations. — The Po- 
 sition and Influence of Literary Men. — Character of Chinese Schools. — 
 Pupils Commit to Memory whole Books without Understanding their 
 Meaning Page 55 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION OP THE CHINESE GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The Chinese Government Patriarchal. — Titles of the Emperor. — The 
 Throne not strictly Hereditary. — Relation of the Emperor to his Officers. 
 — The Cabinet. — The General Council. — The Six Boards.— Different 
 Courts and the Censorate. — The Imperial Academy. — Provincial Gov- 
 ernments. — The Civil Code. — Practical Workings of the Chinese Govern- 
 ment. — Restraints brought to Bear upon the Emperor, Officers, and the 
 People. — The People sometimes Assert and Demand their Rights. — In- 
 surrections and Rebellions. — Republicanism of China. — Village Elders. 
 — Private Redress. — Family Feuds 66 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE RELIGIONS OF CHINA. 
 
 Importance of the Study of the Religions of China. — The Threefold Divis- 
 ion of their Religions by the Chinese. — The words Religion and Sect 
 used in a Modified Sense. — Different Modes of Understanding and Ap- 
 plying the Chinese Classification. — The Plan adopted in this Book . 78 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 BUDDHISM. 
 
 Introduction of Buddhism into China. — Its reputed Founder. — Different 
 Orders of Buddhist Divinities. — Peculiarities of Buddhism as it exists 
 in different Countries. — Popular Traditions relating to Buddha. — Doc- 
 trines and Religious Rites of Buddhism. —Descriptions of Buddhist Tem- 
 ples. — Construction of Images. — Particular Description of Temples and 
 Idol Worship at Hang-chow.— Buddhist Priests. — Organization of the 
 
 Monasteries. — Hermits living in Huts or Caves. — Priests confined in 
 Sealed Rooms or Cells. — Acquiring of Merit by Proxy. — Buddhist 
 Nunneries 83 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 11 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 BUDDHISM CONTINUED. 
 
 Worshipers in Buddhist Temples principally Women, and why. — Objects 
 sought in Worship. — Mode of seeking a Response. — Making of Vows. — 
 Procuring Drafts on Hades. — Forms of Worship. — Candles. — Incense. — 
 Rosaries. — Social Intercourse and Gossip in the Temples. — Practice of 
 worshiping Books. — Passport for Ilades. — Self-righteous Character of 
 those who frequent Temples. — Striking Parallelism between Buddhism 
 and Romanism Page 103 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 TAEISM. 
 
 Lao-ts, the Founder of the Tauist Sect. — Origin of the word Tauism. — 
 Lao-ts and Confucius contemporaneous. — Change and Deterioration in 
 Tauism. — Its character Materialistic.— Its Theory of the Universe. — The 
 Five Elements. — Personification of Stars, and then-identity with some of 
 the Gods. — Alchemy. — Elixir of Life. — Astrology. — Popular Belief re- 
 specting Lao-ts, and the Origin of Tauism.; — Legend of Lu-tsu. — Gods of 
 Thunder and Lightning. — The Goddess Tsn-mu. — The three Rulers. — 
 The Dragon King. — His Likeness, how Obtained. — Inferior Dragons, 
 and the “Dragon Examination.” — Worship of the Dragons. — Descrip- 
 tion of the Tu-ti Pusah, or “God of the Earth.”— Connection between 
 Tauism and State Worship.— Tauist Temples, Idols, and Priests. — Ob- 
 ject or Aim of the Tauist Devotee.— Means and bodily Exercises made 
 use of. — Animals' may Attain to the Condition of the Genii. — Worship of 
 Women in Tauist Temples. — Sending Dispatches to the Spirit World. — 
 Charms, Spells, and Magic. — Moral Essays connected with Tauism. — 
 The Reason why Tauism is less Popular than Buddhism 114 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 NATIONAL RELIGIOUS RITES AND BELIEFS. 
 
 These Rites originated in various Periods, and from various Sources. — They 
 are Regarded as Possessed of a Superior and Orthodox Character. — An- 
 cestral Worship. — Worship of the Kitchen God. — State Worship, or that 
 performed by Officers in the Capital and in the Provinces. — Worship of 
 Confucius, and of the God of War, and the God of literature. — Sacrifices 
 to neglected Ghosts. — Welcoming of the Spring. — Worship of Deified 
 Heroes 130 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 MUTUAL RELATIONS AND INFLUENCES OF THE RELIGIOUS SYSTEMS OF CHINA. 
 
 Partial and Imperfect Character of the Knowledge derived from Natural Re- 
 ligion. — Moral more clearly Apprehended than Religious or Spiritual 
 
12 
 
 CONTEXTS. 
 
 Truth. — Buddhism and Tauism attempt to Supply the Defects of Con' 
 fueianism. — Special Characteristics and Relations of these Systems. — 
 Religious Views of the People vague and chaotic. — The three Systems 
 generally Regarded as Supplementary to each Other. — Approximate Es- 
 timate of the Number of Idol Temples in China. — Description of differ- 
 ent Kinds of Sacrifices and Offerings. — The Doctrines and Practices of 
 Idolatry perversions of great Truths. — Answer to the question, “Have 
 the Chinese any idea of one Supreme Deity ?” — General character of Chi- 
 nese Idolatry as compared with that of other Countries. — Evidences of 
 Discontent with Idolatry. — Encouraging Facts, and the Duty of tiie 
 Church Page 118 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SUPERSTITIOUS NOTIONS RESPECTING SPIRITS, AND THE SCIENCE OF FUNG- 
 SIIWUY, OR GEOMANCY. 
 
 Sources of Superstitions relating to Spirits. — Character and Operations of 
 Spirits called Yau-kwei. — Notions respecting the Disembodied Spirits 
 of Men. — Familiar Spirits, and Communications with the Spirit World 
 through a Medium. — Written Communications from Spirits, Spirit-ra] - 
 pings, etc. — Character, Importance, and Uses of the mysterious Science 
 called Fung-shwuy. — It has its own Literature, and its Doctors, or Ex- 
 pounders. — General Prevalence and Influence of this Superstition. — Dif- 
 ficulties and Family Quarrels growing out of it. — An Incident illustrating 
 the Existence and Importance of Fung-shwuy. — Fung-shwuy as applied 
 to House-building.. — Rearrangement of Houses sometimes made Neces- 
 sary. — Complaints against Foreigners for Disregarding Fung-shwuy, and 
 a Case in Illustration. — Means of attracting Good Luck. — Means of ward- 
 ing off' Evil Influences. — Fung-shwuy as connected with the Construction 
 of Canals and Bridges 162 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 DIFFERENT MODES OF DIVINATION. 
 
 Importance of the Eight Diagrams. — Translation of part of a Preface of the 
 Chinese work “ Source of True Divination.” — Mode of Divining by Dia- 
 grams. — Mode 'JF' Divining by means of the Eight Characters. — An in- 
 dividual Case in Illustration. — Divination by Astrology. — Illustrative 
 official Document. — Fortune-telling by the Use of Birds, Snakes, and 
 Turtles. — Telling the Fortunes of past and future States of Existence. — 
 Manner in which Failures are accounted for. — Physiognomy and Palm- 
 istry. — Choosing of “Lucky Days.” — Effects of being Born under certain 
 Stars. — Divination by Dreams . 179 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 13 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE LANGUAGES OF CHINA. 
 
 The want of Analogy between the Chinese and other Languages. — Each 
 Word represented by a Separate Character. — The Language not Hiero- 
 glyphic. — The whole Number of Characters. — The Language Monosyl- 
 labic. — The Written Language unintelligible to the Ear, and not capable 
 of being Used as a Spoken Language. — An Explanation of this Fact.- — 
 Tones and Aspirates. — Explanation of apparent Inconsistencies. — The 
 Spoken Languages of China, and their Relations to the Written. — The 
 Number of the Spoken Languages or Dialects, and the Extent to which 
 they Differ. — In what these Differences consist. — More numerous in the 
 South than in the North. — Description of the Mandarin or Court Dia- 
 lect. — Chinese Mode of Printing. — How much Time does it require to 
 learn the Chinese Language? — What Proportion of the Population can 
 read ? — Excellences and Defects of the Language Page 1‘JI 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS OF CHINA. 
 
 The Origin of these Institutions, and the Distinction between Them and 
 Those in Christian Lands. — Orphan Asylums. — Asylums for Old Men. — 
 Asylums for Animals. — Institutions for the Relief of Widows. — Free 
 Schools.— Chinese Dispensaries. — Institutions for Collecting old Paper, 
 etc. — Society for the Suppression of Immoral Books. — Beggars. — A Be- 
 nevolent Society embracing a variety of Objects. — Various Benefactions 
 and Modes of securing Merit 213 
 
 CHAPTER XVI.. 
 
 THE MORAL TRACT LITERATURE OF CHINA. 
 
 The Literature of China various and extensive. — The Relation of Moral 
 Tracts to the Chinese religious Systems. — Different kinds of Tracts. — 
 Table of Contents of “Light in the Dark Dwelling.” — Motives to which 
 the Distribution of Tracts is due. — The Work is done by Individuals and 
 not Societies. — These Works evidence the Teachings of Natural Relig- 
 ion, and the Necessity of a Superior Revelation. — Translations of “ Ode 
 on Emptiness,” “Ode on Discontent,” and Treatise on “Rewards and 
 Punishments.” — Tracts presented to Gods. — Their Influence on the 
 People. — Our Encouragements and Discouragements in distributing 
 Christian Tracts 226 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 SOCIAL CUSTOMS, ETC. 
 
 The Family Tie strong in China. — Minute Distinctions of Relationships. — 
 The Position of Women in China. — Chinese Politeness. — Hospitality. — 
 
14 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Costumes. — The Queue.— Small Feet of Women. — Chinese Houses. — 
 Food and Mode of Eating. — The Use of Tea. — Chinese Wine. — The Use 
 of Tobacco. — General Want of Cleanliness. — Betrothals and Marriages. 
 —Polygamy. — Infanticide. — Slavery. — Funerals. — Coffins. — Graves and 
 Grave-yards. — The extravagant and burdensome Expenses of Chinese 
 Weddings and Funerals Page 237 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 NATIONAL FESTIVALS, CUSTOMS, AND AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 The Chinese Divisions of Time. — Number and Variety of Festivals and An- 
 niversaries. — Welcoming of Spring. — The Customs and Festivals con- 
 nected with the New Year. — The “Feast of Lanterns.” — “Festival of 
 the Tombs.” — The Season of flying Kites. — Idolatrous Processions. — 
 Chinese Theatres. — Their Connection with Idolatry. — How Conducted. 
 — Character of the Plays and Actors. — Puppet Shows. — Gambling. — 
 Public Fasts enjoined by official Proclamations. — Common Practice of 
 • using Obscene Language 257 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 GENERAL ESTIMATE OF THE CHINESE CHARACTER AND CIVILIZATION. 
 
 Opinions generally Entertained of the Chinese. — The Impressions we have 
 Made upon Them. — Difficulties in the way of Obtaining reliable Infor- 
 mation in the Foreign Communities at the open Ports.— National Pe- 
 culiarities of Chinese Temperament and Character. — Evidence of In- 
 tellectuality in the Chinese. — The Manner in which they are Regarded 
 by other Eastern Nations. — They have taken the Lead in many of the 
 Practical Arts. — Many of their Peculiarities due to Education rather 
 than to Differences of Race.— Morality of the Chinese. — Opinions which 
 we have mutually Entertained of each other in this Respect, and the 
 Reasons for Them. — A Look at ourselves through Chinese Glasses. — 
 Facts illustrating the better side of Chinese Character. — The injurious 
 Effects apprehended by some from speaking well of a Heathen Peo- 
 ple 275 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 INTERCOURSE OF WESTERN NATIONS WITH CHINA. 
 
 Isolation. — Antiquity and Chronology. — Early Reference to China in Greek 
 and Roman History.- — A Jewish Colony in Kai-fung-foo.— The Nestori- 
 ans and their Labors. — Marco Polo. — Early Romish Missions. — First 
 War with England, and the Opening of the Five Treaty Ports in 1842. 
 — Events which lad to the last War with England and France, and to 
 the Treaties which are now in force. — Our present Relations . . . 293 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 15 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 MISSIONARY LIFE IN CHINA. 
 
 A Sea-voyage a good Preparation for Missionary Life. — First Impressions on 
 Shore. — Novelty succeeded by Monotony. — Longing for Home. — Mis- 
 sionary Houses, Mode of Living, Salaries, Servants, etc. — Importance of 
 Female Laborers. — Married and Unmarried Missionaries. — The Study 
 of the Language with a Native Teacher. — A Missionary may be Useful 
 from the very first. — Housekeeping and a Missionary’s Home as an im- 
 portant Centre of Influence. — Chapels and Chapel Preaching. — Itinera- 
 tions in the Interior. — The great Difficulty of communicating Christian 
 Truth in a Heathen Language. — Distribution of Tracts, and the Manner 
 in which they are received. — The natural Effect of a correct Apprehen- 
 sion of the true Character of the Gospel Page 314 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 DIFFERENT METHODS AND AGENCIES EMPLOYED IN MISSIONARY WORK. 
 
 The great Mission of the Christian Church. — The Character of the Work 
 the same now as in the Times of the Apostles. — Advantages and Dis- 
 advantages peculiar to different Times. — Auxiliary and preparatory 
 Agencies. — The Work of the Medical Missionary. — The Scripture Idea 
 of Preaching. — The Question of adopting the native Costume. — The 
 Importance of Mission Schools. — Error of applying Principles drawn 
 from one Field to another and different one. — Objections to English 
 Schools as Missionary Agencies. — The Use of the Press. — Character 
 and Use of Tracts. — The Sphere of the Bible in the Work of Missions. 
 — The Importance of feeding the Flock. — The Necessity of training Na- 
 tive Christians to Habits of Activity and Independence. — The Impor- 
 tance of raising up and training a Native Ministry, and the Difficulties 
 attending this Work in China 33G 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 RESULTS OF MISSIONARY WORK. 
 
 Unfavorable Reports respecting the Work of Missionaries, and their inju- 
 rious Effects. — The Unreliableness of these Reports, and the Manner in 
 which they originate. — The true Character of the Missionary Work, and 
 the Difficulties attending it. — Detailed and Statistical Accounts of differ- 
 ent Mission Stations not attempted. — Much has been accomplished in 
 necessary Preparation for the direct Work of preaching the Gospel. — Ef- 
 fects produced by the general Diffusion of Christian Truth among the 
 Masses. — Ripe Fruits. — The Classes from which the first Converts are 
 usually drawn, and the Means by which they are brought into the 
 Churchy-Illustrative Experiences of Individuals and Families. — The 
 
16 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Influence of Native Converts of both Sexes in building up Native 
 Churches. — The Work of Native Preachers in the Out-stations. — Gen- 
 eral Statistics of the Results of Missions in China. — Special Reference 
 to the Growth of Churches at Ningpo and in the Ports recently opened. 
 - — Remarkable Work in Lao-ling Page 350 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 CHARACTER AND EXPERIENCES OF NATIVE CHRISTIANS AND INQUIRERS. 
 
 Comparative Absence of pungent Convictions of Sin in Chinese Converts, 
 and a Reason for it. — The Apathy of the Chinese with Respect to Death 
 is removed by a Knowledge of Christianity. — Experience of Teacher 
 Du. — Disadvantages and Compensations in the Condition of Chinese 
 Christians.— Their Simplicity of Faith. — Their Views of Prayer. — Go- 
 ing up into a Mountain to pray. — Mercenary Inquirers. — “Stony- 
 ground” Hearers. — Disappointed Expectations. — The Buddhist Devo- 
 tee ofTsi-hia. — The Case of one who was almost persuaded to be a 
 Christian. — Temptations and Defections of Church Members. — Differ- 
 ences and Estrangements among Christians. — Temptations overruled 
 for Good. — Experience of two Native Preachers. — Difference of Views 
 with Reference to the Admission of Inquirers to full Church Member- 
 ship. — Cases of Discipline, and their comparative Frequency. — Trials 
 and Temptations of Native Christians. — Eating Food offered to Idols. — 
 Complicity with Idol Worship in other Ways. — Difficulties connected 
 with the strict Observance of the Sabbath. — Experience of Deo-vu Ali- 
 san. — Standard of Sabbath Observance in our Out-stations. — The His- 
 tory and Character of Jun-kao 379 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONS IN CHINA. 
 
 The Manner in which the early Missionaries of Rome gained an Entrance 
 into the Chinese Empire. — Their Compromise of the Truth, and the 
 Controversies and Dissensions between different Religious Orders. — Sec- 
 ular Employments. — The Mode of prosecuting their Missionary Work. — 
 Character of the Missionaries. — Statistics of Missionary Results. — Their 
 Improvement of the Advantages of the late Treaties. — Character of the 
 Native Christians. — A Reference to the Religious Literature of the Church 
 of Rome in China. — The Excellences and Defects of the System. — Its 
 probable Influence on the Future of the Empire 406 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE TAI-PING REBELLION. 
 
 The Interest which has been felt by Western Nations in the Tai-ping Re- 
 bellion. — Early Life of Hung-sew-tswen. — He receives the Bible and 
 Tracts from Missionaries. — His Sickness and fancied Revakttions. — His 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 17 
 
 Attention is directed anew to the Christian Books. — He constructs from 
 them a new System of Religion, commences propagating it, and gains 
 many Converts. — The Steps by which the Adherents of this corrupt 
 Form of Christianity became an Insurgent Army. — The long Struggle 
 for Empire, and the final Defeat and Overthrow of the Tai-ping Rebel- 
 lion Page 417 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 PRESENT CONDITION AND PROSPECTS OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 
 
 The Present of China a Period of Transition. — Her Aversion to Change. — 
 Various Causes^conspiring to introduce a new Order of Things.— -Gener- 
 al Principle of Development and Decline. — The History of China a Suc- 
 cession of Dynasties. — -Local Insurrections and Rebellions. — Influences 
 brought to bear upon China from foreign Lands. — Wars with England 
 and France. — The necessary Effect of a Knowledge of the Modern Arts 
 and Sciences, and of Christianity. — The Influence upon China of the 
 Chinese who return Home from California. — The Government adopts 
 Western Rules of International Law. — Chinese Youths studying For- 
 eign Languages with a View to being Interpreters. — The Policy of the 
 Empire principally influenced by the Exigencies of her present Position, 
 and the Advice of Foreign Ministers and Employe's in Pekin. — A Uni- 
 versity for teaching the Modern Sciences has been established. — The 
 Origin, Character, and Results of the Chinese Embassy. — The Party of 
 Progress, and the Objects for which they are striving. — The present 
 Status of Missionaries. — China irrevocably committed to Reform and 
 Progress . .... 428 
 
 CHAPTER XXVIII. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 The Presence and Agency of Christ among the Nations.- — He rules the 
 World in the Interest of the Church. — Different Influences conspire to 
 prepare the Way for the Establishment of His spiritual Kingdom.— The 
 Responsibility of the Church in the present Juncture. — Evidences of low 
 and unscriptural Views with Regard to Missions. — The true Standard 
 of Christian Duty 444 
 
 APPENDIX 
 
 451 
 

 - - r* .r2 ^ 
 
 ■ 
 
 , 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
ILL USTRA TIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 map of ciiina To face page 21 
 
 PART OF THE WALL OF PEKIN 25 
 
 WC-CIIANG 30 
 
 CANAL SCENE NEAR SOO-CHOW 32 
 
 TRADING JUNK 34 
 
 MODE OF CARRYING BURDENS BY ONE PERSON 35 
 
 TWO MEN CARRYING A PRESENT OF A LARGE JAR OF SPIRITS 36 
 
 GENTLEMAN RIDING IN A SEDAN, WITH SERVANT ON FOOT 36 
 
 CART DRAWN BY BULLOCKS, OR MULES, OR HORSES, OR BY THESE 
 
 THREE DIFFERENT ANIMALS TOGETHER 39 
 
 IRRIGATION BY MEANS OF AN ENDLESS CHAIN-PUMP 41 
 
 • 
 
 FISHING WITH CORMORANTS 43 
 
 FAC-SIMILE OF CASH COINED BY THE LAST EMPEROR, HIEN-FUNG 44 
 
 FAC-SIMILE OF ANCIENT COIN, COINED DURING THE HAN DYNASTY 45 
 
 LITERARY UNDER-GRADUATE, OR STUDENT 57 
 
 MILITARY CANDIDATES COMPETING WITH BOW AND ARROW Cl 
 
 A CHINESE CIVIL OFFICER IN FULL DRESS 69 
 
 GATEWAY OF BUDDHIST TEMPLE NEAR CANTON 87 
 
 THE THREE PRECIOUS ONES 90 
 
 A DEPARTMENT OF THE BUDDHISTIC HELL. 91 
 
 PAGODA \ 92 
 
 BUDDHIST PRIEST 98 
 
 BUDDHIST NUN WITH CAP AND ROSARY 101 
 
 CASTING LOTS 104 
 
 LUE-KUNG, GOD OF THUNDER 119 
 
 THE THREE PURE ONES 120 
 
 ANCESTRAL TABLET REPRESENTING ONE PERSON 131 
 
 GOD OF THE KITCHEN 134 
 
 TRADITIONAL LIKENESS OF CONFUCIUS 139 
 
 KWAN-TI, CHINESE GOD OF WAR 140 
 
 PART OF A PROCESSION IN HONOR OF SPRING, IN JVIIICH A MOCK BUF- 
 FALO IS CARRIED THROUGH THE STREETS 142 
 
20 
 
 ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 WRITING WITH A FORKED PEN AN ORACLE ON SAND 1G8 
 
 FORTUNE-TELLING BY MEANS OF A BIRD AND SLIPS OF PAPER 189 
 
 DIFFERENT STYLES OF WRITING AND PRINTING CHINESE CHARACTERS. 207 
 HONORARY STONE PORTAL TO THE MEMORY OF VIRTUOUS AND FILIAL 
 
 widows 217 
 
 MAN WITH BASKETS GATHERING LETTERED PAPER 219 
 
 LARGE OR NATURAL-FOOTED WOMAN AT FU-CHOW 242 
 
 APPEARANCE OF A SMALL SHOE ON THE FOOT 243 
 
 PART OF A BRIDAL PROCESSION EN ROUTE TO THE HOUSE OF THE 
 
 BRIDEGROOM ON THE WEDDING-DAY 248 
 
 BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM WORSHIPING THE TABLETS OF HIS DECEASED 
 
 ANCESTORS 250 
 
 PREPARATIONS FOR THE NEW YEAR 2G0 
 
 HAPPINESS 2G3 
 
 MANOEUVRING THE DRAGON 2G4 
 
 BOAT CARRIED IN PROCESSION ON MEN’S SHOULDERS 267 
 
 WEARING THE CANGUE AS A TOKEN OF GRATITUDE 2G8 
 
 BOY DRESSED LIKE A FEMALE IN ACTING A THEATRICAL PLAY 272 
 
 CAPTURE OF THE PEIIIO FORTS 303 
 
 KWEILIANG, FIRST IMPERIAL COMMISSIONER 30G 
 
 IIWASHANA, SECOND “ “ 307 
 
 "signing of the treaty of tien-tsin 311 
 
 PRINCE RUNG 441 
 

 
 
 
 
 

 
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China and the Chinese. 
 
 - CHAPTER I. 
 
 GENERAL VIEW OP THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 
 
 The word China not Known by the Chinese. — The Names they Use to Des- 
 ignate their Country. — General Resemblance of China to the United 
 States : in Position, Form, Climate, Productions, Natural and Artificial 
 Divisions, and in Area. — Description of the Walled Cities of China. — The 
 Population of the Empire. — Peculiarities of Climate, and their Connec- 
 tion with the Monsoons. — Rivers and Natural Scenery. 
 
 The word China is at present unknown in the empire 
 which we call by that name. It was no doubt introduced in 
 the West from the nations of Central Asia, who in speaking 
 of the Chinese use the terms Jin, Chin, Sin, Sinae, and Sinistae. 
 These names were probably derived from the powerful Tsin 
 family, tvhich held sway over the north-western part of 
 China as early as 770 b.c. ; and obtained the government 
 of the whole empire 250 years b.c. The early prominence 
 of this name in that part of the country which was first reach- 
 ed by the routes of Western traders strongly confirms the view 
 now generally adopted by commentators, that the Chinese are 
 specifically referred to in the forty-ninth chapter of Isaiah — 
 “ Behold, these shall come from far ; and lo, these from the 
 North and from the West: and these from the land of 
 Sinim.” 
 
 The names which the Chinese-lj|pe in speaking of them- 
 selves are various. The most common one is Chung Kioofi, 
 
22 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 “ Middle Kingdom the term “ middle ” signifying not only 
 that they are the geographical centre of the world, but also 
 the centre of light and civilization. Another name is Chung 
 Hwa-Kwoh — “ Middle Flowery Kingdom ft flowery ” pre- 
 senting the idea of beautiful, cultivated, refined. The terms 
 Tien-Hwa-lCwoh and Tien- Chao — “ Heavenly Flowery King- 
 dom,” and “ Heavenly Dynasty ” — are sometimes used, the 
 word “ heavenly ” presenting the Chinese idea that the em- 
 pire is established by the authority of heaven, and that the 
 Emperor rules by divine right. This title has given rise to 
 the contemptuous epithet applied to this race by Europeans— 
 “ The Celestials.” They also speak of themselves as Tien - 
 Ida ” — “ Under Heaven ” — that is, “ the world.” The particu- 
 lar title of the reigning dynasty is often used, as at present Ta- 
 Tsing-Kwoh , the “ Kingdom of the Great Tsin Dynasty.” 
 
 In giving a correct general idea of China to- Western na- 
 tions, I can not, perhaps, do better than to institute a compari- 
 son between it and the United States, to which it bears a 
 striking resemblance. It occupies the same position in the 
 Eastern Hemisphere that the United States does in the West- 
 ern. Its line of sea-coast on the Pacific resembles that of the 
 United States on the Atlantic, not only in length but also in con- 
 tour. Being found within almost the same parallels of lati- 
 tude, it embraces the same varieties of climate and produc- 
 tions. A river as grand as the Mississippi, flowing east, di- 
 vides the empire into two nearly equal parts, which are often 
 designated as “ North of the River,” and “ South of the River.” 
 It passes through an immense and fertile valley, and is sup- 
 plied by numerous tributaries having their rise in mount- 
 ain ranges on either side, and also in the Himalayas on the 
 west. 
 
 The area of China proper is about the same as that of the 
 organized states of the American Union. The resemblance 
 holds also in the artificial divisions. While our country is 
 divided into more thai^fhirty states, China is divided into 
 eighteen provinces ; this division furnishing still another name 
 
RESEMBLANCE TO THE UNITED STATES, 
 
 23 
 
 for the empire, in common use, Shih-pah-seng — “ The Eight- 
 een Provinces.” These provinces are on an average about 
 twice as large as our states. As our states are divided into 
 counties, so eacli province has about ten divisions, called Fa ; 
 and each Fa is again divided into about an equal number of 
 Jlien. These divisions and subdivisions of the provinces are 
 generally translated in English departments, or prefectures, 
 and districts. In this work I shall use the Chinese terms and 
 their English equivalents interchangeably. The-above-mention- 
 ed divisions and subdivisions are much larger than our corre- 
 sponding counties and townships. While the empire has its 
 capital at Pekin, so each province, Fu and Hien, has its capi- 
 tal or seat of civil power, in which the officers exercising ju- 
 risdiction over it reside. While our national name, United 
 States, covers not only the states, but the comparatively 
 sparsely-populated territories, so the Chinese Empire includes, 
 in addition to the eighteen provinces, or China proper, Man- 
 churia Mongolia, Sungaria, Eastern Turkistan, Koko-nor, and 
 Thibet. The most of these territories belonged originally to 
 the present Tartar rulers of China, and after the subjugation 
 of the eighteen provinces were united with them in the satne 
 empire. The whole circumference of the empire is about 
 12,000 miles, and the whole area about 5 , 000,000 of square 
 miles — nearly twice that of the United States, exclusive vif the 
 lately-acquired Russian Possessions. When we speak of 
 China without specifications we refer to the eighteen prov- 
 inces exclusively, which include the vast proportion of the 
 population, wealth, and intelligence of the empire. 
 
 Here the parallel between the United States and China 
 leases, and in nearly every point of comparison we have a 
 decided contrast. The capitals of the different divisions of 
 the empire are all walled cities. These form a striking feat- 
 ure of the country. There are important distinctions be- 
 tween the cities of the third class, most of which are designated 
 by the character Ilien, a few by the character Cheo, and a few 
 by the character Ting, which need not here be particularly de- 
 
24 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 scribed. Though varying considerably in size, these different 
 cities present nearly the same uniform appearance. They are 
 surrounded by walls from twenty to thirty-five feet in height, 
 and are entered by large arched gateways, which open into 
 the principal streets, and are shut and barred at night. These 
 walls are from twenty to twenty-five feet thick at the base, 
 and somewhat narrower at the top. The outside is of solid 
 masonry from two to four feet thick, built of hewn stone, or 
 bricks backed with earth, broken tiles, etc. There is gener- 
 ally a lighter stone facing on the inside. The outside is sur- 
 mounted by a parapet with embrasures, generally built of 
 brick. The circumferences of the provincial cities vary from 
 eight to fifteen English miles ; those of the Fa cities from 
 four to ten ; and those of the Ilien cities from two or three 
 t j five. Some of the larger and more important cities contain 
 a smaller one, with its separate walls, enclosed within the 
 larger outside wall. This is the Tartar or military city. It 
 is occupied exclusively by Tartars with their families, Arming 
 a colony or garrison, and numbering generally a few tens of 
 thousands, including military officers of different grades. In 
 times of insurrection and rebellion the Emperor depends prin- 
 cipally upon these Tartar colonies to hold possession of the 
 cities where they are stationed. In such emergencies the in- 
 habitants of these enclosed Tartar cities, knowing that their 
 lives and the lives of their families are at stake, sometimes 
 defend themselves with great desperation. 
 
 The provincial capitals contain an average population of 
 about 1,000,000 inhabitants, the Fu cities from 100,000 or 
 less to 600,000 or 800,000, while the cities of the third class, 
 which are much more numerous, generally contain several tens 
 of thousands. The most of these towns of different classes 
 have outgrown their walls, and you sometimes find one-fourth 
 or even one-third of the inhabitants living in the suburbs, 
 which in some cases extend three or four miles outside the 
 walls in different directions. Property is less valuable in 
 these suburbs, not only because it is removed from the busi- 
 
CHINESE WALLED CITIES. 
 
 25 
 
 I'AET or THE WALL OF TEKIN. 
 
 ness parts of the city, but also because it is more liable to be 
 destroyed in times of anarchy and rebellion. 
 
 All the names to be found on our largest maps of China 
 are the names of walled cities, and many of those of the third 
 class are not down for want of space. The whole number in 
 the aggregate is over 1700. Supposing them to have an av- 
 erage circumference of four miles each, the whole length of 
 wall such as has been described would be 6800 miles, nearly 
 one-third the circumference of the globe. If we add to this 
 the 1500 miles of continuous wall separating China from 
 Chinese Tartary m the North, it will swell the estimate to 
 more than 8000 miles. 
 
 The above engraving of a part of the wall of Pekin will 
 give a very good idea of the appearance of Chinese cities 
 generally, as seen in the distance, with .their watch-towers 
 and guard-houses, and the moat outside the wall. The 
 camels represented in the engraving are very rarely seen in 
 the south of China. The reader may in imagination substi- 
 tute in their place pack-mules and donkeys for most of the 
 cities of Northern China, and men bearing burdens and se- 
 dans for the cities of the South. 
 
 From the number and size of the cities of China it might 
 be inferred that they contain the great proportion of the in- 
 
 B 
 
26 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 habitants of the empire. This is, however, by no means the 
 case. The Chinese are mainly an agricultural people, and live 
 for the most part in the almost innumerable villages which 
 everywhere dot its fertile plains. You seldom see a detached 
 or isolated farm-house. The country people live in towns and 
 hamlets for the sake of society and mutual protection. Most 
 of the cities, even the smaller ones, have thousands of these 
 villages under their jurisdiction. In the more populous parts 
 of China you will generally find, within a circumference of 
 three or four miles radius, from one hundred and fifty to two 
 hundred of these villages, some of the larger of them rivalling 
 the smaller walled cities in population and wealth. 
 
 It is not strange that the question respecting the population 
 of China lias excited a great deal of interest. The most re- 
 liable information tve have on this subject is the Chinese 
 census of 1812 , which there is no good reason for discredit- 
 ing. This census estimates the population of the eighteen 
 provinces at 360 , 000 , 000 . Should we adopt these figures as 
 reliable, we must regard the actual number of the present in- 
 habitants of China as not far from 400 , 000 , 000 . 
 
 The mere statement of this number fails to convey to the 
 mind a clear conception of the reality which it expresses. A 
 better idea of the population may be obtained by comparison. 
 The one nation of China contains nearly one-third of the 
 whole human race. Its inhabitants are about equal in num- 
 ber to those of all the kingdoms of Europe and of North and 
 South America combined. Any one of the more populous of 
 the eighteen provinces contains a population nearly equal to 
 that of the largest nations of Europe or of the United States. 
 These statements seem incredible at first sight, but a little 
 consideration will show that there is in them no inherent im- 
 probability, while personal observation and inquiry tend to 
 confirm their truth. 
 
 The Chinese census, above referred to, only gives an average 
 population of about three hundred persons to the square mile, 
 while that of England and Belgium is greater. Now perhaps 
 
THE POPULATION OF THE EMPIRE. 
 
 27 
 
 no country in the world is more fertile and capable of sup- 
 porting a dense population than China. Every available spot 
 of ground is brought under cultivation, and nearly all the land 
 is made use of to provide food for man, pasture-fields being 
 almost unknown. The masses of China eat very little animal 
 food. What they do eat is mostly pork and fowls, the raising 
 of which requires little or no waste of ground. The compara- 
 tively few horses and cattle and sheep which are found in the 
 country are kept in stables, or graze upon the hill-tops, or are 
 tethered by the sides of canals. Taking these facts into con- 
 sideration, that an extended and exceedingly fertile country, 
 under the highest state of cultivation, is taxed to its utmost 
 capacity to supply the wants of a frugal and industrious peo- 
 ple, and the statement that it contains as dense a population 
 as three hundred to the square mile need excite no wonder 
 or incredulity. 
 
 An independent proximate estimate of the population of 
 China may be made from the basis of its cities. A few years 
 since, nineteen contiguous cities were visited by two mission- 
 aries from Ningpo. One of these contained 300,000 inhabit- 
 ants ; ten of them from 50,000 to 100 , 000 ; and eight from 
 
 10.000 to 20,000. The average population would be about 
 
 60.000 each. If this tour had extended a few days’ journey 
 to the north, it would have included the cities Shao-hing and 
 Hang-chau, the former containing about 800,000 and the lat- 
 ter 1,000,000 inhabitants, which would have raised the average 
 not a little. Taking 60 , 000 , however, as the average for the 
 cities of the Chekiang province, and reducing the general 
 average of the empire from 60,000 to 40 , 000 , we will have for 
 the cities of China alone 68,000,000. But we find under the 
 jurisdiction of each city a number of large villages rivalling 
 it in population. If we assume that the larger unwalled 
 towns, to the number of one-tenth of the whole, contain 
 double the population of the cities, we will have for the 
 population of the cities and a small fraction of the unwalled 
 towns 200,000,000. Regarding the almost innumerable vil- 
 
28 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 lages as containing only the same population as the cities, 
 ancl a few of the larger villages, and we reach the result of 
 400,000,000, for the whole population. This estimate makes 
 no pretensions to accuracy, but is intended to show how 
 consistent the Chinese census is with facts, and how difficult 
 it would be to fix upon any lower figures. 
 
 Every thing you see in China conveys the same impression 
 of a country overburdened with a population which swarms 
 about you wherever you go. The fields are everywhere full 
 of laborers ; in the mountainous districts you will see scores 
 of terraces, rising one above another to the height of 500 or 
 1000 feet, and the hills cultivated in many places to their very 
 tops. Pedestrians are everywhere seen in the roads and by- 
 paths, the rivers and numerous canals are filled with boats, 
 and a great variety of busy artisans ply their crafts in the 
 noisy streets of the cities and villages. 
 
 The peculiarities of climate along the Chinese coast are 
 due in a great measure to the northern and southern mon- 
 soons, the former prevailing with more or less uniformity 
 during the winter and the latter during the summer months. 
 These winds give a greater degree of heat in summer and of 
 cold in winter than is experienced in the United States in 
 corresponding latitudes. At Ningpo, situated in latitude 
 thirty-one — about that of New Orleans — large quantities of ice 
 are secured in the winter for summer use. It is, however, 
 seldom more than an inch in thickness. In this part of China 
 snow not unfrequently falls to the depth of six or eight inches, 
 and the hills are sometimes covered with it for weeks in suc- 
 cession. In the northern provinces the winters are very 
 severe. In the vicinity of Pekin, not only are the canals and 
 rivers closed during the winter, but all commerce by sea is 
 suspended during two or three months ; while in the summer 
 that part of China is very warm, producing sweet potatoes, 
 peaches, and grapes in abundance. The period of the change 
 of the monsoon, when the two opposite currents are struggling 
 with each other, is marked by a great fall of rain, and by the 
 
PECULIARITIES OP CLIMATE. 
 
 29 
 
 cyclones which are so much dreaded by mariners on the 
 Chinese coast. The southern monsoon gradually loses its force 
 in passing northward, and is not very marked above thirty or 
 thirty-two degrees of latitude, though its influence is decided- 
 ly felt in July and August. With the exception of the sum- 
 mer months, the climate of the northern coast of China is re- 
 markably dry; that of the southern coast is damp most of 
 the year, especially during the months of May, June, and July. 
 
 In different parts of the country almost every variety of 
 climate may be found, hot or cold, moist or dry, salubrious or 
 malarious. The ports which until recently have been exclusive- 
 ly occupied as places of residence by Europeans have unfor- 
 tunately been among the most insalubrious of the empire, not 
 so much from the enervating effects of their southerly lati- 
 tudes as from their local miasmatic influences, being situated 
 in the rice-producing districts, and surrounded more or less by 
 stagnant water during the summer months. Under the treaty 
 of I860, which opened new ports in the north and the interior, 
 we have access to climates which will compare favorably with 
 most parts of our own country. 
 
 The eighteen provinces present every conceivable variety 
 of landscape- — comprising valleys and alluvial plains, high ta 
 ble-lands, and regions noted for wild and picturesque mount 
 ain scenery. It is finely watered by numerous rivers. To say 
 nothing of-streams of less note, the River Yiang-ts flows through 
 its entire length from west to east, and, receiving many tribu- 
 taries from the northern and southern ju'ovinces, bears on its 
 bosom the commerce of more than 150,000,000 of people. It 
 passes through a very rich and populous region, and presents 
 to the traveller natural scenery of varied beauty, and numerous- 
 unfamiliar objects curious and picturesque. 
 
 Several ports on this river are now open to foreign com- 
 merce, and vessels drawing more than twenty feet of water 
 and from two hundred and fifty to three hundred feet long, 
 are clearing from the port of Han-kao, six hundred miles in 
 the interior, for London, Liverpool, and New York. 
 
30 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 In the front of the accompanying engraving, and opposite the 
 large city Wu chang, which is seen on the opposite side of the 
 “ Great Iliver ” in the distance, is the site of the foreign set- 
 tlement in Han-kow. Han-kow being a kind of suburb of Wu- 
 chang, and having no wall around it, is not found on any of 
 the maps of China ; though it has a population probably not 
 less than 300,000. In the map accompanying this book the 
 name of the city is incorrectly spelled Y u-chang. 
 
 WL- C1IANG. 
 
THE GREAT IMPERIAL CANAL. 
 
 31 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 GENERAL VIEW OP THE COUNTRY AND ITS INHABITANTS CON- 
 
 TINUED. 
 
 Travelling. — Roads. — Streets. — Canals. — Boats. — Sculls. — Mud-slides.- — 
 Sedans or Kiau-ts. — Burden-bearers. — Beasts of Burden. — Mule-lit- 
 ters. — Productions of the Soil. — Different Varieties of Teas. — Vegeta- 
 bles.- — Fruits. — Implements. — The Threshing-floors of Scripture. — The 
 use of Fertilizers. — Style of Architecture and Materials used. — Fire- 
 walls in Cities. — No Stoves in Northern Houses. — Artisans. — Business 
 Men. — Order and General Prosperity. 
 
 The modes of travelling vary greatly in different parts of 
 the empire. In many of the provinces, especially along the 
 coast and in the south, canals take the place, for the most part, 
 of roads. The great Imperial Canal, stretching from Hang- 
 chau, in Central China, to Pekin, a distance of six hundred 
 miles, is often referred to by writers on China as one of the 
 greatest of public works in any country, and as a striking evi- 
 dence of the wisdom of the government and vast resources 
 of the empire. This, however, is but one of the main arter- 
 ies of canal communication, and its length is insignificant in 
 comparison with the aggregate length of the other canals of 
 the empire. I hav£ no doubt that its length is equalled, if 
 not exceeded, by that of the canals within the jurisdiction of 
 some of the individual departmental or Fa cities. In the 
 vicinity of Ningpo the country is supplied with a complete 
 net-work of them, often intersecting each other at distances 
 of one or two miles, of less. Farmers frequently have short 
 branch canals running off to their houses, and the farm-boat 
 takes the place of the farm-cart or wagon. Heavy-loaded 
 passage and freight boats are seen plying in every direction. 
 The ordinary rate of charge for passage, at the highest esti- 
 mate, would be less than one-half of a cent per mile. A boat 
 
32 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 nals, or winding about among the unfenced fields. In Central 
 and Southern China the streets of the cities are not much 
 wider than the paths in the country, their width varying from 
 five to ten or fifteen feet. 
 
 The canals are generally from twenty to forty or fifty feet 
 in width. The boats in them are from four to eight feet 
 wide, and from twenty to thirty or more in length. They 
 are propelled for the most part by a scull of a peculiar con- 
 
 manned by two persons, and of such size that ten Chinamen 
 think they can sleep comfortably in it, may be chartered for 
 one dollar a day, and will accomplish within the twenty-four 
 hours a distance of from forty to seventy or more miles. 
 
 In sections of the country where canals are so numerous 
 the roads are simply foot-paths, sometimes hardly wide enough 
 for persons to meet without one of them stepping off the flag- 
 stones, by which they are almost invariably paved. These 
 roads or paths are found running along the banks of the ca- 
 
 CANAL SCENE NEAR SOO-CIIOW. 
 
BOATS IN CHINA. 
 
 o o 
 oo 
 
 struction, by which the strength of the boatman is applied 
 most effectively and economically. 
 
 This scull is seldom straight, has generally abroad blade, and 
 turns upon a pivot in the stern. The upper end of it is at- 
 tached to the bottom of the boat by a rope which the boatman 
 seizes with his right hand, the left being laid on the scull han- 
 dle. These boats in different parts of the empire present an 
 almost endless variety. A traveller in crossing a river and hir- 
 ing one in the canal on the opposite side is often surprised to 
 see the marked change in the construction and style, not only of 
 the boat, but of all its appointments. 
 
 While sculls are justly preferred in most parts of China, 
 sweeps or oars are occasionally seen. 
 
 Among the numerous kinds of boats in different places, there 
 is one belonging exclusively to the city of Shao-hing, but some- 
 times found hundreds of miles away from home, which merits 
 a special reference. It is called by the natives Kyiah-ioo-jun — 
 “ Foot-propelled boat.” It resembles a canoe, and is made to 
 carry one passenger with a little baggage. The hull is general- 
 ly decorated with landscape paintings. A thick, bent bamboo 
 matting covers the top, and while it protects the traveller from 
 sun and rain, obliges him to keep a recumbent position except 
 when one of the mats is removed. The boatman sitting in the 
 stern, which is only about a foot and a half wide, and bracing 
 his back against a board, propels his little craft in a very pecul- 
 iar way with a foot-oar, and guides it with a paddle. 
 
 It is so crank that the passenger must be careful in moving 
 for fear of upsetting it. This may be called the dispatch-boat 
 of China. One boatman will sometimes ply the oar for sixteen 
 or more hours with very little intermission, changing constant- 
 ly from one foot to the other. I have known one of them to 
 stop for a moment at an eating-house, procure a bowl of rice 
 and one of vegetables, resume his seat, put the two bowls on 
 one hand, the two chop-sticks in the other, one foot on the car, 
 and the paddle under his arm to steer by, and so proceed on 
 his journey and enjoy his dinner- at the same time. In the 
 
 B 2 
 
34 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 forty men turn the windlasses. The boat is gradually drawn 
 up the inclined plane, is poised for a moment on the top, then 
 the bow droops, and it slides down the other side into the wa- 
 ter, sometimes with a velocity which occasions serious acci- 
 dents. 
 
 The bridges crossing the canals are very numerous. Gen- 
 erally stone abutments approach each other from opposite 
 sides, leaving a vacant space between them of about twelve 
 feet which is covered by heavy stone slabs. Arched bridges, 
 however, and some of them very beautiful, are frequently seen 
 spanning the canals and -smaller rivers. Boats are often 
 
 rivers are larger boats, while the junks will compare in carry- 
 ing capacity with our sea-going vessels. 
 
 In the Che-kiang province, in passing through the canals 
 from one elevation to another, use is made of mud-slides , which 
 take the place of locks in our own country. On either side of 
 this slide, or inclined plane, is a windlass with large cables of 
 twisted bamboo. A noose on the end of the cable is placed 
 round the stern of the boat on either side, and from twenty to 
 
DIFFERENT MODES OF CARRYING BURDENS. 
 
 35 
 
 tracked or towed by the boatmen on shore, and sails are 
 hoisted when the wind is favorable. 
 
 In the coast provinces of Central and Southern China, where 
 canals are so numerous, vehicles and beasts of burden and 
 draught are almost unknown. In the mountainous districts 
 passengers and goods are carried by men, passengers in a se- 
 dan or palanquin by two men, and baggage and freight by 
 single coolies, the burden being divided and suspended from 
 the opposite ends of a strong elastic pole, the middle of which 
 rests upon the shoulder. Two sedan-bearers will carry a man of 
 ordinary size, with twenty or thirty pounds of baggage, twenty 
 miles in a day ; and a coolie, with more than one hundred and 
 fifty pounds burden, will perform the same journey, though 
 requiring a little more time. The hardy mountaineers, whose 
 muscles have been develojied by years of this kind of labor, 
 will carry a burden five or ten miles in a day weighing more 
 than three hundred pounds. 
 
 MODE OF CARRYING DURDENS BY ONE PERSON. 
 
! : D □ 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 TWO MEN CARRYING A PRESENT OF A LARGE JAR OF SPIRITS. 
 
 GENTLEMAN RIDING IN A SEDAN, WITH SERVANT ON FOOT. 
 
 The above engravings illustrate the three modes of carrying 
 burdens so common in China. The last one represents the 
 
THE PRODUCTIONS OF CHINA. 
 
 37 
 
 sedan and its attendants when just about to start, or when 
 the bearers are about so set the sedan down. The third 
 bearer is an extra one or relay, who walks by the side of the 
 sedan, takes his turn in carrying it, and assists in placing it 
 upon the shoulders of the other two, and in putting it down. 
 The attendant in a long gown is the gentleman’s body-serv- 
 ant, who carries and presents his employer’s cards, and waits 
 upon him as he has occasion to require his services. When 
 the bearers are in motion, they take a long rapid stride, which 
 carries them about four and a half miles an hour. When 
 there are but two of them they generally stop every mile or 
 two. They employ these few moments of rest in smoking, 
 chatting, and perhaps taking a glass of wine. When the 
 traveller is in a hurry he often adds “icine money which ac- 
 celerates his progress greatly. 
 
 When the burden to be carried is very heavy, such as large 
 stones, logs, etc., it is divided and distributed by larger and 
 smaller poles, so as to be borne by ten, fifteen, twenty, or 
 more men. 
 
 In those portions of the empire where canals are impracti- 
 cable, as is the case in a large part of the province of Shan- 
 tung, beasts of burden are numerous, principally mules and 
 donkeys, which are imported from Manchuria in large droves. 
 On the plains a rude kind of cart is used ; and in the more 
 mountainous districts goods 'are carried on pack-mules and 
 donkeys, and passengers in mule-litters. The mules used for 
 the latter purpose are very fine, and will walk in a long sum- 
 mer’s day from fifty to sixty miles, the drivers keeping pace 
 with them. In the north of China the streets of the cities are 
 wide enough to admit the passage of wheeled vehicles. • 
 
 The productions of China, as before intimated, are similar 
 to those of the United States. Sugar-cane is grown in large 
 quantities in the southern provinces; rice and tobacco and 
 cotton in the southern and central ; winter wheat, millet, and 
 sorghum in the central and northern ; and maize or Indian 
 corn in all the provinces. Sorghum is called in this country 
 
38 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 the Chinese sugar-cane, though as far as I can learn it is not 
 used for its saccharine properties in any part of the empire. 
 
 Rice is the great staple for food in the south, and millet in 
 the north. The cotton produced in the south supplies the 
 vast proportion of the population with clothing ; and it is all 
 spun and woven by the women, the Chinese being entirely ig- 
 norant of modern machinery of every kind. Tea is produced' 
 in the central and southern provinces. The differences in the 
 varieties are due partly to the soil and climate of different lo- 
 calities ; partly to the time when the leaf is plucked ; but 
 principally to the mode of curing or preparing it for the for- 
 eign market. 
 
 The vegetables of China are numerous, including many va- 
 rieties with which we are not familiar. The sweet potato is 
 found in all the provinces. The Irish potato has been until re- 
 cently unknown, and is now little valued by the natives. Car- 
 rots, turnips, leeks, and garlic are very common, also cucum- 
 bers, water-melons, and musk-melons. Peas are cultivated to 
 some extent, and beans in great varieties and large quantities. 
 In the north of China beans take the place of oats with us, as 
 the principal hearty food for horses, mules, and donkeys. They 
 are always cooked, and animals like them, and thrive on them 
 wonderfully. 
 
 The fruits are similar to those of the United States, but 
 most varieties are decidedly inferior. Grapes, peaches, and 
 apricots in the north, and oranges and bananas in the south, 
 will compare favorably with the same fruits in our own coun- 
 try. 
 
 Agricultural implements, as also those of every other kind, 
 are exceedingly rude and primitive. The fields are ploughed 
 in the south by a single bullock or water-buffalo, and by bul- 
 locks, mules, and donkeys in the north, where these three ani- 
 mals are not unfrequently seen harnessed together three 
 abreast, with occasionally a horse by way of variety. 
 
 In the north you see threshing-floors, resembling those 
 spoken of in the Old Testament. A little spot of ground near 
 
OMIT DRAWN I5Y HULLOOKB, OR MULES, OR IIORSES, OR DY THESE DIFFERENT ANIMALS TOGETHER. 
 

 
 
 
 ¥ 
 
 
 
THRESHING-FLOORS AND FERTILIZERS. 
 
 41 
 
 the house is, just before harvest, hardened and packed, and 
 looks not unlike a cement floor. The sheaves of grain are 
 brought hither on the backs of mules and donkeys. The heads 
 of the sheaves are cut off with a large straw-knife, and the 
 grain is trodden out by donkeys or beaten out by flails, and the 
 chaff being thrown up with a shovel, is blown away by the 
 wind. I have never seen a barn in any part of China. The 
 
 IRRIGATION 1JY MEAN 3 OF AN ENDLESS CiIAIN-l»UMl\ 
 
 straw is stacked or stored away in some vacant loft, and is 
 soon disposed of for provender and fuel. 
 
 Great care is taken throughout the empire to preserve ev- 
 ery thing which can be used to enrich the soil. Every city 
 and village contributes its quota of fertilizing material, which 
 the countrymen apply for and generally purchase. This cus- 
 tom, although of incalculable use in adding to the productive- 
 
42 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 ness of the soil, is an intolerable nuisance to the foreign resi- 
 dents. 
 
 When the farmers have little else to do, the sediment of the 
 canals is scooped out and spread over the land, and the canals 
 in this way are kept from filling up. A great deal of manual 
 labor is expended on a small area. In different provinces irri- 
 gation is practiced to a large extent. 
 
 Tire style of architecture in China is rather solid and sub- 
 stantial than beautiful, and seems to us heavy and gloomy. 
 Houses have sometimes two stories, though usually but one. 
 They are built of stone, or wood, or brick, according to the 
 cheapness of these articles in different places, and the prefer- 
 ence of the builder. The floors are generally cement or earth. 
 The windows are of lattice-work, upon which is pasted white 
 paper, which requires to be renewed frequently. The dwell- 
 ings of the rich and the temples are exceedingly costly, and 
 sometimes elaborately ornamented with wood and stone carv- 
 ings and paintings. The. most of these houses are made up 
 of different buildings, separated by open courts. An outer 
 wall, which often entirely conceals the street, at the same time 
 shuts out the outside world from the inmates. In cities a 
 group of buildings is often protected from fire by extending 
 the wall between them and the adjoining ones several feet 
 above the houses. -Cities are often saved from general confla- 
 grations by these fire-walls. The want of pure air in the cities 
 is compensated in part by free ventilation in the houses. The 
 people are not particular to have the doors and windows tight, 
 and the doors, excepting the one on the street, are generally 
 open, at least in the day-time. 
 
 There are no stoves or fire-places even in the north of 
 China, where the winters are severe. To keep the hands and 
 feet warm, brass and earthen foot-stoves are used, and a deli- 
 cate little hand-stove which gentlemen and ladies carry in 
 their sleeves. In the colder latitudes a raised platform, or 
 dais, is built in the room, of brick and stone, under which a 
 fire is kindled, a chimney carrying off the smoke. The. whole 
 
OCCUPATIONS OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 43 
 
 substance of this dais becomes heated, and retains its warmth 
 for several hours. This is the almost universal bed of the 
 north of China. It radiates very little heat, however, into the 
 room. The people keep themselves warm by the use of ad- 
 ditional clothing. 
 
 In the winter, furs, which are largely imported from Man- 
 churia, are much worn by the more wealthy classes. 
 
 A traveller on visiting China will probably be struck with 
 
 FTSIJING WITH COP.MOIUA'TS. 
 
44 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 the industrious character of the people and the variety of their 
 occupations. Of the out-door laborers, in addition to the farm- 
 ers, who form a large proportion of the population, the fisher- 
 men are also very numerous. Some of them pursue their 
 calling along the sea-coast, and some in the inland lakes, rivers, 
 and canals. Almost every conceivable means of taking fish is 
 made use of — hooks, spears, the drag-net or seine, the scoop- 
 net, the cast-net, the lift-net, the gill-net and others. 
 
 In many parts of Southern China fish are captured by 
 means of cormorants, which swim under water in pursuit of 
 their prey with great rapidity. They are prevented by a 
 string or ring placed round their throats from swallowing 
 the large fish. These they are trained to yield- up to their 
 master, who always follows them in a small boat or on a raft, 
 and generally makes use of a long bamboo pole, with the 
 heavier end of which he pushes his raft, while he directs and 
 controls the movements of the birds with the other. 
 
 Obverse. Reverse. 
 
 FAC-SIMILE OF CA6II COTIf ET> BY THE T.AST F.MFEROR, HIEN-FUNG, 
 who reigned from 1S51-61, representing ten common cash. 
 
 Among their artisans they number carpenters, masons, 
 tailors, shoemakers, workers in iron and brass, and silver- 
 smiths and goldsmiths, who can imitate almost any article of 
 foreign manufacture; also workmen in bamboo, carvers, idol- 
 makers, needle manufacturers, barbers, hair-dressers, etc., etc. 
 
 Business men sell almost every kind of goods and connnod- 
 
CHINESE SHOPS ANH BUSINESS. 
 
 45 
 
 ities wholesale and retail. 
 
 Silk stores, fur stores, and 
 jewelry stores present a 
 fine display of showy and 
 costly goods. Money- 
 changing shops will give 
 you silver by weight for 
 the copper coin of the 
 country, or the reverse, or, 
 for an equivalent, their 
 bank bills, redeemable any 
 time either in silver or 
 copper coin. 
 
 Drug stores, with signs 
 covered with golden let- 
 ters, each striving to be 
 more dazzling than the 
 rest, advertise to furnish every thing in the Chinese materia 
 viedica which can be drawn from the resources of the eighteen 
 provinces and foreign -kingdoms. The names and titles on 
 these sign-boards are the most pretentious and grandiloquent 
 that can well be imagined. 
 
 As a general thing quiet and contentment are manifest, and 
 the people seem industrious and happy. 
 
 In the streets of the cities and villages you will see men ele- 
 gantly dressed and with polished manners. Large fortunes are 
 amassed very much in the same way and by the same means 
 as in our own country. The wealth of the rich is invested in 
 lands or houses, or employed as capital in trade or banking, or 
 is lent out on good security, and often at a high rate of interest. 
 
 Jiven a general and superficial view like that which has 
 been attempted in the preceding pages, is sufficient to show 
 that this is a country of no small degree of civilization and 
 refinement, in which law and order prevail, and where a well- 
 organized government gives at least some good degree of 
 protection to the persons and property of its citizens. 
 
 Obverse. Reverse. 
 
 FAC-SIMILE OF ANCIENT COIN, COINED DURING 
 THE 11 AN DYNASTY, ABOUT A.D. 9 . 
 
46 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 CONFUCIUS AND CONFUCIANISM. 
 
 The Relation of Confucianism to the Chinese Civilization. —The name Con- 
 fucius. — His Character and Mode of Life. — The Manner in which he is 
 regarded by the Chinese. — Ilis own Estimate of himself. — Not the Origin- 
 ator of a new System, but the Propounder and Perpetuator of an Ancient 
 one. — The Confucian Classics. — General Description of their Contents. 
 — The Five Relations of Life. — The Five Virtues. — The political or gov- 
 ernmental Feature of Confucianism. — Importance of Self-government 
 and Culture. — General Estimate of Confucius and his System. 
 
 If I have succeeded in presenting in the previous chapters 
 a just and life-like view of the extensive territories, vast pop- 
 ulation, and immense resources and wealth of the Chinese 
 empire, and the general prosperity, happiness, and refinement 
 of its inhabitants, I trust a desire has been excited in the 
 mind of the reader to know this remarkable people more inti- 
 mately, and to inquire into the sources of their prosperity, the 
 peculiarities of their culture and civilization, and the stable 
 foundations upon which their government and institutions 
 have so long rested. 
 
 No doubt the character and prosperity of the Chinese are 
 due, more than to any other cause, and to all other causes com- 
 bined, to that system of teachings which is called Confucian- 
 ism. 
 
 The man who has given his name to this system is the only 
 one of his race who has achieved a world-wide reputation, .and 
 this he has done in a truer and more literal sense than any 
 other uninspired teacher, his fame extending over larger terri- 
 tories and vaster populations. He was born in the province 
 of Shantung, and the department of Yin-chau, b.c. 551. His 
 family name was Ivung, and his most commonly used given 
 
CHARACTER OF CONFUCIUS. 
 
 47 
 
 name Ckong-ni. He was generally called by his disciples Kung- 
 f u-ts, or “ The teacher Kung.” This title was Latinized by the 
 Jesuit missionaries, giving us the word Confucius, which has 
 now become current among Western nations. 
 
 His parents were respectable, though poor. He manifested 
 a taste for study when very young, and became a teacher at 
 the age of twenty-two. His character as a learned man soon 
 drew toward him a large number of admiring and devoted 
 disciples. He was repeatedly applied to by the petty princes 
 who ruled the small kingdoms, into which China was at that 
 time divided, to take office and assist in the administration of 
 government, and remarkable accounts are given of the salutary 
 measures he introduced, and the beneficial results which fol- 
 lowed. He was, however, so little a courtier, and his morality 
 and theories of government and political economy were of so 
 severe a type, that he generally remained but a short time in 
 a place, his presence either becoming distasteful to his employ- 
 ers, or his sense of justice and propriety being shocked by con- 
 stantly beholding what he could neither approve, or reform. 
 
 Much of his long life was spent in journeying from prov- 
 ince to province, vainly endeavoring to reform the abuses of 
 the times, giving instruction to his followers, and prosecuting 
 his studies. Greatly neglected and imperfectly appreciated 
 during his life, his people have, since his death, gone to the 
 opposite extreme of exaggerating his merits and exalting him 
 “ above all that is called God or is worshiped,” almost ascrib- 
 ing to him perfection of virtue and omniscience, in opposition 
 to his clear and repeated acknowledgments of imperfections 
 and ignorance. 
 
 His own estimate of himself is probably very near the truth, 
 perhaps erring a little on the side of modesty and deprecia- 
 tion. He says : “ The sage and the man of perfect virtue — how 
 dare I rank myself with them ? It may simply be said of me, 
 that I strive to become such Avithout satiety, and to teach 
 others without weariness. In letters I am perhaps equal to 
 other men ; but the character of the superior man, carrying 
 
48 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 out in his conduct what lie professes, is what I have not yet 
 attained to. The leaving virtue without proper cultiva- 
 tion; the not thoroughly discussing what is learned ; not be- 
 ing able to move toward righteousness of which a knowledge 
 is gained ; and not being able to change what is not good 
 — these are the things which occasion me solicitude. I am 
 not one who was born in the possession of knowledge ; I am 
 one who is fond of antiquity, and earnest in seeking it there. 
 A transmitter, and not a maker, believing in and loving the 
 ancients.” 
 
 As is frankly stated by himself, he was not the originator 
 of any new doctrine or system of doctrines, but simply the 
 expounder and perpetuator of the teachings of the sages who 
 preceded him. At that early period he was already looking 
 back into antiquity and endeavoring to save its works from 
 oblivion. 
 
 We may infer from his example that a want of originality, 
 and a servile following of old forms and usages, was a charac- 
 teristic of his race more than two thousand years ago; a pe- 
 culiarity Avhich his teachings and example have served to ren- 
 der still more extreme and confirmed. 
 
 The fact that Confucius made no marked advance on the 
 knowledge of his predecessors, but was always referring to the 
 golden age of the past, is calculated to produce a profound 
 impression as to the moral and intellectual culture of those 
 who laid the foundations of the Chinese civilization more than 
 three thousand years ago. Confucius, then, was rather the ex- 
 ponent and embodiment of the Chinese culture than the origi- 
 nator of it. 
 
 The Chinese classics, in which the Confucian system is found, 
 comprise what are called the Wu-king and the S-shu — “The 
 Five Classics and the Four Books.” The former, with one ex- 
 ception, existed before the time of Confucius, and are frequent- 
 ly referred to in his teachings. They are the Shu-king, the 
 most ancient historical work in China; the S-king, or “Book 
 of Odes;” the Yih-king, or “Book of Changes ” (an abstruse and 
 
THE CONFUCIAN CLASSICS. 
 
 49 
 
 incomprehensible system of philosophy, ontology, etc.) ; the Li- 
 kyi, or “ Book of Rites and Ceremonies,” and the Cliuen-tsew, 
 “ Spring and Autumn” — the last being a historical work written 
 by Confucius himself, and covering a period of a few hundred 
 years before his time. It is called Spring and Autumn, be- 
 cause the commendations and examples presented in it for 
 imitation are supposed to be life-giving like spring, and the 
 criticisms and rebukes withering like autumn. 
 
 Of the F our Books, the first and most important is that 
 which contains the sayings and teachings of Confucius him- 
 self as recorded by his disciples after his death. The second 
 contains the teachings of Mencius, a celebrated philosopher 
 who lived about two hundred years after the time of Confu- 
 cius. The other two works, called the “ Great Learning ” and 
 the “ Doctrine of the Mean,” are considerably smaller than the 
 preceding, with which they are associated as a part of the Four 
 Books, though they really originated before the time of Confu- 
 cius, and are found in the “ Book of Rites.” These books are 
 emphatically and almost exclusively the text-books in all the 
 schools of China, and are regarded as the summiim bonum of 
 knowledge and literary excellence. They have moulded the 
 minds and characters of the Chinese race, and are the ultimate 
 standard to which all moral, governmental, historical, and re- 
 ligious questions are referred. 
 
 The contents of these books may be represented in general 
 as made up of ethics, history, political economy, biography, 
 and poetry. The religious element is almost entirely wanting. 
 It is distinctly stated by the disciples of Confucius that he did 
 not discourse on the gods. Silence on this subject was prob- 
 ably not owing to any contempt for or disregard of it, but to 
 ignorance. Confucius professed to teach positive truth, in op- 
 position to what is vague, uncertain, and inferential ; and -when 
 he could not speak clearly and authoritatively he chose not to 
 speak at all. When asked by one of his disciples about death, 
 his sad answer was — “ Imperfectly acquainted with life, how 
 can I know of death?” 
 
 C 
 
50 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 A correct general idea of his system may be obtained from 
 the Five Relations, which form the basis of it, and the Five 
 Virtues, which were the subject of his most frequent conversa- 
 tions. The Five Relations are those subsisting between em- 
 peror and officer, father and son, husband and wife, older and 
 younger brothers, and friends. 
 
 The principles and duties connected with the first relation 
 present, as they are developed and explained, the Chinese sys- 
 tem of government and political economy, which forms a large 
 part of Confucius’s teachings. The principles underlying this 
 relation are often referred to, and illustrated and enforced by 
 references to ancient history, and the lives and examples of the 
 renowned rulers of antiquity. 
 
 The next three relations belong to the family, which is just- 
 ly regarded as the true foundation of the State. Here are 
 to be inculcated lessons of respect, obecfieuce, and regard for 
 law. Here habits of subjection to lawful authority are form- 
 ed which fit the individual for being a good citizen. This 
 idea is clearly brought out in the Confucian analects : “ There 
 are few who, being filial and fraternal, are fond of offending 
 against their superiors. There have been none who, not liking 
 to offend their superiors, have been fond of stirring up con- 
 fusion.” 
 
 Filial piety stands first in the category of human duties, 
 and is an important part, of the religion of the Chinese. Dis- 
 respect or disobedience to parents is sometimes punished with 
 death. Iso stigma which could be attached to the character 
 of a Chinaman is more dreaded than that of Puh-hiao — “ undu- 
 tiful.” Children in their earlier years are required to be respect- 
 ful, dutiful, and retiring ; when their parents are advanced in 
 life they are expected to reverence and cherish them, to an- 
 ticipate all their wants, and strive in every way to please them ; 
 and, when parents are dead, to worship and sacrifice to them. 
 Men are exhorted to avoid intemperance and vice, lest they in- 
 jure or debase the bodies derived from their parents. It is re- 
 garded as one of the strongest motives to a virtuous and honor- 
 
THE FIVE RELATIONS AND FIVE VIRTUES. 51 
 
 able life to avoid disgracing and offending departed ancestors, 
 and to live in such a manner as to reflect honor upon them. 
 Respect for parents is also regarded as naturally connected 
 with and leading to reverence for the Emperor, who is the 
 Great Father of his people as well as the Son of Heaven. 
 
 The relation between husband and wife is not largely dwelt 
 upon. W oman has an inferior position allotted to her, and is 
 the servant rather than the companion of her husband. The 
 duties of brethren are expressed in the oft-repeated maxim— 
 “ Iliuncj cd , ti kin ” — “ The elder is to love, the younger is to 
 respect.” 
 
 There remains the wider relation subsisting between friends, 
 which it is unnecessary to dwell upon. These Five Relations 
 cover the whole sphere of human duties. The relation be- 
 tween God and man is neglected and unknown, while almost 
 divine honors are awarded to the Emperor and to ancestors. 
 
 The Five Virtues of the Confucian system are Jen, Yi,Li, 
 Cu, and Sin — “ Benevolence,” “ Righteousness,” “ Propriety,” 
 “ Knowledge,” and “ F aitli.” 
 
 It is worthy of remark that in this system, as in the Chris- 
 tian, Jen, or Benevolence, stands first and foremost. Of this 
 virtue and excellence Confucius seems to have had so high a 
 conception or* ideal that he did not regard any contempora- 
 ries, and but few of the ancient worthies, to have fully attained 
 to it. The following is his definition of it. When asked by 
 one of his disciples, “ Is there one word which may serve as a 
 rule of practice for all one’s life ?” his answer was, “ What 
 you do not want done to yourself do not do to others.” This 
 one word, for the government of the whole life, is “ all the 
 law ” of the Confucian system, and is, to say the least, the 
 nearest approximation to the Golden Rule of our Saviour 
 which has ever been reached by any ancient sage. It is sim- 
 ply this rule in the negative form, having for its object rather 
 the deterring of men from doing evil than the inciting them 
 to do good. In another paragraph of Confucius’s teachings 
 he seems almost to have grasped the idea of the positive side 
 
52 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 of this precept. “When one cultivates to the utmost the 
 principles of his nature, and exercises them on the principle 
 of reciprocity, be is not far from the path. What you do not 
 like .when done to yourself do not to others. In the way of 
 the superior man there are four things, to not one of which 
 have I as yet attained. To serve my father as I would re- 
 quire my son to serve me ; to this I have not attained. To 
 serve my prince as I would require my minister to serve me ; 
 to this I have not attained. To serve my elder brother as I 
 would require my younger brother to serve me ; to this I have 
 not attained. To set the example in behaving to a friend as 
 I would require him to behave to me ; to this I have not at- 
 tained.” 
 
 The next virtue is Righteousness, which is defined, that 
 which ought to be done. The appeal here made is not to any 
 written code of law, but to the human conscience, the law 
 written on the heart. It will at once be seen how comprehen- 
 sive this principle is, relating to every act or deed of which 
 the conscience^ says it is right ; it ought to be done. 
 
 The next virtue, Propriety — outward forms and ceremo- 
 nies — brings to view a characteristic feature of this system. 
 Every inward state of feeling is supposed to have a proper 
 outward expression. While the inner feeling naturally gives 
 rise to its external manifestation, so the habitual cultivation 
 of the outward forms of propriety tends to foster and develop 
 the inner virtue. 
 
 There are also certain forms or rules of propriety and con- 
 duct which should regulate the intercourse between men in 
 different ranks and positions in society, and which naturally 
 and necessarily belong to certain times, circumstances, and 
 occasions. 
 
 These rules of propriety are regarded as the great balance- 
 wheel which gives harmony and unity to society, or as one 
 of the chief corner-stones on which society and government 
 rest, and without which mutual understanding and respect 
 would give place to confusion, lawlessness, and anarchy. 
 
THE OBJECT OF CONFUCIUS S TEACHINGS. 
 
 53 
 
 Confucius devoted much of his attention to the study of the 
 rites and ceremonies of different kingdoms and states, and 
 the importance which he attached to this matter has had 
 much to do in developing and stereotyping those inflexible 
 formalities and minute conventionalities which are every- 
 where seen in social and public life. 
 
 Knowledge relates to general learning arid intelligence, but 
 especially to a knowledge of men, a knowledge of one’s self, 
 and practical wisdom in dealing with others. F or those who 
 are in high positions, and are required to influence and gov- 
 ern others, Confucius insists upon a life of severe study, close 
 and patient observation, and mature thought. 
 
 In addition to the careful culture of the affections, the con- 
 science, the outward behavior, and the intellect, sincerity of 
 heart and truthfulness are specially insisted upon as essential. 
 The character Sin is used both to represent faith and truth- 
 fulness, the ground of faith. In speaking of self-culture and 
 self-restraint, the difficulties of controlling the “ unruly mem- 
 ber” have not been forgotten. It is to be regretted that in a 
 few instances Confucius illustrates this difficulty in his own 
 experience, thus weakening the force of his teachings, and 
 confirming the statement that he had not been able to reach 
 his own standard. 
 
 While Confucius refers to the sages of the past as the 
 authors of his system, he rests its authority upon the verdict 
 of conscience, and it was to this that he constantly appealed. 
 He sought to interpret rightly and to follow carefully the sug- 
 gestions and intimations of man’s moral nature. This char- 
 acteristic feature of Confucius has so impressed itself upon 
 the Chinese mind, that nothing is more common, even in the 
 familiar language of the masses, than appeals to the fixed prin- 
 ciple of right and true docti’ine as attested by conscience. 
 
 The ultimate object of Confucius’s teachings is the promo- 
 tion of good government ; and the instruction of his disciples 
 relates principally to their preparation for successfully influ- 
 encing and controlling others. He did not seek this end by 
 
51 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 devising the best code of laws for restraining and coercing 
 the inhabitants of the empire, but by pointing out rules and 
 principles for self-government and culture. He relied on 
 moral and not physical force, on example and instruction 
 rather than law and punishment. He believed that if the 
 rulers cultivated virtue the people would revere, obey, and 
 imitate them. His beautiful though, perhaps, Utopian con- 
 ception of a perfect government was one in which the ruler 
 sways the minds of his people by illustrating in his own per- 
 son the perfection of virtue, and thus sits still and looks 
 abroad upon a peaceful and happy state. 
 
 In addition to the failure of Confucius to live up to his 
 standard of sincerity, which has been referred to above, it is 
 further to be regretted that, in adopting the views and follow- 
 ing the examples of those who preceded him, he sanctioned 
 and encouraged the worship of gods and ancestors, the pride 
 and self-conceit of his nation, and the doctrine of revenge, as 
 allowable and obligatory in the one case of a son whose father 
 has been murdered. 
 
 To reproach Confucius, however, for these defects, and be- 
 cause his system, though excellent in many respects, is mani- 
 festly imperfect, is to find fault with him for being human. 
 Would it not be unreasonable to expect him to approach 
 nearer to the Christian standard of truth and worship than 
 he has ? . YChile he was not and did not aspire to be great as 
 a metaphysician or logician, he was rather the practical phi- 
 losopher, thoroughly versed in the knowledge of his times ; a 
 close observer of men, earnest, sincere, and retiring in his 
 spirit, and desiring to benefit his race, and to teach the 
 truth. It is, perhaps, not too much to say of him that the 
 system of ethics and morality which he taught is the purest 
 which has ever originated in the history of the world inde- 
 pendent of the divine revelation in the Bible, and that he has 
 exerted a greater influence for good upon our race than any 
 other uninspired sage of antiquity. 
 
COMPETITIVE LITERARY EXAMINATIONS. 
 
 55 
 
 CHAPTER IY. 
 
 COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS AND SCHOOLS. 
 
 The Chinese Idea of -the Qualifications of Officers.— Origin of the Compet- 
 itive Examinations.— Classes of Persons excluded.— Two preparatory 
 Examinations.- — Examination for conferring the first Degree. — For con- 
 ferring the second Degree.— Third Degree. — Corresponding Military 
 Examinations. — Various Advantages secured by the Literary Examina- 
 tions. — The Position and Influence of Literary Men. — Character of Chi- 
 nese Schools. — Pupils commit to Memory whole Books without under- 
 standing their Meaning. 
 
 TnE earnestness and zeal with which Confucius taught 
 were the natural result of his strong conviction that the gener- 
 al happiness and prosperity of the people, and the stability of 
 the government, could only spring from the principles of 
 truth and righteousness, apprehended by and operative in the 
 minds of the people generally, and especially of the ruling 
 classes. All his teachings had more or less a political or gov- 
 ernmental reference. 
 
 This supreme importance of securing wise and virtuous 
 rulers was acknowledged by the Chinese from an early period, 
 and the sources of . intellectual and moral culture were sup- 
 posed to be found almost exclusively in the ancient classics. 
 The desire to bring the influences of these works to bear upon 
 the education of civil rulers, and their better preparation for 
 the performance of their official functions, became more and 
 more prominent, and resulted about one thousand years ago 
 in the establishment of a system of Competitive Literary Ex- 
 aminations, which has been modified and improved during 
 successive ages, and has become one of the most remarka- 
 ble and powerful organizations which the world has ever 
 known. 
 
56 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 Through and by these competitive examinations, persons 
 from almost every condition in life may rise to the highest 
 positions of honor and influence in the empire. 
 
 There are, however, four classes, who, with their posterity 
 for three generations, are excluded from them ; namely, the 
 children of prostitutes, public play-actors, executioners, the 
 inferior grades of the servants or attendants of mandarins, 
 and jailers. It is supposed that the immediate descend- 
 ants of these classes, whatever their intellectual qualifica- 
 tions might be, would be destitute of those moral qualities 
 which should be possessed by good rulers. All persons what- 
 ever are prohibited from attending these examinations within 
 three years after the death of a father or mother ; as the strife 
 for honor and preferment, and the close application which is 
 necessary to success, are deemed inconsistent with those feel- 
 ings of filial piety which should occupy the mind during the 
 period of mourning for a deceased parent. 
 
 A minute account of the details of this system of exami- 
 nations, and its Avorkings, though it might be interesting to a 
 feiv, Avould be tiresome to the general reader". Only a sketch 
 or outline will be attempted in this chapter. 
 
 According to the theory of the Chinese government, all its 
 civil officers must be literary graduates of the second or third 
 degree. The first degree is conferred in the Fu cities, the 
 second in the provincial capitals, and the third in Pekin, the 
 national capital. 
 
 Two preparatory examinations are required of the under- 
 graduates before they are alloAved to compete for the first de- 
 gree. The first of these is the examination of the scholars of 
 each llien by the district magistrate. The next is the exam- 
 ination of all the scholars under the jurisdiction of a Fu city 
 by the prefect of that city. These tivo preparatory examina- 
 tions need not be specially described, as they differ A'ery lit- 
 tle fi'om the next folloAving. No degree is conferred, but those 
 who stand highest on the roll in these examinations are very 
 apt to be among the successful competitors in the next one. 
 
EXAMINATIONS FOR THE FIRST DEGREE. 
 
 57 
 
 The first degree is conferred, not by the local officer, the 
 prefect, but by literary chancellors, or imperial commission- 
 ers, sent from the capital for that 
 purpose. In the crowds which 
 now throng the streets of the Fu 
 city, every city and village, and 
 almost every hamlet in the pre- 
 fecture is represented. Each of 
 these aspirants after literary hon- 
 ors has already filed with a clerk 
 of the district magistrate of the 
 Mien city to which he belongs a 
 paper containing the name of his 
 father, grandfather, and principal 
 teacher, and also the name of his 
 neighbors on the right hand and 
 on the left, together with his own 
 name, age, stature, complexion, etc. 
 
 This paper must be signed by 
 well-known securities, who are lit- 
 
 . r LITERARY UNDER GRADUATE, OR RTU- 
 
 erary graduates. I he existence of dent. 
 
 this document furnishes a strong 
 
 motive, if such be needed, to secure good behavior, and in case 
 of infringement of rules, or other criminality, is of great use 
 in finding the offender and bringing him to justice. As the 
 whole number of the scholars attending these examinations 
 ranges in different cities from 3000 to 6000 or more, the ex- 
 amination hall can not contain all at one time, and the scholars 
 from different Fieri are admitted together. No individual is 
 allowed to enter unless the literary graduate who is his se- 
 curity is present in person to answer for him when his name 
 is called. When admitted, each person is assigned to his 
 place or seat. The competitors are not allowed to take in 
 with them any books or helps to composition, b§t only writ- 
 ing materials and a little food. 
 
 When all the arrangements are completed, themes are an- 
 
 C 2 
 
53 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 nounced for two prose essays and one poem, and each indi- 
 vidual scholar proceeds at once to his work. The themes are 
 taken from the Four Books, being generally some utterance 
 of Confucius or Mencius. Each candidate is supposed to be 
 familiar with the meaning, connection, and scope of these 
 themes, and with the rules and regulations which are to guide 
 him in his impromptu compositions. 
 
 The essays required must be completed before night, and 
 the hall emptied. The name of each competitor is written 
 on one corner of his composition, the paper is folded over 
 and pasted so as to conceal it, and it is not discovered until 
 the essay has been examined and its merits decided upon. 
 
 This examination is repeated at least once. If an individu- 
 al fails to complete his work within the prescribed time, or 
 violates any of the rules, he is not permitted to enter the hall 
 the next time, and so the number of competitors is dimin- 
 ished. 
 
 Those whose essays and poems are adjudged to be the 
 best are required to pass another examination, consisting of 
 writing from memory from a book well known in China, and 
 called the “ Sacred Edict.” This must be done with perfect 
 accuracy. After this the names of the successful competitors 
 are announced. 
 
 The number is very small compared to the whole. They 
 receive the first degree, called Siu-tsai — “ Beautiful Ability.” 
 
 The examinations for the second degree are held triennially 
 in each of the provincial capitals. The presiding ofiicers are 
 two persons of high rank and literary merit, commissioned 
 from Pekin. The graduates of the first degree, who assemble 
 from different parts of the province, generally number from 
 5000 to 8000 . The more wealthy are accompanied by serv- 
 ants, and many others by relatives and friends, who avail them- 
 selves of this opportunity of visiting the provincial capital. 
 
 The lar<p examination halls in the provincial cities contain 
 accommodations for near 10,000 competitors. Each person 
 is supplied with a little cell or compartment. The students 
 
EXAMINATIONS FOR THE SECOND DEGREE. 
 
 59 
 
 take in with them their bedding and food, as they are re- 
 quired to stay in the hall two days. Servants and friends are 
 parted from them at the door. When the arrangements are 
 complete the doors are shut, and no ingress or egress is al- 
 lowed until the time allotted to the composition of the essays 
 has expired. The whole number inside the examination walls, 
 including officers, examiners, assistants, servants, etc., is gen- 
 erally from 10,000 to 12,000. 
 
 Themes are announced from the Four Books for throe prose 
 essays and due poem. When the compositions are finished 
 they first pass into the hands of a class of examiners whose 
 business it is to see whether they are free from glaring defects 
 and conform to the general rules of the examination. If 
 they pass this ordeal, they are then copied in red ink by a 
 company of scribes. This is done to prevent the examiners 
 from recognizing the handwriting of any of the competitors. 
 Another class of assistants carefully compares the original 
 manuscript with the copy, character by character, to see that 
 no mistake has been made in transcribing. 
 
 The copies are now examined by another company of 
 scholars, and those compositions whose literary character is 
 good receive a round red mark, without which they pass no 
 further. The manuscripts which survive this sifting proc- 
 ess reach the hands of the chief examiners, and those of the 
 highest literary excellence are selected from them. On the 
 morning of the third day the gates are opened, and those who 
 have finished their work and come out first are greeted as 
 they emerge from their confinement with the firing of guns 
 and the best music which China affords. After an intermis- 
 sion of only one day the candidates enter the hall again for a 
 similar examination, except that in this case the themes for 
 the prose essays and the poem are taken from the Five Clas- 
 sics instead of the Four Books. After another day’s inter- 
 mission a third examination is held. The subjects given out 
 are in this case miscellaneous. 
 
 The commissioners decide upon the worthy competitors in 
 
GO 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 view of the results of these three examinations, having vowed 
 before heaven, in a temple within the enclosure, to deal justly 
 and honestly. The proportion of the successful candidates to 
 the whole number is about one to a hundred. They receive 
 the second degree, called Kyu-jin — “ Promoted (or advanced) 
 Men.” 
 
 Notwithstanding all the precautions which are taken to 
 prevent collusion and favoritism, there are methods, which 
 need j*ot be described here, by which the examining officers 
 are said to be sometimes bribed and corruptecl. Still, the 
 system of examinations could hardly be more thoroughly 
 elaborated and systematized, and few pass through this ordeal 
 without being possessed of more than ordinary ability. 
 
 The tax of these examinations upon the physical strength 
 of those who take part in them is very great. Many come 
 home exhausted and depressed. Some are taken ill and die 
 in the hall. In such cases the body is removed over the back 
 Avail, as the taking it out openly through the front door would 
 be regarded as an evil omen, and an unnecessary interference 
 Avith the formal and invariable routine of the exercises. 
 
 It is unnecessary to desci'ibe in detail the higher examina- 
 tions through which Kyu-jin are advanced to the third degree. 
 This examination is conducted in the national capital, and is 
 also held triennially. The graduates of the second degree from 
 the different provinces are assisted by a certain sum of money 
 from the imperial treasury, to be used for defraying their 
 travelling expenses. Tavo or three hundred persons receive 
 the third degree at every examination. They are then eligible 
 to office, and are either retained in the capital or sent out to 
 occupy official positions in the provinces. 
 
 There is also a system of military examinations, formed 
 after the model of those Avhich have been described. In them 
 the relative merits of different competitors are determined by 
 lifting heavy Aveights, bending bows of different degrees of 
 strength, shooting arroAvs at a target, shooting from horse- 
 back, and occasionally the shooting at a mark Avith fire-arms. 
 
MILITARY EXAMINATIONS. 
 
 61 
 
 Nothing in connection with the present%istoms of this nation 
 more strikingly illustrates their disposition to adhere to old 
 stereotyped forms and usages, when they are palpably obsolete 
 and useless, than these military exercises. 
 
 MILITARY CANDIDATES COMPETING WITH BOW AND ARROW. 
 
 9 
 
 A principal part of the military examinations consists in 
 shooting at a mark with a bow and arrow from horseback. 
 The horse runs in a trench about two feet deep, so that he can 
 not endanger his rider by moving out of a perfectly straight 
 line ; the arrow is discharged into or at a bundle of straw, 
 about two feet in diameter, and about four feet distant from 
 the trench. The horse is led into one end of the trench by a 
 groom, and started by a stroke of his whip, if he needs it, and 
 is often received at the other end by another groom.* The 
 few horses found in the south of China are obtained and used 
 almost exclusively for this military exercise. 
 
 It is not difficult to understand how the literary examinations 
 
02 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 exert a powerful infldtmee on the whole empire. The prepa- 
 ration and selection of educated men, familiarized with the his- 
 tory, government, political economy, literature, and ethics of 
 the nation, is by no means the only advantage derived from 
 them, though it is the primary and principal one. A powerful 
 stimulus is given to literary pursuits, which is the principal 
 cause of the establishment of schools. Were literature culti- 
 vated only from the love of it, and for its own sake, the case 
 would be different. Persons of almost every class, and in al- 
 most every station in life, make an effort to send their boys to 
 school with the hope that they may distinguish themselves, be 
 advanced to high positions in the State, and reflect honor on 
 their families. The great propoi’tion of them, in the course of 
 three, four, or five years, find that much study is a weariness 
 to the flesh, give up their hopes of literary preferment, and 
 many of them, having learned to write a good hand, acquired 
 the knowledge of a few characters, and a smattering of learn- 
 ing, become clerks in stores, and afterward business men. 
 
 Of those who compete for literary honors a very small 
 proportion are successful in attaining even the first degree, 
 though some strive for it for a life-time. These unsuccessful 
 candidates, and the graduates of the first and second degrees, 
 form the important class of literary men scattered throughout 
 the empire. Most of them devote themselves Avholly to study. 
 They are the readers and writers of the country ; the men of 
 influence and the formers of public opinion. Many of them 
 are as learned as their more fortunate brethren, who may have 
 a more ready talent for off-hand composition, or larger purses, 
 or friends at court. 
 
 Having studied the same text-books, and been trained under 
 the influence of one general system, they have a homogeneous 
 culture ; and being uniformly distributed among the provinces, 
 and Mingling daily with their less cultivated friends and neigh- 
 bors, they impress themselves upon and mould the masses, and 
 render the whole population homogeneous. 
 
 The large proportion of this class are comparatively poor, 
 
CHINESE SCHOOLS. 
 
 63 
 
 and their services may be obtained for a very small remuner- 
 ation. They are employed to teach the village schools. Rich 
 families in different neighborhoods often assist in keeping up 
 the school for the credit of the village, and opportunities for 
 obtaining a Chinese education are thus brought within the 
 reach of all. 
 
 Graduates of the first and second degrees generally have 
 the charge of more advanced pupils, and command higher 
 wages, and many are engaged as tutors in private families. 
 They are also employed as scribes or copyists, and to Avrite 
 letters, family histories and genealogies, indictments for law- 
 suits, etc. 
 
 In the larger cities schools are established by the govern- 
 ment, and in many places free schools are supported by wealthy 
 individuals, but these institutions do not seem to be popular, 
 and are not flourishing. 
 
 The manner in which the schools of China are conducted is 
 peculiar, and worthy of special notice. The text-books are the 
 Chinese classics, or elementary and preparatory books for be- 
 ginners introductory to them. There is no occasion for the com- 
 plaint so often heard with us, that the teacher wishes to intro- 
 duce a new book, for theirs are nearly all two thousand years 
 old, and few have any idea of their being changed for the next 
 two thousand years. These books are all written in the book- 
 language, as different from the vernacular as Latin is from 
 English. Every word in this Avritten language has its inde- 
 pendent and arbitrary representative or symbol, so that there 
 are as many different characters as there are Avords. The be- 
 ginner, then, instead of learning an alphabet as Avith us, com- 
 mences learning these characters or Avords separately, each of 
 Avhich has its OAvn sound or name. The first object is to learn 
 the name, without any reference to the meaning. At first, 
 perhaps ten of -them, more or less, are learned in a day. By 
 degrees the pupil becomes familiar Avith the most common ones, 
 and is then introduced to the Chinese classics — the sayings 
 of Confucius, for instance. lie learns a feAV lines for a les- 
 
64 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 son, llio teacliev giving to him the names of the characters 
 which have not been met with before. 
 
 No attention as yet is given to the meaning. The object 
 is simply to become familiar with the names of the individual 
 characters and to commit the sentences to memory, just as a 
 boy might be required to commit to memory a paragraph of 
 Virgil, repeating every word accurately, without the slightest 
 idea of the meaning or of the structure of the language. In 
 this way thousands of these arbitrary symbols are learned, and 
 book after book committed to memory before the first attempt 
 is made at explanation. 
 
 Another feature, which is still more singular, is that the pu- 
 pils study out loud, and all separately, without being organ- 
 ized into classes. Each boy, after being helped in learning 
 the names of the unfamiliar characters in his task — which may 
 be shorter or longer, a few sentences for the smaller boys 
 and a page for the larger — shouts it out from his desk at the 
 top of his voice, over and over, until he can repeat it without 
 looking on the book. I suppose the object or design of this 
 singular custom is to make use both of the voice and the ear, 
 in order to make a stronger impression upon the memory. 
 
 This method has the additional advantage of keeping the 
 boys at work better than they could be by a silent mental ef- 
 fort ; of letting the teacher know when they are flagging (in 
 which case he raps on his desk, and they burst out again in 
 full chorus) ; of exercising and developing the lungs and vocal 
 organs, and cultivating a habit of mental abstraction. 
 
 In the course of a few years the teacher begins to explain 
 the books which have been piemorized. In the mean time, 
 however, the pupil has almost unconsciously obtained a con- 
 siderable insight into the language, from its points of coinci- 
 dence with his vernacular, and the hints which he has picked 
 up from the conversations of teachers and advanced pupils. 
 
 From the beginning, lessons are taken- every day in writing ; 
 first on transparent paper over a copy, afterward by imitation, 
 commencing with large characters, and diminishing the size 
 
ATTENTION GIVEN TO PENMANSHIP. 
 
 65 
 
 gradually. A fine hand is much admired ; and as the charac- 
 ters are very numerous, and some of them very elaborate, it is 
 common for persons to employ a portion of the time during 
 their whole life-time in improving their penmanship. 
 
 When boys have reached the age of twelve or fourteen 
 they commence writing literary compositions. The style and 
 character of these is determined by that which prevails in 
 the literary examinations. The object is not to bring out any 
 new ideas, but to follow in the track of the orthodox commen- 
 tators, and observe strictly prescribed rules. The essays are 
 * a kind of literary mosaic, composed of ethical axioms, histor- 
 ical references, obscure allusions, and hints, poetical, biograph- 
 ical, and historical, with which their memories are stored; 
 while they almost unconsciously fall into the style and forms 
 of expression with which their minds have become familiar, in 
 the course of their memoriter studies. 
 
 It will readily be seen that the Chinese system of education, 
 while it develops and stores the memory to an unprecedented 
 extent, discourages and precludes all freedom of thought and 
 originality. 
 
 The characters and relations of the different languages of 
 China, which have necessarily been referred to in connection 
 with schools, are treated of more fully in the fourteenth chapter., 
 
66 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 CHAPTER Y. 
 
 THE CONSTITUTION OF TIIE CHINESE GOVERNMENT. 
 
 The Chinese Government patriarchal. — Titles of the Emperor. — The 
 Throne not strictly Hereditary. — Relations of the Emperor to his Offi- 
 cers. — The Cabinet. — The General Council. — The Six Boards. — Dif- 
 ferent Courts and the Censorate. — The Imperial Academy. — Provin- 
 cial Governments. — The Civil Code. — Practical Workings of the Chinese 
 Government.— Restraints brought to bear upon the Emperor, Officers, 
 and People. — The People sometimes assert and demand their Rights. 
 — Insurrections and Rebellions. — Republicanism of China. — Village 
 Elders. — Private Redress. — Family Feuds. 
 
 Tiie Chinese government is one of the great wonders of his- 
 tory. It presents to us to-day the same character which it 
 possessed, in the germ at least, more than three thousand 
 years ago, and which it has retained ever since, during a period 
 which covers the authentic history of tln^vorld. 
 
 A prominent English writer,* in speaking of the Chinese 
 executive system, characterizes it “ as at once the most gigan- 
 tic and the most minutely organized that the world has ever 
 seen.” 
 
 The character of the government is patriarchal. It as- 
 sumed its present form at a very early period, when the Chi- 
 nese race was divided into petty kingdoms and principalities. 
 As the empire grew in territory and population the funda- 
 mental idea was retained, the system of government being ex- 
 panded and modified to suit the conditions of the growing 
 state. 
 
 The most common titles of the Emperor are Hwang- Shang — 
 
 * Thomas Taylor Meadows, Chinese interpreter in Her Majesty’s civil serv- 
 ice, and author of “ The Chinese and their Rebellions,” published in Lon- 
 don by Smith, Eldin, & Co. 
 
THE EMPEROR OF CHINA. 
 
 67 
 
 “The August Lofty One,” and Tien-Tsz — “The Son of Heaven.” 
 He exercises supreme control over the whole empire, because 
 Heaven lias empowered and required him to do so. His pa- 
 triarchal character, while it confers on him absolute sover- 
 eignty, imposes also the obligation to treat his people with 
 leniency, sympathy, and love. He lives in unapproachable 
 grandeur, and is never seen except by members of his own 
 family and high state officers. “Nothing is omitted which 
 can add to the dignity and sacredness of his person or char- 
 acter. Almost every thing used by him or in his service is 
 tabooed from the common people, and distinguished by some 
 peculiar mark or color, so as to keep up the impression of 
 awe with which he is regarded, and which is so powerful an 
 auxiliary to his throne. The outward gate of the palace must 
 always be passed on foot, and the paved entrance-walk leading 
 up to it can only be used by him. The vacant throne, or even 
 a screen of yellow silk thrown over a chair, is worshiped 
 equally with his actual presence, and a dispatch is received in 
 the provinces with incense and prostration.”* 
 
 The throne is not strictly and necessarily hereditary, though 
 the son of the Emperor generally succeeds to it. The Em- 
 peror appoints his successor, but it is supposed that, in doing 
 so, he will have supreme regard for the best good of his sub- 
 jects, and will be governed by the will of Heaven, indicated 
 by the conferring of regal gifts, and by providential circum- 
 stances pointing out the individual whom Heaven has chosen. 
 
 In governing so large a realm it is found necessary for the 
 Emperor to delegate his authority to numerous officers, who 
 are regarded as his agents and representatives in carrying out 
 the imperial will. What they do the Emperor does through 
 them. The recognized patriarchal character of the govern- 
 ment is seen in the familiar expressions of the people, partic- 
 ularly at times when they consider themselves injured or ag- 
 grieved by their officers, when they are apt to say — “ A strange 
 way for parents to treat their children.” 
 
 * Williams’s “ Middle Kingdom.” 
 
GS 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 The government of China is constituted as follows : 
 
 1. “ The Cabinet* consists of four principal and two joint 
 assistant chancellors, half of them Manchus and half Chinese. 
 Their duties, according to the imperial statutes, are to deliber- 
 ate on the government of the empire, proclaim abroad the 
 imperial pleasure, regulate the canons of State, together with 
 the Avhole administration of the balance of power, thus aid- 
 ing the Emperor in directing the affairs of State.” Subordi- 
 nate to these six chancellors are six grades of officers, amount- 
 ing in all to upward of two hundred persons. The first chan- 
 cellor in the list acts as premier. 
 
 2. “ The General Council is composed of princes of the b.lood, 
 chancellors of the Cabinet, the presidents and vice-presidents 
 of the Six Boards, and chief officers of all the other courts in 
 the capital. Its duties are to write imperial edicts and de- 
 cisions, and determine such things as are of importance to 
 the army and nation, in order to aid the sovereign in regulat- 
 ing the machinery of affairs.” It is principally by means of 
 this council that the Emperor and his immediate advisers be- 
 come acquainted with and control those who are engaged in 
 different departments of the government at the capital and in 
 the provinces. 
 
 “ The principal executive bodies in the capital under these 
 two councils are the Luli-pn. or Six Boards, which are depart- 
 ments of long standing in the government, having been 
 modelled on much the same plan during the ancient dynasties. 
 At the head of each board are two presidents, called Shang- 
 shu, and four vice-presidents, called Shi-lang, alternately a 
 Tartar and a Chinese ; and over three of them — those of rev- 
 enue, Avar, and punishment — are placed superintendents, avIio 
 are frequently members of the Cabinet. Sometimes the presi- 
 dent of one board is superintendent of another. There are 
 
 * Most of the contents of the few pages which immediately follow are 
 abridged from Williams's “ Middle Kingdom,” and the quotations are also 
 from the same author. Persons who wish to obtain minute and reliable in- 
 formation about China should possess themselves of this truly invaluable 
 work. 
 
THE SIX BOARDS. 
 
 69 
 
 provincial governments are regulated^ to the minutest matter 
 in the same manner. For instance, each board has a different 
 style of envelope in which to send its dispatches, and the papers 
 in the offices are filed away in them.” 
 
 The following sentence from Mr. Meadows’s book — “ The 
 Rebellions of China” — will give the reader his view's with ref- 
 erence to the business-like and methodical character of the 
 
 three subordinate grades of officers in each board, who may 
 be called directors, under-secretaries, and controllers, with a 
 great number of minor clerks, and their appropriate depart- 
 ments for conducting the details of the general and peculiar 
 business coming under the cognizance of the board, the whole 
 being arranged and subordinated in the most business-like 
 style. The details of all the departments in the general and 
 
 A CHINESE CIVII. OFFICEE IN FULL t>KESS. 
 
70 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 Chinese mind and institutions : “ As, however, all public busi- 
 
 ness is, as a general rule, more methodically and systematically 
 conducted in China than in England, so we find,” etc. 
 
 3. “ The first of the Six Boards is the Board of Civil Office, 
 which regulates the distribution of officers over the empire. 
 Its business is divided into four kinds, attended to by four 
 different bureaus. 
 
 4. “ The Board of Revenue attends to the census, the levy- 
 ing and collecting of duties, and the public granaries, etc. It 
 is divided into fourteen dejmrtments. 
 
 5. “ The Board of Rites has for its object the determining 
 of rites and ceremonies for state occasions, and for the inter- 
 course of officers in the provinces. Subordinate to this is a 
 Board of Music.” 
 
 The other three boards are the Board of W ar, the Board of 
 Punishment, and the Board of Public Works. 
 
 9. “ The Court of the Government of Foreigners, or the col- 
 onial office, has reference to colonies and dependencies, and 
 intercourse with foreign nations. 
 
 10. “ The Censorate is intrusted with the duty of exposing 
 errors and crimes in every department of the government, 
 and sometimes censors do not shrink' from the dangerous 
 task of criticising or exposing the conduct of the Emperor 
 himself. Special censors are placed over each board, and also 
 over provincial officers. 
 
 11. “The Court of Representation receives memorials and 
 appeals from the provinces and presents them before the Cabi- 
 net, 
 
 12. “ The Court of Judicature has the duty of adjusting all 
 the different courts in jlie empire, and forms the' nearest ap- 
 proach to a Supreme Court, though the cases brought before 
 it are mostly criminal. When the crimes involve life, this 
 court, with the Court of Representation and Censorate, unite 
 to form one court; and if the judges are not unanimous in 
 their decisions they must report their reasons to the Emperor, 
 who will pass judgment upon them. 
 
THE CHINESE CODE. 
 
 71 
 
 13. “The Imperial Academy is intrusted with the duty 
 of drawing up governmental documents, histories, and other 
 works. Its chief officers take the lead of the various classes, 
 and excite their exertions to advance in learning, in order to pre- 
 pare them for employments and fit them for attending upon the 
 
 sovereign Its chief officers are two presidents, or senior 
 
 members, who are usually appointed for life after a long course 
 
 of study Subordinate to the two senior members are four 
 
 grades of officers, five in each grade, together with an unlimit- 
 ed number of senior graduates, each forming a sort of college, 
 whose duties are to prepare all works published under govern- 
 mental sanction. These persons are subject from time to time 
 to fresh examinations, and are liable to lose their degrees, or be 
 altogether dismissed from office, if found faulty or deficient.” 
 It is regarded as a "high distinction by the Chinese to be a 
 member of this academy, and its objects, organization, and 
 high literary character reflect great honor on the Chinese gov- 
 ernment. 
 
 It is impossible to descend into detail in speaking of the 
 provincial governments, or even to mention individually the 
 many classes of officers of different, grades who are commis- 
 sioned and sent from the capital to the provinces and territo- 
 ries. The whole business of the government is thoroughly and 
 effectively systematized, and its influence is felt in every re- 
 mote city, hamlet, and family. Records are kept of all matters 
 of importance. The Pekin Gazette is published daily, giving 
 an account of the transactions of the General Council and oth- 
 er important matters of State. 
 
 As the Constitution of the government has been long since 
 fixed on a basis laid thousands of years ago, so the laws of 
 China, which form the basis of the present code, originated 
 with the writer Li-Kwei, who lived about 2000 years ago. 
 Additions, alterations, and improvements ^avc been made from 
 that time to this. These laws are now classified into General, 
 Civil, Fiscal, Ritual, Military, and Criminal. They were re- 
 published in 1830 in twenty-eight volumes, the whole being di- 
 
72 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 vided into four hundred and thirty-six sections. A writer in 
 the Edinburgh Preview, in an article on “ Stanton’s Translation 
 of the Chinese Code,” gives the following estimate of it: — 
 “ When we turn from the ravings of the Zendavesta or Puranas 
 to the tone of sense and business in this Chinese collection, it 
 is like passing from darkness to light, from the drivellings of 
 dotage to the exercise of an improved understanding ; and, re- 
 dundant and minute as these laws are in many particulars, we 
 scarcely know one European code that is nearly so freed from 
 intricacy, bigotry, and fiction.” 
 
 The Chinese are frequently charged with barbarity and 
 cruelty in the establishment and administration of their laws. 
 Dr. Williams’s testimony on this point, than whom we can 
 not have a more competent or reliable witness, is as follows : 
 — “ Sheer cruelty, except in cases of treason against the 
 Emperor, can not be charged against this code as a whole ; 
 though many of the laws seem to be designed to operate 
 chiefly in terrorem, and the penalty is placed higher than 
 the punishment really intended to be inflicted, that the Em- 
 peror may have scope for mercy, or, as he says, for 1 leniency 
 beyond the bounds of law.’ Some officers are lenient, others 
 severe ; the people in some provinces are industrious and 
 peaceable, in others turbulent and averse to quiet occupa- 
 tions, so that one is likely to form a juster idea of the admin- 
 istration of the empire by looking at the results as seen in 
 the general aspects of society, and judging of the tree by its 
 fruits, than by drawing inferences applicable to the whole 
 machine of State from particular instances of oppression and 
 insubordination, as is so frequently the case with travellers 
 and writers.” 
 
 With this general view of the Constitution and laws of the 
 empire, and the plan of education and literary examinations 
 described in a former chapter, we may now glance at the prac- 
 tical workings of the whole system. 
 
 The Emperor is held in check by the Constitution and laws 
 of the empire ; a sense of his responsibility, the constant 
 
PRACTICAL WORKING OF THE GOVERNMENT. 73 
 
 watch, influence, and advice of his chief officers, and the con- 
 sciousness that he too is amenable to public opinion, and that 
 a gross violation of his trust would weaken his influence over 
 his people, and might cost him his throne. Some of the Em- 
 perors of China have been men of high character and great 
 executive ability, worthy of the position which they have oc- 
 cupied ; others have been weak and inefficient, bearing the 
 name and the insignia of royalty, while the government has 
 been administered by other hands ; and others have united a 
 powerful will with a vicious nature, and brought ruin upon 
 themselves and their people. 
 
 Officers are restrained from great excesses, extortion, and 
 injustice by the fear of the people, who know their rights, and 
 sometimes assert them ; by superior officers and censors, who 
 exercise watch and surveillance over them ; and also by infe- 
 rior officers, who are waiting anxiously for their removal, that 
 they may be advanced to occupy their places. The danger 
 of popular and ambitious rulers gaining too much influence 
 over the people, or forming combinations against the State 
 with others with whom they are associated, is in a great de- 
 gree prevented by their constant removal from one part of 
 the empire to another, which matter is carefully attended to 
 by the Board of Civil Office at Pekin. Officers in the provinces 
 are seldom permitted to remain in one place more than three 
 or four years. They are never sent to exercise their functions 
 in their native districts, nor are they allowed to marry within 
 the bounds of their jurisdiction. 
 
 Literary men, both under-graduates and graduates of the 
 first and second degrees, occupy an intermediate position be- 
 tween the officers and people, and are an important and pow- 
 erful auxiliary to the government. They are bound to it by 
 the hope of becoming officers under it. They are also, for the 
 most part, in thorough sympathy with it, being imbued with 
 the spirit of Confucianism, and regarding the government 
 as the embodiment of the wisdom of their ancient sages. 
 Their influence over their uninformed and uncultivated neigh- 
 
 D 
 
74 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 bors tends to promote respect for their rulers and obedience 
 to the laws. 
 
 The restraints brought to bear upon the people, in addi- 
 tion to their sense of right and their regard for their own 
 reputation and their own interests, are the severity of their 
 laws, the absolute authority of their rulers, and their liabili- 
 ty to extortion, often practiced by officers and underlings 
 whenever the people give occasion for it by petty crimes, mis- 
 demeanors, and insubordination. When disaffected from 
 real or imaginary causes, they are prevented in a great 
 measure from insurrectionary combinations, not only by the 
 careful watch of their officers, but by tl^p isolation of different 
 parts of the empire, and the impossibility of ready communi- 
 cation and co-operation between the inhabitants of the vari- 
 ous provinces on account of the differences in their spoken 
 languages. 
 
 But in extreme cases of injustice and oppression the peo- 
 ple are not without the means of redress, and they know when 
 and how to use them. Though docile and yielding to a fault, 
 neighborhoods and districts sometimes rise in a body in open 
 rebellion against the local authorities, and assert and maintain 
 their rights. When an officer is notoriously avaricious, exact- 
 ing, and unjust, the people have a right to presume that 
 he is acting in opposition to the wishes and instructions of 
 his sovereign. Smarting under the effect of some fresh act of 
 oppression, they sometimes rise in a body, and march to the 
 office of the obnoxious magistrate, not as petitioners, but as 
 plaintiffs and accusers. It is not uncommon on such occa- 
 sions for the magistrate, laying aside his dignity of office, to 
 come out and treat in person -with the leaders or spokesmen of 
 the movement, hearing patiently their complaints and giving 
 satisfactory promises of amendment and redress, after which 
 the people go back quietly to their homes. If the officer is 
 grievously in fault, this is almost sure to be the result. Other- 
 wise this case of maladministration would probably be report- 
 ed to the capital, and the officer be summoned to appear be- 
 
REPUBLICANISM IN CHINA. 
 
 75 
 
 fore the Emperor, with the danger of losing his office, if not 
 his life. 
 
 Sometimes the officer, with or without sufficient cause, re- 
 fuses to entertain the complaint of the people, and insists on 
 their submitting to his authority, and is supported by hie 
 superiors. In such an event a body of soldiers is sent, if nec- 
 essary, to quell the disturbance, the life of one or more of the 
 leaders is perhaps sacrificed to vindicate the majesty of the 
 laws, and the people succumb to superior force and necessity. 
 
 When injustice and corruption are general, as is the case at 
 the present time, local insurrections become frequent. Differ- 
 ent bodies of malcontents unite in forming serious rebellions ; 
 the people consider themselves absolved from their allegiance, 
 refuse to recognize the Emperor as the heaven-sent ruler and 
 tranquilizer of his people, and all things tend to anarchy and 
 disintegration. Thus the Chinese government rests ultimate- 
 ly upon the will of the people. Their sympathy and support 
 are lost by a departure from the recognized principles of the 
 government, and he who would reassure them, and tranquil- 
 ize the empire, must give evidence of his ability and sinceri- 
 ty, and go back and build again on the old foundations. 
 
 Notwithstanding the Chinese government lias been repre- 
 sented as an unlimited monarchy and as an absolute despot- 
 ism, it will be seen from the foregoing statements that some 
 decidedly republican ideas prevail, and that the people have 
 a good degree of personal liberty? Chinese scholars often 
 speak in terms of the highest admiration of the government 
 of the United States. The character of Washington is also 
 much admired by them, and a worthy panegyric has been 
 written on it by one of their prominent* men. 
 
 It is a fact worthy of special mention in this connection 
 that the Chinese are allowed to choose from among them- 
 selves their own “ elders ” who form a kind of imperium in 
 imperio , and attend to and relieve the officers of the Empe- 
 or of a great deal of business. Many petty differences, mis- 
 understandings, and quarrels are referred to the ciders for 
 
76 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 arbitration, and thus the expense, demoralization, scandal, and 
 embittered feelings of a lawsuit are often avoided. The of- 
 ficers sometimes influence the people indirectly and quietly 
 through the elders, and on the other hand, measures origi- 
 nating in the will of the people are commended to the atten- 
 tion of the officers by the elders. 
 
 Sometimes the elders fail to satisfy and harmonize parties 
 at variance, and the two factions prefer to settle their diffi- 
 culties themselves ; in other words, to “ fight it oat,” and 
 the authorities allow them to do so. This liberty is granted 
 when the quarrel is personal or local, and not calculated to en- 
 danger the interests of the community at large or weaken the 
 authority of the officers, and when the questions involved 
 are confused and perplexing. The magistrates often take 
 “ hush-money ” from both parties, and at the same time avoid 
 any further trouble in the matter. A family will sometimes 
 gather together its relatives, friends, and sympathizers, and 
 persons hired for the purpose, together constituting a de- 
 cidedly formidable company, and unexpectedly make their 
 appearance at the house of a person with whom they are at 
 variance, armed with spears and clubs, and demand redress. 
 The attacked party, particularly if he is in the wrong, and 
 without the sympathy and support of friends and neighbors, 
 is very apt to yield and to accept the terms imposed. These 
 demonstrations do not generally proceed further than to make 
 a shoio of violence. 
 
 Blustering, reckless, and unprincipled foreigners are some- 
 times hired in the vicinity of the open ports to take a part in 
 these intimidating expeditions, and missionaries have been 
 inveigled into the same business by professed friends or in- 
 quirers , by means of the specious plea of going as “ peace- 
 makers.” Sometimes the foreigner is invited to pay a friend- 
 ly visit, without suspecting the real motive of his host, who 
 makes his own representations with regard to the visit to his 
 neighbors. 
 
 A few years since a large landholder, about fifty miles 
 
PRIVATE QUARRELS AND FAMILY FEUDS. 77 
 
 from Ningpo, was visited by an armed company «f the farm- 
 ers who tilled his land. They demanded from him a higher 
 percentage of the proceeds of the soil. The rich man, having 
 many servants in his establishment, resisted force with force. 
 The laborers soon returned with a larger party, and the de- 
 fendant employed additional assistance. This soon grew to 
 be a serious affair. The house of the landholder assumed the 
 appearance of a besieged fortress, and the movement that of 
 a small rebellion. The authorities, for some reason or other, 
 determined not to interfere. The contest continued for weeks, 
 if not months. The result in this case was, that the laborers 
 were obliged to succumb, and the successful landholder re- 
 ceived a letter of commendation from Pekin, and an honorary 
 title. 
 
 The people being associated in large families, and exceed- 
 ingly clannish, family feuds sometimes become very bitter, and 
 are perpetuated from generation to generation. This is es- 
 pecially the case in the southern part of China, where the in- 
 habitants are more passionate and turbulent.- 
 
 The above facts are referred to to show the practical work- 
 ings of the Chinese government, and illustrate its imperfec- 
 tions as well as excellences. 
 
78 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 CHAPTER YI. 
 
 THE RELIGIONS OF CHINA. 
 
 Importance of the Study of the Religions of China. — The threefold Division 
 of their Religions by the Chinese. — The words Religion and Sect used 
 in a modified Sense. — Different Modes of understanding and applying 
 the Chinese Classification. — The Flan adopted in this Book. 
 
 • In order to a right understanding of the Chinese character 
 and civilization, some knowledge of the systems of idolatry 
 which prevail in the empire, and of the religious beliefs of the 
 people, is absolutely necessary. It is no easy matter to give 
 a satisfactory classification and representation of these re- 
 ligious systems. So diverse, multiplied, and confused are the 
 doctrines of belief, that it is difficult for any one to give an 
 intelligible account of his own creed or that of others. Per- 
 haps the bgst classification is that adopted by the Chinese, 
 who always speak of their religious systems as three, namely, 
 J u-Jviau, Sih-Kiau , and T au-Kiau. 
 
 The word Jeiau is generally used as a verb, and means 
 “ to teach.” As a noun, it means a “ system of teaching.” It 
 is the nearest equivalent the Chinese language affords to our 
 word religion, though it is much more general in its mean- 
 ing, and may be applied to a system of teachings which has 
 no religious element whatever. 
 
 It must be borne in mind that when we use the terms relig- 
 ion and sect in connection with the Chinese, we do it in a 
 new and modified sense. Our word religion always suggests 
 the idea of God and his worship, and also a future state of 
 blessedness as the object of religious faith and the end of a 
 religious life, while its associations are spiritual and heavenly. 
 The word Idau, however, does not necessarily bring up to the 
 
DIVISION OF RELIGIONS. 
 
 79 
 
 Chinese mind any of the suggestions and associations which 
 the word religion does to ours. Again, while there are three 
 systems of teachings, the Chinese are not, strictly speaking, 
 divided into different sects. These systems are not regarded 
 as rival and antagonistic, but co-ordinate and supplementary, 
 and the people make use of them together, giving to each 
 more or less importance or prominence, according to their 
 preferences or fancies. 
 
 Sih-Kiau and Tau-Kiau may be literally translated Bud- 
 dhism and Tauism, and present two distinct systems, the ori- 
 gins, authors, histories, and peculiarities of which may be fully 
 and clearly represented. 
 
 The first term, Ju-Kiau , is more vague and indefinite in its 
 meaning and application, and is differently understood by dif- 
 ferent persons. 
 
 The literal translation of the character Ju is “scholar,” 
 “ literary,” etc., and Ju-Kiau is sometimes called the “ Relig- 
 ion of the Learned.” But the most prominent and impor- 
 tant of the forms of worship prescribed by the J'u-Kiau are 
 practiced as much by the common people as by scholars, and, 
 in fact, are adopted by the people universally. It is evident, 
 then, that the term “ Religion of the Learned,” as a transla- 
 tion for Ju-Kiau, is inadmissible. 
 
 The Ju-Kiau is sometimes represented as the “State Re- 
 ligion.” The principal objection to this term is that it would 
 be calculated to give a wrong impression, as it would have to 
 be used in a new and unauthorized sense, there being no re- 
 ligion in China w’hich is specially sanctioned and upheld by 
 the State. There are peculiar rites and forms of worship 
 practiced exclusively by officers, because they are regarded 
 as specially appropriate to them as officers. In addition to 
 these official rites, they, with their families, adopt very much 
 the same forms of belief and worship that the common peo- 
 ple do. 
 
 The Ju-Kiau is most commonly, and I think with most rea- 
 son, regarded both by native and foreign writers as synony- 
 
80 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 mous with the teachings of Confucius or Confucianism. 
 Some would use this term in a more limited, and others in a 
 more general sense — the former confining it strictly to the 
 teachings of Confucius, and the latter giving it a new and 
 wider signification, and associating with it those national idol- 
 atrous usages and rites which do not naturally belong to 
 Buddhism or Tauism. The objections to the use of this word 
 are, that in the former sense it is not comprehensive enough, 
 and in the latter it is so comprehensive as to be inappropriate, 
 attributing to the Chinese sage doctrines and practices which 
 originated long after his time, and are strikingly inconsistent 
 with his teachings. 
 
 I presume that the Chinese classification of their three sys- 
 tems of teaching was more appropriate and accurate in former 
 times than it is at present, the forms of idolatrous worship 
 having greatly multiplied, and the three systems having become 
 modified and intertwined in their mutual acting and reacting 
 upon each other. 
 
 Each of the above translations of the Chinese term Ju-Kiau 
 expresses some prominent feature or peculiarity of it, but gives 
 only a partial and incomplete view, and is thus calculated more 
 or less to mislead. 
 
 In this book I have determined, thinking this course the 
 freest from objections, to regard the >Tii-Kiau as synonymous 
 with Confucianism ; this word being taken, in its strict and 
 limited sense, as referring to the system of ethics, political 
 economy, and ancient religious rites taught by Confucius 
 and his predecessors. This first system having been treated 
 of briefly in the third and following chapters, I will take 
 up the other two, Buddhism and Tauism, in the chapters 
 which immediately follow, and afterward in additional chap- 
 ters present various forms of belief and worship which are 
 naturally associated with -or have grown out of these relig- 
 ious systems individually, or have resulted from them con- 
 jointly. 
 
 Chronologically, Tauism should come next in order, but 
 
MOHAMMEDAN COMMUNITIES. 
 
 81 
 
 Buddhism takes the precedence of it, in its position and influ- 
 ence in the empire, and accordingly occupies the second place 
 in the Chinese enumeration. 
 
 Other minor sects of religionists, which have not exercised 
 a decided and permanent influence on the Chinese race as a 
 whole, need not be particularly mentioned. 
 
 Such, however, is the prominence of Mohammedanism in 
 some parts of the empire as to require a special reference. It 
 is said to have been introduced into China a short time after 
 the death of Mohammed. A few adherents of this sect are 
 now found in every part of the empire. Occasional mosques 
 are seen in the Eastern provinces. There is one small one in 
 Ningpo ; and a few years since I found a rather imposing one 
 in Hang-chow, and an interesting class of persons connected 
 with it. In the north-western part of the empire there are 
 large Mohammedan communities, and in some places they are 
 said to form one-third of the population. Dr. Williams states 
 that “ early in the last century the whole number in the coun- 
 try was computed to be half a million.” 
 
 They practice circumcision ; observe nominally one day 
 in seven as a day of rest ; proscribe the use of swine’s flesh ; 
 bear decided testimony against idolatry; and, like the Jews, 
 keep themselves in a great measure separate from the rest of 
 the population. 
 
 They regard Mohammed as the great and unrivalled Proph- 
 et of Heaven, while they assign to Jesus a lower rank, with 
 Abraham, Moses, and David. 
 
 They have relaxed a good deal in the strictness of their re- 
 ligious observances, and they conform to some of the idola- 
 trous rites of the other religious sects. 
 
 When I met them in Hang-chow they treated me with the 
 greatest cordiality, invited me to examine their mosque and 
 to attend their services, referring with evident delight to the 
 fact that we worship the same God and Creator of all, in oppo- 
 sition to the prevailing Chinese idolatry. I could not help feel- 
 ing, in that distant land full of idols and heathen temples, that, 
 
 D 2 
 
82 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 notwithstanding our wide and irreconcilable differences, this 
 was indeed one strong bond of sympathy. 
 
 The Jews and Roman Catholics of China will be particu- 
 larly referred to in the latter part of this book. 
 
INTRODUCTION OF BUDDHISM. 
 
 83 
 
 CHAPTER VII. ' 
 
 BUDDHISM. 
 
 Introduction of Buddhism into China. — Its reputed Founder. — Different 
 Orders of Buddhist Divinities. — (Peculiarities of Buddhism as it exists 
 in different Countries!}— Popular Traditions relating to Buddha. — Doc- 
 trines and Religious Rites of Buctdhism. — Descriptions of Buddhist Tem- 
 ples. — Construction of Images. — Particular Description of Temples and 
 Idol Worship at Hang-chow.— Buddhist Priests. — Organization, of the 
 Monasteries. — Hermits living in Huts or Caves. — Priests confined in 
 Sealed Rooms or Cells. — Acquiring of Merit by Proxy. — Buddhist 
 Nunneries. 
 
 Buddhism is emphatically the religion of China, and of the 
 whole of Eastern Asia. It was introduced into China about 
 the year 60 of the Christian era. At that time the Emperor 
 Ming-ti sent an embassy to the TV est to seek for religious teach- 
 ers. Some suppose that this embassy was suggested by a 
 dream, and others by a saying of Confucius — “In the TVest 
 there are great sages.” It is not improbable that a rumor of 
 Him who was “ born King of the Jews ” may have reached the 
 extreme of Eastern Asia, and had something to do with this 
 movement. However this may have been, the expedition start 
 ing from China on this important errand proceeded as far as 
 India, and there met with Buddhist priests, and learned from 
 them of their deity Buddha, their sacred books, and the doc- 
 trine of a future state, and a way of escape from sin and its 
 consequences. Supposing they had gained their object, they 
 returned home with this new god and new religion of the Hin- 
 doos. This was the introduction of Buddhism into the East 
 The name of the reputed founder of this sect is Shaky amu- 
 ni, who is supposed to have lived in the 7th century b.c., 
 or earlier. By a life of contemplation, meritorious works, and 
 
84 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 self-imposed austerities, lie reached the condition of Buddha, 
 that of “ complete knowledge.” The term in Chinese is Full. 
 Above and beyond this is a higher degree of development or 
 attainment, called Nirvana , which is the highest condition to 
 which mortals can attain, and of which their nature is capable. 
 Here consciousness, personality, and all wishes and desires are 
 lost in an ideal existence, and all relations and intercourse 
 with the material world cease. Buddha, denying himself the 
 pleasures of this superior unconscious state, pauses on the con- 
 fines of it to give exercise to his benevolence in instructing 
 and elevating men. ^ 
 
 There is an inferior grade of divinities which have not yet 
 reached the condition of Buddha, and are called Foosa. They 
 are still imperfect in knowledge and virtue, though far in ad- 
 vance of ordinary men. As they are nearer mankind in the 
 scale of being, they are supposed to be in closer sympathy 
 with him, more intimately acquainted with his circumstances, 
 and more approachable. For this reason they are most wor- 
 shiped by the people. 
 
 Buddhism has assumed different forms in different coun- 
 tries. A distinction is made between Southern Buddhism as it 
 is found in Ceylon, Burmah, and Siam, and Northern, as found 
 in Thibet and China. The religious books of Northern Bud- 
 dhism are in Sanscrit, or are translations from Sanscrit. Those 
 of Southern Buddhism are in Pah, a language of more recent 
 origin. The Northern Buddhists have also added books, le- 
 gends, and deities which are not known elsewhere. 
 
 In Thibet t*his system is connected with a religious hie- 
 rarchy, exercising political power, at the head of which is the 
 Grand Lama, who is regarded as the incarnation of Buddha. 
 When the Grand Lama dies, the priests fix upon some infant 
 into whose body the spirit of the deceased lama is supposed 
 to have passed, and the infant becomes the next Grand Lama. 
 
 In China no such religious hierarchy has been tolerated, and 
 Buddhism exists without lamas. The Buddhism of Mongo- 
 lia partakes of the character of that of Thibet. That of Corea, 
 
BUDDHISTIC TRADITIONS. 
 
 85 
 
 Japan, and Cochin China has evidently been copied from 
 China. 
 
 With these general statements, I will confine myself strictly 
 to Buddhism in China, speaking of its practical aspects as it 
 is believed and practiced by the people at present, and is in- 
 corporated with their religious and social life. y'- 
 
 /The popular .traditions of the Chinese relating to Buddha 
 are of that marvellous character calculated to work upon the 
 imagination and blind faith of an ignorant people. He is rep- 
 resented as having been born in a regal palace, an heir to lux- 
 ury and power, which had no charms to attract him. It is be- 
 lieved that, on his appearance in the world, a halo of glory en- 
 circled him, which was visible throughout all the surrounding 
 country, and the earth around him spontaneously produced a 
 profusion of lotus flowers. One of the first acts which he 
 performed was that of walking seventeen steps toward the 
 North, South, East and West, with one hand pointing toward 
 heaven and the other toward the earth, declaring, in a loud 
 voice — “ In heaven and earth there is not another greater than 
 I.” Many accounts are given of his remarkable strength and 
 natural endowments, so exceedingly overwrought that they 
 might be expected to excite the suspicion of the most credu- 
 lous. He left his home at an early age to lead the life of a 
 recluse, and, after years of self-imposed austerity, attained to 
 the perfection of virtue and ascended to heaven as a god, 
 leaving many remarkable proofs of his superhuman power. 
 
 The distinctive characteristics of the Buddhist system are 
 a belief in a benevolent deity, associated -with inferior ones, 
 whose special object and care it is to save men from sin and 
 its consequences, and also the doctrine of the transmigration 
 of souls, and the efficacy of good works. In accordance with 
 these doctrines, the religious or idolatrous rites of Buddhism 
 consist in prayers to these gods, works of merit and austeri- 
 ty, and provision for the anticipated wants of the spirit in 
 Hades, and also for deceased relatives and friends. 
 
 Temples erected to the worship of this deity are found in 
 
86 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 every part of the empire, and are numerous, costly, and im- 
 posing. We see in China the same disposition manifested by 
 other nations of the past, to perform idolatrous ceremonies in 
 “ high places.” The theory of Buddhism requires its temples 
 to be built in retired situations among the hills, for the sake 
 of the quiet and seclusion which such places afford. Accord- 
 ingly, most of the buildings connected with this sect which 
 are not erected in cities and towns for the convenience of 
 the inhabitants, are found in the most beautiful and romantic 
 situations which the country affords. The largest of them 
 are, to a certain extent, built on a common fixed planjwhich 
 may be described as follows : 
 
 They are composed of several sep'arate buildings in a line 
 directly back of the front one. If the nature of the ground 
 admits of it, each building in the rear rises several feet above 
 the one before it, and is reached by a flight of stone steps. 
 The paths leading to these temples are often disposed with 
 much taste and art, winding through beautiful groves of pine 
 and bamboo, over fine arched bridges, along luxuriant hedges 
 and fish-ponds, and affording oftentimes beautiful views of 
 natural scenery. 
 
 Entering the wide front door of the first building, you see 
 before you a large image in a sitting posture, its face bearing 
 the expression of a contemptuous smile. This idol is called 
 Mi leh-fuh • its office is to guard the entrance to the temple, 
 and it is smiling at the foolishness of mankind avIio spend 
 their lives in the vain pursuit of worldly pleasures. Immedi- 
 ately behind this image, and facing the back opening or door, 
 is a standing figure, dressed in mail from head to foot, and 
 holding in the hand a large battle-club. This image is called 
 T Vei-to Poo-scih, and is regarded as the guardian deity of the 
 temple, protecting it from evil spirits, thieves, etc. The spa- 
 cious interior of this, as well as the other buildings, is undi- 
 vided by partitions or upper floors ; the roof is supported by 
 numerous large pillars. Besides the two images in the middle 
 above described, there are four others, called the Sz-kin-kang , 
 
GATE- WAV OF ; UDDIIIST TE.MFEE ME Alt OAMTO.N 
 
 I 
 

 
 
 
 
 « 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
THE “GREAT, GLORIOUS, PRECIOUS TEMPLE.” 89 
 
 or “ Four Golden Heroes.” They are very large, and in a 
 standing posture, two being on each side of the building. 
 One, holding a large umbrella in his hands, is called To icen 
 tien hwang, or “ The All-hearing Heaven King,” and it is said 
 that when he spreads his umbrella it darkens heaven and earth. 
 The one with a large guitar is called Tsang dicing tien hwang, 
 or “ Add-length Heaven King,” probably with reference to 
 his power of conferring longevity. • He is supposed to awe 
 and subdue evil spirits and demons by touching the chords 
 of his instrument. One, holding in his hand a sword, and 
 having a fearful countenance, is called Chi Icwoli tien lmang , 
 or “ Grasp-empire Heaven King.” The remaining one, who 
 is represented as holding in his hands a dragon, and trampling 
 under his feet snakes and reptiles, is called the Kwang muh 
 tien hwang , or “ Clear-eyed Heaven King.” These four gods 
 are regarded as the protectors of the people generally, and 
 particularly of those who believe in Fuh. 
 
 The second building is larger than the first, generally about 
 seventy feet deep, ninety feet wide, and forty or fifty feet high, 
 though sometimes larger. It is called the “ Great, Glorious, 
 Precious Temple.” Its chief deities are three large images of 
 Fuh, called the Past, the Future, and the Present Fuh ; also 
 the “ Three Precious Ones.” They are situated in the middle 
 of the building, in a line facing the front door, and are repre- 
 sented as sitting on large high pedestals, surrounded by lotus 
 flowers. In front of these immense images, which are gener- 
 ally about twenty feet high, is a tablet inscribed to the Em- 
 peror, no doubt to secure his favor to the sect. On the two 
 sides of this building may be seen either the eighteen lo-han, 
 persons who are supposed to be absorbed into Fuh, or the 
 twenty-eight Sing-sin, which represent different stars. All 
 these are human figures about as large as life. Immediately 
 in front of the three large images of Fuh is generally seen a 
 standing veiled image of Kwan-slii-yin Poo-sah, one of the 
 principal Buddhist deities, which is represented as a young 
 virgin, and is executed in the best style of Chinese art. This 
 
90 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 goddess is supposed to have appeared on the earth at differ- 
 ent times, and in different forms and characters. She is wor- 
 shiped as the Sung-ts neang-neang, or “ Conferrer of Sons;” 
 the “ Thousand-handed Kwan-yin ,” the “ Seven-faced Kwan- 
 yin and also as a male deity of the same name. The “ Confer- 
 rer of Sons ” is generally represented with a child in her arms. 
 This female deity is the one in which the Roman Catholics 
 have recognized such a strong resemblance to the Virgin 
 Mary as to attribute its existence to Satanic agency. It is ev- 
 ident that the natives are in a measure acquainted with this 
 dislike of the Romanists, as it is reported among the people 
 that they “ hate Kt can- s h i-yin because she killed Jesus.” Be- 
 hind the three large images of Buddha you sometimes see 
 the thousand-handed Kwan-yin , or the Sung-ts neang-neang 
 mentioned above, and sometimes one of a variety of other 
 idols. In the back part of this main building it is not uncom- 
 mon to find a separate shrine erected to the God of War, and 
 to other favorite objects of worship. 
 
 In the larger temples a third building is generally found, 
 about the size of the second. This is used as a “Worship 
 
TORTURES OF HELL. 
 
 91 
 
 Hall ” for the priests. Less space is occupied by the images, 
 and more is reserved for worshipers. 
 
 Besides the buildings mentioned above, in many temples 
 others are addech/' The idols which they contain are very nu- 
 merous, and in the disposition of them no regular order is 
 observed. Most of them represent persons who are supposed 
 to have been absorbed into Buddha, of which class there are 
 in all more than five hundred. Some are taken from the 
 popular deities of the people, and some even from the gods of 
 Tauism. All these gods have their fabulous legends, which, 
 though they might interest the curious, it would be as impos- 
 sible as useless to give here. Sometimes lower side buildings 
 are erected and divided into apartments, which are occupied 
 by smaller images of all sorts and appearances, from one to 
 two, three, or more feet in height. Several hundred of these 
 images may be found in the same building. It is not uncom- 
 mon to see in these side apartments several roams represent- 
 ing the different divisions and tortures of hell. The god Ti 
 tsang hwcing , “ Earth-concealed King,” is supposed to preside 
 over these regions. It is said that he was unwilling to be- 
 come Buddha until he had rescued all the spirits in hell. 
 
92 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 Side buildings are also erected for the accommodation of 
 the priests, generally with an upper story. The dining-room 
 is often large enough to seat several hundred persons, and the 
 kitchen is supplied with kettles, some of which will hold two 
 or three barrels. 
 
 Some of the temples have pagodas connected with them. 
 
 PAGODA. 
 
 These are towers or monuments, substantially built of stone 
 or brick, varying in height from eighty to two hundred 
 feet or more. They form a very characteristic and beautiful 
 feature in Chinese landscapes. Many of them show evidences 
 of great antiquity. They were probably built originally to be 
 the repositories of some revered relics, or to commemorate 
 
WHAT THE IDOLS REPRESENT. 
 
 93 
 
 some noted person. Occasionally, though not generally, they 
 contain idola. 
 
 In small towns and places without the means for building a 
 large temple the principal Buddhist idols are, by being made 
 of a smaller size, grouped together in one building, and made 
 to answer the purposes of those who may not have the time 
 or money requisite for going far from home to worship in a 
 larger temple. 
 
 The idols are manufactured of the different metals, or of 
 stone, or wood, or clay. The largest are made of a frame- 
 work of wood covered with mortar, and are generally gilded 
 on the outside with gold-leaf, though in some cases they are 
 painted with different colors. It is considered essential that 
 each one, large or small, should be supplied with artificial en- 
 trails, which are lodged in the body through a hole in the 
 back. These represent the living spirit, without which the 
 god would be regarded as worthless^ They consist generally 
 of representations in silver of the heart and other internal 
 parts of the body. Sometimes pearls and precious stones, or 
 live snakes or reptiles, are either substituted or added. This 
 fact furnished a weighty reason for the iconoclastic practices 
 of the Tai-ping insurgents of China, in addition to their pro- 
 fessed hatred and contempt for idolatry. These images are 
 generally well-executed as to their forms and postures. 1, £_It is 
 worthy of notice, as indicative of the character of the people 
 and the art with which Satan suits the forms of idolatry to 
 the minds of his deluded victims, that there is nothing horrid 
 or indecent in the appearance of any of the idols of China, 
 and none are represented as influenced by debasing passions ; 
 all are supposed to be virtuous men, or heroes of the past. 
 They have also less of sameness in their appearance than 
 might be expected, as they present in different degrees and 
 combinations the expressions of love, pity, mirth, thoughtful- 
 ness, fierceness, and anger.) 
 
 . The general appearance of a large Buddhist temple or mon- 
 astery is grand and imposing, calculated to inspire in the 
 
94 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 minds of the vulgar feelings of reverence and awe. The struct- 
 ure of the buildings indicates also not a little architectural 
 taste and skill. They are well-proportioned, and in each one 
 the plan of the interior is suited to the size and number of the 
 idols which it is to contain. The large roof is generally made 
 of the best tiling materials, and will last more than half a 
 century without repair. It is covered with fretted-work, and 
 grotesque figures of elephants, lions, horses, men, etc. The 
 interior is ornamented with elaborate carvings in wood and 
 stone ; and a great variety of inscriptions on the walls and pil- 
 lars, and over the heads of the idols, written in large gilt let- 
 ters, serve at the same time the purposes of decoration and of 
 setting forth the names, characters, and powers of the differ- 
 ent divinities. 
 
 A short description of Buddhist temples and worship in 
 ilang-chow, one of the great centres of Buddhist influence in 
 China, may serve to give a livelier and more satisfactory view 
 of the' character of Buddhism and its practical workings. 
 This is one of the provincial capitals, and contained before it 
 was taken by the rebels about one million of inhabitants. It 
 is a place deservedly renowned among the Chinese for its 
 great natural beauty, which is often alluded to in the couplet, 
 Slicing yiu tien tang , hia yiu Su Hang — “Above is heaven, be- 
 low are Su-chow and Hang-chow.” This city and its suburbs 
 are full of Buddhist temples, but the most noted of them are 
 among the hills and mountains bounding the city on the south 
 and west. They are to be found in the most romantic nooks 
 of the valleys, perched half-way up the mountain-sides, or 
 crowning a hill-top a few hundred or a thousand feet high. 
 
 Passing out from the south-western gate of the city in the 
 direction of the mountains, a short distance from the wall you 
 meet with a note 1 ?! temple, called the Tsing-z. The buildings 
 described in the previous part of this chapter are unusually 
 large. This monastery was principally noted, however, for a 
 side building containing the five hundred disciples of Buddha 
 complete. These are all as large as a full-grown man, finely 
 
A FASHIONABLE WATERING-PLACE. 
 
 95 
 
 executed, and covered with gold-leaf. Each one occupied a 
 platform about six or eight feet square. The size of the whole 
 building affording this area for each image, and passages or 
 aisles between them, may be imagined, and this was but an 
 inferior and subsidiary part of the- temple. I saw a similar 
 temple, containing these five hundred images in one hall, in 
 the city of Canton. 
 
 About three miles from the city, ih one of the valleys, is the 
 Tien-coli-z — “ The Temple of India.” This is very beautiful in 
 its architecture and location, but its principal attraction is a 
 curious subterranean passage, forming part of the path to the 
 temple. It is said and believed that the hill covering this 
 passage was transported from India in the night, and deposit- 
 ed here. Hence the name, “ The Temple of India.” 
 
 About ten miles from the city is a temple, which contained 
 when I visited it about five hundred priests. It is reached 
 by a beautiful avenue nearly two miles long, winding through 
 a deep valley by the side of a clear mountain stream, and 
 overarched by groves of pine and bamboo. The temple was 
 composed of a large number of different buildings, connected 
 with each other by such various and intricate passages that a 
 stranger without a guide was in danger of being lost in them. 
 This was a kind of fashionable watering-place, a ■favorite re- 
 sort for wealthy families in the summer. Several of the 
 buildings were occupied with apartments for the entertain- 
 ment of these visitors. Here wealthy families would spend 
 weeks, enjoying the quiet repose of the country and the de- 
 lightful mountain scenery, hiring a hall of worship and* a com- 
 pany of priests to chant prayers for the repose of the spirit of 
 a deceased parent, or for the prolongation of the life of a par- 
 ent living, or for some other desired blessing. It was not 
 unusual for such families when leaving the temple, after pay- 
 ing roundly and perhaps ostentatiously for their other ex- 
 penses, to provide for the illumination, by means of a large 
 number of lamps, of the whole or part of the avenue leading 
 to the temple. 
 
96 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 There are more than a score of temples in this one locality, 
 some of which are hardly less noted than those I have de- 
 scribed. During the six months which I spent at this place 
 in 1859, I had an opportunity to witness the crowds of pil- 
 grims who come here to worship in the spring. The canals 
 leading to the city were filled for miles in some directions 
 with the boats of worshipers, many of whom had come long 
 distances to pay their homage at these sacred shrines. The 
 numerous paved roads or paths winding through the valleys 
 in eveiy direction were occupied by an almost continuous 
 stream of visitors, the rich in sedans and the poor on foot. 
 The air was loaded with the fragrance of the spring azalias, 
 flowering shrubs, and the evergreens of different kinds which 
 shaded the graves of the previous inhabitants of that vast 
 city, millions of whom have found their last resting-place on 
 these lovely hill-sides. Old women, tottering on their small 
 feet and supported by their staffs, were making their last 
 visits to these renowned temples, their last effort to prepare 
 for a future state, and were then going home to die, ignorant, 
 alas ! both of the character of that state and the preparation 
 for it. 
 
 As we approached some of these temples we found the 
 roadside lined with beggars of a peculiar character. They 
 were all diseased, and seemed to be gathered from every part 
 of the country, to take advantage of this great concourse of 
 religiously-disposed people to appeal to their sympathies. 
 The tremulous and withered hand of age was extended with 
 the prayer — “ Do good deeds.” Sightless balls, uplifted, ap- 
 pealed for charity, while the lips pronounced the blessing — 
 “May you live a hundred years.” Swollen limbs, frightful 
 sores of every description, and the stumps of legs literally 
 rotted off, were obtruded upon the gaze of the traveller, har- 
 rowing up the feelings, and making the heart sick. 
 
 Entering the temples, the sight was hardly less distressing. 
 The people mad upon their idols ; the priests rapidly gather- 
 ing in their ill-gotten gains ; old and youug, with earnest and 
 
THE BUDDHIST PRIESTS. 
 
 97 
 
 anxious countenances, pouring out the burdens of their hearts 
 before idol gods, and bowing down and striking their fore- 
 heads on the paved floor so as to make a sound audible at 
 some little distance. The impression produced upon my 
 mind by that visit, and the conflicting emotions excited, I 
 shall never forget. These retired solitudes, thronged with the 
 living and peopled with the dead ; the bright sky, the balmy 
 air, luxuriant nature, and a beautiful landscape, and this scene 
 of beauty overspread with a pall of moral darkness which 
 might be felt ; sin, sorrow, disease, death ; man, the noblest 
 work of God, blinded, debased, perverted, without one ray of 
 light, without any knowledge of the only living and true God 
 and Jesus Christ, the only name “ under heaven given among 
 men whereby we must be saved. 
 
 (Xhe priests of Buddhism generally become such at an 
 early age, either because they have lost their parents, or be- 
 cause their parents are unable to support them, or because 
 they are born under an unlucky star, and for time-tellers pre- 
 dict that they will be delicate and short-lived. Of those who 
 become priests in after-life some are led to this step by the 
 loss of their parents, or of their wives and children ; some by 
 domestic difficulties, some by idleness, and some take advant- 
 age of the retirement and disguise of the priesthood to escape 
 the punishment of their crimes. The number of those who 
 really understand and believe the doctrines of Buddhism, and 
 enter the priesthood to obtain any advantage except that of 
 having rice to eat, is very small. Accordingly, they show little 
 attachment to their order, and generally apologize for becoming 
 priests by saying they had brothers to take care of their parents ; 
 and for continuing such by saying that they have now no other 
 way to obtain a living. When a child enters a monastery as a 
 priest he is placed under the charge of an older priest as his pre- 
 ceptor, whose duty it is to teach his pupil letters. In rare in- 
 stances priests attend to this duty themselves ; sometimes they 
 send their pupils to study for a time with other children in 
 the schools of the country. The most of priests, however, grow 
 
 E 
 
98 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 up unacquainted with letters, and exceedingly ignorant. They 
 generally assent to every thing we say, and only defend their 
 own religion by saying that it is, after all, identical with ours. 
 .They take vows of celibacy, profess to live on a vegetable diet, 
 and wear no clothes made of wool or the skins of animals, as 
 
 they consider it a crime to take 
 away animal life. They also 
 shave the whole head, and wear 
 garments peculiar to their order. 
 Many of them have marksburned 
 upon their heads or arms, as the 
 means and evidence of merit. 
 Not a few have one of their fin- 
 gers burned off for the same rea- 
 son. There are unimportant dis- 
 tinctions in different schools of 
 priests, with slight differences 
 in dress and forms of worship, 
 which it is not worth while to 
 mention here particularly.'^-'" 
 Each large monastery has its 
 superior and overseer, which sta- 
 tions are filled by priests distinguished for their influence 
 and intelligence. They are chosen by persons outside of the 
 priesthood, who act as a board of managers. Some of the 
 younger priests are engaged to a certain extent in servile em- 
 ployments about the monastery or in tilling the soil, but these 
 duties are for the most part performed by hired laborers, 
 while the priests lead a life of ease and indolence. Some 
 spend the most of their lives in the same monastery, but not 
 a few have a roving propensity, and have travelled over the 
 most or all of the eighteen provinces. They easily beg their 
 way as they go, and find convenient lodgings in the monas- 
 teries of their own order. They generally carry with them a 
 passport or recommendation from a superior with whom they 
 are acquainted. Without this, however, the laws of their or- 
 
 BUDDHIST nilEST. 
 
INCOMES OF THE MONASTERIES. 
 
 99 
 
 der give them the privilege of stopping at any place for rest 
 and refreshment. When they choose to remain for a time at 
 any monastery, they can do so if there is a vacant place for 
 them, and they are sufficiently well recommended to obtain it. 
 
 The best recommendation consists in qualifications for 
 earning money. Each monastery is regarded as a large house- 
 hold. The wants of all are provided for by the superior, and, 
 when priests earn money, part of it goes to the establishment, 
 and part is kept by themselves. In consequence of the trav- 
 elling propensities of these priests, large monasteries present 
 striking instances of the confusion of tongues, and oftentimes 
 priests can not understand each other without a third person 
 to act as interpreter. The number of priests in these estab- 
 lishments varies from one to several hundreds, and is regu- 
 lated by the size and resources of each particular monastery. 
 
 The incomes of the monasteries are derived from the vol- 
 untary contributions of the people, money paid to the priests 
 in remuneration for their services at funerals, etc., the pro- 
 ceeds of public worship in the monastery, and the proceeds 
 of the lands with which many of them have been endowed. 
 The specific duties of the priesthood are chanting and per- 
 forming different ceremonies in the temples, performing idol- 
 atrous ceremonies among the people, and begging. 
 
 The chanting of regular formal services is performed 
 morning and evening, partly in the native and partly in the 
 Sanscrit tongue, and is learned from books and by imitation. 
 It is carried on in connection with the burning of incense and 
 candles, prostrations, the beating of drums and bells and 
 balls of wood, etc., and pacing backward and forward in 
 front of the idols. The whole exercise lasts about an hour. 
 In case a monastery is out of repair, or money is needed for 
 any other purpose, priests are often sent to raise subscrip- 
 tions from door to door. Wealthy individuals, and some- 
 times officers, give large sums for repairing temples, influ- 
 enced partly by a desire to be seen and praised of men, and 
 partly by the hope of securing happiness in a future state. 
 
100 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 Connected with most of the large Buddhist establishments 
 there are some priests, distinguished from their class by liv- 
 ing in rude huts or caves among the hills in the greatest re- 
 tirement and austerity. Their time is spent in keeping the 
 taper lighted before their gods, reciting their chants, cooking ' 
 their simple meals, and idleness. While professing to seek 
 this retirement for the sake of meditation, they seem almost 
 to lose their power of thinking, and spend their time in list- 
 less indifference to every thing around them. They are sup- 
 ported by the contributions of friends and temple-worship- 
 ers, and supplies from the monastery with which they are 
 connected. It is commonly reported and believed that those 
 who live thus attain to great longevity, and require very little 
 sustenance to support life. 
 
 There are other priests who spend their time in closed 
 rooms or cells. These are found principally in the larger 
 monasteries. They commence their secluded life with consid- 
 erable formality. On an appointed day they enter the room 
 or rooms which are to be their future abode, and all the doors 
 are sealed by numerous strips of paper, on which are written 
 large characters, stating the day when the confinement com- 
 menced and how long it is to continue. Only one small hole 
 is left in the wall, through which articles are handed in and 
 out. 
 
 Here the blind devotee immures himself for years, and per- 
 haps for life. Priests sometimes take refuge in these cloistered 
 cells to escape punishment after having broken their vows by 
 the commission of crimes. Rich men, believing it important to 
 lay up a store of merit, and at the same time being too much 
 engaged in laying up other treasures to do it for themselves, 
 sometimes make an arrangement with a priest as follows: 
 The man of wealth agrees to give him a certain amount of 
 money for living in a state of confinement for a stipulated 
 time, providing him at the same time with his food : the 
 priest on his part promises to perform numberless prayers and 
 prostrations, and at the expiration of the prescribed period 
 
101 
 
 “THE young priest.” 
 
 part of the merit is made over to his employer, and part of it 
 is retained by himself. Priests of this class are favored with 
 many visits from curious people, who visit the temple and 
 carry on no small amount of gossip with them through the 
 hole of their prison. 
 
 There is a class of persons who escape the vows and austeri- 
 ties of the priesthood bjfc. the following compromise. Num- 
 bers are devoted by the fortune-teller to the life of a recluse, 
 whose parents are too superstitious to disregard the decree, 
 and have too much parental affection to give up their child. 
 In such cases the parents choose a priest who is willing to 
 sustain the relation of master to the child : the child as pupil 
 pays his respects and worship to his chosen teacher ; pres- 
 ents are exchanged ; and the boy is henceforth regarded as 
 nominally the disciple of the priest. lie is permitted, howev- 
 er, to stay at home, and live in all respects as ordinary men, 
 except that he is often called, by way of pleasantry or ridicule, 
 “ the young priest,” and occasionally exchanges presents 
 with his master. 
 
 BUDDHIST NUN WITH CAP AND ROSARY. 
 
102 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 Connected with Buddhism there is a large number of nuns 
 and nunneries. With regard to the worship performed in 
 these institutions, the manner in which they are supported and 
 their affairs conducted, they differ very little from the mon- 
 asteries. As regards the character and practices of their in- 
 mates, it must be said that, with few exceptions, their repu- 
 tation is far from being above suspicion. 
 
PREPONDERANCE OF FEMALE WORSHIPERS. 
 
 103 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 BUDDHISM — CONTINUED. 
 
 Worshipers in Buddhist Temples principally Women, and why. — Objects 
 sought in Worship. — Mode of seeking a Response. — Making of Vows. — 
 Procuring Drafts on Hades. — Forms of Worship. — Candles. — Incense. — 
 Rosaries. — Social Intercourse and Gossip in the Temples. — Practice of 
 worshiping Books.- — Passport fpr Hades. — Self-righteous Character of 
 those who frequent Temples. — Striking Parallelism between Buddhism 
 and Romanism. 
 
 (' T iie worshipers in Buddhist temples are for the most part 
 women, and these are generally advanced in age. The young 
 women are confined to their houses by the multiplicity of their 
 domestic duties and the customs of the country, which forbid 
 their appearing in public. The older women having compar- 
 atively little to do, and reminded by their age of the necessity 
 of preparing for a future state, spend much of their time in 
 the temples, and thus give a kind of variety to their otherwise 
 unoccupied and monotonous hours. 
 
 In addition to the acknowledged superior religious suscep- 
 tibility of women in every age and country, the very large 
 number of female worshipers is thus accounted for. In ac- 
 cordance with the doctrine of the transmigration of souls, so 
 prominent in the Buddhist system, the great end in the worshi] > 
 of Buddha is to secure a favorable position in the future state, 
 in which it is supposed that individuals will ascend or descend 
 in the scale of existence according to the preponderance of 
 their merits or demerits in this life. In consequence of the 
 inferior station of women in China and their peculiar trials, 
 being a woman is regarded as a great misfortune ; and in the 
 “ bitterness ” incident to their present lives they console them- 
 selves with the hope that their earnest devotions at the shrine 
 
104 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 Advice in times of exigency is obtained in the following 
 manner : The worshiper takes in his hand a cylindrical box, 
 opened at the top, and containing a number of small labelled 
 wooden sticks, and shakes the box in front of the idol until 
 
 of Buddha will gain for them the position of “ a man in good 
 circumstances ” in the future state. They suppose that the 
 neglect of worshiping Buddha would result in being born 
 again in one of the lower orders of animals. Men are some- 
 times seen making their prostrations before Buddhist idols, 
 but generally with the design of gaining some present favor 
 without reference to a future life. 
 
 In performing idol-worship the people do not choose lucky 
 days, as they do so commonly in attending to other matters. 
 Unusually large numbers of people may be seen at the Bud- 
 dhist and other temples on the first and fifteenth of each month, 
 and also on the birthdays of different gods. Special visits 
 are made for special purposes at all times. Some go to pray 
 for children ; some to ask an omen or advice in cases of exi- 
 gency or perplexity; some to ask medicine for sick persons, 
 and some to make vows. 
 
IDOLATROUS VOWS AND WORSHIP. 
 
 105 
 
 one of them falls out. The number written on this stick points 
 out the corresponding slip of paper, or j^ragraph of a book, 
 where the desired omen or response may be found. This is 
 written in a very indefinite style, indicating whether the mat- 
 ter in question will terminate favorably or unfavorably, wheth- 
 er a plan proposed should be followed or not. The same de- 
 vice is used in asking for medicine, though the god interro- 
 gated is different, and the slips of paper contain medical pre- 
 scriptions ojiIv. As a general rule, the Chinese call a phy- 
 sician, but the above expedient is resorted to both in trivial 
 and alarming cases, when the aid of a physician is either unnec- 
 essary or unavailing, or when the disease is of a hidden or 
 mysterious character. Seeking omens and medicines, though 
 practiced in Buddhist temples, is more common in some others^ 
 Y Vows are made in cases of distress and uncertainty. The 
 person assuming a vow, in order to secure the assistance and 
 protection of some deity, promises to provide a theatrical ex- 
 hibition for the god to look at, or to feed hungry ghosts, or 
 to furnish new clothes for some idol in the temple, as some 
 of them, which are not painted or covered with gold-leaf, 
 wear a variety of clothes, which are changed with the chang- 
 ing seasons. Vows of other kinds are made which need not 
 be mentioned. 
 
 Persons visiting the temples under circumstances of pecul- 
 iar urgency, as above described, often worship along the way 
 • for the distance of half a mile or more, stopping every few 
 steps to make their prostrations.^/' 
 
 C Worship on ordinary occasions consists in simply burning 
 candles and incense, making prostrations before the gods, and 
 giving a few cash to the priests. 
 
 The following is a description of some peculiarities of the 
 worship in Ningpo and its vicinity: Tlfb temples are gener- 
 ally visited on particular days appointed by the priests, and 
 the great object of these visits is to obtain bills for the pay- 
 ment of money in Hades, which are called tieh. When the 
 women apply to the priests for instruction and assistance 
 
 E 2 
 
106 
 
 CHINA 'AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 they are answered much as follows : — “ When you die your 
 soul will pass into the land of spirits, where it may remain 
 ages or hundreds of years before it is allowed to return to 
 earth and inhabit another body. In your journeyings there, 
 when you cross bridges you will have to pay toll; when 
 you cross a ferry you must fee the ferry-man ; if you wish 
 good accommodations and attentions in the inns you must be 
 able to pay well for them. It will be very desirable also for 
 you to fee the inferior officers of Hades, so as ^ bring your 
 case speedily before the courts for adjudication, and facilitate 
 your release and advancement. In a word, money answers all 
 things, in the land of spirits as well as in this present world.” 
 The women are further informed that the priests have opened 
 communication with the land of spirits, and that their drafts 
 are honored there. In one corner of the temple a priest sells 
 these drafts, called tieh. When the paper has been bought 
 it receives the great seal or stamp of the temple ; and after the 
 name Na mi o mi ta full has been chanted over it from three 
 thousand to ten thousand times, it is regarded as veritable 
 money, and is laid aside for future use in a safe provided for 
 the purpose. It is supposed that each one -will entitle the 
 possessor to a number of cash equal to the number of times 
 the name Na mi o mi ta full has been repeated over it. The 
 priests have contrived to realize an abundant harvest from the 
 sale of this paper-money. Only one tieh can be issued in 
 one day, and the days for obtaining them are made as numer-' 
 ous as the credulity of the ignorant women will admit of. 
 They are distributed and arranged as follows : The Skill wane) 
 hioei, or gathering for the worship of the “Ten Kings” 
 of the departments of hell, requires ten days ; one for the 
 birthday of each one of these kings — the first day occurring 
 in the first month, and the last closing with the thirtieth day 
 of the seventh month.) 
 
 The Hiueh hu hwei, or “ Blood Lake Gathering,” also re- 
 quires ten days ; one for each month, closing with the tenth 
 month. It is supposed that women, on aocount of the pol- 
 
PROCURING BILLS ON HADES. 
 
 107 
 
 lution of child-bearing, will all be immersed after death in 
 this blood lake if this punishment is not prevented by pro- 
 curing these tieh. 
 
 The Ta tsih hwei continues during the first seven days of 
 the second month. At this gathering the women bring pres- 
 ents to the priests. 
 
 Pah fuh hwei, or the gathering of the eighth month, is ob- 
 served during the first ten days of that month. 
 
 .Tun fuh hwei occupies the first ten days of the intercalary 
 month in the years in which it occurs. 
 
 Whenever a temple is erected, a bridge completed, a tem- 
 ple repaired, or a bell cast, additional days are appointed for 
 procuring tieh, represented as more valuable than those men- 
 tioned above. These are respectively called “ Complete Tem- 
 ple Tieh,” “ Complete Bridge Tieh,” “ Open Light Tieh,” etc. ; 
 and the days for procuring them are made known by placards 
 posted at every corner. y 
 
 The “ Open Light Tieh ” is so called becausc(while a temple 
 is being repaired, a paper is pasted over the eyes of the idols. 
 This is a polite invitation for the gods to withdraw, in order 
 to avoid being offended by the noise and dirt of the work- 
 men, and they are regarded as being absent until the work is 
 completed and the eye-covering removed, or “ light opened.”} 
 ^ As there are fifty or sixty days in the year on which these 
 tieh can be obtained, the women generally get about this num- 
 ber yeaidy ; but with this the priests are not satisfied, as many 
 women, from sickness or other causes, are not able to come to 
 the temple on the regular days. Accordingly, for the considera- 
 tion of a few hundred cash, the priests allow them to enter or 
 be connected with a hwei, and their names being enrolled, 
 though some individuals may not be present on the appointed 
 days, a tieh is laid aside for each one, and they are allowed to 
 come or send for it any time and to chant over it at home. 
 
 But the priests are not content even with this. In order to 
 increase their gains they declare that of the Wang hwei tieh, 
 mentioned above, no smaller number will suffice than one hun- 
 
108 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 dred and sixty, to obtain which would require sixteen years. 
 She who dies with this number incomplete is doomed to be 
 chained for a long period of time in one of the apartments of 
 hell. As the poor women have many fears that they will not 
 live to complete the full number of this tieh, the priests gladly 
 relieve them of their difficulty, offering to perform a ceremony 
 which will do away with the evil consequences of this de- 
 ficiency for a certain remuneration. With this description 
 of the tieh, let us now direct our attention to the temples. ^ 
 
 ( On worship days a great number of women may be seen 
 slowly making their way to their chosen place for worship. 
 They generally go in small companies, having with them a 
 little basket containing candles and incense-sticks. They are 
 always dressed in their best clothes, or clothes hired for the 
 purpose, as it would be considered disrespectful to the gods 
 to appear before them in their every-day apparel ; and they 
 hope also, by their dress and behavior, to produce the impres- 
 sion upon the gods that they are persons of better circum- 
 stances than they really are. 
 
 Arrived at the temple, the worship is conducted in the fol- 
 lowing manner : A few candles are lighted and placed before 
 the gods, either by the worshiper or a servant or priest in at- 
 tendance at the temple. Incense-sticks are also lighted and in- 
 serted in the large bowl of ashes before each idol, or at least 
 those to which the individual expects to pay homage. The 
 design of the worshiper in doing this is to apprise the gods 
 of her presence and intentions. These incense-sticks are about 
 a foot long, and an eighth of an inch in diameter. They are 
 made of fragrant wood, and one end is rolled in a composition 
 of sawdust, so that when ignited it will burn a considerable 
 time, emitting a good deal of smoke. 
 
 When the incense-sticks have been properly disposed, the 
 worshiper returns to the place of starting, and makes her pros- 
 trations before each of the idols in succession. This is done 
 by first bending the body and simultaneously making a verti- 
 cal motion with the hands, the palms of which are placed to- 
 
SOCIAL INTERCOURSE IN TEMPLES. 
 
 109 
 
 "ether, and then kneeling down on a soft mat or cushion and 
 striking her head against it. These acts are performed a 
 number of times successively in each place. 
 
 The ceremony just mentioned is regarded as preparatory to 
 the more important one which follows, and forms the chief ob- 
 ject of the visit, namely, that of obtaining the tieh. This, which 
 is bought at what resembles very much a ticket-office, may 
 now be mofe minutely described. Each one consists of a 
 printed paper, enclosed in an envelope, with blanks to be filled 
 out after it is purchased. On one side of the envelope 
 is written the name of the temple and the class or kind of the 
 tieh, on the other side the religious name of the purchaser. 
 Within is an engraving of Buddha and the name of the pur- 
 chaser, with the year, month, day and hour of her birth, and the 
 local temple with which she is connected, after which follows 
 a few words promising happiness in a future state. The poor 
 women, having purchased this paper, select a convenient place 
 in the temple for spending the greater part of the day in the 
 vain repetition of N~ct mi o mi tafuh, having a rosary to assist 
 in counting. Rosaries are made of different materials, and 
 have generally one hundred and eight beads. Persons of 
 wealth have them ornamented with pendants of gold and sil- 
 ver, such as representations of Buddha; a small tablet con- 
 taining the religious name of the possessor ; miniature repre- 
 sentations of drums and other instruments used in temple 
 worship, to indicate the religious character of those who use 
 them ; and a little lantern to represent the light which they 
 hope will shine upon their paths in the land of spirits. These 
 papers gradually accumulate, and after the death of the wor- 
 shiper are, with other paper-money of different kinds, sup- 
 posed to be transferred to the regions of the dead by being 
 burned. ^ 
 
 It might be inferred from the above description that these 
 visits to the temple are dull and monotonous, but the very op- 
 posite is the case. The scene is full of lively interest, and af- 
 fords abundant matter for the gossip of many days to come. 
 
110 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 The rich are present to see and to be seen, dressed in costly at- 
 tire, obj ects at once of admiration and envy. A few young 
 girls, gayly dressed, have perhaps come out for the first time 
 to see the busy world and get their first impressions of tem- 
 ples and temple worship. Old acquaintances meet and mutu- 
 ally entertain each other with news of neighbors, family diffi- 
 culties, the virtues of their own children and faults of their 
 daughters-in-law, and superstitious tales. With the chatter- 
 ing of voluble tongues is mixed the continually-interrupted 
 chant of JVa mi o mi ta full , which, when they are in their turn 
 listening to the stories of others, their tongues seem to repeat 
 almost spontaneously. 
 
 While all women engage more or less in temple worship, 
 as above described, there is a class regarded as particularly 
 religious, who are most assiduous and persevering in the prac- 
 tice of additional idolatrous worship of an entirely different 
 kind. This class of women is by no means small, and is made 
 up of some who have a real desire to prepare for a future 
 state, of others who love the variety and excitement which 
 this kind of life affords, and those who stupidly follow the ex- 
 ample of others without knowing the reason why. These seek 
 advantages in the future world by a ceremony called Pai king , 
 or “ worshiping books.” 
 
 For this purpose they generally choose nunneries in prefer- 
 ence to monasteries, on account of the advantages they afford 
 of meeting only with their own sex. This exercise consists in 
 worshiping every character of certain books successively, mak- 
 ing prostrations as before to the idols. Proceeding in this man- 
 ner, a person is able to worship a little more than a page of a 
 book in a day. The first book used is the Shwal chan, the wor- 
 ship of which is supposed to take away moral uncleanness. 
 The ideas they have respecting this ceremony are not unlike 
 those of the J ews respecting ceremonial purification. The next 
 book in order is the Shau sang king, the worship of which is 
 made necessary by the following superstition. 
 
 It is taught that every individual, during the former exist- 
 
THE CUSTOM OF WORSHIPING BOOKS. 
 
 Ill 
 
 ence, incurred more or less expense .j ust before entering upon 
 the present life, on account of which a debt remains in Hades 
 unpaid, satisfaction for which will be exacted from the debt- 
 or in a future state if it is not- cancelled in this. The debt is 
 supposed to be paid by the worship of this book. Persons go 
 over it from ten to ninety-six times, according to the amount 
 of the debt, which is determined by the horoscope of each in- 
 dividual. The book must also be worshiped over several times 
 in addition, to pay off the interest which has accumulated. 
 
 After these books are finished, others less important and in- 
 dispensable may be added. Some perform a greater amount 
 of this worship than is regarded really necessary, in order, by 
 these works of supererogation, to make their future well-being 
 more secure. Those who have purified themselves by the 
 worship of the Shwa't chan are very careful to keep from be- 
 ing again polluted, and scrupulously avoid coming in contact 
 with objects regarded as unclean. They are particularly care- 
 ful not to enter a room occupied by Avomen in child-bed. If 
 they are obliged by the duties they owe to their own relations 
 to enter such rooms, or if they do it by accident, they worship 
 the Shwal chan over again. 
 
 This class of women live on a vegetable diet, to avoid the 
 sin of taking away animal life. 
 
 When the worship of any particular book is completed, a 
 ceremony is performed in the nunnery, or monastery, called 
 Wan king, or “ complete book.” This ceremony marks a peri- 
 od of rejoicing on the part of the worshiper, and of unusual 
 earnings on the part of the money-loving priests. 
 
 Another ceremony, which may be mentioned in connection 
 with the book-worship, is that of procuring a Lu-yin , or pass- 
 port. This is a large sheet of paper, having in the middle an en- 
 graving of Kwan-yin Poo-sah , with several lines of characters 
 and other embellishments. Individuals, having bought this 
 sheet, go to the monastery and worship the engraving, contin- 
 ually chanting Na mi o mi ta fuh. The repetition of this 
 name a certain number of times (generally one thousand) is 
 
112 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 marked by an impression on the paper with a round stamp. 
 When the borders of this sheet are filled with these impres- 
 sions the ceremony is finished, and the paper is laid aside until 
 the death of the possessor, when it is burned, and it is thus 
 supposed to pass to the departed spirit, and secure her unin- 
 terrupted entrance to any department of the regions of the 
 dead. 
 
 The different kinds of worship in Buddhist temples, above 
 described, may be performed by proxy, and many persons gain 
 a livelihood by engaging their services in this way to the sick. 
 
 Of all classes of individuals to be met with in China none 
 seem more hopeless and inaccessible to the truth than these 
 self-righteous, inveterate paper-worshipers. It must be said 
 of them, however, that they generally lead comparatively hon- 
 est and blameless lives, and are much respected by their own 
 people. The character of their employment is such as to keep 
 them constantly on their guard, as others look to them as ex- 
 amples, and they thus become habitually careful to avoid open 
 sins and improprieties. 
 
 r 1 Without dwelling longer on the details of Buddhist wbr- 
 ship, it may be well to refer to a general resemblance between 
 Buddhism and Romanism, so marked that it is recognized and 
 acknowledged by the Romanists themselves, w r ho account for 
 this fact by the supposition that Satan has counterfeited the 
 true religion so as to preoccupy and satisfy the minds of the 
 people with the counterfeit, to the exclusion of what is true 
 and genuine. This correspondence holds in minute particulars. 
 Both have a supreme and infallible head ; the celibacy of the 
 priesthood; monasteries and nunneries; prayers in an un- 
 known tongue ; prayers to saints and intercessors, and especial- 
 ly and principally to a virgin with a child ; also prayers for the 
 dead ; repetition of prayers with the use of a rosary ; works 
 of merit and supererogation ; self-imposed austerities and bod- 
 ily inflictions ; a formal daily service, consisting of chants, burn- 
 ing of candles, sprinkling of holy-water, bowings, prostrations, 
 marchings and counter-marchings. Both have also fast days 
 
RESEMBLANCE OF BUDDHISM TO ROMANISM. 113 
 
 and feast days; religious processions ; images and pictures, 
 and fabulous legends ; and revere and worship relics, real and 
 pretended. These two systems, wonderfully adapted to differ- 
 ent circumstances of race, civilization, and religious intelli- 
 gence, hold in spiritual bondage nearly four-fifths of the hu- 
 man race, gratifying, at the same time, the religious longings 
 and the sinful perversions of our nature, providing objects of 
 worship, but in fact leading the soul away from God. 
 
114 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 TAUISM. 
 
 Lao-ts, the Founder of the Tauist Sect. — Origin of the word Tauism.. — 
 Lao-ts and Confucius contemporaneous. — Change and Deterioration in 
 Tauism. — Its character Materialistic. — Its theory of the Universe. — The 
 Five Elements. — Personification of Stars, and their Identity with some 
 of the Gods. — Alchemy. — Elixir of Life. — Astrology. — Popular Belief 
 respecting Lao-ts, and the origin of Tauism. — Legend of Lu-tsu . — Gods 
 of Thunder and Lightning. — The Goddess Tau-mu. — The “Three 
 Eulers.” — The Dragon King. — His Likeness, how obtained. — Inferior 
 Dragons and the “ Dragon Examinations.” — Worship of the Dragon. — 
 Description of the Tu-ti Poo-sah,- or “God of the Earth. — Connection 
 between Tauism and State Worship.. — Tauist Temples, Idols, and 
 Priests. — Object or Aim of the Tauist Devotee. — Means and bodily Ex- 
 ercises made use of. — Animals may attain to the Condition of the Genii. 
 — Worship of Women in Tauist Temples. — Sending Dispatches to the 
 Spirit World. — Charms, and Spells, and Magic. — Moral Essays con- 
 nected with Tauism. — The reason why Tauism is less popular than 
 Buddhism. 
 
 The Tauist sect originated with Lao-ts, a Chinese philoso- 
 pher, who was bom b.c. 604 . He is generally called Tai 
 Shang Lao Kiun — “The Great Supreme Venerable Ruler.” 
 His remarkable work, Tan teh king — “ Treatise on Truth and 
 Virtue,” occupies a prominent place in Chinese literature. 
 The name Tauism is derived from the first character in the 
 title of this book, Tau, which means truth or doctrine, and 
 is the subject principally discoursed on in it. The writings of 
 Chwang-ts, a disciple of Lao-ts, are more sententious and at- 
 tractive than those of his master, and more read by scholars. 
 These works, however, have never been popular, being too 
 abstruse and transcendental for ordinary readers. Lao-ts 
 was contemporaneous with Confucius, who, as we learn from 
 
PECULIARITIES OF TAUISM. 
 
 115 
 
 the Confucian Analects, visited him and conversed with him 
 respecting his system. He seems, however, not to have com- 
 prehended him, and to have been but little impressed and 
 influenced by him. On the other hand, the early Tauist writ- 
 ers looked with contempt on the simple, unphilosophical, and 
 practical doctrines of Confucius. But Confucianism has been 
 adopted by the Chinese in its original form, while Tauism 
 has been obliged to change its form in order to secure its 
 perpetuation. It has passed from philosophy to superstition, 
 and from inquiries after truth to pandering to the desire of 
 our nature for the marvellous. It has busied itself with seek- 
 ing after the elixir of life and the philosopher’s stone, and at 
 last degenerated into a gross form of idolatry. It gives evi- 
 dence of being acted upon and influenced in a great degree 
 by Buddhism. 
 
 The special characteristic of this system is materialism, 
 and in its development it includes a theory of the universe 
 and a professed science of alchemy and astrology. Matter is 
 regarded as eternal. The grosser forms of different sub- 
 stances tend downward, and constitute the solid material of 
 the earth ; the more refined esseiices tend upward, and wander 
 through space, possessed of individuality and life, and con- 
 stituting, when they assume visible forms, the stars which 
 look down from their spheres upon the lower world. While 
 the earth is composed of the grosser and the heavens of the 
 refined forms of matter, so also the body and the soul of man 
 are similarly constituted. 
 
 The five special substances or elements of which the uni- 
 verse is composed are metal, -wood, water, fire, and earth. The 
 sublimated essences of these elements form five of the planets, 
 respectively called metal star, wood star, etc. These stars sustain 
 mysterious and important relations to the world and its inhab- 
 itants, and exercise a powerful influence on the harmony of the 
 universe and the destinies of men. They may, and often do, de- 
 scend to earth and become gods in order to enter into nearer 
 relations with men, and undertake some special work of benev- 
 
110 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 olence for them. In this way many of the gods of Tauism are 
 identified with certain stars, or are stars personified. 
 
 In connection with this system, alchemy attempts the in- 
 vestigation of the essences of matter, and especially the dis- 
 covery of some method of modifying and changing the out- 
 ward forms of matter. Ages have been spent in endeavoring 
 to obtain an elixir of life, by which to secure perpetual youth 
 and vigor, and also some secret or art by which other sub- 
 stances may be turned into gold. Astrology endeavors to find 
 out the peculiar characters of different stars, and determine 
 their relations to the birth of individuals, and the events and 
 changes in the histories of individuals and nations. 
 
 The popular belief respecting the origin of Tauism is em- 
 bodied in the account given of it in the Sau shin hi. Lao-ts 
 is represented as having existed as a living principle, pervading 
 empty space, anterior to the creation, when the heavens were 
 as yet without light and the earth without form. After the evo- 
 lutions and transformations of thousands of years, this princi- 
 ple was personified in a deity called Miau wu siting hiun, the 
 “ Holy Ruler of W onderful N onentity.” This deity, after innu- 
 merable ages and catastrophes, again appeared as the Miau yu 
 siting hiun, or “Holy Ruler of Wonderful Entity.” The next 
 form which this deity, or principle, is said to have assumed, 
 was that of Hwan tun shing hiun, the “ Holy Ruler of Chaotic 
 Confusion.” We have here presented in this pantheistic 
 form, a singular analogy to the scriptural view of the creation 
 of existing matter out of nothing ; and also the idea of a divine 
 Trinity, which in more or less obscure intimations is found in 
 Brahmanism and Buddhism as well as Tauism. 
 
 After the creation of men, Lao-ts is supposed to have ap- 
 peared. on the earth at different times in the form of kings of 
 different dynasties, and as teacher or adviser of kings, though 
 the world was not aware of his presence. When he appeared 
 as the philosopher Lao-ts he is represented as having descended 
 from heaven on a sunbeam, in the form of a round ball of va- 
 riegated colors, which fell into the mouth of a sleeping virgin. 
 
THE PRINCIPAL OBJECTS OF WORSHIP. 
 
 117 
 
 Conception having thus taken place, Lao-ts was born in a mi- 
 raculous manner, after a period of eighty-one years’ gestation. 
 At his birth his hair was already white from age, and he was 
 accordingly called, as his name Lao-ts implies, “ The Old Boy 
 The arrogant prerogatives claimed for this personage by his 
 devotees may be learned from the following rhapsody, address- 
 ed to him by one of the kings of the Sung dynasty, nearly 
 one thousand years ago : 
 
 “ Great and most excellent Tau, 
 
 Not created, self-existent ; 
 
 From eternity to eternities, 
 
 Antecedent to the earth and heaven. 
 
 Like all-pervading light, 
 
 Continuing through eternity : 
 
 Who gave instruction to Confucius in the East, 
 
 And called into existence Buddha in the West. 
 
 Director of all kings ; 
 
 Parent of all sages ; 
 
 Originator of all religions ; 
 
 Mystery of mysteries.” 
 
 This god is not a favorite object of worship, and generally 
 occupies some small and unimportant, though elevated , situation 
 in Tauist temples. Idolatrous worship is principally paid to the 
 inferior deities, who are not so much elevated in character and 
 dignity as not to concern themselves in the affairs of men. 
 Yuh hwang shang ti, the chief of all the gods, generally occu- 
 pies the most prominent position, though his place in the 
 great hall is not unfreqnently filled by Chin-wu-ta-ti or some 
 other idol, no regular order being observed. 
 
 Among the most important idols of Tauism is La-tsu, cor- 
 responding somewhat in character to Kivan-yin , the Buddhist 
 Goddess of Mercy ; and like her, though an inferior deity, he 
 is a great favorite with the people, because he is supposed 
 most to pity them in their distresses, and often to have come 
 from heaven for their relief. This is the great medicine-god 
 of China, from whom the people beg prescriptions. He not 
 only occupies a prominent place in Tauist temples, but has 
 
118 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 temples erected to him exclusively, and occupies also a place 
 in the Pantheon of Buddhism. The history of this idol may 
 be given as a sample of the whole. 
 
 lu-tsu was formerly a scholar of the second degree, who 
 lived in the Sung dynasty not far from a thousand years ago. 
 On his way to the imperial capital to attend the literary ex- 
 aminations, with a mind eagerly aspiring after success and 
 promotion, he was met at an inn near the end of his journey 
 by one of the genii, called Chung-li-kiuen , who appeared in the 
 form of a servant at the inn. The wearied scholar, receiving 
 from the disguised genius a pillow to rest upon while his 
 food was being prepared, soon fell asleep, and in his dreams 
 imagined himself successful in the examination, and advanced 
 from one office of dignity and power to another till he had 
 arrived at the station of prime minister in the imaginary 
 kingdom of Hwa-su. Supposing himself possessed of all 
 that heart could wish, ho was dreaming of being surrounded 
 by friends and children of the second generation, on the joy- 
 ous anniversary of his birthday, when he awoke and saw the 
 supposed servant boiling his rice beside him, who addressed 
 him in these words : — “ Before the yellow rice is cooked, you 
 have already visited in your dreams the kingdom of Ilwa-su .” 
 The astonished scholar exclaimed — “ I perceive that you are 
 one of the genii.” Chung-li-kiuen replied — “ Do not be disap- 
 pointed to find that what you have witnessed is only a dream ; 
 the reality is nothing more. Suppose yourself really possess- 
 ed of all that you have imagined, when it is over what is it 
 but a dream?” The scholar acknowledged the vanity of all 
 worldly pursuits, and determined immediately to renounce the 
 world for the cultivation of virtue. Chung-li-kiuen offered to 
 assist him in gaining the condition and blessedness of the 
 genii, saying — “ That you may the sooner obtain the three 
 thousand degrees of merit requisite, I will teach you a secret 
 by which you may convert every thing which you point to 
 into gold, and in performing good deeds, and relieving the 
 wants of the distressed, the merit will be quickly and easily 
 
INFERIOR GODS OF TAUISM. 
 
 119 
 
 obtained.” The scholar inquired — “ Will the gold ever revert 
 to its original properties?” His instructor replied — “Yes, 
 after a period of years.” “ Then,” answered Lu-tsu, “ I de- 
 cline the proffered boon, for I would not confer a temporary 
 advantage to be followed by disappointment and sorrow.” 
 The genius replied— “'This act of magnanimity is already 
 equivalent to the three thousand degrees of merit ; as a re- 
 ward for it, you may become one of the genii at once.” 
 
 Of the other idols of Tauism, the 
 following may be mentioned as the 
 most prominent : 
 
 Luc-hung and Lue-po are known as 
 the Thunder God and his wife. The 
 former is generally represented with 
 a beak and claws, and sometimes with 
 wings, agreeably to the superstition 
 that electricity exists among the moun- 
 tains in the form of birds. He holds 
 in his hands a hammer and a drum, 
 with which he is supposed to pro- 
 duce thunder. Lue-po is represented 
 with mirrors attached to her hands 
 and feet, whose reflections, when turn- 
 ed in different directions, are supposed to produce lightning. 
 
 The goddess Tau-mu is represented with eight hands, and is 
 identified with a constellation in the northern heavens. She is 
 supposed to have the power of shortening and prolonging life. 
 
 Prominent among the idols seen in Tauist temples are rep- 
 resentations of the San Tsing , or “ Three Pure Ones,” one 
 of which is generally regarded as a personification of Lao-ts. 
 It is supposed to be their special office to communicate in- 
 struction to mankind. 
 
 The San-Kwan , or “ Three Rulers,” generally called Tien- 
 Kwan , Ti-Kwan, and Shicuy-LTwan, that is, “ Rulers of 
 Heaven, Earth, and Sea,” are indispensable gods of Tauism. 
 They are represented as three brothers, who, on account of 
 
120 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 their remarkable gifts during life, were after death advanced 
 to these stations of dignity and importance. They are aiso 
 described by Tauist writers as a trinity in unity. 
 
 TIIE THREE PUKE ONES. 
 
 The Dragon, which is a universal and prominent object of 
 worship among the Chinese, may properly be classed among 
 the gods of Tauism. The wide domain of the dragon em- 
 braces all seas, lakes, rivers, and ponds, and over these he 
 reigns supreme. All the living creatures of the waters are 
 his subjects, and peculiar phenomena of clouds, celestial ap- 
 pearances, and water-spouts are ascribed to his presence and 
 agency. 
 
 The exalted conceptions which the Chinese have of the 
 dragon have made this word a favorite one to symbolize and 
 represent the dignity and supremacy of the Chinese Emperor. 
 He is spoken of as seated on the Dragon Throne ; to see him 
 is to see the Dragon Face, and his coat of arms is a dragon. 
 
 This monster is not regarded by the Chinese as a fabulous 
 animal, but as a real existence which many profess to have 
 frequently seen. Notwithstanding the vague ideas respecting 
 his form and character, paintings and representations of the 
 dragon are often seen, presenting the same uniform appearance. 
 The obtaining a correct likeness is, in the history of the gods, 
 
COMPETITIVE EXAMINATIONS OF DRAGONS. 121 
 
 accounted for as follows : A king of the Tsin dynasty, wishing 
 to build a bridge over the surface of the sea, in order to enjoy 
 the recreation and fresh air which excursions on such a bridge 
 would afford, the dragon, out of respect for the king and be- 
 cause the work was to be performed within his own dominions, 
 offered to take the superintendence of it. While engaged in 
 this work, the king requested him to display his original form 
 or appearance. This the dragon consented to do, on condition 
 that the kina^would not cause his portrait to be taken. This 
 condition bemg complied .with, the dragon appeared in his 
 peculiar shape and form, and the king, contrary to his promise, 
 had his portrait taken by a skillful artist. The dragon, resent- 
 ing the insult, immediately withdrew himself, and the king, to 
 atone for his fault, erected to him a temple. 
 
 Besides the Hai Lung Ifrcang, or “ Sea-dragon King,” there 
 are supposed to be inferior dragons almost innumerable. Ac- 
 cording to the general theory of correspondence, not only be- 
 tween the celestial and terrestrial, but between the terrestrial 
 and watery worlds, it is supposed that the relative stations 
 and degrees of dignity of the smaller dragons are determined 
 by a series of competitive examinations similar to those de- 
 scribed in the fourth chapter. This, by the way, illustrates the 
 strong hold which the system of competitive examinations has 
 on the minds of the people. They hardly think any govern- 
 ment complete, or even possible, without it. The great exami- 
 nation of the dragons, which coincides in time with the corre- 
 sponding literary examination of the people, occurs once in 
 three years, and is held at the crystal palace of the Dragon 
 King, supposed to be situated in some remote region of the sea. 
 The competitors at this examination consists of fish, crabs, tur- 
 tles, lobsters, snakes, and all kinds of water-reptiles, which 
 have attained to the lower degrees of dragons by successful 
 examinations in the several localities with which they have 
 been connected. When the time arrives for this examination, 
 according to a general command of the Great Dragon, the 
 water in the small streams and canals is elevated, in order to 
 
 F 
 
122 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 facilitate the egress of the aspirants to dragonship to the sea. 
 An alleged fact that the water of streams and canals some- 
 times rises very perceptibly in seasons of drought, is often re- 
 ferred to as an evidence of the existence of this examination. 
 It is also believed that there is a certain animal, living in sub- 
 terranean caverns of the hills, which is assisted in its journey 
 to the sea by a spontaneous liood of water ]>assing from the 
 place of its concealment to the nearest stream, and often car- 
 rying away and destroying houses and crops i^its progress. 
 It is very common to hear of suA floods having occurred in 
 different places, and it would be almost useless to attempt to 
 convince any class of the people that they are not attributable 
 to this cause. This superstition is not local, but general ; and 
 it is sufficiently evident that it is not confined to the ignorant 
 and vulgar from the fact that proclamations are sometimes 
 issued by the officers in different places, calling upon the 
 people to hunt and destroy these animals in order to avoid the 
 injury to life and property which they occasion. 
 
 The competitors having reached the palace of the Dragon 
 King, the examinations consist in attempts to leap over a 
 high wall, or dragon-gate, as it is called. Success in this at- 
 tempt secures promotion to the higher degree of dragons, 
 while failures in scaling the wall generally result in concus- 
 sion against it and consequent death. Crabs, turtles, etc., not 
 being remarkable for their powers of leaping, are supposed to 
 secure the services of an active kind of fish, and to scale the 
 Avail by clinging to his tail. This superstition is made use 
 of, and not inaptly, to represent the manner in which many 
 scholars attain degrees by depending upon the assistance of 
 others. 
 
 The inferior dragons, like the Dragon King, are supposed 
 not to have material forms (except as they assume them). 
 They are believed to exist in great numbers in the deeper 
 places of rivers, ponds, and streams. Many such spots in dif- 
 ferent localities are specified as the dAvelling-places of drag- 
 ons. In times of drought the people resort to these places to 
 
WORSHIP OF THE DRAGON AND EARTH GOD. 123 
 
 pray for rain, and sometimes the civil officers go in person. 
 Any reptile which may be found on the borders of the drag- 
 on pool, whether it be a frog, or worm, or snake, is regarded 
 as the assumed body of the dragon, and is carried with great 
 pomp and reverence to the office of the civil magistrate, who 
 is required to worship it and pray for rain. In times of 
 drought, persons have been known to sacrifice their lives, by 
 drowning themselves in a dragon pool, in order by their 
 earnestness to compel the dragon to send rain, and with a 
 view to being deified on account of their merit. Temples are 
 erected for the worship of the dragon throughout the empire, 
 and, strange to say, he is in these temples represented in the 
 form of a man. 
 
 Another object of worship, -which is invested with great 
 importance in the eyes of the people, is that of the Tu-ti Poo- 
 sah, or “ Earth God.” To a passing traveller no object of 
 idolatrous worship would be more observable than the idols 
 of this class, as they are everywhere seen by the roadside. 
 They are lowest in dignity of the gods of China, and on that 
 account the worship of them is regarded as most important 
 and indispensable, for the same reason that a citizen has more 
 to do, practically, with the petty officers of his village than 
 with his sovereign. 
 
 The size of the images corresponds to the inferiority of the 
 god. The | ^re generally made of stone, and are found in un- 
 frequented as well as populous places. They arc seen in little 
 shrines a few feet high in the open country, or in resting- 
 houses or pavilions by the roadside. In the lists of the gods 
 they correspond to the country constables, who have the 
 charge of small neighborhoods. Not only different neighbor- 
 hoods but hills and bridges have their Tu-ti Poo-sah. Like 
 other gods, those of this class are also supposed to be good 
 men of former times, but they are so numerous and insignifi- 
 cant that they are not designated by particular names, but 
 only by the general name Tu-ti, coupled with the names of 
 the places over which they preside. 
 
124 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 But the insignificant image of the Tu-ti fails to satisfy the 
 people in paying their homage to the earth, and they also 
 worship the divinity of the earth without an image. Re- 
 specting this worship the Chinese have very confused and 
 conflicting views. They speak of this divinity as a divine 
 emanation from the earth, or an all-pervading, life-giving in- 
 fluence, connected with and everywhere existing in earthly 
 matter. They have the greatest dread of offending this deity, 
 and hardly dare to move a clod of earth for fear of incurring 
 his displeasure. Accordingly, when earth is to be removed 
 for any purpose, a ceremony is performed, called Kao tu, or 
 informing the earth. This ceremony consists in offering idol- 
 atrous worship, and sacrifices of food, in the usual manner, 
 with the design of acquainting the divinity with the intention 
 of the . offerer, and of securing his favor and assistance. 
 These ceremonies are always performed preparatory to laying 
 the foundation of a house or a wall, or constructing kitchen 
 ranges, tombs, etc. It is currently reported and believed that 
 if any of the works are undertaken by an individual neglect- 
 ing these ceremonies he will be punished by violent pains, if 
 not protracted disease or death. 
 
 It is useless to refer to other gods of less note, descriptions 
 of which might be added indefinitely. Many of the national 
 gods, or deified heroes of China, might properly be regarded 
 as belonging to Tauism, and many of the supe^ditious prac- 
 tices of the people, which will^e described in su sequent chap- 
 ters, seem to have been suggested by and naturally to belong 
 to this system. 
 
 Tauism, on account of its native origin, or more pretentious 
 character, or for both reasons combined, is preferred to Bud- 
 dhism by the Chinese rulers, and Tauist priests and Tauist 
 forms are constantly made use of in the State worship, which 
 will be described in the next chapter. 
 
 Idols in Tauist temples are generally of a smaller size than 
 those of Buddhism, and, unlike the latter, many of them are 
 found in a second or upper story. In the general appearance 
 
EMPLOYMENTS OF TAUI8T PRIESTS. 
 
 125 
 
 of Buddhist and Tauist idols there is nothing to distinguish 
 them ; and the temples belonging to these different systems 
 both externally and internally present very nearly the same 
 appearance. 
 
 The priests of Tauism are comparatively few. Their ranks . 
 are filled in the same way as those of the Buddhist priest- 
 hood, and their employments in the temples are very much 
 the same. They ha\e a dress which distinguishes them from 
 the common people as well as from Buddhist priests, and are 
 not absolutely required to live on a vegetable diet. They do 
 not shave the whole head like Buddhists, but the hair, which 
 is left to grow like that of the common people, is, instead of 
 being braided in a cue, tied in a knot on the top of the head. 
 
 While the object of the Buddhist devotee is to be absorbed 
 into the unconscious being of his favorite idol, that of the 
 Tauist is to become a Sien-jin, that is, one of the genii. It is 
 difficult to give a clear idea of the Chinese conception of Sien- 
 jin. They are beings who, by certain precautions, escape 
 death, and •with ethereal bodies, capable of assuming different 
 forms and shapes, enjoy an uninterrupted existence of dreamy 
 happiness, either separated from or mingling with the race of 
 mortals at pleasure. The principal and favorite places of their 
 abode are four sacred mountains, situated far in the unknown 
 ocean, and separated from the abodes of men by a sea filled 
 with a subtile fluid called J'oh-sliwuy — “weak water,” which 
 is not even capable of supporting a feather. 
 
 To the attainment of this state of blessedness three things 
 are requisite : the cultivation of the heart, a peculiar discipline 
 for the body, and the elixir of life, or a potion with an inher- 
 ent virtue to insure immortality. The cultivation of the heart 
 consists in leading a life of retirement, austerity, and medita- . 
 tion. The peculiar regimen to which the body is subjected is 
 designed to husband and retain the natural energies of the 
 physical system, and promote and increase its vitality. It con- 
 sists in the unmeaning acts of sitting cross-legged, swallowing 
 the saliva, rubbing the flesh (particularly the ears, the hands, 
 
126 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 and the crown of the head), rolling the eyes, and striking to- 
 gether the teeth. The work of preparing the elixir of life, which 
 is called Lien-tan, must he performed by each devotee for him- 
 self. Having collected the proper ingredients, they are put in a 
 large kettle and boiled over a fire, neither too hot nor too cold, 
 for a period of eighty-one days. It is said that if the devotee 
 lias been laborious and conscientious in his previous prepara- 
 tion of mind and body, the attempt will* prove successful; if 
 not, all his efforts will be unavailing. Few at the present day 
 have any idea of becoming Sien-jin, or regard the priesthood 
 in any other light than as a means of obtaining a livelihood. 
 
 The Shin Sien Tun g Kien, a “ Complete%Eirror of Gods and 
 Genii,” which is a work of four large volumes, gives an account 
 of the history and character of more than three hundred Sien- 
 jin, together with curious statements respecting the origin of 
 the world and mankind. 
 
 While the above mode of becoming Sien-jin is regarded as 
 the proper and authorized one, it is supposed that the same 
 end may be attained in a shorter and easier manner by the 
 use of magic, the invocation of evil spirits, and by obtaining 
 in different ways the principle of vitality from other human 
 bodies. This class of Sien-jin, though possessed of equal pow- 
 ers with others, are regarded as unauthorized intruders, doom- 
 ed to a violent and untimely end. 
 
 It is remarkable that many kinds of animals are supposed 
 to have the power of attaining to the same condition of spirits 
 or demons, and that in doing so there are also for them author- 
 ized and unauthorized methods. It is said that a fox, according 
 to the authorized mode, can attain to this state in one thousand 
 years. Animals are, however, supposed generally to use other 
 irregular means to expedite their progress. Cats are particu- 
 larly liable to the suspicion of wishing to better their condi- 
 tion in the scale of existence, and are said to accomplish this 
 end in two ways. The first and most effective is that of draw- 
 ing the vital principle from the bodies of men, which desire is 
 supposed to account for their fondness of proximity to the 
 
WORSHIP OF THE PEOPLE IX TAUIST TEMPLES. 127 
 
 human species ; another method is that of drawing a revivify- 
 ing principle from the rays of the moon when full-orbed. It 
 is said and believed that cats are often seen on moonlight 
 nights drinking in with open mouth the virtues of these rays, 
 and that they sometimes worship, after the manner of men, the 
 bright-faced luminary. It is generally believed that a host of 
 demons and evil spirits, which afflict and bring misery upon 
 men, have their origin in this manner, and that after avoiding 
 for a time the vengeance of the gods they are destined sooner 
 or later to be destroyed by lightning, as no less subtle agent can 
 affect them. . 
 
 The people are accustomed from infancy to hear stories of 
 ghosts and spirits and genii ; and the natural desire for the 
 marvellous, without the guidance and restraints of revelation, 
 grows by what it feeds upon, and prepares the mind for the 
 reception of monstrous absurdities, and for being swayed by 
 groundless fears. 
 
 Comparatively speaking, there is little to attract women to 
 Tauist temples as worshipers. There is, however, a system 
 of fast days which is the source of some small gain to the 
 priests. As it is regarded meritorious to fast, there are fast 
 days connected with the worship of several idols, and the ob- 
 servance of these days is supposed to secure the favor and pro- 
 tection of these different idols. Some women observe the fast 
 days of one idol, some of another, and some of several at the 
 same time, and when the prescribed days are completed they 
 resort to the temples to celebrate the event with thanksgiving, 
 and are expected to leave more or less money with the priests. 
 It is common, when an individual is sick, for different mem- 
 bers of his family to assume vows to perform each one a differ- 
 ent fast for his benefit. Children also, as a mark of filial piety 
 sometimes undertake fasts for the benefit of their parents. O. i 
 the birthdays of different gods the temples are also visited l>\ 
 considerable numbers of women. The money derived from this 
 ordinary worship, from occasional services at funerals, etc., and 
 from the proceeds of the lands connected with different estab- 
 
12 « 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 laments, serves to keep the buildings in repair, and supports 
 the few priests connected with them. 
 
 The following are prominent among the religious practices 
 or ceremonies of Tauism : 
 
 Fall hih — “ Sending a Dispatch,” is performed in cases 
 of sickness. A statement of the idolatrous worship which 
 has been performed is written on a piece of paper, together 
 with a petition to some deity for assistance. This paper is 
 burned by the officiating priest, who professes to determine 
 by observing the process of burning whether the god returns 
 a favorable or unfavorable answer. 
 
 Shang-tien-piau — “ Sending a Message to Heaven,” also 
 consists in burning a paper on which the message is written. 
 The performer of the ceremony, in this case, feigns sleep 
 when the paper is being burned, and it is believed that his 
 soul leaves the body, conveys the message to heaven, and 
 brings back an answer in return. 
 
 Another ceremony, called Hwa-fu — “Writing a Charm,” 
 consists in writing a few unintelligible characters, or delinea- 
 ting a rude representation of a god on a small piece of paper, 
 which is regarded as representing or securing the presence of 
 some divinity. Such pieces of paper are sometimes hung over 
 the bed of a sick person as a spell. 
 
 A few of the more expert of the Tauist priests are sup- 
 posed to be possessed of a knowledge of enchantments and 
 incantations, which they generally profess to have derived 
 from some of the Sien-jin, or genii. By the repeating of these 
 incantations, they are believed to have the power of inflicting 
 evil upon men, and calling spirits to their aid, and subjecting 
 them to their commands. A book of six volumes, called 
 T Van fah kwei tsung, a “ Collection of a Thousand Magic 
 Arts,” contains a description in detail of different kinds of 
 magic, sorcery, and juggling. 
 
 There is connected with Tauism a class of books which 
 are designed to promote the cultivation of virtue, and are 
 gratuitously distributed by those who wish to acquire merit 
 
BOOKS CONNECTED WITH TAUISM. 
 
 129 
 
 by so doing. One of tlieswis the Yuh lih chcm chioen, which 
 gives the different punishments of hell consequent on the com- 
 mission of different crimes, with a view to deter men from 
 the commission of these crimes. 
 
 The Kung Jcioo Jceh, or “ Graduated Scale of Merit,” gives 
 the comparative amount of merit or demerit belonging to dif- 
 ferent actions. Other works of the same character, and moral 
 tracts on the cultivation of different virtues, are frequently 
 circulated by the rich, but it is done rather from the desire 
 to secure merit and the praise of men than the hope of really 
 benefiting others. 
 
 As compared with Buddhism, the number of Tauist tem- 
 ples, and the number of worshipers in them, and the amount 
 of money expended in this worship, are insignificant. The 
 reason why Tauist temples are comparatively so few, and so 
 much neglected, is because this religion does not treat of sin, 
 and escape from its consequences, and has for its object a 
 prolongation of this life rather than preparation for the life to 
 come. 
 
 F 2 
 
130 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 NATIONAL RELIGIOUS RITES AND BELIEFS. 
 
 These Rites originated in various Periods, and from various Sources. — They 
 are regarded as possessed of a superior and orthodox Character. — Ances- 
 tral Worship. — Worship of the Kitchen God. — State Worship, or that 
 performed by Officers in the Capital and in the Provinces. — Worship of 
 Confucius and of the God of War, and the God of Literature. — Sacri- 
 fices to neglected Ghosts. — Welcoming of the Spring. — Worship of Dei- 
 fied Heroes. 
 
 I propose in this chapter to speak of various religious be- 
 liefs and forms of idolatrous worship which have originated 
 at different times and from different sources, and have re- 
 ceived a more or less formal recognition and sanction, not only 
 from the people generally, but from the government. Some 
 of these forms of worship present the idolatrous side of Con- 
 fucianism, in distinction from the preceptive or moral features 
 of it which were given in the third chapter. Other idolatrous 
 rites seemgto have resulted from the teachings of Buddhism 
 and Tauism. The whole constitutes the natural outgrowth 
 of the Chinese mind, under the various influences to which it 
 has been subjected, and presents to their view a kind of su- 
 perior, refined, authorized, and orthodox system of worship. 
 
 First and foremost among the national idolatrous rites of 
 China stands Ancestral Worship, which properly belongs to 
 Confucianism, having been practiced long before the time 
 of Confucius, and sanctioned by his teachings and example. 
 It is one of the oldest forms of idolatry now known in China ; 
 it has the strongest hold on the minds of the people, and is 
 one of the principal obstacles in the way of the introduction 
 of Christianity. Its observances are regarded as a necessary 
 part of the duties belonging to filial piety, and they are en- 
 
THE WORSHIP OF ANCESTORS. 
 
 131 
 
 gaged in with great preciseness and ostentation. Besides 
 the motives arising from a grateful recollection of past fa- 
 vors, children are 
 prompted to en- 
 gage in acts of 
 religious homage 
 to their parents 
 by the hope of be- 
 ing protected by 
 them, and the fear 
 of incurring their 
 displeasure. 
 
 The visible ob- 
 jects of worship 
 are ancestral tab- 
 lets and painted 
 portraits of the 
 deceased. The 
 tablets or paint- 
 ings of both par- 
 ’ents are invaria- 
 bly worshiped to- 
 gether if both are 
 dead. The ances- 
 tral tablets arc 
 made of wood, 
 and are about a 
 foot high. The 
 characters writ- 
 ten upon them re- 
 cord the name and 
 title of the de- 
 ceased, with the 
 precise hour of 
 their birth and 
 
 ANCESTRAL TABLET KEPEEBENTJNG ONE PERSON, dCUth, lUKl tllC 
 
132 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 names of their sons. It is supposed that a man has three 
 spirits, one of which, after death, resides in this tablet, and 
 another in the tomb, while the third goes to Hades, and in 
 process of time reappears in a new state of existence. 
 
 The paintings or effigies, which are also objects of worship, 
 are taken after death. Though they may to some degree re- 
 semble the individual whom they represent, they are very un- 
 like the portrait of a living person. They have also their 
 peculiar name, which serves still further to mark the distinc- 
 tion between them and portraits of the living. These effigies 
 are generally brought out and worshiped only at the begin- 
 ning of the new year, on the birthdays of the deceased, and 
 when they are honored with theatrical exhibitions. 
 
 The worship of ancestors differs very little in its character 
 from that of idols, and consists in prostrations, offerings of 
 cooked food, and the burning of incense, candles, and paper- 
 money, and sometimes theatrical plays. It is performed at 
 the dwelling-house, the family temple, or the tomb. 
 
 Family temples are large and costly edifices, resembling, in 
 their external appearance, temples for the worship of idols. 
 Like them, the high wall on the outside encloses a large open 
 court, in one end of which is a stage for theatricals. In the 
 building on the side of the court opposite the stage you see, 
 instead of the idols found in temples dedicated to them, a 
 large collection of ancestral tablets deposited on shelves, 
 about four or five inches wide, extending all the way across 
 the temple, and rising one above another from the front like 
 the seats of a gallery. These tablets sometimes date back a 
 thousand years, and are very numerous. In connection with 
 ancestral temples are often found genealogical tables, but 
 many temples with small incomes are unable to procure them, 
 on account of the trouble and expense which they necessitate. 
 
 These temples ai'e constructed by the wealthy in honor of 
 their immediate ancestors, and at first contain only the tablets 
 of a few generations. As the family increases from age to 
 age, though it may contain many poor members, it generally 
 
ANCESTRAL TEMPLES. 
 
 133 
 
 includes enough wealth to keep the temple in repair and pro- 
 vide for its expenses. It is very common for persons of prop- 
 erty at their death to leave a piece of ground for the use of 
 the family temple, the yearly proceeds of which are added to 
 a common fund for repairs and providing sacrifices and the- 
 atricals. 
 
 The tablets of deceased females are seldom found in the 
 temples, though they sometimes occupy separate side apart- 
 ments. The tablets of unmarried males are nQt generally ad- 
 mitted. In cases of the death of unmarried young men of 
 particular promise and prominence, the following expedient 
 is adopted to rescue their names from oblivion. An arrange- 
 ment is made wjth another family which has lost a member 
 of about the same age of the opposite sex, by which ceremo- 
 nies representing the betrothal and marriage of the deceased 
 parties are performed. After this, a child of some other 
 member of the family may be reckoned to them, as a son, and 
 so the line of the deceased be transmitted, and his tablet, 
 with those of his reputed wife and descendants, placed in the 
 family temple. Abandoned characters are also denied the 
 privilege of participating"^ the ceremonies of the family tem- 
 ple while living, or having their tablets deposited in it when 
 dead. Such persons are said to be “ expelled from the family.” 
 
 Ancestral temples are perhaps more numerous than any 
 others in China. Almost every small village contains at least 
 one, most of these villages being composed principally of in- 
 habitants of the same name or family. 
 
 The ancestral temple is the most sacred spot on earth to a 
 Chinaman. Here repose the spirits of his ancestors ; this is 
 the place for family meetings on sacrificial days ; here he ex- 
 pects that his spirit will find its last resting-place, and share 
 in the homage and offerings of future generations. These 
 facts relating to ancestral worship explain the anxiety of the 
 Chinese who visit our Western coast to have their bodies car- 
 ried back to their homes in case of death. They wish their 
 dust to mingle with that of their ancestors, and their spirit^ 
 
131 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 to bo restored to their ancestral temples, else they would be 
 unhoused, unfed, uncared for ; wandering, starving, homeless 
 ghosts in a foreign land — a condition than which nothing im- 
 aginable is more to be dreaded. 
 
 As regards the sacrifices in ancestral temples, we some- 
 times say to the people offering them, “ Nothing is eaten ; 
 when you take it away to eat it yourselves, it remains the 
 same in substance, weight, and taste. “ True,” they are apt to 
 reply, “ spirits. do not partake of material food; they appro- 
 priate the spiritual or impalpable essence or exhalations, and 
 when they have satisfied themselves, we make use of what re- 
 mains.” Others, more intelligent and thoughtful, reply, “We 
 know that nothing is eaten; but we can pot rest satisfied 
 without giving some outward expression of our grateful feel- 
 ings ; we wish to indicate how fondly we cherish the memo- 
 ry of our ancestors, how happy we should be to have them 
 sit down with us at our board, and to have the privilege of 
 ministering to their wants.” 
 
 The worship of the Kitchen God oc- 
 cupies also an important place in the 
 national religious rites. This form of 
 idolatry is about as ancient as the one 
 just described, and as universal, being 
 practiced in every family. The Kitchen 
 God has no temple, and no image. It 
 is worshiped under the representation 
 of a paper engraving, generally about 
 a foot square, which is pasted on the 
 kitchen range. This may be regarded 
 as the household divinity of China. It 
 is supposed that it takes cognizance of 
 every thing which transpires in the fami- 
 ly, and makes a report at the close of the year, in the presence 
 of the chief of the gods, Yuh-hwang-ta-ti. The night when 
 he is supposed to take his departure is regarded as a very im- 
 portant occasion. All the members of the family are present, 
 
 GOD OF TIIE KITCHEN. 
 
WORSHIP OF THE KITCHEN GOD. 
 
 135 
 
 and a feast is given for and in honor of the god, intended to 
 propitiate him, and induce him to make as favorable a report 
 at head-quarters as possible. At the close of the feast the 
 paper god is removed from the kitchen range and burned ; 
 and thus in imagination is transported on the wings of flame 
 to the spirit land, and the kitchen is for a few days without 
 a god. On the first day of the new year a new paper is pro- 
 cured, and the Kitchen God is invoked to resume his place in 
 the family. There can be little doubt that the belief of the 
 constant presence of this god has the tendency to restrain 
 from evil, and to bring the words and actions of the fam- 
 ily into closer accord with what they deem to be right and' 
 proper. 
 
 The State Worship forms a prominent part of the national 
 religious observances of the Chinese. By the term State wor- 
 ship as here used is meant, not forms of worship recommend- 
 ed by the State to the people, but those practiced exclusively 
 by the rulers, in which the people have no part. It consists in 
 the use of idolatrous rites and ceremonies, made binding by the 
 Constitution of the empire on all its officers, including the 
 Emperor and the imperial clan in the capital. These services 
 being involuntary and constrained, are, of all the varieties of 
 Chinese worship, the most formal and heartless. They are 
 Chiefly a perpetuation of ancient usages, and are conducted and 
 regulated, for the most part, by rules prescribed in the ancient 
 classics, particularly the Book of Rites. 
 
 In the capital, the Emperor and members of the imperial 
 clan, and high officers of state connected with the Board of 
 Rites, worship and sacrifice to objects which are divided into 
 three classes or grades. First and highest are* “ heaven, earth, 
 spirits of deceased monai-chs of the present dynasty, and gods 
 of the land and grain, and the special patrons of the dynasty. 
 Under the second grade are eight objects, viz : the sun, the 
 moon, the manes of the emperors and kings of former dynas- 
 
 * Williams’s “ Middle Kingdom.’’ 
 
136 
 
 CHINA AND TIIE CHINESE. 
 
 ties, Confucius, the ancient patrons of agriculture and silk 
 weaving, the gods of heaven and of earth, and of the passing 
 year.” The inferior objects are “the ancient patrons of the 
 healing art, and the innumerable spirits of deceased philan- 
 thropists, eminent statesmen, martyrs to virtue, etc., clouds, 
 rain, wind, and thunder, the five celebrated mountains, four 
 seas and four rivers, famous hills, and great water-courses, btc.” 
 The worship of these objects is performed in different temples, 
 and with different ceremonies, which it is impossible to de- 
 scribe in detail. 
 
 Of the rites belonging to the State worship performed by 
 officers in the provinces, among the most prominent are those 
 connected with the temples called Cheng-hwang-miao . An 
 edifice of this kind may be found in each city in the empire. 
 Literally translated, these characters represent the “ Temple 
 of the "Wall and Moat.” These buildings contain the tutelar 
 divinities of each city, whose offices and duties are supposed 
 to correspond to those of the actual living officers. These two 
 classes of rulers, spiritual and corporeal, are thus associated to- 
 gether, and administer the affairs of the city conjointly. This 
 superstition is in accordance with a general notion very prev- 
 alent in China, that an exact correspondence exists between 
 the visible and invisible worlds. 
 
 These Gheng-livmng-miao are among the largest and finest 
 specimens of Chinese architecture, and in the eyes of the peo- 
 ple form one of the chief attractions of every city. They are 
 regarded much in the same light as the Yia muns, or residen- 
 ces of the city officers. Accordingly, in addition to the Cheng- 
 hwang, or ruler of the city, the temple is filled with images 
 of inferior officers and servants. In the back part are private 
 apartments, containing images of the Cheng-hwang's wives, 
 and a room completely furnished with a bed (which is made 
 every day) and clothes-racks, clothes-presses, etc. Shoes and 
 different articles of wearing apparel are frequently presented 
 to the Cheng-hwang and his wives, whose clothes are contin- 
 ually changed with the changing seasons. On the first and 
 
STATE WORSHIP. 
 
 137 
 
 fifteenth of each month, the officers visit this temple early 
 in the morning, with a large retinue and great parade, to pay 
 their respects, the ceremony consisting in making prostrations 
 and burning incense. In times of exigency and doubt the offi- 
 cers also apply to the Cheng-hwang for assistance, as both the 
 visible and invisible rulers are regarded as j ointly responsible 
 for the prosperity of the city and the execution of the laws. 
 In times of drought or sickness the officers repair to the Cheng- 
 liwang to pray him to intercede with Yuh-hwang Shang- 
 ti, who is chief of all the gods, in their behalf. When difficul- 
 ties arise among the people, or it is impossible to bring offend- 
 ers to j ustice, the same expedient is sometimes resorted to. 
 
 As the business of the Cheng-hwang is supposed to call 
 him occasionally away from the temple, a smaller image is 
 made about the size of a man, which is borne through the 
 streets as officers are, while the larger one always remains in 
 its place in the temple. 
 
 It being customary in China for officers to be continually 
 removed from one place to another by the will of the Emper- 
 or, so it is supposed that the divinities of each city are contin- 
 ually changing. Accordingly, the gods of this temple do not, 
 like others, have permanent names. The same images answer 
 from year to year, but the individual spirits are supposed to 
 change. It is believed that a man in the province of Kiang- 
 si, called Chang-tien-sz, who has an office which is transmit- 
 ted in his family from one generation to another, is possessed 
 of means of communicatirfg with spirits, and he is continual- 
 ly consulted with reference to what individual of the past is 
 exercising jurisdiction over particular cities. 
 
 But the people are also interested in the Cheng-hicang-miao, 
 and it may be well to mention in this connection some of the 
 ceremonies which they perform in it, though they are not a 
 part of the State worship, being entirely voluntary. They 
 look up to the idols which it contains as their protectors, and 
 often appeal to them Avhen they are wronged by their fellow- 
 citizens, or fail to obtain justice from their rulers. The names 
 
138 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 of ten large idols found in the temple of a Fa city will indi- 
 cate their characters and the use which is made of them. 
 The first is Ilici-ti-sz , who is supposed to take charge of the 
 garments with which the dead are buried. After the death 
 of an individual an accurate list is made of his clothes, which 
 list is supposed, by being burned, to be transmitted to this 
 god, whose business it is to see that the possessor is not rob- 
 bed of them on his way to Ilades. After this idol are seen 
 in regular order Fuh-luh-sz, who presides over happiness and 
 wages ; Ghau-tsu-sz , who presides over cursing and railing, 
 keeping an accurate account of all sins of this kind which are 
 committed ; Li-yih-sz, who presides over boundaries ; Sang- 
 chan-sz, who presides over child-birth ; Tscti-sang-sz, who pre- 
 sides over the slaying of animals ; Kiai-ngeli-sz , who presides 
 over persons in distress; W an-yih-sz, who presides over the 
 pestilence ; Suh-pu-sz, the quick avenger, and Yiu-sJiau-sz, who 
 adds length of days. 
 
 The Suh-pu-sz, or quick avenger, is worshiped more than 
 all the other gods together. 
 
 Many are the wonderful tales which are told in proof of his 
 vigilance and power. He is applied to for revenge by those 
 who have been falsely accused ; those who have had property 
 stolen ; those who, though in the right, have been overcome 
 in lawsuits by persons possessed of wealth and influence ; 
 those who have difficulties in settling accounts, and by others 
 under similar circumstances. His assistance is generally 
 sought in the following manner : »The suppliant goes to the 
 temple in company with a priest, or master of ceremonies, 
 who writes a fa, or charm, and nails it with a chicken’s head 
 before the god. This is done with the design of arousing 
 him, and bringing the importance of the case distinctly before 
 him. A paper is also burned, stating the character of the of- 
 fense; and when this ceremony is performed the matter is 
 left in the hands of the god. 
 
 Persons bitterly enraged against each other sometimes 
 meet before this god to ask him to be the arbiter of their dif- 
 
WORSHIP OF CONFUCIl'S. 
 
 139 
 
 faculties, and go away from his presence satisfied that the 
 matter will be properly disposed of, and that the offending 
 party will sooner or later meet with condign punishment. 
 Some present their grievances before the god in a clandestine 
 manner for fear of irritating the opposite party by a knowl- 
 edge of the course that they are pursuing ; some are fright- 
 ened into the performance of duty by the threat of having their 
 case brought before Suli-pu-sz. It is commonly reported that 
 guilty persons who have been accused before this god are oft- 
 en seized with extreme mental and bodily anguish, and die 
 uttering incoherent expressions respecting their crimes, and 
 the punishment, they are suffering for them from the hands 
 of this avenger. 
 
 Each city in China contains 
 honor of Confucius, in which 
 officers are required to present 
 worship and offerings on the 
 occasions of the vernal and au- 
 tumnal equinoxes. These tem- 
 ples, which are generally large 
 and costly, contain no images, 
 as the Chinese have too much 
 respect for Confucius to wor- 
 ship him through an image. 
 
 This would be degrading him 
 to the level of ordinary gods. 
 
 He is represented in the most 
 prominent place in the build- 
 ing by a tablet, upon which is 
 inscribed, in large gold char- 
 acters, “ The Great and Holy 
 Sage.” Tablets representing 
 his principal disciples, to the number of several hundreds, oc- 
 cupy subordinate places. The services in this temple are per- 
 formed by the officers and their attendants at the fifth watch, 
 which is before day-break. Whole oxen, hogs, and sheep are 
 
 also a temple erected to the 
 
 TRADITIONAL LIKENESS OF CONFUCIUS. 
 
140 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 included among the offerings. The plates and dishes, as well 
 as the instruments of music which are used, are of an antique 
 style, and every thing connected with the worship is calcu- 
 lated to designate it as peculiarly important and sacred. 
 
 The officers are also retired 
 to worship regularly in the tem- 
 ples of the God of War and the 
 God of Literature, one of each of 
 which may be found in every Chi- 
 nese city. These gods, as well as the 
 gods of the Cheng-hwang-miao , 
 and other popular divinities, are 
 all deified men of previous gener- 
 ations. The object of the govern- 
 ment in prescribing worship in 
 these temples seems to be, not so 
 much to propitiate these deities 
 as to secure the efficiency and 
 loyalty of the worshipers, by 
 keeping continually before thefn 
 the most noted of the great and 
 good of the past as examples, and 
 perhaps holding out to them the hope of being hereafter gods 
 themselves, as their reward. 
 
 An idolatrous ceremony is also required of the officers, for 
 the benefit of neglected ghosts, which will be best understood 
 by reference to its origin. The first Emperor of the Ming 
 dynasty was in his childhood a lierds-boy. He lost his parents 
 when very young, and had no knowledge of the place of their 
 interment. When he reached the throne, being unable to sac- 
 rifice at the graves of his ancestors, he commanded his officers 
 throughout the empire to sacrifice three times a year to the 
 shades of those whose graves are neglected. This ceremony 
 is still observed, and is called Sliih-hu — “ Pitying the Unfortu- 
 nate.” On the appointed days the officers, together with the 
 Cheng-hwang, are borne in sedans outside the city wall, 
 

 
 
 t 
 
 - 
 
 
 
 
PART OF A PROCESSION IN HONOR OF SPRING, IN* WIIIC11 A NOOK BUFFALO IS CARRIED TIIROVGII THE STREETS. 
 
HERO WORSHIP. 
 
 143 
 
 where the prescribed offerings are made, and ceremonies per- 
 formed. 
 
 Another ceremony, called Ying-chun — “ The Welcoming of 
 Spring,” is observed every year on the first day of spring. The 
 officers go ont through the east gate of the city, and find clay 
 images of a ploughman and his ox, which have been previous- 
 ly made for the occasion. After witnessing a theatrical play 
 in the temple of the God of Agriculture, which is designed to 
 exhort the people to be industrious in agricultural pursuits, 
 the two clay images are brought back into the city, when 
 idolatrous worship is paid to them. On the following day 
 they are broken in pieces in the hall devoted to the god of 
 the passing year, which is found in Tauist temples. The frag- 
 ments of these images are highly prized, and eagerly sought 
 by the people, who carry them to their homes as a pledge of 
 good luck for the season. The design of this ceremony seems 
 to be to inculcate veneration for the ox and respect for hus- 
 bandry. 
 
 Homage paid to Deified Heroes may properly be regarded 
 as belonging to the national idolatry of China, as all these 
 deities are prominent men in Chinese history, and have been 
 deified by the express authority of the Emperor. The most 
 of these gods are of comparatively recent origin. The births 
 of but few date back farther than the Sung dynasty, which as- 
 sumed the government of the empire a.d. 976. The title 
 or office of a god is derived from the reigning sovereign. The 
 conferring of these titles sometimes originates in the wish of 
 the Emperor to hold up as an example one who has distin- 
 guished himself by his loyalty or efficiency in the civil or mili- 
 tary service, and sometimes in the gratitude of the people, 
 who introduce to the Emperor those who have won their hearts 
 by favors, and purchase for them divine titles. When a com- 
 munity can not afford sufficient money to secure the public ap- 
 pointment and recognition of their favorite idol, they some- 
 times erect their temple and enshrine their god without this 
 recognition. The different offices or degrees of divine honor 
 
144 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 conferred by the Emperor are no less than seven, exclusive 
 of official titles of the living, which are sometimes retained 
 after death as divine titles by those who are deified. The two 
 lowest titles have now fallen into disuse, as it would be con- 
 sidered disrespectful to place a god at the foot of the list. 
 Sometimes persons are deified by the Emperor while still liv- 
 ing. The honors of the dead are also often increased, on ac- 
 count of some imagined interference or protection, and they 
 are advanced to a higher gj-ade in the scale of deified digni- 
 taries. The most of those deified by the Emperor of his own 
 accord are persons who have lost their lives in his service, and 
 are thus held up as examples for imitation. It is a striking 
 fact that, of all the gods, only the deities of the highest class 
 attain to the title of ti, which belongs to the Emperor, who 
 seems to regard it as an act of condescension to share this 
 title with them, and adds to his own title the character hwang, 
 meaning greatest. 
 
 Books which give the names and histories of the gods 
 only present the most prominent of them, while by far the 
 greater portion is not noticed. In the Shin Sien Tung Kien, 
 or “ Complete Mirror of Gods and Genii,” compiled about two 
 hundred years ago, an account of Jesus our Saviour, as a 
 god of the West, is given, in connection with the histories of 
 many of the gods of the Chinese Empire. It presents a suc- 
 cinct and truthful narrative of his birth, life, sufferings, and 
 death, followed by statements respecting the deification and 
 worship of the Virgin Mary ; thus giving clear evidence of 
 its Roman Catholic origin. Our indignation at seeing the 
 name of our Saviour in such a connection is only abated by the 
 consideration that it was done in ignorance; indeed, most 
 Chinese would consider it a singular privilege and honor that 
 a foreign name should be thus associated. 
 
 Of the gods which are known and worshiped throughout 
 the whole empire there are comparatively very few. The high- 
 est rank and honors are awarded to Confucius. He was for- 
 merly enrolled among the deities of the empire with the title 
 
POPULAR GODS OF CHINA. 
 
 145 
 
 hwang, or king ; but an Emperor of the Ming dynasty, think- 
 ing it an indignity that Confucius should only rank as equal 
 in divine honors to other gods and to himself, determined 
 that none of the ordinary titles should be applied to him, but 
 that the whole nation should express their special veneration 
 and indebtedness to him by calling him Ta Clung Clie Shing 
 Sien S — “ The Great, Perfect, Most Holy Teacher.” 
 
 Yuh Ihoang Ta Ti, chief of all the gods, has temples 
 erected to him exclusively, and his image occupies a promi- 
 nent place in the Tauist temples. The people seldom pay 
 homage to him, however, and when they do, it is rather in 
 the form of adoration than petition, as he is regarded as too 
 far removed in dignity from mortals to take any immediate 
 cognizance of individual wants. 
 
 The God of W ar is everywhere worshiped, and has temples 
 erected to him throughout the empire. During the present 
 civil war in China the Emperor has heaped new honors upon 
 him, professedly, on account of alleged deliverances, but no 
 doubt principally to inspire confidence in the fortunes of his 
 dynasty. 
 
 The God of Wealth, though inferior to many of the other 
 gods in rank, is no doubt the one most regarded. He has 
 not only large temples erected solely in honor of him, but 
 every shop contains a small image of him in a little shrine, 
 before which incense is continually burned. Other gods of 
 general notoriety might be mentioned, but the above may be 
 considered as the most noted, and most extensively worship- 
 ed. The histories of the gods great and small which are 
 made up of frivolous and often incredible statements, would 
 fill volumes. A condensed account of one of these histories 
 may be of interest, as a specimen of the whole. 
 
 The popular story respecting Tsai-shin JPu-sah — “ The God 
 of Wealth,” is as follows: He was originally a tax-gatherer, 
 and once called upon a family who professed their inability 
 to pay their tax, and determined to stay with them till he ob- 
 tained it. Before retiring to rest, he was surprised to hear 
 
 G 
 
146 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 under his window the following address of an old hen to her 
 young brood : “ My master has a guest in his house, and has 
 determined to kill me to-morrow to furnish his table. What 
 will become of you, my dear little nestlings, weak in body, and 
 inexperienced in the ways of the world? I must certainly 
 give you my parting advice, as you Avill soon be left without 
 any one to watch over you. Above, you must be careful that 
 the hawk does not pounce upon you ; below, that men do not 
 tread upon you. You must not eat too much — you thus will 
 avoid disease ; born in the same nest, you must not quarrel.” 
 
 The tax-gatherer, struck with this address, discoursed to 
 himself upon it thus : “ If a short-lived and insignificant fowl 
 exhibits so much understanding, and makes such plans for the 
 future, what is the dignity of man, and how should he pro- 
 vide for his future wants ?” Influenced by such thoughts, he 
 determined immediately to renounce the world, and set out at 
 once to find a place of retirement, in order to lead the life of 
 a recluse and cultivate virtue. With this resolution he pro- 
 ceeded on his way, and was met by a tiger, but so far from 
 being terrified, he rushed forward, laid his hand upon his 
 mane, leaped upon his back, and rode him away to his retreat. 
 After attaining to the perfection of virtue he became a god. 
 Such is the common popular tradition respecting the god 
 most worshiped in China. 
 
 The less noted gods, which have only a local fame, are al- 
 most innumerable. They are officers who, by their impartial 
 administration of j ustice and by acts of benevolence, have en- 
 deared themselves to the hearts of the people, or private citi- 
 zens who are revered on account of their virtues. Some are 
 known in but one place, and worshiped in but one temple ; 
 others ai’e known and worshiped in several temples in the 
 same vicinity. Some, though their fame may be confined 
 to one place, receive there honors hardly second to those 
 of any other god. Every section and country has its local 
 god and local temple, with which the people of each place are 
 identified, and in which they feel a peculiar interest. These 
 
TEMPLES USED FOR PUBLIC GATHERINGS. 147 
 
 temples furnish places for the inhabitants of each neighbor- 
 hood to meet for deliberation and consultation on topics of 
 general interest. 
 
 In cities men of each class or occupation have their own 
 peculiar deities, to which, in addition to the gods which they 
 worship in common with the people generally, they pay espe- 
 cial homage. Scholars worship the God of Letters ; business 
 men the God of Wealth ; dealers in medicine the god who dis- 
 covered medicines ; carpenters the god who invented the 
 measuring rule ; sailors the goddess of the seas, lakes, and 
 rivers over which they pass, and so on indefinitely. The 
 temples of the patrons of different arts and employments are 
 also used as resorts for general consultation by the craftsmen 
 to. whom they severally belong. 
 
 Sometimes the people, impatient to show their gratitude to 
 their benefactors, erect temples to them while living. Two 
 large buildings of this class in Ningpo were erected to officers 
 who succeeded in draining unhealthy parts of the city. 
 
148 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 MUTUAL RELATIONS AND INFLUENCES OF THE RELIGIOUS 
 SYSTEMS OF CHINA. 
 
 Partial and imperfect Character of the Knowledge derived from Natural Re- 
 ligion. — Moral more clearly apprehended than Religious or Spiritual 
 Truth. — Buddhism andTauism attempt to supply the Defects of Confu- 
 cianism. — Special Characteristics and Relations of these Systems. — Re- 
 ligious Views of the People vague and chaotic. — The three Systems gen- 
 erally regarded as Supplementary to each other. — A proximate Estimate 
 of the Number of Idol Temples in China. — Description of different kinds 
 of Sacrifices and Offerings. — The Doctrines andPractices of Idolatry per- 
 versions of great Truths. — Answer to the question, “Have the Chinese 
 any Idea of one Supreme Deity ?”■ — General Character of Chinese Idola- 
 try as compared with that of other Countries. — Evidences of Discontent 
 with Idolatry. — Encouraging Facts, and the Duty of the Church. 
 
 The history of religious opinions in China illustrates at once 
 the glory and the shame of our fallen nature. We see evi- 
 denced in the very earliest period of Chinese history a desire 
 to search out the principles of absolute and eternal truth, and 
 an ability to a certain extent to do so. The main doctrines of 
 the Confucian ethics are identical with those which have orig- 
 inated in other countries, and which we find in the Christian 
 revelation. These doctrines are recognized and received by 
 the people as necessary and self-evident truths of supreme au- 
 thority. They are the revelation of God’s will, and of his char- 
 acter in our common nature. 
 
 For some reason, however, the sphere of truth illuminated 
 by the light of nature is partial and incomplete. Only the 
 duties of man to man, in the relations of the present life, are 
 clearly brought to view. The character of God, our relations 
 to him, the nature of the soul, and our future destiny are sub- 
 

 MUTUAL RELATIONS OF CHINESE RELIGIONS. 149 
 
 jects which the Chinese seem to have very imperfectly appre- • 
 hended, or been entirely ignorant of. 
 
 This may have been because these subjects are more mys- 
 terious in their very nature ; or because man, from his aversion 
 to God, shuts his eyes to the truth, and will not see when he 
 might ; or because of judicial blindness, inflicted on account of 
 disobedience and idolatry. It may be that the moral wreck of 
 the fall would have been greater had not God in mercy, by a 
 special intervention, abated the natural results of it so far as 
 to leave enough of truth and enough of moral principle and 
 impulses to form the basis of society and government, render- 
 ing man’s condition in the world comparatively tolerable and 
 happy. 
 
 However this may be, the fact is that more than 3000 years 
 • ago the Chinese Avere possessed of a great deal of moral truth, 
 
 and a very little religious ; and that from that time to this 
 they have made no advance, but have rather been going back- 
 Avard. 
 
 But though Confucianism gives to the Chinese no religion, 
 and discourages inquiries with reference to gods and things 
 mysterious, as unnecessary and useless, still the religious in- 
 stinct is so strong, and the desire to have objects of religious 
 worship so imperative, that the people Avould have some relig- 
 ion, true or false. Buddhism came in to satisfy the religious 
 Avant which Confucianism left unsupplied. 
 
 But Buddhism, Avhile it treats largely of a future world and 
 preparation for it, is very meagre in its teachings Avith ref- 
 • erence to the present. The gods of Buddhism inhabited an 
 id§al world or presided over the regions of Hades, and its vota- 
 ries Avere directed to seek seclusion from the Avorld and society. 
 Tauism has held its influence over the people, because it ap- 
 peals to instincts and Avants which Buddhism has neglected or 
 ignored. It has filled the earth and sea and skies with deities ; 
 endeavored to unravel the mysteries of nature ; and furnished 
 gods Avho cared for the Avants of man’s present state. 
 
 These tAVO systems have their elements of attraction and 
 
150 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 repulsion. While they recommended themselves to the Chinese 
 on account of their supplying some religious wants, they were 
 repugnant and unsatisfactory on account of their extravagant 
 pretensions and want of evidence, and because they were an- 
 tagonistic to the spirit and teachings of Confucianism. They 
 were alternately persecuted and fostered, proscribed and pat- 
 ronized by different Chinese emperors. By degrees they im- 
 pressed themselves upon the Chinese mind, and their ideas be- 
 came incorporated with the language, literature, and social cus- 
 toms of the country. They are now neither persecuted nor 
 fostered, but tolerated, as an integral and necessary part of 
 the institutions of the country. 
 
 In the mean time, not only the people but the government 
 of China was gradually influenced by these systems, and sanc- 
 tioned many of their ideas and ceremonies, and adopted them 
 in its State ritual. Those forms of religious worship growing 
 out of Buddhism and Tauism, and either directly or by impli- 
 cation sanctioned by the government, I have associated with 
 the ancient forms of worship practiced before the time of 
 Confucius, under the general term National Worship, which 
 embraces a variety of religious observances, originating in dif- 
 ferent periods, and of entirely different characters. As re- 
 gards origin, they are not more national than Tauism, and, as 
 regards general prevalence, hardly more so than either Bud- 
 dhism or Tauism. I have called them national, because they 
 are regarded by intelligent natives as more in harmony with 
 the genius of the Chinese government, and receive an open 
 and decided sanction and acknowledgment from the govern- 
 ment which Buddhism and Tauism do not. 
 
 In their original and fundamental characteristics, Confu- 
 cianism is moral, Buddhism metaphysical, and Tauism ma- 
 terialistic.* While the first of these systems has retained its 
 original character the other two have been popularized, re- 
 taining, however, the original idea in a modified form. They 
 
 * See Edkins’s “Religious Condition of the Chinese.” 
 
RELIGIOUS VIEWS OF THE PEOPLE. 
 
 151 
 
 have conformed to the tastes and requirements of the people, 
 or, rather, been modified by priests, so as better to please the 
 people and attract them to the temples. At present, Con- 
 fucianism may still be designated as a system of morality, the 
 National Worship as formalism, Buddhism as religious fa- 
 naticism, and Tauism as superstition. The National Worship 
 is nearly allied to Tauism, as both relate principally to this 
 life rather than the life to come. 
 
 While these different religions or forms of worship are 
 adapted to different classes, and to the tastes and religious pro- 
 clivities of different individuals, they have not divided the 
 Chinese into sects, and few of the people adopt any system 
 exclusively. The religious notions of the masses are vague 
 and chaotic. By a strange perversity of intellect, they have a 
 kind of belief in all these systems, though diverse and incon- 
 sistent, while they can hardly be said to believe truly in any 
 of them. Most of their worship is a matter of custom, rather 
 than of serious conviction. They feel that they must worship 
 something, and, to satisfy their consciences and avoid being 
 singular, they pay their homage to the only objects of relig- 
 ious worship with which they are acquainted. Confused with 
 the multiplicity of gods, some try to worship them all, for 
 fear that the true one, or rather the most important one, may 
 be neglected. 
 
 A few of the priests and a few among the people are sin- 
 cere and earnest in their devotions at idol shrines, and seem 
 to make religion the great end and aim of their lives. While 
 the general government formally and ostensibly denounces the 
 . popular idolatry, as it is the stereotyped custom to do, the 
 Emperor and officials of every rank contribute immense sums 
 of money to build, repair, or beautify the temples. Officers, 
 after attending to the formal and heartless rites of the State 
 religion, worship with the common people in Buddhist or 
 Tauist temples, or both. 
 
 Literary men are generally atheists or pantheists. Still they 
 will say that it is very desirable for the common peojfie, and 
 
152 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 women whose moral perceptions are obtuse, and who can not 
 think, to have idols set before them to awe and restrain them ; 
 and out of regard to the general custom, or from force of 
 habit, they will perhaps worship with them. 
 
 A few literary men, however, are earnest and outspoken in 
 their opposition to idolatry in every form. I saw a masterly 
 tract written by a man of this class, denouncing idolatry as 
 essentially corrupt and debasing, inconsistent with reason and 
 with the teachings of Confucius, and the fruitful source of 
 moral, social, and political evil in every age. We can not 
 help sympathizing with such reformers, but alas, they can 
 only hand over their readers to the morality of Confucianism, 
 which they represent as all-sufficient; it is all they have to 
 offer. These representations and appeals, however forcible, 
 have but little effect. 
 
 It is very common to represent these three systems as sup- 
 plementary to each other, forming together one complete re- 
 ligion. There is now perfect toleration of them all on the 
 part of Government. 
 
 The only forms of worship which are universally adopted 
 are Ancestral Worshij}, the worship of the Kitchen God, and 
 the worship of Heaven and Earth at the beginning of the year. 
 
 With respect to the full extent of idolatry, and the number 
 of temples in the empire, there are no data for forming an ac- 
 curate estimate. Though the numbers of the different kinds 
 of temples are 'given in the several histories of the provinces, 
 departments, and districts respectively, these estimates fall far 
 short of the real number of temples which are known to exist, 
 as these histories present only the more noted ones, and many 
 have been built since they were compiled. An approximation 
 to the real number may be made by taking the temples of any 
 one place as a standard of comparison. With the help of an 
 intelligent native, I endeavored to make such an approxima- 
 tion when in Ningpo. The temples within the walls of that 
 city erected for the worship of deified heroes alone number 
 more than eighty. Those of the same kind in the eastern part 
 
PROXIMATE NUMBER OF TEMPLES. 
 
 158 
 
 of the district are known to exceed one hundred. Reckoning 
 the northern, southern, and western temples at only one hun- 
 dred more, we have about three hundred temples of this one 
 kind for the whole district, which is regarded by those famil- 
 iar with it as a low estimate. If we assign the same number 
 to each of the six districts of this department, we have for the 
 whole eighteen hundred. By the same ratio of computation, 
 the eleven departments of this province would contain nineteen 
 thousand eight hundred, and the empire, reckoning only fifteen 
 out of the eighteen provinces, would contain, in round num- 
 bers, three hundred thousand. The whole number of idols in 
 these temples for hero worship, reckoning ten to each, would 
 be three millions. The number of different and distinct idols, 
 reckoning one to ten temples, would be about thirty thousand. 
 
 This estimate only includes the Mi au, or temples discon- 
 nected from Buddhism and Tauism, devoted to the partic- 
 ular kind of worship which I have specified. The Sz-yun 
 and Tao Jacan, temples of Buddhism and Tauism, respective- 
 ly, together, are about as numerous as the Miau. The Ts-tang, 
 or ancestral temples, are much more numerous than the Miau. 
 Accordingly, three times the number of the Miau will prob- 
 ably not be far from giving the whole number of different 
 temples in China, which may be regarded, in round numbers, 
 one million. These temples cost from five hundred to one 
 hundred thousand dollars each. Regarding the average as 
 only one thousand, we have 1,000,000,000 of dollars as the ap- 
 proximate value of idol temples in China, which is, I think, al- 
 together too low an estimate. To give an idea of the entire 
 expense of idolatry, we must add to the money spent in the 
 erection of these buildings that required for repairs, and the 
 still greater amount consumed by the idolatrous ceremonies 
 performed in the temples and at the private dwellings of the 
 people. 
 
 The want and misery which are the natural result of such 
 an enormous waste of treasure may be regarded as part of the 
 punishment of idolatry. But we know that God punishes this 
 
 G 2 
 
154 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 sin, so prominently portrayed and denounced in the fore-front 
 of the Decalogue, with spiritual and eternal, as well as tem- 
 poral judgments ; and fearful indeed will be the doom of this 
 nation if God should visit it according to the number of its 
 idols. 
 
 At the risk of being tedious, it may be well to give here a 
 general account o^the sacrifices and offerings connected with 
 different kinds of worship. At present none of these sacri- 
 fices are expiatory; they are regarded as food for gods and 
 spirits, and are presented with the view of securing the kind 
 offices of good divinities, and buying exemption from the in- 
 flictions of evil ones. They are not burned, but offered as 
 food. Offerings in Buddhist temples consist of cooked vege- 
 tables, as it is contrary to the tenets of Buddhism to take ani- 
 mal life. Offerings to other gods are of meat almost exclu- 
 sively, of which there are generally three or five different kinds. 
 This meat is presented on large plates, containing whole fowls 
 or fish, or large pieces of pork. It is generally cooked, but 
 on some occasions most of it is presented raw, with a few 
 cooked dishes, this kind of sacrifice being regarded as of a 
 higher and more reverential kind. Salt and wine are added 
 in separate cups. 
 
 The occasions on which offerings are made are such as be- 
 trothal and wedding days, the birth of a child, or the birthday 
 of a parent. Sometimes they are made in consequence of 
 former vows in times of distress, and sometimes with a view 
 to securing the reformation of a dissipated son or relative. 
 
 In every instance, a paper engraving of the principal god 
 to be worshiped is bought at a shop where such articles are 
 kept, and placed above the table of offerings. The spirit is 
 supposed to be present in this paper. On some occasions, and 
 particularly during the ceremonies of the New Year, sacrifices 
 are made before a paper representing all the gods. Candles 
 and incense-sticks are kept constantly burning on the table of 
 offerings, and in closing the ceremony the paper representing 
 the god or gods worshiped is burned, together with paper- 
 
SACRIFICES AND OFFERINGS. 
 
 155 
 
 money. An explosion of fire-crackers is generally tlie signal 
 for the spirits to disperse after the repast is over ; a few 
 crumbs of meat and vegetables are also thrown upon the roof 
 of the house, though no one knows why, except that it is the 
 invariable custom. Some surmise that it is for a certain god 
 who has no temple to dwell in, and spends much of his time 
 on housetops ; some that it is for the attendants of the spirits 
 which have been worshiped ; and some that it is simply an 
 offering for the birds. 
 
 The sacrifices which occur most frequently are those which 
 are offered to the shades of ancestors and evil spirits. They 
 are called kung-fan, “hash and rice,” to distinguish them from 
 offerings made to gods, which are called fuh-li — “happi- 
 ness offerings.” They consist not of large pieces of meat, but 
 of dishes of chopped meat and vegetables, together with bowls 
 of rice, the whole being prepared and presented in the same 
 manner as a feast for man. The fuh-li offered to gods is 
 often cut up and cooked over for such feasts; but the in- 
 verted order of presenting before the gods what has once 
 been offered to spirits is never practiced. 
 
 Among the most common, and perhaps the most earnest 
 of all sacrifices, are those which are made to evil spirits in 
 consequence of the sickness of a relative. The diviner informs 
 the afflicted family what particular spirit has been offended, 
 and gives a minute list of the offerings required. These offer- 
 ings are presented in the night, on the ground, outside the 
 door of the dwelling. They consist not only of food of a 
 greater or less amount, together with candles and incense and 
 paper-money, but a paper sedan or a paper boat is burned 
 with the money, in order to provide a polite mode of convey- 
 ance for the spirit on taking his leave. 
 
 The paper-money is made of paper covered on one side by 
 what very much resembles tin-foil. It is manufactured in 
 large quantities for idolatrous purposes, and is used through- 
 out the empire. A superior kind of it is made up in hollow 
 squares two or three inches long, which are united by a string, 
 
156 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 and hung up everywhere in shops for sale. This kind of 
 paper is called yuen-pao, that which is of first or greatest 
 value. It represents large ingots of silver, and is used prin- 
 cipally in sacrificing to the gods. An inferior kind of this 
 paper and foil is bought in sheets about eight inches square, 
 and made up in a rough form by women, whose lips continu- 
 ally chant the words O mi tafuh, while their fingers are busjf 
 with The paper. This is called sih-poh, silver-sheet, and repre- 
 sents small pieces of silver. It is used in offerings to ances- 
 tors and spirits during the seventh and eighth months. When 
 offerings are made to hungry ghosts, an immense pile of this 
 paper-money may sometimes be seen burned at one temple. 
 Since the introduction of silver dollars from the West, repre- 
 sentations of dollars in paper have been used in the same man- 
 ner. Pieces of wheat stalks, after chants have been repeated 
 over them, are also presented and burned in some places, to 
 represent bars of gold. It is believed that the gods or spirits, 
 for whose benefit these articles are burned, receive for them 
 real gold and silver in the spirit world. 
 
 On funeral occasions, in addition to the money for the use 
 of the departed spirit, representations in paper of male and 
 female attendants are burned, and also paper sedans, horses, 
 wagons, etc. In case of the death of opium-smokers, a paper 
 opium pipe and lamp, etc., are burned, for fear of adding to 
 the torments, or increasing the displeasure of the deceased, by 
 neglecting to make these provisions. 
 
 The expense of these idolatrous sacrifices would be almost 
 intolerable, were it not that the food offered supplies also the 
 necessary wants of the family. Indeed, about as much is offer- 
 ed to the gods on any occasion as will suffice for feasting the 
 guests during the festivities of that occasion. Another cause 
 w'hich helps to uphold this system of superstition is the Bud- 
 dhistic notion respecting the sin of taking animal life, which 
 is excused by the ostensible object of offering the animals 
 slain to the gods. 
 
 It is evident that the people have a secret persuasion of the 
 
PERVERTED TRUTHS SEEN ift IDOLATROUS ERRORS. 157 
 
 emptiness of these practices, while they at the same time so 
 tenaciously adhere to them. In Ningpo they sometimes ridi- 
 cule themselves for performing these ceremonies by repeating 
 the couplet, Pa pa lang zi hao gang — “ Spread it out till it is 
 cold, and then stuff yourselves with it.” Notwithstanding the 
 evident absurdity of these debasing practices, all classes and 
 conditions of men engage alike in them, and determining the 
 matter of duty with reference to eating meats offered to idols 
 is often a serious difficulty with the native converts. 
 
 The different forms of idolatrous worship described in the 
 preceding chapters have been received and trusted in, because 
 the ideas or doctrines which underlie them are perversions of 
 great truths. W e have in the multiplication of deities of dif- 
 ferent kinds, and presiding over different places, especially in 
 the Tu-ti Poo-sah, a corruption of the great doctrine of the 
 omnipresence and universal providence of God. The worship 
 of the household deity, generally called God of the Kitchen, 
 is an outward expression of the universal conviction of the 
 omniscience of God. Different gods are clothed with differ- 
 ent attributes, as love, mercy, justice, and vengeance, and per- 
 form different offices, such as protecting, instructing, and 
 saving from temporal and future evils. The doctrines of sin, 
 desert of punishment, a continued state of existence, rewards 
 and punishments after death, and the necessity of repentance, 
 reform, and propitiation, are most prominent. The worship 
 of ancestors is a perversion o? one of the highest duties and 
 noblest instincts of our nature. These forms of idolatry, 
 while they evidence God’s revelation of himself in the human 
 soul, are, with the most consummate art, so devised as to lead 
 the soul farther and farther from God, and to turn the truth 
 of God into a lie. 
 
 The long history of the Chinese race forms the most strik- 
 ing illustration of the statement that “the world by wisdom 
 knew not God,” and that the tendency of human nature is in- 
 evitably and universally toward idolatry. This tendency is 
 strikingly described in the words of inspiration — “ Because 
 
158 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE, 
 
 that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, 
 neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, 
 and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves 
 to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the 
 incorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, 
 and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. 
 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and 
 served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for- 
 mer. Amen.” 
 
 Strange as it seems to have before us in this nineteenth 
 century a whole nation of idolaters, it is really almost a great- 
 er wonder that we are not idolaters ourselves, and we may 
 thank God who has made us to differ. 
 
 It is an interesting inquiry whether any trace is left in 
 China of the knowledge or idea of one supreme overruling 
 deity. If we examine the language and literature of this peo- 
 ple, and interrogate native scholars and dictionaries, we will 
 not find a word in the language which, according to present 
 usage, conveys that idea ; and it is almost impossible to find 
 it at all Well defined in the minds of any of the people. Still 
 this conception, covered up and almost hidden by the superin- 
 cumbent mass of idolatry and superstition, may be detected 
 more or less clearly, particularly in the minds of the common 
 people. It is generally associated with the term heaven. 
 This word in the Chinese classics evidently has a meaning 
 nearly akin to that of God, as in the saying of Confucius, 
 “ Life and death are determined ; riches and poverty are from 
 heaven.” Scholars in their wisdom have given these and simi- 
 lar passages a pantheistic sense, explaining heaven to mean an 
 all-pervading principle. I am satisfied, however, that the true 
 idea is still retained, though it is difficult to find a clear ex- 
 pression of it. The following phrases are often used : “ Tien 
 yin kin — “ The eye of Heaven is near also Teo shang san 
 tseh yiu shen — “ Just over our heads are deities,” or “ is God,” 
 the word “ shen ” being either singular or plural. 
 
 Notwithstanding the worship of heaven is reserved for the 
 
HAVE THEY ANY TRUE IDEA OF GOD? 159 
 
 Chinese Emperor, who, as the “ Son of Heaven,” is regarded 
 as the only person of sufficient dignity to perform this service, 
 the adoration of heaven by the people is by no means uncom- 
 mon. Persons in the habit of practicing it sometimes have a 
 little incense-vase fastened to the outside of their doors. In 
 this they place a lighted incense-stick, and then, with uplifted 
 eyes and hands, they stand and worship.- This seems to be 
 regarded as a higher and more spiritual homage than that 
 which is offered to idols in temples, and is practiced some- 
 times ostentatiously, reminding one of the praying of the 
 Pharisees in the corners of the streets. If you ask the wor- 
 shiper what he is doing, he will say “ I am worshiping heav- 
 en.” If interrogated more particularly as to the real object 
 of worship, he will probably repeat, in nearly the same lan- 
 guage, “ Oh, it is the great heaven above me.” If pushed 
 still further, and asked whether he means the vast expanse 
 above, or the clouds, or the heavenly bodies, he will answer 
 “ No;” and, forced to give some explanation, he will probably 
 fall into the misguiding formulas which the wisdom of the 
 world has provided for him, and say, “ Heaven is our father 
 and earth is our mother ; and heaven and earth produce all 
 ^things; and so I worship heaven and earth.” Beyond this 
 the deluded votaries of idolatry are unable to go. If we 
 speak to them of the God of heaven, his attributes and his 
 works, and our relations to him, they are deeply impressed, 
 but the glory of the uncreated God seems too bright and daz- 
 zling for eyes long accustomed to the darkness of heathenism, 
 and they close them again, and relapse to the wonted current 
 of their idolatrous thoughts. 
 
 Another evidence that the people have some faint glimmer- 
 ings of the idea of the true God in connection with the wor- 
 ship which has been described is found in the fact that, after 
 listening to and gaining a little knowledge of the Gospel as 
 preached by missionaries, they are very apt to express their 
 assent and approbation, declaring that it is identical with the 
 worship of heaven and earth. 
 
160 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 This half-smothered and dormant instinct is stimulated to 
 greater activity, and finds a clearer expression in times of spe- 
 cial emergency and trial. The insufficiency of idolatry is 
 never so keenly felt as when the soul is overwhelmed with af' 
 diction. It is not uncommon for individuals who have lost 
 their property, or who are afflicted with disobedient and vi- 
 cious children, or who, in cases of oppression, have failed to 
 obtain justice and redress from their officers and the worship 
 of different gods, in the bitterness of their spirits to turn from 
 the worship of idols, perhaps even curse their gods, and cry 
 earnestly to heaven for help. Hence the common adage 
 Kill tseh ku tien — “In your extremity you cry to heaven.” 
 It is as strange as it is sad, that these innate promptings and 
 testimonies for God have been so repressed and chained 
 down by prevailing errors, that they have never found a clear 
 expression, or been construed into a consistent religious sys- 
 tem. 
 
 Dark as the picture which has been given of Chinese idol- 
 atry is, it is not without gleams of light and hope. The very 
 character of the idolatry itself contrasts favorably with that 
 of almost any other nation of history. There is in China no 
 deification of vice as in the systems of idolatry of Greece and 
 Rome ; no lascivious rites such as are practiced at present in 
 India ; and there are very few of those hideous and rejmlsive 
 images which are met with in most heathen nations. It is a 
 fact well worthy of notice also that the temples of China con- 
 tain no nude images or figures except that of the infant held 
 in the arms of the Goddess of Mercy. 
 
 Evidences have not been wanting in every age of the histo- 
 ry of China that the people have not been satisfied with idol 
 worship. New sects have sprung up in different parts of the 
 empire, some of them formally renouncing idolatry. They 
 have been, however, like the blind leading the blind. Unable 
 to devise any thing better than Buddhism and Tauism, they 
 have acknowledged the power and influence of these systems 
 by recurring to their old ideas, and adopting them in grosser 
 
THE PEOPLE NOT SATISFIED WITH IDOL ATE Y. 161 
 
 forms. These sects have died out, or been absorbed by the 
 prevailing religions, or been proscribed and exterminated by 
 imperial authority as corrupt and demoralizing, and dangerous 
 to the State. So powerless is poor human nature to extricate 
 itself from the ruin into which it has voluntarily plunged. 
 Nothing can accomplish this work but the Gospel of Christ. 
 
162 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 SUPERSTITIOUS NOTIONS RESPECTING SPIRITS, AND THE SCI- 
 ENCE OF FUNG-SHWUY, OR GEOMANCY. 
 
 Sources of Superstitions relating to Spirits. — Character and Operations of 
 Spirits called Yau-lcwei. — Notions Respecting the Disembodied Spirits 
 of Men. — Familiar Spirits, and Communications with the Spirit World 
 through a Medium. — Written Communications from Spirits, Spirit-rap- 
 pings, etc. — Character, Importance, and Uses of the mysterious Science 
 called Fung-shwuy. — It has its own Literature, and its Doctors, or Ex- 
 pounders. — General Prevalence and Influence of this Superstition. — 
 Difficulties and Family Quarrels growing out of it. — An Incident illus- 
 trating the Existence and Importance of Fung-shwuy. — Fung-shwuy, as 
 applied to House-building. — Rearrangement of Houses sometimes 
 made necessary. — Complaints against Foreigners for disregarding Fung- 
 shwuy, and a Case in Illustration. — Means of attracting Good Luck. — 
 Means of warding off Evil Influences. — Fung-shwuy as connected with 
 the Construction of Canals and Bridges. 
 
 Ideas respecting spirits occupy a prominent place among 
 Chinese superstitions, and have an important practical bearing 
 upon domestic and social life. The unsuspecting credulity 
 with which the great variety of diverse and conflicting views 
 on this subj ect are received, and the tenacity with which they 
 are held, are only to be accounted for by the agency of Satan, 
 the fears of a guilty and unenlightened conscience, and the 
 acts of designing men, who encourage these superstitions for 
 the sake of accomplishing private ends. Some of them may 
 be traced to Buddhism, some to Tauism, and some have origi- 
 nated in works which were at first understood as principally 
 or entirely fictitious, but afterward came to be regarded as 
 authentic treatises. 
 
 Among the most prominent of the orders of spirits are the 
 Yau-lcwei, or genii, mentioned in a former chapter on Tauism. 
 
BELIEFS RESPECTING SPIRITS. 
 
 163 
 
 They are supposed to be beings who, by different means, have 
 escaped death, and exchanged corporeal for ethereal natures. 
 They exist in various degrees of development or grades of at- 
 tainment, and it is their continual aim and effort to rise higher 
 in the scale and acquire greater power. They are supposed 
 to be able to assume different forms, animate and inanimate, 
 or to carry out their purposes as invisible spirits to suit cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 That class of Yau-Jcwei which afflict men acquire their 
 power, not by the authorized method of subjecting the body 
 and mind to certain disciplinary rules, but by clandestinely 
 stealing the vital principle from man. Nightmare and start- 
 ing in sleep are attributed to attempts of this kind. Dreams 
 incident to some states of bodily ailment tind weakness are 
 also attributed to these spirits. Pei'sons thus affected en- 
 deavor to rid themselves of their nocturnal visitors in differ- 
 ent ways. The first expedient resorted to is that of the in- 
 dividual rousing himself from sleep to utter curses and im- 
 precations on the offending spirit. If this means fails, one or 
 more persons in robust health are called to occupy the same 
 room with the invalid, as it is supposed that an influence em- 
 anates from the bodies of strong and robust persons which 
 spirits can not withstand, and that they principally attack 
 those who are weak and delicate. Should the spirit refuse to 
 yield to such means, a sword which has been wet with human 
 blood is brandished over the bed of the sufferer, or the servi- 
 ces of a person who professes to shoot spirits is obtained. 
 Mirrors are suspended in different parts of the room, in order 
 to frighten the spirit, and to detect his presence and position 
 by reflection, though he should endeavor to avoid a direct 
 view. The last resort when all other means have failed is 
 that of making a formal complaint at the office of Chang- 
 tien-sz, a man who resides in Kiang-si, and is supposed to 
 possess authority over spirits throughout the empire, and to 
 have not only them, but gods at his beck and call. This 
 power he exercises by means of charms and enchantments, 
 
164 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 and a seal of acknowledged authority among spirits which 
 has been transmitted to him from his ancestors. 
 
 A paper stamped with this seal, and containing a statement 
 of the name, place, and circumstances of the afflicted person, is, 
 by being burned, supposed to be transmitted to some god, 
 who is instructed to see that the offending spirit is caught, 
 punished, and restrained from committing further offenses. 
 It is stated that these steps will not only certainly prove suc- 
 cessful, but that before the messenger arrives with his com- 
 plaint, his approach, with all the circumstances of his mission, 
 are minutely placarded on a bulletin outside of the palace gate 
 of the spirit king. It is also said that many spirits of this 
 class are held in durance by this personage in sealed bottles, 
 and that their qudhilous twitterings are often heard by visit- 
 ors. 
 
 A singular fact may be noticed in this connection, that a 
 missionary lady in Ningpo accustomed to the use of smelling- 
 salts fell under the suspicion of using the bottle to confine 
 spirits over which she had gained a controlling power. As 
 she was seen frequently to have recourse to the smelling-bot- 
 tle in certain neighborhoods, different diseases and maladies 
 in those localities were directly traced to her agency. 
 
 The largest class of spirits is supposed to be that of the 
 spirits of the dead, called Kwei. As it is generally believed 
 that the soul is after death required to atone for its sins by 
 confinement in blades until it is permitted to reappear in an- 
 other state, the Chinese find some difficulty in accounting for 
 so many Kwei upon earth. The most consistent theory is 
 that which supposes that they are spirits whose crimes are 
 not sufficient to keep them in hell, and whose time for reap- 
 pearing has not yet arrived. To the agency of these spirits 
 almost every variety of disease is attributed. Their object in 
 these inflictions is to obtain food, or rather the scent or ex- 
 halations from food. Accordingly, w T hen a person is sick, a 
 diviner is called to determine whether the sickness is due to 
 the agency of spirits or not, and if it is, to tell what kind of 
 
FEEDING HUNGRY GHOSTS, 
 
 165 
 
 Kwei it is, and what its demands of food are. At funerals a 
 feast is generally prepared for the spirits which are supposed 
 to be the associates of the deceased, in order to secure a good 
 understanding between him and his new acquaintances. 
 
 During the months of August and September, when dis- 
 eases are unusually prevalent, the people suppose that the 
 gates of hell are opened, and the spirits are turned out for a 
 kind of holiday. At this time they are honored with cere- 
 monies performed throughout the country, called Fang-yin- 
 Icau, or Shi-shih. The object of these ceremonies is to se- 
 cure health and peace to the family or neighborhood which 
 provides them, by satisfying and propitiating the spirits. 
 Quantities of viands are prepared, which are set on tables in 
 an open place or court ; representations in paper of clothes of 
 different sizes, styles, and colors are suspended near the table ; 
 and a company of priests and singers is employed to add vari- 
 ety and noise to the entertainment. After dark, lanterns are 
 suspended from high poles to call the spirits from the dis- 
 tance, and indicate to them where food may be found. This 
 food is of a very inferior quality, and is often given to beg- 
 gars after the ceremony is over.; but it is supposed that the 
 incantations of the priests have the power to convert both the 
 food and the paper into just what is required to satisfy the 
 wants of those for whom they are intended. The amount of 
 money spent in these childish ceremonies is immense. 
 
 In the province of Che-kiang it is generally believed that 
 there is a place called Sang-chau, where a great part of the 
 inhabitants are Jewel, who come out in the afternoon and min- 
 gle with the people. It is said that they may be distinguish- 
 ed by their using paper instead of copper money, and by their 
 not casting a shadow in the moonlight. It is also believed 
 that in the hien city Fung-tu, in the province of Sz-chwen, 
 there is a street called Tin-yiang-Jciai — “ Street of the Dead 
 and Living,” one side of which is inhabited by men, and the 
 other by spirits. Volumes might be filled with current tales 
 respecting ghosts and spirits and genii, which the narrow 
 
166 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 limits of a chapter do not admit of introducing. The Chinese 
 have a large number of books on this subject, among the most 
 noted of which is the Liau-chai-che-i , a large work of sixteen 
 volumes. 
 
 It is believed that there is another class of ghosts, called 
 Kiang-shi, which differ from those above mentioned in the 
 fact that their bodies do not decompose at death, and the 
 united soul and body are permitted during the night to range 
 about at pleasure. Some bodies change their form so as to 
 resemble beasts of prey, but some retain their original form 
 and appearance. It is believed that the latter class, if they eat 
 any material food, are immediately transformed into living 
 men, only differing from other mortals in their being unable 
 to behold the light of day. It is said that, if they allow the 
 sun to shine upon them they die instantly. 
 
 Of all the superstitions relating to spirits, those respecting 
 a class of them called Tu-sien have perhaps the greatest influ- 
 ence upon the minds of the people. Tu-sien , signifying a 
 spirit in the body, designates a familiar spirit, by the assist- 
 ance of which it is believed that persons are able to tell for- 
 tunes and converse with the dead. They are supposed to be 
 the spirits of those who are not permitted to reassume a body 
 on account of obligations incurred in a former state, from 
 which they have not yet been absolved. They repay their 
 debts of money or gratitude by serving their benefactors, who 
 have preceded them in coming again into the world, in en- 
 abling them to acquire wealth by fortune-telling. They do 
 this by dwelling in their bodies as familiar spirits, and being 
 their medium of communication with the unseen world. Per- 
 sons supposed to be possessed of these spirits are visited by 
 multitudes, particularly those who have recently lost relatives 
 by death, and wish to converse with them through a “ medi- 
 um.” The fortune-teller, after a conversation with the appli- 
 cant, invokes the aid of his or her spirit (many of these for- 
 tune-tellers are women), whose attention and active co-opera- 
 tion are signalized by sundry contortions of the body and a 
 
COMMUNICATIONS THROUGH A MEDIUM. 
 
 167 
 
 spasmodic jerk of the neck. The spirit is then directed either 
 to gain the desired information respecting the future, or to 
 find and bring reports from some deceased friend whose name, 
 age, place of burial, etc., are given. As is the case in other 
 lands, the spirit deigns or refuses a response according to cir- 
 cumstances. 
 
 Some of these fortune-tellers who have no indebted spirit 
 to offer his services are obliged to devise means to secure the 
 assistance of one. With this end in view, they first procure a 
 little image made of the wood of the willow, for which they 
 obtain a spirit in one of the following ways : Some go to a 
 grave-yard, and after feasting the ghosts of the dead, make 
 an arrangement with one to reside in the image. The image 
 is then worshiped for several weeks continuously, and left out 
 of doors during the night, to be wet with the dews of heaven, 
 and drink in virtue from moonbeams ; after which it is re- 
 garded as an oracle, from which the spirit speaks infallibly. 
 
 Another method of obtaining a spirit consists in writing 
 on the little image the characters representing the horoscope 
 of some clever living person whose spirit is desired, and then 
 worshiping the image, and leaving it out-doors until this per- 
 son dies, and his spirit enters the image, which it is said will 
 surely take place in a very short time. In consequence of this 
 superstition, those who are found possessed of these images 
 sometimes fall under the suspicion of having produced the 
 death and obtained the spirit of some lately deceased person 
 of the neighborhood, and may be accused, tried, and condemn- 
 ed to death, being regarded as guilty of murder. 
 
 Written communications from spirits are not unfrequently 
 sought for in the following manner : After the presence and 
 desired offices of some spirit are invoked, two or more persons 
 support with their hands some object to which a pencil is at- 
 tached in a vertical position, and extending to a table below, 
 covered with sand. It is said that the movements of the pen- 
 cil, involuntary as far as the persons holding it are concerned, 
 but governed by the influences of spirits, describe certain 
 
168 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 W BITING W1TII A FOBBED PEN AN OEACLE ON SAND. 
 
 characters which are easily deciphered, and which often bring 
 to light remarkable disclosures and revelations. Many who 
 regard themselves persons of superior intelligence are firm 
 believers in this mode of consulting spirits. 
 
 There is still another spirit, called the Wu-tung, principally 
 noted for its propensity to steal and to frighten people. It 
 is said to have its favorites among dwellers in the flesh, and 
 also its objects of dislike ; and that it secretly transfers mon- 
 ey and articles of value from, the latter to the former. It is 
 also supposed to produce spirit-rappings in and about houses, 
 and to cause burning flames to be seen ; thus frightening the 
 unoffending inhabitants, so that they not unfrequently fly from 
 their houses to find safety and quiet elsewhere. As in the 
 case of the common Kwei these enemies can be bought off by 
 an idolatrous feast. It is probable that this superstition takes 
 its rise from appearances of the “ ignis fatuus ,” and the ap- 
 parent ground on which it rests accounts for the strong hold 
 it has on the minds of the people. 
 
 It is difficult to conceive of the fear, anxiety, and dread 
 which these various superstitions occasion. They should lead 
 us better to appreciate that gospel which delivers us from 
 
FIRST PRINCIPLES OF FUNG-SHWUY. 
 
 169 
 
 bondage to fear, by teaching us to recognize in every event 
 and circumstance the hand of an unseen and Almighty Father, 
 who controls all beings and events, and makes all things work 
 together for good to them that fear him. 
 
 For want of a better term, the word luck is used to repre- 
 sent a something which is as important* in the estimation of 
 the Chinese as it is difficult of explanation. The term used by 
 natives is fung-shwuy, composed of the two characters which 
 mean wind and water. These however give but little assistance 
 in determining the meaning of the compound word. This term 
 designates an ethereal principle or influence which is supposed 
 to pervade the earth and air, and to exist to a greater or less 
 extent in different localities. Those which are supposed to 
 have an unusual measure of it are valued above all price, 
 and the most noted spots in the empire are those which have 
 the best f ung-shwuy. According to a general theory of cor- 
 respondences of very wide application, the earth is supposed 
 to bear a resemblance, in its organization, to living beings, 
 having its veins and arteries, and a principle of life and vital- 
 ity pervading the whole, which principle is fung-shwuy. As 
 some parts of the body are more vital than others, so it is be- 
 lieved that fung-shwuy exists in some places in a greatly con- 
 centrated and intensified state. 
 
 The advantages expected from the vitalizing influences of 
 such places are vigor of body, family prosperity, and success 
 in business, to be enjoyed by those living in close proximity 
 to them ; but the blessings which are most prized and 
 sought for are those which result to children in consequence 
 of the bodies of parents being buried in these auspicious 
 spots. 
 
 Securing a lucky place for the tomb of a parent is regarded 
 as the great event of first importance in determining the for- 
 tunes of his family. The influence of the fung-shwuy , is sup- 
 posed to be communicated to the body of the deceased, and 
 through it to his descendants, wherever they may be scat- 
 tered. 
 
 H 
 
170 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 The reasons given by natives to show that their ideas on 
 this subject are more than imaginary, are such as the follow- 
 ing : It is sahi that tombs selected and prepared previous to 
 the death of future occupants, present when opened very dif- 
 ferent appearances, indicating the nature of the ground, and 
 the degree of the vitalizing principle which it contains. Some 
 emit a vapor or gas, the presence of which is regarded as a 
 very auspicious circumstance. In some are found fresh leaves 
 of trees and flowers, and in some living creatures, such as 
 snakes and reptiles, which are supposed to be the spontaneous 
 production of the life-giving earth. It is said that the supe- 
 rior character of some tomb's is proved by the fact, that lamps 
 have been lighted in them when they were made, and found 
 burning years afterward. The evidence for these reputed 
 facts is generally nothing more than that “the people say 
 so.” The fact that bodies have been found in some places un- 
 changed by decomposition, gives a show of reason to this 
 universal superstition. 
 
 This imaginary science is of almost universal belief, and, 
 with a few exceptions, has, if possible, a stronger hold on the 
 minds of the educated classes than the common people. It 
 has an extensive literature, embracing different systems and 
 theories, and a class of men, called fung-shwuy sin-sang, or 
 “ luck-doctors,” whose special business it is to investigate and 
 apply its principles. These may or may not belong to the 
 Buddhist or Tauist priesthood. They are generally men of 
 great pretensions as to science and erudition, use in their con- 
 versation many technical terms which other people are not 
 expected to understand, and are looked up to with great re- 
 spect and deference. Some of them acquire such a reputation, 
 that they are sent for from great distances, and receive high 
 fees to secure their services. They are shown the general 
 locality within which a grave is desired, and urged to exhaust 
 all the knowledge of their art in finding the lucky spot. They 
 write down the date of birth and death of the deceased, and 
 other members of the family, spend a day or two, perhaps, in 
 
THE UNIVERSALITY OF THIS SUPERSTITION. 171 
 
 examining minutely the contour of the country, the hills, canals, 
 and water-courses, and dragon veins and pagodas, their rel- 
 ative distances and directions, and then go home to consult 
 their books and diagrams and work out the grand result. 
 The spot selected may be in a neighbor’s field, but It is bought, 
 if possible, at almost any price. After burial, if a son of the 
 deceased is successful in business or in the literary examina- 
 tions, or a son and heir is born into the family, these evi- 
 dences of good fortune are sure to be attributed to the fact 
 that the right luck-doctor was employed, and the right spot 
 secured. 
 
 The doctrine of the change of luck from one place to an- 
 other is necessary to the fung-shiouy theory, in order to ac- 
 count for'failures in the predictions of luck-doctors, and for 
 the varied fortunes of the same family in different generations. 
 If one individual of the family meets with exceptional bad 
 fortune, it is easily accounted for by the simple explanation 
 that, while the spot is a good one, he must have been guilty 
 of sins unatoned for in a previous state. 
 
 That these superstitions pervade every rank of society 
 from the highest to the lowest, may be seen in the fact that, 
 in times of war and struggles between contending dynasties, 
 it is the object of each party to destroy the ancestral tomb of 
 its antagonist; regarding this as the most effectual way to 
 check him in his road to fortune. In endeavoring to 2 nit 
 down the Tai-ping insurgents, this expedient was adopted. 
 An official announcement, made by the governor of Ivwang-si 
 in 1855, stated that the ancestral tomb of Yang-siu-tsirtg , then 
 the leading spirit of the insurgents, had been destroyed, and 
 that there was found in it a tortoise with green hair, which 
 was killed. The affirmed existence and destruction of this 
 prodigy readily accounted for the former success of the as- 
 piring Eastern prince, and the speedy and terrible overthrow 
 which followed. 
 
 Not unfrequently a family seeks satisfaction or revenge 
 from another family with which it is at enmity by breaking 
 
172 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 or injuring its fung-shwuy. This consists in defacing a noted 
 tomb, or cutting trees connected with it. Prosecutions before 
 the officers on the charge of breaking fung-shwuy are enter- 
 tained by them as offenses of the gravest character, and are 
 treated witli great severity. 
 
 The arch-deceiver *has not only succeeded in making the 
 whole nation slaves to this puerile and unfounded superstition, 
 but has connected such features with it as to introduce end- 
 less difficulties and discords in families. The position on the 
 left side of the tomb is the place of honor, and belongs to the 
 first son ; the nearest place on the right belongs to the second 
 son, and thus the relative positions of the different members 
 of the family with reference to the tomb are fixed. Now the 
 position of one individual being in the direction of a hill or 
 water-course may be propitious ; while that of another, being 
 in the direction of a hill or another tomb, may be unpropitious. 
 Thus supposed interests are made to clash ; one is as earnest to 
 secure a certain place as the other is opposed to it, and quarrels 
 and litigation ensue respecting the place of the burial of a par- 
 ent which may last for life. Other notions respecting fung- 
 shwuy add still further to the difficulties of burial, and some- 
 times postpone it for years, while the body of the deceased 
 is kept in the house in a hermetically sealed coffin. One per- 
 son may insist on having the burial postponed for a longer or 
 shorter period of time, because the year of the Chinese sexag- 
 enary cycle clashes with his particular horoscope. Sometimes 
 a family agrees to defer a burial, because the year in which it 
 woulcf otherwise take place happens to be one in which it is 
 not lucky to build a tomb fronting in the particular direction 
 designated by the nature of the place chosen. 
 
 A story well known in Ningpo, and often referred to as a 
 conclusive proof of the existence and importance of fung-shwuy, 
 will further illustrate the ideas of the people on this subject. 
 In the late dynasty, a poor man of the name of Du died in 
 time of pestilence, having no friends to superintend his burial. 
 Thenuthorities provided a coffin for the body, and engaged some 
 
FUNG-S1IWUY AS APPLIED TO HOUSE-BUILDING. 173 
 
 beggars to take it across the river and leave it anywhere on 
 the opposite side. While the body was being borne through 
 the fields, the rope by which it was suspended broke, and it 
 was determined to leave it where it fell. The question arose 
 as to the direction in which the head should be turned ; and 
 it was decided by the position of the bamboo pole used in car- 
 rying the coffin, which had been thrown down at random. A 
 luck-hunting priest, who had had his attention directed to this 
 locality as one remarkable for auspicious influences, was vain- 
 ly endeavoring to find the exact culminating point of the fung- 
 shwuy when these occurrences took place. Proceeding to the 
 spot, and taking the bearings of different important points, 
 he exclaimed, “ Why, this is the very spot I have been seek- 
 ing ; and, now it is discovered and occupied by accident, only 
 one thing is wanting ; the direction of the coffin is out of the 
 proper line just a point !” While the priest was thus soliloquiz- 
 ing and musing over the mysterious designs of heaven in con- 
 ferring happiness on such a poor man, one of the bearers came 
 running back for a rope which had been left under the coffin, 
 where i t had fallen, and in pulling this out the coffin was brought 
 exactly into the favored position. The consequence was, that 
 the priest gave up his profession in disgust, and the fortunate 
 son of him who had only beggars at his funeral rose to the 
 third station of dignity and power in the empire. This story 
 probably originated in the fact that many members of the Du 
 family held offices under the Ming dynasty. 
 
 The methods by which the principles of fung-shwuy are 
 applied to house-building are different from those which reg- 
 ulate the position and construction of tombs, and are generally 
 attended to by a different class of men. Six stars are supposed 
 to preside over the different parts of Chinese houses, which are 
 composed of buildings more or less distinct, and separated from 
 each other by courts. The building on the left side is under 
 the auspices of the star Green Dragon, that on the right un- 
 der those of the White Tiger, and so on. The dragon dislikes 
 filth, and the tiger is afraid of heat ; so, refuse must not be 
 
174 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 thrown in front of the left side, that is, under the Dragon’s nose ; 
 and the kitchen must not be built near the head or the tail of 
 the Tiger. The back part of the right side must not be built 
 high, as the elevation of the Tiger’s tail indicates that he is 
 about to pounce upon his prey. It would be expected that the 
 disregard of such obvious improprieties would be atoned for 
 by frequent deaths in the family. These are the general and 
 important principles of house-building which are level to the 
 understanding of the people ; the minutiae of the science in its 
 minor details is left to professional house-planners, who are gov- 
 erned to a great extent by their peculiar fancies. If a principal 
 door is opened under one star, the family will be subject to the 
 depredations of thieves ; if under another, they will be liable to 
 some other misfortune. A door may be opened in a given di- 
 rection during one year of the cycle where it would not be pru- 
 dent to do it in the following year. When necessity requires 
 that a front door should be opened on a street in an inauspi- 
 cious direction, the evil effects of the consequent bad luck are 
 in a measure obviated by making the passage from the door 
 tortuous and irregular. When a family is afflicted with sick- 
 ness, or' is unsuccessful in business, or mourns over what is re- 
 garded the greatest of misfortunes, that of having no son to 
 perpetuate their name, and to sacrifice to the spirits of departed 
 ancestors, the fact is discovered that they must have employed 
 the wrong luck-doctor, and another one is called. After exam- 
 ining the premises carefully, he sagely remarks that the other 
 man left out some important factor in his computation, or made 
 some mistake, and he is glad to inform them that he understands 
 the whole matter, and can make every thing right without much 
 trouble. His recommendations are likely to be such as the fol- 
 lowing: You must close up this door, and open another there. 
 The kitchen and cooking range must be readjusted; you should 
 change your rooms for sleeping and eatirig ; or if you must 
 occupy the same rooms as sleeping apartments, at least change 
 the position of t^ie beds. When these directions are complied 
 with, the hearts of the inmates of the family are quieted, and 
 
COMPLAINTS AGAINST FOREIGNERS. 
 
 175 
 
 if the next year proves a propitious one, the same luck-doctor 
 is sure to be called whenever the services of such a person are 
 again required. 
 
 Scholars aspiring after literary honors are told that they 
 will succeed at the examinations if they study by a certain win- 
 dow ; and if the fronting of the window is hardly what might 
 be desired, the difficulty may be remedied by an outside screen, 
 or a lantern hung up at night to give the luck a slight change 
 of direction. 
 
 A man is supposed to gain a great advantage by having 
 his house higher than his neighbors. In consequence of this 
 superstition, foreigners have found it very difficult to erect 
 houses, and especially churches, in Chinese cities. Not a few 
 of the complaints entered by natives against foreigners in 
 their consulates relate to their utter disregard of the prin- 
 ciples of fung-shwuy , and the injuries accruing therefrom 
 to native interests. Many illustrations might be given of the 
 jealousy of the Chinese in this particular, and the different ca- 
 lamities which they attribute to the houses of foreigners. 
 
 Some years since the inhabitants of Ningpo were much 
 alarmed by the building of a Roman Catholic cathedral in 
 the city. As it rose higher and higher, overtopping all other 
 structures, the alarm increased, and became intense when the 
 top of the steeple was crowned with a weather-cock. One 
 part of the city, called Centipede Street, was in special dan- 
 ger. Its name was due to the small streets or alleys branch- 
 ing off from both sides like the legs of a centipede ; and near 
 the end of it was the city bell-tower, the highest building with- 
 in the walls, which was regarded as the centipede’s uplifted 
 head. The steeple portended evil to the whole city, and par- 
 ticularly to the bell-tower, from which it had usurped the 
 pre-eminence of height ; and the weather-cock portended spe- 
 cial evil to the Centipede Street, because cocks eat insects and 
 worms of various kinds, including, of course, centipedes ! 
 The luck-doctor sounded the alarm, but the foreigners paid 
 no attention. Unfortunately for the city, but fortunately for 
 
176 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 the reputation of the luck-doctors, the Centipede Street took 
 fire, and part of it, together with the Chinese bell-tower, was 
 reduced to ashes. Complaints in the foreign consulates now 
 became more urgent, but the Chinamen were no doubt laugh- 
 ed at, and probably returned home complaining that “ the stu- 
 pid foreigners would not and could not understand any thing 
 about it.” They were obliged to have recourse again to the 
 luck-doctors, and it is said that one of them very happily sug- 
 gested that, “While cocks may be supposed to eat centi- 
 pedes, wild-cats certainly eat cocks and a hideous wild- 
 cat was depicted by an eminent artist on a high wall con- 
 fronting the dreaded foreign edifice. Strange to say, in a 
 short time the cathedral crumbled and fell. The Chinese 
 bell-tower was, as if in defiance, built two or three stories 
 higher than before, and again peace and tranquillity reigned 
 in the city. Some have accounted for the falling of the ca- 
 thedral by its having been built of brick not sufficiently burn- 
 ed ; but the natives say that this is a characteristic explana- 
 tion of the uninformed foreigners, who know nothing of the 
 principles and effects of fung-shwuy. Notwithstanding all 
 that may be said to the natives in opposition to this system, 
 they will refer to the above well-authenticated facts, and simi- 
 lar ones with which their books are full, and facts are stub- 
 born things — in China as well as elsewhere. 
 
 It is the unvarying custom in many places in China, when- 
 ever a new house is built, to suspend lanterns on high poles 
 for several nights in succession after the erection of the frame- 
 work, in order to attract luck to the new edifice. A great 
 noise is also kept up during the night by gongs. The neigh- 
 bors are obliged, in self-defense, to resort to the same means 
 to avoid their luck being drawn away from them, each family 
 striving to have its lanterns the highest. On such occasions, 
 the appearance of a neighborhood, with its noise and illumi- 
 nation, resembles the celebration of a festival. 
 
 A house is considered unlucky, not only when it is sur- 
 rounded by higher ones, but when the corners of other houses 
 
FUNG-SHWUY AS APPLIED TO CANALS. 
 
 177 
 
 point toward it. The adverse influences to -which a place 
 under such circumstances is exposed are counteracted by fig- 
 ures of warriors with drawn swords, and lions and tigers with 
 open mouths, and other similar devices, which are placed on 
 the tiling of the house in such a position as to confront the 
 object from w r hich danger is apprehended. Mirrors are also 
 sometimes used to reflect the evil influences back. The idea, 
 in these cases, is not simply that of a negative evil, consisting 
 of the abstraction of the luck which the house would other- 
 wise be possessed of, but that of a positive influence the very 
 reverse of fung-shwuy. A house standing at the terminus 
 of a street or alley where the road branches off on each side, 
 is supposed to be subjected to the same evil influence, from 
 the stream of bad luck flowing along the street and beating 
 against it. A stone slab is generally seen erected at such 
 places bearing the inscription Tai shan shih lean tang — “ I 
 am, or I represent, the Ta shan rock, and am not afraid to 
 withstand you.” Ta shan is the name of one of the largest 
 and most celebrated mountains in the empire ; and as a solid 
 mountain not only withstands all evil influences, but is the 
 source of those wdiich are auspicious, this name is used as a 
 charm to frighten back the adverse tide of evil. ISTo one ever 
 supposes that these stones came from Ta shan, and it is amus- 
 ing to see the inscription sometimes on a brick. 
 
 In the opening of canals and construction of bridges, one 
 of the first considerations is, what will be the effect on the 
 fung-shwuy ? Some places which might be easily connected 
 by a canal are obliged to be without the convenience of this 
 means of communication, because a celebrated luck-prognos- 
 ticator has said that such a canal would destroy the fung- 
 shwuy of the neighborhood. In constructing bridges in a 
 particular place, it may be imagined that the luck will be fa- 
 vorable for one family, and unfavorable for another ; and dif- 
 ficulties and law-suits ensue, which are generally settled by 
 an amount of money paid by the party supposed to have the 
 ^■vantage to his less fortunate neighbors. 
 
 II 2 
 
178 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 In some sections the bridges are very low, and in time of 
 high water it is necessary to have the covers of boats taken 
 off, in order to pass under them. The people are subject to 
 this great inconvenience, not because of the necessary exjiense 
 of building the bridges a little higher, which would be com- 
 paratively a small matter, but because of the influence of a 
 wealthy family, or several wealthy families in the neighbor- 
 hood, which have had the good fortune to become rich, and 
 are afraid their luck will be broken by any important change 
 in the face of the country. 
 
 Natives who are not intimately acquainted with foreigners 
 naturally suppose that we have no less regard for fung-shwuy 
 than they, and that, from our superior knowledge of the prin- 
 ciples of “ heaven and earth,” we are enabled to secure the 
 most lucky place. «-Our fondness for visiting hills and water- 
 courses, and collecting minerals, plants, etc., is attributed to 
 the desire of finding precious metals and precious influences. 
 When we stop to admire a beautiful view or landscape, a Chi- 
 nese by-stander is almost sure to remark, “ He is looking for 
 fung-shwuy .” On visiting a beautiful spot on a mountain- 
 side, I once found a young man preparing a tomb for his 
 father, whose interest and anxiety about the matter in which 
 he was engaged so far overcame his surprise and curiosity on 
 seeing a stranger and a foreigner in such an unfrequented 
 place, that his first question was, “ Have I really chosen a good 
 location ?” 
 
 A few of the people of the more intelligent class, who have 
 been long connected with us, and know our utter disregard of 
 these childish superstitions, will sometimes decry some of the 
 most glaringly absurd of them ; but, while they profess their 
 contempt for the credulity of their countrymen in some points, 
 they are sure to betray their own weakness in others. 
 
THE “EIGHT DIAGRAMS.” 
 
 179 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 DIFFERENT MODES OF DIVINATION. 
 
 Importance of the Eight Diagrams. — Translation of part of a Preface of 
 the Chinese Work, “ Source of True Divination.” — Mode of divining 
 by Diagrams, Mode of divining by Means of the “ Eight Characters.” 
 — An individual Case in Illustration. — Divination by Astrology. -^-Illus- 
 trative official Document. — Fortune-telling by the Use of Birds, Snakes, 
 and Turtles. — Telling the Fortunes of past and future States of Exist- 
 ence. — Manner in which Failures are accounted for. — Physiognomy and 
 Palmistry. — Choosing of “ Lucky Days.” — Effects of being born under 
 certain Stars. — Divination by Dreams. 
 
 In an unevangelized and superstitious nation like the Chi- 
 nese, possessed of an ancient and voluminous literature, the ex- 
 istence of many theories and arts for unlocking the secrets of 
 futurity might naturally he expected. The abstruse character 
 of some of these mystic arts, which are not understood even 
 by those who practice them, and which owe much of their in- 
 fluence to the prestige of antiquity, may be in a manner de- 
 scribed, but can not be satisfactorily explained. 
 
 In the practice of divination, great use is made of the 
 “ Eight Diagrams,” invented by the Emperor Fuh-hi, proba- 
 bly nearly three thousand years before Christ. About eleven 
 centuries before Christ, Wen-ioang, the Literary Prince, and 
 his son, Chow-kung, developed these eight diagrams into 
 sixty-four, attaching to them additional ideas and explana- 
 tions. Confucius, about five hundred years before Christ, 
 collected and perpetuated these relics of the past in the Yih- 
 king, or “Book of Changes,” which is still one of the most 
 venerated of the ancient Chinese classics. These diagrams 
 are nothing but arbitrary signs, the original meaning of which 
 can not be satisfactorily determined. They are supposed to 
 
180 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 embody the principles by which the universe was evolved 
 out of chaotic matter, and which, by necessary and unchang- 
 ing laws, determine all the changes which take place in na- 
 ture. Those who profess to be able to disclose future events 
 generally rest their claims upon public credulity, on sorao 
 new views gained of this book of mysteries, or on their fa- 
 miliarity with books written by others in explanation of it. 
 They suppose that the mines of wisdom hid in these diagrams 
 have never been fully explored, and that great advantages 
 will accrue to those who have the penetration to find the 
 key to their contents. It is a common remark among the 
 Chinese, “If foreigners, with all their skill and ingenuity, 
 possess themselves of the Yih-Jcing, all the world will become 
 subject to them.” It is also said that Heaven will not per- 
 mit the' Yih-Jcing to be taken out of the empire, and that, 
 when the attempt to export it has been made, vessels bearing 
 it across the sea have encountered storms and tempests until 
 it has been thrown overboard. 
 
 In the latter part of the Chau dynasty, which continued 
 to 249 n.c., JKwei huh sien sz applied the Yih-hing to the 
 use of soothsaying, and is regarded as the father of augurs, 
 though no book has come down to the present from him. 
 During the present and preceding dynasties, many books have 
 been written on this subject, among the most noted of which 
 is the Poh shi ching tsung — “ Source of True Divination,” 
 written in the forty-eighth year of the Emperor Kang-hi. 
 This work consists of six volumes, and contains a minute and 
 detailed system of elaborated nonsense, such as it would be 
 difficult to find a parallel to in any language. The preface 
 will perhaps give as clear an idea of its contents as could be 
 otherwise obtained, and forcibly reminds one of the manner 
 in which quacks in other lands decry the nostrums of others, 
 while they extol their own. It contains, also, a true and live- 
 ly picture of the evils which the system it advocates entails 
 upon the people. The following is a translation of the great- 
 er part of it : 
 
“SOUKCE OF TRUE DIVINATION.” 181 
 
 “ The secret of augury consists in communication with the 
 gods. Its object is to determine good and evil fortune, to 
 settle doubt and anxiety, to discriminate between yin and 
 yang in the different forms of the diagrams. The interpre- 
 tation of the transformations is deep and mysterious. The 
 theory of this science is most intricate, the practice of it 
 most important. The sacred classic says, ‘That which is 
 true gives indications of the future therefore, if a person 
 seeking a response is not sincere, he can not move the gods ; 
 if the interpreter of the response is careless and inconsiderate 
 in his divinations, they will not be fulfilled. These two re- 
 marks are emphatically true and important. It is common 
 to see persons seek a response when occasion requires, while 
 sincerity is entirely forgotten. When, from intoxication and 
 feasting, or licentious pleasures, they proceed to invoke the 
 assistance of the gods, what infatuation to suppose that their 
 prayers will move them ! Besides, the wealthy or honorable 
 affecting a contempt for the art of soothsaying, either look to 
 a friend, or send a servant to ask a response in their stead, 
 without showing their zeal and earnestness by presenting 
 themselves in person. Hence, when no response is given, or 
 the interpretation is not verified, they lay the blame at the 
 door of the augur, forgetting that the failure is due to their 
 want of sincerity. This is the fault of the one seeking the 
 response. It is the great fault of augurs that, from a de- 
 sire of gain, they use the art of divination as a trap to ensnare 
 the people. For instance, in case of sickness (than which 
 nothing can be more important), some, regardless of the prin- 
 ciples of rectitude, have a private understanding with Bud- 
 dhist priests, and nuns, and Tauists, by which they are to 
 share in their gains, thus forgetting augury in their lust after 
 money.* They determine whether to exact a greater or less 
 amount from the applicant by observing his wealth or pover- 
 
 * The augur, as a return for directing the applicant to worship in a 
 particular temple, is permitted to share the money paid to the priests of 
 that temple. 
 
182 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 ty ; they recklessly prescribe that a certain number of chap- 
 ters of prayer shall be repeated at some Buddhist or Tauist 
 temple, or that a certain number of days shall be spent in 
 chanting over a sacred book in a nunnery. The applicant, 
 overcome by anxiety, readily assents to any thing. If the 
 individual be wealthy, it matters little ; if he be poor, he may 
 be led to pawn his clothes, contract debts, and squander his 
 property, and may be thus reduced to the severest straits and 
 necessities, while he indulges in the hope that the sick person 
 will be restored. But, in fact, before the prayers are finish- 
 ed, the sick person dies ; while the sacred book is being read, 
 the sufferer is no more. These injuries result from alliances 
 with Buddhists and Tauists. Again, inexperienced physi- 
 cians, unskilled in their profession, apply for assistance in 
 gaining practice, and the augur, in his prayers and incan- 
 tations, indicates clearly where this physician is to be found 
 — thus furnishing him with employment. They do not con- 
 sider that, while the augur secures in a year a little gain, 
 the sick man, in an unsuspecting moment, meets death by the 
 hand of his attendant. This is the sin of forming an alliance 
 with physicians. These two evils exist everywhere, and are 
 the plague of every city. I have suspended my sign in front 
 of the office of the military magistrate. If the above classes 
 of men come to tempt me, I take an oath to reject all their 
 proffers, and will, in every case, carefully divine according to 
 the diagrams, and no doubt my prognostications will prove 
 true.” 
 
 In every place of any considerable size fortune-tellers of 
 this class are numerous. They are not unfrequently blind, 
 and, when so, have an assistant. The manner of their divina- 
 tion is as follows : When a person wishing a response pre- 
 sents himself, a small box, containing three copper cash, is 
 handed to him, which he takes very reverently in both hands, 
 and with which he describes a circle around incense-sticks 
 burning before paintings of the patrons of the art of divina- 
 tion. After having made his prostrations before these paint- 
 
THE MANNER OF CONDUCTING DIVINATION. 183 
 
 mgs, lie proceeds in the same reverent manner to the door, and 
 then invokes the aid of heaven, in a form somewhat like the 
 
 following : “ To day, I , residing near the temple , 
 
 on account of sickness in my family (or for some other cause, 
 as the case may be), present myself to obtain a true response 
 respecting this matter. Let me know the event, whether it be 
 favorable, or the contrary.” This ceremony being performed, 
 the applicant places the box with cash in the hands of the di- 
 viner, who also, after asking a few questions, waves it with 
 even greater solemnity over the table of incense. He then re- 
 peats a form of prayer, generally addressed to the patrons of 
 the mystic art. The form prescribed in the book before re- 
 ferred to is the following: “Though Heaven has no voice, 
 when addressed, there is a response ; the gods are living, and, 
 when invoked, are near. A man is now present who is harass- 
 ed with anxieties, and is unable to solve his doubts and per- 
 plexities. "We can only look to the gods to instruct us as to 
 what is or is not to take place.” This done, the box is shaken, 
 and the cash are cast upon the table three times in succession. 
 The upper surfaces of the coins are observed each time, and 
 will indicate, according to the plan adopted by the augur, 
 one of the eight diagrams. After another prayer, the cash 
 are again cast three times, and the different combinations, 
 together with the previous results, will point out one of the 
 sixty-four diagrams. One of these having been in this way 
 determined, the next question is how to interpret it. Three 
 distinct considerations combine to fix this interpretation, and 
 to give an endless variety to the meanings of each diagram. 
 These are, the particular objects sought in the divination — 
 the meaning, or power, of the two characters designating the 
 current month, and the meaning of the two characters desig- 
 nating the day. The greater part of the book above referred 
 to is occupied with minute instructions to aid in the right in- 
 terpretation of the diagrams in all supposable cases and cir-* 
 cumstances. The diviner being a close observer of human 
 nature, is influenced, in a great measure, in his interpretations 
 
184 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 by what lie has been able to learn through shrewcl and indi- 
 rect interrogations respecting the character and circumstances 
 of the applicant. The diagram, with its explanation, is writ- 
 ten out and handed to the inquirer, who sometimes has it in- 
 terpreted a second time in another place. A larger or smaller 
 sum is paid to these fortune-tellers, according to the circum- 
 stances of the applicant, and the importance of the matter in 
 hand. As has been before intimated, no small part of the 
 gains of those who engage in this occupation is obtained by 
 making business for priests and physicians, for doing which 
 they receive a consideration from them. 
 
 In the practice of divination above described, called 7ci-7co, 
 the object is to determine the issue of any present difficulty 
 or emergency. In less urgent cases, when a person is in doubt 
 with reference to his business affairs, oj has a curiosity to 
 know the general fortunes of his future life, another method 
 of anticipating the future is resorted to, called swan-ming, 
 “ reckon the life.” In Ici-Jco the correctness of the divination 
 is supposed to be due, not only to the right interpretation of 
 the mysterious and unchanging principles of the diagrams, 
 but to the indications of the gods, whose assistance is regard- 
 ed most important. In swan-ming a knowledge of the future 
 is supposed to be obtained by the use of hidden arts alone, 
 the special assistance of the gods not being sought. The 
 most common mode of swan-ming is that of “ examining the 
 eight characters,” or, as it is sometimes called, pi ming tsz, 
 “ examining the paper of life.” In describing this mode of 
 divination, it will be necessary first to refer to the Chinese 
 mode of reckoning time. This is done by the use of a sex- 
 agenary cycle, which gives names to years, months, days, and 
 hours. It consists of sixty dissyllabic words, which are form- 
 ed by a combination of two sets of characters, numbering ten 
 and twelve respectively ; the former being regarded as con- 
 - nected with heaven, or the Yang principle, and the latter with 
 earth, or the Yin principle. Each of the twelve characters 
 is used five times, and each of the ten six times. These com- 
 
FORTUNE-TELLING BY EIGHT CHARACTERS. 185 
 
 binations of two characters each are applied to designate sixty 
 successive years, sixty successive months, sixty successive 
 days, and sixty successive hours ; these sixty names revolving 
 in perpetual cycles, in the greater and lesser divisions of time. 
 Each one of these two sets of characters is supposed to have 
 a certain mysterious connection with one or other of what are 
 regarded as “ the five elements,” viz., metal, wood, water, fire, 
 and earth. 
 
 With these preliminary observations, we may get some 
 idea of the manner in which pi mine] tsz is practiced. A 
 person presents himself before the diviner to ask the general 
 question, whether the present period of his life is auspicious 
 or otherwise, with special reference to the prosecution of 
 business, change of residence, attending the examinations, 
 etc. The applicant is first required to state the year, month, 
 day, and hour of his birth. The couplets of characters rep- 
 resenting each of these four divisions of time present togeth- 
 er the “ eight characters,” which form the basis of the calcu- 
 lation. 
 
 The eight characters of the Chinaman, through whom 
 much of the information in this chapter was derived, may 
 serve as an example. The most important, or leading charac- 
 ter, is always the former of the two representing the day of 
 birth. This character happens to be, in the present instance, 
 connected with the element wood , or tree, therefore the life of 
 the individual in question has a mystical connection with a 
 tree. The day of birth occurs in one of the autumn months, a 
 time unfavorable to the growth and luxuriance of vegetation ; 
 hence, without some special reason to the contrary, the general 
 fact is arrived at, that the individual will be weak and deli- 
 cate. In addition to this, one of the characters representing 
 the month, and one of those representing the hour, are con- 
 nected with metal ; metal cuts wood, therefore the condition 
 of the individual is still more precarious ! Two of the other 
 characters are connected with earth, which produces metal, 
 and this makes the case of the individual' even more deplora 
 
186 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 ble ! But, on the other hand, one of the characters is con- 
 nected with water, which contributes to the growth of wood. 
 This happy circumstance, together with others less easy of 
 explanation, serves to counteract to some extent adverse influ- 
 ences. In every case, the divination consists in striking a bal- 
 ance between good and evil influences, in doing which there is 
 a wide scope for the play of individual fancies. Those who 
 practice this art are astute observers of character; and the 
 circumstances and appearance of the applicant, together with 
 information derived by subtle questions, have much to do in 
 each case in determining the nature of the response. The 
 eight characters not only form the basis for deciding the for- 
 tunes of an individual at the time when the divination is 
 sought, but for any number of years in the future. The for- 
 tunes of any subsequent year are supposed to be decided by 
 the question whether the characters representing that year 
 have a propitious or unpropitious connection with the leading 
 character of a man’s life. Thus it is often remarked that such 
 and such years will be difficult to pass. The minute details 
 of this kind of soothsaying are presented in a work of four 
 volumes, entitled “ Tsz ping yuen hair 
 
 Divination is also practiced, by means of astrology, in a 
 manner still more intricate. The events of men’s lives are 
 supposed to be under the influences of twenty-eight stars, each 
 of which is an object of worship. In telling fortunes by this 
 method, a representation on paper of a man’s horoscope is 
 prepared for each individual applicant. It has, first, a circular 
 map or table, on the periphery of which are arranged the 
 twenty-eight stars, in longer or shorter segments, to which 
 they are severally assigned. The eight characters above de- 
 scribed determine under the influences of what particular star 
 an individual’s life begins. Starting from this point, the life 
 is supposed to revolve in this fixed circle, passing, in regular 
 succession, under different and varying stellar influences. 
 The length of time during which one’s life is under the influ- 
 ence of any particular star, is ascertained by a computation 
 
SUPERSTITIONS OF THE RULING CLASSES. 187 
 
 based upon the Chinese festivals. It would be as useless as it 
 is difficult to attempt to give a minute account of this kind of 
 divination. It commands the confidence of the people more, 
 perhaps, than any other, either because it is more mysterious, 
 or because of the natural disposition of mankind to connect 
 their destinies with the influences of the heavenly bodies. It 
 is supposed by some, and not without reason, that the sciences 
 of astrology and alchemy originated in China, and were after- 
 ward introduced into the West from China by the Arabs. 
 But to return to our subject. By referring to different 
 tables, and going through long computations, the circular ta- 
 ble is completed, and a greater or less amount of vague and 
 wordy explanations is appended. The divination may be for 
 one, or for a number of years. It may give a general repre- 
 sentation of the fortunes of a year, or particular accounts of 
 each month, or even of each day. When the period is long, 
 and the divination minute, the written document becomes vo- 
 luminous, and can sometimes only be obtained at a cost of 
 several dollars. 
 
 The superstitions of the people respecting the influences of 
 the stars may be further illustrated by a communication from 
 the chief magistrate in Ningpo, dated April 11th, 1850 , ad- 
 dressed to the British Consul, and having reference to the 
 purchase of a building site in the city by foreigners. The 
 spot of ground in question is occupied by a heap of ruins, 
 said to be the remains of houses which were burned, with 
 their occupants, about four hundred years ago ; since which 
 time no one has dared to build on it, for fear of the spirits 
 which are supposed to secrete themselves in its heaps of rub- 
 bish. The Chinese officer, after having painted in fearful 
 colors the inconveniences resulting from living in a place 
 haunted by spectres, and made dismal by horrid sounds of 
 shrieks and groans, often heard in the silence of the night, 
 proceeds as follows : “ On the other hand, an examination of 
 the astronomical tables shows that the baneful star, directing 
 its noxious influences to places and things, points out for this 
 
183 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 year the two astronomical characters mow and Tci, meaning 
 centre, or middle ; thereby denoting that all places centrically 
 situated will be unlucky this year. This spot being almost 
 in the centre of the city, it is apprehended that any important 
 changes made on it, or any removal of earth from it during 
 the present year, would give rise to all sorts of objections on 
 the part of the people.” 
 
 A class of blind fortune-tellers may be continually seen in 
 the streets of Ningpo, led by an attendant, and giving notice 
 of their approach by playing lively airs on a kind of guitar of 
 three strings. They gain from oral instructions a superficial 
 knowledge of the general principles described above, and prac- 
 tice some of the most simple methods prescribed in works on 
 fortune-telling. They are great gossips, become familiarly ac- 
 quainted by mutual consultations with the neighborhoods in 
 which they carry on their business, and are particularly skill- 
 ed in eliciting facts by indirect questions, and delivering their 
 responses in ambiguous language. They make their disclos- 
 ures in a chanting tone, with a musical accompaniment on 
 their instruments. They find the women their most success- 
 ful dupes. Their services may be secured for eighteen or 
 twenty cash — less than two cents. 
 
 Closely connected with the above methods of fortune-tell- 
 ing, there is the universal practice of “ comparing the six char- 
 acters,” with reference to marriage contracts. This is a sim- 
 ,ple process, and may be attended to by any of the classes of 
 fortune-tellers above described. The six characters are those 
 which represent the year, month, and day of one’s birth. Be- 
 fore a marriage contract is entered into, these characters of the 
 female in question must be handed to the friends of the male 
 party. They are carefully examined, to see whether they are 
 propitious, in themselves considered, and particularly whether 
 they agree or clash with the characters of the other party. 
 Deception is often practiced in these cases, and false or sub- 
 stituted characters are perhaps more frequently sent than the 
 true. 
 
VARIOUS MODES OF FORTUNE-TELLING. 
 
 189 
 
 In addition to the modes of fortune-telling which have been 
 noticed, and which are regarded as the most respectable and 
 successful, a variety of others might be mentioned, which, 
 though common, are regarded as of little importance. One 
 method is carried on by means 
 of birds, which are trained to 
 select strips of paper contain- 
 ing a few words of good or evil 
 import. Snakes and turtles are 
 used much in the same way, 
 the direction of their heads in- 
 dicating which piece of paper 
 is to be selected. 
 
 A class of men gain a liveli- 
 hood by gratifying the curiosi- 
 ty of those who wish to know 
 who and what they were in a 
 previous state of existence, and 
 what they are to be in a suc- 
 ceeding one. This is done by 
 means of the map or table of 
 the three lives. The applicant 
 
 x A FORTUNE-TELLING BY MEANS OF A BIRD 
 
 is required to state his name and slips of paper. 
 
 and the time of his birth, and, the leading facts of his present 
 life being known, he is informed what were Jus name, occupa- 
 tion, and place of residence in the past life, and what they are 
 to be in the next. It seems to afford a kind of satisfaction to 
 persons who are miserable in this life to be told that they have 
 been persons of wealth and high position in a previous state, 
 or are to be in a future one. This mode of revealing past and 
 future events has the advantage that its statements can not be 
 
 disproved. It may be said, however, with reference to the oth- 
 er modes of divination above mentioned, that when the event 
 does not correspond to the prediction, it is still insisted upon, 
 that what was foretold is what would have occurred in the 
 natural course of things ; and that the seeming failure is due 
 
190 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 to an unusual amount of guilt bringing its necessary reward 
 of evil, on the one hand, or a fund of merit producing unex- 
 pected fortune, on the other. The guilt or merit may be in 
 consequence of actions performed either in the present or pre- 
 vious life. 
 
 The manner of deriving responses from the gods, and of ob- 
 taining a knowledge of the unseen world by means of necro- 
 mancy, have been described in the previous chapter. 
 
 Physiognomy presents another and distinct mode of arriv- 
 ing at a knowledge of a person’s character and future history, 
 and several extensive treatises have been written on this sub- 
 ject by the Chinese. This art, as it is now practiced in China, 
 bears no slight resemblance to Western phrenology. Regard 
 is had to the general contour of the head, the different bumps 
 or developments, and the complexion. Various plates repre- 
 sent, with great minuteness, the divisions of the head, with 
 their inherent qualities. With this art is also connected the 
 kindred art of palmistry. Men have the left hand examined, 
 women the right. Different parts of the head are also sup- 
 posed to have a certain connection with the “ eight diagrams,” 
 and one part, or diagram, is regarded as having a controlling 
 influence over an individual’s life at one period, and another at 
 another. Closely connected with the practice of physiognomy 
 is that of feeling of the bones of the body, by doing Avhich it 
 is supposed that Xhe character and future destinies of an indi- 
 vidual may be determined. Not only are the outward features 
 of men believed to be indicative of their future destiny, but also 
 the forms and features of idols and graven images. Before 
 they have been taken from the shop of the artisan, persons 
 professing a knowledge of this art predict which will acquire 
 the greatest celebrity, and draw the greatest number of wor- 
 shipers to its shrine. 
 
 Another practice designed to insure success and good for- 
 tune is that of choosing lucky days. This is sometimes done 
 by consulting the almanac, in which the character of each day 
 is marked. In more important matters, however, a more par- 
 
CUSTOM OF CHOOSING LUCKY DAYS. 
 
 191 
 
 ticular examination is necessary ; *ancl a person wishing to 
 commence any work, or enterprise, under favorable auspices, 
 repairs to the shop of a professional day-chooser. These 
 shops are numerous, and, in passing through the street, you 
 may always see the grave day-prophet, with pen in hand, sur- 
 rounded by his numerous city and country customers. The 
 characters of days are determined by the stars which are sup- 
 posed to preside over them. Sometimes a day is under the 
 combined influences of different stars, prosperous and adverse. 
 It is necessary, in such cases, to determine what influences 
 predominate, and to examine the relation of particular stars 
 to particular objects and enterprises. In commencing busi- 
 ness, opening a school, building a house, fixing a wedding-day, 
 or in engaging in any thing of great importance, the choosing 
 of a lucky day is regarded a matter by no means to be neg- 
 lected. If a school is opened under an unfavorable star, it is 
 believed that sickness will prevail in it, endangering the lives 
 of pupils and teacher. If a person undertakes a journey 
 under a particular star, he is in danger of not being permitted 
 to return home again. Nothing strikes the attention of an 
 observer so much on lucky days as the large number of bri- 
 dal chairs, with their accompanying retinue and music, which 
 on these days may be seen passing in every direction through 
 the streets, and through the country. 
 
 The fact of a person’s being born on an unlucky day is re- 
 garded as having an unfavorable influence on his whole life, 
 and is taken into account in divination by the different meth- 
 ods. A girl born under the star denominated in colloquial 
 the “Broom Star” is looked upon with suspicion: and it is 
 generally supposed that the family which receives her as a 
 bride will have their house swept clean of its luck. A woman 
 born nnder the star Hien-chi is supposed to be in particular 
 danger of dying in child-bed. The manner in which the dan- 
 ger is averted is singular. Mistaking the first character of 
 the name for another of the same sound, meaning salt , they 
 make it to mean Salt Lake, and have some vague suspicion of 
 
192 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 evil connected with it. Some time before the confinement of 
 the unfortunate individual, a quantity of salt is secretly 
 thrown by one of her friends into a jar of water used by 
 the family ; and if a person, not knowing what has happened, 
 tastes of the water, and remarks upon its saltness, the spell of 
 the Salt Lake is broken. This may serve as a specimen of a 
 large number of tricks, or charms, which are resorted to under 
 different circumstances to avert anticipated evil. 
 
 The particular year in which a person is born has also 
 much to do in directing his steps during future life. Each 
 of the twelve characters used in reckoning time is associated 
 with some animal. Hence a person, according to the charac- 
 ter which occurs in the year when he was born, is said to have 
 been born under the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, etc. A person born 
 under a particular character, or animal, must not engage in 
 any important work or public ceremony on days the names 
 of which contain a character clashing with the character oc- 
 curring in his birth-year. Exceptions are made allowing per- 
 sons to attend the funerals of their relatives, when they 
 would otherwise be excluded by this rule. On days of public 
 meetings, placards are often posted by officers, in conspicuous 
 places, designating the class of persons whose horoscope ren- 
 ders, it inauspicious for them to be present, and requesting 
 them to stay at home. 
 
 Passing over other superstitions of a similar kind, that of 
 seeking directions and revelations in dreams is worthy of spe- 
 cial notice. The deities of some few temples have acquired 
 great celebrity by giving important intimations to their wor- 
 shipers in visions of the night. On oertain days, generally the 
 last great festival of the year, these temples are visited by a 
 large concourse of people, of whom some come from a great 
 distance. Their object is, for the most part, to seek direction 
 with reference to improving their condition in life by a 
 change of occupation at the beginning of the coming year. 
 They arrive at the temple before night, burn incense, make 
 prostrations, and present their prayers before the gods, and 
 
SEEKING DREAMS IN IDOL TEMPLES. 198 
 
 then lie down in some part of the temple, generally on the 
 cold floor, to wait for a dream. Those who are so fortunate 
 as 'to have one, put such an interpretation upon it as to suit 
 their own fancies and inclinations ; some receive as a dream 
 the vagaries of their own imaginations, which are sure to be 
 busy about the absorbing matter which engages their atten- 
 tion ; and some, less credulous and imaginative, are obliged to 
 go home dreamless and disappointed. To avoid the incon- 
 veniences of going to a remote temple, a person sometimes 
 makes his bed in the kitchen, to beg a dream of the Kitchen 
 God. 
 
 The above superstitions appear in themselves too frivolous 
 and unreasonable to engage our serious attention. They ac- 
 quire their interest' and importance from the fact that they are 
 not curious antiquities, but present realities ; they are not theo- 
 retical speculations confined to the few, but practical beliefs 
 of universal prevalence, swaying the minds of millions, and 
 presenting a most serious obstacle to the reception of the 
 truth. These beliefs are nicely adapted to the hopes and 
 fears of man’s nature, and are clung to with great tenacity 
 by those whose reason has been moulded and enslaved by 
 them. Fate and a thousand inferior deities take the place of 
 an infinite and omnipresent God, and render it difficult for the 
 mind even to conceive of his universal sovereignty and over- 
 ruling providence. 
 
 I 
 
194 
 
 CHINA .AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 THE LANGUAGES OF CHINA. 
 
 The Want of Analogy between the Chinese and other Languages. — 
 Each Word represented by a separate Character. — The Language not 
 Hieroglyphic.— The whole Number of Characters. — The Language Mon- 
 osyllabic. — The written Language unintelligible to the Ear, and not 
 capable of being used as a spoken Language. — An' Explanation of this 
 Fact. — Tones and Aspirates. — Explanation of apparent Inconsistencies. 
 — The spoken Languages of China, and their Relations to the written. 
 — The Number of the spoken Languages or Dialects, and the Extent to 
 which they differ. — In what these Differences consist. — More numerous 
 in the South than in the North. — Description of the Mandarin, or Court 
 Dialect. — Chinese Mode of printing. — “How much Time does it re- 
 quire to learn the Chinese Language?” — “What Proportion of the 
 Population can read ?” — Excellences and Defects of the Language. 
 
 I approach the task of writing on the languages of China 
 with no small degree of reluctance and embarrassment, on ac- 
 count of the great difficulty of making the subject intelligible 
 to those who have not made it a special study. This diffi- 
 culty arises from an utter want of correspondence or analogy 
 between this language and others with which we are famil- 
 iar — a fact which furnishes a striking evidence of the ex- 
 treme isolation of the Chinese race from the other nations 
 of the world. 
 
 The written language contains no alphabet, but each word 
 has its own independent representation or character, so that 
 there are as many characters as words. In the first forma- 
 tion of the written language, which must have been at a 
 very early period, these characters seem to have been ideo- 
 graphic, and must have been very few : for instance, (£) stood 
 for the sun, J) for the moon, etc. The present forms of these 
 characters are jjj and jjj. 
 
FORMATION OF CHINESE CHARACTERS. 
 
 195 
 
 The impossibility of inventing forms which would natu- 
 rally suggest every object in nature and every idea of the 
 mind, necessitated the use of characters more or less arbi- 
 trary: for instance, J\^jin, man; puh, not ; to, great; 
 
 nyu , woman. Some of the characters are simple like the 
 preceding, but by far the greater part are compounded of 
 simple characters : as ^ si, to wash ; die, to point. Si 
 is compounded of shwuy, water, on the left, and sin, before, 
 on the right; die is compounded of sheo, hand, on the left, 
 and die, meaning or intention, on the right. In both these 
 characters, as may be readily seen, the left part suggests the 
 meaning, and the right the sound, and many combinations 
 are similarly formed. The simple character heart, for in- 
 stance, is a component part of many others representing fac- 
 ulties and affections of the mind. The character man is con- 
 nected with others representing the different dispositions and 
 relations of man, and so on indefinitely, the different component 
 parts giving some hint or clew to the discovery of the mean- 
 ing, and perhaps also of the sound. This is not always nor 
 generally the case, however ; for many of the combinations 
 seem entirely arbitrary, as tali, to answer or respond ; 
 being made up of chuh, bamboo, and hoh, to unite ; also j|| 
 yi, righteousness or uprightness, which is composed of jin, 
 man, on the left-hand side, and on the right-hand yang, sheep, 
 on the top, and wo, I, on the bottom. 
 
 I have referred thus particularly to the formation of char- 
 acters, so as to correct two very common mistakes, both tend- 
 ing to produce the impression that the written language is 
 much easier of acquisition than it really is. The first is, that 
 the language, as now written, may be properly called ideo- 
 graphic. The fact is, on the contrary, that even the few 
 characters which seem to have been such at first do not, in 
 their present forms, indicate with any certainty the object 
 represented. Most of the simple characters are, or seem to 
 be, entirely arbitrary; and the compound characters, which 
 give some intimation of their meaning, do it very vaguely 
 
196 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 and indefinitely. The other mistake is that of supposing, 
 that though the language has no alphabet, the elementary 
 characters unite together, according to a system governed by 
 fixed rules, and affording advantages tantamount or, at least, 
 similar to those of an alphabet, which is by no means the 
 case. The mistake, however, has a slight foundation in fact, 
 and is an error only in degree. 
 
 The whole number of characters in the Imperial Dictiona- 
 ry of the Emperor Kang-hi, which is complete in six large 
 volumes, is about 40,000 ; most of these, however, as is the 
 case with the larger proportion of words in our own large 
 dictionaries, are obsolete forms, or characters very seldom 
 used. From five to seven thousand comprise all those in or- 
 dinary use. These characters are unvarying in their forms, 
 and admit of no inflections of any kind whatever. Distinc- 
 tions of number, tense, etc., are made by the use of additional 
 characters. 
 
 The languages of China, whether written or spoken, are 
 strictly monosyllabic ; that is, every syllable is a distinct word 
 by itself. Occasionally two or more characters are used to- 
 gether as a compound word ; but they are still seen to be dis- 
 tinct monosyllables as, in our language, farm-house , foot- 
 stool, etc. 
 
 It is a striking peculiarity of the written or classical 
 language, that it is not understpod as spoken. By this it is 
 not meant that it has fallen into disuse as a spoken language, 
 but that it is not capable of being used as a medium of oral 
 communication even by the learned who are familiar with it. 
 It speaks to the eye, and not to the ear. The Scriptures, or 
 any other book, or a letter, accurately read to a person unac- 
 quainted with its contents, though perfectly familiar with the 
 language in which it is written, would be almost, if not entirely, 
 unintelligible. This fact may be best explained by referring 
 to the monosyllabic character of this language. The number 
 of monosyllables which it is possible to form with the vocal 
 organs or spell with an alphabet is necessarily limited. In 
 
DIFFICULTIES OF THE WRITTEN LANGUAGE. 197 
 
 China the number used in any given place is about five hun- 
 dred, while the number of characters in ordinary use is not 
 far from five thousand. We have then only one-tentli as many 
 monosyllabic sounds as characters, and, on an average, about 
 ten different characters must be called by the same name or 
 sound. There are then so many characters which have the 
 same name, that hearing one pronounced does not indicate 
 definitely what particular character is meant. Suppose a 
 person hearing read the first chapter of the Gospel of John, 
 the first sentence of which is “ Yiin s yiu tcio ,” the question 
 arises in the mind of the listener, which yun of many is it. 
 And so with reference to the other characters ; and as they 
 are rapidly pronounced one after another, the mind is lost in 
 a maze of uncertainty. We have analogies in our own lan- 
 guage of the same sound, belonging to entirely different 
 words: for instance, write, rite, right, wright ; also, sound, a 
 noise ; sound, a body of water, and sound, to fathom. In the 
 former illustration, the different words, though pronounced 
 the same, are written differently, which is always the case in 
 Chinese ; in the latter illustration, the words are both writ- 
 ten and pronounced alike. In our language, these monopho- 
 nous words are so few that the other words in the sentence 
 clearly fix the meaning ; but what is exceptional with us is 
 general with the Chinese. 
 
 The indefiniteness in distinguishing monosyllabic words 
 is diminished much, though by no means fully obviated, by 
 the introduction of tones and aspirates. Thus, four words spell- 
 ed precisely alike, for instance, chang, chang, chang, ehang, 
 may, by being uttered Avith the different tones w T hich belong 
 to them respectively, be made as distinct and intelligible to a 
 Chinaman’s ear as if they were differently spelled and pro- 
 nounced. To illustrate the aspirates : tien, with an aspirate 
 (a slight h betAveen the t and i ), means heaven ; without it, 
 a dot ; ting, with an aspirate, means to hear ; Avithout it, a 
 nail. These important distinctions belong both to the Avrit- 
 ten and the spoken languages, but, as stated before, they are 
 
198 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 not sufficient to make the written language intelligible to the 
 ear. 
 
 By a singular contrariety (as the Chinese seem to be our 
 antipodes in almost every thing), while we, in reading to our- 
 selves, seldom read aloud, they almost always do, notwith- 
 standing the sounds convey no meaning to the ear. This cus- 
 tom may be followed partly from force of habit, having 
 studied in this way in school, or in order to fix the attention 
 more closely by using the voice; but is due principally,.! think, 
 to a desire to heighten the pleasure of reading by catching 
 the rhythm of the sentences with the ear while the sense is 
 conveyed to the eye. 
 
 But a reader may object, “Are not the Confucian Class- 
 ics composed in the written language of China ?” “ Certain- 
 ly.” “ And do we not hear that the Chinese quote these 
 classics orally in conversation ?” “Yes.” “ Are they intelli- 
 gible as thus quoted ?” “ Most certainly.” “ Then is not this 
 inconsistent with what lias just been stated, that the language 
 can not be understood as heard ?” This would seem contra- 
 dictory in English , but is not in Chinese. A new or unfa- 
 miliar composition heard for the first time is unintelligible ; 
 but a familiar one, and especially one which has been commit- 
 ted to memory, is recognized at once, and each word or sound 
 becomes definite, and brings up to the mind’s eye the charac- 
 ter which it represents. The sounds would not be recognized 
 separately, or in new combinations, but they are in old or fa- 
 miliar connections and associations. The first sentence of the 
 first chapter of John, which has been quoted, would be recog- 
 nized by the ear of every Chinese Christian who reads his 
 Bible, because he has become acquainted with them as thus 
 associated, while he has probably never heard them pro- 
 nounced together, and in the same order, in any other compo- 
 sition. Illiterate Chinese who can not read at all will also 
 quote the classics intelligibly, j ust as one may use an occa- 
 sional word or sentence of French without having ever studied 
 that language. 
 
OTHER CHARACTERISTICS EXPLAINED. 
 
 199 
 
 It may be objected again, “ If, as is frequently said, the lan- 
 guage speaks to the eye, bow is it that it is not ideograph- 
 ic ?” The answer to this question will perhaps serve to add 
 clearness to the answer to the previous one. For want of a 
 better, I will make use of the following homely illustration : “ I 
 wish you to imitate the examples of Smith, Jones, and Brown.” 
 ISTow the hearing of this sentence would not bring before the 
 mind the particular individuals of those numerous families 
 designated, nor, as a matter of consequence, the traits of char- 
 acter to be imitated, any more than three monosyllabic Chinese 
 sounds would designate the particular characters which they 
 represent. Suppose these individuals were brought before 
 you ; if they w T ere perfect strangers, you could not, by merely 
 looking at them, tell with any certainty either their individual 
 names or peculiarities. Their faces would probably be just 
 about as ideographic as the Chinese characters. You might 
 think that, from some fancied family resemblance, you were 
 able to guess the name of one or more of them, and, from the 
 general appearance of another, you might learn something of 
 his probable character and peculiarities, but you would be very 
 apt to make mistakes. If, however, you were familiarly ac- 
 quainted with these men, a sight of them would bring up to 
 the mind, by association, all that you knew of them. So of 
 Chinese characters : to one who has studied and become ac- 
 quainted with them individually, they convey to the eye a 
 great deal ; to those who have not, little or nothing. 
 
 The spoken languages of China are various, and they all dif- 
 fer widely from the written, as might be necessarily inferred, 
 from what has been said above. They resemble the written lan- 
 guage, inasmuch as the great proportion of words, and also 
 many of the idioms, or constructions, are the same in both. 
 They differ principally in this, that the spoken languages are 
 less compact, using very often two words for one in the written. 
 It is in a great measure, by this means, that the indefinite words 
 of the written language become clear and specific in the spoken. 
 The character ^ ming , meaning people, would be unintelligi- 
 
200 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 ble, as heard pronounced, but the colloquial for people, viz., pah- 
 sing, could hardly be mistaken. It could not be determined by 
 the ear whether the monosyllable hung represented the charac- 
 ter ^ hung, fair or just, yjy hung, a laborer,^ hung, to attack, 
 Xfi hung, merit, ^ hung, respectful, hung, to provide, or 
 some one of several other characters, all of which have pre- 
 cisely the same pronunciation and tone. But the colloquial 
 words hung-tao, just, hung-tsiang, laborer, hung-hieh, to attack, 
 hung-lao, merit, hung-hin , respectful, hung-yin, to provide for, 
 etc., are recognized by the ear at once. The former illustration 
 is an example of substituting a different compound word in 
 the vernacular for the single one in the written language, pah- 
 sing for ming ; the latter illustration presents the same words 
 in the two different forms, a simple monosyllable in the written 
 language, and the same in combination with another one in the 
 vernacular. 
 
 The other points of difference between the written and 
 spoken languages are different pronouns and particles (which, 
 though comparatively few in number, are in constant use), and 
 variations in constructions, idioms, and pronunciations. 
 
 The relations subsisting between the written and spoken 
 languages are similar, in many respects, to those between the 
 Latin and the spoken languages of Europe a few hundred years 
 ago. The Latin had many points of resemblance with these 
 spoken languages, and was made use of to enrich them all. 
 The Latin was understood by scholars only. It was the com- 
 mon medium of communication between the learned, who spoke 
 different vernacular languages, while the illiterate had no com- 
 mon medium of communication. The analogy referred to 
 holds in all these points. 
 
 The written language of China is understood by the 
 learned, not only of the whole Chinese Emjnre, but also of 
 Japan, Loo-Choo, Corea, Manchuria, and Cochin China ; and 
 through it a far larger proportion of the human race can be 
 reached and influenced than through any other language of 
 the world. When illiterate men wish to communicate by let- 
 
DIVERSITY OF THE SPOKEN LANGUAGES. 
 
 201 
 
 ter with friends in other provinces, they go to a literary ac- 
 quaintance or to the village school-teacher, and communicate 
 their wishes to him in their vernacular. The scholar, recast- 
 ing the ideas in a new form, composes the letter in the Avrit- 
 ten language. When it reaches its destination, the person 
 Avho receives it, if he is not a scholar, engages some one else 
 who is able to do it to translate the letter into his vernacular. 
 In this way persons communicate with each other who can 
 not write at all, and who could not converse intelligibly, were 
 they together. 
 
 With reference to the variations of the spoken languages 
 and their relations to each other, somewhat different repre- 
 sentations have been made. They are often spoken of as dif- 
 ferent dialects or variations of the same language. This is 
 true in a degree, but, without explanation and limitation, is 
 calculated to mislead most readers, as they may, with equal 
 propriety, be spoken of as different languages. In the prov- 
 ince of Shantung, a good scholar of that region, after listening 
 some time, and intently, to a conversation between myself and 
 a Ningpo man in the Ningpo dialect, asked me if we were 
 speaking English, not recognizing a single familiar syllable or 
 sound. Natives from the Northern and Southern provinces 
 are as unable to communicate with each other in their vernac- 
 ulars as an Englishman would be to communicate Avith a Ger- 
 man or a Spaniard. Visiting the southern part of China, fa- 
 miliarly acquainted Avith the Ningpo dialect and the Court 
 dialect, in listening to long conversations and to sermons in 
 the Amoy dialect, I was not able to detect at first a single 
 idea or word. In Canton I could catch the general drift of 
 sermons, though I could distinguish but a very few words. 
 
 An estimation of the number of different spoken languages 
 or dialects in China will depend, of course, upon the degree 
 of divergence or unintelligibility which shall be regarded suf- 
 ficient to constitute a different language. In most cases, the 
 vernaculars shade off into each other by almost imperceptible 
 gradations. In travelling twenty or thirty miles in the south 
 
 I 2 
 
202 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 of China, you may notice slight changes in the speech of the 
 common people. In travelling eighty or one hundred miles, 
 the changes are more marked, and oral communication be- 
 comes difficult. In many directions, a journey of one hun- 
 dred and fifty or two hundred miles will bring you into a re- 
 gion where your vernacular is almost useless, except as you 
 may happen to find a person who has lived in the locality 
 where it is spoken, and will act as your interpreter. 
 
 The variations of these dialects consist in the use of differ- 
 ent' pronouns and particles, and differences of words and ex- 
 pressions, pronunciations and tones. Though at first a new 
 dialect, when heard spoken rapidly, seems entirely different, 
 a little attention and study will bring to light familiar words 
 and expressions in new forms, and the transition from one 
 dialect to another is easy, compared to the first acquisition of 
 any of them. It is often noticed that persons always speak 
 the first dialect which they learn with greater accuracy and 
 purity than any acquired afterward, as one is apt to carry 
 peculiarities of the first into all others which are based upon 
 it. 
 
 Variations of dialects take place much more rapidly and 
 widely in some parts of the country than in others. A mark- 
 ed distinction in this respect is seen between the Northern 
 and Southern provinces, the degree of variation being very 
 great in the South, as compared to the North. South of the 
 River Yiang-tz a great number of dialects is spoken ; north 
 of the river, but one general language, or dialect, with com- 
 paratively unimportant variations. Different dialects, having 
 common affinities, may be grouped into classes or families. 
 Those which are more generally spoken have been reduced to 
 writing, and have their own separate literatures. Of these, 
 the Canton, Fu-chau, and the Northern or Court dialect, may 
 be particularly mentioned. The most of the dialects are not 
 written, have no literature, and it is difficult to write them 
 purely by means of the characters used in the written lan- 
 guage, because many words occur in the vernaculars which 
 
PECULIARITIES OF THE MANDARIN DIALECT. 203 
 
 do not occur in the written language, and, consequently, have 
 no character in it to represent them. 
 
 The Court dialect is worthy of particular notice, since, as 
 before stated, it is spoken with variations over nearly the 
 whole of Northern China. It has been fixed upon by the gov- 
 ernment as a common spoken language, to be learned by all its 
 officials, and used in all the yamuns throughout the empire. 
 Hence the term Court dialect. It is also often called by 
 foreigners Mandarin, which is, I believe, a Portuguese word, 
 from the Latin “ mando ,” “ to command.” The Chinese word 
 is Kwaii-liwa , the “ language of officers.” Many of the ficti- 
 tious works of China are written in this dialect. On account 
 of its prominence and importance as a written language, and 
 perhaps because Mandarin books present precisely the same 
 appearance as books in the literary language, some suppose 
 that the Mandarin and the written language are identical ; this 
 is altogether a mistake. The Mandarin is simply one of the 
 many spoken languages of China, and bears the same relation 
 to the classical language, or language of books, that the other 
 spoken dialects do. It owes its prominence to the three facts 
 stated above, viz., that it is spoken over a wider region of 
 country, it is the common medium of communication between 
 officials throughout the empire, and is reduced to writing and 
 has an extensive literature. 
 
 Many persons in the United States and England have also 
 received the impression that the Mandarin dialect is a kind 
 of superior or more refined spoken language, used by the 
 higher classes and scholars in contradistinction to the com- 
 mon people. This is also a mistake. Scholars and the high- 
 er class in every part of the empire speak the vernacular of 
 their own locality in common with the masses, and generally 
 know no other. When they go to the capital to attend the 
 examinations, they naturally become more or less acquainted 
 with it by hearing it constantly spoken ; and when they suc- 
 ceed in the examinations, and obtain official positions, they 
 are obliged to learn it as the universal and exclusive medium 
 
204 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 for transacting official business. Many of the officers of 
 the empire speak it very imperfectly it being corrupted and 
 vitiated by their original dialects or mother-tongues. Schol- 
 ars, men of leisure, and business men and travellers, often 
 learn this dialect as an accomplishment or a convenience. A 
 person acquainted with it will find a few in almost every part 
 of the empire with whom he can communicate ; if nowhere 
 else, certainly in the yamuns. 
 
 A very singular-spoken language, called Pigeon-Englisli, 
 has sprung up on the coast of China during the last thirty 
 years, which merits a special notice, not on account of its char- 
 acter or general prevalence, but because it is the almost exclu- 
 sive medium of communication between natives and foreigners 
 at the open ports. This language has grown out of the neces- 
 sities of the condition in which the two races are placed, and 
 certainly nothing but extreme necessity could justify the use 
 of such an uncouth and ridiculous jargon. Neither party, na- 
 tives or foreigners, has the time or opportunity to learn the 
 language of the other, but they must communicate ideas at 
 once. A compromise has been effected in forming a language 
 made up mostly of English words in a modified or corrupted 
 form, with an admixture of Portuguese and Chinese, wrought 
 into Chinese idioms. The manner in which many English 
 words are changed or corrupted may be illustrated by the 
 pigeon of “ Pigeon-English.” This new and peculiar lan- 
 guage is used principally in carrying on business, and business 
 is a very important word in it. In asking the Chinaman to 
 pronounce this word, he is found utterly unable to do it, and 
 produces a sound which it is difficult to catch or spell with 
 any precision, but which somewhat resembles the word pig- 
 eon. So the accommodating foreigner, finding that the China- 
 man can pronounce pigeon with tolerable ease and accuracy, 
 takes the liberty of giving the word business the modified 
 form of pigeon, so that the Pigeon-English is supply the Bus- 
 iness-English. Our arbitrary and artificial language is fur- 
 ther simplified, I believe (for I can not speak authoritatively 
 
THE CHINESE ART OP PRINTING. 
 
 205 
 
 on this subject), by making the word my stand for the differ- 
 ent cases and numbers of the first personal pronoun, you for 
 the second, and he for the third. Various other liberties 
 which foreigners take with their mother-tongue need not be 
 mentioned. The whole language, or dialect, is exceedingly 
 meagre, containing, perhaps, only a few hundred words. For- 
 eigners learn to speak it intelligibly (?) in a few weeks, and 
 fluently in a few months, and make it answer all practical 
 purposes. Natives seeking foreign employ sometimes take 
 lessons for a few days of a native professor, who advertises to 
 teach “ Red-haired Talk,” which many of them think is pure 
 English. Others take a position in a foreign establishment, 
 in which they only have to do with their own people, and pick 
 up the language by degrees as they have opportunity. I saw, 
 before leaving China, a translation into this dialect by an En- 
 glishman of the address familiar to most school-boys, “My 
 name is Norval; on the Grampian Hills, my father feeds his 
 flock,” etc. ; a few sentences of the beginning of which may be 
 given, by way of illustration, as follows : “ My name b’long 
 Norval. Top side Keh-lam-pian hill ; my fader chow-chow 
 he sheep.” Hardly a word of the next sentence, “ A frugal 
 swain, whose constant care is to increase his store,” has any 
 equivalent in this poverty-stricken tongue, so a free transla- 
 tions made : “My fader very small heartee man — too much 
 likee dat piecie dolla.” 
 
 A few words on the Chinese art of printing may be of in- 
 terest to some readers. Every page and character of every 
 book is engraved on wooden blocks expressly for that book. 
 In other words, the Chinese do not use movable metallic types. 
 The matter to be printed is beautifully written on a sheet of 
 the usual Chinese transparent paper the same in size as a leaf 
 of the book to be published. This sheet is pasted, with the 
 written side down, on the block or board to be engraved. 
 The engraver cuts out all the blank spots in and around the 
 written letters, leaving them in relief upon the board. An 
 impression taken from the block will give, of course, an exact 
 
20 G 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 counterpart of the written sheet. A block is engraved for 
 each page, and the impressions are taken by hand, without 
 any press or machinery. It would seem that the introduction 
 of our art of printing in China would save a great deal of 
 time and expense. The difficulty, however, is that we are 
 obliged to prepare a font of four or five thousand types in the 
 Chinese instead of less than thirty, as in our language. Several 
 excellent fonts and printing-presses have been introduced, but, 
 as yet, we can hardly say, on the whole, that we have made 
 much advance ivpon the Chinese art of printing either in 
 cheapness or elegance. 
 
 Chinese books are read from the right side of the book or 
 page toward the left, and from the top to the bottom of a 
 page, in vertical instead of horizontal columns. 
 
 The accompanying representation in parallel columns of the 
 different styles made use of in writing and printing Chinese 
 characters, is taken from Williams’s “Middle Kingdom.” 
 The sentence expressed in each column, character for charac- 
 ter, is, “ Writing has six forms, called chuen, called li, called 
 Tciai, called king, called tsau, called sung .” I avail myself of 
 the explanations or descriptions of these various forms taken 
 from the same work. 
 
 “ The Chinese have six different styles of writing d^rac- 
 ters, which. correspond to black-letter, script, italic, Romal^tc., 
 in English, but are much more unlike than these. The first is 
 called chuen shu, from the name of the person who invented it, 
 but foreigners usually call it the seal character, from its most 
 common use in seals and ornamental inscriptions. It is the 
 most ancient style of writing, next to the picture hieroglyph- 
 ics, and has undergone many changes in the course of ages. 
 It is studied by those who cut seals in inscriptions, but no 
 books are ever printed in it. 
 
 “The second is the li shu, or style of official attendants, 
 which was introduced about the Christian era, as an elegant 
 style to be employed in engrossing documents. It is now seen 
 in prefaces and formal inscriptions, though to a small extent. 
 
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VARIOUS FORMS OF CHINESE CHARACTERS. 209 
 
 and requires little or no special study to read it, as it differs 
 but slightly from the following. 
 
 “ The third is the Mai shu, or pattern style, and has been 
 gradually formed by the improvements in good writing. It is 
 the usual form of Chinese characters, and no one can claim a 
 literary name among his countrymen if he can not write neatly 
 and correctly in this style. Books are sometimes printed in it. 
 
 “ The fourth, lung shu, or running hand, is the common hand 
 of a neat writer. It is frequently used in prefaces and inscrip- 
 tions, scrolls and tablets ; and there are books, prepared in par- 
 allel columns, having this and the pattern style arranged for 
 school-boys to learn to write both at the same time. The two 
 differ so much that the running hand can not be read without 
 a special study ; and although this labor is not very serious 
 when the language of books is familiar, still, to become well 
 acquainted with both of them, withdraws many days and 
 months of the pupil from progress in acquiring knowledge to 
 learning two modes of writing the same word. Shopmen use 
 the running hand, and are sometimes better acquainted with 
 its abridged forms than they are with the fuller one of books. 
 
 “ The fifth style is called tscio tsz, or plant character, and is 
 a freer description of running hand than the preceding, being 
 full of abbreviations, and the pencil runs from character to 
 character without taking it from the paper almost at the writ- 
 er’s fancy. It is more difficult to read than the preceding, 
 but, as the abbreviations are somewhat optional, the tscio tsz va- 
 ries considerably, and more or less resembles the running hand 
 according to the will of the writer. The fancy of the Chinese 
 for a “ flowing pencil,” and a mode of writing where the ele- 
 gance and freedom of the caligraphy can be admired as much 
 or more than the style or sentiment of the writing, as well as a 
 desire to contract their multangular characters as much as pos- 
 sible, has contributed to introduce and perpetuate these two 
 styles of writing. How much all these varieties of form super- 
 add to the difficulty of learning the mere apparatus of knowl- 
 edge, need hardly be stated. 
 
210 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 “ The sixth style is called sun < 7 shu, and was introduced un- 
 der the Sung dynasty, in the tenth century, soon after printing 
 on wooden blocks was invented, and still continues to be used 
 more than any other in well printed-books. It differs from 
 the Mai shu, or pattern style, merely in a certain squareness of 
 shape and angularity of stroke, which transcribers for the press 
 only are obliged to learn. Of these six forms of writing, the 
 pattern style'and running hand are the only two which the peo- 
 ple learn to any great extent, although many acquire the knowl- 
 edge of some words in the seal character; and the running 
 hand of every person, especially those engaged in business, ap- 
 proaches more or less to the plant character.” 
 
 In writing, the Chinese use a fine soft cam el’s-hair pencil or 
 brush, holding it in a vertical position with the thumb nearly 
 upright, and the fingers nearly vertical, the lower part of the 
 pen passing between the two middle fingers. Their ink is the 
 common India ink, which is ground on a stone. 
 
 It is a question often asked, “ How much time does it re- 
 quire to learn the Chinese language?” A person of ordinary 
 ability, with close application and perseverance, will be able to 
 acquire one of the spolcen languages, so as to speak it accurate- 
 ly and intelligibly, in about a year, though with a small vocab- 
 ulary. In the course of two or three years, he ought to pos- 
 sess a good vocabulary, and fluency in using it. To become 
 familiar with the written language of China is almost the work 
 of a lifetime. 
 
 Another important question is frequently asked, “ What 
 proportion of the population of China can read ?” Some En- 
 glish writers have made the estimate very large, and some very 
 small. The answer which we will adopt as the true one will 
 depend upon what we regard as reading in China. Many per- 
 sons who have attended school a few years, and learned the 
 names of a considerable number of the most common charac- 
 ters without having learned their meanings, may be able to 
 read a page of a book, or most of the characters in it, very 
 much as a person may read a page of Latin, without knowing 
 
THE NUMBER OF READERS IN CHINA. 
 
 211 
 
 any thing, or but very little, about the language. If we in- 
 clude these persons among the readers of China, their number 
 will be large ; but it is evident that this is not reading in any 
 proper sense. Again, a person in a drug-store may become fa- 
 miliarly acquainted with the characters designating every arti- 
 cle in the store, and also with terms and expressions used in 
 keeping books and writing business letters. Within this little 
 sphere, he may be said to read and write intelligibly and ac- 
 curately, while he may know little or nothing of the language 
 as a whole. The same is true in other occupations. If we ex- 
 clude this class as well as the former from those who can un- 
 derstand literature generally, the proportion of readers is very 
 small. 
 
 Learning to read Chinese is very different from learning 
 to read English. We have an alphabetical system, by which 
 we read our oxen spoken language/ the Chinese must learn 
 a new and difficult language, and also learn to read every 
 word separately and individually. Hardly any of the women 
 in China are taught letters at all; very few of the farmers 
 and artisans, who form the large proportion of the males, can 
 read intelligibly ; and few of the shop-keepers can read the 
 language as a whole. The fact is, there are not many who 
 understand general literature, as the masses of our country 
 do, except professed literary men or scholars. It is my opin- 
 ion that the whole number of those who can read in this 
 sense is not more than three per cent, of the whole population. 
 But we must remember that this three per cent, forms an ag- 
 gregate of twelve millions, and that they are scattered uni- 
 formly over the whole country, and influence all the rest. 
 
 The principal excellences or advantages of the Chinese 
 written language are its remarkable compactness, and its 
 power of expression. It is justly admired for the beauty 
 and variety of its characters, its copiousness, and the delicate 
 shades of meaning which it expresses. To show its fullness 
 in some points, take the following illustrations : In the place 
 of our one word to carry, the Chinese use Tcih, to take or car- 
 
212 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 ry in the hand ; pao, to carry in the arms ; kyih, to carry 
 under the arm ; pung , to carry extended in both arms ; ting, 
 to carry on the head ; pe, to carry on the back ; ticio, to car- 
 ry suspended from the ends of a stick resting on the shoul- 
 der ; tai, to carry suspended from the middle of a pole, or 
 poles, resting on two men’s shoulders. 
 
 The Chinese language, on account of its monosyllabic form, 
 and its being without changes or inflections, has been repre- 
 sented by some modern writers as the most primitive and 
 simple of all languages. Though this may be true, in a cer- 
 tain sense, it is certainly, in its present form, one of the most, 
 if not the most, artificial and elaborate. The difficulties of 
 composing in it may be compared to those of composing in a 
 high style of classical Greek. While many missionaries are 
 able to compose fluently and accurately in the spoken lan- 
 guage in the course of two or three years, and prepare ver- 
 nacular books for the press with very little assistance or re- 
 vision from native scholars, there are very few of those who 
 have been studying the written language ten, fifteen, or twen- 
 ty years, who feel competent to write a book in it unaided 
 by a native literary man. 
 
 The great difficulties connected with the thorough acqui- 
 sition of the written language will necessitate some change or 
 modification of it when the Chinese introduce Western arts 
 and sciences. When matters of more importance claim their 
 attention, their devotion to the study of language simply 
 must be abated. Probably one of the first effects will be that 
 of lowering or simplifying the style of the written language, 
 and bringing it into nearer accordance with the spoken. 
 
ORIGIN OF BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS. 
 
 213 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 BENEVOLENT INSTITUTIONS OF CHINA. 
 
 The Origin of these Institutions, and the Distinctions between them and 
 those in Christian Lands. — Orphan Asylums. — Asylums for Old Men. — 
 Asylums for Animals. — Institutions for the Relief of Widows.— Free 
 Schools. — Chinese Dispensaries. — Institutions for collecting old Pa- 
 per, etc. — Society for the Suppression of immoral Books. — Beggars. — 
 A benevolent Society embracing a Variety of Objects. — Various Bene- 
 factions and Modes of acquiring Merit. 
 
 That benevolent societies are found in a heathen land, 
 may appear strange to W estern readers ; but it is a fact that 
 they exist in China in numbers and variety hardly exceeded 
 in Christian lands. In comparing these institutions with 
 those of the West, one is also struck with the similarity which 
 exists in their nature and objects. We have here Orphan 
 Asylums, Institutions for the Relief of Widows, as well as 
 for the Aged and Infirm, Public Hospitals, and Free Schools, 
 together with other kindred institutions more peculiarly Chi- 
 nese in their character. Moral tracts are also distributed to 
 a great extent. 
 
 Roman Catholics have claimed the honor of introducing 
 these societies into China, but there is evidence that they ex- 
 isted anterior to the introduction of Christianity ; and there 
 is no necessity for seeking for them a foreign origin, as they 
 grow naturally out of the customs and institutions of the peo- 
 ple. These associations, whether in China or in Christian 
 lands, have their common origin in the instinctive sentiment 
 of pity which mankind everywhere feel for the unfortunate 
 and distressed, and the natural promptings of the heart to af- 
 ford the necessary relief. But in projecting and executing 
 
214 
 
 .CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 extensive plans of benevolence, a stronger motive is required 
 than a temporary emotion or impulse. It is in the character 
 of this permanent motive that the distinction between these 
 institutions in Christian and heathen lands is found. Among 
 Christians, the strength of this motive is due mainly to high 
 moral principle, and a sense of duty and responsibility. In 
 China, the principal ingredient in it, though it is strengthen- 
 ed, no doubt, by the higher and nobler impulses of our na- 
 ture, is selfishness. The characteristic feature of the false 
 religions of China is the performance of meritorious actions 
 with a view to the attainment of selfish ends. In doing an 
 act which the conscience pronounces good and right, a China- 
 man imagines that he is justly entitled to some personal advan- 
 tage or reward corresponding to the character of the act per- 
 formed. Each donor, in conferring his bounty, has one or 
 more objects in view more or less specific. The most com- 
 mon objects sought for are success in business, the prosperity 
 and happiness of one’s family, fame, and civil promotion, and 
 the atonement of sin and consequent blessedness in a future 
 state. With these introductory remarks, I propose to present 
 a succinct view of the character and operations of some of the 
 principal benevolent societies which now exist in China. 
 
 Orphan Asylums are found in almost every city, and fre- 
 quently in country villages. They are established by a 
 wealthy individual, or several individuals associated together, 
 and are sometimes supported by a permanent fund, or the 
 proceeds of lands given for that purpose. Most children 
 brought to these establishments are infants whose parents are 
 too poor to support them. The great majority of them are 
 girls. They are put in fhe charge of foster-mothers, who gen- 
 erally live at their own homes, and are required to present 
 them for inspection at the asylum every half-month, when 
 they receive their regular stipend. When the children are 
 about two years old, they are brought back to the establish- 
 ment, and several are put under the care of one nurse. When 
 they have arrived at a suitable age, boys are put out as ap- 
 
VARIOUS BENEVOLENT ASYLUMS IN CHINA. 215 
 
 prentices to learn trades, or sent to free schools ; girls are sold 
 to the poorer classes, according to the custom of the country, 
 as wives. Children of both sexes are, however, not unfre- 
 quently adopted, and treated by their benefactors as their 
 own. While the benevolent design of these institutions is 
 generally at first thoroughly carried out, and the children 
 are well taken care of, the conduct of them afterward too 
 often falls into the hands of those w'ho are only interested in 
 securing their own advantage, and use the funds intrusted to 
 them for their own purposes. The large proportion of chil- 
 dren who die in these asylums is sufficient proof that they are 
 not cared for as they should be. 
 
 In Hang-chow, the provincial capital of Che-kiang, I found, 
 in connection with a variety of benevolent institutions, an 
 Asylum for Old Men, in which I became particularly interest- 
 ed, and which I frequently visited. . It contained, in 1859, 
 about five hundred inmates. The building was large, the 
 beneficiaries were made very comfortable, and every thing con- 
 nected with the establishment was carried on with as much 
 order and system as in a similar institution in bur own coun- 
 try. In addition to an immense dining-room, kitchen, and 
 sleeping apartments, conveniences were afforded in separate 
 buildings for making different articles of handicraft, and the 
 inmates were at liberty to spend as much time as they chose 
 working at some trade, and to make such use as they pleased 
 of whatever they might earn in this Avay. 
 
 Not far from the same city, and forming a part of the 
 large and celebrated Buddhist temple Yumg-si, is, or rather 
 Avas, an institution such as I have not met Avith or heard of 
 elseAvhere, which illustrates at the same time the desire of the 
 Chinese to acquire merit, and the practical influence of the 
 doctrine of the transmigration of souls. The institution re- 
 ferred to is an Asylum for Animals. It Avas a large building 
 a short distance from the temple, and almost every department 
 of the animal kingdom Avas represented in it, and some in 
 large numbers. It was supposed that these animals, placed 
 
216 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 under the fostering influences of this celebrated temple, were 
 almost sure to rise in the scale of being, and that they would 
 probably become men in the next state of existence. Some 
 were family pets which had received this greatest of evidences 
 of affection, that of being made occupants for life of this in- 
 stitution. Many had been bought in the market, and rescued 
 from the butcher’s knife, by persons coming to the temple to 
 worship, who had thus obtained the double merit of saving 
 life, and aiding in the securing of a higher existence in the 
 life to come. 
 
 Societies for affording pecuniary aid to widows are very 
 common, and exist either independently or in connection with 
 societies embracing several distinct objects conjointly. Im- 
 mediately after the death of her husband, a widow receives a 
 larger stipend than at any subsequent time, in order to assist 
 her in providing for her young children. This allowance is 
 gradually diminished ; and as old age approaches, women of 
 this class, if they have no children able to support them, are 
 sometimes transferred to another establishment which pro- 
 vides for the wants of the aged and infirm. When a respecta- 
 ble and worthy widow is in Avant, and the limited number of 
 beneficiaries in the public asylums is complete, private indi- 
 viduals frequently make contributions to afford relief in these 
 particular cases. The peculiar interest felt in this class of 
 Avomen is due to the vieAvs of the Chinese respecting the dis- 
 reputableness of the second marriages of Avidows. Among 
 the poor, and in case of widows Avho have no children to de- 
 pend upon in after-life, a second marriage is alloAvable, though 
 the opposite course is spoken of in terms of the highest com- 
 mendation as honorable and meritorious. The ground for 
 this feeling seems to be respect for the memory of the de- 
 ceased husband. Not only are AA r idows assisted in remaining 
 in the single state as aboA r e mentioned, but they are still fur- 
 ther encouraged to do so by the hope of having stone tablets 
 erected to their memory by the special order, and partly at 
 the expense of the Emperor.' These tablets are in shape 
 
PORTALS IN HONOR OF VIRTUOUS WIDOWS. 217 
 
 like a large gateway, and are everywhere seen forming one of 
 the principal objects in Chinese scenery. They are generally 
 in a conspicuous place by the roadside, near the residence of 
 the family with which the person commemorated was con- 
 nected. They are built about twenty feet high, of the finest 
 hewn stone, with sundry ornaments and inscriptions elaborate- 
 ly carved. It happens occasionally that a daughter devotes 
 
 HONORARY STONE PORTAL TO TI1E MEMORY OF VIRTUOUS AND FILIAL WIDOWS. 
 
 her life to taking care of her parents, refusing ever to marry ; 
 in which case she is regarded with still greater respect, and 
 is honored with a still finer monumental arch. It is part of 
 the business of these societies to be at the trouble and ex- 
 pense of bringing these cases before the notice of the Emper- 
 or, and securing for those who are incapacitated for attend- 
 ing to this business themselves that public consideration and 
 respect which it is supposed they deserve. In the present 
 condition of the empire, it is difficult to obtain money from 
 the imperial treasury for such objects, and a modification of 
 the old practice has been adopted, which consists in inscribing 
 several names on the same tablet. 
 
 K 
 
218 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 Free Day Schools are everywhere to be met with, and 
 some of the larger cities contain several of them. Each one 
 is usually instituted and supported by the benefactions of a 
 rich individual or family. It is not considered very respecta- 
 ble to attend these charity schools, and the pupils in them 
 are, for the most part, the children of the poor. As a gener- 
 al thing, they are also not so well taught as other schools. 
 It need hardly be remarked, that while it is not considered 
 very respectable to attend a native free school, it is still less 
 so to attend a foreign one. This is owing not only to the in- 
 vidiousness of depending upon foreigners for education, but 
 to the fact that foreign as well as native books are taught in 
 them. Pupils are obtained for foreign day schools, either by 
 procuring a superior teacher, or by presents to the boys, or 
 by locating the school where there is no native school to com- 
 pete with it. An effort to start a Christian day school some 
 years since in the city of Chinhai induced the natives to add 
 to the number of their own schools, so that another pupil 
 could not be obtained in the city. 
 
 In some parts of China schools for girls exist, taught by 
 female teachers. In most places, however, females are seldom 
 taught letters, and schools for their benefit are not known. 
 Foreigners, in establishing them, invariably give a little sum 
 of money or some rice for each day’s attendance, and it is 
 thought that these schools could not be kept together in any 
 other way. 
 
 The gratuitous distribution of medicine is quite common 
 in China. In the summer especially, certain remedies much 
 prized by the people may be obtained free of charge from 
 societies which include this among other objects for which 
 they are instituted. There is a very common mode of prac- 
 ticing the healing art, professedly from benevolent motives, 
 in which a selfish object is too apparent. Notices may con- 
 tinually be seen placarded in public places calling the atten- 
 tion of the public to some distinguished personage of the 
 Esculapian school who has learned his art at the capital, or 
 
SUPERSTITIOUS REGARD FOR WRITTEN CHARACTERS. 219 
 
 from some foreigner, or from some distinguished native practi- 
 tioner, or by communication with the genii, who is desirous 
 of relieving those who are in a condition of suffering and dis- 
 tress, and will give them an opportunity to avail themselves 
 of his knowledge and skill without charge, except for the cost 
 of medicine. 
 
 Perhaps the most popular of all the methods of obtaining 
 merit in China is that of collecting old scraps of printed pa- 
 per. This is practiced extensively by individuals and fami- 
 lies, as well as by so- 
 cieties. Persons are 
 hired to go about the 
 streets, and in shops 
 and houses, to gather 
 every thing of the 
 kind which can be 
 seen. The merit of 
 the practice is sup- 
 posed to consist in 
 keeping the Chinese 
 ' written character, so 
 much and so extrava- 
 gantly revered, from 
 being trampled upon, 
 thrown away with 
 other kinds of refuse, 
 or otherwise treated mas with baskets gathering lettered taper. 
 with disrespect. No distinction is made between the writ- 
 ten and printed character; between an old leaf from one of 
 the classics, and one from a vulgar song-book ; between a 
 proclamation of an officer, and the copy-book of a school-boy. 
 In school-rooms, shops, private residences, and sometimes by 
 the roadside, baskets or boxes designed for the reception of 
 these revered scraps are placed in conspicuous situations 
 bearing the inscription, “ Respect printed paper.” When a 
 large quantity of this paper has been collected, it is burned, 
 
220 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 and the ashes are generally carried by j unks to the sea, where 
 they are thrown overboard. 
 
 In this custom of the Chinese we have one of the prin- 
 cipal reasons why the Christian books which we distribute 
 among them are respectfully used and carefully preserved. 
 It is also worthy of remark, that few things excite the feel- 
 ings and prejudices of the Chinese, or produce a more un- 
 favorable impression with regard to foreigners, than the 
 manner in which we are accustomed to treat useless printed 
 paper. It is often referred to as an evidence of our want 
 of right views and principles. Christian Chinese are hard- 
 ly less under the influence of these feelings than the rest of 
 their countrymen, and, in the different parts of China, they 
 have frequently and earnestly expostulated Avith their foreign 
 teachers Avith reference to the course pursued by them in 
 this particular. Some missionaries purposely disregard these 
 prejudices, on the ground that they have their origin in a 
 A T eneration for the God of Letters, and a fear of offending 
 him. Others are of the opinion that this superstition is of a 
 more innocent character, and is chiefly OAving, even in the 
 minds of the heathen Chinese, to an overweening regard for 
 the characters themselves, on account of their antiquity, 
 their beauty, the associations connected with them, and the 
 advantages derived from their use. The fact that native 
 Christians, Avho are thoroughly freed from idolatrous super- 
 stitions, still sympathize Avith their countrymen in this par- 
 ticular, adds to the probability of the latter opinion. It is a 
 question whether regard to the weak consciences of our na- 
 tive brethren, and a care lest the Gospel should be evil spoken 
 of, should not induce us to treat Avith more forbearance and 
 consideration what may be but an innocent and harmless 
 prejudice. 
 
 These singular notions respecting the character have, with- 
 in the past feAV years, been carried to a still greater extreme, 
 causing no little trouble and annoyance. The people have 
 noticed the inconsistency of gathering up fragments of printed 
 
SUPPRESSION OF IMMORAL LITERATURE. 
 
 221 
 
 paper, while they have paid no regard to broken crockery 
 bearing inscriptions. Accordingly, these societies, which eas- 
 ily gain the concurrence, and the sanction and co-operation of 
 the authorities in carrying out their plans, have succeeded in 
 prohibiting, to a great extent, the practice of ornamenting 
 china with their universally admired chirography. Arrange- 
 ments have also been made in some places for buying up at 
 cost all this kind of ware in the shops. Through the influ- 
 ence of these societies, the authorities have also forbidden 
 the working of Chinese letters in embroidery. Not only com- 
 mon symbols now in ordinary use, but other figures and de- 
 signs bearing no resemblance to any character whatever, are 
 declared to be modifications of ancient characters, and are in- 
 cluded under the common interdict. 
 
 A new enterprise originated a few years since in the city 
 of Suchow, and has since been introduced into other places, 
 which can not but be regarded with peculiar interest. Its ex- 
 press object is “ the suppression of immoral books.” This 
 enterprise has also gained the sanction and concurrence of the 
 authorities, and has already done much toward checking the 
 influence of this source of demoralization. The people are not 
 only requested, but required to bring such books as have 
 been prohibited to the head-quarters of this society, where they 
 receive nearly an equivalent for them in money. Not only 
 books, but the stereotyped blocks from which they are print- 
 ed, are thus collected at a great expense, and all are together 
 at stated times committed to the flames. Several of the cele- 
 brated standard novels of China, which, in a moral point of 
 view, will bear favorable comparison with some of the cur- 
 rent popular literature of our own country, have fallen under 
 the ban of this society, and can not now be obtained without 
 great trouble and expense. Instances have occurred in which 
 booksellers who have continued to sell immoral works in the 
 face of these regulations have become obnoxious to public au- 
 thority, and incurred a great sacrifice of reputation and prop- 
 erty. 
 
222 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 Not a small portion of the benefactions of the Chinese is 
 given to beggars — a class which is very numerous. It is not 
 only regarded as meritorious to give to them, but very unpro- 
 pitious to send them away empty. Accordingly, the people 
 are much afraid of beggars, and meekly put up with all sorts 
 of impertinence and insolence from them. They are scarcely 
 ever turned away from a shop without at least a worn-out 
 cash (in value less than one-tenth of a cent), though they 
 sometimes wait a long time to get it. Those who are most 
 boisterous, and give the shop-keeper most trouble, get their 
 allowance soonest, and leave to beset some one else. They 
 are clothed, when clothed at all, in the most disgusting man- 
 ner possible, in order that the people may be anxious the 
 sooner to get rid of them. Some introduce themselves with 
 a boisterous, grating song ; some attract attention by an an- 
 noying rattle; some carry a snake trained to dart out its 
 tongue, to operate upon the fears of those whose sympathies 
 are not so easily reached. Sometimes a company of clamor- 
 ous women with children may be seen together besetting a 
 shop-keeper. If the unfortunate man is unwilling to comply 
 with their demands, or undertakes to drive them from his 
 door, they pour upon him a torrent of abuse, and not unfre- 
 quently beat upon his counter in defiance. There is no help 
 for the poor victim ; though provoked to the last degree, he 
 looks the very picture of despair, afraid to give vent to his 
 anger for fear of calling together an additional number of 
 these harpies, and thus adding to the confusion. Beggars 
 are, in many respects, the most independent men in the em- 
 pire, and it is surprising to see how passively the people sub- 
 mit to their inflictions. The class referred to, however, are 
 the worst kind, and may be called professional beggars. 
 They demand their cash as their right, and return no thanks 
 for it. They usually have a leader, who is distinguished from 
 the common herd by his superior insolence and daring, and 
 woa betide the man Avho has fallen under the displeasure of 
 this beggar-king, and is visited by him and his motley crew 
 
VARIOUS KINDS OF BEGGARS. 
 
 223 
 
 to seek revenge. These gangs are mostly to be feared on 
 wedding and similar occasions. Disturbances may be avoid- 
 ed at such times by giving an amount of money to one of 
 these leaders, who then guards the door for the day, and 
 either buys or beats off all other comers. 
 
 A more worthy class of mendicants may sometimes be dis- 
 tinguished from these, who are really objects of charity. 
 They usually beg by the roadside, in an imploring tone of 
 voice, and repay their benefactors with the wish that they 
 may live a hundred years. The expression used in begging 
 is, “ Perform a good act,” intimating that the person confer- 
 ring a favor, not only relieves the one receiving it, but acquires 
 merit for himself. In some cities and towns arrangements are 
 made for buying off these beggars. Each shop or family 
 pays a yearly beggar’s fee ; the fund thus obtained is given to 
 the fraternity of beggars, and they are expected to appeal for 
 nothing more, and leave the people unmolested — at least, 
 those streets which have paid their contributions. 
 
 There are in Chinese cities public asylums, sustained at 
 the expense of government, containing a limited number of 
 diseased and disabled poor, who receive a daily allowance, 
 insufficient for their support, and eke out the remainder of 
 their living by begging. They are more successful than 
 others, as they carry the evidences of their misfortunes in 
 their physical infirmities, and some of them amass considerable 
 property. These also have their heads or leaders, some of 
 whom are brokers and bill-shavers. They sometimes buy bad 
 bills at a discount, and collect them by attacking the house of 
 the delinquent debtor with an army of beggars, until he is 
 glad to get rid of them by paying it. 
 
 The most popular of the benevolent institutions in Ningpo, 
 and the one having by far the largest income, includes a varie- 
 ty of objects. It has a fund for providing coffins for the poor, 
 a fund for carrying coffins which have bean thrown carelessly 
 aside to some suitable place for interment, and one for collect- 
 ing and burying again human bones which are found exposed 
 
224 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 to view ; also a fund for providing medicine in summer, and 
 warm clothes in winter ; a fund for the relief of widows ; one 
 for gathering old printed paper, and the only one in Ningpo 
 for suppressing immoral books. This society has a large 
 building, with as many secretaries and superintendents as are 
 necessary for the orderly and efficient carrying on of its ex- 
 tensive operations. 
 
 It is also worthy of remark, that most of the roads and 
 fine arch bridges, as well as the public buildings of China, are 
 constructed by voluntary donations. In connection with these 
 public works it is very common to see stone tablets erected, 
 containing the names of the donors and the amounts of their 
 subscriptions. 
 
 Tea is in many places provided for travellers, and offered 
 gratuitously in resting-houses by the roadside. Poor scholars 
 are furnished with money for travelling expenses in attending 
 the literary examinations. 
 
 A family in Ningpo is quite celebrated for hiring a com- 
 pany of masons during a part of the year to go about the 
 country repairing graves so old that it is not known to whom 
 they belong. Though not a remnant of a coffin or of bones 
 can be found in them, new bricks are made to enclose the 
 place which once contained the coffin, and these are covered 
 with flag-stones, on which earth is piled in the form of a new 
 tomb. Though nothing can be seen in them, it is said “the 
 ashes still repose there.” A young member of this family 
 has lately been successful in the provincial examination, and 
 his good fortune is supposed to be due to the merit resulting 
 from this enterprise. It is currently reported that his com- 
 positions were rejected by one of the public examiners at first, 
 but were afterward forced upon his attention in dreams on 
 successive nights by crowds of interested earnest persons, 
 believed to be the grateful spirits belonging to the graves 
 which have been repaired. 
 
 To attempt to enumerate all the modes of acquiring merit 
 in China would be as tedious as it would be useless. The in- 
 
225 
 
 “the poor can not acquire merit.” 
 
 stitutions referred to above have been cited as the principal 
 and most important, the practice of tract distribution being 
 reserved for a separate chapter. The names and objects of 
 these societies differ in different sections of the empire. 
 
 It is a remark often heard in China from those who are 
 urged to seek for happiness in a future state, that they are 
 poor, and can not perform deeds of merit. How little do we 
 who are possessed of it appreciate the blessings of that Gospel 
 which is preached to the poor, and makes those who are rich 
 in faith alone heirs of a heavenly and unfading inheritance. 
 
 K 2 
 
226 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 THE MORAL TRACT LITERATURE OF CHINA. 
 
 The Literature of China, various and extensive. — The Relation of moral 
 Tracts to the Chinese religious Systems. — Different Kinds of Tracts. — 
 Table of Contents of “ Light in the Dark Dwelling.” — Motives to which 
 the distributing of Tracts is due. — The Work is done by Individuals, 
 and not Societies. — These Works evidence the Teachings of natural 
 Religion, and the Necessity of a superior Revelation. — Translation of 
 “Ode on Emptiness.” — “Ode on Discontent.” — Treatise on “Rewards 
 and Punishments.” — Tracts presented to Gods. — Their Influence on 
 the People. — Our Encouragements and Discouragements in distribu- 
 ting Christian Tracts. 
 
 The literature of China is very extensive, and embraces a 
 great variety of works : classical, historical, metaphysical, 
 controversial, poetical, fictitious, medical, biographical, and 
 dramatic ; and also works connected with Buddhism and 
 Tauism, and those relating to the different arts, sciences, oc- 
 cupations, etc. 
 
 Passing over these departments of literature with the 
 simple reference to them, I propose in this chapter to speak 
 of books on practical morality, having for their special and 
 professed object the inculcation of virtue, the reforming of 
 the age, and the elevating of the standard of morals. 
 
 The fact that the gratuitous distribution of tracts has 
 long been practiced in China, is hardly less remarkable than 
 the moral tone and character of the tracts themselves. This 
 literature is different from books distinctively belonging to 
 the three religions, the latter treating of their respective sys- 
 tems in detail, and containing little of interest to the general 
 reader, on account of their prolixity and abstruseness. Moral 
 tracts are, for the most part, written by Confucianists whose 
 
CELEBRATED BCj£>KS ON MORALITY. 
 
 227 
 
 minds are strongly tinctured with Buddhist and Tauist views. 
 The training which scholars obtain in the school of Confucius 
 gives to their books a richness of diction and a high literary 
 finish, while the other two systems, particularly Buddhism, 
 supply those ideas respecting superior and inferior deities, de- 
 parted spirits, and a future state, which so naturally and 
 strongly impress the human mind. 
 
 These tracts, though differing in size and form, have for 
 their common object the inculcation of one or more of the 
 esteemed virtues. Some are large, and comprehend the whole 
 circle of virtues as held by the Chinese ; some are small, 
 and relate only to one. Some, on account of their superior 
 excellences in matter or style, are regarded as standard 
 works, and are known throughout the eighteen provinces; 
 others have only a temporary and local fame. The former 
 generally have, as their basis, reputed revelations from differ- 
 ent deities relating to the performance of various duties, to 
 the strict superintendence of the gods over the actions of 
 men, and the rewards and punishments of a future state. 
 
 Prominent among this class of works may be mentioned 
 “ The Sacred Edict “ Traditions for Reforming Manners 
 “ A Book to be Revered and Believed “ A Book to be read 
 by Every Body “ Guide to Prosperity A Book on Re- 
 wards and Punishments “ A Book on Daily Self-examina- 
 tion,” and “■ Light in a Dark Dwelling.” The authors of 
 these works are, for the most part, men high in station and 
 influence, and the first one named was written by one of the 
 most renowned Emperors of the present dynasty. 
 
 Perhaps a correct idea of the character of these books, and 
 the matter which they contain, could not be better conveyed 
 to a person not conversant with the Chinese than by trans- 
 lating the table of contents of the last one in the above list. 
 The first volume is principally occupied with the most im- 
 portant of the revelations of the gods, to most of which are 
 appended explanations and remarkable events, for the purpose 
 of showing their genuineness, and the good they have been the 
 
228 CHINA AND TIJE CHINESE. 
 
 means of conferring on the people. These professed revela- 
 tions are obtained in the manner described in Chapter XII. 
 The first volume also contains “ An Ode on the Acquisition 
 of Happiness “ An Ode on Contentment “ An Ode on 
 Discontent “ An Ode on the Emptiness of all Human 
 Things “ An Essay to dissuade from drowning Female 
 Children ;” and, lastly, “ Resolutions of Doubts which might 
 be suggested to the Mind of the Reader in perusing the fore- 
 going Sections.” The second volume contains, first, “ A gen- 
 eral Dissertation on Mirrors” (i. e., facts of histoiy, reflecting 
 lessons of the past) ; then follow “ The Mirror of reverencing 
 Heaven;” “The Mirror of Filial Duty;” “An Ode to exhort 
 to Filial Duty;” “An Ode of Eight Opposites or Contrasts ;” 
 “ The Mirror of the Fraternal Relation ;” “ The Mirror of the 
 .Conjugal Relation;” “The Mirror of Loyalty;” “The Mir- 
 ror of Friendship ;” “ The Mirror of Kindness,” etc. Other 
 chapters follow on the subjects of licentiousness, geomancy, 
 litigation, deceit, selfishness, the bringing to light of secret 
 things, virtue, lowly-mindedness, forbearance, evil-speaking, 
 the duties of teacher and pupil, and the duty to refrain from 
 taking animal life. To these are appended a chapter on max- 
 ims to be kept continually before the mind, and one # contain- 
 ing exhortations to abstain from the use of opium, with eight 
 reasons. 
 
 The inj unctions of these 'books, relating almost exclusive- 
 ly to the duties of the Five Relations, and being deduced 
 from the knowledge of right and wrong which God has made 
 a part of the intuitions of man’s moral nature, are, for the 
 most part, just and admirable ; and many of the arguments 
 by which they are enforced are clear and striking. Some of 
 these books are almost entirely taken up with statements of 
 moral duties, and collections of excellent precepts and max- 
 ims, with a very little admixture of superstition and idolatry. 
 In the great majority of them, most of the motives by which 
 these duties are inculcated are superstitious and frivolous in 
 the extreme ; forming a strange and pitiable commingling of 
 
MOTIVES TO TRACT DISTRIBUTION". 
 
 229 
 
 light and darkness, truth and error, the inconsistency and in- 
 congruity of which the people seem utterly unable to per- 
 ceive. In order to urge man to the performance of duty, the 
 greater part of some tracts is taken up with accounts of won- 
 derful interpositions of the gods in behalf of men who 
 have performed meritorious actions, evidences of men being 
 changed into animals on account of sins in a previous life, 
 and sundry revelations of gods and spirits relating to the un- 
 seen world. According to Chinese morality, this deception and 
 falsehood are regarded as excusable when they are practiced 
 in order to frighten either children or men into the perform- 
 ance of duty. Hence the many incredible stories with which 
 these books are filled, which, with their precise dates and 
 names of persons and places, are now regarded as authentic, 
 probably owed their origin in the first instance to the (in the 
 Chinese view) laudable endeavor to deceive, coax, or frighten 
 people for their good. 
 
 The motive which leads to the distribution of these books 
 is, with few, if any, exceptions, a selfish one. This work is 
 regarded as one of merit, in consequence of which great advan- 
 tages will accrue to those engaged in it. The end sought is to 
 secure the favor and interposition of the gods in times of 
 special emergency and danger, or to avert some anticipated 
 calamity, or to obtain some other object earnestly desired. 
 The circumstances under which tracts are most frequently 
 distributed are the following : the severe and dangerous ill- 
 ness of one’s self, parent, or near relative, the being without 
 a son and heir, delicate health, and the apprehension of pre- 
 mature death, and a desire to obtain wealth or success at the 
 literary examinations — these objects relating, in most cases, 
 to the present life. 
 
 As might be inferred from the above, there is in China 
 nothing to correspond to the publishing societies of Western 
 countries. Individuals, in printing the first edition of a book, 
 generally intimate on the title-page at what place the blocks 
 may be found, so that any other persons may afterward strike 
 
230 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 off any number of additional impressions by incurring only 
 the expense of paper and printing. These books are disposed 
 •of gratuitously, or at a price barely sufficient to cover the 
 cost of publishing. They are distributed sometimes by a 
 person employed to carry them from house to house, some- 
 times by being placed in book-stores, to be taken by those 
 who wish them, and sometimes at the public literary examina- 
 tions. The last method has the two great advantages of 
 giving books a wider circulation by means of persons collect- 
 ed from different sections of the country, and also putting 
 them in the hands of those who are most able and disposed to 
 read them. Missionaries at the different ports have taken ad- 
 vantage of this mode of circulating books with much encour- 
 agement. 
 
 The tract literature of China is invested with peculiar in- 
 terest and importance, not only on account of its presenting a 
 correct portraiture of the religious and superstitious views of 
 the people, but as giving a practical illustration of the amount 
 of knowledge which can be derived from the light of nature, 
 and of the necessity of a superior revelation. 
 
 Among the most prominent facts which the tracts of the 
 Chinese disclose is a consciousness of sin and personal re- 
 sponsibility which is the basis and originating cause of all 
 their idolatrous systems. Connected with this consciousness 
 of sin and fear of future punishment is a restlessness and 
 longing for some way of escape from sin and its consequences. 
 Different modes devised all recognize the essential idea of 
 merit as an atonement for ill-desert. The idea of rewards 
 and punishments is not only held in its general form, but it is 
 universally taught, and usually believed, that an accurate ac- 
 count is kept of all men’s actions with reference to a strict 
 and just examination and award in the future. Men are so 
 impressed with this belief, that near the close of life they 
 sometimes effect a thorough reform, and are earnest and per- 
 severing in the use of such means as their systems prescribe 
 for the atonement of past misdeeds. A noted Chinese schol- 
 
ODE ON EMPTINESS. 
 
 231 
 
 ar who lived in the city of Chinhai, who had spent much of 
 his life in writing and printing verses of an immoral tendency, 
 was led by remorse and fear to endeavor to undo the evil in- 
 fluences of his past conduct, and devoted his talents during 
 the remaining part of his life to writing books of an entirely 
 opposite character. 
 
 A prominent idea in most of these books, and one which 
 forms the key-note of some, is that of the vanity and unsatis- 
 factory nature of all earthly things. A literal translation of a 
 Chinese ode on “ The EmjMiness of all Things,” taken from 
 the tract whose contents are given above, may be of interest 
 in showing the universality of the sentiment, “Vanity of van- 
 ities, all is vanity.” Versification of this and the following ode 
 is not attempted, and it is but j\ist to add that these transla- 
 tions only approximate to the terseness and force of the origi- 
 nals. 
 
 “ODE ON EMPTINESS. 
 
 “ Observe the floating multitudes of living beings coming from the south 
 and going to the north, walking hither and thither : all is vanity. 
 
 “ Pleaven is emptiness, earth is emptiness ; so also is insignificant man, 
 dwelling between them. 
 
 “ The sun is emptiness ; the moon is emptiness ; they rise in the east 
 and set in the west, and what is the advantage of it ? 
 
 “Fields are emptiness, land is emptiness; how many different proprie- 
 tors are they continually exchanging ! 
 
 “ Wives are vanity, children are vanity ; in the winding roads of yellow- 
 streamed Tartarus they are seldom permitted to meet. 
 
 “ Gold is emptiness, silver is emptiness ; after death, how can we retain 
 them in our grasp ? 
 
 “ Houses ^re emptiness, mansions are emptiness ; in the twinkling of an 
 eye, they are exchanged for the lonely mound outside the city wall. 
 
 ‘ ‘ Station is vanity, office is vanity ; when the tide of fortune is spent, the 
 retributions of justice begin, and remorse is without bounds. 
 
 “ Chariots are vanity, horses are vanity ; the thing remains, the man de- 
 parts ; a shadow leaves no trace behind. 
 
 “ It may be said of every thing in earth which affords happiness, after a 
 little time the gratification passes away, and it is, after all, but emptiness. 
 
 “ The conclusion of all is, that only one thing is real, and that is the ef- 
 fect of virtuous deeds leaving their lasting impress on our individual being.’’ 
 
232 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 An ode on discontent, from the same work, is as follows : 
 
 “ODE ON DISCONTENT. 
 
 “ A man busily employed all day becomes hungry ; 
 
 When hunger is satisfied, he thinks of clothing. 
 
 Abundantly supplied with both food and clothing, 
 lie mourns that he has in his house no fair-eyed wife. 
 
 Possessed of a charming wife and beautiful concubine, 
 
 He finds that he is without suitable vehicles for appearing in public. 
 With numerous vehicles, and droves of horses and mules, 
 
 His land is found insufficient to supply his wants. 
 
 He purchases thousands and tens of thousands of fertile acres, 
 
 But, without official station, men treat him with disrespect. 
 
 He regards the seventh and fifth rank with dissatisfaction, 
 
 And the fourth and third are also too low for him. 
 
 Advanced to the first position of prime minister at court, 
 
 He conceives the wish of being Emperor a short time. 
 
 His desires gratified, he becomes the Son of Heaven, 
 
 And again wishes for ten thousand ages to escape death. 
 
 His numerous and foolish longings know no stopping-place ; 
 
 At last a coffin forever hides him, 
 
 And he passes away, still hugging his discontent.” 
 
 We learn from these books that the idea of ‘the necessity 
 of a revelation from heaven is natural, and that it is a conclu- 
 sion to which the tendency of the human mind invariably 
 leads. Man feels that no light but that of heaven can dispel 
 the darkness and doubt in which he is involved ; and refusing 
 to be satisfied without it, readily accepts the spurious revela- 
 tions which are offered him. These are but the transcript of 
 the popular superstitions, framed by designing men to satisfy 
 a felt want, which, in process of time come to be regarded as 
 authentic documents ; thus giving to vague surmises the dig- 
 nity of revealed truth, and the higher sanction of divine au- 
 thority. One or more of these pretended revelations usually 
 forms the basis of the larger and more noted tracts. Some 
 of them, on account of the beauty of their style, and the im- 
 portance of the truths which they present, have acquired a 
 universal celebrity, and may almost be ranked among the Chi- 
 nese classics. The one perhaps most frequently met with is a 
 
A REPUTED REVELATION - . 
 
 238 
 
 professed revelation from the founder and principal god of the 
 Tauist sect. The whole is worthy of perusal ; but the limits 
 of a chapter will only allow of a few extracts from different 
 parts of it, which may serve as a fair sample of the whole. 
 
 “TREATISE ON REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS. 
 
 “ Ta-sliang said, Misery and Happiness have of themselves no door of ac- 
 cess to man, but man invites them; Virtue and Vice are connected with 
 their appropriate rewards as the shadow follows the substance. Heaven 
 and earth have divinities which preside over the sins of men, and, according 
 to the degree of their aggravation, subtract front each individual’s merit. 
 This lessened, misfortunes follow ; the offending man meets with innumera- 
 ble troubles and distresses ; his fellow-men hate him ; punishment and sor- 
 row follow him ; auspicious influences flee from him ; baleful stars pursue 
 hint ; when the allotments of fate are fulfilled, he diel Over the heads of 
 men there are also the three divinities of the Northern Constellation, who 
 make a record of all their offenses, and snatch front them the original al- 
 lotments of fate. * * * * * * * 
 
 “ When you see the way of truth, enter it. What is not truth, avoid it. 
 Watch not in false ways. Do not deceive yourself in committing sins in 
 secret. Add to the store of your virtues, and thus increase your merits. 
 Let your compassion extend to every object. Be loyal, dutiful, and affec- 
 tionate. Reform yourself, that you may reform others. Pity the desolate, 
 compassionate the distressed. Honor the aged, be kind to the young. 
 Have a care not to harm either reptiles or plants. Sympathize with the 
 unfortunate, rejoice over the virtuous. Help those who are in difficulty, 
 save those who are in distress. Regard the good fortune and losses of others 
 as if they were your own. Do not make a display either of the faults of 
 others or of your own excellences. Suppress what is evil, give currency to 
 what is good. Decline the greater advantage, and be content with the less. 
 Receive abuse without, resentment ; receive favors, as it were, with trem- 
 bling. Dispense favors without asking a return. Give to others without 
 after regrets. 
 
 “ As regards the virtuous man, all men honor him ; heaven protects him ; 
 happiness and fortune, follow him ; evil influences flee far from him ; di- 
 vine spirits attend him; whatever he does will prove successful; and he 
 may aspire to being one of the genii of heaven. If you wish to become one 
 of the genii of heaven, it is necessary to perform 1300 meritorious deeds ; 
 if to be one of earth, to perform 300. ****** 
 
 “Avoid stepping over a well or over a fire-place; leaping over food or 
 men ; destroying children before or after birth ; doing things in a secret 
 and underhanded manner ; singing or dancing on the 12th or 30th of the 
 month ; getting in a passion on the first day of the month ; shedding tears, 
 
234 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 spitting, etc., with the face toward the North Star; reciting or chanting verses 
 or wailing in the presence of the Kitchen God ; lighting incense-sticks with 
 fire from the kitchen ; using filthy fuel in cooking food ; rising and going out 
 in the night undressed ; punishing criminals on either of the eight festivals; 
 spitting at a shooting-star ; pointing at the rainbow, or the sun, moon, and 
 stars; gazing for a long time at the sun or moon ; hunting in the spring; 
 cursing with the face toward the North Star; killing turtles and beating 
 snakes without a cause ; for such sins as these, according as they are trivial 
 or aggravated, the gods who preside over destiny subtract a smaller or 
 larger number of years from the allotments of fate. If punishments still 
 remain, they are visited upon one’s descendants. Moreover, if riches are 
 acquired by unlawful means, the retribution falls upon one’s wife, children, 
 and family, until they die ; or, if their lives are spared, the work of retri- 
 bution is done by floods, conflagrations, and robbers, destroying property, 
 and introducing want, disease, dissensions, and domestic evils, until the 
 full price of ill-gotteh wealth is exacted. To kill another from revenge is 
 but providing a sword for one’s own destruction. To appropriate to one’s 
 self ill-gotten gain, is, as it were, to allay hunger by poisoned food, or to 
 quench thirst by poisoned wine ; not that it does not afford temporary re- 
 lief, but death quickly follows. If a desire to do right arises in the mind, 
 though that desire has not been acted upon, propitious divinities are pres- 
 ent to aid and bless. On the other hand, if the mind harbors evil pur- 
 poses, though they have not vet been carried out, divinities are also pres- 
 ent to inflict evil. If a person has been guilty of wicked deeds, and after- 
 ward repents, rcjqcts every thing which is evil, and follows after every 
 thing which is good, he will in due time certainly be rewarded. This is 
 what is meant by misery being changed into happiness.” 
 
 The estimation in which this production is held, and the 
 benefits which are supposed to result from the use of it, may 
 be gathered from the following paragraph, which is appended 
 to it in a noted Chinese tract : “ The chanting of it once a 
 day will destroy sin and cancel guilt. If you strictly observe 
 its precepts for a month, your happiness and good fortune will 
 be secure. If you follow its injunctions for two years, even 
 your remote ancestors will immediately ascend to heaven. 
 
 If you persevere in willing and permanent obedience to it, 
 your days will be indefinitely jn'olonged ; the gods of heaven 
 will respect and reverence you, and you will be enrolled 
 among the chief of the genii.” 
 
 It is a singular fact in connection with this subject, that m 
 
THE INFLUENCE OF CHINESE TRACTS. 
 
 285 
 
 books of this class are offered as presents, not only to men, 
 but also to the gods, and still more singular, that it is sup- 
 posed that they are conveyed to the deity for whom ‘they are 
 designed by being burned up ! This shows the low estimation 
 in which gods are held, inasmuch as they are supposed to be 
 instructed by the productions of men, while they are depend- 
 ent upon men for putting them in possession of these produc- 
 tions. Numerous instances are given of dangerous diseases 
 being instantly cured, and extraordinary benefits conferred in 
 consequence of offering these books to certain of the gods. 
 
 With reference to the influence of Chinese tracts, it can 
 not be doubted that, in the absence of any thing better, they 
 have the effect of checking and restraining the vices of the 
 people by means of presenting prominently the doctrine of 
 future rewards and punishments. The exhortations to per- 
 form most of the duties enj oined find a hearty response in the 
 hearts of those to whom they are addressed, while the sanc- 
 tion of deities which are both reverenced and feared gives to 
 them additional force. At the same time, many of the con- 
 siderations which are, in reality, empty and frivolous, are pe- 
 culiarly adapted to work upon the superstitious notions of 
 the Chinese. 
 
 From a consideration of this subject, we are better able to 
 understand the light in Av’hich Christian books are regarded 
 and received by the people. 
 
 The distribution of moral and religious tracts is a practice 
 with which they are already familiar, and one which immedi- 
 ately begets a high degree of respect and confidence for those 
 engaged in it. There is, however, a vast amount of error and 
 prejudice to be overcome before our doctrines and our object 
 can be appreciated. We are regarded as good but, perhaps, 
 misguided men, who are endeavoring to introduce a new god, 
 Jesus. In examining our books and comparing them Avith 
 their OAvn, they are disappointed in finding so little promi- 
 nence given to “ the five relations.” The ideas presented are 
 foreign, and many of them do not strike them Avith as much 
 
236 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 force as the views presented in their own works. The liter- 
 ary 'style of most Christian tracts is also comparatively in- 
 ferior — a matter of great importance in their estimation. 
 When reference is made to one supreme God, his spiritual 
 nature, his sovereignty, and his providence, these ideas are 
 strange, and hard to be understood. Most of the evidences 
 of Christianity will be readily admitted ; but to their minds 
 no miracles are more wonderful, and no fulfillment of prophe- 
 cies more extraordinary than the spurious ones with which 
 they are already familiar. No ideas of future happiness or 
 misery are so striking and so readily received as those the 
 human mind has framed to please itself ; no way of salvation 
 from future punishment is so willingly accepted as that based 
 on self-righteousness. 
 
 Another difficulty in writing Christian tracts exists in the 
 Chinese language itself. Having been originally employed as 
 a vehicle for conveying heathen and idolatrous ideas, it is dif- 
 ficult to use it without bringing up those old associations 
 which are everywhere connected with it. The language is 
 rich in religious terms, and has some word approximating to 
 almost every idea -we wish to present, though, in nearly every 
 case, with a different meaning, a different use, and different 
 associations. The question is, whether we shall coin new 
 words, or use old ones ; whether we shall encounter obscurity 
 on the one hand, or misconception on the other. We find, 
 then, even here, where we naturally hope to gain easy access 
 to the hearts of the people, and to obtain a great advantage 
 by the use of a most efficient agency prepared to our hand, 
 that this door of access is, in a measure, barred, and this 
 means of doing good rendered nugatory. 
 
CHINESE FAMILY TIES. 
 
 237 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 SOCIAL CUSTOMS, ETC. 
 
 The Family Tie strong in China. — Minute Distinctions of Relationships. — 
 The Position of Women in China. — Chinese Politeness. — Hospitality. — 
 Costumes. — The Queue. — Small Feet of the Women. — Chinese Houses. 
 — Food and Mode of Eating. — The Use of Tea. — Chinese Wine. — The 
 Use of Tobacco. — General Want of Cleanliness. — Betrothals and 
 Marriages. — Polygamy. — Infanticide. — Slavery. — Funerals. — Coffins. 
 — Graves and Grave-yards. — The extravagant and burdensome Ex- 
 penses of Chinese Weddings and Funerals. 
 
 The family tie in China is strong, and the people are clan- 
 nish. They seldom change their place of residence, and most 
 of them live where their ancestors have lived for many gener- 
 ations. You will frequently find the larger proportion of a 
 small village hearing the same name, in which case the vil- 
 lage often takes its name from the family, as Chang Kia , the 
 the Chang Family ; Sie Kia, the Sie Family. 
 
 Books on filial piety and the domestic relations recommend 
 sons not to leave their parents when married, but to live to- 
 gether lovingly and harmoniously- as one family. This theory 
 is carried out in practice in many, and perhaps to some ex- 
 tent, in most instances, though there as elsewhere it is very 
 often found more satisfactory for each married couple' to have 
 a home of their own. 
 
 In the division of property, some regard is had to primo- 
 geniture ; but different sons share nearly equally. The eldest 
 simply has a somewhat larger portion, and certain household 
 relics and valuables. 
 
 Nice distinctions are made betw r een different degrees of 
 consanguinity, and the names of the varied relationships are 
 almost endless. Not only do they call the wife’s parents by 
 
238 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 different titles from those given to their own, but also the 
 children of brothers by a name denoting a very different and 
 much nearer relationship than that sustained to the children 
 of sisters, and so on. 
 
 The position of woman is intermediate between that which 
 she occupies in Christian and in Mohammedan and other hea- 
 then countries. The manner in which they regard their lot may 
 be inferred from the fact, related in a previous chapter, that 
 their most earnest desire and prayer in worshiping in Bud- 
 dhist temples is, generally, that they may be men in the next 
 state of existence. In many families girls have no individual 
 names, but are simply called No. Two, Three, Four, etc. 
 When married, they are Mr. So-and-so’s wife, and when they 
 have sons, they are such-and-such a boy’s mother. They live 
 i.i a great measure secluded, take no part in general society, 
 and are expected to retire when a stranger or an acquaintance 
 out of the family of the opposite sex enters the house. 
 Among the poor, whose dwellings are small, and who are 
 obliged to depend upon the females of the family to do the 
 work, it is impossible to carry out fully these rules of seclu- 
 sion, and the separation of the sexes is less marked. In some 
 localities the people are more strict in this regard than in 
 others. I heard in the province of Shantung of a stranger 
 being driven but of a village by a mob on account of taking 
 the liberty of asking a woman in the street the road to an 
 adjoining town. 
 
 The claim of one’s parents and brothers upon his affections 
 and love is considered to be paramount to that of his wife. 
 A reason given for this doctrine in a celebrated Chinese work 
 which treats of the domestic relations and duties is, that the 
 loss of a brother is irreparable, but that of a wife is not ! 
 Women are treated with more respect and consideration as 
 they advance in years ; mothers are regarded with great af- 
 fection and tenderness, and grandmothers are sometimes al- 
 most worshiped. 
 
 It is but just to say that a strong attachment often springs 
 
CHINESE POLITENESS. 
 
 239 
 
 up between husband and wife, though they have had nothing 
 to do in making choice of each other, and have never seen 
 each other before marriage. It should be further stated, that 
 the Chinese have found the theory of the inferiority of woman 
 a very difficult one to carry out in practice. Perhaps one reason 
 why they' deny education to the “weaker” sex is because 
 they find it sufficiently difficult to keep her in her proper place 
 without it. While customs and theories vary, human nature 
 and woman’s nature are the same the world over. Women 
 in China have also their ideas of “Woman’s Rights.” There 
 are many families in which the superiority of her will and 
 authority is sufficiently manifest, though not cheerfully ac- 
 knowledged ; and the most that we can say is, that “ hen- 
 pecked husbands ” are perhaps not so numerous as in America 
 and Europe. 
 
 The rules and conventionalities which regulate social life 
 are exceedingly minute and formal. Politeness is a science, 
 and gracefulness of manners a study and discipline. Many pe- 
 culiarities of Chinese manners seem to be almost excessive. 
 The persistent, graceful, and successful effort of a retiring vis- 
 itor to pass from the reception-room through, perhaps, two or 
 three courts, without turning his back upon his host, backing, 
 bowing, and going sideways by turns ; and his earnest and oft- 
 repeated wish that the host should not take the trouble to ac- 
 company him to the outer door, and the as oft-repeated assev- 
 eration of the host that his feelings of gratitude and respect 
 oblige him to do so, are calculated at first sight to provoke a 
 smile. The bowings, compliments, and congratulations which 
 are required in the meeting of two officials are so numerous 
 and difficult to be gone through with properly, that when 
 such persons come upon each other by accident in the street, 
 they pass sometimes without apparent recognition, as there is 
 no proper medium or compromise between the formal courte- 
 sies requii-ed and ignoring each other altogether. When a 
 number of individuals are walking together, you may gener- 
 ally infer their age or rank or position by the order in which 
 
240 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 they naturally and almost unconsciously range themselves. 
 Literary men and gentlemen are expected to walk the streets 
 with a dignified, measured, and superior bearing. 
 
 The excessive politeness of the Chinese is noticed in the 
 language as well as the manners of the people. In asking a 
 friend his place of residence, though you know him to be poor, 
 and that he probably occupies an inferior house, you must 
 use the expression “ Where is your mansion ” or “ honorable 
 mansion?” and he replies, “ My hut” or “hovel” is in such a 
 place. This last expression is equally used by wealthy per- 
 sons living in fine and costly houses. The following, and a 
 great variety of similar . expressions, are constantly heard : 
 “ What is your honorable age ?” “ My empty ” or “ worthless 
 number is forty-five.” “ Is your honorable wife living ?” 
 “The mean person of the inner apartment is still in life.” 
 “ Is your noble son doing well at school ?” “ The contempti- 
 
 ble little dog has learned a few characters.” “ Indeed, you are 
 too polite and deferential.” “I dare not presume to claim 
 such a reputation.” The language used in the epistolary cor- 
 respondence of literary men abounds in words and phrases 
 containing graceful and delicate compliments, and expressions 
 of respect for the person addressed, together with correspond- 
 ing ones of self-depreciation. These forms of expression are 
 used with about as much regard to their literal meaning as in 
 our own language, “ Your most obedient servant,” etc. 
 
 The people are hospitable and generous to a fault — their 
 desire to appear well in these respects often leading them into 
 expenditures entirely disproportionate to their means. J) 
 
 { When, under the influence of passion excited by injustice 
 or insult, quarrels arise in the family or on the street, the wom- 
 en resort to cursing and abuse, which are violent and extreme 
 in proportion to the length of time during which the feelings 
 which prompted them have been restrained. Men bluster and 
 threaten in a manner quite frightful to those imaccustomed to 
 it, but seldom come to blows. In cases of deep resentment, 
 the injured party often adopts a mode of revenge which is 
 
THE CHINESE COSTUME. 
 
 241 
 
 very characteristic. Instead of killing the object of his hate, 
 he determines rather to kill himself. In this way he would fix 
 the stigma of murder upon his adversary, whom the people 
 generally regard as the cause of this catastrophe, and respons- 
 ible for it. A person under these circumstances sometimes 
 commits suicide by hanging himself in his own house ; but 
 the most common mode is to swallow opium, and then hire 
 coolies to carry him to die at the door of his enemy. An ad- 
 ditional motive leading to self-destruction is probably the hope 
 of having greater advantages for inflicting injury and gaining 
 revenge as a disembodied spirit than while living in the flesh. 
 The suicide, at least, enjoys the anticipation of the terrible 
 fright which he will give to his adversary. 
 
 . £,The Chinese costume of both sexes is loose and flowing, 
 and changes in fashion are slow, and slight in degree, as com- 
 pared with ours. The masses of the population wear home- 
 spun cotton. The wealthier classes wear silks, satins, gauzes, 
 furs, and other more costly materials. Summer clothing is 
 very thin and light, while the number of garments and amount 
 of clothing worn in the winter is quite remarkable, and does 
 away with the necessity of using fire-places and stoves.'' 
 
 4 The official rank and position of the Chinese are indica- 
 ted by the color and peculiarities of buttons, feathers, caps, 
 aq^ embroidered insignia on their garments. These official 
 distinctions are much regarded. In meeting with a company 
 of foreigners, they are very apt to notice us carefully to discov- 
 er by what outward badge or mark our rank is indicated, and 
 are apt to conclude that it is by the variety of caps or hats we 
 wear, or, perhaps, by our using or not using walking-sticks, or 
 using those of a particular kind. ^ 
 i 1 he men shave the front part of their heads, reserving a 
 small portion on the top and back pact, which is left to grow, 
 and is braided into a queue. This was not a Chinese custom 
 originally, but belongs properly to the Tartars, and was im- 
 posed upon the Chinese as a token of subjection to the present 
 dynasty. It has now become a necessary part of one’s dress, 
 
 L 
 
242 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 ancl is attended to with a great deal of care. Fops and ex- 
 quisites add false hair to make it longer and larger, and also 
 braid black silk thread to the end of it, increasing its length 
 so that it almost sweeps the ground. The women comb their 
 hair back straight from the forehead and sides of the head, 
 arranging it in a style very elaborate and artistic, adding oft- 
 entimes a profusion of gold and silver ornaments, and natu- 
 ral and artificial flowers. With a general resemblance, the 
 styles in which the women dress their hair vary considerably 
 in different parts of the empire, and indeed of the same prov- 
 ince. 
 
 The practice of binding girl’s feet is almost universal. 
 
 There is a class of women 
 in Canton, and also in Fu- 
 chow, who have natural feet ; 
 but these are the rare ex- 
 ceptions. In all other parts 
 of the empire which I have 
 visited, women of all classes 
 conform indiscriminately to 
 this objectionable custom, 
 and large-footed women are 
 almost unknown, except 
 those who have come fr#m 
 Canton of the class already 
 referred to, and women 
 in the Tartar cities, who 
 do not adopt this Chinese 
 practice. There is, however, 
 a marked difference in the 
 degree in which feet are com- 
 pressed. Country women 
 an<? the poorer classes have feet about half the natural size, 
 while those of the genteel or fashionable class are only about 
 three inches long. 
 
 The process of compressing is commenced after girls have 
 
 LARGE OR NATURAL-FOOTED WOMAN AT FU- 
 CHOW. , 
 
THE CUSTOM OF BINDING FEET. 
 
 243 
 
 thoroughly learned to walk, and have developed the muscles 
 for locomotion — generally at the age of five years. A 
 cotton bandage two or three inches wide is wound tightly 
 about the foot in different directions, and, in the case of the 
 higher classes, the foot can hardly be said to grow from this 
 time. It assumes the shape of an 
 acute triangle, the big toe form- 
 ing the acute angle, and the other 
 toes being bent under the foot, 
 and almost lost or absorbed. A 
 strong resemblance to the gait of 
 these women may be produced 
 by an attempt to walk on one’s 
 heels without allowing the toes to 
 touch the floor. Strange as it 
 may seem, women having small 
 feet, less than the average size, 
 walk ten, fifteen, and more miles 
 a day, to worship at Buddhist 
 temples. Though the effect of 
 this custom is to jn’oduce real de- 
 formity, and a miserable, totter- 
 ing gait, even foreigners naturally 
 come to associate it with gentili- 
 ty and good-breeding, and to es- 
 timate the character and standing of women much as the 
 Chinese do, by the size of their feet. 
 
 This custom has existed for a long time, and the Chinese 
 can not account satisfactorily for its origin. It probably arose 
 from a strife among women for the pre-eminence of having the 
 smallest feet, fond mothers commencing to bind their daugh- 
 ters’ feet before they were grown, and the time for beginning 
 the pi'ocess being gradually changed to an earlier period. 
 The Chinese insist upon it that the custom of compressing 
 women’s feet is neither in as bad taste, nor so injurious to 
 the health, as that of foreign ladies compressing the waist. 
 
244 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 There, as here, not to follow the prevailing fashion is almost 
 to make one’s self an outcast from society. 
 
 Chinese houses are ordinarily furnished with chairs, tables, 
 stands, or tea-poys, and bedsteads. Tables are nearly uniform 
 in size, furnishing a seat for one person on each of its four 
 sides. When large companies are entertained, separate tables 
 are added indefinitely, so that the size of a company invited 
 to a feast is described by the number of tables required. 
 The two sexes eat separately in different rooms. A great 
 deal of urging and declining is gone through with in deter- 
 mining who shall take the first place at each table, and in giv- 
 ing proper places to other guests. In ordinary meals, differ- 
 ent members of the family of both sexes sit down together 
 with much less formality. 
 
 On the tables of the rich and the poor, morning, noon, and 
 night, you see, with few exceptions, the same unvarying buck- 
 et of plain boiled rice, or, in the Northern provinces, millet, 
 which takes the place of it. The difference in the quality and 
 expense of the food of the rich, as compared with that of the 
 poor, consists principally in the kinds of “ relish ” eaten with 
 the rice or millet. The poor have simply a dish of salt veg- 
 etables, or of fresh or salt fish, or two or three of these, or 
 other similar dishes combined, which cost comparatively lit- 
 tle, in addition to what they depend uj5on as the main article 
 of subsistence. The rich have pork, fowls, eggs, fish, and 
 game, prepared in various ways. Before each chair is placed 
 an empty bowl and two chop-sticks, while the dishes contain- 
 ing meat, vegetables, fish, etc., occupy the centre of the table, 
 the food which they contain being cut up in small pieces. The 
 chop-sticks are about eight inches long, and resemble some- 
 what a common pen-holder. They are made of bamboo, 
 wood, or ivory. When seats are taken at the table, a serv- 
 ant, or one of the women of the family, fills the bowls with 
 hot rice. Following the lead of the person at the head of the 
 table, each individual takes uj3 his or her chop-sticks in the 
 right hand, and holding them between the thumb and fingers 
 
ARTICLES OF FOOD. 
 
 245 
 
 in such a manner that the lower ends approach eac^ other like 
 a pair of pincers or tongs, selects one or more mouthfuls 
 from the dishes in the centre of the table. Then the bowl of 
 rice is raised to the lips by the left hand, and the rice is push- 
 ed into the mouth by the chop-sticks in the right. The eat- 
 ing of a Chinese meal consists in a constant alternation be- 
 tween picking up mouthfuls from the plates in the middle of 
 the table and taking rice from the bowl in the manner de- 
 scribed. When a feast is made, a great variety of dishes is 
 served in numerous courses, and rice is not brought on till to- 
 ward the close. 
 
 The Chinese find as much difficulty, and make as awkward 
 work in using knives and forks as we do in using chop-sticks. 
 The latter they regard as much the more suitable and con- 
 venient, and, in using them, will take up and hold firmly ob- 
 jects so small that they would slip between the tines of a 
 fork. To their view, the use of chop-sticks is an evidence of 
 a superior culture ; and the use of such barbarous instruments 
 as knives And forks, and cutting or tearing the meat from the 
 bones on the table, instead of having the food properly pre- 
 pared in the kitchen, evidences a lower type of civilization. 
 
 The wide and almost universal prevalence of the impres- 
 sion that “rats, cats, and puppies” are articles of food in 
 common use among the people, is a notable example of a lo- 
 cal and exceptional custom being taken for a national and 
 universal one, and producing false ideas of a people in the 
 minds of whole nations. I have never seen or heard of a rat, 
 cat, or puppy being eaten in China, though I presume they 
 may be occasionally by paupers. I have been told that dogs 
 are sometimes eaten in Canton. It was here, no doubt, that 
 this rumor originated. Some early visitor in China, seeking 
 for sensational news, has sent home this item of information. 
 In our ignorance of that country this interesting fact was ea- 
 gerly made use of, and illustrated by a special engraving in 
 that part of the geography which treated of China. The ideas 
 suggested by this engraving of the geographers of twenty or 
 
246 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 thirty years ago constitute a large proportion of what many 
 of our people know, or think they know of China. 
 
 Beef is never exposed for sale in the Chinese markets. 
 The meat of the few cattle which. are used for ploughing is, 
 wheo they are killed, disposed of privately, almost clandestine- 
 ly. There is a strong and almost universal prejudice against 
 eating beef, and the practice of- doing so is declaimed against 
 in some of the moral tracts. The reason generally given for 
 this prejudice is that we are so much indebted to the patient 
 labors of the ox and cow for ploughing our fields. Milk is 
 hardly used at all in the eighteen provinces; and in many 
 places our practice of drinking it and using it in cooking is re- 
 garded with the utmost disgust. In all the open ports beef 
 and milk are supplied for the use of foreigners. 
 
 Tea is a universal beverage in the South, and is much 
 prized in the North; though in the provinces where it is not 
 produced — and is for that reason more expensive — the poorer 
 people can hardly afford it. It is generally taken rather weak. 
 It is common to steep it in a tea-pot, but the most polite way 
 to serve guests (and no visitor or caller enters a house without 
 having it offered him) is to have the servant put a few leaves 
 in each cup, then fill the cups with boiling water from the tea- 
 kettle, and place over them the covers which always belong to 
 them. 
 
 There is a beverage very common in China which is called 
 by them lao-tsiu, and by foreigners Chinese wine, though it 
 bears very little resemblance to. any article in Western lands 
 called by that name. It is manufactured from certain kinds 
 of rice and millet, though I am unable to say by what process. 
 It is always drunk warm, and its stimulating or intoxicating 
 properties are about equal to, if they do not exceed, those of 
 light grape wine. Many people drink this wine with their 
 meals habitually. It is always freely used at weddings, and on 
 other festal occasions. Old men especially are recommended 
 to make use of it as a stimulant to promote digestion. A 
 spirit, called Siao-tsm or Sam-shu, is distilled from this wine, 
 
r- 
 
 
1»ABT OF A BRIDAL PROCESSION EN ROUTE TJ THE HOUSE OF T1IE BRIDEGROOM ON THE WEDDING-DAY. 
 
CHINESE WEDDINGS. 
 
 24< I 
 
 which is very strong and intoxicating. Drunkenness in Chi- 
 na is tare, as compared with W estern countries. 
 
 Nearly all the men and many of the women smoke tobac- 
 co, but generally with moderation. They have not yet reached 
 the point of chewing it, and show no’ disposition to imitate 
 the example of foreigners in this respect. The proportion of 
 opium-smokers is not large, as compared to the whole popu- 
 lation. 
 
 The want of cleanly habits presents one of the most disa- 
 greeable features of Chinese life and character. Houses, even 
 those of the rich, have generally a dusty and untidy appear- 
 anceA Under-clothes are not often changed. Clean bed-linen 
 is unknown. Parasitic vermin are too common to be a dis- 
 grace, and offensive sights and smells are so familiar to the 
 people from infancy that they do not seem to be affected by 
 them as we are. N 
 
 Weddings in China are celebrated with a great deal of 
 formality and expense. Betrothals are generally contracted 
 at a very early age. Persons are never betrothed of the same 
 family name, however distant the relationship. The initiative 
 is almost always taken by a class of women called “ go-be- 
 tweens,” or match-makers. They are a class employed at 
 weddings and funerals in superintending the toilet, and afford 
 ing assistance as servants generally. As they go about con- 
 stantly from family to family, they are familiarly acquainted 
 Avith every one in the neighborhood, and suggest to parents 
 where they may find girls who would make a desirable match 
 for their sons. They form the medium for carrying on com- 
 munications between the two families. It would be regarded 
 as improper and indelicate for the parents of either party to 
 ask to see the other, or for parents to arrange the matter 
 themselves, without the intervention of these conventional 
 “go-betweens” or others who perform the same offices. As 
 for the boys or young men, they are supposed to be entirely 
 indifferent as to the whole matter ; and the idea of courtship, 
 love-letters, etc., would, according to Chinese views of proprie- 
 
 L 2 
 
250 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 died when very young boys. In many instances these widows 
 who have never been married spend their lives with the par- 
 ents of their deceased husbands, and devote themselves to 
 ministering to and nursing them. 
 
 The preliminaries, formalities, ceremonies, and superstitions 
 connected with marriage, would, if given in full, almost fill a 
 volume. Previous to the wedding-day the bride has her eye- 
 brows pulled out, so that she is recognized ever afterward as 
 
 ty, be quite shocking to all right-minded persons. The be- 
 trothal is consummated by the exchange of presents, afld the 
 making over to the parents of the groom a formal document 
 or agreement. The relation of husband and wife is thus con- 
 stituted, and the engagement is regarded as almost as sacred 
 and binding as if the marriage had been performed. Chinese 
 women sometimes live as widows for life, whose husbands 
 
 BRIDE AND BRIDEGROOM WORSHIPING THE TABLETS OF IIIS DECEASED ANCESTORS. 
 
POLYGAMY IN CHINA. 
 
 251 
 
 a married woman. On the morning of the “lucky day” 
 chosen for the marriage, she is carried from her own home to 
 that of her future husband in a beautiful and highly orna- 
 mented bridal chair. The religious part of the ceremony 
 consists in the bride and groom’s worshiping together the 
 spirit-tablets of the ancestors of the groom. The parties first 
 see each other’s faces when, seated by the bridal bed, the 
 bride’s veil is removed, and the two parties drink wine out of 
 the same cup. The day is spent in feasting, congratulations, 
 complimenting the bride, and general hilarity. 
 
 In the province of Shantung, in the north of China, wed- 
 dings are celebrated in the night, and remind one very forci- 
 bly of the Jewish marriage customs referred to in the para- 
 ble of the virgins, hi the twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew. I 
 once attended one of these weddings. The house was full of 
 guests, the bridal chamber was beautifully furnished and orna- 
 mented, and every thing was in readiness for the reception of 
 the bride when the bridegroom should make his appe'arance 
 with her. We waited a long time till all were impatient, and 
 some drowsy, and persons would frequently go out with a lan- 
 tern to see if there were any signs of his coming ; and it was 
 not till near midnight that the cry was heard, “ The bride- 
 groom conieth : go ye out to meet him.” 
 
 Polygamy is not common, and is only considered allowa- 
 ble, or, rather, respectable, under special circumstances. The 
 saying occurs in the writings of the philosopher Mencius : 
 “ There are three kinds of filial impiety, the greatest of which 
 is to be without male descendants.” It is regarded as of the 
 greatest importance that every family should have a son, not 
 only to perpetuate the family name, but, more especially, to 
 make sacrificial offerings, or feed the spirits of deceased an- 
 cestors. Hence, if a person has no children at the age of for- 
 ty, it is expected that he will take another wjfe. The first 
 wife retains her original position in the family ; and, if chil- 
 dren are born of the second, they regard the first also as their 
 mother, and she has the principal care and oversight of them. 
 
252 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 Infanticide prevails to a greater or less extent in certain 
 parts of the empire, and is confined almost exclusively to fe- 
 male children. The existence of moral tracts denouncing this 
 practice and warning the people to avoid it, is sufficient evi- 
 dence both of the prevalence of the custom, and of the acknowl- 
 edged wrong or immorality of it. In some places, as about 
 Fuchow, infanticide is common ; in other parts of the empire 
 it is very rarely that you find well-authenticated instances of 
 it. In poor families which have a large number of children, 
 infants frequently die for want of sufficient care and nursing, 
 and perhaps without many regrets on the part of the parents ; 
 but these cases could hardly be properly included in what is 
 generally called infanticide. * 
 
 ^ The large number of castaway bodies of dead infants seen 
 in many parts of China is often regarded, though unjustly, as 
 evidence of the prevalence of this crime. Their bodies are 
 wrapped up in a mat and thrown in the river, or by the side 
 of the" city wall, or hung from the branches of trees to keep 
 them from the dogs, or, which is very often the case, thrown 
 into structures called “ baby-houses ” — little buildings, with a 
 small hole in one side, erected by benevolent persons for this 
 very purpose. 
 
 This denial of burial to infants is due, at least in many 
 places, to the following superstition : When they die, it is sup- 
 posed that their bodies were inhabited by the spirit of a de- 
 ceased creditor of a previous state of existence. The child 
 during its sickness may be cared for with the greatest tender- 
 ness, and no expense spared in employing a physician and pro- 
 curing medicine ; but if it dies, parental love is turned to hate 
 and resentment, and it is called Twan-ming Jvwei — “short- 
 lived spirit ” or “ devil.” It is regarded as an enemy and in- 
 truder in the family, which has been exacting satisfaction for 
 the old, unpaid debt ; and having occasioned a great deal of 
 anxiety, trouble, and expense, has left nothing to show for it 
 but disappointment. The uncared-for and uncoffined little 
 body is cast away anywhere ; and as it is carried out of the 
 
THE PRACTICE OF INFANTICIDE. 
 
 253 
 
 door the house is swept, crackers are fired, and gongs beaten 
 to frighten the spirit, so that it may never dare enter the 
 house again. Thus do heathen superstitions dry up the fount- 
 ains of natural affection. 
 
 In cases where infanticide is common, males predominate 
 to such an extent that it is difficult for parents to obtain wives 
 for their sons, and they often make arrangements with a family 
 which has an infant daughter to spare lieT life and betroth 
 her to their son. In these cases, the girl at a very early age 
 becomes the inmate of the family of her betrothed husband. 
 Parents of the lower and middle classes, whose daughters live 
 with them till they are married, feel that they are entitled to 
 some remuneration from the parents of the husband for all 
 their expense and trouble in bringing her up. For this rea- 
 son, when a girl is betrothed with the expectation of her re- 
 maining in her own family, her parents expect a considerable 
 amount of money ; so that the transaction has very much the 
 appearance of a matter of buying and selling. Many men are 
 doomed to a life of celibacy because they are too poor to buy 
 and support a wife. 
 
 -s-A mild form of slavery is found in China, but in no place 
 do slaves form more than an insignificant fraction of the la- 
 borers. The absolute right of husbands to their wives, and 
 of parents to their children and their control over them, are 
 such, that they may sell them if they choose to do so. I 
 have known an instance of an opium-smoker, who, after hav- 
 ing sold his wife to provide means to satisfy the cravings of 
 his- insatiable appetite, sold his only son to obtain money for 
 travelling expenses in coming to Ningpo to be cured of this 
 terrible habit. v 
 
 The funerals of grown persons, and especially of parents, 
 are as remarkable for burdensome ceremonies, extravagant 
 manifestations of grief, and lavish expense, as those of chil- 
 dren are for their coldness and neglect. When an individual 
 dies, the house is often filled with weeping and wailing, and 
 importunate cries to the spirit to come back again. Can- 
 
254 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 dies, incense, and offerings of food are placed before the corpse. 
 A company of priests is engaged to chant prayers for the de- 
 parted spirit. An abundance of clothing is deposited with the 
 body in the coffin. Various services and ceremonies are per- 
 formed during several days immediately after death, and on 
 every subsequent seventh day, closing with the seventh seven. 
 This use of the number seven presents almost the only marked 
 analogy between Chinese and Jewish or Western usages with 
 which I am acquainted. 
 
 When the coffin is carried out for burial, men and some- 
 times women follow in the procession, clothed in coarse white 
 garments, white being used for mourning. The men have 
 white braided into the end of their queues, which they con- 
 tinue to wear as a badge of mourning for several months. In 
 most places which I have visited, the mourning and weeping 
 in funeral processions is left principally to the women. I saw, 
 however, in the city of Hwang-hien, in the province of Shan- 
 tung, a funeral procession composed only of men, who, as they 
 walked solemnly through the street, gave at each tread a deep 
 sigh or groan, producing a strange and somewhat impressive 
 effect. x 
 
 Coffins are prepared with a great deal of care. They are 
 generally purchased at the undertakers, where they are con- 
 stantly kept on hand, but are often made at the house under 
 the immediate inspection of the person for whom the coffin is 
 intended. V ery excellent and well-seasoned timber is selected, 
 the planks are sawed very thick, and nailed together in a kind 
 of cement with large spikes, and the whole is covered with 
 numerous coatings of a very hard and durable varnish. The 
 coffin is so heavy that it requires an effort for a strong man 
 to lift one end of it. When it is taken out with the body for 
 interment, from twelve to twenty men are employed to carry 
 it. The Chinese are quite shocked with our custom of bury- 
 ing dear friends in light coffins whose boards are not much 
 more than an inch in thickness. v 
 
 They have not the aversion to coffins and their associations 
 
BURIAL CUSTOMS. 
 
 255 
 
 that we have. These last resting-places of the body are often 
 ostentatiously exposed near the entrance of the house, or in 
 some other place, to be examined and remarked upon by guests 
 and visitors. Sometimes a coffin containing a body is kept in 
 the house for a considerable length of time while arrangements 
 are being made for a burying-place and other preliminaries 
 are attended to. The lids being nailed down in cement, a 
 well-constructed coffin is perfectly air-tight. In travelling in 
 China, and being entertained by natives, my wife and I have oc- 
 cupied sleeping apartments containing several coffins ; wheth- 
 er empty or not, we did not inquire. 
 
 ( The Chinese generally bury near the surface, and heap up 
 a conical tumulus over the grave. The coffin is often placed 
 on a cement floor, and covered over with an arch of brick 
 laid in cement. They are sometimes exhumed scores of years 
 after burial in an almost perfect state of preservation. 
 
 I am not aware that the Chinese ever procure and lay out 
 a spot of ground for a public cemetery, but some places be- 
 come large burying-grounds in process of time. Those por- 
 tions of the country which are comparatively unproductive, 
 and consequently cheap, especially hill-sides which have a 
 general reputation for being lucky, are filled with the graves 
 of the poorer classes. In the vicinity of cities some of these 
 burying-grounds are of great extent. I noticed one near the 
 city Han-yiang (or Hankao, as the foreign settlement is call- 
 ed), which is said to be about ten miles long, and on an aver- 
 age one mile wide. This area seemed so fully and closely 
 occupied that a vacant spot could hardly be found in it. In 
 this vast congregation of the dead, probably not far from 
 20,000,000 of human beings have found their last resting-place. 
 And this is but one of the burial-places in connection with 
 one of the cities of China. What a solemn thought, that all 
 these myriads have gone down to fill idolatrous graves, with- 
 out any knowledge of the God who made them, and of Jesus 
 Christ whom He has sent ! ^ 
 
 The amount of* expense rendered unavoidable by the cus- 
 
256 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 toms of the country in attending to the ceremonies of wed- 
 dings and funerals, and providing coffins and graves for the 
 dead, is almost intolerable. As a natural result of these often 
 useless expenditures, very many families are burdened with 
 debt from one generation to another. In order to furnish for 
 a few days an ostentatious and empty display in honor of the 
 dead, the surviving descendants are embarrassed and distress- 
 ed for a lifetime. 
 
CHINESE DIVISIONS OF TIME. 
 
 257 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 NATIONAL FESTIVALS, CUSTOMS, AND AMUSEMENTS. 
 
 The Chinese Divisions of Time.— Number and Variety of Festivals and 
 Anniversaries. — Welcoming of Spring. — The Customs and Festivities 
 connected with the New Year. — The “Feast of Lanterns.” — “Festi- 
 val of the Tombs.” — The Season of flying Kites. — Idolatrous Proces- 
 sions. — Chinese Theatres. — Their Connection with Idolatry. — How con- 
 ducted. — Character of the Plays and Actors. — Puppet Shows. — Gam- 
 bling. — Public Fasts enjoined by official Proclamations. — Common 
 Practice of using obscene Language. 
 
 The Chinese attach a great deal of importance to the di- 
 vision of time, and are careful to make these divisions in ac- 
 cordance with fixed principles inherent in nature. The year 
 is composed of lunar months, which begin with the new moon ; 
 and its appearance being the same on corresponding days of 
 each month, the number of the day suggests the phase of the 
 moon, and vice versa. The same word is used in Chinese 
 both for moon and month. The new year commences with 
 the first new moon after the sun enters Aquarius, which is 
 some time between the 21st of January and the 19th of Febru- 
 ary.* This period seems to have been fixed upon because it 
 marks the time of the first indication of reviving spring. The 
 four seasons of the year correspond to ours. The months 
 being lunar, twelve are not sufficient to complete the year, and 
 an intercalary one is added, when necessary, causing the en- 
 suing year to commence about twenty days later than the pre- 
 ceding. This added month is placed after the sixth, and 
 called the sixth intercalary month. Months contain either 
 twenty-nine or thirty days, and are designated accordingly 
 
 Williams’s “Middle Kingdom. 
 
253 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 small or large months. The day is divided into twelve hours, 
 each being twice the length of ours. 
 
 In addition to the four seasons, the year is divided into 
 eight parts, called Tsih , “joints” or divisions, and these are 
 again subdivided into sixteen more, called Kyi, “ breaths,” or 
 sources of life. These twenty-four divisions, most of which 
 are more or less imaginary, are associated with different 
 changes in nature, and the germination, growth, and maturing 
 of grains and plants. They may be regarded as festivals, and 
 each has its appropriate ceremonies and observances. 
 
 Besides these, which might be called natural anniversaries, 
 but which, in the arrangement of lunar months, do not fall on 
 the same day of the month in successive years, there are nu- 
 merous other anniversaries, commemorative of the birthdays 
 of distinguished individuals, great historical events, etc. 
 
 A scholar from Nankin, whom I employed several years 
 ago to write out a description of the festivals of China, gives 
 an account of the character and observances of those which 
 are most important and are generally observed, numbering, in 
 all, forty. They do not occur at regular intervals, and there 
 is no periodical return of a day of rest and recreation corre- 
 sponding at all to our Sabbath. The origin and ceremonies of 
 many of these festivals may be accounted for and explained, 
 while others perpetuate ancient usages, of which no one can 
 tell where or when they originated, or what they are intended 
 to commemorate. 
 
 Those who are curious to learn more respecting the nation- 
 al and social customs of the Chinese will find much interesting 
 information on thdse subjects in Doolittle’s “ Social Life of 
 the Chinese ” and W illiams’s “ Middle Kingdom.” I will only 
 refer in this chapter to a few of the most prominent festivals. 
 
 The ceremony of Welcoming Spring has been spoken of in 
 connection with the National Worship of China. It takes 
 place on the day called in the calendar Kai chwen, the “ Be- 
 ginning of Spring,” which occurs a short time before or after 
 the new year. 
 

 

NEW YEAR’S CUSTOMS AND. CEREMONIES. 261 
 
 The festivities of the new year exceed all others in their 
 prominence and continuance, and in the universality and en- 
 thusiasm with which they are observed. These ceremonies 
 are looked forward to with interest during the whole year, 
 and great preparations are made for them. They are familiar- 
 ly designated by the terms Kwo-nien — “ Pass-year,” or Pass- 
 ing from one year to another,” “ Thank the year,” “ Bid adieu 
 to the year,” “Worship the year,” etc. They relate to the 
 old and to the new year, both of which are almost personified 
 and made objects of idolatrous worship. 
 
 As the day approaches, quantities of provisions are pur- 
 chased for the anticipated sacrifices and feastings ; and a few 
 fowls which have been reared about the doors of the poorer 
 families, who seldom taste of animal food at oflier times, are 
 now killed. According to a' universal and authoritative cus- 
 tom, all accounts must now be settled. On the last day of the 
 year the streets of Chinese towns and cities present a very 
 busy and animated appearance. A great deal of money 
 changes hands in a short time. Provisions, clothing, and 
 presents are bought in large quantities, not only because they 
 are needed to commence the new year, but because all shops 
 are shut for several days of the first month. Some families 
 who are unable to satisfy their creditors in any other way, 
 part with old family relics, or curious and valuable ornaments ; 
 and these coming into the market at low prices, persons who 
 have the capital and wish such articles are on the lookout for 
 them. 
 
 It is a mistake to suppose, as is often asserted, that all 
 debts are paid at this time, for a great proportion of the Chi- 
 nese continue in debt from year to year ; but an arrangement 
 satisfactory to the creditor must be made. It is especially 
 necessary to attend to shop-keepers’ debts, as articles must be 
 bought of them during the coming year. Debts incurred in 
 borrowing money of relatives and friends for funeral or wed- 
 ding expenses, or in time of sickness, are very apt to go over 
 the year, and are often never paid. This is the harvest-time 
 
262 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 for pawnbrokers, who are very numerous, and many of whom 
 amass great wealth. Sometimes a debtor tries to avoid and 
 defraud his creditor, in which case the creditor feels author- 
 ized, and is allowed by the customs of the country to adopt 
 summary measures — proceeding to the house of the delin- 
 quent, seizing any thing he can lay his hands upon, perhaps 
 breaking and destroying things generally, and frightening and 
 intimidating the inmates, especially the female portion of 
 them. Nothing is more dreaded than such a procedure on 
 account of the disgrace of it to the debtor, and the supersti- 
 tious fear of such an inauspicious beginning of the new year. 
 A man is sometimes seen seeking a creditor on New Year’s 
 morning. This he is permitted to do if he carries a lantern 
 with him, indicating in this way that he is still engaged 
 in last night’s business, and that practically it is yet night 
 with him. The apparition of such a visitor when the person 
 he is thus seeking Is engaged in entertaining and feasting his 
 New Year’s callers, is calculated to excite feelings of shame 
 and mortification which can be better imagined than de- 
 scribed. 
 
 As the midnight hour approaches, the members of the 
 family come together for a formal service. Sacrifices are of- 
 fered to the Kitchen God, to deceased ancestors, to other gods 
 which may be objects of worship in the family, and also to the 
 old dying year. As a part of this last ceremony, the head of 
 the family, representing all the other members of it, kneels 
 down and worships, and thanks the departing year. After 
 this, wine is sometimes drunk, called “ dividing the year wine.” 
 Thus the old year passes away, and a new year takes its place, 
 with thanksgivings and rejoicings, a grand illumination of 
 candles, and the uninterrupted sound of fire-crackers. 
 
 Early New Year’s morning idolatrous worship is performed 
 similar to that described above, but having a prospective in- 
 stead of a retrospective reference. A continuance of the favor 
 and blessing of the Kitchen God, of deceased ancestors, and 
 heaven and earth, is invoked. After religious homage and of- 
 
NEW YEAR CALLS. 
 
 263 
 
 ferings rendered to these objects of worship, the living ances- 
 tors take their seats, and the children worship them — the same 
 words, and nearly the same forms, being used as those which 
 are connected with the worship of gods. The members of the 
 family now offer to each other their congratulations. The 
 servants come and pay their respects to their employers, and 
 receive the expected New Year’s gift. 
 
 Many of the people, after paying their respects to their 
 household gods, visit some of the temples. The Cheng-hwcing- 
 micio , described in Chapter X., is a favorite place of resort at 
 this time. Early in the forenoon it is almost filled. with wor- 
 shipers, nearly all of whom are men. As they can find a va- 
 cant place in front of the principal image, they kneel and 
 strike their heads against the floor, and, rising, cast their in- 
 cense-sticks in a large vase in front of the idol, from which a 
 constant volume of smoke rises and fills the temple. 
 
 After worshiping the gods, the people pay their respects 
 
 and congratulations to their near 
 relatives and friends. As you 
 " pass through the streets, a strik- 
 
 ing contrast is presented to what 
 was witnessed the day before. 
 Every shop is closed. All is 
 quiet except the shouting of 
 boys and the explosion of fire- 
 crackers. There are many per- 
 
 llAPriNESS. # . 
 
 sons seen passing to and fro in 
 the streets, but every one seems a gentleman in dress and 
 manners. All are clothed either in silks, satins, or furs, and 
 wear a cap of ceremony. Those who have not fine clothes of 
 their own hire them by the day or the hour, and have the 
 privilege of appearing as gentlemen at least once a year. The 
 streets present a new and improved apj^earance. During the 
 night the large paper engravings pasted on the doors, repre- 
 senting the “ Door Gods,” or “ Keepers of the Doors,” have 
 been changed, the old paper being replaced by a bright new 
 
264 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 tinued till the 15th, but become less numerous every day. 
 Shops begin to be ojiened on the third or fourth day, and by 
 degrees the people of every class resume their usual occupa- 
 tions. 
 
 During the festivities of the New Year it is very common 
 to see a company of boys bearing aloft a representation of a 
 huge dragon, made of a frame-work of split bamboo covered 
 with cloth. With this they visit house after house, asking 
 of the inmates the privilege of taking the dragon inside their 
 dwelling to frighten away evil spirits, and insure good luck 
 
 one. New inscriptions in large red characters are also seen over 
 the doors, presenting some sentence of joyous or propitious 
 import. Many families make use of the single character fuh , 
 “happiness,” presenting the great end and object after which 
 man is longing and striving everywhere, and which, alas, in 
 this sinful world it is so difficult to obtain. 
 
 Guests, in passing from house to house, are, after the for- 
 mal salutations, always treated with tea and refreshments, and 
 perhaps urged to stay and take lunch or dinner, which invita- 
 tions are generally declined. These New Year calls are con- 
 
VARIOUS FESTIVALS. 
 
 265 
 
 for the coming year. While the boys enjoy the sport great- 
 ly, they also fill their pockets with cash presented to them by 
 the families whom they visit. 
 
 On the 15tli of the first month occurs the “Feast of Lan- 
 terns.” For several days previous, a great number and varie- 
 ty of lanterns are exposed for sale in the shops. They are 
 made with a light frame of bamboo covered with transparent 
 paper, and represent birds and animals, and other objects of 
 interest. Some of them are made to run on wheels. Others 
 are so contrived that the motion of the air produced by the 
 burning of the candle sets wheels and machinery at work, and 
 makes the object appear like a thing of life. A great deal of 
 ingenuity is manifested in these toys which please the old as 
 well as the young. Large quantities of them are sold. Each 
 family contributes to the general illumination, an unusual 
 number of people is seenttn the streets, and they retire to their 
 homes at a late hour. 
 
 One of the most interesting of the Chinese festivals is the 
 Tsing-ming — “ Clear and Bright.” It occurs in the spring, 
 and is the time when the people visit the graves, .on which 
 account it is often called the “ Festival of the Tombs.” At 
 this lovely season, all nature bursting into life, and the air 
 loaded with the fragrance of spring flowers and blossoms, the 
 hills are filled with visitors, each group seeking out the well- 
 known grave. Offerings of food and paper-money are made 
 to the departed spirit : worship is performed ; the place is 
 swept ; a few clods of earth are added perhaps to the top of 
 the mound ; and a stick is inserted in it, with a small piece of 
 paper attached, to show to the passing observer that this spot 
 has not been forgotten by surviving relatives. These visits to 
 the hills are not always made on the same day, but about this 
 time, sooner or later. 
 
 The ninth day of the ninth month is a great time for fly- 
 ing kites. Mr. Doolittle, in the “ Social Life of the Chinese,” 
 states, in speaking of a hill in the vicinity of Fuchow, that 
 “ Probably thirty or forty thousand people visit that hill to 
 
 M 
 
266 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 fly their kites, especially if the weather is fine on that day.” 
 He thus describes the kites : “ The air is full of them. Some 
 are in the shape of spectacles ; others represent a kind of fish ; 
 others are like an eel or some similar-looking animal, being 
 from ten to thirty feet long, and of proportionate size ; others 
 are like various kinds of birds, or bugs, or butterflies, or quad- 
 rupeds. Some resemble men sailing through the air.” “ A 
 foreign resident or transient visitor passing along the street 
 about this period often sees at a distance in the air what 
 seems to be an immense bird, and he is filled with surprise 
 and joy at having so near a view of the unusual phenome- 
 non, until he is reminded by its nearly stationary position 
 and mechanical movements that it is nothing but a paper 
 kite.” 
 
 Idolatrous processions are conspicuous among the national 
 customs of China, and are a principal means of popular amuse- 
 ment and recreation. They are made in honor of different 
 gods, occur frequently during the year, and are accompanied 
 with a great display of pomp and finery, and an immense out- 
 lay of money. An image of some god or gods is always 
 borne at the head of the procession, followed by crowds of 
 men and boys bearing aloft any object which will strike the 
 gaze of the beholder, and add to the interest and novelty of 
 the scene. Families or mercantile establishments contribute 
 some article which serves to bring them prominently before 
 the people, and gives evidence of their generosity and public 
 spirit. 
 
 Boats or other objects, curiously and fantastically con- 
 structed, are borne on the shoulders of men, decked off with 
 costly trappings and ornaments, or filled with musicians. 
 Here and there may sometimes be seen an exceedingly natural 
 representation of an elephant, or a camel, or giraffe, walking 
 in the procession. These are frames of light split bamboo, 
 covered with paper, which is painted so as to resemble the an- 
 imal represented, while two men, with the upper part of their 
 bodies concealed in the hollow body, furnish, one the fore- 
 
IDOLATROUS PROCESSIONS. 
 
 267 
 
 BOAT 0 ABU LED IN PROCESSION ON MEN’S SHOULDERS. 
 
 legs, and the other the hind-legs, having been trained to keep 
 step and imitate the proper gait or motion. 
 
 In and about Ningpo variety and interest are added to 
 these processions by a still more curious exhibition. On a 
 platform borne on men’s shoulders is seen a beautiful and 
 finely-dressed female (it is hardly necessary to say that these 
 are not of a very respectable class), and another one, standing 
 tiptoe on the uplifted hand of the first, is elevated high in 
 air, a very conspicuous object, and much admired and com- 
 mented upon. The manner in which these figures are sup- 
 ported seems to the uninitiated stranger very mysterious. 
 The mystery is explained by the existence of strong iron 
 frames, which are nicely adjusted so as to give support to the 
 body, and are concealed under the clothing. Beautifully-dress- 
 ed children riding on horses led by grooms follow in the train. 
 
268 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 Flags, banners, and streamers are interspersed, smne of them 
 representing and distinguishing the neighborhood from which 
 the persons and articles in a particular part of the procession 
 have come. 
 
 A man is occasionally seen personating a criminal, wearing 
 hand-cuffs or a chain, or a cangue (a wooden frame which is 
 sometimes fastened on the necks of criminals, and contains an 
 inscription stating the offense of which they have been con- 
 
 WEARING THE CANGUE AS A TOKEN OF GRATITUDE. 
 
 victed). These men are recognized at a glance to be persons 
 who have made a vow in times of distress «fr danger to the 
 god in whose honor this public demonstration is given, prom- 
 ising, in order to secure his favor and interposition, to walk all 
 day with this dress, and in this assumed character. 
 
 Some of these processions are from a quarter to half a mile 
 long. They pass from street to street, according to a pre- 
 arranged plan, and the inhabitants, in anticipation of their ap- 
 
CHINESE THEATRES. 
 
 269 
 
 proacli, are ready, in their holiday dresses, to welcome and 
 admire them, thronging the streets, filling up all the vacant 
 areas, and occupying the doors and second-story windows. 
 
 The motives which prompt to providing for the regular 
 recurrence of these displays are a desire to adhere to old cus- 
 toms, a fondness for excitement and amusement, and the hope 
 of propitiating and pleasing the gods and deriving benefits 
 from them. 
 
 Theatres are very common in China, but the character and 
 associations of the stage are very different from those of 
 Western lands. The principal and professed object of thea- 
 tres is to honor or propitiate some god or spirit, which is sup- 
 posed to be present in an image, or tablet, or paper engrav- 
 ing, to which is assigned the most prominent and honored 
 place. In front of the object of worship may always be seen 
 a table spread with sacrifices or offerings, in order to satisfy 
 the palate, as well as the eyes and ears of the unseen spirit. 
 
 There are no large permanent buildings erected specially 
 for theatrical exhibitions. Plays are performed in temples, in 
 private dwellings, in the street, and by the roadside. Tem- 
 ples of every kind have each a stage or platform in front 
 of the idols, designed particularly for theatrical purposes. 
 Wealthy families have a temporary stage erected in the large 
 interior court. Sometimes a family, or several of them to- 
 gether, have a stage erected on a vacant plot of ground near 
 their house. In business streets theatricals are frequently ex- 
 hibited in front of a shop for the benefit of its trade, in which 
 case a stage is erected across the street, the floors being suf- 
 ficiently high to allow the people to pass under it. 
 
 The expense of these exhibitions is borne by the temple, 
 shop, family, or families which contract for them. Friends 
 receive special invitations, and have seats assigned to them, 
 and a feast provided for them. Any one may be present 
 who is willing to stand in the crowd as a common spectator, 
 and the greater the number of these outside observers, the 
 better pleased are those who give the entertainment. 
 
270 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 The times or occasions of these performances are very nu- 
 merous. On the birthday of a god, a theatre is given to that 
 god in the temple belonging to it by the neighborhood or vil- 
 lage connected with the temple. On many of the festivals 
 plays are performed in the ancestral temples. The birthday 
 of a parent, either living or deceased, may also be celebrated 
 by these exhibitions. Theatres are often given in conse- 
 quence of vows. In times of conflagrations persons frequently 
 prostrate themselves on the ground and promise one in honor 
 of the Fire God in case their dwelling is protected. This 
 kind is called Sie ho hi — “ Thank-fire Theatre.” In times of 
 peace and security, a person or neighborhood, in order to 
 avert future calamities, often provides what is called Pau 
 ngan hi — “ Secure-tranquillity Theatre.” The noisy ceremo- 
 nies of feeding hungry ghosts, described in a former chapter, 
 are generally terminated by a play called En shin hi — “ Tran- 
 quilize-gods Theatre,” which is intended as a kind of an apol- 
 ogy to the local deities for making so much disturbance in 
 the places which they preside over. The birthday of the 
 reigning Emperor is celebrated by theatricals of several days’ 
 duration in the yamuns, or public offices. Other occasions 
 for theatres might be mentioned, but the above are sufficient 
 to give a general idea of the whole. 
 
 The plays performed present much which strikes a foreign- 
 er as whimsical and ridiculous. Still, making allowance for 
 the difference of national tastes and literary attainments, they 
 differ less from corresponding performances in the West than 
 might be expected. Some are historical, presenting events 
 and characters of former dynasties, and some are purely fic- 
 titious. Some are the productions of the past, and some of 
 the present age. They are regarded by the people as aids to 
 virtuous living, as the characters represented generally meet 
 with their just deserts of rewards or punishments. The vari- 
 ous kinds of costume employed differ widely from that used at 
 the present day, and are oftentimes exceedingly grotesque and 
 ludicrous. The performers recite their parts in a high, drawl- 
 
PLAY ACTORS. 
 
 271 
 
 ing, fal^ptto tone, which, though unnatural, and never used in 
 common conversation, is required by Chinese taste in theatres. 
 These exhibitions are characterized by an undue amount of 
 action : the performers are continually advancing and retiring, 
 bowing and gesturing, twisting and turning. They often en- 
 gage in loud altercations, violent gesticulations, and mock con- 
 flicts, which, though we might suppose they would only excite 
 laughter, seem to inspire awe in the minds of Chinese specta- 
 tors. The termination, not only of each act or scene, but, in 
 some cases, of each sentence or paragraph, is marked by a 
 flourish of gongs and other musical (or rather, to our ears, un- 
 musical) instruments. The plays being composed and recited, 
 for the most part, in the terse written language of China or in 
 the Mandarin dialect,, are very imperfectly understood, even by 
 literary men. The meaning is derived, not so much from what 
 is heard as from what is seen. The auditors are also assisted 
 by occasional sentences spoken in the colloquial dialect, and by 
 additional explanations from theatre-going people in the audi- 
 ence. It is but just to say, with reference to the morals of 
 Chinese theatres, that their most objectionable feature is their 
 connection with idolatry. Vulgar and immoral plays, though 
 not unknown, are comparatively rare, and, being proscribed by 
 law, are generally found in obscure villages in the country. 
 Theatres, like almost every thing else in China, have evident- 
 ly deteriorated, and the natives often remark of them, as of 
 other things, “ They are not what they were of old.” 
 
 Play-actors, being employed to amuse and serve the peo- 
 ple, are regarded as an inferior class. In Ningpo the occupa- 
 tion falls exclusively to a proscribed class, who are the descend- 
 ants of a family which formerly fell under the displeasure of 
 the Emperor. Females as a general thing do not appear upon 
 the stage, but men act the parts of female characters with a 
 remarkably accurate imitation of their voice and general ap- 
 pearance. Children designed to follow this mode of life from 
 an early age are carefully taught to observe all the niceties of 
 voice and gesture regarded as so essential in their profession, 
 
272 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 and are required to commit to memory an immensoamount 
 of matter with the greatest accuracy. Proficients in the art 
 of play-acting become teachers and heads of companies. Chil- 
 dren are indentured to these teach- 
 ers with the express stipulation that, 
 if the child is beaten to death, his life 
 shall not be required at the teacher’s 
 hands. This provision is made, be- 
 cause it is supposed that excellency 
 can not be attained in this branch of 
 learning without constant and severe 
 castigation. Poor children doomed 
 to this life of servitude get very little 
 sympathy, as their sufferings are re- 
 garded as a necessity of their condi- 
 tion, and they are expected to get used 
 to them. They have also the satis- 
 faction of knowing that they are only 
 treated as their master was before them. A theatrical com- 
 pany generally sells its services for a year to some wealthy in- 
 dividual, who furnishes them with an outfit and employs a su- 
 perintendent, whose business it is to keep them occupied, and 
 to collect pay for their performances. These companies con- 
 sist of from ten to sixty persons, and they may be engaged 
 for from three to twenty dollars a play. Several plays may 
 be performed by the same company in a day, and they are oft- 
 en continued for several days in succession in the same place. 
 Sometimes a wealthy individual employs a theatrical company 
 for a definite length of time for the special amusement of him- 
 self, his family and friends, and his gods. These actors being 
 despised by their countrymen, have little respect for them- 
 selves, and find their place below mediocrity in the scale of 
 morals. 
 
 While it may well be a matter of surprise and rejoicing that 
 these theatres are not worse, in a moral point of view, than 
 they are, we can not but notice the masterly art of Satan in 
 
 BOY T>RESBET> LIKE A FEMALE IN 
 ACTING A THEATRICAL PLAY. 
 
PUPPET-SHOWS OR “ PUNCH AND JUDY. 
 
 273 
 
 infusing into this, and indeed into almost every other means 
 of popular recreation and amusement, the subtile poison of 
 idolatry. 
 
 So universal and frequent are these theatrical exhibitions, 
 and so well suited to national tastes, that the people have lit- 
 tle time or disposition to meet often for other entertainments. 
 Gatherings for the purpose of listening to public addresses and 
 harangues are almost unknown. 
 
 The puppet-shows of China are, on account of the very 
 clever way in which they are pei’formed, and their popularity 
 among the people, worthy of special mention in this connec- 
 tion. Generally two men go together, one to exhibit the 
 show, and the other as an assistant, to beat the gong, collect 
 the contributions, etc. Sometimes one man goes alone, and 
 carries his whole stock in trade on his back. He passes along 
 the street beating his gong, to give notice of his readiness to 
 amuse any who may wish to employ him, and is invited to 
 play before a house, or chooses a convenient place where he 
 can attract a crowd from the street. He stands on a chair, 
 upon which rests also the stick or post which supports the 
 box containing his show or mimic theatre. The upper part of 
 his body is thrust inside the box, and the curtains descending 
 from it conceal most of his person. The front of the box is 
 open and contains a little stage, on which the puppets are pa- 
 raded. The characters represented are generally a man and 
 his wife engaged in a domestic quarrel. They scold and ges- 
 ticulate and threaten, and, when these resources are exhausted, 
 proceed to the use of fists and broom-sticks. The actor behind 
 the screen, by means of wires and strings, manages the mo- 
 tions of the puppets with great ingenuity, and imitates the 
 voices and language of the two sexes most perfectly. The 
 husband, after a great assumption of dignity and authority, 
 is generally driven off the stage ignominiously. The appre- 
 ciation of the audience is often attested by loud shouts of ap- 
 plause. Having witnessed this show both in China and En- 
 gland, I was struck with the fact that it is in these two coun- 
 
 M 2 
 
274 
 
 CHINA. AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 tries, almost identical, and that the Chinese seem rather to ex- 
 cel in performing it. 
 
 Gambling is very common in China, and is practiced in a 
 variety of ways. Its immorality and evil effects are acknowl- 
 edged, and there are laws prohibiting it ; but they are a dead 
 letter. 
 
 A very interesting custom prevails of observing public fasts 
 on appropriate occasions. It is not uncommon for the chief 
 officer of a city in time of drought, or to avert some dreaded 
 public calamity, to forbid for several days the slaughter of 
 animals and the sale of animal food in the market, in order to 
 move the gods to pity, and to secure their kind offices in af- 
 fording the desired relief. 
 
 In speaking of the national practices and peculiarities of 
 the Chinese, I can hardly avoid referring to the very common 
 habit among the middle and lower classes of using obscene 
 language. This practice seems to take the place of profanity 
 in Western countries, and is followed by the same class of per- 
 sons to about the same extent, and apparently from about 
 the same motives. These obscene expressions seem designed 
 primarily for the purpose of reviling and abusing one who is 
 the object of hatred and anger, but are often used careless- 
 ly, and almost unconsciously, without any regard to their 
 original meaning. 
 
 Many other national traits and peculiarities might be men- 
 tioned, but the above are those which have appeared to me 
 most prominent and characteristic of the race. 
 
THE CHINAMAN JUDGED UNFAIRLY. 
 
 275 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 GENERAL ESTIMATE OF THE CHINESE CHARACTER AND 
 CIVILIZATION. 
 
 Opinions generally entertained of the Chinese. — The Impressions we have 
 made upon them. — Difficulties in the Way of obtaining reliable Infor- 
 mation in the foreign Communities at the open Ports. — National pecul- 
 iarities of Chinese Temperament and Character. — Evidences of Intel- 
 lectuality in the Chinese. — The Manner in which they are regarded by 
 other Eastern Nations. — They have taken the Lead in many of the 
 practical Arts. — Many of their Peculiarities due to Education rather 
 than to Differences of Race. — Morality of the Chinese. — Opinions 
 which we have mutually entertained of each other in this Respect, and 
 the Reasons for them. — A Look at ourselves through Chinese Glasses. — 
 Facts illustrating the better Side of Chinese Character. — The injuri- 
 ous Effects apprehended by some from speaking well of a heathen 
 People. 
 
 . * 
 
 I am aware that, in many of the opinions which I shall ad- 
 vance in this chapter, I shall be obliged to go in opposition to 
 generally received conclusions. “ The Chinaman ” has almost 
 become a synonym for stupidity, and his habits and peculiari- 
 ties afford abundant occasion for pleasantry- and ridicule. 
 This impression has become so fixed and so general, that cor- 
 respondents and editors of newspapers who wish to make 
 their articles on China and the Chinese readable and interest- 
 ing, gladly seize upon and exaggerate any thing which can be 
 made to appear grotesque and ridiculous. In speaking of this 
 people, their pig-tails, shaven pates, thick-soled shoes, assump- 
 tion of dignity and superiority, and great ignorance of many 
 subjects with which we are familiar, make up the unfailing ma- 
 terial upon which newspaper writers generally draw. Some 
 of the religious papers even follow in the same strain. A com- 
 paratively moderate article in one of them a few weeks since 
 
276 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 characterizes the Chinese as the “largest, oddest, and most 
 absurd of the social organizations now existing on the earth.” 
 
 It would be but a poor answer to these views to say that 
 they correspond remarkably with those which the Chinese en- 
 tertain of us. They also enjoy a great deal of pleasantry at 
 our expense, finding it almost impossible, with their associa- 
 tions and habits of thought, to regard otherwise than as ludi- 
 crous our short-cropped hair, tight fitting, ungraceful and un- 
 comfortable-looking clothes, gentlemen’s thin-soled leather 
 boots, tall stiff hats, gloves in summer-time, the “ wasp-like ” ap- 
 pearance of Western ladies, with their small waists and large 
 hoops, our ungraceful manners, our remarkable ignorance of 
 the general rules of propriety, and the strange custom of a 
 man and his wife walking together in public arm in arm ! 
 These views we can afford to laugh at as relating to compara- 
 tively trivial matters, but they think they have the evidence 
 that we are also inferior to them in intellectuality, in refine- 
 ment, in civilization, and especially in morals. 
 
 It is evident that one party or the other has made a seri- 
 ous mistake, and it would be but a natural and reasonable pre- 
 sumption that both may have erred in being influenced too 
 much by the common tendency of our nature to “ think of 
 ourselves more highly than we ought to think.” 
 
 We should look at this matter neither from a Chinese nor 
 Western stand-point, and take into view not simply facts 
 which are comparatively unimportant and exceptional, but 
 those which are fundamental, and of wide-spread influence, 
 and should construe these facts justly and generously. 
 
 It may be well to state here in advance some reasons why 
 general views relating to the Chinese character and civiliza- 
 tion, formed in foreign communities in China by those who 
 are unacquainted with the Chinese language, should be re- 
 ceived with a great deal of hesitation. 
 
 In the open ports, where a large foreign commerce has 
 sprung up, an immense number of Chinese congregate from 
 the interior. Many or most of them are adventurers, separa- 
 
SOURCES OF MISCONCEPTION. 
 
 277 
 
 ted from the restraining influences of their families and of 
 home society, who come to these places to engage in the gen- 
 eral scramble for wealth. As it is but too common for for- 
 eigners, in their treatment of native servants and employes, 
 to be haughty, harsh, and overbearing, Chinamen of independ- 
 ence and self-respect generally prefer .to be employed by their 
 own people, and are consequently not numerous in the open 
 ports. Moreover, foreign ideas and customs prevail to a 
 great extent in these foreign communities, and the natives, 
 whatever they might have been originally, gradually become 
 more or less denationalized, and present a modified type of 
 their race. Foreigners and natives speak almost exclusively 
 the meagre and contemptible “ Pigeon-English ” described in 
 Chapter XIV., which is incapable of expressing dignified 
 thought, and the very use of which gives an unpolished and 
 ludicrous air to both parties. The Chinese being every day 
 brought into contact with drunken sailors, swearing sea-cap- 
 tains, and unscrupulous traders from the West, new lessons 
 are constantly learned from them in the school of duplicity 
 and immorality. They conclude that, as the foreigner has 
 come to their country to acquire wealth in dealing with them, 
 it is but fair that they make as much money as they can out 
 of the foreigner. Thus the associations and influences of the 
 foreign community tend to deterioration and demoralization. 
 The Chinese of this class are no fitting type of their race, and 
 * foreigners who have only associated with them , and that solely 
 through the medium of the “ Pigeon-English,” are very im- 
 perfectly qualified to give an opinion from personal experi- 
 ence and observation of the character, morals, and ideas of the 
 people generally. I have dwelt thus at length on this point, 
 because many of the impressions obtained at home of the 
 Chinese are derived from returned merchants and ship-cap- 
 tains, and transient travellers whose sphere of observation has 
 been very limited, and whose information has been mostly ob- 
 tained, either immediately or second-hand, in the imperfect 
 manner just described. 
 
278 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 The Chinese as a race are, as compared with European na- 
 tions, of a phlegmatic and impassive temperament, and physi- 
 cally less active and energetic. Children are not fond of 
 athletic and vigorous sports, but prefer marbles, kite-flying, 
 and some quiet games of ball, spinning tops, etc. Men take 
 an easy stroll for recreation, but never a rapid walk for exer- 
 cise, and are seldom in a hurry or excited. They are also 
 characteristically timid and docile. The oft-made assertion is 
 probably true that an army of ten or twenty thousand Euro- 
 peans could march without serious opposition from one end 
 of the empire to the other. This remarkable disparity is, 
 however, due principally to our knowledge of modern military 
 science, and our possession of better warlike implements. Chi- 
 nese well drilled, with confidence in their leaders and in each 
 other, and equipped with modern fire-arms, would form an 
 army which it would not be prudent to oppose with a force 
 very much inferior in numbers ; though I have no doubt that, 
 with the same training and advantages, they would still be 
 found inferior to Europeans as soldiers. 
 
 But while the Chinese are deficient in active courage and 
 daring, they are not in passive resistance. They are compar- 
 atively apathetic as regards pain and death, and have great 
 powers of physical endurance, as well as great persistency and 
 obstinacy. On an average, a Chinese tailor will work on his 
 bench, or a literary man over books or with his pen, more 
 hours a day than persons of our race can. 
 
 Physical development and strength and longevity vary in 
 different parts of the empire. In and about Canton, from 
 which we have derived most of our impressions of China, as 
 well as in most parts of the South, the people are small in stat- 
 ure ; but in the province of Shantung, in the North, men va- 
 rying in height from five feet eight inches to six feet are very 
 common, while some of them are considerably taller, indeed, 
 almost giants in stature. In this part of China I have known 
 laborers over seventy years of age, working daily at their trades, 
 and it is not unusual to hear of persons who have reach- 
 
INTELLECTUAL CAPABILITIES OF THE CHINESE. 279 
 
 ed the age of ninety or more. Other local peculiarities, phys- 
 ical and mental, need not be specially dwelt upon. 
 
 The intellectuality of the Chinese is made evident, by so 
 many obvious and weighty facts, that it seems strange that 
 persons of ordinary intelligence and information should ever 
 have questioned it. On this point it is better to state facts 
 than individual opinions. We have before us a system of gov- 
 ernment and code of laws which will bear favorable compari- 
 son with those of European nations, and have elicited a gen- 
 erous tribute of admiration and praise from our most compe- 
 tent and reliable writers. The practical wisdom and fore- 
 sight of those who constructed this system, are evinced by the 
 fact that it has stood the test of time ; enduring longer than 
 any other which man has devised during the world’s history; 
 that it has bound together under one common rule a popula- 
 tion to which the world affords no parallel, and given a degree 
 of prosperity and of wealth which may well challenge our 
 wonder. Notwithstanding the rebellions and political agita- 
 tions which have marked the history of this people, such has 
 been their character, and the vital and recuperative energy of 
 the ideas into which they have been educated, that these dis- 
 asters have been but temporary impediments in the continu- 
 ous growth and development of the empire. It is intelligent 
 thought which has given China such a prominence in the 
 East, and also in the eyes of Christendom. She may well 
 point with pride to her authentic history, reaching back 
 through more than thirty centuries ; to her extensive litera- 
 ture, containing many works of sterling and permanent value ; 
 to her thoroughly elaborated language, possessed of a remark- 
 able power of expression ; to her list of scholars, and her pro- 
 ficiency in belles-lettres. If these do not constitute evidences 
 of intellectuality, it would be difficult to say where such evi- 
 dence is to be found, or on what basis we ourselves will rest 
 our claim to intellectual superiority. 
 
 China has been so arrogant and extravagant in her assump- 
 tion of pre-eminence, that we have perhaps for this very rea- 
 
280 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 son been indisposed to accord to her the position to which she 
 is fairly entitled. It should be remembered that ignorant, un- 
 til recently, of Western nations, as they have been of her, she 
 has compared herself simply with the nations around her ; and 
 a partial reason or excuse for her overweening self-conceit 
 may be found in the fact that she has only regarded herself 
 as the nations with which she is acquainted have regarded 
 her. She has been for ages the great centre of light and civ- 
 ilization in Eastern Asia. She has given a literature and re- 
 ligion to the 30 or 40,000,000 of Japan, and also to the inhab- 
 itants of Corea and Manchuria, and is looked up to by these 
 •and other smaller nations as their acknowledged teacher. 
 While many in our country regard the Japanese as superior 
 to the Chinese, they do not entertain this view of themselves. 
 The Japanese have produced no great teachers or sages which 
 they would presume to compare with those of China ; and it 
 is the clearest evidence of their acknowledgment of the liter- 
 ary superiority of the Chinese that they use the Chinese class- 
 ics as text-books in their schools, much as we do those of 
 Greece and Rome. Japanese books of high literary preten- 
 sions are also written in the Chinese language and character, 
 if the author is able to use them, rather than in the Japanese. 
 The Japanese excel the Chinese in some of the mechanic arts, 
 but certainly not in intellectuality or morality. Perhaps the 
 principal difference between the two races is this: that the 
 Japanese, having been accustomed for ages to learn from the 
 Chinese and the Dutch, naturally take the position of pupils, 
 and are, for this reason, outstripping the Chinese in learning 
 from Western nations a knowledge of the modern arts and 
 sciences ; while the Chinese have been too proud to learn, have 
 regarded the suggestion that there is any thing outside the 
 “ Middle Kingdom ” worth learning as a reflection or asper- 
 sion on the wisdom of their ancestors and the sages of the 
 past, and have preferred to remain in ignorancc.rather than 
 be indebted to others for information. 
 
 But it may be asked, “ What have the Chinese ever done ? 
 
PECULIARITIES OF CHINESE CULTURE. 
 
 281 
 
 What do they know? Have they ever made any contribu- 
 tions to science? Are they not utterly ignorant of all the 
 modern arts and sciences ?” It is true that the Chinese know 
 hardly any thing of the modern arts and sciences, and that 
 there is no word in their language to designate some of them ; 
 but how much did our ancestors know two hundred years 
 ago of chemistry, geology, philosophy, anatomy, and other kin- 
 dred sciences ? What did we know fifty years ago of the 
 steam-boat, the rail-road, and the telegraph ? And is our com- 
 parative want of knowledge a few years ago and that of our 
 ancestors to be taken as evidence of inferiority of race and in- 
 tellect? Perhaps this test which some are so ready to apply 
 will, if we go back a few hundred years, establish the claims 
 of the Chinese as the superior race. Printing, which is sec- 
 ond in importance to none of the arts of civilization, originated 
 with the Chinese, and was made use of by them hundreds of 
 years before any thing was known of it in the West. They 
 have taken the lead also in the use of the magnetic needle, the 
 manufacture and use of gunpowder and of silk fabrics, and 
 china-ware and porcelain. 
 
 Intellectual power manifests itself in a variety of ways, and 
 glaring defects are often found associated in the same indi- 
 vidual with remarkable powers and capabilities, as particular 
 faculties, both of mind and body, are often cultivated and de- 
 veloped at the expense of others. Chinese education has very 
 little regard to the improvement of the reasoning pov r ers, and 
 Chinese scholars are deficient in logical acumen, and very in- 
 ferior to the Hindoos in this respect ; but, in developing and 
 storing the memory, they are without a rival. Again, their 
 system of training effectually discourages and precludes free- 
 dom and originality of thought, while it has the compensating 
 advantages of creating a love of method and order, habitual 
 subjection to authority, and a remarkable uniformity in char- 
 acter and ideas. Perhaps the results which they have real- 
 ized in fusing such a vast mass of beings into one homogene- 
 ous body could have been reached in no other way. I believe 
 
282 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 that the Chinese are not naturally deficient in ingenuity and 
 originality, and that, when these qualities are encouraged, this 
 race will show a fertility of brain the existence of which has 
 hardly been suspected. 
 
 The Chinese have labored under another serious disadvan- 
 tage, that of almost entire isolation from other races, and con- 
 sequent ignorance of them and their ideas. We have been 
 possessed of all the stores of knowledge of all the different 
 nations of Europe and Western Asia for centuries; and it is 
 impossible to imagine what our condition would be to-day, 
 were it not for the advantages we have derived from the 
 stimulus and teachings obtained from other countries, and 
 more especially from Christianity. 
 
 There have been but few opportunities of comparing the 
 intellectual capabilities of the Chinese with our own. Those 
 who have visited our shores are not, with a few exceptions, 
 fitting representatives even of the middle laboring classes in 
 China. Only a very small number of the Mongolian race 
 have been educated in our institutions of learning, but they 
 have uniformly acquitted themselves not only creditably, but 
 with honor. A few years since, a Chinaman in Yale College 
 bore off the first prize in his class for English composition, 
 and I have been told by several of his classmates that this 
 award was not a matter of favoritism, but of stern merit. 
 Wherever they have had an opportunity to compete with us 
 on the same ground, and with equal advantages, they have 
 shown that the difference between them and us in intellectu- 
 ality is so slight, if it exists at all, that it does not become us 
 to say much about it. 
 
 The morality of the Chinese presents another subject 
 about which there is a wide difference of opinion. They are 
 so generally spoken of as a “ nation of thieves and liars,” that 
 a person who is not disposed to adopt or sanction these and 
 similar stereotyped expressions, is in danger of being regarded 
 as either ignorant or prejudiced. I was asked a short time 
 since by a very worthy and intelligent gentleman who finds 
 
CHINESE VIEWS OF US. 
 
 283 
 
 much to love and admire in the African race, whether I had 
 ever found any traits of character in the Chinese calculated to 
 inspire, in any degree, feelings of respect and affection. It is 
 a question worth considering by persons who entertain such 
 views, on what theory they will account for a great, prosper- 
 ous, and stable government being composed of such utterly 
 worthless materials. 
 
 It may be also a matter of interest and profit to turn for a 
 moment to the views which the Chinese generally entertain of 
 our morality, and their reasons for these views. They are all 
 familiar with the fact that foreigners introduced opium into 
 China in opposition to the earnest and persistent remon- 
 strances of the Chinese government ; that out of the opium 
 trade grew the first war with China ; and that when the rep- 
 resentatives of Christian England urged the Chinese govern- 
 ment to legalize the trade and make it a source of revenue, 
 the Chinese Emperor replied that he would not use as a 
 means of revenue that which brought suffering and misery 
 upon his people. 
 
 A large proportion of the representatives of our race in 
 China are sailors, many of whom, when on shore, are in a state 
 of intoxication, and are addicted to all kinds of wickedness 
 and violence, while their tongues are constantly employed in 
 taking the name of God in vain in the most horrid, offensive, 
 and heaven-daring oaths. For years foreigners of this class 
 have commanded many of the piratical fleets on the coast of 
 China, and foreign thieves and robbers have infested some of 
 the inland canals and rivers. In business dealings with 
 strangers from Western lands, the natives find that duplicity 
 and dishonesty are not confined to their own people. More- 
 over, they observe a certain and numerous class of native 
 women in the foreign communities, which are known to be- 
 long to the foreigners, and who appear in the streets with a 
 boldness and effrontery which w T ould be regarded as utter- 
 ly indecent and intolerable in most Chinese cities. Stereo- 
 scopic views are imported from the West in large quantities, 
 
284 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 of the vilest and most obscene character imaginable, picturing 
 before the eye vices and crimes of our race which we would 
 blush to name. My indignation knew no bounds when, a few 
 years since, I found these stereoscopic views exhibited in the 
 streets of a city six hundred miles in the interior by a China- 
 man who had invested a little capital in them, and was mak- 
 ing a large income by showing them to hundreds of natives 
 daily. Is it strange that, with such facts as these forced upon 
 their attention, the Chinese should come to the conclusion 
 that as a race, we are ambitious, unscrupulous, violent, covet- 
 ous, and licentious ? 
 
 I would be very sorry to be regarded as preferring whole- ' 
 sale charges of immorality against foreigners in China as a 
 class. Such a course is certainly the farthest from my in- 
 tentions. It is hardly necessary to state that there are not a 
 few to be found there, in the civil and naval services as well 
 as among merchants, ship-captains, and seamen, who are men 
 of the highest moral and Christian character, and whose lives 
 are above reproach. It is also sadly true that many sustain a 
 very different character, and that it is in the power of even a 
 few unprincipled and wicked men to bring reproach and 
 shame upon their whole nation and race. The facts to which 
 I have referred, and others of the same class and character, 
 are familiar to every one who has been a few months in China. 
 
 But, it may be said, these ideas of us are derived from an 
 acquaintance with a very few individuals who are away from 
 home and its restraining influences, while our opinions of the 
 Chinese are obtained from a view of Chinese society on Chi- 
 nese soil. Let us suppose then, that a Chinaman has come 
 to our country not prepossessed in our favor, to gain from 
 facts on the ground a knowledge of the morality which pre- 
 vails among us. 
 
 Going on shore, he is asked to pay to the carriage-driver a 
 fee which seems to him most exorbitant. Being shown to 
 his room in one of our first-class hotels, he discovers a printed 
 notice informing him that “Valuables, in order to be safe, 
 
A CHINESE SEEKING INFORMATION. 
 
 285 
 
 must be locked up in the iron chest ; guests leave their Over- 
 coats in their rooms at their own risk ; and the proprietor 
 will not be held responsible for boots left outside the door.” 
 Taking up the daily papers, he finds a large portion of them 
 occupied with accounts of robberies, burglaries, murders, 
 cases of poisoning, suicide, forgery, defalcation, divorces, 
 elopements, etc., etc. Turning from these daily items of 
 news to the advertisement columns, he finds in many pajiers 
 which are regarded as respectable, and are freely received 
 into every family, that the attention of the public is called, in 
 language carefully worded but well' understood, to some new 
 and approved method of destroying the incipient life of their 
 offspring. In the political papers he sees wholesale charges 
 of corruption, disloyalty, and selfish, private, and partisan 
 schemes. What materials for illustrating American morals, 
 gathered on the ground from competent witnesses the very 
 first day ! 
 
 When the Oriental traveller, in pursuit of the desired in- 
 formation, visits the drinking-saloons in almost every street 
 and alley, and the gambling-houses, so numerous in our large 
 cities, to say nothing of other haunts of profligacy, his pre- 
 conceived opinions of the morality, or, rather, the immorality, 
 of our people would not be much changed for the better. 
 
 Or we may imagine him landing on our Western shores 
 and deriving his first information from his own people who 
 have immigrated there. They state to him the facts that, 
 from their first arrival in California, they are subjected to 
 extortion and plunder ; and that after paying for a license 
 to work in our mines, other charges are exacted on false pre- 
 tenses, either by officials or those who feign to be so. If any 
 of them are so fortunate as to obtain a spot in the mines 
 which yields a rich return, they are summarily driven from it. 
 If it be known that a Chinaman has accumulated gold, he is 
 in great danger of having it taken from him, and is fortunate 
 if his life is not taken with it, for well-known murders of this 
 kind have not been infrequent. With all these oppressive 
 
286 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 grievances, this inoffensive, industrious, and misused people 
 have no means of defense. They are not permitted to bear 
 testimony in our courts, and they seldom find an American 
 who will be a witness for them. The undeniable result is 
 soon reached by the inquiring visitor that, in this boasted 
 land of liberty and law, there is for them no justice and no 
 redress. 
 
 The Chinese traveller avould find the statements of his 
 countrymen in California confirmed by the independent testi- 
 mony of our own people such as the following from a promi- 
 nent preacher in Brooklyn : “We pretend to be an asylum 
 for the oppressed, a school-house for the ignorant of the earth, 
 and yet grant no means of advancement beyond manual labor, 
 and no adequate means, even of legal protection, to the indus- 
 trious but unknowing Chinaman. This is too true a picture. 
 There can be but little doubt but that one of the first things 
 to be attended to by the newly-arrived Chinese Embassy will 
 present itself in the civil disabilities and outrageous treatment 
 of the patient Mongolians in California. And it should be; 
 their position here is scandalous to a Christian nation, still 
 more so to one claiming the peculiarly Christian principles of 
 self-government, and mutual equality before the laws. 
 
 “ Last winter a bill came up in the California Legislature 
 to allow Chinamen to testify in certain cases in the civil and 
 criminal courts ; but the Assembly rejected the bill, and vir- 
 tually gave free license to all ruffians and robbers, provided 
 they are white men, to inflict such outrages as they choose 
 upon the pbor Mongolian without fear of legal penalty. 
 
 “ The fifty thousand Chinese in California are, taken all in 
 all, if not the most intelligent, highly educated, and wealthy, 
 certainly the most patient, quiet, law-abiding, industrious, 
 peaceable, and honest set that California can show. The pro- 
 portion of criminals and law-breakers among them is wonder- 
 fully small, as compared with all other classes ; and as they 
 evidently have in them the elements of good citizens, the State 
 ought to protect them in every way, encourage their industry, 
 
REASONS FOR MORE FAVORABLE VIEWS. 
 
 287 
 
 foster their good disposition, and prepare them at some future 
 time to become full members of the community.” 
 
 And now, what do all these evidences which a Chinaman 
 might collect to prove the immorality # and injustice of Euro- 
 peans and Americans show ? They show how easy it is to 
 confirm preconceived judgments by an array of partial facts, 
 and also that we are far from being faultless in matters where- 
 of we accuse others. 
 
 There are many other facts which tend to give a more fa- 
 vorable opinion of the Chinese than is generally entertained 
 of them. It is the testimony of foreigners generally that the 
 laboring classes make excellent servants. There are excep- 
 tions to this statement, some persons representing them as very 
 inetficient and unreliable. The probability may be inferred in 
 these cases that the employers have been unfortunate, either 
 in the selection or management of those in their service. Dur- 
 ing our residence of ten years in China, we hardly ever had 
 occasion to dismiss a servant ; in nearly every case a strong 
 attachment sprang up between them and us ; and, in more in- 
 stances than one, I have felt personally grateful for services 
 and attentions which I could no# reasonably have required, and 
 which were all the more gratifying, because rendered sponta- 
 neously and heartily. The only thing which I recollect to have 
 had stolen was an old clock, which was taken by an opium- 
 smoker, and found a few days afterward. We had so little 
 fear of theft that our doors and drawers were often left un- 
 locked, and servants and numerous visitors had free access to 
 every part of our house. I am aware that others, both mis- 
 sionaries and merchants, have had a different experience, and 
 that, especially in the foreign communities, it is as dangerous 
 to leave coats and umbrellas near the hall-door when unlocked 
 as it would be in New York or Philadelphia. I have travelled 
 hundreds of miles in the interior, at different times and in dif- 
 ferent parts of the country, sometimes entirely alone, and have 
 been completely in the power of perfect strangers, who knew 
 that I had about my person money and other articles of value ; 
 
28S 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 but have always felt nearly as great a sense of security as at 
 home, and have hardly ever been treated with rudeness or vio- 
 lence, though I have been often annoyed beyond measure by 
 exorbitant charges anc^useless detentions. I have heard the 
 testimony of prominent merchants who have had large busi- 
 ness transactions with the Chinese, both in China and Califor- 
 nia, who have represented Chinese business men as very prompt 
 and reliable in meeting their business engagements. The con- 
 fidence often placed in Chinese agents is seen in the fact that 
 they are sent into the interior with large sums of money to 
 purchase silks and tea, the persons employing them having no 
 guarantee or dependence but that of their personal honesty. 
 I have known genuine “ one-priced stores ” in China where 
 you are sure to obtain a good article at a reasonable price. 
 There are also false “ one-priced stores,” and it is not safe to 
 trust them from simply looking at the sign. 
 
 I may say further, that I have met with some of the most 
 beautiful instances of affection, attachment, and gratitude in 
 China which I have ever known ; and that it lias been my priv- 
 ilege to form the acquaintance of not a few Chinese, whom I 
 regard with more than ordinary affection and respect, on ac- 
 count of the natural amiability of their dispositions, their ster- 
 ling integrity, and thorough Christian principle and devotion. 
 
 On the general subject of Chinese morality, and especially 
 of the Chinese moral teachings, I am happy to be able to quote 
 the opinions of two prominent English writers, who, from long 
 residence in China as civil officers of the English government, 
 and a familiar acquaintance with the people and their litera- 
 ture, may certainly be regarded as competent witnesses. The 
 following passage is quoted with approbation by Thomas Tay- 
 lor Meadows, from the writings of Sir John Davis : “ The 
 most commendable feature of their (the Chinese) system is 
 the general diffusion of elementary moral education among the 
 lower orders. It is in the preference of moral to physical in- 
 struction that even we might perhaps wisely take a leaf out 
 of the Chinese book, and do something to reform this most 
 
CHINESE VIEWS OF PROPRIETY. 
 
 289 
 
 mechanical age of ours.” The opinion of Mr. Meadows on 
 this subject is thus expressed : “No people, whether of ancient 
 or modern times, has possessed a sacred literature so complete- 
 ly exempt as the Chinese from licentious descriptions, and 
 from every offensive expression. There is not a single sen- 
 tence in the whole of their sacred books and their annotations 
 that may not, when translated word for word, be read aloud in 
 any family in England.” 
 
 It must be acknowledged that the Chinese give many evi- 
 dences, not only in their literature, but also in their paintings 
 and sculpture, of a scrupulous care to avoid all indecent and 
 immoral associations and suggestions. I have already remark- 
 ed, in a former chapter, that a nude representation of the hu- 
 man form is hardly to be found among the innumerable idols 
 and images of the Chinese Empire. I can easily imagine the 
 members of the Chinese Embassy, when visiting the United 
 States, much shocked by some of the representations in paint- 
 ing and sculpture which they see in our art galleries. We 
 have borrowed this custom of the public exhibition of nude 
 figures from the idolatrous nations of Greece and Rome, the 
 morality of whose people and gods Avas below that of the Chi- 
 nese. A professed admiration of the beauty of “ the human 
 form divine ” is but a poor excuse for this custom, \\ T hile in 
 our fashions and mode of dress we adopt models which are any 
 thing but natural, and, by following Avhicli, an artist would 
 meet Avith universal and merited reprobation and disgrace. 
 
 In referring to the above peculiarity of Chinese vieAvs and 
 customs, I am not, of course, speaking of the private lives and 
 practices of this people, but of their standard of propriety, and 
 of AA’hat the public taste requires in objects Avhich are openly 
 represented, to be seen and admired by the young and old of 
 both sexes. It may be said of the Chinese as truly as of oth- 
 ers : “ It is a shame even to speak of the things Avhich are 
 done of them in secret.” 
 
 What, then, is the conclusion of this whole matter ? Sim- 
 ply this, that it is not difficult to find every species of vice and 
 
 N 
 
290 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 immorality both in China and at home, and that, on the other 
 hand, we may find exhibitions of the better principles of our 
 nature in both countries if we are disposed to seek them. The 
 standard and the practice of virtue are almost necessarily, 
 and, as might be expected, lower in China than in Christian 
 lands, but the wonder to my mind is, considering our superior 
 advantages, that the difference is not greater. It is certainly 
 not so striking as to form the basis of a very marked contrast, 
 or to render it modest or prudent for us to designate any par- 
 ticular vice, or class of vices, as peculiar to, and especially char- 
 acteristic of the Chinese. I believe that, taking into view our 
 religious and spiritual privileges and training, we are more to 
 be blamed as individuals and as a nation for not having reach- 
 ed a higher standard of morality than the Chinese are. 
 
 I am persuaded also that the effect of close and familiar 
 acquaintance with the Chinese or any other nation is to pro- 
 duce and deepen the impression of a common origin and na- 
 ture. At first we notice external peculiarities^ of complexion, 
 dress, and manners, which are superficial, accidental, and un- 
 important ; but by degrees we become almost unconscious of 
 these outward differences, as we notice multiplied evidence 
 of common instincts and longings, doubts and fears, joys and 
 sorrows, virtues and vices. We see the same indications of 
 a noble and godlike nature suffering under the effects of a 
 terrible catastrophe or fall, swayed by conflicting tendencies 
 and impulses, and utterly unable to find the ark of rest and 
 peace. In the Eastern or Western hemisphere, “ as in water 
 face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man.” 
 
 It is quite probable that the views which I have presented 
 will be regarded by some as prejudicial to the interests of re- 
 ligion and missions. Indeed I have been expostulated with 
 by some worthy and pious people, who have told me that 
 if I represented the Chinese as, on the whole, “ so well off,” 
 and in many respects “ a very good sort of people,” Chris- 
 tians would not care to do any thing for them. That a high 
 degi’ee of intellectual, social, and even moral culture, is con- 
 
UNWARRANTED INFERENCES. 
 
 291 
 
 sistent with the greatest spiritual ignorance ancl destitution, 
 seems to many inconceivable or impossible, though the fact 
 has been illustrated in every period of the world’s history. 
 Strange and inexplicable as it may appear, that a thinking and 
 intelligent race like the Chinese should be so ignorant of God, 
 and such gross idolaters, it is not more so than that the tna- 
 jority of those in nominally Christian lands who are possess- 
 ed of an acknowledged revelation from God should live in al- 
 most utter disregard of it. A system of morality may be as 
 effective a means of keeping the soul away from God as one 
 of idolatry, and, in some cases, more so. Pride of intellect and 
 false systems of philosophy have the same tendency. In Chi- 
 na Satan has used all these instrumentalities combined. 
 
 Some persons are so accustomed to associate ignorance of 
 God with the lowest moral degradation and lawlessness, that 
 they expect to hear, in the representations of missionaries 
 from whatever part of the heathen world they may come, 
 only of scenes of barbarism and tales of horror. I have known 
 of a profound impression having been produced by an address 
 of a returned missionary from the East many years ago, who 
 stated that such was the character of Chinese society and the 
 condition of women, especially of daughters-in-law, in the hus- 
 band’s family, that he had known of “ five sisters who, sever- 
 ^al years after their marriage, met for the first time at their 
 own father’s house. On recounting their experiences of tyr- 
 anny and ill-treatment from mothers-in-law and husbands, 
 they were so impressed with the utter worthlessness of lives 
 such as theirs, and the miseries of their intolerable lot, that 
 they resolved upon suicide, and all went hand in hand to a 
 neighboring canal and buried themselves beneath its waters.” 
 This has been remembered for more than thirty years, and has 
 gone far to fix, perhaps, in many minds the character and con- 
 dition of the “wretched Chinese.” It would be easy to 
 collect enough of such incidents to fill up an evening lecture, 
 giving to it a thrilling interest, and producing, perhaps, a pro- 
 found impression ; but the impression produced would be 
 
292 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 par.tial and incomplete to such an extent as to be absolutely 
 false. Most conditions in life have a sunny as well as a shady 
 side ; I have endeavored to bring to view both, and to pre- 
 sent the condition and character of the Chinese as it is, con- 
 fident that no harm can result, either to religion or science, 
 from the statement of facts. The inhabitants of Rome and of 
 Athens at the beginning of the Christian era were very intel- 
 ligent and respectable people, and their condition, as regards 
 this life, was not such as to excite commiseration ; but these 
 facts do not seem to have dampened the missionary zeal of St. 
 Paul, or caused him to relax in his efforts to preach to them 
 the Gospel of Christ. It is but a weak, sickly, and imperfect- 
 ly enlightened Christianity, which can only be roused to ac- 
 tivity by tales of physical distress, while it is insensible to 
 the spiritual condition of vast multitudes who are without a 
 knowledge of God and of a way of salvation ; treats with 
 comparative indifference the solemn command of Jesus to 
 evangelize the nations, and finds no powerful motive to exer- 
 tion in the work of extending the spiritual triumphs of the 
 Redeemer, and contributing to the establishment on earth of 
 His universal kingdom and glory. 
 
ISOLATION OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE. 
 
 293 
 
 CHAPTER XX. 
 
 INTERCOURSE OP WESTERN NATIONS WITH CHINA. 
 
 Isolation. — Antiquity and Chronology. — Early Reference to China in 
 Greek and Roman History. — A Jewish Colony in Kai-fung-foo. — The 
 Nestorians and their Labors. — Marco Polo. — Early Romish Missions. — 
 First War with England, and the Opening of the Five Treaty Ports in 
 1842. — Events which led to the last War with England and France, and 
 to the Treaties which are now in Force. — Our present Relations. 
 
 One of the most remarkable facts in connection with China 
 is its comparative isolation for thirty centuries from other 
 nations of the globe — an isolation which at times has been so 
 complete that the “ Middle Kingdom” has been almost as un- 
 known to the rest of the world as if it belonged to a different 
 planet. Between Western nations and the nations of Central 
 Asia, many evident connections may be traced in their his- 
 tories, languages, traditions, and religions, but not so with 
 China. It seems to have been a world by itself, uninfluenced 
 by the ideas, and undisturbed by the convulsions of other 
 countries, having a form of civilization and government pe- 
 culiarly her own, and resembling other races only in this, that 
 its people are possessed of the same common nature. 
 
 The isolation of the Chinese Empire has been due to its 
 position in the extreme limits of Eastern Asia, and the great 
 difficulties which for ages prevented reaching it by sea, and 
 which still render it impracticable to reach it by an overland 
 route across the Himalaya Mountains. 
 
 I do not propose to enter upon the vexed and difficult ques- 
 tion of the antiquity of China, or to endeavor to fix the bound- 
 ary between its mythological period and its authentic history, 
 much less to note the long succession of its dynasties and the 
 events connected with them. But as the subject of its an- 
 
294 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 tiquity is one of much interest, I will simply give the opinion 
 and conclusions relating to it of some of our most trustworthy 
 modern writers. 
 
 Among those who place the period of reliable Chinese rec- 
 ords nearest to our time is Sir John Davis, whose views are 
 expressed as follows : “ The period of authentic history may 
 be considered as dating from the race of Chow, in whose 
 time Confucius himself lived ; for although it might be going 
 too far to condemn all that precedes that period as absolutely 
 fabulous, it is still so mixed up with fable as hardly to deserve 
 the name of history.” The reign of the race of Chow begins 
 about one thousand years before the Christian era. The prin- 
 cipal evidence referred to by this writer to cast discredit upon 
 antecedent records is found in the assertions that “ Yu is de- 
 scribed as nine cubits in height ; and it is stated that the skies 
 rained gold for three days.” In answer to this objection, 
 Williams justly remarks : “ This height is but little more than 
 that of Og of Bashan ; and if Kin, here called gold, be trans- 
 lated metal (which it can just as well be), it may be a notice 
 of a meteoric shower of extraordinary duration.” 
 
 The following is Williams’s opinion : “ Chinese mythologi- 
 cal history ends with the appearance of Fuh-hi, and their 
 chronology should not be charged with the long period ante- 
 cedent varying from forty-five to five hundred thousand years, 
 for the people themselves do not believe this duration. These 
 periods, however, are a mere twinkling, compared with the 
 Kulpas of the Hindoos, whose highest era, called the “ Un- 
 speakably Inexpressible,” requires 4,456,448, ciphers following 
 a unit to represent it. 
 
 “ The accession of Fuh-hi is placed in the Chinese annals 
 b.o. 2852.” This would be five hundred and eight years be- 
 fore the Deluge, according to the chronology of Usher ; and 
 three hundred and three years after, if we follow that of Hales. 
 
 In endeavoring to discover points of contact of the history 
 of China with that of other countries, an attempt has been 
 made to identify the Noachic Deluge with a notable flood re- 
 
EARLY HISTORICAL REFERENCES TO CHINA. 295 
 
 corded in tlie Chinese annals in connection with the Emperor 
 Yu, which, if we credit Chinese history, took place b.c. 2293. 
 This flood, according to Usher, synchronizes with the Deluge 
 of Scripture, with the variation of only fifty-five years. It is 
 the general opinion, however, that the Chinese record refers 
 to an unusual inundation of the Yellow River, and that this 
 supposed single coincidence between the sacred Scriptures 
 and the early history of China is not established by sufficient 
 evidence. 
 
 Thomas Taylor Meadows, in his work “ The Chinese and 
 their Rebellion,” gives the following statement : “ Authentic, 
 though not full records, embodying ethical and political doc- 
 trines, extend back to b.c. 2357, or to about eighteen hundred 
 years before Confucius, while the Chinese philosophy origi- 
 nated with Fuli-hi, who lived, according to the tradition, some 
 twenty-three generations before the exact chronological era, 
 which latter took place b.c. 2t337, with the institution of the 
 national cycle of sixty years. Allowing thirty years to one 
 generation, this would place Fuh-hi about b.c. 3327.” 
 
 It will be seen that, while writers who have investigated 
 this subject, differ widely in their conclusions, none of them 
 fix the period of the authentic history of China less distant 
 from our time than about three thousand years. 
 
 References of a vague and uncircumstantial character to a 
 country now generally believed to be China are found in the 
 works of Greek and Roman historians, principally in the writ- 
 ings of Ptolemy and Arian, who lived in the second century. 
 Ptolemy states that he derived his information from the agents 
 of Macedonian traders. These agents, who probably belonged 
 to some of the Tartar tribes of Central Asia, gave him an ac- 
 count of a journey of seven months from the principal city 
 of Eastern Turkistan in a direction east, inclining a little 
 south. They represented the most eastern nation of Asia 
 under the name of Serica, and stated that on the borders of 
 this kingdom they met, and traded with its inhabitants, the 
 Seres. 
 
296 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 Herodotus speaks of the Isadores, as a people in the ex- 
 treme north-east of Asia. Ptolemy also mentions these tribes 
 as a part of Serica, and under its sway. 
 
 Ammianus Marcellinus, a Roman historian of the fourth 
 century, speaks of the land of the Seres as surrounded by a 
 high and continuous wall. This was about six hundred years 
 after the great wall of Northern China was built. 
 
 Virgil, Pliny, Tacitus, and Juvenal refer to the Seres in 
 connection with the Seric garments, which seem to have been 
 made of fine silk or gauze. This article of dress was much 
 sought after in Rome by the wealthy and luxurious, and as 
 late as the second century is said to have been worth its 
 Aveight in gold. 
 
 Now, from the length and direction of the route of the 
 traders just referred to, the description of the mountains and 
 rivers which they passed, the character of the people Avith 
 Avhom. they traded, and the articles of traffic, the evidence 
 seems almost conclusive that the nation Avhich the Greeks and 
 Romans designated by the name Serica is that now knoAvn 
 to us as China. 
 
 The particular countries visited by the caravans Avhich 
 brought the silk to Europe Avere probably the dependencies 
 or territories of China on the Avest, or possibly cities Avithin 
 the extreme north-Avest limits of China proper. The informa- 
 tion coiweyed by these traders, who Avere probably ignorant 
 of the Chinese language, Avas necessarily imperfect and limit- 
 ed, and the communication carried on through them had little 
 or no effect either on China or the West. Little was knoAvn 
 of the Seres, except that such a people existed, and that one 
 of their productions, silk fabrics, excelled in richness and beau- 
 ty any article of dress in the knoAvn Avorld. These fabrics 
 Avere spoken of by the Romans as a product of barbarian lux- 
 ury; and the traders from Macedonia and Rome Avere no 
 doubt spoken of in China as barbarians from the West, who 
 had been attracted to the “ Central Flowery Land ” by the be- 
 nign influences of its superior civilization, and a -desire to car- 
 
JEWS AND NESTORIANS IN CHINA. 297 
 
 ry back to their own territories the evidences of its luxury 
 and refinement. 
 
 The introduction of Judaism in China is evidenced by a 
 Jewish synagogue which existed until quite recently in Kai- 
 fung-foo, a city in the province of Honan. Connected with 
 this synagogue were some Hebrew manuscripts and a few 
 worshipers, who retained some of the forms of their religion, 
 but very little knowledge of its real character and spirit. 
 They are called in China the Tiau-kin kiciu — “ The Sect which 
 plucks out the Sinew.” There is a great deal of uncertainty 
 as to when the Jews came to China, though they have, no 
 doubt, resided there for many centuries. The remaining 
 buildings and timbers of this synagogue have recently been 
 sold, and this little remnant which has been preserved long- 
 enough to afford evidence that Jews and Judaism have 
 reached the extreme limits of the East will probably soon be 
 extinct. 
 
 Nestorian missionaries entered China some time before 
 the seventh century. The principal record which they have 
 left of the success of their missions is the celebrated Hesto- 
 rian monument in Se-ngan foo. This monument contains a 
 short history of this sect from the year 630 to 781, and also 
 an abstract of the Christian religion. The missionaries of this 
 sect have left but few records of their labors, or of their ob- 
 servations as travellers. The churches planted by them seem 
 to have existed until a comparatively recent period. The Rom- 
 ish missionaries, who entered China in the beginning of the 
 fourteenth century, found them possessed of considerable 
 influence, not only among the people, but also at court, and 
 met with no little opposition from them in their first at- 
 tempts to introduce the doctrines of their Church. It is 
 , natural and reasonable to hope that, during the period of near 
 eight hundred years in which Nestorian Christianity maintain ■ 
 ed its foothold in China, large numbers from that empire be- 
 came savingly acquainted with the truth as it is in Jesus. 
 There is evidence, however, that, in process of time, the Nes- 
 
 N 2 
 
298 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 torian churches departed widely from the truth and simplic- 
 ity of the Gospel. After the fall of the Mongolian Empire, 
 they were cut off from connection with the West, and not hav- 
 ing sufficient vitality to resist the adverse influences of hea- 
 thenism, their people by degrees either relapsed into idolatry 
 or adopted the Romish faith. 
 
 The first Western writer whose works are extant, who has 
 given any thing like full and explicit information respecting 
 China, is Marco Polo. He went to China in the year 1274 in 
 company with his father and uncle, Avho were Venetian noble- 
 men. At this time the independent nomad tribes of Cen- 
 tral Asia being united in one government under the successors 
 of Zinghis Khan, it became practicable to reach Eastern Asia 
 by passing through the Mongolian Empire. Marco Polo spent 
 twenty-four years in China, and seems to have been treated 
 kindly and hospitably. The suspicion and distrust which the 
 Chinese have manifested toward Western nations during the 
 last few centuries are not so much the result of their natural 
 dispositions, or the teachings of their sages, as of their unfor- 
 tunate and prejudicing experience in their intercourse with 
 foreigners. 
 
 After Marco Polo’s return home, he was taken prisoner in 
 a Avar Avith the Genoese, and during his confinement Avrote an 
 account of his travels. The description he gives of the vast 
 territories of China, its teeming population and flourishing 
 cities, the refinement and civilization of its people, and their 
 curious customs, seemed to his countrymen more like a fiction 
 of fairy-land than sober and authentic narrative. It is said 
 that he Avas urged when on his death-bed to retract these state- 
 ments and make confession of falsehood, which he refused to 
 do. More recent discoveries and information have served to 
 confirm the truth of his statements, and to establish his char- 
 acter as one of the most remarkable travellers of any age. 
 
 During the period of the Mongolian Empire, Avhich com- 
 prehended under its sway the greater part of Asia from China 
 on the east to the Mediterranean on the Avest, an intense desire 
 
FIRST INTRODUCTION OF ROMANISM. 299 
 
 was kindled in the Romish Church to convert this powerful 
 nation to its faith. Among the first and the most noted of 
 the missionaries sent to China at this time was John of Mount 
 Corvin, who reached Pekin in 1293. He was afterward made 
 archbishop. From time to time bishops and priests were 
 sent out to re-enforce this mission, but they met with indiffer- 
 ent success ; and when the Mongols were driven from China 
 the enterprise was abandoned as a complete failure. After 
 the fall of the Mongolian Empire, direct overland communica- 
 tion with Eastern Asia was interrupted, and for about two 
 hundred years China was again almost completely isolated 
 from the Western world. 
 
 The use of the magnetic needle and improvements in navi- 
 gation introduced a new era in intercourse with the East. It 
 is supposed that the first voyage from Europe to China was 
 made by a Portuguese vessel in 1516. From this period 
 commercial intercourse with that empire has been more and 
 more frequent, and various embassies have been sent to the 
 Chinese Court by different nations of Europe. Unfortunately, 
 the growing familiarity of the Chinese with Western nations 
 did not increase their respect for and confidence in them. 
 This was due partly to the servility of most of the embassies 
 to Pekin, but principally no doubt to the want of honesty, 
 .and the general lawlessness of the greater part of the traders 
 from the West. The consequence was that the Chinese be- 
 came desirous of restricting foreign intercourse, and exerci- 
 sing as strict surveillance over their troublesome visitors as 
 possible. 
 
 Immediately after a connection was established between 
 Europe and the far East by sea, another and a more success- 
 ful effort was made by the Romish Church to propagate its 
 faith in the Chinese Empire. Francis Xavier, in his attempt 
 to gain an entrance into the country, died on one of the islands 
 on the coast in 1552. Matteo Ricci, who may well be regard- 
 ed as the Apostle of the Romish Church in China, established 
 himself in Canton in the garb of a Buddhist priest in 1581, 
 
300 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 He was a (man of varied intellectual gifts and extensive learn- 
 ing, united with indomitable energy, zeal, and perseverance, 
 and great prudence. In 1601 he reached Pekin in the dress 
 of a literary gentleman. He was much admired, and acquired 
 a great influence over the literary and ruling classes. His 
 labors and those of his associates resulted in many conver- 
 sions, and in the establishment of churches in different parts 
 of the empire. His successors during the one hundred and 
 fifty years following his arrival in China succeeded in establish- 
 ing several bishoprics, and numbered their converts by hun- 
 dreds of thousands. During this period, controversies and dis- 
 sensions sprang up between the Jesuits and Dominicans, 
 which, together with other causes, produced suspicions in the 
 minds of the Chinese rulers, and in the year 1723 an edict 
 was promulgated prohibiting the further propagation of this 
 religion in the empire. From this time the Roman Catholics 
 were subjected to frequent and sometimes violent persecu- 
 tions, Avith alternate periods of comparative toleration. They 
 have retained their position in the face of great difficulties 
 and trials, and since the late treaties with China their converts 
 have rapidly increased. 
 
 The most important events in the modern intei’course of 
 Western nations with China are its wars Avith England and 
 France, and the treaties to Avhich they gave rise. The first. 
 Avar Avith England, sometimes called the Opium War, from 
 its relation to and effects upon the opium trade, resulted in 
 the treaty of 1842, Avhich opened five Chinese ports to for- 
 eigners, and ceded to the English the small island of Hong- 
 kong. In a feAv years the United States and other govern- 
 ments availed themselves of the advantages secured by the 
 English in this treaty. It does not fall within my plan to dis- 
 cuss the merits of this first war with China. Justifiable or 
 not, it Avas made use of in God’s providence to inaugurate a 
 new era in our relations with this A r ast empire. Hitherto trade 
 had been carried on by sufferance, and traders were subjected 
 to many restrictions and annoyances. Foreigners were not 
 
THE TREATY OF 1842. 
 
 301 
 
 allowed to take up a permanent residence on shore, and were 
 regarded as an inferior race of barbarians and vassals. 
 
 A few Protestant missionaries had commenced their labors 
 in some of the Chinese colonies along the coast, but the great 
 Middle Kingdom was still sealed against them. Morrison had 
 gained an entrance into Canton as an employe of the East 
 India Company, and was engaged in labors indirectly bearing 
 upon the missionary work, but did not deem it prudent to at- 
 tempt the open proclamation of the Gospel. 
 
 After the treaty, the Chinese were obliged to regard and 
 treat with foreigners more on terms of equality ; a new im- 
 pulse was given to trade, and Protestant missionaries, as well 
 as Roman Catholic, under the protection of this treaty entered 
 the five ports, built houses and chapels, established schools, 
 and engaged in public preaching. 
 
 A great advance had been made, but the work of opening 
 China was yet incomplete. The Chinese, in their intercourse 
 with Europeans, still maintained as far as they were able the 
 same tone of superiority and authority, and showed a disposi- 
 tion to reduce the privileges extorted from them in the treaty 
 to a minimum. F oreigners were closely confined to the treaty 
 ports, and, if found trespassing beyond assigned limits, were 
 apprehended and brought back to their consuls. In Canton 
 the spirit of opposition and prejudice was so strong that the 
 people insisted on keeping foreigners outside the city wall, 
 and succeeded in obliging them to take up their residence in 
 and confine themselves to the suburbs. 
 
 It was impossible for such a state of things to continue 
 long without producing another outbreak. In 1857 a serious 
 difficulty originated between the Chinese and British author- 
 ities in Canton. Rev. W. A. P. Martin wrote in May, 1858, 
 from the north of China, where he was engaged as interpret- 
 er for the American Embassy, as follows : “ The quarrel orig- 
 inated in an occurrence of the most trivial character, and has 
 grown to its present magnitude by a concatenation of events 
 which no human power could have arranged, or human sagac- 
 3 
 
302 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 ity foreseen. It presents a striking instance of what is so 
 often noticed in the course of history — God accomplishing 
 his great and wise purposes by allowing man to pursue his 
 petty, private, and even unjustifiable ends. In this case the 
 Divine purpose appears to be the opening of China for the 
 free promulgation of his blessed Gospel. The wedge which 
 lie employed to cleave the first fissure in this hitherto unyield- 
 ing mass was the iniquitous traffic in opium ; and the unjusti- 
 fiable practice of granting the protection of the British flag 
 to Chinese vessels has furnished the occasion for the demoli- 
 tion of the remaining barriers.” 
 
 A native vessel making use of the British flag (without, as 
 the Chinese assert, any right to do so) was called to account, 
 and summarily dealt with by the Chinese authorities. The 
 English, feeling that their flag had been treated with disre- 
 spect, demanded certain concessions and acknowledgments 
 which the Chinese were unwilling to grant. In consequence 
 of this refusal, hostilities were commenced by the English, 
 who took some forts on the Canton River, and bombarded and 
 took possession of the city of Canton on the 29th of Decem- 
 ber, 1857. 
 
 The demand was now made that imperial commissioners 
 should be sent from the capital with authority to adjust the 
 differences between China and England, and to form a new 
 treaty. In this demand the French government, as an ally of 
 England, joined, and Shanghai was the place designated by 
 them for the meeting. The Chinese, in accordance with their 
 traditional policy to keep foreigners as far from their capital 
 as possible, insisted that the interview between its commission- 
 ers and the representatives of the foreign powers should be 
 held in Canton as formerly. 
 
 The foreign ministers determined not to submit to this ar- 
 bitrary and unreasonable requisition, and proceeded to the 
 Peiho, the port of Pekin in the north, and insisted on an inter- 
 view there. Here new difficulties arose. It w'as hardly to be 
 expected that matters would progress harmoniously with two 
 
 C, 
 
NEGOTIATIONS AT TIEN-TSIN 
 
 805 
 
 parties, each of which felt its superiority, and was determined 
 to dictate terms to the other. The English and French ex- 
 pressed themselves as dissatisfied with the powers of the im- 
 perial commissioners, and refused to treat with them, and sent 
 • word to the Emperor that if an officer of higher authority 
 were not sent from the capital, they would bombard and take 
 the forts at the mouth of the Peiho River. The Emperor dis- 
 regarded this message, and the forts were attacked and taken 
 on the 20th of May, after two hours’ fighting, and considerable 
 loss on both sides. Possessing themselves of these forts, the 
 allies moved on rapidly toward Tien-tsin, accompanied by the 
 plenipotentiaries of the United States and Russia, “ who had 
 nearly completed the revision of the treaties, when the rupture 
 with the English and French broke off their negotiations.” 
 The arrival of the foreign embassadors in Tien-tsin, accompa- 
 nied by an armed force, occasioned great excitement and trep- 
 idation at the capital. Two commissioners of high rank and 
 enlarged powers were dispatched to meet the foreigners, and, 
 if possible, adjust the difficulties which had arisen. These 
 men are thus described by Mr. Oliphant, private secretary of 
 Lord Elgin : 
 
 “ The senior commissioner, Kweiliang, was a venerable man, 
 of placid and benevolent expression, with a countenance full of 
 intelligence, though his eye was somewhat dimmed, and his 
 hand palsied from extreme age. His manners were polished 
 and dignified, and his whole bearing that of a perfect gentle- 
 man. He is a Tartar, and has risen to his present high position 
 after a long course of services. His full titles, with which he 
 signed the treaties, were as follows: ‘Kweiliang, a Senior 
 Chief Secretary of State, styled of the East Cabinet, Captain- 
 General of the Satin White Banner of the Manchu Banner 
 Force, and Superintendent-General of the Administration of 
 Criminal Law.’ Llis colleague, Hwashana, a Mandarin of the 
 same grade, was a much younger man, with a square solid face 
 and a large nose. In general appearance, he reminded me 
 strongly of the pictures of Oliver Cromwell, and in the lines 
 
306 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 KYVEILTANG, FIRST IMPERIAL COMMIGSIOA’EE. 
 
 of the lower part of his countenance much firmness and decis- 
 ion of character Avere apparent. He styles himself one of His 
 Imperial Majesty’s Expositors of the Classics, Manchu Presi- 
 dent of the Office for the^Regulation of the Civil Establish- 
 ment, Captain-General of the Bordered Blue Banner of the 
 Chinese Banner Force, and Visitor of the Office of Interpreta- 
 tion.” 
 
 After sundry delays and ineffectual attempts on the part 
 of the Chinese commissioners to avoid concessions demanded 
 by the English, the treaty Avas at length agreed upon. Lord 
 Elgin, during all the negotiations, preserved a very determined, 
 and authoritative bearing, and succeeded in gaining every point 
 on which he insisted. It was said that “ a mere hint of j>ro- 
 
EXPEDITION OF 1859. 
 
 307 
 
 to send the treaties to Europe and America to be sanctioned 
 and ratified by Western governments ; after which, they were 
 to be formally ratified by the Emperor at Pekin. 
 
 Early in the summer of 1859 the representatives of “the 
 four treaty powers,” England, France, the United States, and 
 
 ceeding to Pekin was sufficient to take the most doubtful 
 clauses through the perils of diplomacy.” 
 
 Peace was now restored, a better understanding between 
 China and Western powers established, and new and impor- 
 tant advantages secured to traders and missionaries. All that 
 remained to be done in closing up these negotiations was 
 
 UWASHANA, SECOND IMPERIAL COMMISSIONER. 
 
308 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 Russia, appeared at the mouth of the Peiho with the treaties, 
 to obtain their final ratification. The speedy consummation 
 of this event was confidently anticipated by foreigners and na- 
 tives generally, though it had been rumored for months that 
 the mouth of the Peiho had been filled with obstructions to 
 prevent the entrance of foreign gun-boats, and that extensive 
 warlike preparations had been made to resist and exclude the 
 foreign embassadors. I believe the Chinese did not contem- 
 plate breaking faith with foreign nations, but they found it 
 very difficult to accept the position in which they found them- 
 selves, and to submit with a good grace to the terms of a treaty 
 which seemed to them so humiliating, and which had been ex- 
 acted from them the previous year with such a dictatorial air 
 and haughty assumption of superiority. They felt that they 
 could not surrender to “ barbarians ” that pre-eminence which, 
 from time immemorial, they had claimed and exercised. The 
 Chinese commissioners, with earnest professions of cordiality, 
 and a forced assumption of dignity and authority, informed 
 the foreign plenipotentiaries that they were expected at Pekin, 
 but that the channel of the Peiho was effectually closed, and 
 that they must proceed to the capital by another route. They 
 assured them that the Chinese government intended to treat 
 the foreign ministers with all due consideration and respect, 
 but that they regarded them as their guests, and would ex- 
 pect them to leave their gun-boats at the mouth of the river, 
 and, with a limited escort, put themselves under the care 
 and guidance of the servants of the Emperor, who would 
 provide them with suitable conveyances and necessary sup- 
 plies. This proposition no doubt seemed to the Chinese nat- 
 ural and reasonable, while the English saw in it a persistent 
 determination to treat them as inferiors, and to subject them 
 to petty annoyances, and some supposed that the Chinese 
 wished to draw the foreign embassadors into a position where 
 they would be entirely in their power, by separating them 
 from their ships and their soldiers. Under these circumstan- 
 ces, the English and French expressed their fixed determina- 
 
REPULSE OF THE ENGLISH AND FRENCH. 309 
 
 tion to go to Pekin by the usual and direct route, through the 
 Peiho, and to take with them as large a company of foreign 
 soldiers as they wished. Here was another antagonism as 
 clearly defined as that of the previous year. Neither party 
 would recede from its position, and an appeal was again made 
 to arms. 
 
 The Chinese had made every possible preparation for this 
 emergency in case it should arise, and succeeded in offering 
 such a determined and effective resistance as was not expect- 
 ed from them. After several gun-boats were disabled by the 
 fire from the forts, and a storming-party had utterly failed in 
 effecting its object, the allied forces having suffered severe 
 losses of men and vessels, were obliged to withdraw and give 
 up the attack as a complete failure. While the English and 
 French quietly retired, the Ministers of the United States and 
 Russia, who had not taken part in this encounter, went to 
 Pekin, as desired by the Chinese government, and exchanged 
 their treaties. 
 
 Quiet was again restored, at least for a season. The 
 “ Great Middle Kingdom ” had gained a decided victory, and 
 the Chinese were jubilant — in some places almost insolent. 
 But all felt that this quiet was delusive. The political sky 
 was not cleared, and another more terrible storm was appre- 
 hended. The Empire was for a time freed from the presence 
 of a foreign foe, but in the distance was heard the roar of the 
 English Lion, and seen the glittering of French bayonets. 
 
 Early in the summer of I860 the expected allied army 
 made its appearance off the mouth of the Peiho. It was now 
 determined to carry the war to the very gates of Pekin, and 
 make the Chinese acknowledge the supremacy of Western 
 nations. The invading army was composed of the best 
 troops, both cavalry and infantry, which England and France 
 could furnish, numbering in all about twenty thousand men. 
 No expense had been spared. The expedition was too im- 
 portant to risk the chance of a failure. The Chinese govern- 
 ment opposed the invading force by an immense army, led 
 
310 
 
 CHINA ANJD THE CHINESE. 
 
 by their famous general Seng-ko-ling-sing. They gave unex- 
 pected evidence of resolution and courage ; but as they had 
 been two proud to learn the art of war from foreigners, all 
 their efforts to guard the capital of the “ Son of Heaven ” 
 from being desecrated by barbarians proved fruitless. As 
 the conquerors approached Pekin, the Emperor fled in great 
 haste into Tartary. The Western plenipotentiaries, with 
 foreign guns trained upon the walls of the Chinese capital, 
 exacted the ratification of their treaties, with additional 
 clauses and conditions still more galling to the Chinese, every 
 new act of resistance on their part being made the occasion 
 of demanding new privileges and advantages. 
 
 These treaties opened -for foreign residence and trade two 
 new ports on the island of Formosa, Swatow on the south 
 coast of China, Cheefoo and Tien-tsin in the north, one city 
 in Manchuria, and three on the great river Yiang-ts. It con- 
 ceded the right to travel with passports throughout the eight- 
 een provinces, and contained also a special clause giving pro- 
 tection to foreigners and natives in the propagation and adop- 
 tioff of the Christian religion. The further condition was 
 imposed that the Chinese should pay the expenses of the war. 
 
 The moral effect of this war was very great. The superi- 
 ority of Western nations, at least in this one art, could no 
 longer be questioned, and a much more favorable impression 
 was made by the moderation, magnanimity, and clemency of 
 the victors than by their military power. 
 
 As the invading army marched inland from the coast, the 
 people, expecting nothing from them but wholesale slaughter 
 and plunder, fled before them in consternation, and many 
 committed suicide. It was soon found, however, that the 
 English treated those not in arms with kindness, and paid a 
 fair price for every thing they wished. The country people 
 brought in all kinds of provisions, and I have been told by an 
 English oflicer that. he had never known a better market than 
 that which followed them in all their course from the coast to 
 Pekin. They even bought pack-mules and horses at a very 
 
so ajvtm ?"t nn njrso'.a 
 

PROGRESS UNDER THE LAST TREATY. 313 
 
 low price. The French, adopting a less kindly policy, were 
 obliged, as a natural and merited result, to go to the English 
 market to buy their provisions, and to be subject to the rules 
 and regulations which they had imposed. It is but just to 
 add, that the character of the French army w T as further tar- 
 nished by the unjustifiable act of burning a valuable library 
 connected with the Emperor’s summer palace. 
 
 Within the short time which has elapsed since the ratifica- 
 tion of the last treaties in 1860, an important trade has sprung 
 up in all these newly-opened ports. Ideas of progress and 
 change are constantly being taught to millions of the interior 
 provinces by more than a score of large steamers plying be- 
 tween the coast and the city of Han-Kow, six hundred miles 
 in the interior — a place containing near 2,000,000 of inhabit- 
 ants. 
 
 Shanghai, one of the five, open ports, has grown from a 
 small settlement to a place numbering five thousand foreign 
 residents, and the shipping anchored here at one time often 
 contains near five thousand traders and sailors. Protestant 
 missionaries have entered nearly all the new ports, and in 
 most of them may be found already a ’company of native 
 Christians and organized native churches. 
 
 O 
 
CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 8U 
 
 CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 MISSIONARY LIFE IN CHINA. 
 
 A Sea-voyage a good Preparation for Missionary Life. — First Impressions 
 on Shore. — Novelty succeeded by Monotony. — Longing for Home. — 
 Missionary Houses, Mode of Living, Salaries, Servants, etc.— Import- 
 ance of Female Laborers. — Married and Unmarried Missionaries. — The 
 Study of the Language with a Native Teacher. — A Missionary may be 
 Useful from the very first. — House-keeping, and a Missionary’s Home as 
 an important Centre of Influence. — Chapels and Chapel-preaching. — 
 Itinerations in the Interior. — The great Difficulty of communicating 
 Christian Truth in a Heathen Language. — Distribution of Tracts, and 
 the Manner in which they are received. — The natural Effect of a correct 
 Apprehension of the true Character of the Gospel. 
 
 A sea-voyage is in many respects a good preparation for 
 the life-work of a missionary. Separated both from his fa- 
 ther-land and the one to which he is looking forward for a 
 home, a wanderer on the wide waste of waters, it is a time for 
 solemn thought, to examine one’s motives, to estimate aright 
 the character and value of life and its pursuits, and to gather 
 strength and courage for future duty. Cut off from all inter- 
 course with the busy world at large, he finds himself in a lit- 
 tle world having a character peculiar to itself, where he is 
 brought into the closest contact with his fellows, studies hu- 
 man nature in new aspects, and finds abundant occasion for 
 the exercise and cultivation of patience, forbearance, sympa- 
 thy, and self-control. Here the strongest attachments are 
 formed, and the most decided antagonisms developed, not 
 only between ship-masters and passengers, but between the 
 passengers themselves. The voyage is looked back to by 
 some as the most delightful episode of their lives, and by 
 others as a most vexatious and unendurable imprisonment. 
 
A missionary’s first impressions. 
 
 315 
 
 These experiences refer to the long voyages in sailing-ships, 
 where passengers are necessarily brought into the closest re- 
 lations with each other. In the shorter voyages of ocean 
 steamers, which carry a large number of travellers, and have 
 extensive accommodations, passengers can choose their own 
 associates according to their natural affinities. 
 
 The monotony and privations of life on ship-board are to 
 many persons almost compensated by the pleasure of going 
 ashore in a foreign land. After being tossed for months on 
 the restless ocean, it is a delight to tread terra Jirma any- 
 where, especially in jflaces where every object is novel, or 
 strange, or picturesque. To a missionary, the first introduc- 
 tion to the land of his choice has new elements of delight, 
 lie does not come on shore simply to enjoy the novelty of the 
 scene, to satisfy his curiosity, or gather interesting or useful 
 information. This is to be his future home. Hither his af- 
 fections have flown, and clung by anticipation. -The new race 
 of men which he looks upon for the first time with a peculiar 
 and absorbing interest, he has already learned to love. He 
 has come to labor with and for them, and for Christ. 
 
 . If his destination is a mission-station already established, 
 he has the additional pleasure of being met and welcomed by 
 his colaborers ; and the happiness of this meeting is heightened 
 by its being .so thoroughly reciprocal. The arrival of new re- 
 cruits is hailed by missionaries on the ground as an evidence 
 • of remembrance and sympathy at home, and as a direct an- 
 swer to the oft-repeated prayer that God would send forth 
 laborers into his harvest. The glow of health mantling their 
 cheeks, and the fire of zeal beaming in their eyes, add new 
 strength and hope to those who have been bearing the burden 
 and heat of the day. The new-comers are perhaps entire 
 strangers, and bring no news of individual homes and fire- 
 sides ; but they can speak of a common country, of revered 
 instructors and halls of study, of the loved church of their 
 choice, and of the work to which they have given their lives 
 in obedience to the call of the Master. 
 
316 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 But the novelty of the missionary’s position soon passes 
 away, and he settles down to the monotony, toil, and trials of 
 every-day duties. He feels the want of home society and 
 recreations, and the stimulus and excitement of coming into 
 daily contact with the active busy world. He may discover 
 that his associates are without those elements of congeniality 
 which form the basis of warm and confiding intimacies and 
 attachments. The language is perhaps found very difficult, 
 and intercourse with the natives vexatious and annoying. 
 Under these circumstances, nothing but a strong motive can 
 keep the mind fixed to its purpose. Merchants may be will- 
 ing to expatriate themselves for a few years, from the power- 
 ful motive of acquiring wealth ; solacing themselves for a time 
 by the excitement of their active employments, the society of 
 those similarly situated with themselves, and the hope of soon 
 returning to their native land to enjoy a life of ease and afflu- 
 ence. The only motives which can make a missionary con- 
 tented and useful are earnest love for his work, and sympathy 
 with those for whom he labors. Individuals may, and I be- 
 lieve some do, leave home to engage in this work without a 
 just conception of its true character, and without counting 
 the cost — influenced in part, though unconsciously, by a love 
 of adventure, or romantic interest, or temporary enthusiasm. 
 Such persons are apt very soon to become disappointed and 
 disheartened, and to work simply from a sense of duty. Some 
 have found that they had made a mistake before even the 
 outward voyage was over. Whenever it comes to this, that 
 a man performs his work as a drudgery, regards his having 
 become a missionary with regret, labors with a kind of half- 
 heartedness, makes very little progress in gaining a knowl- 
 edge of the language or influence with the people, and pines 
 for home, the sooner he goes home the better : the more pity 
 he ever came away. 
 
 I am glad to say that, as far as my experience and obser- 
 vation go, such cases have been very few in China. Mission- 
 aries generally acquire a growing delight in the work, even in 
 
missionaries’ mode of living. 
 
 31 / 
 
 the most difficult, discouraging, and unhealthy fields ; and are 
 rather prone to stay too long, to the detriment of their health 
 and permanent usefulness, requiring to be urged, and some- 
 times almost forced away by their brethren. 
 
 Missionaries generally live at first in native houses, altered 
 and fitted up in some degree in accordance with our ideas of 
 comfort and convenience — putting in a few glass windows in 
 place of the paper ones, and substituting boards for the floor- 
 ing of a few rooms in the place of cement or brick. As soon 
 as practicable, permanent houses are built somewhat after our 
 own style of architecture. 
 
 Our mode of living is similar to that at home. China fur- 
 nishes nearly every article of food which we find in our own 
 country. The native mode of preparing and cooking it is, 
 however, very different from ours, and, in many respects, not 
 suited to our tastes and habits. Most missionary families 
 have an American cooking-stove, and servants are taught to 
 prepare food according to our way, so that our tables and. 
 meals correspond very nearly to what we have been accustom- 
 ed to at home. 
 
 A great deal is said in some quarters about the luxurious 
 manner in which missionaries live in the East, occupying 
 “palatial dwellings, employing a large number of servants, 
 and riding on the shoulders of the men to whom they are sent 
 to preach the Gospel.” 
 
 Such remarks are so common that a reference to them 
 needs no apology. 
 
 In China our usual allowance for buildings is from twelve 
 hundred to two thousand dollars for a house. This will fur- 
 nish us with a plain dwelling, inferior in style and accommo- 
 dations to most country parsonages at home. 
 
 As for servants, there is no caste, as in India, almost ne- 
 cessitating the employment of from six to ten different persons 
 in a family, but we generally think it desirable to employ 
 about three, though some have but two, and some have man- 
 aged to get along with one. It should be understood that 
 
318 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 our circumstances are very different from those of home. In- 
 stead of having water brought to the kitchen by pipes, or sup- 
 plied by a well and pump conveniently situated, our servants 
 are often required to bring water for washing and cooking, 
 etc., a distance varying from several rods to a quarter of a 
 mile or more. Instead of having the convenience of the mar- 
 ket-wagon calling at the door every day, the cook is often 
 obliged to walk one or two miles to buy his meat, vegetables, 
 and groceries. In Chinese cities we have no arrangements 
 for receiving our letters at every corner, and delivering them 
 in any place where we may wish to send them ; and if we have 
 communications to send to other parts of the city or country, 
 we must either waste our time in taking them ourselves, or 
 send a special messenger. In going from place to place, we 
 would be glad to make use of street cars if we had them, but 
 we must forego this luxury. We would not feel that we 
 could afford to hire a carriage, even if there were roads and car- 
 riages. We generally prefer to walk when we are not too 
 tired or ill to do so ; but when ladies or gentlemen are obliged 
 to use a conveyance where boats are not to be had, they adopt 
 the same mode of travelling that natives do, rich and poor, 
 and engage a sedan at the rate of about twenty cents per 
 hour, or a dollar a day ; and the bearers are very glad to get 
 the employment. Being accustomed to take a great deal of 
 out-door exercise, and requiring it, I have made comparative- 
 ly little use of sedans, but would regard it as exceedingly un- 
 wise and injurious for all missionaries to follow my example. 
 
 The salaries of the missionaries of the various societies of 
 the United States generally range from eight to twelve hun- 
 dred dollars a year. This sum is not fixed as pay, or as an 
 equivalent for their services, but as a mere competency for 
 their support, while they give their labors and themselves to 
 the work which they have undertaken. This salary for a mis- 
 sionary and his wife is much lower than many, if not most, 
 young unmarried clerks receive the first year of their coming 
 out to China. 
 
WHAT IS TRUE ECONOMY? 
 
 319 
 
 But it is asked, Could not the missionaries economize still 
 further, and live on a considerably lower salary ? This would 
 no doubt be possible, but the question is, Would it be desira- 
 ble ? Would it promote the object for which we go to Chi- 
 na ? There are some missionaries Avho advocate living on re- 
 duced salaries, and we might barely subsist, for a time at least, 
 on a still smaller sum than even they would adopt. Many 
 artisans and day laborers at home live and thrive and support 
 their families on two or three hundred dollars a year ; and in 
 China living is somewhat cheaper, and we might perhaps ex- 
 ist on even less. In doing so, however, we would hardly rep- 
 resent those from whom we are sent, and I fear that the re- 
 sult would prove that we had been exercising a very poor 
 economy. 
 
 If Christians at home were really unable to furnish the 
 present stipend, I trust that the men and women who are now 
 laboring for Christ in China would, rather than abandon His 
 cause, be willing to remain at their posts, receiving only the 
 minimum necessary for a bare subsistence. But there is, in 
 fact, no such necessity. Few will deny that the Church is 
 giving but a small part of what she might easily give, and 
 ought to give, and it would be a positive advantage for her to 
 give. 
 
 Or further, if living with a stricter economy, and on a 
 smaller salary, would increase our influence among the people 
 and promote our ultimate usefulness, we certainly ought to do 
 it. But I believe that, from such a«course, no good results 
 would follow, but rather harm. The Chinese are accustomed 
 to associate poverty with inefficiency ; to see persons who are 
 not pinched with want live generously ; and they intuitively 
 judge of a man’s character and social position, in a great 
 measure, by his dress, manners, and style of living. So far are 
 intelligent and earnest native Christians, even those who are 
 themselves very poor, from washing us to adopt their style of 
 living, that I have known them to be so much exercised by 
 the shabby appearance and ungenteel manners and mode of 
 
320 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 life of some foreign teachers, as to insist upon the importance of 
 their dressing better, and in every way living more respecta- 
 bly, in order to increase their influence and usefulness. 
 
 A missionary might try to do his own marketing, and his 
 wife might spend the most of her time in the kitchen, and 
 thus save the expense of one servant, and perhaps two ; but, 
 after many years of expensive preparation for their great 
 work, it seems but a miserable economy to spend their ener- 
 gies and a considerable portion of each day’s time in doing 
 that which a Chinaman can be employed to do for five dollars 
 a month, neglecting the special work to which Christ has 
 called them, to say nothing of producing dissatisfaction and 
 complaints from servants, unpleasant remarks among neigh- 
 bors, and acquiring the reputation, which is not at all enviable 
 or desirable, of being penurious and narrow-minded. In Chi- 
 na labor is cheap, and is divided among different kinds of 
 servants. It is a very difficult matter to change the customs 
 and views of as numerous and intelligent a people as the Chi- 
 nese, and it is much the best way to conform to these customs 
 in matters which are indifferent and unimportant. 
 
 I learned a short time since that a church in our connec- 
 tion was greatly shocked by the statement of a missionary 
 from India, who had spent twenty-eight years in earnest and 
 efficient labor, and literally worn himself out in the service of 
 the Church, respecting the number of servants they employed 
 there, and, in consequence, almost determined never to contrib- 
 ute any thing. more tcp the cause of missions. I have little 
 doubt that an effort on the part of this missionary to do with 
 a less number of servants would have resulted in inconven- 
 iences, annoyances, and interruptions, which would have gone 
 far toward neutralizing his influence and destroying his use- 
 fulness. I have noticed, as a matter of fact, which individuals 
 may account for as they choose, that these objections and in- 
 sinuations are generally made by those who do or give little 
 or nothing for the cause of foreign missions themselves. 
 
 The same sensitiveness is manifested in the views and feel- 
 
UNREASONABLE AND ROMANTIC IDEAS. 
 
 321 
 
 ings which some professed Christians entertain with reference 
 to missionaries returning home to recruit their health, thus 
 “wasting so much time and so much money.” I have also 
 heard the return of missionaries deprecated on account of the 
 “•unfavorable effect it had on the Church at home.” I have 
 known of an individual’s writing to a missionary friend abroad, 
 who was in a very precarious state of health, that if he had 
 given himself to the work of being a missionary he would die 
 before he would come home. These individual opinions 
 would not be worth noticing, were there not reason to believe 
 that those who entertain them are representatives of a class. 
 Now I trust the missionaries are willing to die, if need be, for 
 the cause of Christ, and for the heathen; but they have no 
 disposition to sacrifice life and the hope of future usefulness 
 out of regard to views and theories of professing Christians, so 
 impracticable, unreasonable, and romantic as these. It might 
 be well for those who entertain such exalted ideas of the char- 
 acter of the missionary work, and the standard of Christian 
 consecration, to consider whether, as the command to evan- 
 gelize the nations is given to the whole Church, and rests 
 equally upon every individual member of it, they ought not 
 to become missionaries themselves, and to put in practice 
 their own principles. Or if, for any reason, they choose to re- 
 main at home, they might even here have the fullest opportu- 
 nity of practicing at least one species of the self-denial which 
 they Avould recommend to missionaries, namely, that of econ- 
 omy ; and might adopt at once the minimum necessary to keep 
 soul and body together ; vigorous health and ability to labor 
 not being so absolutely indispensable here as for missionaries 
 abroad. 
 
 With regard to this whole matter of salaries and mode of 
 living, I do not hesitate to state it as my opinion, that in Chi- 
 na American missionaries at least, have erred on the side of a 
 false and injurious economy, which has interfered, in some 
 cases, greatly with their health, influence, and usefulness. We 
 have no reason to complain, because we ourselves generally 
 
 0 2 
 
322 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 fix the amount of our salaries. What I mean is, that it is the 
 natural and general tendency of missionaries to stint them- 
 selves in order to have more funds to apply to other purposes. 
 
 In this connection it may be well to speak briefly of the 
 opportunity for missionary labor of Christian ladies. It is # a 
 prevalent opinion that the wives of missionaries are necessa- 
 rily so much taken up with domestic duties that it is not 
 practicable for them to accomplish much in direct efforts for 
 the evangelization of the heathen, even for those of their 
 own sex. I believe that the fact that so little is expected of 
 them has had the effect, in many cases, of discouraging them 
 from attempting and accomplishing much that they might and 
 would gladly have done. In instructing the women of China, 
 there is an important sphere of labor which especially belongs 
 to Christian ladies ; and experience has shown that, even with 
 a large family to care for, they may, without neglecting any 
 domestic duties (making use of necessary assistance from 
 servants), accomplish a great deal in visiting native women at 
 their homes, superintending schools and female assistants, 
 gathering women into industrial and Bible classes, and writ- 
 ing books for the use of schools, inquirers, and church mem- 
 bers or others. While the missionary’s wife should perhaps 
 be left entirely free to attempt direct missionary work or not, 
 and to follow her own tastes and inclinations, she should at 
 least be heartily encouraged to share in the privileges of mis- 
 sionary labor whenever she has the ability and disposition £o 
 do so. Personal interest and employment, and bringing igno- 
 rant idolaters to Christ, is at once the best antidote to home- 
 sickness, and the purest source of happiness. 
 
 While there is an important work for Christian women to 
 do in the East, it is an interesting and gratifying fact that a 
 large number of unmarried ladies are offering their services 
 to our Boards. May Ave not recognize in this fact a special 
 providence, and the necessity of so arranging and adjusting 
 our plan of operations as to a\ r ail ourselves of this important 
 agency Avhich God is raising up for the Church? 
 
THE STUDY OF THE LANGUAGE. 
 
 323 
 
 The practical question often arises as to the comparative 
 advantages of married and unmarried missionaries. While 
 it would be a great misfortune, as I conceive, for a mission to 
 be composed wholly of unmarried men, I think it is a mistake 
 hardly less serious to suppose that an unmarried man can not 
 be a most useful missionary. Both classes of laborers are 
 needed. Persons without family ties have advantages in 
 itinerating and moving from place to place which are peculiar 
 to their condition ; at the same time, the influence of Chris- 
 tian women on the missionary body itself is too important to 
 be foregone, to say nothing of the influence of Christian fam- 
 ilies upon the heathen, and the labors which ladies may per- 
 form among those of their own sex. It is sometimes stated 
 by those who recommend young men to go out unmarried 
 that wives are apt to lose their health, and to bring their hus- 
 bands home with them. But it is equally true that they often 
 keep them longer in the field, and add greatly to their effi- 
 ciency while there.* 
 
 But to return to the employments of the newdy -arrived 
 missionary. Whatever special work he may choose for him- 
 self in a later period of his life, the preparation for all kinds 
 of work is the thorough acquisition of the language. This 
 task must be undertaken resolutely, systematically, laboriously, 
 and persistently. When thus prosecuted, few persons of or- 
 dinary ability will fail to master, at least, the spoken language, 
 so as to be able to communicate freely with the people and 
 preach to them in their “ own tongue the wonderful works of 
 God.” A Chinese literary man is employed at once as a per- 
 sonal teacher, generally called a sien-sang. He becomes the 
 constant attendant and companion of the missionary ; and out 
 of this daily and intimate intercourse often grows a mutual 
 attachment strong and lasting. After the knowledge of the 
 
 * For a more complete view of woman’s work in China, and fuller in- 
 formation respecting missionary life in general, the reader is referred to a 
 recent work, entitled “Our Life in China,” written by Mrs. Nevius. and 
 published by Carter and Brothers, New York. 
 
324 : 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 spoken language is partially or fully acquired, the sien-sang is 
 often still retained as a scribe, and an assistant in further lit- 
 erary studies and compositions. 
 
 The question is sometimes asked, How soon after his ar- 
 rival in the field may a missionary be really useful ? I answer, 
 to a greater or less degree, from the very first. He may re- 
 lieve his brethren of much secular work, and also assist in 
 forming plans for the general interests of the mission. In the 
 course of a few months he ean begin to communicate with his 
 teacher, who learns to catch his meaning before he can be 
 understood by others ; and who may be won to Christ, and 
 become a brother beloved, and a true yoke-fellow in the work 
 of bringing others to Christ. 
 
 Missionaries, on their first arrival in China, generally board 
 for a few months with other families until they have acquired 
 some knowledge of the language. In the course of six 
 months or a year, they ordinarily commence housekeeping by 
 themselves. From this time they not only have a teacher 
 under their daily influence, but also servants, and Chinese 
 visitors and guests, if such are cordially encouraged to come 
 to the missionary’s house. I regard one’s own family, inclu- 
 ding, of course, all natives in any way connected Avith us, as 
 one of the most interesting and hopeful spheres of mission- 
 ary labor, and one which w'e are too apt to neglect. It may 
 be said most truly, and adopted as a motto, that missionary 
 Avork in China properly begins in the missionary’s OAvn home. 
 It is natural, perhaps, to regard our servants simply as serv- 
 ants, while our chief interest is directed to Avork in the study, 
 or to labors for the masses of heathenism outside our doors. 
 There is often a disposition to undertake Avork on a large 
 scale, rather than, in a small Avay, with those in humble sta- 
 tions and of comparatively little influence. These servants 
 sent to us in the providence of God from different quarters 
 are a poAverful agency through Avhom to influence others. 
 Brought Avithin the inner sphere of our domestic life, they 
 see us, and form an estimate of our real characters as others 
 
HOME INFLUENCES. 
 
 825 
 
 can not. It is but natural for them to observe us very close- 
 ly ; they are familiar with our hourly employments, and 
 judge of our real objects, and aims, and motives. They are 
 closely questioned with reference to us by neighbors, by the 
 men on the street whom they meet with in making their pur- 
 chases, and by their families and acquaintances in the neigh- 
 borhood where they reside. It is but right for us to presume, 
 or at least hope that Christ has sent them to us to be educa- 
 ted for Him, and prepared for usefulness in His vineyard. 
 
 The careful selection of servants, and organizing them into 
 a well-regulated household, is a matter of much importance, 
 though by no means so simple and easy as might at first 
 be imagined. If we would keep them long with us and uo 
 them good, we must show a kindly interest in and sympa- 
 thy with them and their families ; and, while we require of 
 them strict attention to their business, we must show a gener- 
 ous appreciation of their faithfulness. In seeking their spir- 
 itual welfare, we have the great advantage of being able to 
 meet them every day in family worship, and give them regu- 
 lar and familiar instructions in the truths of God’s word. In 
 our own family a considerable portion of time was always 
 given in the morning to this exercise. Those who could read 
 were required to do so, and those who could not were taught. 
 We not only read a small portion of Scripture, but conversed 
 familiarly about it, sang a hymn when the servants were able 
 to j oin in it, and had an examination every day on the lesson 
 of the previous one. In looking back upon my missionary 
 life, these morning exercises are among my most pleasant rec- 
 ollections. They were generally as interesting to my little 
 audience as they were delightful to me. I remember one man, 
 an excellent servant, and one who remained with us till we 
 left China, who though he persistently declared his unwilling- 
 ness ever to be a Christian himself, still seemed to take a 
 special pleasure in answering difficult questions in family 
 Avorship, and in giving the best synopsis of the lesson of the 
 previous day. I have occasionally found him with his Bible 
 
326 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 before him while he was at work, though he would have pre- 
 ferred not to have me see his interest in it. The seed thus 
 sown, and accompanied by affectionate exhortation and prayer, 
 can hardly fail of producing its appropriate fruit. A con- 
 siderable proportion of the first converts, and the first cate- 
 chists and preachers, in most mission stations, are from the 
 employes in mission families. I find, in going over the list 
 of our domestics while in China from first to last, that about 
 one-half of them were brought into the Church while connec- 
 ed with us. I regret to say, however, that some of these have 
 not fulfilled our expectations of them, having subsequently 
 renounced Christianity, or led lives inconsistent with it. 
 
 With a well-regulated household, and sympathizing and at- 
 tached servants, some of them Christians who love to bear 
 testimony for Christ, a missionary has a great advantage in 
 receiving and interesting Chinese visitors, not being forgetful 
 of the injunction of Scripture to use hospitality in entertain- 
 ing strangers. In my opinion, every missionary residence 
 should have accommodations for receiving and entertaining 
 Chinese guests, and making them feel at ease there. There 
 are few places where the Gospel message can be brought 
 home with so much point and power. However, the desira- 
 bleness of giving prominence or not to this particular mode 
 of reaching the people will depend much on the tastes, dispo- 
 sition, and habits of different missionaries. It is attended 
 with many practical difficulties, but I believe that there are 
 few modes of labor which will be found more encouraging or 
 effective. 
 
 The first attempts at preaching outside of one’s family are 
 generally made by the roadside or in the chapel, and these ef- 
 forts are often commenced satisfactorily and intelligibly in 
 less than a year. Every mission in the open ports has one or 
 more of these chapels. They are simply convenient places for 
 meeting, conversing with and preaching to the people ; situ- 
 ated generally on or near a public thoroughfare, and fitted up 
 with seats or benches, and a platform and desk for the speak- 
 
CHAPEL WORK. 
 
 327 
 
 er. Sometimes a sign or placard at the door indicates the 
 character of the building, and invites passers-by to come in. 
 Persons in the street are often attracted by the sight of the 
 foreigner, who is seen sitting or standing on the platform, 
 through the open door. When a chapel is first opened, neigh- 
 boring residents and shop-keepers enter in crowds, but their 
 curiosity soon passes away, and those whom we meet are gen- 
 erally strangers from a neighboring village or from a distance. 
 The motive which brings them to us in most cases is mere 
 empty curiosity. They wish to see a foreigner with their own 
 eyes, and observe his features, dress, and manners. Our audi- 
 ences vary from one or two to a hundred or more, according 
 to the place and other circumstances. A coolie, or burden- 
 bearer, looking in at the door and seeing convenient seats for 
 resting, deposits his burden in the corner, and perhaps lights 
 his pipe and sits down for a smoke, and to see what is going 
 on. A well-dressed gentleman enters and reluctantly takes his 
 seat, hardly knowing whether or not he is compromising his 
 dignity in stopping in such a place and with such company. 
 
 The mode of conducting the exercises in our chapels va- 
 ries widely, according to the character of the audience, and 
 the views and habits of the missionary. Some prefer a form- 
 al service, consisting of reading the Scriptures, preaching, 
 and prayer. This is practicable in places where the missionary 
 is well known, and a considerable proportion of the audience 
 have had some lessons in the proprieties of Christian worship, 
 and, by their influence and example, help to keep the rest 
 quiet. In most places, however, with promiscuous, uninstruct- 
 ed, and ever-changing audiences, it is almost useless to attempt 
 a continuous discourse or formal service. The people have 
 never been accustomed to remain quiet in any public assem- 
 blages. At weddings and on funeral occasions, and in attend- 
 ing theatres, they walk around, converse with their friends, or 
 make remarks about what is going on, without any restraint 
 whatever. A formal discourse, lecture, or harangue is some- 
 thing almost unheard of in China, and which we seldom read 
 
328 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE, 
 
 of in their books. Their sages and public teachers have in- 
 fluenced the masses through individuals, and have communi- 
 cated their instructions by adopting the conversational or cat- 
 echetical method. The recorded teachings of Confucius are 
 all in this form. At present, when the natives wish to instruct 
 or influence others, they generally do it in long conversations 
 with single persons. When a company meets together for 
 conference, their business is conducted informally, politeness 
 and deference for each other being the only parliamentary 
 rules for deliberative assemblies with which they are ac- 
 quainted. 
 
 I have known instances in which missionaries have attempt- 
 ed to hold a formal service, when, as soon as their eyes were 
 closed in prayer, the people would engage in conversation, 
 making remarks about the singular ways of the foreigners, etc. 
 In some cases, after a short prayer the speaker opens his eyes, 
 and finds that his audience has retired, leaving him alone. 
 
 Some missionaries adopt the method somewhat familiar 
 to the Chinese, called kiang shn — “explain the book.” This 
 gives a kind of authority and dignity to his teachings, while 
 the speaker may use great freedom in varying his exercise by 
 introducing illustrations and indulging in digressions accord- 
 ing to circumstances. 
 
 I have always preferred making a wide distinction between 
 services for the uninstructed multitude, and for those who 
 know and love God, and come together to engage in his wor- 
 ship, and to be instructed out of his word ; and have gener- 
 ally adopted the practice of meeting and dealing with these 
 promiscuous and fluctuating audiences which come into the 
 chapel in the same free conversational manner as in my own 
 home, allowing the character of the exercises to be governed 
 very much by circumstances. In this way I have been able 
 to get nearer to my audience, to interest them more, and hold 
 them longer than I could do otherwise. When the interest 
 of the audience is excited and their attention arrested, many 
 excellent opportunities are afforded for introducing and ex- 
 
THE CHINESE AVERSE TO CONTROVERSY. 
 
 329 
 
 plaining the truths and doctrines of the Gospel at some length. 
 Our religious services with the native Christians correspond 
 almost exactly to those in our churches at home. 
 
 The occasions when scholars assemble in the cities of 
 China to engage in the literary examinations often afford un- 
 usual advantages for preaching. The streets are thronged 
 with intelligent strangers, drawn from a large extent of terri- 
 tory ; and many of them, not having seen foreigners before, are 
 disposed to seek an interview with them. At such times the 
 door's of the chapel are kept open as much of the time as pos- 
 sible. These audiences, like those of the less educated classes, 
 are generally respectful, and little disposed to raise objections 
 and discussions. Our experience in this respect is very dif- 
 ferent from that of missionaries in India. The Chinese gen- 
 erally assent to what you say, and will often answer with 
 more politeness' than sincerity, “ That is in accordance with 
 doctrine “ It is true ; ” “ That is so precisely,” etc. This 
 natural indisposition to controversy is due to different 
 causes. Some are too proud to discuss such matters with 
 foreigners ; some are too polite ; and most of them are afraid, 
 being, as a race, of a timid disposition, comparatively unedu- 
 cated, and unused to the logical exercise of their reasoning 
 faculties, and having an intuitive consciousness that the truth 
 is on the other side. AYhen they are willing to discuss Chris- 
 tian topics, it is generally from a real interest and a desire for 
 information, and their questions and objections are presented 
 with a great deal of candor and politeness. 
 
 I was particularly pleased with the intelligent interest and 
 frankness of the scholars of Shantung, who visited us in large 
 numbers during the first year of our labors there, and with 
 whom I had many interesting discussions. Some of the 
 topics introduced by them were characteristically Chinese, 
 such as the defense of idolatry in some of its forms, of Con- 
 fucianism as a complete and all-sufficient system of truth, or 
 as a system altogether in harmony with Christianity. Some 
 objections were urged to show the inferiority of Christianity 
 
330 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 as compared to Confucianism, such as the following : “ Why 
 does Christianity constantly appeal to motives resting upon 
 the doctrine of future rewards and punishments, instead ot 
 taking the higher ground of urging men to the practice of 
 virtue simply because it is right, and obligatory ?” Some ob- 
 jections were identical with those which have long been urged 
 in Western lands, such as the following: “Is it consistent 
 with the justice of God to punish the innocent and clear the 
 guilty, as he does in visiting the penalty of death on the Sav- 
 iour and letting the sinner go free?” “How can the doc- 
 trine of the unity of God be reconciled with the existence of 
 three distinct persons in the Godhead ?” “ How was it pos- 
 
 sible for Christ to be born of a virgin, and for the human and 
 divine natures to be united in the person of one man ?” 
 
 After we have become familiar with the spoken language, 
 and with Chinese modes of thought, and have acquired some 
 experience in presenting to the people Christian truth, when 
 the weather and our employments will permit, we undertake 
 preaching excursions in the country. This is a very impor- 
 tant and difficult part of missionary work. When we pass 
 through districts which have never before been visited by 
 foreigners, we are everywhere followed by immense crowds. 
 On these excursions we generally go two by two, with one or 
 more native assistants, if we can obtain them, in order to re- 
 lieve and assist each other. It is easy to imagine the effect 
 which would be produced in one of our quiet interior towns 
 or villages in the United States by the announcement that 
 two Chinamen, evidently literary gentlemen, and dressed in 
 their native costume, were about to harangue the people in 
 the public square. The same effect is produced in China 
 when a boy in the outskirts of a town sees us coming in the 
 distance, and after he has satisfied himself that he may credit 
 his own senses, runs down the street, shouting at the top of 
 his voioe, “ The red-haired men are coming !” or “ The white 
 devils are coining !” (these are the names by which they gen- 
 erally call us). 
 
IDOLATROUS ASSOCIATIONS OF THE LANGUAGE. 331 
 
 The whole town is thrown into a state of excitement. 
 Women forget the proprieties of social life, and mingle in 
 the jostling crowd to catch a sight of the strange apparition. 
 Schools are emptied at once of pupils and teacher, and bus- 
 iness is suspended for a time in the shops. A few of the 
 more staid and respectable citizens look on and smile at the 
 excited multitudes. We take our stand in some open area, 
 or on the theatrical stage in the court of a temple, and are 
 soon surrounded by an immense crowd ; the boys shouting, 
 and the men making more noise than the boys in their vain 
 efforts to keep them still. Every thing connected with us is 
 an object of curiosity; the color of our eyes and hair, the 
 material of which our clothes are made ; and those who can get 
 near enough are examining with their eyes and fingers, boots, 
 coats, buttons, shirt-bosoms, etc. After a few moments, by 
 the uplifting of the hand and the utterance of a few familiar 
 words, the audience is in a measure quieted, and all are intent 
 on hearing what the unexpected visitor has to say. 
 
 But here we meet witli difficulties which it is not easy for 
 persons at home fully to appreciate. How shall we speak of 
 God and the things of salvation in a language every religious 
 word of which has only heathen and idolatrous ideas and as- 
 sociations ? A language is the expression of the thoughts 
 and ideas of the people who use it ; and naturally conveys to 
 them only the ideas which they have been accustomed to con- 
 nect with it. W ould we speak of God, we must either use 
 the name of some particular heathen deity, or a general term 
 applied to all their objects of worship; and the question 
 arises in their minds, Is he speaking of this, that, or the oth- 
 er of the hundreds of gods which sit in our idol temples ; or 
 does he wish to introduce some strange nod from foreign 
 shores ? Many of the religious terms which we use are, for 
 want of better ones, borrowed from the idolatrous system of 
 Buddhism ; for instance, the word heaven , which presents to 
 their minds the Buddhist heaven. So of hell, sin, merit, etc. 
 We are thankful if we can, by circumlocution, explanation, and 
 
832 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 illustration, present clearly and forcibly one great truth, which 
 would be conveyed to the mind of a child in Christian lands, 
 by one word or sentence. We feel that we have accomplished 
 much if we can leave behind us the thought of the unity, or 
 the omnipresence, or the love of God, or of salvation by a re- 
 deemer ; for these ideas, once lodged in the human mind, are 
 vital germs, which will develop and grow, and, in process of 
 time, bring forth their appropriate fruit. 
 
 Passing from town to town, the same scene is constantly 
 repeated, and our voices grow weak and hoarse, and our whole 
 frames weary. In the south of China, where we travel most- 
 ly in canals, we can take refuge for the purpose of eating and 
 resting in our boats. But even there, when w r e have anchored 
 our boat in the middle of the canal, men will sometimes wade 
 out to it, and we will see a score of eyes peeping at us through 
 the cracks and holes of the mat covers, while a dozen tongues 
 are busy descanting on Avhat we eat, and how we eat it ; and 
 an occasional burst of laughter indicates how much they are 
 surprised and amused. Now this is all very annoying, but it 
 is the better way to put up with it patiently. In the north of 
 China, where there are no canals, and we travel on horseback, 
 we must face the crowd almost from morning to night. It is 
 Avorse than useless to claim the privilege of taking refuge in 
 your inn. The Chinese are not accustomed to shut their 
 doors on any one, nor to allow others to do so ; and they claim 
 that, if they receive you kindly and treat you politely, they 
 have a right to expect corresponding treatment from you — at 
 least, the privilege of seeing you; and see you they will. 
 Using force and barring the door against the crowd, would 
 A'ery likely result in a mob, the breaking down of the doors, 
 much injury and loss to the inn-keeper, and a very unfavora- 
 ble impression with regard to the foreigner. 
 
 On an excursion from Ningpo in 1856, in a city about two 
 hundred miles in the interior, an English missionary and my- 
 self Avere folloAved by an immense and excited croAvd almost 
 ready to accord to us divine honors, and really saying to us, 
 
ITINERATIONS IN THE INTERIOR. 
 
 333 
 
 “Your visit as if the gods had come down to our insignifi- 
 cant city.” An officer sent us a polite invitation to visit his 
 yamun. He met us at the door, and received us with great 
 cordiality. We thanked him for his polite invitation, but told 
 him we feared that the crowd which was following us would 
 give him so much annoyance and trouble that it would be bet- 
 ter for us on his account to deny ourselves the pleasure of the 
 visit and leave him at once. He assured us that there was no 
 danger, and urged us to enter, which we did. He no doubt 
 knew more about his people in many respects than we did, 
 but this was an experience which was new to him. He re- 
 mained without a short time to disperse the crowd, and to 
 charge his servant to keep them from entering. In a few mo- 
 ments, however, the people had broken through two doors, 
 and we heard loud voices and altercations between them and 
 the servant in the adjoining court. Seeing that his excel- 
 lency was somewhat alarmed, I offered to go out to speak to 
 the intruders. A few kind words and gentle reproofs, and a 
 good opportunity to look at me satisfied them, and most of 
 them dispersed in a good-humor. 
 
 The best and right way is always to attack a Chinaman on 
 the side of kindness and politeness. No other course will an- 
 swer here. It is useless, at least at first, to tell them that you 
 have no time to talk to them, or that you are tired. In the 
 north of China I have, after preaching from horseback in a 
 score of villages during the day, spent an hour or an hour and 
 a half in the evening satisfying the curiosity of the people be- 
 fore I could disperse the crowd, and go into the inn for food 
 and rest. 
 
 The presence of these interested audiences affords the mis- 
 sionary a rare opportunity, seldom enjoyed in the same place 
 afterward, to explain to the people his real character and ob- 
 ject, to fix upon their minds some great Christian truth, and to 
 produce as favorable an impression as possible ; thus preparing 
 the way for the more quiet labors of those who are to follow. 
 
 On these itinerations we are able to distribute as many 
 
334 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 books as we can carry with us. The people are almost wild 
 with excitement ; and we are often in danger of being over- 
 borne by them, and having the books snatched from us. They 
 have no idea, at least most of them, of the contents of the 
 books, and many of those who seek them can not read intelli- 
 gibly ; but as books are being given away they must have one. 
 It will be a memento of the foreigner and his visit; it may 
 contain something very curious or valuable ; at least, it may 
 be sold for waste paper. Many of these books fall ultimately 
 into the hands of readers, and much Christian knowledge is 
 no doubt imparted by them. 
 
 Some of the experiences detailed above are calculated at 
 first to excite sanguine hopes of great and perhaps speedy re- 
 sults. But there are darker shades necessary to complete this 
 picture and make it a truthful representation of missionary 
 life. I have described the first reception of the missionary in 
 districts which have never before been visited. The same 
 scenes are seldom if ever repeated in subsequent visits. When 
 the missionary has left town, and the popular commotion has 
 subsided, his character and employments are calmly discussed. 
 Some shrewd scholar who knows something of us, and has 
 perhaps read Christian books, expresses his views to ‘the peo- 
 ple in language like the following : “ It is a pity that you 
 should have been carried away by excitement, and treated this 
 foreigner with so much respect, and spoken of his new and 
 dangerous doctrines so flatteringly. The religion which he 
 would introduce is exclusive, intolerant, revolutionary. It 
 strikes at the root of all our cherished civil and social institu- 
 tions. It would destroy every temple in the empire, however 
 famous or costly, and abolish even the homage paid to the 
 Emperor, to Confucius, and to deceased ancestors.” 
 
 These conclusions are literally true, and it is not difficult for 
 intelligent Chinese to reach them. Christianity is an exclu- 
 sive religion, and it must supplant all others. There must be 
 a conflict between truth and error before the former gains the 
 ascendancy. Wherever the Gospel is introduced and appre- 
 
INTEREST FOLLOWED BY INDIFFERENCE. 335 
 
 bended the saying of Christ is verified, that he came not to 
 send peace on earth, but a sword. When we visit a place the 
 second time, we find that the former excitement and interest 
 have been succeeded by suspicion, alarm, and an almost stud- 
 ied coldness of manner on the part of the people. No crowds 
 follow us in the streets, and but few pay any attention to us. 
 Some who have been impressed by the truth, and are desir- 
 ous to learn more of it, may come to us privately, and under 
 cover of darkness, like Nicodemus of old. The earnest and 
 intelligent sympathy of these affords some compensation for 
 the loss of the synqjathy of the multitude. Alas ! like Nico- 
 demus, most of them are unwilling to confess Christ openly, 
 for fear of the reproach and opposition of their people. 
 
 When the missionary has become familiar with the lan- 
 guage, and the circumstances and wants of his particular field, 
 and has learned his own personal adaptations, he is prepared 
 to determine the question of duty as regards his special sphere 
 of labor. 
 
 F rom the foregoing, the reader may gain a general idea of 
 the manner in which the missionary’s time is spent. His of- 
 fice is no sinecure ; but he is cheered in his work by the con- 
 sciousness that he is laboring for Christ, and the assurance 
 that the cause with which he is identified shall ultimately tri- 
 umph. In this heaven-appointed service, the lives of some of 
 the noblest and most honored sons of the Church have already 
 been spent ; and not a few have fallen at their posts in China. 
 On the populous plain of Ningpo ; on the island of Kulang- 
 su ; in the grave-yards of Canton, Hong-kong, Fuchow, and 
 Shanghai ; and on the rocky promontory which looks from the 
 northern boundary of China across the sea to Manchuria ; be- 
 neath the waters of Hang-chow Bay and the Pechele Gulf ; 
 and in other spots known to loving survivors, and to the more 
 loving Saviour, they rest from their labors. 
 
336 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 DIFFERENT METHODS AND AGENCIES EMPLOYED IN MISSION- 
 ARY WORK. 
 
 The great Mission of the Christian Church. — The Character of the Work 
 the same now as in the Times of the Apostles. — Advantages and Dis- 
 advantages peculiar to different Times. — Auxiliary and preparatory 
 Agencies.-— The Work of the Medical Missionary. — The Scripture Idea 
 of Preaching. — The Question of adopting the native Costume. — The 
 Importance of Mission Schools. — Error of applying Principles drawn 
 from one Field to another and different one. — Objections to English 
 Schools as Missionary Agencies. — The Use of the Press. — Character 
 and Use of Tracts. — The Sphere of the Bible in the Work of Missions. 
 — The Importance of feeding the Flock.-— The Necessity of training Na- 
 tive Christians to Habits of Activity and Independence. — The Impor- 
 tance of raising up and training a Native Ministry, and the Difficulties 
 attending this Work in China. 
 
 The great mission of the Christian Church imposed upon 
 her by the express command of her glorified Head is that of 
 making known the “ Good Hews ” of salvation to every creat- 
 ure under the whole heaven. It is not to teach mechanics 
 and civil engineering, or foreign languages or sciences ; not 
 to Christianize heathen nations by civilizing them, as some 
 plainly assert ; but to Christianize them, and leave them to 
 develop their own form of civilization. In understanding 
 the nature of the duty imposed by the great commission, we 
 can surely have no better guide than the practice of the 
 Apostles. Wherever they went they knew nothing but Christ 
 and Him crucified. Those who declaim against introducing 
 among uninstructed heathen what they are pleased to repre- 
 sent as the difficult and incomprehensible doctrines of Chris- 
 tianity, and advocate the commencing with other simpler and 
 more practical matters and educating them up to these things 
 
CHARACTER OF THE WORK UNCHANGED. 387 
 
 gradually, have evidently received “ another Gospel,” widely 
 differing from that presented in the Bible. 
 
 The spiritual condition of the heathen world, and conse- 
 quently the character of the missionary work, are essentially 
 the same now that they were when the immediate disciples 
 of Christ commenced their labors. The moral condition and 
 spiritual wants of our common nature have not changed. 
 The end and object sought, namely, the conversion and sjoirit- 
 ual regeneration of the soul, are precisely the same; God’s 
 revealed truth is still the means to be employed ; man is the 
 feeble instrument, and God’s Spirit the almighty agent. 
 
 The plans and methods made iise of in bringing the truth 
 to bear upon the minds of the heathen are various, and may 
 and should be changed and modified according to different 
 conditions and circumstances. While the apostolic history 
 furnishes us with our true and only guides and models, we 
 are not to suppose that we must in every respect do just as 
 the Apostles did, for this would be impossible ; nor that the 
 Apostles would not have pursued a somewhat different course 
 under other circumstances. 
 
 They had advantages in the prosecution of their work 
 which were peculiar to their age ; while, on the other hand, 
 we have our advantages and compensations. They were not 
 only possessed of the gift of tongues, and the power of work- 
 ing miracles, but they labored in regions comparatively near 
 home, and having, almost the same climate ; and among peo- 
 ple belonging to the same empire, acknowledging the same 
 laws, speaking, for the most part, the same language, and hav- 
 ing, in the main, the same customs and usages. F urthermore, 
 the Jews and Jewish proselytes scattered throughout the Ro- 
 man Empire had made the true idea of God and of spiritual 
 worship more or less familiar to those among whom they 
 dwelt, and the Jewish synagogue was a place where the first 
 missionaries of the Gospel might always find intelligent and 
 appreciating hearers. These circumstances gave them great 
 facilities in commencing their work at once, and with the 
 
 P 
 
338 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 highest degree of efficiency, and also in constantly changing 
 the sphere of their labors. 
 
 The advantages of the missionary of the present age are 
 these : Christianity is not now the religion of a small, unac- 
 knowledged, and despised sect, but of the most enlightened 
 and influential nations of the world; its doctrines are more 
 clearly developed and defined than formerly; its evidences 
 are the accumulations of the thinking minds, and of the ex- 
 periences and providences of ages. Christian nations hold 
 the controlling influence of the world ; have opened new com- 
 munication with every part of it; and have obtained almost 
 everywhere a toleration and protection for Christianity which 
 did not exist in the Roman Empire ; while the press makes 
 information general and easy of acquisition. 
 
 No feature of the labors of the first propagators of Chris- 
 tianity was more prominent than this, that the Gospel was 
 proclaimed in connection with acts of kindness and humanity 
 — healing the sick, raising the dead, and comforting the dis- 
 tressed. One striking sentence of the inspired Scriptures 
 characterizes the whole life of our Saviour. “ He went about 
 doing good.” Miraculous powers were given the Apostles, 
 and constantly made use of by them in their ministry. One 
 of the reasons for conferring this power was, no doubt, to give 
 to the new religion a divine authority and sanction ; but an- 
 other very important one was that of attracting attention, re- 
 moving prejudice, gaining the confidence and affection of the 
 people, and stamping the religion of Jesus as one of love, of 
 human sympathies, and of “ good-will toward men.” 
 
 This great principle and rule of action illustrated in the 
 life of Christ and of the Apostles is as important and applica- 
 ble now as ever. A missionary who has little regard for the 
 temporal wants and sorrows of those with whom he comes in 
 contact, and regards his duty discharged when he has taught 
 the sin of idolatry, denounced the law against the transgressor, 
 and pointed him to Christ as the only refuge, very imperfectly 
 illustrates the spirit of Christ’s Gospel, and is likely to have a 
 
 c 
 
THE MEDICAL AKT AS AN AUXILIARY. 
 
 389 
 
 comparatively fruitless ministry. It is true that we can not 
 relieve a hundredth part of the misery which we are obliged 
 to witness, but we may and ought to do what we can toward 
 it. We may show a lively sympathy and good-will, if we 
 have it, in a thousand ways. In order to convince and in- 
 form the understanding, we must first reach and influence the 
 heart. 
 
 To secure this object, the co-operation of foreign Chris- 
 tian physicians is of great importance. It is impossible to 
 tell how much of our success in gaining the confidence of the 
 people is due to this agency. I remember that when I was 
 endeavoring to establish a station in the interior city of 
 Hang-cliow, and the people were regarding me with consider- 
 able prejudice and suspicion, one day, while I was speaking 
 to a crowd in the street, a soldier forced his way toward me, 
 and, addressing me very cordially and respectfully, pointed to 
 a deep scar on his cheek. Ide said he had once been severely 
 wounded in battle, and that in the hospital in Shanghai Dr. 
 Lockhart had dressed and healed his wounds and saved his 
 life. Another man in the same company said that he had re- 
 ceived similar kindness from Dr. M'Cartee in Ningpo ; and 
 both testified that in the hospital they were taught the same 
 doctrine that I was then preaching. Hundreds and thousands 
 such as these scattered along the coast, and in some of the in- 
 terior provinces, are constantly bearing testimony in our favor. 
 
 Aside from relieving suffering, and having an influence to 
 dispose the people kindly toward us, the practice of the heal- 
 ing art affords the most clear and decided evidence of our su- 
 periority in the knowledge of some branches, at least, of med- 
 ical science. Native practitioners are so ignorant of physi- 
 ology, anatomy, and surgery, that some of the surgical opera- 
 tions performed by Western physicians seem to them little 
 less than miraculous. There is great need of medical mis- 
 sionaries in China, and a noble and important work for thorny 
 to do, not only in practicing their profession, but also in pre- 
 paring a medical literature and introducing medical science 
 
340 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 among the people. I may add here by the way that, notwith- 
 standing the Chinese appreciate and acknowledge our superi- 
 ority in surgery, most of them, and many even of the native 
 Christians, prefer their own physicians in fevers and other 
 familiar diseases of the country. 
 
 So much for agencies which are introductory and auxiliary 
 to the primary and ultimate work of the missionary — that of 
 preaching the Gospel. 
 
 It is a very important question, which meets us at the 
 outset: what are we to understand by the preaching of the 
 Gospel ? There seems to be a tendency to interpret this duty 
 according to our modern and specific idea of preaching, 
 namely, the formal addressing of public audiences. I believe 
 the scriptural idea is a much more general one, embracing 
 every possible mode of presenting Christian truth. The 
 great missionary commission is given in its fullest and most 
 clearly defined form in the Gospel of St. Matthew: “Go ye 
 therefore, and teach (literally make disciples of) all nations ; 
 baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, 
 and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to obseiwe all things 
 whatsoever I have commanded you.” Our work, then, con- 
 sists of three distinct parts : making or gathering disciples ; 
 baptizing and organizing them into churches ; and teaching 
 them and building them up in the faith. Disciples are 
 gathered by bringing before them the truth as it is in Jesus. 
 This the Apostles did in a variety of ways — by casual conver- 
 sation, by visiting from house to house, by mingling socially 
 with the people in their feasts and public gatherings, by 
 teaching, by epistolary correspondence, and by formal public 
 addresses. The fact that speaking or preaching to large 
 audiences is almost unknown in China, and the importance of 
 the social and individual presentation of the truth, have been 
 spoken of in a former chapter. 
 
 ^ To facilitate free and familiar intercourse with the people, 
 some have recommended the adoption of the native costume. 
 By making use of it in visiting places for the first time, a 
 
SCHOOLS AS A MISSIONARY AGENCY. 
 
 341 
 
 missionary in a great measure escapes notice, and is not fol- 
 lowed by such large crowds. This renders his itinerations 
 more quiet and less laborious ; but for this reason, they would 
 probably be less effective. As the natives soon learn to rec- 
 ognize the missionary as a foreigner whatever costume he 
 adopts, his dress becomes a matter of comparatively little im- 
 portance. The great and essential point is to cultivate and 
 manifest a warm sympathy and interest, and a cordiality of 
 manner. Without these, the adoption of the native costume 
 would only make the missionary’s deficiencies the more 
 striking ; with them, I believe the use of our own national 
 costume will not at all detract from the esteem, familiarity, 
 and respect with which we will be regarded. 
 
 The question respecting the practicability and desirable- 
 ness of mission schools in China is one of much importance. 
 Many missionary societies have discarded them, as an agency 
 expensive, absorbing a great deal of the missionaries’ time 
 and strength, .and comparatively fruitless in results; urging 
 those whom they send out to devote themselves chiefly, if not 
 exclusively, to preaching. I am decidedly of the opinion that 
 this principle is a mistaken and an unfortunate one, as re- 
 gards the Chinese Empire. It seems to have been adopted 
 as a result, principally, of a discouraging experience with 
 English schools in India. But it does not follow that be- 
 cause schools have not proved successful in India they there- 
 fore will not in China; much less that because a particular 
 kind of schools has not -answered our expectations in one 
 place, the same result will follow the establishment of all 
 other kinds of schools everywhere. 
 
 It is a serious error among Christians at home, though I 
 believe a very ’common one, to apply rules and principles 
 drawn from a limited experience in one missionary field to 
 missionary operations generally. Some persons seem to re- 
 gard the heathen as all belonging to the same class, and con- 
 forming to one type ; while in fact they differ very widely, 
 each nation having a marked individuality of its own. What 
 
342 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 a wide difference between the uncultivated tribes of Africa 
 and the inhabitants of the Chinese Empire ! and again, be- 
 tween either of these races and the Nestorians and Armeni- 
 ans, who can hardly be called, with strict propriety, heathen. 
 And when we look at the Mohammedans, the inhabitants 
 of India and Japan and Siam, and the islands of the Pacific 
 and our Western Indians, we find that each race and nation 
 has its own peculiarities, and requires, in the mode of intro- 
 ducing the Gospel special modifications and adaptations which 
 can best be devised and applied by the missionaries on the 
 ground. 
 
 But to return from this digression : the result of more 
 than twenty years’ experience with our boy’s boarding-school 
 and girl’s boarding-school in Ningpo is to show that schools 
 of this kind are among the cheapest and most efficient mis- 
 sionary agencies which can be employed in China. They 
 have had devoted to them less than one-fourth of the time 
 and labor of our missionary force, and during the early his- 
 tory of our Church in that place they furnished a large pro- 
 portion of its members — I believe more than one-half ; while 
 the greatly-increased number of accessions during the last 
 four or five years in our out-stations is due mostly to the 
 efforts of native laborers, who have been brought into the 
 Church through these institutions for educating and training 
 the young. In a word, the growing success of the Ningpo 
 Mission in bringing souls to Christ and establishing churches 
 in our out-stations may be traced) in a great degree, to the 
 two schools above referred to. 
 
 The same results have not followed the establishment of 
 English boarding-schools. Indeed, it must be admitted, they 
 have added very little to the membership of native churches, 
 or to the efficient working force of the missions with which 
 they have been connected. The Ningpo Mission, anticipating 
 the results which have followed in other places, excluded 
 •English from its schools at an early period, aiming at the 
 thorough acquaintance of the pupils with their own language 
 
THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IN SCHOOLS. 343 
 
 and literature, and their familiarity with the Scriptures and 
 Christian doctrines. 
 
 The? facts and circumstances bearing upon the subject of 
 teaching English are these : In China there is an urgent de- 
 mand for interpreters who understand both the English and 
 Chinese languages. The “ Pigeon-English,” described in 
 Chapter XIV., is made to answer as a medium of communi- 
 cation for ordinary purposes of trade; but Chinamen who 
 can speak English well are still much sought after, and com- 
 mand salaries from five to ten times as large as the same 
 persons would receive if they were familiar with their own 
 language only. Here is a strong temptation to draw boys 
 acquainted with our language from mission schools even be- 
 fore the time of their indenture expires. Most of the pupils 
 from those schools where English has been taught have 
 yielded to these temptations, sought employment in the foreign 
 communities, and been lost to the missions ; and some of them 
 have formed such habits and acquired such characters, as to 
 bring reproach upon themselves and the cause of missions 
 with which they have been in a measure connected. If a few 
 are hopefully converted, and retain their connection with the 
 church and the mission, their knowledge of English gives them 
 little or no additional influence with their countrymen ; while 
 they have acquired it at the expense of a thorough Chinese 
 education, and can hardly secure the respect of their own peo- 
 ple as literary men or teachers. More than this, they are apt 
 to think that it is very moderate and reasonable for them to 
 expect one-half or one-third as large a salary as they can com 
 mand in the foreign communities ; and thus, while a knowl- 
 edge of English does not add to their efficiency as agents of 
 the mission, it adds much to their expensiveness. 
 
 Of course, there can be no objection to the establishment 
 of English schools in China ; and they are, indeed, much 
 needed ; but, under the circumstances, this matter should be 
 attended to by the foreign communities, and not by Christians 
 at home ; and such schools should not be regarded as distinct- 
 
3U 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 ively a missionary agency. Were they established by benev- 
 olent and enterprising merchants in the foreign communities, 
 having for their express object the supplying of English and 
 Chinese interpreters, and also a knowledge of Western science 
 and literature, and placed in charge of efficient Christian 
 teachers, they might accomplish great good in facilitating in- 
 tercourse between China and Western nations; and at the 
 same time prove an important auxiliary to the work of mis- 
 sions. 
 
 It appears to me that the teachings and example of the 
 New Testament do not sanction or authorize any indirect 
 methods of propagating the Gospel except in a manner inci- 
 dental, subordinate, and auxiliary to the great end. Human 
 science has no regenerating and sanctifying power in it. An 
 acquaintance with Western languages' not only introduces the 
 student to the stores of religious and scientific knowledge, but 
 to works which teach rationalism, infidelity, and “ science false- 
 ly so called.” As a result of introducing our language into 
 India, English works on infidelity are now republished there, 
 and are eagerly sought after by educated young men who 
 have been taught in mission and government schools ; and 
 there is reason to fear that missionaries may find the educated 
 talent which they have helped to create arrayed against them 
 and Christianity, armed with weapons drawn from the dead- 
 liest enemies of our faith. It is true that the period of con- 
 troversy must come, and that the truth need fear no opposi- 
 tion or attack ; but it will come soon enough from the preach- 
 ing of the simple Gospel in the language of the country ; and 
 in this way it will come in a form much more likely to insure 
 the signal triumph of the truth. Christianity, on its introduc- 
 tion into heathen countries, does not generally affect first the 
 learned minds of the country, and through them the masses, 
 but it finds its first converts among the middle and lower class- 
 es ; its leaven operates silently and almost unperceived among 
 the masses ; it becomes Avidely diffused ; strikes its roots deep 
 and firm into the native soil, and powerfully affects and con- 
 
THE USE OF THE PRESS. 
 
 345 
 
 trols the native mind. As the natural result of this process, a 
 controversy would arise, not between the foreign missionary 
 and a few semi-Christianized or science-Christianized natives, 
 in which the people generally would have little or no interest, 
 but one between native Christians and the representatives and 
 defenders of the old forms of idolatry. This controversy 
 would not be the reproduction of those originating in other 
 ages and countries entirely foreign to native thought and cir- 
 cumstances, calculated only to place the whole subject of 
 Christianity in a false and prejudicial light before the people, 
 but one naturally growing out of, and belonging to, the pres- 
 ent. It would be a controversy not in a foreign tongue, but in 
 the language of the people, moulded and directed by native 
 thought, taking a form suited to the native mind ; forming a 
 new epoch, and marking the period of the downfall of idolatry, 
 and the establishment of the religion of Jesus. 
 
 While I believe the experience of missionaries in every field 
 tends to emphasize the importance of the apostolic practice 
 of the oral presentation of the truth, in methods adapted to 
 varying circumstances, and to the degree of intelligence and 
 information of different individuals ; still, the powerful agency 
 of the Press must not, in this age, be neglected. Christian 
 tracts should be regarded as taking the place as far as they 
 can of the oral teacher ; having the one advantage of travers- 
 ing wider fields, and perhaps reaching more individuals than 
 the living preacher can. Like oral teachings, they should be 
 specifically adapted to the native mind ; looking at the truth 
 from the native stand-point, and as logically connected with 
 the prevailing religious systems, doctrines, and modes of 
 thought. F or this reason, reprints of our standai’d and most 
 valuable tracts would be almost useless ; and hardly a single 
 one, as far as I am aware, has been translated for the purpose 
 of general distribution. We have the “ Pilgrim’s Progress,” 
 “ Henry and his Bearer,” “ Come to Jesus,” and a few works 
 of this class ; but they are not adapted to the heathen popula- 
 tion of China, and are appreciated and used principally by 
 
 P 2 
 
346 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 persons wlio have obtained more or less instruction in con- 
 nection with our established missions, and occupy much the 
 same position with regard to Christianity that unconverted 
 persons do in our own country. Hundreds of tracts, some of 
 them medium-sized books, and others containing but a few 
 sheets, have been prepared by missionaries with special refer- 
 ence to those who have never heard of Christ. Very great 
 use has been made of them, and many millions of pages have 
 been scattered throughout the empire, especially along the 
 coast. The results which they have produced will be noticed 
 in the next chapter. 
 
 It is proper, and almost necessary, to refer in this connec- 
 tion to the distribution of the Bible in China, and its legitimate 
 place and use among the different agencies for evangelizing hea- 
 then countries. I find that many at home regard the work of 
 the missionary as made up in a great measure, if not princi- 
 pally, of efforts to distribute the Bible among the heathen. 
 Immense sums of money have been contributed, especially by 
 Christians in England, to be appropriated to this special ob- 
 ject. Views and plans of this kind proceed, as I apprehend, 
 upon a mistaken idea of the character and design of the Bible ; 
 which, if we carefully consider the subject, will be seen, I 
 think, to be neither adapted to nor intended for the instruction 
 of the heathen as such. Some have replied to such state- 
 ments as this i “ Is not the religion of the Bible a universal 
 one, and adapted to the wants of man everywhere ? and does 
 not God know how to present His own truth to men infinitely 
 better than we do?” On these questions all Christians can 
 but be in perfect unity of sentiment and feeling. But the fact 
 is, no part of the Bible was addressed primarily to a heathen 
 people (if we except a few such portions of it as St. Paul’s 
 address at Lystra and on Mars’ Hill). On the contrary, every 
 part of it is addressed to persons in some degree instructed 
 and informed, and presupposes a great amount of knowledge 
 which is necessary to the correct apprehension of it, and of 
 which heathen nations are in a great measure ignorant. 
 
DIFFICULTIES IN UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE. 347 
 
 The difficulties in the way of the right understanding of 
 the Bible by the heathen are of two kinds : the one growing- 
 out of the inability of their language to express Christian 
 ideas ; and the other relating to allusions to historical facts 
 and personages, and national usages and religious rites, with 
 which they are entirely unacquainted. 
 
 The former difficulties were spoken of in the previous 
 chapter, in which it was remarked that nearly all the terms in 
 the Chinese language have only idolatrous and heathen asso- 
 ciations, and do not clearly express Christian truth to the na- 
 tive mind until new Christian ideas have been associated with 
 them by oral teachings and explanations. The difficulties of 
 the latter kind are sufficiently apparent from the general state- 
 ment above, without further specifications. 
 
 It may be said that the Bible will explain its own language, 
 and also its references to facts, customs, and usages, etc. If 
 the intelligent reader will only study it carefully, this is true ; 
 but few persons have been found in any heathen land rvho 
 have succeeded, unaided, in searching out its real meaning. 
 Even to those who are interested, and desire to understand 
 it, the difficulties it presents are great. If Philip had reason 
 to address to the Ethiopian eunuch just returning from Jeru- 
 salem the question, “ Understandest thou what thou readest?” 
 and if there was reason in the reply of the enunch, “ How can 
 I, except some man should guide me ?” is it strange that the 
 Bible should present almost insuperable difficulties to those 
 who have hardly any idea even of the being and character of 
 God? 
 
 But the difficulties to which I am referring may, perhaps, 
 be best illustrated by a few practical examples. Some of the 
 historical portions of the Old and Hew Testament are, of 
 course, in their primary meaning and scope, perfectly intelligi- 
 ble. Take, for instance, the history of Joseph, which has been 
 printed separately by our press and widely distributed ; the 
 book following in the main the text of the Scripture narra- 
 tive without explanations or comment. The first page intro- 
 
348 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 duces the subject of the history by a reference to Abraham 
 and Jacob, stating that Jacob had “two wives,” and after- 
 ward “ two concubines,” of whom were born the twelve pa- 
 triarchs, Joseph being one. This beautiful portion of the 
 Bible is accurately and truthfully presented ; but who would 
 expect the Chinese reader to understand its relation to the 
 whole Scripture history and Christian revelation ? How could 
 the distribution of this and similar parts of the Bible without 
 note or comment be regarded as carrying out the command 
 of our Saviour to evangelize the nations ? It would be only 
 natural for the Chinese reader, in the absence of any explana- 
 tion, to suppose that the examples and customs presented in 
 the book were at least sanctioned by those who distributed 
 them ; and it is difficult to conceive how, without special 
 providential interposition, he could avoid the conclusion that 
 polygamy and concubinage were sanctioned, if not recom- 
 mended by our religion. 
 
 As an example from the simpler portions of the New Tes- 
 tament, take the commencement of the Gospel of St. Mark : 
 “ The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of 
 God.” This seems perfectly simple to us, and it may appear 
 strange to some that any difficulty can be found in it ; but al- 
 most every word in the sentence is an enigma to the heathen 
 Chinaman. According to the Chinese idiom, the translation 
 runs thus : “ God’s Son Jesus Christ Gospel beginning. 4 ’ The 
 word God suggests a thousand deities supernal and infernal, 
 but certainly not the God of the Bible, for alas ! they know 
 Him not. “ God’s Son ” would certainly not convey to the 
 reader any idea of the second person of the sacred Trinity, or 
 help to form a just conception of the character of the God re- 
 ferred to. The names of our Saviour Jesus Christ are trans- 
 lated by Chinese characters resembling as nearly as possible 
 the sounds of the original, and representing simply foreign 
 names without meaning or associations. Gospel is translated 
 by two characters meaning, respectively, “happiness” and 
 “ sound but the combination is a new and peculiar one, and 
 
THE PROPER USE .OF THE BIBLE. 
 
 349 
 
 it would be difficult for the uninstructed reader to tell with 
 certainty its meaning. The next, and last, word “ beginning,” 
 which is evidently connected with the two preceding it, form- 
 ing the expression “ happiness sound beginning,” affords no 
 assistance toward making it intelligible. Each of the follow- 
 ing verses, looked at from the Chinese stand-point, presents 
 similar difficulties, and is liable to some other misconception. 
 
 Thus we are brought back to the precept and practice 
 plainly revealed in Scripture, that it is principally by the in- 
 strumentality of the living teacher that God will save them 
 that are lost. When the heathen are brought to Christ, “ As 
 new-born babes they desire the sincere milk of the word,” 
 and turn to the Scriptures as to their natural food. Then 
 their introductory instruction, and the influence of the Spirit 
 by whose inspiration the sacred volume was written, furnish 
 the keys for unlocking its mysteries. Different truths and 
 historical facts are perceived in their true connection and re- 
 lations ; the whole volume assumes its symmetrical propor- 
 tions as a perfect revelation of God’s will to man ; and in 
 it are seen the infinite holiness and perfections of the Divine 
 nature, and the true portraiture of sinful fallen man, who pre- 
 sents not one perfect example, and is only to be imitated in 
 those peculiarities which accord with the perfect example of 
 Christ. 
 
 Having endeavored to state these views fully and clearly, 
 wffiich I may say are, I believe, held in common by most mis- 
 sionaries of experience Avith whom I am acquainted, and also 
 by intelligent native Christians generally, I would be careful 
 to guard them against misapprehension. The Bible should 
 accompany and follow the labors of the missionary, rather 
 than precede them. Were Ave confined to oral teaching, Avith- 
 out any translation of the Scriptures, Ave Avould feel very im- 
 perfectly equipped for our Avork. All missionaries distribute 
 the Word of God among the heathen to a considerable extent, 
 but not broadcast, without explanation, note, or comment. A 
 feAV verbal explanations, or a short introduction to the Bible, 
 
350 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 relieve its general distribution of many of the objections which 
 have been stated. Without such explanation or introduction, 
 the natural and reasonable inference of the Chinaman when 
 he receives a work written in his own language is, that the 
 book was prepared and intended for educated men like him- 
 self ; that it is supposed to be adapted to their circumstances, 
 and makes use of no words, expressions, or references which 
 he may not be naturally expected to understand. Finding 
 that it is full of difficulties, he comes to the conclusion that 
 we are ignorant of them and their language, and are not fit to 
 write a book ; and the idea has become very common among 
 them that our Christian literature is unintelligible ; and this 
 fact is sometimes given as a reason for their not receiving 
 tracts from us. If, however, we have an opportunity to tell 
 them that the Bible did not originate with us, but in different 
 countries from our own, and in remote ages ; that it is the 
 sacred book of our religion, containing a revelation from the 
 only God of heaven to the whole world ; that we give, as near- 
 ly as possible, a literal translation of it from the original lan- 
 guages, without daring to make any change ; stating, at the 
 same time, that they will meet with difficulties in understand- 
 ing it, and urging them to study it carefully and seek for ex- 
 planations of it in other works and from the missionaries, its 
 character is appreciated at once, and it is regarded perhaps 
 with more profound respect than if it w T ere easily understood. 
 W e often give away the Bible, or parts of it, in connection 
 with tracts ; especially such as contain some account of its ori- 
 gin, character, and design, or put it in the hands of intelligent 
 scholars who have visited us from motives of curiosity and in- 
 terest, and with whom we have had the opportunity of com- 
 municating religious instruction orally. 
 
 The views which I have presented with reference to the 
 general distribution of the Bible in China have no application 
 whatever to mission fields in Roman Catholic and Mohamme- 
 dan countries, or among the different corrupt Christian sects 
 of Syria and the Turkish Empire. Among most of the in- 
 
THE IMPORTANCE OF PASTORAL SUPERVISION. 351 
 
 habitants of these countries, ideas more or less correct of the 
 character and offices of the three persons of the sacred Trinity 
 are familiar as household words, and the Bible is received and 
 acknowledged as a revelation from God, and the authoritative 
 and ultimate standard to which all religious truth must be re- 
 ferred. The sphere of the Bible’s influence in China is almost 
 daily widening as a general knowledge of Christianity is ex- 
 tended, and we trust the time is not far distant when the ut- 
 terance of the name of the Book of books will awaken the 
 same associations and feelings in the minds of the Chinese 
 people that it now does in ours. 
 
 My principal reason for dwelling on this subject so much 
 at length is to establish the general and important principle 
 that the Bible can not be used as a substitute for the mission- 
 ary ; nor can the Christian Church be absolved from its duty 
 to give the Gospel to the heathen by contributing money to 
 send to them any number of Bibles. The living messengers 
 of the Church must go and introduce the truth of Christ 
 among the natives first and principally by oral instruction in 
 their mother-tongues ; by acts of kindness and sympathy ; by 
 lives embodying and illustrating the Gospel which they preach. 
 
 In addition to the work of bringing the heathen to the 
 knowledge of Christ, a very important part of the duty of the 
 missionary which is brought prominently to view in the great 
 commission is that of feeding the flock as under-shepherds ; 
 teaching those who are brought into the Church of Christ to 
 observe all things whatsoever he has commanded. The mis- 
 sionary who gathers a little and feeble church, and leaves it 
 comparatively uncared for, influenced by the idea that his 
 principal work is to preach the Gospel to the heathen, will be 
 in danger of finding that the converts he lias made are more 
 a trial to him than a comfort or help. Weak in the faith, im- 
 perfectly instructed, not wholly freed from heathen and idol- 
 atrous habits and associations, and surrounded by tempta- 
 tions, they need line upon line — here a little and there a little 
 — a careful watch, a tender sympathy, to be cherished as a 
 
352 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 “ nurse cherishes her children.” The missionary, if he would 
 build up for Christ living, earnest, active churches, must know 
 how to reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and 
 doctrine. His influence, even upon the people generally, is 
 far greater when it is exerted indirectly through native Chris- 
 tians, than when he spends his whole time and energy in direct 
 preaching to the heathen. lie can preach to them most ex- 
 tensively and effectually by preparing and stimulating every 
 one who has named the name of Christ to go everywhere 
 preaching the word ; to be living epistles, known and read of 
 all men. 
 
 The first stage of a missionary’s work in China is very dif- 
 ferent from the subsequent ones. Of course he must do all 
 the preaching until natives are brought into the Church to 
 help him. This period of waiting for the first-fruits is, in 
 some places, a long and trying one. When a little church is 
 gathered, he is still obliged to act for some time as its pastor 
 until a suitable person can be found in the native church itself 
 to assume the office. Such native Christians should be 
 brought forward as soon as possible ; the missionary ever re- 
 membering that it is not his appropriate work to assume the 
 pastoral care of a single native church longer than such a 
 course is absolutely necessary ; and that, by doing so, he may 
 be inflicting a positive injury upon it. His special business 
 is to plant independent, self-supporting Christian institutions, 
 I and to raise up a native ministry. One of his most important 
 I duties is that of teaching and training native Christians to 
 rely upon themselves and Christ rather than the foreign mis- 
 sionary, and of devolving work and responsibility upon them 
 just as fast as they can bear them. The opposite course will 
 cramp their intellectual and spiritual development, dwarf their 
 manhood, and make them permanently dependent and inef- 
 ficient. That kindness is a mistaken one which would do for 
 them what they can do for themselves, though it may be with 
 difficulty, and at first imperfectly, or would lighten the cross 
 which Christ has laid upon them. 
 
THE IMPORTANCE OF A NATIVE MINISTRY. 
 
 858 
 
 As the number of the native churches increases, and the 
 missionary’s work grows upon him, he finds himself wholly 
 unequal to it, and he must have help ; and this help must 
 come principally from the native Christians. They should 
 not only all of them hear witness for Christ from the first, but 
 also, as soon as possible, furnish from their number elders 
 and pastors, teachers and evangelists, both to look after their 
 own spiritual interests, and to carry the Gospel into the re- 
 gions beyond. 
 
 This important matter of raising up a native ministry 
 claimed a large share of the attention of the Apostles ; and it 
 constitutes one of the most necessary and difficult parts of the 
 work of the modern missionary. The two extremes equally 
 dangerous should, as far as possible, be avoided, of intro- 
 ducing men into the sacred office who have not the necessary 
 intellectual, biblical, and spiritual qualifications, and that of 
 not making use of the material at hand from timidity or mis- 
 judged prudence. In the early stages of the missionary work, 
 high literary and theological qualifications are not indispensa- 
 ble. The essential prerequisite is sincere and earnest piety. 
 As native Christians increase in knowledge, the churches re- 
 quire pastors of more thorough preparation and training, and 
 the higher the standard to which they can be brought the 
 better. 
 
 Providing China with suitable teachers and evangelists is 
 now a matter of immediate and pressing importance. In our 
 most flourishing stations churches are increasing almost more 
 rapidly than pastors can be found for them. It is a fact for 
 which we should be thankful, that we are not without the ma- 
 terial for native laborers ; but the difficulty is in giving them 
 the necessary preparation. As yet, there is no theological 
 school in China, and the work of teaching candidates for the 
 ministry is performed by the missionaries at the different sta- 
 tions, in connection with their other labors. Some who think 
 that the advantages of theological instruction in a seminary 
 or school hardly compensate, even in our own country, for 
 
354 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 its disadvantages, as compared with instruction under the su- 
 perintendence of a pastor and in connection with daily pastoral 
 work, would naturally conclude that on mission ground these 
 institutions would certainly be superfluous, if not injurious. 
 There are, however, some circumstances peculiar to the mis- 
 sion fields in China which constitute special reasons for the 
 establishment of theological schools, which reasons may be 
 briefly referred to. 
 
 Ministers are able to attend to the instruction of candidates 
 at home because in our language we are supplied with a great 
 variety of text-books, in the study of which the student’s time 
 is mostly spent. In China we have hardly the one-hundredth 
 part of the helps to study which may be had at home, and 
 therefore must depend principally on oral instruction, which 
 requires so much time that missionaries, in addition to their 
 other duties, find it difficult, if not impossible, to give to this 
 work that attention which its importance requires. It must 
 be remembered further, that while all pastors at home are 
 supposed to be competent to superintend the studies of can- 
 didates for the ministry, this is by no means the case with all 
 missionaries, as this undertaking in China requires an addition- 
 al preparation which must be made on the ground, including, 
 at least, a thorough acquaintance with the spoken language, 
 while a familiarity with the literature and religious systems 
 of China is very desirable. Such qualifications are the result 
 of years of hard study, and are not to be expected in one who 
 has only been on the ground a few years. It .sometimes hap- 
 pens, even in a large mission, that owing to an imperfect 
 knowledge of the written or the vernacular language, or both, 
 or from pressure of other duties, there are few if any who are 
 able to attend to the studies of the candidates for the minis- 
 try, at least as they would wish to, and students are obliged 
 to be without instruction the greater part of the time simply 
 from necessity ; and, after spending two or three times the 
 number of years which are generally considered to be suffi- 
 cient for a course of theological study, they are obliged to 
 
HOW SHALL CANDIDATES BE INSTRUCTED? 
 
 355 
 
 give up in« despair, or to enter the ministry imperfectly pre- 
 pared. 
 
 Again, candidates at home are better able to forego the 
 advantages of a course of instruction in a theological semi- 
 nary, because they have usually spent years in a thorough 
 course of intellectual and literary training in college and pre- 
 paratory schools, while most of our theological students in 
 China have been almost entirely without any corresponding 
 advantages of this kind. To give them that attention which 
 they require, some missionary or missionaries must devote 
 themselves principally or exclusively to this department of 
 labor. With our present small missionary force for each sta- 
 tion, to attempt this work separately seems an unnecessary 
 waste of time. Should it be assigned to a few persons spe- 
 cially qualified for it, and candidates from different quarters be 
 gathered together in a general school, at least such as are in 
 circumstances to leave home and to undertake a thorough 
 course of study, other missionaries would be greatly relieved 
 thereby, and would have more time to devote to other labors. 
 The theological teachers would almost necessarily be obliged 
 to prepare text-books which would be of use throughout the 
 empire, and promising young men who should enjoy the ad- 
 vantages of a higher training-school would also become quali- 
 fied to assist in teaching others. 
 
 It is impossible to treat this subject here in detail. It is 
 my object simply to point out its great importance, and the 
 practical difficulties which attend it. 
 
 The work of missionaries in China is fast becoming one of 
 general superintendence of native laborers and churches ; the 
 preparation of a Christian and theological literature ; and the 
 training of a native ministry. .As the work develops and as- 
 sumes a different character, a great deal of practical wisdom 
 is required in changing plans to suit changing circumstances. 
 
356 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 RESULTS OF MISSIONARY WORK. 
 
 Unfavorable Reports respecting the Work of Missionaries, and their inju- 
 rious Effects. — The Unreliableness of these Reports, and the Manner in 
 which they originate. — The true Character of the Missionary Work, and 
 the Difficulties attending it. — Detailed and Statistical Accounts of differ- 
 ent Mission Stations not attempted. — Much has been accomplished in 
 necessary Preparation for the direct Work of preaching the Gospel. — Ef- 
 fects produced by the general Diffusion of Christian Truth among the 
 Masses. — Ripe Fruits. — The Classes from which the first Converts are 
 usually drawn, and the Means by which they are brought into the 
 Church. — Illustrative Experiences of Individuals and Families. — The 
 Influence of Native Converts of both Sexes in building up Native 
 Churches. — The Work of Native Preachers in the Out-stations. — Gen- 
 eral Statistics of the Results of Missions in China. — Special Reference 
 to the Growth of Churches at Ningpo and in the Ports recently opened. 
 — Remarkable Work in Lao-ling. 
 
 On the subject of this chapter very different opinions are 
 entertained. It is often asserted by those who have spent 
 years in China, and profess to speak intelligently and advised- 
 ly, that the missionary work there has been a failure. These 
 reports have been so widely and persistently circulated, and 
 have had such a decided and injurious influence upon many 
 to whom we had naturally looked for confidence, sympathy, 
 and co- operation ,' that it seems almost a necessity to give them 
 a special consideration. It is but just to say that they are, 
 in most instances, repeated frankly and openly, and that many 
 honestly believe that they present the facts of the case. The 
 derogatory testimony of others, however, is given with such 
 an animus as ought to excite the suspicion of the most care- 
 less ; presenting as it does the most conclu si ve. evidence either 
 of ignorance or malevolence. 
 
CURRENT VIEWS OF FOREIGN" MISSIONS. 
 
 357 
 
 In the published views of a Dr. Marron, a person connect- 
 ed with a Prussian scientific expedition which visited China, 
 Japan, and Siam a few years since, the following sentences 
 occur in connection with much else in the same strain : “ There 
 is — and when abroad I hear only one opinion — no institution 
 more useless than these missionaries.”* * * “ I deny that 
 there is a single Christian among the Chinese, that is, one who 
 has comprehended the Christian doctrine, and whose Christian 
 social views have become the mainspring of all his actions,” 
 etc. 
 
 Before leaving China, I copied the following from the 
 Hong-kong Daily Dress, written by an “ occasional cor- 
 respondent “ Ask any man of mind and of experience in 
 China, and he will tell you that it is childish to expect to con- 
 vert them (the Chinese) by any means yet attempted to what 
 we call in England, Ireland, and Scotland, Christianity. And 
 this brings me to another subject; the farther I travel, the 
 more I am convinced that from Exeter Hall, by way of Shet- 
 land and Connaught, to Pekin, practical philanthropy must 
 ™ the pioneer to bona fide Christianity. Teach the Arab to 
 construct and inhalSt some more civilized dwelling than the 
 low mud hovel you see along the railroad side from Alexan- 
 dria to Suez. Show the Chinamen by precept and example that 
 honesty is the best policy, and that cleanliness is health. I 
 say try, if it be possible, to send out good and sensible men of 
 the civil-engineer class to educate the ignorant in these mat- 
 ters, and you will do more for Christianity in fifty years than 
 the old lady’s string of tenets uttered from the mouths of 
 maudlin missionaries could effect in fifty centuries.” It is not 
 difficult to infer the religious tenets and character of the writ- 
 er of this article, or to determine how much weight should 
 be given to his estimate of the Christian character of Chinese 
 converts. I have not heard whether, since his return to En- 
 gland, he has succeeded in finding and sending out persons 
 answering to his ideas of the model modern missionary. 
 
 I would not quote these extracts at such length, did they 
 
358 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 not, as I believe, afford a good index of the real feelings and 
 opinions of many, if not most of the foreign residents in 
 China. I was told by a very respectable and intelligent 
 American connected with one of our prominent mercantile 
 firms in Shanghai that the above extract from the Hong-konsr 
 paper presented his views and those of nearly all of his ac- 
 quaintances. 
 
 Even some Christian travellers have helped to circulate 
 these reports which they find current in the foreign commu- 
 nities ; and by their character, and supposed sympathy with 
 the cause of Christ, have given to them an authority and plau- 
 sibility which they would not otherwise obtain. I met in 
 China an English chaplain who was collecting information 
 with which to enlighten the Christian public at home. He 
 had just come from Amoy, where there were at that time at 
 least two self-supporting native churches in connection with 
 one mission (that of the Reformed Dutch Church of the Uni- 
 ted States), and where converts were multiplying rapidly, and 
 the missionary work was full of interest and encouragement. 
 He informed me that he had made particular inquiries aboili 
 the missionaries, and had learned that th% had accomplished 
 hardly any thing ; that their attempt to Christianize the Chi- 
 nese was a failure. It is unnecessary to state where he obtain- 
 ed his information ; he certainly did not obtain it from mis- 
 sionaries, or from any one who knew any thing about the 
 subj ect. 
 
 It could not be expected that these views, which are enter- 
 tained by so many foreign residents and travellers in China, 
 would not have a decided influence at home. Returned mis- 
 sionaries meet with them everywhere. 
 
 A few months since, after addressing a church in Brooklyn 
 on the subject of missions in China, a lady was introduced to 
 me who said that she was very glad to have heard my state- 
 ments ; for she had been told repeatedly by an acquaintance 
 of hers that the missionary work in China had accomplished 
 nothing, and that missionaries generally led idle, useless, and, 
 
INJURIOUS MISREPRESENTATIONS. 
 
 359 
 
 in many instances, immoral lives. I replied that I was glad to 
 be able to give her a more favorable opinion of our work ; and 
 that I would also be very happy to see the gentleman referred 
 to, and, if possible, to correct or modify his impressions by the 
 result of my own experience and observations. I was accord- 
 ingly invited to meet him at tea the next evening at the house 
 of a common friend. I was disappointed in not seeing him 
 there, however, as he declined the invitation, saying at the 
 same time that his views were based on hearsay, and that he 
 had only heard of one instance of immorality among mission- 
 aries, and that occurred about twenty years ago, and he had 
 forgotten the man’s name ! This is about what these reports 
 generally amount to ; and those who hear them, and are so 
 often troubled by them, will find, by subjecting the persons 
 by whom they are circulated to a short catechizing as to the 
 sources of their information and the reliableness of their tes- 
 timony, that “ they understand neither what they say, nor 
 whereof they affirm.” 
 
 Not long since a course of popular and scientific lectures 
 was delivered in different places in Western New Yqrk by an 
 individual from one of our Eastern cities. The object of the 
 lecturer appears to have been the glorification of the great 
 Anglo-Saxon race. He had human skulls and portraitures, 
 and historical facts and scientific deductions, to prove conclu- 
 sively to his delighted and complacent auditors that they be- 
 longed to a race far superior to all others. Other peoples and 
 tribes were the results of separate creations, and could never 
 share with us either .our form of civilization or of relig- 
 ion. To show clearly that his statement and facts were true 
 as applied to China, he stated that efforts to introduce the 
 Christian religion in the Chinese Empire had been so fruitless 
 and discouraging that they had almost been given up as use- 
 less, and Christian societies were actually recalling their mis- 
 sionaries from that country ! These statements, and the con- 
 clusions drawn from them, though rather startling, seem to 
 have been accepted and believed by the great majority of those 
 
360 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 who heard them ; for was not the speaker a popular lecturer, 
 and an editor of a New York City paper, and (in his own esti- 
 mation at least) a careful, learned, scientific man ? 
 
 The effect produced upon some Christians at home by the 
 testimony of merchants and others who have been in China is 
 seen in a short paragraph in the New York Observer of June 
 25th, 1868. I have no doubt that the editor of that excellent 
 paper feels a real and a deep interest in the cause of missions, 
 and that he would be glad to believe that missionaries are 
 faithful in the discharge of their trust; but he appears to be 
 rdther unsettled and doubtful on the subject. His remarks 
 are as follows : “ There is a lamentable want of sympathy in 
 China between the commercial and religious interests of the 
 Western nations. Seldom do we meet an Englishman or an 
 American engaged in commerce in that portion of the East 
 who seems to have a favorable regard for the labors of the 
 missionaries. We do not intend to give reasons at present 
 for this state of things, but%erely express genuine regret at 
 its existence, and the hope that new relations and interests 
 may result in making all men of Christian nations alike active 
 and earnest for the spread of Christian civilization and Gos- 
 pel faith.” 
 
 With reference to all these reports, I do not hesitate to say 
 that they are based upon a misapprehension of the true char- 
 acter of Christianity, of the Chinese, and of the missionary 
 work ; and that they are as unfounded in fact, as they are un- 
 generous in spirit and injurious in effect. Missionaries will 
 freely admit that they are not exempt from the weakness and 
 imperfections that belong to other professions ; that some of 
 their number may perhaps have mistaken their calling ; and 
 that the labors of the whole body of missionaries have not 
 been followed by the degree of success which might have been 
 hoped for, and which a higher devotion might have secured. 
 But we are far from admitting that missionaries as a class 
 Avill not bear favorable comparison as respects intelligence, 
 efficiency, and devotion to their calling, with the members of 
 
ORIGIN OF THESE REPORTS EXPLAINED. 
 
 361 
 
 the ministerial or other learned professions at home or abroad, 
 or that the missionary work has been in any proper sense “ a 
 failure.” 
 
 If it be asked, “ How, then, have the views referred to above 
 become so prevalent ?” the fact is easily explained. Most of 
 the work of the missionary is of such a character as not to 
 strike the attention of superficial observers. It is performecT 
 in the study, in the chapel, and in villages and cities in the in- 
 terior. A large proportion of the converts are to be found 
 in country out-stations, unvisited and unknown in the foreign 
 communities ; and it is not strange that merchants hardly ever 
 see them or hear of them. Should they happen to meet a compa- 
 ny of native Christians, they could not distinguish them from 
 the rest of their countrymen ; nor could they, being unacquaint- 
 ed with the language, hold any communication with them. Mer- 
 chants usually obtain their information from their body-servant 
 or “ boy,” who is generally quick and shrewd, and as cm fait as 
 his master in the use of the Pigeon-English ; though not often 
 of the educated or well-informed class, or at all acquainted 
 with missionaries or native Christians. A few of the English- 
 speaking young men who have been trained in mission schools, 
 and have acquired a by no means enviable reputation in the 
 foreign communities, are pointed to by those who are willing 
 to take up an evil report as representative types of native 
 Christians generally, though they may never have made any 
 profession of religion whatever. 
 
 We would be most happy to communicate information on 
 the ground respecting our work both to foreign residents and 
 travellers, but it is a cause of regret that we have few oppor- 
 tunities to do so. Merchants are so absorbed in their busi- 
 ness that they seldom have the time or disposition to visit us. 
 Travellers and officers in our navy, whom we are always most 
 happy to see and entertain, are generally more interested in 
 going to a heathen temple, or gathering curiosities in the 
 shops, or making an excursion into the country, than in visit- 
 ing a native Christian family or an out-station, or in listening 
 
 Q 
 
862 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 to detailed accounts of our work. These persons often come 
 to us with opinions as to our work already formed and minds 
 prejudiced. It is as difficult to remove these prejudices as 
 to decide what course to pursue in entertaining them. Should 
 we determine not to turn aside from our daily employments, 
 and to make no special effort to render their visit agreeable, 
 “we would do violence to our own feelings, and be justly charge- 
 able with being deficient in hospitality and ordinary polite- 
 ness. On the other hand, if we give ourselves up for the 
 time to social enjoyment and recreation, and endeavor to fur- 
 nish our tables with somewhat such food as our guests are 
 accustomed to, we are in danger of producing the impression 
 that this is a sample of our daily life and occupations. This 
 has, in fact, again and again been the result of our attempts 
 to “ use hospitality.” 
 
 I should be very forgetful and ungrateful not to mention 
 that there are a few from every class to be met with abroad 
 who visit us when they can, who go with us to our work, and 
 examine carefully into its details, and whose testimony with 
 reference to us and to missions is almost more favorable than 
 we deserve or .wish. But this testimony, if published, is found 
 in papers which those of opposite opinions and sympathies 
 seldom read ; and, if given in conversation, is received with 
 prejudice and suspicion. It should be added further, that the 
 ports where most foreigners are found are the ones where 
 missionaries .have accomplished least, and there are conse- 
 quently fewer results to point to than in other places. 
 
 These discouraging representations of missionary work, 
 while they are innocently circulated by many who suppose 
 them to be true, originate, for the most part, with those who 
 would fain believe* that there are no consistent native Chris- 
 tians in China ; as such would be a standing reproof to them, 
 reminding them of their own inconsistency and neglect ; per- 
 haps of broken vows and a shipwrecked faith, and a life on 
 account of which the name of God is blasphemed among the 
 heathen. 
 
RESULTS WHICH MAY BE EXPECTED. 
 
 363 
 
 In forming a just estimate of the kind and degree of re- 
 sults which might be reasonably expected, it is necessary to 
 take into view the nature of the work, and the circumstances 
 under which it is prosecuted. First, and principally, the 
 greatest of all difficulties which we find in every land, and in 
 our own individual consciousness, exists in China unrestrained 
 and intensified. This difficulty is clearly expressed in Holy 
 Writ : “ The carnal mind is enmity against God ; for it is not 
 subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” And 
 again : “ The natural man receiveth not the things of the 
 Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him ; neither can 
 he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” To 
 the opposition and blindness of our common nature, there are 
 superadded in China many obstacles which are unknown in 
 Christian lands, and which it is difficult for most persons fully 
 to appreciate. The minds of the people are preoccupied by 
 systems of error adapted to satisfy their religious longings 
 and allay their fears ; systems sanctioned and confirmed by 
 the usage of their ancestors for thousands of years, and inter- 
 woven with all their social and civil institutions. Idolatry 
 and superstition have entered into and corrupted their lan- 
 guage, and the very constitution of their minds, so that it seems 
 at first that every avenue through which they can be reached 
 by the truth is closed. 
 
 It must be further remembered that those who have un- 
 dertaken this work are very few. The whole number of Prot- 
 estant missionaries now in China from Europe and America 
 is about one hundred. W ere England and the United States 
 supplied with religious teachers at the same rate in propor- 
 tion to the population, they would have about ten ministers of 
 the Gospel each. 
 
 In view of these and other difficulties which might be 
 mentioned, some of them originating with foreigners, such as 
 the opium-trade, which is a standing objection to Christianity, 
 and the notorious immorality and lawlessness of many who 
 belong to nominally Christian nations, the Christianizing of 
 
364 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 China by the preaching of Christ and Him crucified might 
 well be coflsidered (judged of by ordinary principles of cause 
 and effect, aside from special divine interposition and aid) as 
 visionary and impossible. Our ground of confidence is in 
 the fact that the Christian religion is equally adapted to, and 
 designed for all ages and peoples, and that God has declared 
 that it shall prevail over the whole world. 
 
 Between the opposite and equally extreme and unreason- 
 able views that the Christianization of heathen nations is im- 
 .possible, and, on the other hand, that we have a right to be 
 surprised and disappointed if they do not embrace Christianity 
 in large numbers on the first presentation of it, we have the 
 scriptural view that the success of the Gospel, wherever it is 
 preached, is certain, and that it generally reaches its results 
 from small and almost imperceptible beginnings. The king- 
 dom of Heaven is compared by Him who is the head of that 
 kingdom to the “ least of all seeds ” and to the “ hidden 
 leaven.” Its progress and workings are silent, gradual, and 
 unperceived ; but certain, continuous, and irresistible, accord- 
 ing to a fixed law of life and development. n 
 
 War and commerce change the relations and conditions of 
 nations rapidly, and sway and constrain the minds of vast 
 populations in a body, producing those marked changes in 
 the outward condition of nations which are seized upon by 
 the historian as great national epochs. These changes are, 
 however, often as superficial, evanescent, and disappointing- 
 in their results, as they are rapid and startling in their mani- 
 festations. The Gospel of Christ does not perform its work 
 upon nations in the aggregate. Its sublime mission is that 
 of conquering and subduing nations by subduir^ its individ- 
 ual members, bringing into captivity every thought to the 
 obedience of Christ. It does not overpower and constrain 
 for the time the will, but enlightens the mind, convinces the 
 understanding, and regenerates the heart. It goes down to 
 the very foundations of individual life, society, and govern- 
 ment; and its greatest triumphs are realized before its out- 
 
THE THREE-FOLD CLASSIFICATION OF RESULTS. 365 
 
 ward effects are perceived. The leaven, though hidden, is 
 constantly working, and pervading the whole mass. The 
 mustard-seed, though unperceived and undiscoverable, is 
 every moment developing its germ, and calling into action 
 those vital forces by which it is to come forth to the light and 
 spread wide its branches. It is unreasonable and useless to 
 expect the harvest without waiting for the early and latter 
 rain, or to gather ripe and abundant fruit from trees which 
 have been but just transplanted, and are but beginning to 
 send forth their roots into the soil. The order of nature and 
 of grace is “ First the blade, then the ear ; after that, the full 
 corn in the ear.” 
 
 These preliminary remarks and explanations, which have 
 been prolonged far beyond my first intention, I trust the reader 
 will not regard as inappropriate or uncalled for, under the 
 circumstances; and I now proceed to the main subject of this 
 chapter. 
 
 The limits which I have prescribed for myself will not ad- 
 mit of special and detailed reference to individual mission- 
 aries or missions, or even to the history and ojjerations of the 
 particular stations with which I have been connected. It is 
 rather my object to state facts and principles applicable to 
 missions in general. But in giving a general view of our 
 work and its results, it seems very desirable and almost neces- 
 sary to make free use of illustrative facts taken from mission- 
 ary life. In doing this, I shall draw principally upon my 
 own experience; partly on account of the labor and time 
 which would be necessary to collect the same materials from 
 other sources, and partly because, in speaking of facts and oc- 
 currences with which I am familiar, I can with greater cer- 
 tainty avoid inaccuracy and misrepresentation. I hope that 
 these statements in explanation will relieve me from the 
 charge of egotism, or a want of interest in, or appreciation 
 of the labors of others. 
 
 The actual results of missionary labor may conveniently be 
 arranged under three general heads. 
 
366 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 1st. Advancement in the necessary preparation for the dif- 
 fusion of Christian truth. — It is evident, to any reasonable 
 and thoughtful person, that years of preparation are required 
 in China before entering effectively upon direct evangelistic 
 work. A most difficult language must be acquired, and also 
 more or less familiarity with the literature and religious sys- 
 tems of China and native modes of thought. At first it is 
 not easy to determine upon the best plan for reaching the peo- 
 ple, and the proper agencies to be employed. The amount of 
 labor of this kind performed in China it is difficult to esti- 
 mate, or for those who have not become familiar with it by 
 personal experience fully to appreciate. It should ever be 
 borne in mind that such occupations as these, though at first 
 they have only a literary character, are in the strictest sense 
 missionary work, and, when successfully prosecuted, result in 
 a most important advantage to the cause. Most of the mis- 
 sionaries in China- speak the language not only intelligibly, 
 but accurately and fluently. Some of them who have been 
 long in the field are now ripe Chinese scholars, having gone 
 on increasing in their qualifications for usefulness during 
 most of the period since the opening of the country. Dic- 
 tionaries, grammars, and vocabularies have been prepared ; 
 careful translations of the Bible have been made, not only in 
 the universal literary language, but in many of its local dia- 
 lects. Schools have been established, and text-books prepared 
 for those schools ; tracts suited to the Chinese mind have 
 been written ; houses and chapels have been built ; materials 
 and appliances for extending our work have been gathered, 
 and plans for futm-e labor have been matured. These pre- 
 liminaries are as indispensable in our work as it is for an 
 army to provide itself with stores and equipments, to become 
 acquainted with military tactics and drill, and with the posi- 
 tion, character, and resources of the enemy, before entering 
 upon a campaign. When this preparation is made, a stage of 
 progress is reached, a positive result secured, and a real ap- 
 proximation made toward the great end in view. 
 
PERSISTENT LABOR FRUITFUL. 
 
 367 
 
 2d. The general diffusion of elementary Christian truth 
 among the masses is another result of great importance. 
 
 When a missionary has acquired the language, he may di- 
 rect his attention to general labors among the masses, or con- 
 centrate his efforts upon a comparatively few individuals who 
 are brought within the sphere of his daily influence. Most 
 persons carry on both of these kinds of labor together. The 
 natural effect of the former is to produce a partial and imper- 
 fect result on a large scale ; while that of concentrated effort 
 is to produce a complete and ultimate result on a small scale, 
 and in a comparatively short period of time. In scattering 
 the seed broadcast by the distribution of tracts, or in desul- 
 tory preaching to transient hearers, the system of Christian 
 truth as a complete whole is not clearly apprehended. Still, 
 some simple doctrines are received into many hearts, and are 
 gradually communicated from one to another. It is a fact 
 full of encouragement that much Christian knowledge, though 
 fragmentary and imperfect, has been treasured up in the 
 minds of many who are not yet disenthralled from the slavery 
 of idolatry; and though for the present overshadowed by the 
 ranker growths of error, and chilled by the colei and blighting 
 atmosphere of idolatry and superstition, these imperishable 
 seeds of divine truth, though for a time dormant, will, under 
 favoring circumstances in the good providence of God, spring 
 up and proeluce an abundant harvest. These truths are talked 
 of in ten thousand homes ; they are allaying prejudice, under- 
 mining old systems, and daily becoming more widely diffused 
 and more clearly understood. It is quite possible that those 
 efforts which seemed in the beginning to be fruitless, will 
 prove in the end to have been most blessed ; and that many 
 whose sorrowful complaint through life has been “ Who hath 
 believed our report ? and to whom is the arm of the Lord re- 
 vealed ?” will have reason, when they see the wide-spread ef- 
 fects of their work of faith and patience, to thank God for 
 the special labors to which he assigned them. Many in- 
 stances might be cited in the experience of different mission- 
 
yes 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 aries in China in which persons who had received religious 
 instruction, and had afterward been lost sight of and almost 
 forgotten, have, after a period of years, reappeared, sought 
 further instruction, and become earnest and useful Christians. 
 
 A very decided effect is often produced upon the masses 
 before any converts have been received from them into the 
 Church ; an effect which for the time seems to repel rather than 
 attract the people, though it marks a legitimate and important 
 advancement in the progress of our work. In 1 86 1 Baptist and 
 Presbyterian missionaries from the United States commenced 
 their labors in the city of Tung-chow, in the province of 
 Shantung. The people received us with a great deal of cor- 
 diality and respect, and we had many visitors from the more 
 influential and literary classes, and also from the officers. We 
 were received and regarded simply as foreign scholars and 
 teachers, and were the objects of much interest and curiosity. 
 When the simple doctrines of the Gospel were first presented — 
 the unity of God ; His character as the one F uther in Heav- 
 en ; salvation from sin through Christ ; the immortality of 
 the soul, and eternal happiness in Heaven, these sublime truths 
 were in the main received with interest and delight. In the 
 course of the year, however, the whole aspect of the work and 
 the feelings of the people were changed. As they learned 
 more of Christianity, and discovered that it imposed a life 
 of self-denial ; was in irreconcilable conflict with all false sys- 
 tems of religion ; and tolerated no object of worship beside the 
 true God, their prejudices and opposition were aroused. The 
 fact that several of ouii servants and teachers united with the 
 church about this time, tended still more to draw the atten- 
 tion of the public toward us and our work. To the great 
 majority of the people, the fact of a Chinaman’s renouncing 
 his own gods and the idolatrous practices of his countrymen, 
 and worshiping the God of the foreigners, was inexplicable. 
 That an extraordinary influence of some kind had been brought 
 to bear upon the minds of native converts was evident ; but 
 the people had no idea of the power of Christian truth, much 
 
' IGNORANT AND SUPERSTITIOUS ' SUSPICIONS. 369 
 
 less of that of the Iloly Spirit. It seemed most reasonable 
 and satisfactory to them to account for our influence by the 
 supposition of the use of magic and mysterious arts. It was 
 generally believed that, in serving tea to our guests, we added 
 to it some foreign medicine or drug, by which we gained a 
 controlling influence over those who partook of it and made 
 them our willing slaves. It was rumored also that the whole 
 community was in danger, as we were insinuating, by means 
 of paid agents, our foreign medicine into the flour used in 
 the city, and flour cakes from the bakeries were at a discount 
 for some weeks. We were at that time wishing to rent a 
 house, and, in looking for one, visited a number of places in 
 the city. Wherever we went we were carefully watched ; and 
 as we were noticed to go to the well in each place, and to - 
 spend some time about it, it was suggested that we were poi- 
 soning the water of the city ; and well-cleaning became the or- 
 der of the day. In many of the wells a little bag of red powder 
 was found, supposed to be the dreaded medication. This no 
 doubt originated with the well-cleaners, who were reaping a 
 rich harvest, and were interested in confirming and continu- 
 ing the suspicions of the inhabitants. The excitement in- 
 creased ; people looked angrily at us as we met them in the 
 streets. Inflammatory placards were posted in different parts 
 of the city maligning our character, and warning the people 
 against being entrapped and deceived by us. Violence was 
 threatened, and the city magistrates thought it necessary to 
 issue a proclamation to restrain and quiet the people. The 
 citizens were thoroughly frightened ; and those most opposed 
 to us were afraid that they too might catch the infection and 
 become Christians in spite of themselves. If persons more 
 intelligent and better informed than the rest expressed the 
 opinion that these reports were foolish and groundless, they 
 were suspected of being in league with us, or unconsciously 
 influenced by us. This public commotion, which was occa- 
 sioned by evident conversions to Christianity, and a growing 
 knowledge of our real character and aims, tended greatly to 
 
 Q 2 
 
370 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 bring missionaries ancl their work more prominently before 
 the people. Our character and operations were universal 
 topics of conversation ; many matters were explained of which 
 they were before in doubt; and, when the excitement sub- 
 sided, it was generally understood that the only means made 
 use of by us was the simple preaching of the Gospel, and that 
 the only constraint by which natives were led to embrace it 
 was that of a conviction of its truth. Since the period refer- 
 red to, the people generally have not been as cordial and free 
 in their intercourse with .us as before, but the number of 
 hopeful converts has constantly increased. 
 
 3d. We now come to the consideration of ripe fruits of 
 missionary labor ; of real conversions from heathenism, and 
 the establishment of native Christian churches. 
 
 The great majority of the first native Christians of China, as 
 I have before intimated, are persons who have been under the 
 missionaries’ daily influence ; who have had line upon line, pre- 
 cept upon precept; who have thus become acquainted with 
 the whole system of Scripture truth ; and have not only learn- 
 ed of it from oral teaching, but also seen it illustrated in the 
 life. They are literary men employed by us as scribes and to 
 teach us the language; servants in our families, and pupils 
 in our schools. With most of them we have daily opportu- 
 nities for reading and explaining the Scriptures, pressing 
 home upon their hearts and consciences the matter of per- 
 sonal religion, and uniting in social prayer and praise. They 
 become as familiar with the Scriptures as most persons are 
 in our own country ; the truth is, by the influence of God’s 
 Spirit, made the wisdom of God and the power of God unto 
 their salvation, and they are constrained to take up the cross 
 and follow the Lord Jesus. 
 
 I can not better illustrate the manner in which individuals 
 are brought into the Church in China, and made use of by 
 Christ in carrying on His work, than by referring to an ex- 
 ample from each of the classes above designated, taken from 
 the converts belonging to our mission at Ningpo. They 
 
EXPEDIENCE OF A CHINESE CONVERT. 
 
 371 
 
 may be regarded as representative types of many of the na- 
 tive Christians to be found in connection Avith the different 
 missions along the coast. 
 
 About tiventy years ago, a Chinese scholar Avdiose family 
 name Avas Lu Avas employed by one of our missionaries as a 
 teacher. After a time he Avas desirous of leaving home in 
 the employ of a Chinese mandarin to spend several years in 
 the interior as a scribe or attendant. He introduced to his 
 employer his son Lu Kyise-dzing, a young man then about 
 tAventy years of age, and recommended him as a fit person to 
 supply his place as teacher. The son Avas accepted, and the 
 father left home, communicating privately to his Avife this 
 parting injunction: “Should Kyke-dzing Avish at any future 
 time to embrace The religion of the foreigners you must not 
 oppose him ; for their religion is true.” In the course of a 
 feAV years, Kyise-dzing, as his father had anticipated, Avas 
 brought by his convictions of truth and duty to decide the 
 great question Avhether he Avould accept or reject Christ and 
 His salvation. He resolved to be a Christian, and made 
 knoAvn to his mother his determination. This announcement 
 awakened on her part violent opposition and abuse. She de- 
 clared that she could not and Avould not survive the disgrace 
 of her son’s renouncing the religion and the customs of his 
 ancestors and “ following the foreigners and that if he 
 should persist in being baptized, she Avould drown herself in 
 the river — a very common mode of committing suicide in 
 China. The trying position of Kyice-dzing in a country Avhere 
 filial piety and obedience are regarded as the first of all virtues 
 may be easily imagined. In deciding the question of duty, 
 he Avas made to feel the force of those striking words of our 
 Saviour Avhich seem designed to meet just such cases as this : 
 “ He that loveth father or mother more than me is not Avorthy 
 of me.” This trial affected his mind and body to such an 
 extent that ho became seriously ill and delirious, and his life 
 for a time was almost despaired of. He recovered, however, 
 and made a public profession of Christianity. Time Avould 
 
372 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE.’ 
 
 fail to describe the opposition, annoyances, and petty persecu- 
 tions which he met with in his family ; the attempts to pre- 
 vent him from engaging in his religious duties and private 
 devotions, and to draw him back to heathenism. A firm ad- 
 herence to. his own religious convictions in opposition to the 
 wishes of family and friends proved in his case, as in many 
 others which I could name, the greatest blessing to those he 
 loved, and bound them to him by new and tender bonds of 
 love and gratitude. It was a work of years, but one after an- 
 other every member of the family, his wife, his mother, his 
 grandmother, his sister, and a cousin were through his instru- 
 mentality brought to Christ ; and they became a united fam- 
 ily in the Lord, and one of the most interesting Christian 
 households it has ever been my privilege to know at home or 
 abroad. Kyias-dzing was one of the first of the native elders 
 of the Ningpo church, and nearly every member of the family 
 has filled some useful sphere of missionary labor. Thus the 
 influence of the foreign missionary brought to bear upon one 
 Chinaman twenty years ago was not only made the means of 
 his conversion, but has brought a whole family into the 
 Church, and is now operating through them upon scores of 
 others -who are brought within the sphere of their influence. 
 
 Nearly twenty years since a young man named Dzing Sliih- 
 nyiao was employed by Rev. W. A. P. Martin in Ningpo as 
 servant and printer. While connected with him he became a 
 Christian, and afterward a catechist. Through his faithful 
 efforts an acquaintance of his was brought to Christ, who be- 
 came the first native pastor of the Presbytery of Ningpo. He 
 now has the charge of a church numbering nearly one hun- 
 dred members, many of whom were converted through his in- 
 strumentality. Dzing Shih-nyiao is at present laboring at an 
 out-station more than a hundred miles in the interior, where a 
 native church is being gathered. 
 
 More than twenty years ago a little boy named King Ling- 
 yiu was brought to the Boys’ Boarding-school at Ningpo. 
 At a comparatively early age he became a Christian, and had 
 
RESULTS OF WORK IN OUT-STATIONS. 
 
 373 
 
 his attention directed to the Gospel ministry. He was an 
 earnest student, acquired a familiar knowledge of the Scrip- 
 tures, and the outlines of Christian doctrine ; and, after years 
 of study and employment as a catechist, he was in 1864 form- 
 ally ordained as an evangelist. More than a year since he was 
 called to his rest ; but a church of eighty members, and grate- 
 ful and cherished memories of his zeal, wisdom, love, and 
 faithfulness, still bear testimony tp the fact that he was an in- 
 strument chosen of God, a workman who needed not to be 
 ashamed. 
 
 During the first stage of the history of a mission the great- 
 er proportion of the converts are generally males. This is 
 accounted for by the fact of the seclusion of females in China, 
 the comparatively small number of female missionaries, and 
 the employment chiefly of males as servants and teachers. 
 During the second stage of progress, when the work of 
 making known the Gospel falls into the hands of natives, the 
 state of things is reversed. In every age and country there 
 has seemed to be in the nature of woman a peculiar suscepti- 
 bility to religious impressions, and a readiness to respond to 
 the call of a. Saviour’s love. In China converted husbands 
 have often been the means of bringing their wives into the 
 church, sons their mothers ; and when a native preacher, with 
 a Christian wife, commences his work at an out-station, fe- 
 male converts generally predominate greatly. 
 
 In out-stations conducted by natives, the most effective 
 method of building up a church is still found, to be that of la- 
 boring for and with individuals, rather than random preach- 
 ing to crowds. When a native preacher first settles in a new 
 station, he is usually regarded with much suspicion and dis- 
 like. His enterprise attracts some notice, and strangers, in- 
 fluenced by curiosity, make him a visit, manifesting, however, 
 a distant reserve. Every movement is carefully watched and 
 weighed. His boldness in standing up alone as the exponent 
 of a foreign and despised religion, coupled with a conciliating 
 spirit and deference to others, commands respect ; his meek- 
 
874 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 ness and self-control under opposition and rebuke excite sym- 
 pathy; the truth which he utters rivets the attention of some 
 auditor, sinks deep into the mind, and perhaps awakens an 
 earnest interest. By degrees, in answer to the oft-repeated 
 invitation to come to the chapel, he has the pleasure of re- 
 ceiving a few visitors, almost always from the poorer and 
 humbler classes. They are welcomed and entertained as 
 guests, the conversation relating to general as well as religious 
 topics. These visitors are very apt to come in the quiet and 
 leisure of the evening. While they sip their tea and smoke 
 their pipes, many subjects relating to foreigners and foreign 
 customs, and the relations of the native teacher to the foreign- 
 ers, are freely discussed ; much interesting, novel, and impor- 
 tant information is communicated ; and from these social in- 
 terviews there springs up a mutual confidence and attachment. 
 Before the visitors take their leave, they are told of the cus- 
 tom of Christians to close the day with thanksgiving and 
 prayer to God, and are invited to take part in these exercises. 
 They listen with mingled feelings of curiosity and awe, while 
 the Chinese Christian opens with reverence the volume of 
 God’s word and speaks of Him who is our Father in heaven, 
 and has sent this book as a precious revelation of His will to 
 His loved but erring children. Perhaps he chooses one from 
 the parables of our Saviour, so wonderfully adapted to convey 
 simple truth to the minds of the uriinstructed, and unfolds the 
 meaning of those precious lessons of Him who spake as never 
 man spake. Then the whole company, Christian and heathen, 
 bow together in the worship of the Great Unseen. To one 
 and another the house of the native preacher becomes a favorite 
 place for spending the evening, and in these evening exercises 
 much religious truth is gradually imparted. Some of these 
 visitors are found in process of time among the Sabbath wor- 
 shipers. By degrees their eyes open to the light, and their 
 hearts to receive the Lord Jesus as their Saviour and their 
 King. They bring with them others in whom they are interest- 
 ed, and whom they can influence. Thus the work grows. A 
 
EVIDENCES OF ACTIVITY AND GROWTH. 875 
 
 clmrch is established. Living men and women, strong in the 
 power of God’s Spirit, stand up to do battle for Christ. A 
 fountain of living and healing waters is opened, whose influence 
 shall ever continue and increase. . 
 
 The whole number of Protestant native Christians in China 
 is at present about four thousand. These are to be found in 
 the various stations along the coast — from Canton, in the 
 south, to Pekin, in the north, but principally in the “ five treaty 
 ports,” which have been occupied about twenty-five years. 
 Most of the cities opened by the treaty of 1860 - have also their 
 native churches. I do not know of a single place in the Chi- 
 nese Empire which has been occupied even but a few years 
 as a missionary station which has not at present a Christian 
 church. Indeed, it would be difficult to find a church or 
 Christian community in the West which has increased in the 
 same ratio as the Chinese churches. The annual report of the 
 Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church for 
 1868 shows an addition during the last year of one hundred 
 and forty persons on profession of their faith to its eleven 
 churches in China, which is more than one-tliird of the mem- 
 bership of these churches. This has been nearly their uniform 
 rate of increase for several years past. How many churches 
 in our own country give the same evidence of healthy growth 
 and Christian activity ? 
 
 To refer briefly to the missions with which I have been 
 personally connected. When I reached Ningpo in 1854 we 
 had there one church, numbering about twenty members. 
 These were mostly from the city of Ningpo ; all were pecunia- 
 rily dependent upon us ; we had hardly a native assistant, and 
 not a single out-station. That small and feeble church has 
 grown into six regularly organized churches, with an aggre- 
 gate membership of nearly four hundred persons. Several of 
 these churches are situated thirty, fifty, and one hundred and 
 twenty miles in the interior. Of the additions to them for 
 several years past, only a very small proportion has any pecun- 
 iary connection with the mission whatever; on the contrary, 
 
876 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 a large majority suffer seriously in their temporal matters by 
 becoming Christians. In connection with that one mission 
 we have six native licentiates, four ordained ministers, and an 
 efficient corps pi catechists, Christian teachers, and candidates 
 for the ministry. The most of the preaching and the pastor- 
 al work is now performed by natives, and our depleted band 
 of foreign missionaries have almost more than they can do to 
 superintend the work of natives, and instruct candidates for 
 the ministry. The Chinese have proved themselves efficient 
 laborers and church officers, and are generally disposed to con- 
 tribute liberally of their means to support their own Chris- 
 tian institutions. Since my arrival in the United States I have 
 received a letter from the native pastor of the church of Yu- 
 yiao, in which he says, “ Every member of this church, man, 
 woman, and child, gives something for the cause of Christ. 
 Most have adopted the rule of giving one-tenth of all their 
 earnings or income, and some, not content with this proportion, 
 give one fifth.” None of the members of this church are rich, 
 and most of them are very poor. If Christians at home 
 should adopt the same standard of giving, there would be no 
 want of funds to carry on the benevolent enterprises of the 
 Church. May I not add, How can we justify the adoption of 
 any lower standard by the teachings of either the Old or the 
 New Testament? 
 
 In 1861 1 was engaged, together with Mr. Gayley, who died 
 of cholera the next year, and Mr. Danforth, who was obliged 
 to return home on account of illness about the same time, in 
 establishing a mission on the promontory of Shantung. Here, 
 though we commenced our work anew from the very founda- 
 tion, we were permitted to receive converts into the church 
 the first year ; and we now have, as the result of the first sev- 
 en years of labor of only three missionary families, two prom- 
 ising native churches, one at Tung-chow, and the other at Che- 
 foo ; each having a membership numbering more than thirty, 
 and comprising several persons who give promise of being very 
 useful as native helpers. In Tung-chow, the missionaries of 
 
RELIGIOUS AWAKENING IN LAO-LING. 377 
 
 the Southern Baptist Board, one of whom, the Rev. Mr. Hart- 
 well, preceding us-by several months in taking up his residence 
 there, has met with equal success. 
 
 While in most places the work goes on quietly, gradually, 
 and uniformly, God has shown us that he is able and willing 
 to bring about more general and rapid movements, and is re- 
 proving us for our want of faith in not praying for, and ex- 
 pecting greater blessings. There have been several earnest 
 religious awakenings in different parts of China North and 
 South. One which has recently taken place in the villages of 
 Lao-ling, near the northern border of the province of Shantung, 
 is worthy of special notice. This place is about two hundred 
 miles from any mission station, and had never been visited by 
 a foreign missionary. About two years since, an old man liv- 
 ing there, during a severe illness, was deeply impressed by a 
 singular dream, suggested, perhaps, by serious thoughts of 
 death and eternity ; or should we not rather say, by the Holy 
 Spirit, in connection with natural anxieties with regard to a 
 future life ? He thought he was conveyed to a most beauti- 
 ful place which he denominated the “ heavenly palace,” and 
 saw within it its happy inhabitants. Being desirous of en- 
 tering himself, he was restrained by a guide or attendant, who 
 directed his attention to his filthy garments, and his unfitness 
 for entering such a pure and holy place. He awoke much 
 distressed, and very anxious to obtain information as to how 
 he could be prepared for admittance to this “ heavenly palace,” 
 which even then he regarded as a reality. He was advised by 
 a friend to make a journey to Tien-tsin as soon as he should 
 be able to do so, to seek information from Roman Catholic 
 missionaries who were known to be residing there. After a 
 tedious journey he reached the city, and inquired in the street 
 for some teacher who could tell him of the “ heavenly palace.” 
 He was directed to a Protestant chapel, where he heard the 
 preacher discoursing upon the text “ Blessed are the pure in 
 heart, for they shall see God.” He felt at once that the pres- 
 ence of God was the glorious heavenly palace, and that im- 
 
378 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 purity of heart was that which constituted his unfitness for it. 
 He was cordially received by the missionaries of the English 
 Methodist Church, and heard from them the truth as it is in 
 Jesus. After a time he returned home, rejoicing in the 
 knowledge of the Gospel and a Christian life, and taking with 
 him the Bible and Christian tracts. His testimony and teach- 
 ings awakened a general religious interest in the community 
 where he lived, and he soon made a second journey to Tien- 
 tsin, asking for a native preacher to return with him to in- 
 struct his people in the ways of God more perfectly. When 
 a native preacher had labored there for several months, the 
 place was visited by two foreign missionaries, who, after a 
 careful examination of applicants for church membership, ad- 
 ministered the rite of baptism to about forty persons. This 
 was about one year after the first appearance of the old man 
 in Tien-tsin. The work has since been steadily progressing ; 
 and more than one hundred persons have been received into 
 the Church. The interest is spreading into adjoining vil- 
 lages, the inhabitants of which are asking for religious teachers 
 and providing places for worship. These Christians in the 
 interior have already met with opposition and persecution, 
 but they have stood firm, and have not denied the faith. The 
 work seems to be deep and thorough. The Sabbath is strict- 
 ly observed, and the converts are growing in grace and knowl- 
 edge. 
 
 What encouragement do such facts as these give us to 
 pray for a general outpouring of God’s Spirit upon the nations ! 
 There is, as far as I am aware, nothing peculiar in the charac- 
 ter of the villages of Lao-ling, and there is no good reason 
 why similar scenes may not be witnessed in any part of Chi- 
 na. We need more faith, more zeal, more love, and more self- 
 sacrificing labor to gather in the rich harvest. Much has al- 
 ready been accomplished which we ought gratefully to ac- 
 knowledge ; but the work is only begun. 
 
CHARACTER OF NATIVE CHRISTIANS. 
 
 .379 
 
 CHAPTER XXIV. 
 
 CHARACTER AND EXPERIENCES OP NATIVE CHRISTIANS A.ND 
 INQUIRERS. 
 
 Comparative Absence of pungent Convictions of Sin in Chinese Converts, 
 and a Reason for it. — The Apathy of the Chinese with Respect to Death 
 is removed by a Knowledge of Christianity.— Experience of Teacher 
 Du. — Disadvantages and Compensations in the Condition of Chinese 
 Christians. — Their Simplicity of Faith. — Their Views of Prayer. — Go- 
 ing up into a Mountain to pray. — Mercenary Inquirers. — “Stony- 
 ground” Hearers. — Disappointed Expectations. — The Buddhist Devo- 
 tee of Tsi-hia. — The Case of one who was almost persuaded to be a 
 Christian. — Temptations and Defections of Church Members. — Differ- 
 ences and Estrangements among Christians. — Temptations overruled 
 for Good. — Experience of two Native Preachers. — Difference of Views 
 with Reference to the Admission of Inquirers to full Church Member- 
 ship. — Cases of Discipline, and their comparative Frequency. — Trials 
 and Temptations of Native Christians. — Eating Food offered to Idols. — 
 Complicity with^ Idol Worship in other Ways. — Difficulties connected 
 with the strict Observance of the Sabbath. — Experience of Dco-vu Ab- 
 sent. — Standard of Sabbath Observance in our Out-stations. — The His- 
 tory and Character of J un-Kao. 
 
 While the Spirit of Gocl, operating in and through His 
 W ord, always produces the same general results, the religious 
 life and experience of Christians in China are marked by some 
 characteristic features which naturally grow out of their pe- 
 culiar condition and circumstances. 
 
 One of these peculiarities which was often brought before 
 my mind during seven years of pastoral supervision and fre- 
 quent examinations of candidates for baptism, occasioned me 
 for a time .some solicitude and doubt. This was the gen- 
 eral absence of those pungent convictions of sin which so fre- 
 quently, though not necessarily, are connected with conver- 
 sions in our own country. I have- accounted for this fact 
 
380 
 
 CHINA AND TITE CHINESE. 
 
 satisfactorily to my own mind in the following manner. The 
 Chinese, when enlightened by God’s Spirit and made acquaint- 
 ed with their true moral character and relations to God, do 
 not feel that they are sinners to the same extent and degree 
 as we do, simply because they are not. They sin in a great 
 measure through ignorance ; we against light and knowledge. 
 When a person of mature years in Christian lands is con- 
 vinced “of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment,” and looks 
 back over perhaps a score or two of wasted years, memory 
 brings up with appalling distinctness, time after time, when 
 he has stilled the warnings of conscience ; steeled his heart 
 against convictions of duty ; done despite unto the Spirit of 
 grace ; turned a deaf ear to the invitations of a preached Gos- 
 pel; and perhaps to a mother’s prayers and pleadings and 
 tears ; and trampled under foot the blood of the Son of God. 
 These facts, when practically apprehended and felt, present 
 an array of guilt from which the awakened conscience may 
 well start back with dread and apprehension. Not so with 
 theAeathen Chinese. They wonder at their stupidity in hav- 
 ing worshiped as gods the workmanship of their own hands, 
 and been blind to the evidences which their senses and their 
 consciousness furnish of the presence and universal provi- 
 dence of an unseen God ; but they say, and say truly, in the 
 matter of religious worship, “ I did as I was taught from in- 
 fancy, and had no knowledge of the true God and the better 
 way.” They soon learn, however, the lesson of the sinfulness 
 of their nature, and their weakness and imperfections ; and 
 their humble confessions of sin and remissness in duty and ill- 
 desert show that, when once they become Christians, their re- 
 ligious experience runs parallel with that of others. 
 
 That the peculiarity above mentioned is due to circum- 
 stances and education, rather than to any difference of race 
 or mental constitution, is evident from the effect of religious 
 knowledge and training upon the mental exercises and relig- 
 ious feelings of the people. Young men trained in Christian 
 schools, who become Christians in after life, present the same 
 
A MARKED EFFECT OF CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE. 381 
 
 phases of religious experience which, are generally known 
 among us. An intellectual knowledge of Christianity produces 
 a thorough change in the religious feelings even of those who 
 are unwilling to embrace it. I have known several illustra- 
 tions of this fact, one of which I will mention. The person 
 whom I first employed in Ningpo to teach my wife and my- 
 self the vernacular of that place was a pleasing and interest- 
 ing man of the family name Du, between whom and us there 
 sprang up a strong attachment. He expressed his belief in 
 the truths of Christianity ; always spoke of the Christian re- 
 ligion Avith great respect, and could hardly read the story of 
 our Saviour’s sufferings and death without showing deep 
 feeling. lie felt, however, that it was impracticable and im- 
 possible for one in his circumstances, and with his associations 
 in life, to become a Christian. When he had been with us a 
 little more than a year, I heard on my return from an itinera- 
 ting tour that he was very ill. Going to his house, I met his 
 son at the door — a bright, intelligent lad of about nineteen, 
 an earnest student, and ambitious of literary preferment. 
 He seemed more surprised than pleased to see me ; and told 
 me that his father was alarmingly ill, and was not himself; 
 that his mind wandered, and he talked incoherently. Enter- 
 ing his room, I soon found that the evidences (to the son’s 
 mind) of mental aberration were, as I had inferred from his 
 statement, of such a character as to give occasion for rejoicing 
 rather than sorrow. Those lips from which I had learned 
 that language, almost as dear to me as my mother-tongue, were 
 speaking for the first time the “ language of Canaan.” He 
 said to me, “ This disease generally proves fatal, and I feel 
 that it will be so in my case. I have been a great sinner. 
 I ought long ago to have obeyed the commands and taken up 
 the cross of Christ. During the last three days, while my 
 family, contrary to my -wishes, have been chanting Buddhist 
 prayers, burning incense, and worshiping idol gods and evil 
 spirits, I have constantly been praying to Jesus ; and last night 
 Jesus heard mf prayer and sent me an answer in peace. He 
 
382 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 knows me, and I knou? Him.” His conversation was perfect- 
 ly rational, but bis feelings were entirely unintelligible to bis 
 heathen family and friends. The Chinese generally view 
 death with apathy and stoical indifference. It is not un- 
 common for old people to profess to desire and long for it ; 
 saying that life has no attractions, and that it is time for 
 them to die. They expect to go to the land of spirits, and 
 after a time to return to inhabit another body ; and they sim- 
 ply resign themselves to their fate and take their chances. 
 If they are filled with alarm, it is from the conviction that 
 they are suffering the inflictions of demons or evil spirits. 
 It was the knowledge of God, to .whose character belongs the 
 attribute of inflexible justice as well as infinite love, and the 
 knowledge of the fixed and unending state of the redeemed 
 and the lost, which gave rise in Du’s mind to those new and 
 strange exercises and anxieties, and to those importunate cries 
 to “ the only name given under heaven whereby we must be 
 saved.” I can not but hope that those cries and prayers were 
 answered, and that from that room, filled with the symbols of 
 idolatry and superstition, a soul went up to join the company 
 of the redeemed around the throne of God. I offered to 
 bear all the expenses of the funeral if the family would con- 
 sent to have Du buried with Christian rites, but the offer was 
 refused. I could mention several other persons who have 
 been employed by foreigners as teachers, whose death-beds 
 were marked with the same anxieties and forebodings, but 
 not with the same hope. 
 
 The circumstances under which native Christians are 
 placed in China are attended with peculiar trials and priva- 
 tions, and also with their compensations. They are in a great 
 measure without a Christian literature, but, for this very rea- 
 son, give more attention to the study of the pure Word of 
 God. Scattered among a heathen population, they are drawn 
 closer to each other in Christian sympathy and love. The 
 trials, opposition, and persecution to which they are subject, 
 have the effect of keeping false prolessors ouj^of the Church, 
 
INTERESTING TRAITS. 
 
 883 
 
 and developing and strengthening the character of true be- 
 lievers. 
 
 Their lives are often marked by a beautiful unquestioning 
 faith. There are few doubting Christians ; they have not yet 
 reached the point of skeptical misgivings. To them there 
 seems little room for doubt. They have set before them in 
 bold contrast the reasonable, consistent, and soul-satisfying 
 doctrines of Christianity, and the confused, baseless, and irrec- 
 oncilable teachings of idolatry. They feel and know that they 
 have passed from darkness to light ; “ Old things are passed 
 away, and all things are become new.” 
 
 Their prayers have often a practical and child-like simplic- 
 ity. I have frequently heard them relate remarkable instances 
 of deliverances, and providential interferences, and recovery 
 from serious sickness and disease, in direct answer to prayer. 
 I have hardly ever known a Chinese Christian who has man- 
 ifested any indisposition or inability to take a part in social 
 prayer-meetings. These peculiarities are principally due, it is 
 to be hoped, to genuine piety and simple faith, but they may 
 also result in part from their old habits and associations. 
 They have all been accustomed to worship idols in the pres- 
 ence of others without shame or hesitation ; and shall they be 
 ashamed or backward, when they know it is their privilege to 
 do so, to worship the true God ? They have been accustomed 
 to include in their petitions to false gods a great variety of 
 matters connected with their every-day life, some of them 
 comparatively trivial ; and shall they not bring before their 
 omniscient, loving Heavenly Father all <ttieir cares and sor- 
 rows, when they are encouraged and commanded to do so ? 
 
 A beautiful instance of faith and earnestness in prayer 
 occurred not long since in the province of Shantung. Dur- 
 ing a season of great suffering from drought, when the peo- 
 ple were everywhere thronging the temples and praying to va- 
 rious deities for relief, a few native Christians who had but 
 recently been received into the Church, and lived in the coun- 
 try at a considerable distance from their foreign teacher, met 
 
384 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 together to consult as to what they should do. They felt not 
 only pained but rebuked by seeing their heathen countrymen 
 worshiping gods which were no gods, while they had neglect- 
 ed to offer up their earnest and united prayers to Him who 
 controls the elements of nature, and sends rain on the just and 
 on the unjust. Without advice, hint, or suggestion from any 
 one else, they determined to go up into a mountain and spend 
 the whole night in prayer to God ; influenced, perhaps, by the 
 recorded example of our Saviour, or possibly by the example 
 of Elijah under circumstances similar to their own. The next 
 day, before those who lived at the greatest distance from the 
 hill had reached their home, they were overtaken by a copious 
 shower. 
 
 I am reminded that I may be giving to the reader too fa- 
 vorable an opinion of the Christian character of Chinese con- 
 verts, and too bright a coloring to our fnissionary experiences. 
 It is natural and right to dwell with delight and wonder on 
 the “ plants of righteousness ” springing up in heathen wastes, 
 unfolding into life and beauty, and bearing fruit to the glory 
 of God. But here, as elsewhere, the enemy sows tares, and 
 God’s servants are often sorely tried. 
 
 Not a few of the natives who have no means of livelihood, 
 and no social position to lose, and are wholly ignorant of the 
 character and inquisitions of Christianity, apply for baptism 
 from mere mercenary motives. The withdrawal of such per- 
 sons from us, if they continue to show no regard for the Gos- 
 pel except as a means to a worldly end, occasions us compara- 
 tively little regret.* m 
 
 There are many others who are honestly and deeply im- 
 pressed by the truth, and desirous and determined for a time 
 to be Christians. These are the stony-ground hearers of the 
 parable, who receive the word with joy, and endure for a sea- 
 son, but in time of persecution fall away. It is one of the 
 principal trials of the missionary to see the zeal of these grow 
 cold, until, one after another, they walk no more with us. 
 
 There are others who seem willing to endure trials appar- 
 
DISAPPOINTED HOPES. 
 
 385 
 
 ently from love to Christ, and, through much difficulty, reach 
 the very door of the church, when the adversary, as if by a vi- 
 olent assault, drags them back to the world, and they become 
 our enemies. These cases occasion a disappointment like that 
 felt by the husbandman when his luxuriant fields, just ripe for 
 the harvest, are prostrated and desolated by the hail and tem- 
 pest. Such instances stand out with painful distinctness in 
 the lives of most missionaries. 
 
 I well l’emember the case of a noted Buddhist devotee in 
 the district of Tsi-hia, in the province of Shantung, who was 
 regarded with great veneration by the inhabitants of the sur- 
 rounding country. He spent most of his time in a sitting 
 posture, engaged, as it was supposed, in religious meditation 
 and prayer. He lived on a purely vegetable diet, and, it was 
 believed, on almost nothing. Pie had a great influence over 
 the people, being regarded by them almost as an incarnation 
 of Buddha, and the personification of holiness. He was visit- 
 ed several times by our native catechists, and seemed to evince 
 a real desire after religious knowledge and happiness in the fu- 
 ture state, and confessed that his religion and mode of life 
 were not altogether satisfactory to him. After several con- 
 versations, he consented to read religious books, and was much 
 interested in them. By degrees he became convinced of the 
 truth of Christianity, and expressed a desire to be a Chris- 
 tian. During one of the visits of our catechists he went so far 
 as to take down his idols from their shrines, remove his pict- 
 ures of gods and goddesses from the walls of his sanctum, and 
 to eat meat with his guests ; thus formally renouncing his faith, 
 and repudiating the merit which it was supposed he had ac- 
 quired by his austere life. We began to hope that he would 
 soon declare himself a Christian, and prove a “ chosen instru- 
 ment ” for preaching the Gospel to the thousands whom he 
 had “ bewitched with his sorceries,” and who had looked up 
 to him as a religious oracle. A time was appointed for him 
 to make a visit to Tung-chow, where he was to be my guest 
 with a view to further instruction in preparation for receiv- 
 
 R 
 
386 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 ing Christian baptism. To our surprise, he suddenly changed 
 his plans, influenced we know not by what motives, and went 
 back to his old course of life, representing us as deceivers 
 and seducers, and himself as having been almost led away and 
 ruined by us. Here again the adversary triumphed, and our 
 hopes were blasted. 
 
 I find recorded in my journal, with a good deal of detail, 
 the history of another case in which I was greatly interested ; 
 and notwithstanding its disproportionate length in such a 
 chapter as this, I will give Jhe greater part of it, as it illus- 
 trates many points of Chinese character and social life, as well 
 as missionary experience, which I could not present so clearly 
 in any other way. 
 
 “ Tung-chow, Jan. 14, 1862. — My teacher Suen is in a very 
 interesting state of mind ; and the dealings of God with him 
 have been of such a character that I wish to make a record 
 of them. 
 
 “ Being very desirous of employing a finished Chinese schol- 
 ar who could assist me in preparing books for the press, I 
 made it a special subject of prayer on coming here that I 
 might obtain such a one. I first saw Suen about the 1st of 
 September in the chapel at Mr. Gayley’s. He came in with a 
 company of well-dressed young men, all appearing remarka- 
 bly well-bred and intelligent. I was particularly struck with 
 Suen’s quickness, and polite, easy manners. When he left the 
 chapel, I had little idea that I should see him again. More 
 than a month after Tsao told me that a very respectable and 
 gentlemanly scholar had offered his services as a Mandarin 
 teacher. When he made his appearance, I recognized the 
 same Mr. Suen whom I had seen in the chapel. He, with his 
 family, had left Tai-nganfu, where he had been employed in 
 the yamun of a relative, and came to this place to get away 
 from the rebels. I told him. that the wages which we are in 
 the habit of giving teachers would not be sufficient to sup- 
 port his family ; but I would be glad to have him while he 
 was without other employment, and that when he could ob- 
 
TRIALS OF A CHINESE SCHOLAR. 
 
 387 
 
 tain a move lucrative position, I would expect him to leave me 
 to avail himself of it. At first he regarded Christianity as 
 differing little from Buddhism, and evidently had no great re- 
 spect for it or its adherents. While we were revising a book 
 for the press (the ‘Native Assistant’s Guide’), I saw that he 
 was much struck with some thoughts contained in it, and his 
 curiosity and interest were quite apparent. From this time 
 he always seemed pleased to converse on the subject of 
 Christianity in a general way, and rapidly acquired correct 
 ideas of it. 
 
 “About three weeks ago I presented to him the subject of 
 his practical interest in the Gospel, and pressed upon him the 
 importance of giving it his most earnest consideration, and se- 
 curing for himself the benefits which it offered. He frankly 
 told me that his mind was full of doubts, and that he even 
 doubted the veracity of the Christian revelation. I saw, how- 
 ever, that he was more interested than he was willing to ac- 
 knowledge. After a long conversation he left me. It was ev- 
 ident that a clear apprehension of the truth had aroused both 
 his sense of responsibility and the natural opposition of his 
 heart. 
 
 “When he came the next day he told me that he had thought 
 all night on the subject we had talked about, and that, the 
 more he thought, the more his doubts and difficulties increased. 
 I requested him to write them out and let me see them. This 
 he promised to do. As he brought his papers from day to 
 day, I said nothing in reply, as I wished him first to express 
 frdfcly all he had to say. Before he had finished writing, 
 however, one of his papers was so blasphemous that I told 
 him, that while I wished him to use the utmost frankness, 
 presenting every thing without reserve, he must a*t least speak 
 of the name of Christ with respect, remembering that he him- 
 self might some day find that he had been sinning against the 
 Majesty of heaven and earth. His objections as thus enu- 
 merated amounted to twenty in number; and indicated a 
 thinking mind, and close a]iplication and study. I occupied 
 
38S 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 tliree clays in answering them. It was evident that his intel- 
 lect was satisfied as far as most of them were concerned. He 
 was now becoming intensely interested ; still he did no? re- 
 gard himself as an inquirer, nor did I address him as such. 
 As many of his difficulties resolved themselves into doubts of 
 the divine origin and truthfulness of the sacred Scriptures, I 
 urged him to read carefully several chapters in the ‘ Tien tao 
 su yuen ’* on this subject. The next day he said that he had 
 read these chapters, and that after our conversations, the 
 truths presented in them appeared in a new light. He had 
 read the book through carefully before, but could not under- 
 stand it ; now it was, as it were, a new book. He said, how- 
 ever, that he had met with another difficulty ; that he could 
 not believe in the resurrection of the dead ; that it could not 
 be that the Bible taught such a dogma, and we must have 
 misinterpreted it. I told him it was one of the most clearly 
 revealed doctrines in the Scriptures, and read with him care- 
 fully our Lord’s reasonings with the Sadducees, and the 15th 
 chapter of 1st Corinthians. The most of the day was spent 
 in conversations relating to these fundamental but mysterious 
 doctrines of Christianity. He listened with fixed attention, 
 and was much impressed, though he said but little. At this 
 time his mind was opened to the beauty and power of the 
 Scriptures, and he had evidently £ tasted of the word of God.’ 
 For several days subsequent to this we read the Scriptures 
 regularly. Pie now had little interest in any thing but relig- 
 ious subjects, and studying the Bible was no irksome task. 
 The righteousness of God by faith, as presented in the €rst 
 part of Romans, struck him with great power. It was evi- 
 dent, from his conversation, that he was spending all his leisure 
 time at hohne in reading the Scriptures and other religious 
 books, and that he was making rapid advances in the knowl- 
 edge of divine things. 
 
 “ I had not as yet said much to him about the practical du- 
 ties of Christianity, for he would not acknowledge his belief 
 * A work on the “ Evidences of Christianity,” by Rev. W. A. P. Martin. 
 
GROWING CONVICTIONS OF THE TRUTH. 
 
 389 
 
 in the existence of the Holy Spirit, nor of Satan, nor in the 
 reasonableness and efficacy of prayer, nor in Scripture views 
 of sin, nor in the justice of God’s plan for saving sinners. I 
 was satisfied, however, that his heart was sufficiently enlight- 
 ened to furnish the ground for a direct appeal to his sense of 
 duty and obligation, and urged him immediately to submit 
 himself to God, and to attend earnestly to things which relate 
 to his eternal peace. Four days ago I reminded him that this 
 was probably the turning-point in his life, and would deter- 
 mine his weal or woe for time and eternity, and affect the 
 condition not only of himself but of his family. I told him 
 that God was calling him by his Spirit, and that he must now 
 decide the question for himself, whether he would serve God 
 or Satan. I told him further that I was exceedingly anxious 
 about him, since he could not long remain in his present posi- 
 tion, as he must either advance or recede. I urged him to 
 commence immediately the practice of private prayer, to sub- 
 mit himself to God, and enter with Him into a solemn cove- 
 nant to be His forever. 
 
 “ When Suen came yesterday, he seemed more depressed 
 than ever. He was not disjiosed to say much, but appeared 
 pleased to have me talk on religious subjects. I was very 
 greatly encouraged by some incidental remarks which gave 
 evidence that he felt not only an interest in, but a love for the 
 truth. He remarked once with earnestness, ‘ Oh, if my coun- 
 try as a whole would embrace Christianity, it would be bless- 
 ed indeed !’ We spent an unusual proportion of the day in 
 talking on religious subjects. When he left me, I feared that 
 I had said too much, and that I might have given a wrong di- 
 rection to his thoughts, or in some way interfered with the 
 work which it was evident that God’s Spirit was carrying on in 
 his mind. I determined to-day to spend the time usually em- 
 ployed in conversation in reading the Scriptures, leaving the 
 Holy Spirit to apply the truth in His own way. 
 
 “ This morning when I opened the Bible to read I saw 
 that he had something to say. Taking a long breath, he com- 
 
390 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 menced the conversation in these words : ‘ These few days 
 Satan and the Holy Spirit are struggling in my heart. Some- 
 thing says, “ The Gospel is false ; have nothing to do with 
 it;” and something says, “ It is true ; you must not reject it.” 
 Sometimes I have harsh thoughts of God, and feel that he has 
 treated me unjustly ; and again I think that I am indebted to 
 him for many blessings.’ I asked him in what respect he 
 sometimes thought God had been unjust to him. lie replied, 
 ‘ My ancestors for several generations have been officers ; of 
 my fellow-students in early life, many who are not at all su- 
 perior to me in talents and acquirements now occupy high 
 positions of rank and affluence, while I have been frustrated 
 in all my schemes, and disappointed in all my hopes.’ I an- 
 swered, ‘ God has been better to you than you think, and has 
 done more for you than you desired. He has hedged up all 
 ways but one ; that way is now opened before you, and God’s 
 Spirit is beckoning you to enter ; not to obtain the short-lived 
 honors and pleasures of this life, but the gift of eternal life 
 and blessedness.’ He replied, 4 There are many hinderances to 
 my becoming a Christian.’ I asked him to name them. He 
 drew a paper from his pocket, on which he had them written. 
 It reads as follows : 
 
 “ £ (1.) My old mother is opposed to my being a Christian. 
 (2.) I can not bear to give up the reverence which the cus- 
 toms of my country require me to pay to ancestors. (3.) I 
 dread the scorn of my former associates, who will say that, 
 having failed in my former plans, I became a Christian be- 
 cause I could not do any better. (4.) My becoming a Chris- 
 tian will cut me off from sympathy with my former acquaint- 
 ances, as St. James says, ‘ “ The friendship of the world is 
 enmity with God.” ’ (5.) If I become a Christian, I know of 
 
 no way by which I can honestly and consistently, with the 
 teachings of the Bible, support my family.’ 
 
 “ I replied, 1 The claims of God upon you are paramount 
 to those of your mother ; and besides, your filial duty to your 
 mother requires you to take a firm stand, and endeavor, with 
 
HINDRANCES FROM ANCESTRAL WORSHIP. 
 
 391 
 
 the blessing of God, to save her soul before she dies. As to 
 the friendship of the world, how can we hesitate in choosing 
 between it and the love and favor of God ?’ Fearing that he 
 had incorrect views as to the requirements of Christianity with 
 reference to ancestors, I remarked, ‘ Christianity does not do 
 violence to any of the right feelings and impulses of our na- 
 ture. It is our privilege and duty to remember, love, and re- 
 vere the memory of our departed parents ; and it is our priv- 
 ilege to visit and ornament their graves, and to give any 
 proper outward expressions to the feelings of our hearts.’ 
 ‘ Yes,’ he said ; * but my case is different from yours. When 
 you become a Christian, you enter the religion of your fa- 
 thers, and look forward to a reunion with them in heaven.’ 
 This was the tender point. I replied, ‘ With reference to 
 your ancestors, you must leave them in God’s hands. They 
 died as you never can, “ without the law.” God is a God of 
 infinite love and infinite justice, and will do just what is right. 
 If they could speak to you, they would probably say , 1 “ Flee 
 to Christ for your life, and lay hold of Him as your only Sa- 
 viour.” ’ I added, £ Think of what may be the feelings of 
 your son in future years if you refuse to become a Christian. 
 Your trouble is that your ancestors did not know of Christ, 
 and could not believe in Him ; your son’s would be, £ ££ My fa- 
 ther knew of Christ, and was urged to believe in and be saved 
 by Him, but would not.” ’ I acknowledged that his difficul- 
 ties were real and serious, but said that, while I sympathized 
 with him deeply, I could do little for him. I pointed him to 
 Christ for the fullest sympathy and help. He went away ap- 
 parently with a burden heavier than before, and left me op- 
 pressed with a weight of sympathy, anxiety, and responsibil- 
 ity. 
 
 u Wednesday, loth. — To-day, when Suen came, he asked 
 whether prayer were indeed efficacious ? I answered that it 
 most certainly was. He replied, £ I have tried to give myself 
 to God, and have prayed three days, but have obtained no 
 answer.’ I told him I feared he did not pray aright, and en- 
 
392 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 deavored to instruct him in the nature of acceptable prayer. 
 I found that he had not depended as he should on the media- 
 tion and sacrifice of Christ, hut had offered his prayers too 
 much in his own name. I told him, moreover, that though 
 his prayers might be scriptural and acceptable, God would 
 answer them and give him peace in His own time and way, 
 and that he must pray with earnestness, importunity, and 
 faith, assured that God will be true to his promises. I ex- 
 horted him never to doubt God, but to look well to his own 
 deceitful heart, and guard against the insidious attacks of Sa- 
 tan. The change in his feelings is remarkable. He has con- 
 versed again with his mother, and it is evident that his fam- 
 ily know the state of his mind, so far as they can understand 
 and appreciate it. A few days ago when he was writing his 
 objections against Christianity, his wife opposed him, saying 
 that he should not do so, for Christianity is true. He says 
 that his wife is still of the same opinion, though she evidently 
 does not now sympathize with, and can not understand him. 
 We talked much to-day of the work of the .Spirit and the 
 new birth. 
 
 “ Thursday , 16th . — When Suen came this morning, I saw; 
 that his countenance was less sad. I inquired how he was 
 getting on. He answered, ‘ My confidence is becoming 
 stronger, and my doubts weaker. I feel that I am progress- 
 ing.’ I questioned him as to his views of the nature of sin, 
 and was glad to find that they Avere scriptural. His account 
 of the Avay in which he had consecrated himself to God Avas 
 also very interesting and encouraging. I read Avith him the 
 description Avhich Hopeful gives of his conversion in the 
 ‘ Pilgrim’s Progress,’ and the 7th and 8th chapters .of Ro- 
 mans. He noAv seems to love the Scriptures. After reading 
 Avith him, I had a long conversation on the sacraments and 
 Christian duties. In speaking of God’s providential care over 
 his people, he remarked, ‘ I read some passages in the Scrip- 
 tures yesterday Avhich have in a great measure relieved my 
 anxiety.’ I asked him what they Avere. He repeated, Avith 
 
OPPOSITION IN THE FAMILY. 
 
 393 
 
 evident delight, the verses which refer to the ravens and the 
 lilies. Just before he left I said to him that I had not hither- 
 to suggested our praying together, because I felt that this was 
 a duty which he must begin unaided, and that I thought it 
 would now be well for us to seek God’s blessing together ; and 
 asked him if, after my prayer, he would follow in one of his 
 own. To this he assented. His prayer was broken, but sim- 
 ple, unaffected, and scriptural. He spoke of himself as one 
 who hacl known nothing, who now knows very little, but de- 
 sires to- know more. He prayed for the enlightening influ- 
 ence of the Spirit, the pardon of his innumerable sins through 
 Jesus Christ, and for his family. Also, that God would assist 
 him in passing the new year without sin. 
 
 “ Saturday , 25th. — More than a week has elapsed since my 
 last entry. During this time Suen has learned much of the 
 difficulties of the narrow w r ay, and much also of his own heart. 
 Last Sunday he came for the first time to spend the Sabbath 
 with us. This change from his ordinary habits increased the 
 opposition of his family. He has had occasion several times 
 to reproach himself for not being able to exercise a meek and 
 loving spirit while they were opposing him. He was sur- 
 prised that he had so little strength, 1 ’and also to find it so dif- 
 ficult to lead a Christian life. Last Thursday, in answer to 
 xny inquiries, he told me that he was having a great deal of 
 difficulty ; that he had been led into sin, and was feeling very 
 sadly about it. The night before was the time for worshiping 
 the ‘ God of the Kitchen,’ and he was expected to perform 
 the act of worship). His mother spoke to him about it several 
 times, but he put her off, saying, ‘ Wait a little.’ At last, when 
 she asked him again, he said, £ I have worshiped ;’ thus de- 
 ceiving her, and so the matter dropped. He felt that he had 
 done wrong, and asked forgiveness in prayer, but was still 
 much troubled. After he had retired for the night, he told 
 his wife more particularly of his determination to be a Chris- 
 tian, and she became so angry that she threatened to leave 
 him and go west to Tsi-nan. I told him that I was sorry, but 
 
 . K 2 
 
394 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 he had only one course to pursue, and that was to obey God 
 at all hazards, and leave the result with Him. I said, more- 
 over, that he need not expect God’s blessing till he undeceived 
 his family with reference to the affair of the ‘ Kitchen God ’ 
 and confessed his fault. I urged him too to declare more de- 
 cidedly his determination with reference to all idolatrous serv- 
 ices, so as to avoid similar difficulties in the future. He seem- 
 ed to be much depressed in spirits, and I feared that he might 
 not have strength to stand the trial. Yesterday he did not 
 come, and I was not a little anxious. To-day he told me that 
 night before last he informed his family clearly of his de- 
 termination to have nothing more to do with idolatry in any 
 form, and confessed the sin of deception the night previous. 
 They were so much distressed that they all began to cry and 
 lament, and he cried with them. His mother spoke more 
 harshly to him than ever before, and said some things which 
 made him feel very sadly. His wife is the most severe of all, 
 and he feels his case a very trying one. He says that his 
 family have not at all given up the idea of reclaiming him (as 
 they regard it). They look at him as out of his mind, and 
 think that I have given him some mysterious potion, by which 
 I have gained a great p*ower over him. I am delighted to 
 see evidences that he is being taught of the Spirit how to 
 pray. I have this evening received a note saying that his 
 family have laid a trap to keep him from coming to the serv- 
 ice to-morrow, and that it is uncertain whether he can get 
 away or not. May God give him grace to do his whole duty, 
 and overrule these trials for his good. 
 
 “ Tuesday , 28 th . — Day before yesterday Suen did not at- 
 tend the Sunday service. The nieans which his family em- 
 ployed to keep him at home was that of hiding his clothes in 
 the night, so that he had nothing to dress himself with in the 
 morning. I fear that he is altogether too yielding and irreso- 
 lute. Tsao tells me that Suen was at his place yesterday, 
 and produced the same impression on him. I can but com- 
 mit him into the hands of Christ, who alone can keep him 
 
RELAPSE TO HEATHENISM. 
 
 895 
 
 from falling. He has asked leave of absence for the holidays. 
 May God give him strength to withstand temptation. 
 
 “Saturday, Feb. 1st — Yesterday Suen came to make a 
 New Year’s call. I am happy to write that I am in a meas- 
 ure relieved from the anxiety I had felt about him. In the 
 first place, he met me with an affectionate warmth which I 
 have not noticed in him before. Many of his remarks also 
 indicated that his interest was not abated. Judging from my 
 exhortations that I had some fears respecting the state of his 
 mind, he said, ‘ I am sorry that you have so much anxiety and 
 trouble about me. I assure you I have not given up my reso- 
 lutions ; God has not forsaken me, and my purpose is still 
 fixed.’ I cautioned him not to trust in self, and that when he 
 thought he was doing well, he might be but following the sug- 
 gestions of Satan. He is now finding indeed that his enemies 
 are they of his own household. His old mother is very much 
 distressed, feeling that her son is being led away by a false 
 religion. His sister, who was disposed to sympathize with 
 him at first, has fallen in with the prevailing opposition of the 
 family. His wife is violent. The night before the Chinese 
 New Year, while he was talking with her and declaring his 
 determination to be a Christian, she made avow or oath that 
 she would in that case kill herself ; and, in attestation of it, 
 endeavored to cut off her finger, and injured it very severely. 
 His little boy is entirely under the influence of his mother. 
 Suen hardly knows what to do. . I urged upon him the duty 
 of a strict observance of the Sabbath. He fears that if he at- 
 tends church on the coming Sunday, his wife may do some- 
 thing desperate, but positively promises that he will come out 
 the Sunday after.” 
 
 Here the subject is discontinued in my journal. The New 
 Year holidays, with their varied temptations, proved a dis- 
 astrous season for poor Suen. When they were over, he re- 
 turned to his regular employment, continuing to profess an 
 undiminished interest in personal religion, but he had now lit-4fc 
 tie disposition to converse on the subject, and his manner was 
 
396 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 constrained. He had shrunk back from bearing the cross, and 
 his course was from that time backward and downward. The 
 work in which he was engaged with me, and which he before 
 so much en j oyed, was now distasteful, and was carelessly per- 
 formed. In the course of a few weeks his connection with 
 me became as irksome to him as it was unsatisfactory to me, 
 and he left my employment. It is hardly necessary to add 
 that I parted from him under these circumstances with deep 
 regret and disappointment. 
 
 But there are still greater trials than such as I have de- 
 scribed above. They come from the defections of those who 
 have formally taken upon themselves the vows of the Lord 
 Jesus; who have been loved and trusted as brethren; who 
 have run well, and borne a decided testimony for the Gospel 
 for months and years ; but have afterward fallen under the 
 power of temptation, and brought reproach upon the cause of 
 Christ. It was only to be expected that in China, where 
 Satan has held undisputed sway over the minds of men for so 
 many centuries, the few native Christians and churches that 
 are initiating aggressive movements against his supremacy 
 would be the ob j ects of his bitterest malignity and most vio- 
 lent assaults. Perhaps we should not wonder that the fold is 
 sometimes unexpectedly entered, and the sheep, or some whom 
 we had thought the sheep of Christ, destroyed. The tempta- 
 tions of native Christians are varied and numerous. In Chi- 
 na, the world, the flesh, and the devil seem each to have an 
 additional power, and the condition of Christ’s people as a 
 “church militant” is strikingly illustrated. Young converts, 
 ignorant of themselves and the devices of Satan, are almost un- 
 consciously led into temptation, and frequently become dis- 
 couraged and disheartened. Still oftener, seeing the faults of 
 others more clearly than their own, and adopting a high 
 standard of Christian duty, they become censorious, and 
 strifes and contentions spring up in the church. But the wiles 
 J of the adversary are often overruled to defeat his own pur- 
 poses. Nothing is more consolatory and inspiring than to see 
 
AN ESTRANGEMENT OVERRULED FOR GOOD. 397 
 
 the young, inexperienced, and self-confident Christian, after 
 having yielded to temptation, cling closer to the Saviour with 
 a truer humility and more earnest faith, and rise to renew the 
 contest with new resolution and assurance. 
 
 I have known repeated instances in which misunderstand- 
 ings and estrangements between Christian brethren have in 
 the end resulted in strengthening and cementing their friend- 
 ship, as well as increasing their influence. About ten years 
 ago our mission in Ningpo was just establishing out-stations 
 inYu-yiao and San-poh, in both of which places we now have 
 vigorous and growing churches. A misunderstanding arose 
 between the two natives who had charge of these out-stations ; 
 their wives, both most estimable Christian women, taking an 
 active part in the inception and continuance of the dispute. 
 Each party felt itself aggrieved, and that the other was the 
 sole offender. The breach became wider, so that there was 
 very little intercourse between the two families, though they 
 labored in adjoining districts. This state of feeling inter- 
 fered seriously with their happiness and usefulness, and be- 
 gan to be talked about by the lew converts whom they had 
 gathered. In visiting the out-stations, I had several conversa- 
 tions with them about this matter, but their difficulties seem- 
 ed to them insurmountable, and neither was disposed to yield. 
 In the course of a few months I told them very seriously that 
 I thought there was no j ust cause for this estrangement, and 
 that they were sinning against each other, and against Christ ; 
 and that they could not expect a blessing upon themselves and 
 their work until these differences were adjusted, urging them 
 both to think and pray over the matter. I told the assistant 
 at Yu-yiao that, when I came round again, he must go with 
 me to San-poh and see his brother face to face, and if possible, 
 then and there, put an end to these differences. He made no 
 reply, but his silence and manner showed that he felt the im- 
 portance of such a step, and was willing and desirous to do 
 what was really his duty. About a month afterward we were 
 slowly wending, our way in a native boat, through the popu- 
 
898 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 Ions plain of San-poh, toward the little village of Siao-gyiao- 
 deo. Arriving at the house of the native assistant there, aft- 
 er the customary salutations and a few inquiries about his 
 work, I said to him, “ Do not trouble yourself to entertain me 
 to-day, for I have been a more frequent guest in your house 
 of late than your old friend whom I have brought with me 
 and, leaving the two together, I retired. In a few hours one 
 of them made his appearance from the room where they had 
 been closeted together, and I asked him, “ What success ?” 
 He answered, “ First we prayed together, and then I com- 
 menced saying to him that it was my fault that we had been 
 so long separated. He interrupted me, insisting that the fault 
 was his. He would not let me make any confessions, nor 
 could I him; and I assure you we have had a ‘good time.’” 
 Under the power of grace, each had been led to see a beam in 
 his own eye, and only a mote in his brother’s ; their difficulties 
 vanished, and their old friendship revived with new force, and 
 has, I think, never since been interrupted. 
 
 The views of missionaries differ somewhat as to the prin- 
 ciples by which they should be governed in admitting inquir- 
 ers to full church membership ; some receiving them at an 
 early period, and others keeping them a longer time on trial. 
 It is a difficult matter to determine practically the best course 
 to take in each case as it arises, and there seems to be dan- 
 ger of going to one extreme or the other. Of course, the 
 number and the character of the native Christians in different 
 stations will depend much on the view which is adopted as to 
 this matter, and the equally important one of church disci- 
 pline. On the whole, the number of defections is smaller 
 than, under the circumstances, might be expected. In the 
 missions connected with our own church, the proportion, as 
 near as I could estimate it, was about seven per cent, of the 
 whole number admitted; and other missions have reported 
 about the same result. In some cases, the administration of 
 discipline is immediately followed by the happiest effects ; in 
 others, persons suspended or excommunicated are brought 
 
THE OBSERVANCE OF THE SABBATH. 
 
 399 
 
 back after a period of months or years ; others seem to be 
 given over to Satan ; and the final result of their defection is 
 veiled in thS depths of the future. 
 
 Some of the principal difficulties of native Christians grow 
 out of the social idolatrous customs of the country. The ques- 
 tion as to eating things offered to idols comes up in precisely 
 the same form in which it was presented to the Apostles in 
 early times. In the case of the funeral of a relative of a na- 
 tive Christian in families all the other members of which are 
 idolaters, it is difficult to determine precisely what course the 
 Christian should take. He must endeavor to avoid complic- 
 ity with idolatry, on the one hand, and the appearance of dis- 
 regard for deceased relatives, on the other. Again, we some- 
 times go into the house of a native Christian, and find a rep- 
 resentation of the Kitchen God in its accustomed place, with 
 incense burning before it, and perhaps other objects of wor- 
 ship exposed to view. This fact is necessarily calculated to 
 excite suspicion. But the native Christian may happen to 
 have a strong-minded wife, who will restore the Kitchen God 
 to its shrine as often as it is removed, and insists on her right 
 to adhere to the customs of her people and worship what she 
 chooses. Here, too, it is difficult to determine how far a 
 Christian man ought to rule in his own house, and what con- 
 cessions may be made on the plea of peace and necessity. 
 
 Perhaps the principal difficulty which Chinese Christians 
 meet with relates to the observance of the Sabbath. A labor- 
 er is in danger of being thrown out of employment if he will 
 not work whenever his employer wishes him. A shop-keeper 
 may lose his customers if he does not. keep his doors open at 
 all times. When I went to China, it was an occasional subject 
 of discussion among missionaries whether we had the right, 
 under the circumstances, to insist upon the strict observance 
 of the Sabbath as a necessary condition of church membership. 
 The matter seems, however, to be one in which we have no 
 discretion. If this duty is of divine obligation, we must re- 
 quire it at all hazards. I believe that a strict adherence to it 
 
400 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 will always be found practicable, and is not only desirable, but 
 absolutely necessary to the existence of a pure Christianity in 
 any country. 
 
 An experience of one of our church members in Ningpo 
 will illustrate this subject, as well as some important phases 
 of Chinese life and character to which I have not referred. 
 I commenced my first attempts at chapel preaching in what is 
 called the Bing-gyiao-deo chapel at Ningpo. I noticed almost 
 every day a man in working dress, who would come in with 
 a very accustomed air, take his seat in one corner, and listen 
 quietly, while he smoked his pipe. I learned that he was the 
 proprietor of the adjoining bean-curd shop, and that he was 
 familiarly called Deo-vu Ali-san — “ Bean-curd Ah-san.” lie 
 had been acquainted with our operations in the chapel from 
 its first erection, and came in to see how the young mission- 
 ary succeeded. Sometimes when conversations with visitors 
 led me into regions of the Ningpo dialect, which I- had not 
 thoroughly explored, having at that time been in China less 
 than a year, he would come to my help, and render me very 
 opportune assistance. One day, after dismissing the audience, 
 I asked him to stay a while, as I wished to talk with him. I 
 told him I was delighted to notice his knowledge of Christian- 
 ity, and his disposition to defend it, and asked him why he did 
 not become a Christian. He replied, with his characteristic 
 promptness and frankness, “ I do believe Christianity, and I 
 would like to be a Christian ; but I’ll tell you wdiat the diffi- 
 culty is. I sell bean-curd for a living ; and when I weigh it 
 out to customers (and here he balanced his long pipe-stem 
 nicely over his finger), I always feel a disposition to make the 
 bean-curd side of the scale the lighter, and I know that is not 
 consistent with Christianity. I don’t feel ready to change my 
 practice yet ; I know what the Bible requires ; and if ever I 
 make a profession of my faith, I mean to live up to it. . Be- 
 sides, there is the Sabbath question. The bean-curd which I 
 prepare in the morning must be sold the same day or early the 
 next morning, or it will spoil, and be a dead loss ; and shut- 
 
SUSPENSION FROM CHURCH PRIVILEGES. 
 
 401 
 
 ting up shop the whole day would ruin me.” In the course of 
 a year I became pastor of the native church, and Ah-san not 
 long after applied for baptism. His love for the truth had 
 grown, and he had resolved to try to obey his convictions of 
 duty. From the time of his application for baptism until he 
 was received into the church, a period of several months, the 
 shop was shut every seventh day. A few months after his 
 public profession of Christianity, native church members no- 
 ticed that his door was left ajar on Sunday, and an occasional 
 customer was seen entering it. When spoken to about this, 
 he said that the neighbors would come to him and ask if he had 
 any bean-curd left over ; and if he had, he let them take it as a 
 matter of accommodation, and to keep it from spoiling. But 
 the applicants for bean-curd on Sunday became more numerous, 
 and Ah-san was less careful not to make too much on Satur- 
 day, and soon opened his shop on Sunday outright. The na- 
 tive elders expostulated with him to no effect, and I sent for 
 him to come to see me. He told me he had thought the mat- 
 ter over deliberately and seriously, and he did not believe that 
 God required him to close his shop on Sunday. It was very 
 well for us to theorize about it ; but he must provide for his 
 family, and the customers were falling off, because they would 
 buy where they could do so whenever they wished to, and 
 there was danger of his coming to want. He said further, 
 “ I am very sorry to give you so much trouble, but I can not 
 help it. If you feel it your duty to suspend me from the 
 privileges of the church, or to excommunicate me, I will not 
 complain • I shall do what I think is right, and so must you. 
 I mean to live and die a Christian. I will never deny my 
 Saviour, but I have determined to open my shop on Sunday. 
 I hope the brethren who live in my neighborhood will come 
 into my shop every evening as before, to unite with us in our 
 evening service of reading the Scriptures and prayer ; I will 
 read (as I can do so better than they), and explain a little, 
 and then I wiU call on them to pray.” 
 
 This was Ah-san’s fixed resolution ; and, as he anticipated, 
 
402 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 he was suspended from the communion of the church. In 
 carrying out his purpose, he met with a difficulty in his fam- 
 ily. His wife had united with the church in company with 
 him. She was as decided a character as he, and as firmly set 
 in her ways. I remember a complaint against her which he 
 once made to me as her pastor. Said he, “ I believe my wife 
 is a true Christian, but she will not leave off some of her old 
 lieathen habits. When she becomes warm and earnest in her 
 private devotions, she kneels down and strikes her head 
 against the floor j ust as she used to do when she worshiped 
 idols. When I am in the shop here, I often hear her up stairs, 
 bump — bump — bump ; I wish you would speak to her about 
 it.” This woman declared that she would never have any 
 thing to do with making or selling bean-curd on Sunday. A 
 daughter, who assisted her parents somewhat in the work, 
 sided with her mother, and poor Ah-san was obliged to do 
 what he could on Sunday alone. 
 
 Another difficulty arose which neither he nor any one else 
 had anticipated. The week following his suspension, he had, 
 as he told me afterward, an unpleasant pricking sensation on 
 the back of his neck, with a slight swelling. In a few days it 
 became a very painful boil, and the next Sunday he was from 
 necessity obliged to shut his shop. Some of the native Chris- 
 tians called on him and suggested that there might be a prov- 
 idence in this. He replied, “ Oh, I have had boils before ; it 
 will all be over in a day or two.” But the boil grew more 
 painful, and proved to be a carbuncle ; week after week it 
 gave him hardly a moment’s sleep ; but he kept up his cour- 
 age, hoping that every week would be the last. He spent a 
 large sum of money in employing physicians, but to no pur- 
 pose. He became very weak and emaciated, and we began 
 to fear that his sickness might terminate fatally. At last 
 a change came over his feelings ; he acknowledged that he felt 
 that God’s hand was in his sufferings, and declared his deter- 
 mination that, if God would spare his life and restore him to 
 health, his shop should never be opened again on Sunday. Very 
 
SABBATH OBSERVANCE IN YU-YIAO. 
 
 403 
 
 soon after this he was relieved from pain, and recovered his 
 health. When I last heard from him, he was still to be found 
 in his bean-curd shop by the side of the Bing-gyiao deo chap- 
 el ; his shop is strictly closed on Sunday, and he has not come 
 to want. 
 
 Just before leaving China, I had practical evidence of the 
 strictness with which the Sabbath is observed in our out-sta- 
 tions. After a pleasant visit in San-poh, Mr. Dodd and my- 
 self arrived at Yu-yiao on Friday evening, to spend sometime 
 in that station. Most of Friday evening, Saturday, and Sat- 
 urday evening till a late hour were spent in examining candi- 
 dates for baptism. On Sunday fifteen were received into the 
 church — ten women and five men, and sat down with us for 
 the first time at the Lord’s table. It was a time long to be 
 remembered by us. The scene we then witnessed was almost 
 enough to satisfy a missionary for a life of labor and trial, 
 and one on Avhich angels might look with delight. It was ten 
 o’clock at night before all the native Christians had left 
 the chapel for their homes. Being very desirous of return- 
 ing to Ningpo as soon on Monday as possible, as I was busily 
 engaged in preparing to return to this country, I suggested to 
 Mr. Dodd that we might take our bundles to our boat, which 
 was lying about a quarter of a mile from the chapel, and sleep 
 there, taking advantage of the ebb-tide, by which the boatmen 
 could leave for Ningpo at twelve in the night. The native 
 preacher, Kying Ling-yiu, hearing of our plan, requested us 
 not to do so for the following reason. Said he, “ Our people 
 here are very stiff on the Sabbath question. Some time since 
 a letter came here from Mr. Rankin, at Ningpo, to be for- 
 warded in haste to San-poh. It arrived on Saturday. A 
 passenger and mail boat was to leave the next day, but there 
 would be none on Monday, and I feared that the detaining of 
 the letter till Tuesday might be attended by serious inconven- 
 ience. So I handed it to Jun-kao, requesting him on his re- 
 turn home to give it to the boatman to take by the first op- 
 portunity. ‘ Why,’ said he, ‘ the boat starts on Sunday. I 
 
404 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 will do no such thing !’ and the letter was not sent till Tues- 
 day. Now I know that what you propose to do is perfectly 
 right, but I fear that it would give rise to remark and misap- 
 prehension, and might do some harm.” We thanked him 
 for his frankness, and, to prevent lowering in any degree the 
 standard of Sabbath observance already established in this in- 
 fant church, we waited till Monday P.M. 
 
 And now, with a few words respecting the man Jun-kao 
 above referred to, I will close this long chapter and this sub- 
 ject. When our native assistant first went to Yu-yiao, Jun- 
 kao was known there as one of the most notoriously wicked 
 men in the place. We little imagined that he would be among 
 the first converts there; but God had chosen him. He be- 
 came an earnest and out-spoken Christian, and, as was evident 
 to all, a truly reformed man, though he still felt it allowable 
 for him to take his wine, and sometimes took it rather'too free- 
 ly. (He has since given it up altogether.) In order to be 
 able to observe the Sabbath, he relinquished a comparatively 
 easy and lucrative employment and took up the carpenter’s 
 trade, which he learned in his youth. At the time of my vis- 
 it above referred to, he had been instrumental in bringing 
 about fifteen persons, members of his family, relatives, and 
 friends, into the church. He was by no means a perfect char- 
 acter, and probably gave more trouble to his pastor than al- 
 most any other member of the church, by his eccentricities, 
 impulsiveness, and self-will ; but it was equally true that no 
 other church member was a more efficient helper. He has 
 more than once stumbled and fallen, but he has never been ut- 
 terly cast down, and his course has on the whole been a very 
 consistent one. 
 
 These chapters on missions have far exceeded the bounds 
 which I at first intended. I trust they may have the effect to 
 satisfy the reader that there are in China true, earnest, and 
 self-sacrificing native Christians, and native churches full of 
 promise. My testimony is, and I speak of what I know from 
 personal experience and observation, having been as familiarly 
 
THE GOSPEL ADAPTED TO ALL NATIONS. 
 
 405 
 
 and intimately acquainted with many of these native Chris- 
 tians as a pastor at home can be with the members of his flock, 
 that the work of missions in China is in no sense “ a failure.” 
 The Gospel of Christ there, as elsewhere, has proved itself to be 
 “ the wisdom of God and the power of God unto salvation.” 
 
406 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXV. 
 
 ROMAN CATHOLIC MISSIONS IN CHINA. 
 
 The Manner in which the early Missionaries of Rome gained an Entrance 
 into the Chinese Empire. — Their Compromise of the Truth, and the 
 Controversies and Dissensions between different Religious Orders. — Sec- 
 ular Employments. — The Mode of prosecuting their Missionary Work.— 
 Character of the Missionaries. — Statistics of Missionary Results. — Their 
 Improvement of the Advantages of the late Treaties. — Character of the 
 Native Christians. — A Reference to the Religious Literature of the Church 
 of Rome in China.— The Excellences and Defects of the System. — Its 
 probable Influence on the Future of the Empire. 
 
 The present and prospective influence of the Church of 
 Rome upon the Chinese Empire renders the consideration of 
 the missions of that Church a matter of much interest and 
 importance. It is unnecessary to repeat the statements which 
 were made in Chapter XX. respecting the first introduction 
 of this faith into the East. 
 
 The labors of the early founders of the Roman Catholic 
 missions in China were attended with many practical diffi- 
 culties. Matteo Ricci gained an entrance into the country, 
 and a favorable consideration for his new religion, by teaching 
 astronomy and Western sciences, and thus conciliating the 
 favor of the Emperor. In retaining by, position at court 
 and making converts from the natives, he compromised the 
 truth of Christianity, and made concessions to idolatry to 
 such an extent as to call forth the most decided protest and 
 opposition of his own Church, a writer of which gives to him 
 the following character : “ Ricci was active, skillful, full of 
 schemes, and endowed with all the talents necessary to render 
 him agreeable to the great, or to gain the favor of princes ; 
 but at the same time so little versed in matters of faith that, 
 
SECULAR EMPLOYMENTS. 
 
 407 
 
 as the Bishop of Conon said, it was sufficient to read his wort? 
 on the true religion to be satisfied that he was ignorant of 
 the first principles of theology. Being more of a politician 
 than a theologian, he found the secret of remaining peacefully 
 in China. The kings found in him a man full of complai- 
 sance; the pagans a minister who accommodated himself to 
 their superstitions ; the Mandarins a polite courtier, skilled in 
 all the trickery of courts ; and the devil a faithful servant, 
 who, far from destroying, established his reign among the 
 heathen, and even extended it to the Christians. He preach- 
 ed m China the religion of Christ according to his own fancy ; 
 that is to say, he disfigured it by a faithful mixture of pagan 
 superstitions, adopting the sacrifices offered to Confucius and 
 ancestors, and teaching the Christians to assist and co-operate 
 at the worship of idols, provided they only addressed their 
 devotions to a cross covered with flowers, or secretlyfcttached 
 to one of the candles which were lighted in the temples of 
 the false gods.”* 
 
 Ricci, in tolerating the worship of Confucius and of ances- 
 tors, justified himself in taking this course on the ground that 
 these ceremonies were civil rather than religious in their char- 
 acter, being an expression of respect for the memory of 
 worthy men, rather than of divine worship paid to gods. 
 When a warm controversy arose on this subject between 
 Ricci, together with the order of Jesuits to which he belong- 
 ed, and the Dominicans, the Chinese Emperor took sides with 
 the Jesuits, and granted toleration to the religion of Rome 
 only in the form in which they taught it. 
 
 When the Pope’s assumption of supreme authority over all 
 kings and their subjects, and the contentions of the different 
 religious orders had excited the suspicion and strict surveil- 
 lance of the government, the teachers of Rome could retain 
 their position in the empire only by exercising duplicity, and 
 redoubling their efforts to make themselves useful to the Em- 
 peror in a secular way. Their employments were at this time 
 * “Anecdotes de le China,” tome i. pref. vi. vii. 
 
408 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 “diversified by teaching and superintending the casting of can- 
 non, and planning and constructing water-clocks and fount- 
 ains for the Emperor’s palace.' It is said, on the authority 
 of the missionaries themselves, that in 1636 Schaal cast a num- 
 ber of cannon for the Emperor Shunclii, and “Verbiest at 
 one time cast one hundred and thirty pieces for Kanghi with 
 wonderful success : he afterward cast three hundred and 
 twenty more, which he blessed in a solemn manner, and gave 
 the name of a saint to every piece.”* 
 
 Yung-ching, the successor of Kanghi, issued an order in 
 1724 prohibiting the propagation of the Roman Catholic re- 
 ligion, and commanding all the missionaries not required at 
 Pekin for scientific purposes to leave the country. Some of 
 them succeeded in secreting themselves ; and others who 
 were sent away, stealthily found their way back to their flocks. 
 During#lie period of more than a hundred years of persecu- 
 tion which ensued, many of the native Christians and some of 
 the foreign teachers suffered death for their devotion to their 
 religion. The manner in which the missionaries were accus- 
 tomed to prosecute their labors previous to the recent trea- 
 ties of toleration is given in the following extracts from Wil- 
 liams’s “ Middle Kingdom ” and Edkins’s “ Religious Condi- 
 tion of the Chinese 
 
 “When a new missionary arrives, he is lodged with his 
 brethren until a trusty guide comes from the country to con- 
 duct him to his appointed place. He adopts the Chinese 
 garb ; and with little or no knowledge of the language, com- 
 mits himself to the care of the courier. ‘ Sometimes on foot, 
 sometimes in boats, sometimes like a rich man in his sedan, 
 and sometimes under the guise of an officer in his chariot, he 
 pursues his course. If suspected, which is often the case, 
 from the blue color of his eyes, the length or turn of his nose, 
 or the fairness of his skin, he turns his face to the wall ; if 
 addressed with impertinent questions, he either feigns deaf- 
 ness, or professes not to understand the dialect of the ques- 
 * Williams’s “ Middle Kingdom. ” 
 
MANNER OF GATHERING CONVERTS. 409 
 
 tioner. If the case Decome an extreme one, and his conduct- 
 or can not browbeat or evade the challenger, he declares him 
 an idiot, whom he is conducting to his friends in another part 
 of the empire ; or the party seek safety in sudden flight, and 
 come together again under cover of darkness.’ When they 
 reach their field of labor, the new missionaries are placed un- 
 der the direction of their associates, spending some of their 
 time in learning the language, and in hearing confessions with 
 the aid of a manual prepared for that purpose. As they ad- 
 vance in knowledge of the language and of their charge, they 
 go from one Christianity (as the separate circles of converts 
 are called) to another, hearing confessions and masses, admin- 
 istering baptism and extreme unction, and performing the va- 
 rious duties belonging to a pastor’s office. They are constant- 
 ly changing their residence, which both diminishes the chances 
 of their detection, and tends to the preservation of their 
 health.” 
 
 “ The numbers of the native Catholic community in Chi- 
 na are kept up chiefly at present by teaching within the com- 
 munity itself. Few converts, comparatively, are made from 
 the surrounding heathen. The successive persecutions insti- 
 tuted by the government checked the aggressive efforts of 
 the missions, and chilled the zeal of those who were contem- 
 plating the adoption of the Catholic faith. As the mission- 
 aries arrive from Europe, they are conveyed secretly into the 
 interior under the care of converts, and pass their time after- 
 ward entirely in the society of the members of the com- 
 munity. Strangers are not permitted to know of their pres- 
 ence. The boatmen or chair-bearers who conduct them from 
 place to place are native Christians. So also are their serv- 
 ants at the residences provided for them. On their reaching 
 any station to perform their official duties, information is 
 quickly communicated to all the residents who regard them 
 as their spiritual guides, and they then assemble to receive 
 their blessing. It is indispensable when they enter the room 
 where the European priest is seated that they should perform 
 
 S 
 
410 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 a prostration before him. No one outside of the communi- 
 ty is allowed to see the foreign priest till he has gone through 
 a course of instruction under the native catechists and priests. 
 When a heathen is ready for baptism he may have an inter- 
 view with the ‘spiritual father from the Western ocean,’ but 
 not usually sooner. This circumspection is rendered necessa- 
 ry by the state of the laws in China, which have hitherto not 
 permitted the entrance of foreigners into the interior of the 
 country. Very irksome is the restraint under which foreign 
 priests are placed, for it is not considered safe for them to be 
 noticed by any eyes except those of trusted friends. Some- 
 times when a rumor is spread of their presence in a walled 
 city, they are conveyed in a sedan chair out of the gate, and 
 brought in again by the gate on the opposite side of the city. 
 This is done to induce the belief that they have taken their 
 departure. They usually, however, avoid cities altogether 
 and remain in the country, where accommodations are pro- 
 vided for them under the superintendence of the converts. 
 They are liable to ejection at any moment from their tempo- 
 rary lodging-place, should suspicion be excited and inquiry 
 be made for them. Hue speaks in his ‘ Travels in Tartary 
 and Thibet’ of the enjoyment occasioned to him and his com- 
 panion by their sense of freedom when they had passed be- 
 yond the Great Wall into Tartary, because there they could 
 allow themselves to be seen without fear of capture. In 
 these circumstances, the gathering in of new converts is left 
 to the zeal and efficiency of the native converts.” 
 
 Many of the early Romish missionaries of China were men 
 of decided ability and learning, and of earnest zeal and devo- 
 tion. Those of the present day, though not wanting in the 
 latter qualities, are, judging from those whom I have met, 
 from the comparative want of literary works of a high order 
 of recent date, and from the character of native converts, in- 
 ferior in ability and culture to their predecessors. 
 
 The following statistics, taken from Williams’s “ Middle 
 Kingdom,” will give some idea of the state of Roman Catho- 
 
STATISTICS OF THE ROMISH CHURCH. 411 
 
 lie missions soon after the treaty which opened the “ five 
 ports “The summary for the year 1846 gives twelve bish- 
 ops, seven or eight coadjutors, about eighty foreign mission- 
 aries, and ninety native priests. The number of converts in 
 the whole is now not far from 400 , 000 . The number of 
 schools is not given ; in Sz-chuen alone there are fifty-four for 
 boys, and one hundred and fourteen for girls. There are six 
 colleges for educating native priests, including that at Naples, 
 but we can not learn the total number of pupils. The amount 
 of funds received from Europe for them all in 1846 was about 
 $ 59 , 000 .” 
 
 Under the protection of the recent treaties the missions of 
 the Romish Church are being carried on openly, and with re- 
 newed activity and very decided results. The number of for- 
 eign priests has been greatly increased ; new schools and 
 foundling asylums have been established ; and many female 
 assistants have entered the field, and are busily employed in 
 connection with foundling asylums ; visiting from house to 
 house, dispensing medicine, conciliating the good-will of the 
 people, and baptizing the children. Under the provisions of 
 the late treaties, land and important building-sites which were 
 taken from the Roman Catholics during the persecutions of 
 former years have been restored, thus giving them prestige 
 among the people, and furnishing them with additional means 
 for extending their operations. 
 
 The comparatively large number of converts connected 
 with the Romish Church is readily accounted for by the length 
 of time during which its missions have been prosecuted ; 
 the striking resemblance, described in Chapter VIII. between 
 its doctrines and rites and those of Buddhism; by the fact 
 that very little knowledge or evidence of a change of heart 
 and fife is deemed requisite to church membership ; and the 
 freedom accorded to native converts in allowing them to work 
 on Sunday, and to conform in many respects to the supersti- 
 tious practices of their countrymen. Their religion consists in 
 being baptized, and attending regularly the mass and the con- 
 
412 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 fessional, and believing that their souls are safe in the keeping 
 of the Church and the priest. In order to participate in the 
 benefits conferred by the Church, they are taught that they 
 must abjure all connection with the worship of Chinese 
 gods, and never deny, on pain of eternal punishment, the re- 
 ligion which they have adopted. The result is, that they gen- 
 erally keep aloof from the idolatrous worship of Buddhism 
 and Tauism, bear testimony to the universal duty of worship- 
 ing one God and believing in one Saviour, and will generally 
 adhere to their religious professions to the death. But in re- 
 nouncing idolatry as taught by Buddhism, they still practice 
 it in another form ; worshiping saints and intercessors, pic- 
 tures, images, and crucifixes ; believing in works of merit and 
 supererogation ; exercising blind faith in their religious teach- 
 ers, and carrying about with them some engraving of our 
 Saviour, or the cross, or other symbol, which is regarded with 
 superstitious reverence, and sometimes as possessed of a tal- 
 ismanic charm. 
 
 An idea of the character of Romanism in China may be de- 
 rived from their literature written for the instruction and ad- 
 monition of the faithful. While it contains many works full 
 of Christian truth and of sterling literary merit, it includes 
 others as full of superstition, fables, and pious frauds as the 
 works of Buddhism ; thus presenting another strong resem- 
 blance to it. Before leaving China, I made a collection of 
 many of their books, which I spent some time in reading. 
 Some of them have left an impression on my mind which I 
 can never forget ; showing how well they are calculated to ar- 
 rest the attention and impress the memory. I remember one 
 in particular, which comprised several volumes, and had for its 
 special object the explaining, illustrating, and enforcing of the 
 different dogmas and practices of the Romish faith ; such as 
 celibacy, the celebration of the mass, making pilgrimages to 
 holy places, etc. The Ten Commandments professedly form 
 the basis of the book, and each doctrine or practice, in order 
 to give it a divine sanction, is, by some means or other, asso- 
 
ROMAN CATHOLIC LITERATURE. 
 
 413 
 
 dated with one of the commandments. The peculiar feature 
 of this work is found in the alleged historical facts and expe- 
 riences which are cited to prove the truth, and establish the 
 importance of the rites and usages of the Church. These 
 facts are evidently intended for those who are ignorant and 
 uninformed, and are remarkably adapted to work upon their 
 religious or superstitious fears. Some of them- 1 will give 
 from memory. 
 
 A whole community of the faithful are about to be massa- 
 cred by an unbelieving king, and his soldiers are in attendance 
 for this purpose, when he offers them life on the one condition 
 that they shall verify the statement of their sacred book by 
 causing a mountain before them to move by means of their 
 prayers. A priest quiets the fears and trepidation of his fol- 
 lowers, appears before the king, calls upon God to move the 
 mountain, and it moves- ! and the astonished king becomes a 
 true believer and propagator of the faith ! 
 
 A young girl, who had devoted herself to a life of celibacy, 
 is sought in marriage by the son of a person of wealth and 
 rank, and is urged and tempted in a variety of ways to break 
 her vow. In one of these efforts to shake her constancy, a 
 person is struck dead in her presence, and then through her 
 prayers he is immediately restored to life. She is then, on ac- 
 count of her exercise of mysterious and miraculous powers, 
 accused of being a witch, and condemned as such to be burn- 
 ed ; but the fire refuses to do its work, and the funeral pile is 
 consumed to ashes, while she sits quietly and unconcerned, 
 without even the smell of the flames on her garments. She 
 afterward dies voluntarily, and reappears as a beautiful virgin 
 clothed in white to console her mourning parents. It might 
 be interesting to learn which of the Ten Commandments this 
 book refers to as enjoining celibacy. The story of the girl 
 j ust given is connected with the third commandment, “ Thou 
 shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.” This 
 is done in a manner something as follows: “It is a solemn 
 thing to make a vow to God. Breaking such a vow is 1 taking 
 
414 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 the name of Gocl in vain therefore the vow of celibacy must 
 never be broken.” 
 
 A man in time of persecution was urged to deny his Sav- 
 iour, but refused, asseverating that the name of Jesus was 
 deeply engraven on his heart. He was immediately killed, 
 his heart extracted, and the name was actually found clearly 
 represented on it ! 
 
 A company from Germany who had visited the Holy Land 
 were just about going on board ship on their return. As mass 
 was about to be performed in a church near by, one of the 
 company declared that he could never neglect or turn away 
 from this solemn ceremony, and determined to attend, even 
 though he should lose his passage. The vessel sailed without 
 him, and he started on his pilgrimage home on foot. He was 
 soon overtaken by a person on horseback, who asked him to 
 ride. In the course of a few hours, during which the time 
 was beguiled with delightful religious conversation, he found 
 himself at his cottage door in Germany ; and his conductor, 
 who proved an apparition of some celestial being, vanished. 
 The less pious and scrupulous of the party arrived at home in 
 the ordinary course of travel in about two months. 
 
 An earnest believer who determined to go regularly to 
 mass, though his employer insisted on his keeping busy at the 
 plough, was relieved by an angel in the form of a farm laborer, 
 who attended the plough while the laborer was absent at the 
 service. 
 
 Scoffers and unbelievers are dealt with in this book in a 
 very summary and frightful manner. Once upon a time, when 
 a “ good Catholic ” was going somewhere on a pilgrimage to 
 obtain sacred ashes, he was told by a person with whom he 
 was stopping by the way that he could get enough ashes in 
 his kitchen without going any farther ; whereupon the heap 
 of ashes in the kitchen was lifted up by a furious wind and 
 blown into his eyes, ears, and nose, tormenting and frighten- 
 ing him to such an extent that, in his frenzy, he jumped into 
 the canal and drowned himself. On another occasion, a per- 
 
SINCERITY AND CONSTANCY OF CONVERTS. 415 
 
 son unfriendly to the holy religion was ridiculing the elevating 
 of the host among a company of friends at dinner by going 
 through the forms connected with that ceremony by way of 
 amusement. When his hands were uplifted in the act of 
 blessing the host, to the horror of all present, they were imme- 
 diately fixed in that posture, and remained so through life ; so 
 that when he was buried, a coffin was made of a peculiar shape 
 adapted to accommodate this unnatural position of the body ! 
 
 These are samples of the kind of matter of which this book 
 is full. From the foregoing statements and representations 
 taken from the Roman Catholic literature of China, the reader 
 can draw his own inference respecting the character of the 
 missionaries and native Christians of that Church. I would 
 not be understood, however, as presenting this book as a fair 
 sample of their literature generally, though many others have 
 a strong resemblance to it. That one such book is sanctioned 
 and tolerated in this enlightened age by the adherents of any 
 religion, Christian or pagan, may well excite our wonder. 
 That there are many persons among the missionaries and con- 
 verts of the Romish Church in China who are honest and sin- 
 cere in their religious convictions, I do not doubt. I rejoice to 
 hope and believe also, that the truth of God, though held by 
 them in a corrupted form, and with a large admixture of the 
 commandments of men, has, by the blessing of God, been the 
 means of the spiritual regeneration and salvation of many. In 
 the language of Dr. Williams, to whose admirable work on 
 China I have so often had occasion to refer, “ The letters of 
 some of the missionaries to their own friends breathe a spirit 
 of pious ardor and true Christian principle worthy of all 
 imitation. * * * * Many of their converts also exhibit the 
 greatest constancy in their profession, suffering persecution, 
 torture, imprisonment, banishment, and death, rather than 
 deny their faith, though every inducement of prevarication 
 and mental reservation was held out to them by the magis- 
 trates to avoid the necessity of proceeding to extreme meas- 
 ures. If suffering the loss of all things is an evidence of 
 
416 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 piety, many of them have proved their title to it in many ways. 
 But until there shall be a complete separation from idolatry 
 and superstition ; until the confessional shall be abolished, and 
 the worship of the Virgin, wearing crosses and rosaries, and 
 reliance on ceremonies and penances be stopped; until the 
 entire Scriptures and Decalogue be given to the converts ; 
 and until, in short, the great doctrine of justification by faith 
 be substituted for the many forms of justification by works, 
 the mass of converts to Romanism in China can hardly be con- 
 sidered as much better than baptized pagans. Their works 
 and influence upon their pagan countrymen show how little 
 leaven of godliness there has been in the lump, and both priest 
 and people can not well refuse to be judged by evidence fur- 
 nished by themselves.” 
 
 That such a religion, holding, though imperfectly, the great 
 truths of the unity of God and salvation through a Redeemer, 
 and thus contrasting favorably with the gross forms of Chinese 
 idolatry, while, at the same time, it adapts itself to the cus- 
 toms and prejudices of the people, should speedily gain cur- 
 rency among such a people as the Chinese, is not surprising. 
 It will no doubt have a powerful influence in co-operating with 
 other causes to subvert and overthrow the existing systems of 
 idolatry; but we may not look to it to supply the Chinese 
 with a pure, vital, and aggressive Christianity. It may spread 
 rapidly at first, but it can not bear the ordeal of free discus- 
 sion, which it must ere long meet with. At present, in so 
 wide a field, the representatives of the Romish and the Prot- 
 estant Churches labor apart. But when the influence of both 
 shall have extended, and the reign of Buddhism and Tauism 
 shall have passed away, the struggle will ultimately be in the 
 East, as in the West, between the two forms of Christianity, 
 Protestantism and Popery. The appeal will be to the sacred 
 Scriptures, the common ground of our faith. Our confidence 
 as to the result is in the power of God’s truth, accompanied 
 by the blessing of His Spirit. 
 
THE LEADER “OF THE TAI-PING REBELLION. 417 
 
 CHAPTER XXVI. 
 
 THE TAI-PIN G- REBELLION. 
 
 The Interest which has been felt by Western Nations in the Tai-ping Re- 
 bellion. — Early Life of Hung-sew-tswen. — He receives the Bible and 
 Tracts from Missionaries. — His Sickness and fancied Revelations. — His 
 Attention is directed anew to the Christian Books. — He constructs from 
 them a new System of Religion, commences propagating it, and gains 
 many Converts. — The Steps by which the Adherents of this corrupt 
 Eorm of Christianity became an Insurgent Army.— The long Struggle 
 for Empire, and the final Defeat and Overthrow of the Tai-ping Rebel- 
 lion. 
 
 Few events connected with China have within the last 
 twenty years excited as much interest in Western lands, or 
 been as often referred to in our public prints, as the rebellions 
 and civil Avars which are desolating different parts of the 
 country, and producing the impression in the minds of some 
 not familiarly acquainted with the character and history of 
 the government that a state of strife and anarchy is its nor- 
 mal condition. The great Tai-ping Rebellion is of special in- 
 terest to us on account of its religious, or, rather, Christian 
 character ; and for this reason, as Avell as on account of its 
 great influence on the present condition and future prospects 
 of China, it merits a special consideration. 
 
 This remarkable movement originated with a man named 
 Hung-sew-tSAven, who was born in a small town near Canton 
 in the year 1813. Though of a poor family, as he gave early 
 evidence of a bright intellect and aptness for study, his par- 
 ents and friends gave him the advantages of a Chinese educa- 
 tion ; and when about twenty years of age, he is found taking 
 part in the literary examinations at Canton. Some time be- 
 tAveen the years 1833 and 1836, while attending these exam- 
 
 S 2 
 
418 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 inations, he received from the native preacher Liang-a-fah 
 some Christian tracts, and portions of the Old and New Testa- 
 ment Scriptures. These seem to have been carelessly read, and 
 to have produced at the time but little effect upon his mind. 
 In 1837 he returned home from the literary examinations, in 
 tvhich he had been again unsuccessful, seriously ill, and in a 
 desponding state of mind. During his sickness, which con- 
 tinued for more than a month, he was subject to mental aber- 
 ration, and regarded himself as being favored with supernat- 
 ural manifestations and revelations. He thought that he was 
 washed from the impurities of his nature ; that he had a new 
 heart given to him ; and was introduced into the presence of 
 an august being, who exhorted him to lead a virtuous life and 
 exterminate demons. During his sickness he also “ often saw 
 a man of middle age, whom he called his elder brother, who 
 instructed him how to act, accompanied him in his wander- 
 ings to the uttermost regions in search of evil spirits, and as- 
 sisted him in slaying and exterminating them.” These fan- 
 cied revelations seem to have produced a deep impression on 
 his mind, and to have changed his character and outward de- 
 meanor, though, after his recovery, he returned to his quiet 
 occupation as a student and village school-teacher. 
 
 In the year 1843, just after the war with England, and the 
 establishment of new relations with Western nations, when it 
 was natural for the minds of the natives to be directed toward 
 foreigners, a friend of Hung, whose name was Le, was led to 
 read the foreign books in Hung’s library, which it appears had 
 been disregarded for years. He became much interested, and 
 through him they were again brought before the attention of 
 Hung, and were the means of giving a new shape to his life, 
 and opening before him a new and remarkable career. “ He 
 was greatly astonished to find in these books the key to his 
 own visions which he had six years before. He now under- 
 stood the venerable old man who sat upon the highest place, 
 and whom all men ought to worship, to be God, the Heavenly 
 Father ; and the man of middle age who had instructed him, 
 
SPREAD OF THE NEW RELIGION. 
 
 419 
 
 and assisted him in exterminating the demons, to be Jesus, 
 the Saviour of the world ; the demons were the idols.” 
 
 The conviction now fixed itself upon his mind that he had 
 held real communications with the God of Heaven, and had 
 been intrusted by Him with a special mission. He and his 
 friend Le studied carefully, and thought deeply on the sub- 
 jects treated of in these books. By degrees they developed a 
 system of religion containing a modicum of Christian truth, 
 together with many singular misconceptions, and vagaries 
 of their imaginations. They baptized each other, and com- 
 menced propagating among their friends and neighbors this 
 new and remarkable form of Christianity. The first con- 
 verts were made in the vicinity of their own home, including 
 several literary men or teachers, and the parents, brothers, 
 and relatives of Hung. Among the teachers was one, Fung- 
 yun-san, who afterward became a prominent actor in the his- 
 tory of this new movement. He and Hung, after losing their 
 pupils in consequence of having removed the tablet of Con- 
 fucius and abolished the religious rites paid to him in the 
 school, left their home in the beginning of 1844 to preach in 
 other parts, hoping to support themselves by selling ink and 
 writing-pencils. After visiting numerous places in the prov- 
 ince of Ivwang-se, they spent some months with a relative of 
 Hung living in the southern part of the province, and made 
 there more than one hundred converts. Fung-yun-san, fear- 
 ing to be burdensome to Hung’s relatives, left with the inten- 
 tion of returning home. On his way, he met some workmen 
 with whom he was acquainted, and remained with them, as- 
 sisting in their occupation of carrying earth, and at the same 
 time propagating his religion among them. “ Ten of them 
 soon became his converts ; and having introduced him to the 
 notice of their employer, the latter engaged him as a teacher, 
 and was shortly after himself baptized. Fung-yun-san was 
 thus enabled to remain several years in the neighborhood, 
 preaching with great zeal and such success that whole fami- 
 lies of various surnames and clans were baptized, formed con- 
 
420 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 gregations among themselves, and became extensively known 
 under the name of the ‘ Society of God-worshipers.’ ” 
 
 Hung-sew-tswen, soon after Fung had left him, also re- 
 turned home, and spent his time studying and writing on re- 
 ligious subjects and teaching others. In the summer of 1847 
 he went to Canton, where he formed the acquaintance of Mr. 
 Roberts, an American missionary of the Baptist Church, and 
 received instruction from him for two months. He then ap- 
 plied for baptism, and for a position in connection with Mr. 
 Roberts as a native preacher or assistant. Both of these pro- 
 posals Mr. Roberts declined, probably fearing, from his asking 
 a place, that he was actuated by mercenary motives. Foreign 
 missionaries ‘frequently meet with applications of this kind ; 
 and Mr. Roberts seems to have regarded this case as not dif- 
 fering particularly from others, little dreaming of the bold un- 
 dertaking which this poor and obscure country school-teacher 
 was about to initiate. 
 
 Leaving Canton, he went into Kwang-se to visit his rela- 
 tives, through whom he learned of the movements of Fung- 
 yun-san, and of his success in propagating the new faith. He 
 immediately visited the converts there, and found that they 
 had increased to about two thousand persons, and that acces- 
 sions were constantly made to their numbers from the sur- 
 rounding districts. He was welcomed by these co-religionists 
 as the founder of their sect, and his presence and sujierior 
 knowledge and ability gave a new impulse to the movement. 
 The God-worshipers soon attracted the attention of the people, 
 and their known and avowed purpose to destroy idolatry ex- 
 cited suspicion and alarm. It was not long before complaints 
 were made against them as a corrupt, dangerous, and rebel- 
 lious sect; and Fung-yun-san and another person who had 
 been a prominent iconoclast were cast into prison. The latter 
 died m jail, and the local authorities determined to send the 
 former, in charge of two policemen, to his native district. 
 “ During the journey, Fung-yun-san, in his usual manner, 
 spoke with great eloquence and in persuasive language about 
 
CONFLICT WITH THE CIVIL AUTHORITIES. 421 
 
 the doctrine, and they had not walked many miles before the 
 two policemen were won as converts. They not only agreed 
 to set him at liberty instantly, but declared themselves willing 
 to abandon their own station and follow Fung to the congre- 
 gation at Thistle Mount, where he soon after introduced them 
 as candidates for baptism.” 
 
 While the prime actors in establishing this new religion 
 were travelling hither and thither on different missions, new 
 developments were taking place among the God-worshipers 
 in Kwang-se. In their congregations for worship persons 
 would sometimes fall down in a fit or trance, and give utter- 
 ance to alleged revelations, prophecies, etc. Records were 
 made of many of these utterances, which seem to have varied 
 so much in their character that some were regarded as coming 
 from God, and some from the devil. Particular persons be- 
 came noted for their revelations, and were regarded as the ac- 
 knowledged instruments for communicating the Divine Will. 
 
 It was impossible for such a community to exist long with- 
 out coming to an open outbreak with the authorities, and such 
 an event took place in the autumn of 1850. The position of 
 the God-worshipers now became perilous in the extreme. 
 They were in danger of being sought out and exterminated as 
 a corrupt and dangerous element in the body-politic. While 
 they were obliged to sacrifice their lives or fight in self-de- 
 fense, their rapid increase in numbers, and the fancied favor 
 and protection of the God they worshiped, encouraged them 
 to undertake aggressive movements, with the object not only 
 of propagating their faith, but also of establishing an inde- 
 pendent empire. 
 
 The members of this religious society, converting their 
 property into ready-money, cast it into a common fund or 
 treasury. Hung-sew-tswen organized them into an army, and 
 introduced the strictest discipline. They first attacked indi- 
 viduals and towns which had opposed and persecuted them 
 on account of their religion, and obtained without difficulty 
 all needed supplies of food and clothing. The disaffected of 
 
422 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 tlie people flocked to their standard, and numerous bands of 
 robbers and banditti gave in their adherence, were instructed 
 in some degree in the doctrines and forms of the new religion, 
 and incorporated as a part of the army. The troops sent by 
 the government to suppress this insurrection were scattered 
 like chaff before the wind ; city after city fell before the tri- 
 umphant march of these God-worshipers, and the whole em- 
 pire was struck with surprise and terror. 
 
 Hung-sew-tswen, elated with success, and confirmed in his 
 belief of his divine commission, aspired to higher prerogatives, 
 and projected bolder plans. He proclaimed himself the head 
 of a new kingdom styled Tai-ping tien fcwoh — “ The Peace- 
 ful Heavenly Kingdom,” and assumed the title of Son of 
 Heaven. Christ was familiarly spoken of as his brother, 
 and he professed to have frequent communications from the 
 Heavenly Father. Many views of his character and mission 
 seem to have been derived from the Pentateuch. As Moses 
 was called of God to be his medium of communication with 
 the Israelites, and to found a new religion and kingdom, ex- 
 terminating the Canaanites and destroying every vestige of 
 idolatry, so he regarded himself as the chosen instrument of 
 God to declare his will, and establish a new Chinese dynasty; 
 driving out the Manchus, and introducing the worship of the 
 living and true God in the place of the false gods of Confu- 
 cianism, Buddhism, and Tauism. 
 
 Religious worship was kept up in the camp. The Sabbath 
 was observed, the day chosen by them being our Saturday, 
 or the Jewish Sabbath. The Scriptures were read and ex- 
 pounded according to their understanding of them ; prayers 
 were offered; hymns and doxologies sung in honor of the 
 Triune God ; and eloquent preachers exhorted the multitude, 
 urging them to honor and obey God, to be faithful to his 
 vicegerent the new Emperor, and to fight bravely for the es- 
 tablishment of the “heavenly dynasty;” promising positions 
 of honor and influence in the new state, as well as eternal 
 blessedness in heaven. It is said that before battle they oft- 
 
BRAVERY AND SUCCESS OF THE INSURGENTS. 423 
 
 en knelt dawn under the open heaven and invoked the protec- 
 tion and assistance of the Heavenly Father, and then charged 
 upon their enemies with the assurance of success. The strong 
 bond of union produced by common dangers, mutual depend- 
 ence, common religious sympathies, and a common aim, with 
 a faith in their destiny, and their strong religious or fanatic- 
 al zeal, gave them a power which the imperial armies could 
 not withstand. When towns or cities submitted to their au- 
 thority without opposition, they were treated with leniency ; 
 when they denied and resisted their claims, they were regard- 
 ed as acting in opposition to the will of Heaven, and conse- 
 quently as having forfeited their lives, and were devoted to 
 indiscriminate slaughter. 
 
 Such, in general, was the character of this remarkable or- 
 ganization which spread terror and desolation through the 
 interior provinces of the empire. Their course from Kwang- 
 se was to the north. Traversing the northern part of the prov- 
 ince of Kwang-se, the whole of the province of Ho-nan and part 
 of Hoo-peh, a distance of about six hundred miles, they reached 
 the largest trading-mart of China, Wu-chang, situated on the 
 Great River. Capturing and plundering this place with its 
 suburbs, and destroying a considerable part of it, they pro- 
 ceeded down the river by boats, and, after taking other less 
 important cities, possessed themselves of Rankin, which Hung- 
 sew-tswen determined to make the capital of his new king- 
 dom. So terrified were the Tartar garrison of this great and 
 powerful city that they gave up all hope of resistance and 
 plead for mercy. Belonging, however, to a race which the 
 insurgents regarded as usurpers, and which, when they con- 
 quered China, slaughtered millions of its inhabitants, they 
 were all put to death, men, women, and children, to the num- 
 ber of about twenty thousand. 
 
 When the Tai-pings had established themselves in Ran- 
 kin, they addressed themselves to the work of subjugating 
 the empire. A very important expedition started north for 
 the purpose of taking Pekin. The entire failure of this en- 
 
424 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 terprise gave to the rebellion a serious check, and encouraged 
 the reigning dynasty in putting it down. Other expeditions 
 in different provinces were more successful, and many dis- 
 tricts and parts of provinces were obliged to submit for a 
 longer or shorter time to the control of the dreaded Chang- 
 mao.* 
 
 For some years there seemed to be much reason to fear 
 that the reigning dynasty would be exhausted and overpower- 
 ed, and that the rebels would establish their rule over the 
 eighteen provinces. Some foreigners hoped that the rebels 
 might possess themselves of the empire, found a beneficent 
 government, enter into more friendly relations with Western 
 nations, and adopt modern ideas and a Christian civiliza- 
 tion. 
 
 These hopes, however, were doomed to disappointment. 
 Camp-life was not found favorable to the cultivation of religion 
 and morality. Many of the better class of the rebels died on 
 the battle-field or in the camp, and their places were supplied 
 by persons of a very inferior character. Their form of relig- 
 ion became more and more corrupt, and the religious element, 
 which was their principal source of strength, became weaker 
 and weaker. 
 
 Hung, while continuing to profess great respect and friend- 
 ship for Christian nations, calling foreigners brethren, and 
 seeming desirous of entering into cordial relations with them, 
 assumed a pre-eminence and arrogance almost exceeding that 
 of the Emperors of the reigning dynasty. He spoke of his own 
 revelations from heaven as having the same authority as those 
 in the Scriptures, and as being of more importance, and, in 
 some instances, superseding those of the Bible on account of 
 their being more recent. His religious views became more 
 * Chang-mao, or “ Long-haired,” was the name almost universally given 
 to the rebels by the Chinese. The shaving of the front part of the head 
 is a Manchu custom, and was imposed upon the Chinese after their subju- . 
 gation as a token of allegiance. The rebels, throwing off their allegiance, 
 allowed the hair to grow, and so were called “Long-hairs,” this being a 
 synonym for rebels. 
 
DEMORALIZATION OF THE INSURGENTS. 
 
 425 
 
 and more erratic and fanatical, and naturally suggested the 
 idea of a certain degree of mental aberration. Some of our 
 most intelligent missionaries succeeded in reaching his capi- 
 tal several years after his establishment in Nankin, and were 
 kindly received, but were able to exercise no influence over 
 him. Mr. Roberts was invited to take an office under the 
 new government, which he accepted ; but finding that he could 
 accomplish nothing, and that his position was far from being 
 a desirable or comfortable one, left Nankin in disgust. 
 
 The character and acts of the military chiefs deteriorated 
 even more rapidly than that of their leader. They began to 
 act independently of their head, and to quarrel among them- 
 selves. Corruption and disaffection spread among the subor- 
 dinate officers and soldiers. The Tai-pings were still able to 
 ravage and desolate the provinces, but they showed very little 
 ability for reorganization and pacification. The more wealthy 
 and influential classes refused to trust them, or to recognize 
 in them the future rulers and tranquilizers of the empire. 
 
 In the mean time, hoping to retrieve their waning fortunes, 
 the rebels endeavored to take possession of the coast provin- 
 ces, and avail themselves of the advantages of the commerce 
 of their ports. They were driven back, however, from Shang- 
 hai by English forces, aided by the Chinese. They succeeded 
 in taking Ningpo with very little opposition and very little 
 bloodshed, and seemed desirous of continuing on friendly 
 terms with us and engaging in foreign trade. They were, 
 however, soon driven out from that city by English troops ; 
 and chiefly by the aid of the English, the capital cities of Su- 
 chow and Hang-chow, with others of less note, were wrested 
 from them. It is due to them to say that, notwithstanding 
 their intercourse with and treatment by foreign nations was 
 calculated to embitter their minds and give rise to resentment 
 and retaliation, foreign residents in Ningpo and foreign trav- 
 ellers who visited them in the interior were almost invari- 
 ably received with cordiality and respect, and treated with 
 kindness. 
 
426 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 Driven out of tlieir strongholds in the Kiang-su and the 
 Che-kiang provinces, they retired to Nankin. Here they were 
 reduced to great straits ; but having experienced relief and 
 succor in similar circumstances before, they still kept up an 
 obstinate defense, hoping that the tide of fortune would again 
 turn in their favor. The Chinese authorities were so sure 
 of capturing this city and crushing out the rebellion that they 
 insisted on finishing the work alone, and the English troops 
 withdrew. 
 
 In the summer of 1864 an immense besieging army could 
 be seen from the decks of foreign steamers which were con- 
 stantly traversing the great river, completely surrounding the 
 doomed city of Nankin. It had for years been emptied of its 
 numerous and cultivated inhabitants, tens of thousands of 
 whom, reared in luxury, had wandered about as refugees, and 
 died of exposure, grief, and starvation. It was now a milita- 
 ry camp, and a scene of desolation. Many of the rebels, an- 
 ticipating the result of the siege, had escaped, and joined in- 
 surgent and predatory bands in other parts. Some of those 
 who remained might be seen fishing on the banks of the river, 
 secure from the occasional shots of the enemy, who kept at a 
 safe distance on the opposite side of the stream. It was evi- 
 dently the intention of the besieging army to reduce to starv- 
 ation those whom they knew would expect no quarter, and 
 would sell their lives as dearly as possible. 
 
 In July, 1864, Nankin, the last stronghold of the Tai-ping 
 rebels, who had struggled for the empire for fourteen years, 
 was taken, and, with its fall, the last hope of the Tai-ping dy- 
 nasty perished. Hung-sew-tswen committed suicide, but many 
 of his officers and soldiers were captured and executed. 
 
 A movement of such vast proportions, and continuing for 
 so many years, though failing in its special object, could not 
 but produce great changes and results. 
 
 It effected foreign nations, in cutting off in a measure the 
 supplies and closing up the channels of trade. It has devasta- 
 ted some of the richest and most beautiful portions of the 
 
THE END OF THE TAI-PING REBELLION. 
 
 427 
 
 Chinese Empire, leaving behind it tracts of desolation, mark- 
 ed for hundreds of miles by blackened walls and heaps of ru- 
 ins, uncultivated fields, and depopulated towns and cities. 
 The present dynasty has received a blow from which it will 
 not soon recover. Its treasury has been exhausted, its re- 
 sources drained ; its people have become accustomed to the 
 idea of rebellion, and various independent insurrections have 
 been and still are springing up in different parts of the em- 
 pire. 
 
428 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXVII. 
 
 PRESENT CONDITION AND PROSPECTS OF THE CHINESE 
 EMPIRE. 
 
 The Present of China a Period of Transition. — Her Aversion to Change. — 
 Various Causes conspiring to introduce a new Order of Things. — Gener- 
 al Principle of Development and Decline. — The History of China a Suc- 
 cession of Dynasties. — Local Insurrections and Rebellions. — Influences 
 brought to bear upon China from foreign Lands. — Wars with England 
 and Prance. — The necessary Effect of a Knowledge of the Modem Arts 
 and Sciences, and of Christianity. — The Influence upon China of the 
 Chinese who return Home from California. — The Government adopts 
 Western Rules of International La_w. — Chinese Youths studying For- 
 eign Languages with a View to being Interpreters. — The Policy of the 
 Empire principally influenced by the Exigencies of her present Position, 
 and the Advice of Foreign Ministers and Employes in Pekin. — A Uni- 
 versity for teaching the Modern Sciences has been established. — The 
 Origin, Character, and Results of the Chinese Embassy. — The Party of 
 Progress, and the Objects for which they are striving. — The present 
 Status of Missionaries. — China irrevocably committed to Reform and 
 Progress. 
 
 The present of China is emphatically a period of transi- 
 tion. As seen by a superficial observer, she appears the same 
 now that she has been for ages. The philosophy of Confu- 
 cius still sways the minds of her inhabitants. The system of 
 competitive examinations is strictly observed, as in former 
 times. Xo idol temples have been destroyed, no ancient rites 
 discontinued, no national usages or social customs changed. 
 Still, there are causes in operation, and changes being wrought 
 beneath the surface, which must result in a complete revolu- 
 tion of ideas, and affect the whole aspect of the nation. The 
 present condition of China may be compared to that of a 
 river covered with ice in the early spring. The genial sun 
 shines upon it, and the warm winds breathe upon it, but it re- 
 
PRESENT CONDITION OF THE TSING DYNASTY. 429 
 
 sists every softening influence, and retains the stern and un- 
 changing aspect of winter. In a few favored spots, the sun 
 has melted its congealed surface, and the limpid water reflects 
 the beauties of sky and landscape, or leaps and sparkles under 
 the passing breeze. Still, the great river, day after day, and 
 week after week remains, to outward appearances, as it was. 
 But the influences at work above and beneath can not be re- 
 sisted, and that impenetrable covering, spread over so vast an 
 extent, must either be swept away by the flood, or silently dis- 
 solve and disappear. 
 
 To bring about a new order of things in China, different 
 causes are co-operating from within and from without. It 
 must be remembered that civil wars and rebellions have been 
 doing their work there for more than fifteen years. These 
 protracted and exhausting struggles generally mark the decline 
 and termination of individual dynasties, of which the whole 
 history of China is made up. It is firmly believed by the 
 people that national life, like vegetable and animal, has its pe- 
 riod of growth and development, and then of decline and de- 
 cay. It is not, however, the nation that dies, but the dynasty, 
 while the nation lives on through the dynasties ; just as a tree 
 passing every year through the same succession of develop- 
 ment and decay, still continues to grow in size and strength. 
 This idea, which may be called a national one, has been strik- 
 ingly expressed in an antithetical sentence found in a celebra- 
 ted historical novel, and familiarly quoted even by many who 
 can not read — “ The great power of the empire, when long di- 
 vided, will be reunited ; when long united, will be divided.” 
 
 The present, which is a Tartar dynasty, has ruled the empire 
 for about two hundred years. It has furnished several noted 
 Emperors, and established a proud record. The reigning 
 house has still noble and patriotic men connected with it, but 
 corruption in the capital and in the provinces is sapping the 
 very foundations on which it rests. The people and their 
 rulers have, in a great measure, mutually lost confidence in 
 each other ; and as the great Chinese sage has truly said, “A 
 
430 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 nation may more easily exist without an army and without 
 provisions, than without faith” Wars have exhausted the 
 treasury ; the officers, being almost obliged, in order to sup- 
 port themselves, to resort to exaction, and to receive bribes, 
 have become unblushingly familiar with these practices, and 
 not a few make use of them to the extent of amassing immense 
 fortunes. Thus the poverty and demoralization which are re- 
 garded as an excuse for extortion and oppression are constant- 
 ly increasing. Offices are sold in order to replenish the pub- 
 lic coffers, and disappointed scholars, who are thus shut out 
 from the hope of preferment, help to spread discontent among 
 the people. Ill-disposed, turbulent, and ambitious persons or- 
 ganize bands of robbers, which are recruited from those who 
 are pinched by want, or outraged by oppression, or those who 
 have been taken captives by violence, but choose to cast in 
 their lot with their captors rather than return to desolated 
 homes and a life of privation. One of these predatory bands 
 but a few months since approached very near to the capital, 
 and threatened to cut off its communication with the coast. 
 The numerous independent rebellions which are springing up 
 in different parts of the empire, Avhile they are evidences of 
 the weakness of the government, tend to weaken it still fur- 
 ther, and matters have been proceeding from bad to worse. 
 
 The people are evidently not expecting the immediate re- 
 turn of peace, order, and good government. In the central 
 provinces, multitudes of villages and cities which were de- 
 vastated by the Tai-ping rebels are being rebuilt in an imper- 
 fect manner, and with less regard to permanency than to sup- 
 plying the imperative wants of the present. In portions of 
 the northern provinces which have been ravaged by predatory 
 bands, the people employ the respite of temporary quiet dur- 
 ing the intervals of invasion in providing means of defense 
 for the future. In the province of Shantung, I have passed 
 in one day’s journey of thirty miles within sight of nearly 
 twenty villages surrounded by high mud walls or embank- 
 ments. These works of defense were the result of the labor 
 
THE OPERATION OF NEW INFLUENCES. 
 
 431 
 
 of one summer. They were built by the inhabitants of a num- 
 ber of surrounding villages, who united in fortifying in this 
 way a large central town, into which they might flee in time 
 of invasion for mutual protection and defense. Occasionally 
 one of these cities of refuge is seen on a high hill or mountain 
 top, suggesting to the passing traveller scenes of rapine and 
 terror through which the inhabitants of adjacent villages have 
 passed, and the constant dread occasioned by the anticipation 
 of their recurrence. 
 
 This state of things, in other times and under other cir- 
 cumstances, would be very apt to lead to a change of dynasty, 
 the government remaining the same. But there are now new 
 and powerful influences emanating from foreign lands which 
 have never before been felt — at least to the same extent — and 
 which must greatly affect the issue. It is for the present 
 rulers of China to determine whether they will ignore or re- 
 sist these influences, and thus make the downfall of their gov- 
 ernment more certain and rapid, or whether they will find in 
 them new sources of strength and recuperation. There is 
 reason to hope that they are disposed to pursue the latter 
 course, and that by availing themselves of the assistance 
 which may be drawn from abroad, they may retrieve their 
 fortunes, reassure their people, and perpetuate their dynasty, 
 by reforming it, and adjusting it to their new relations with 
 the world, and the necessities of the present age. 
 
 The Chinese have for many centuries rested in the conclu- 
 sion that their form of government and civilization was the 
 best that could be devised ; that the teachings of their sages 
 were complete ; and that there was nothing to be learned from 
 other nations. This one comprehensive conclusion, to doubt 
 which would almost have been regarded by them as an evi- 
 dence of stupidity or insanity, has been an insuperable barrier 
 in the way of development and progress, and one which it has 
 been very difficult to remove. Intercourse with foreign na- 
 tions has been gradually, but in a variety of ways, correcting 
 this error. 
 
432 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 The foreign wars with China, especially the last one with 
 England and France, the influence of which was felt in the 
 very seat of the Chinese Empire, has shown the abject helpless- 
 ness of that nation in the face of a foreign force vastly inferi- 
 or in numbers. Still they may, and do, say that an ability to 
 fight is no evidence of a superior race and civilization, but 
 rather the contrary. It is a quality which results from brute 
 force and courage, and naturally belongs to uncultivated bar- 
 barians and savages. 
 
 They have been accustomed to point with pride to the arts 
 of peace as evidences of China’s greatness and superiority, to 
 her internal improvements, vast resources, public works, com- 
 merce, and manufactories. Our descriptions of the modern 
 arts as practiced in our own country, of our superior archi- 
 tecture and ship-building; our railroads, steam-boats, tele- 
 graphs, newspapers, postal arrangements, and public schools, 
 do not produce the impression upon them that we might ex- 
 pect. Of many of these arts they do not fully appreciate the 
 advantages, while they think it is but natural foi’ us to speak 
 well of our own country ; and may still imagine that an intel- 
 ligent eye-witness from among them, who would be able to 
 make a just comparison, would bring a very different report. 
 They have seen some articles of foreign manufactures, such 
 as watches and clocks, sewing-machines and steam-engines, 
 and are willing to concede that in some respects we have a re- 
 markable mechanical skill, and give evidence of a great deal 
 of ingenuity and cleverness. They freely admit that we are 
 an intelligent and curious people, who have distinguished our- 
 selves by our proficiency in some of the mechanic arts ; but 
 they pride themselves upon their acquaintance with the mys- 
 terious sciences of astrology, divination, geomancy, ontology, 
 necromancy, etc., treated of in their extensive literature — 
 branches of learning esteemed by them as hardly second to 
 any others in importance. 
 
 This inner wall of the defenses of national pride and prej- 
 udice is beginning to be undermined. A slight acquaintance 
 
THE EFFECT- OF TRUE SCIENCE. 
 
 433 
 
 with modern science is sufficient to shake the confidence of 
 the people in those false and imaginary sciences which have 
 had such an influence on their minds for ages. For instance, 
 the production and effects of electricity are referred by them 
 to a particular deity called the God of Thunder. Now, by 
 the use of a small electrical machine, we can show them how 
 this fluid is generated, and thunder and lightning produced ; 
 and can explain how electricity may be used for the purpose 
 of the rapid communication of information. They believe 
 that there are five simple elements in nature — metal , wood, 
 water , fire, and earth — and they have no idea of any analysis 
 by which any of these substances can be resolved into simpler 
 ones. These five elements lie at the basis of different systems 
 of astrology, geomancy, divination, and medicine ; and the 
 prominence and mysterious influences of these great powers 
 in nature are often referred to as well-established and impor- 
 tant conclusions of science. 
 
 To illustrate this subj ect, I will refer to the application of 
 these fundamental ideas to the practice of medicine. It is 
 supposed that these “ five elements.” have some mysterious 
 connection with and relation to the different parts of the 
 body, such as the heart, the lungs, the stomach, the liver, etc. 
 If a disease is found to be in the part or organ of the body 
 connected with the element metal, then the medicine must be 
 drawn from the mineral kingdom ; if in a part connected with 
 the element wood, it must be drawn from the vegetable king- 
 dom, and so on indefinitely. This will give a general idea of 
 the wide application of these “ first principles ” of the Chinese, 
 and of the revolution of ideas which must result from a slight 
 knowledge of chemistry, showing, as it does, that the basis on 
 which these various systems rests is unscientific and foolisli 
 in the extreme. These superstitious notions and theories of 
 imaginary sciences are connected, as may be seen from the 
 examples given above, with the Chinese systems of idolatry 
 and philosophy, and with their social life ; and the obliteration 
 of one prominent doctrine of their system "tends to produce 
 
 T 
 
434 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 distrust of the whole, and to disenthrall the mind, and send it 
 forth on a new search for truth. 
 
 But the principal ground of the Chinese belief in their 
 own superiority is to be found in the ethical and political 
 teachings of Confucianism. This is the stronghold of their 
 confidence and pride. Yet even here their minds are becom- 
 ing seriously and painfully exercised. They listen with sur- 
 prise to the propagators of a new religion, who, while speaking 
 with great respect of Confucius and the system to which he 
 has given his name, and confirming and reasserting many of 
 the truths which he taught, dare to point out the defects of 
 his system, and to present another with a superior character 
 and claims. They find that, instead of the baseless assump- 
 tions and vague surmises which are connected with the relig- 
 ions with which they have heretofore been acquainted, this 
 one from W estern lands asks for no blind faith, appeals to no 
 popular prejudice or superstition, but presents its irrefragable 
 evidences and proofs. It comes not to corrupt and delude 
 the people, but to instruct and elevate them, and to lay broad- 
 er and deeper the foundations of social order and permanent 
 prosperity and peace. It explores regions of truth into which 
 their sages have not ventured ; it brings to view a purer mo- 
 rality, a more disinterested love, a more spiritual and intense 
 devotion, and a new and higher life. The careful and candid 
 Chinese student opens his eyes to a new world of intellectual 
 and spiritual light, and is reluctantly forced to acknowledge 
 that a greater than Confucius is here. 
 
 The new ideas and influences referred to above have not 
 yet become general and operative among the masses, but they 
 have taken strong hold of individuals, and are extending in 
 ever widening spheres, and with ever increasing power. 
 
 In this connection, it is proper to speak of the influence we 
 are exerting upon China from our Western coast through the 
 thousands of Chinese emigrants Avho are visiting our shores, 
 and returning in great numbers to their homes. The influence 
 of these emigrants is less than might at first be supposed. 
 
INFLUENCE OF THE CHINESE IN CALIFORNIA. 435 
 
 Though their numbers seem large to us, they are, in propor- 
 tion to the population from which they come, almost as noth- 
 ing. They are principally from the province of Kwang-tung ; 
 and a single city of that province, Canton, might have furnish- 
 ed every emigrant which has ever come to our country from 
 China without any appreciable loss or diminution of its in- 
 habitants. Moreover, the great body of these emigrants are 
 persons of very little position and influence in China. They 
 go back to their homes in the eity or country, and entertain 
 their friends and neighbors with the story of their adventures 
 for a short period ; and then it loses its novelty, and they set- 
 tle down to the quiet routine of their every-day life. The 
 fixedness of custom and power of inertia in China are too 
 great to be readily affected by such slight influences. More- 
 over, there is reason to fear that the Chinese do not carry 
 back as favorable an impression of our country as we could 
 wish. Many of them are treated with a great deal of severi- 
 ty and injustice, and have met with representatives of our race 
 not at all calculated to make them any better, or to prepare 
 them to exert a good influence on their own people on their 
 return. I would not by any means be understood as saying 
 that no good has resulted from this California immigration, but 
 only that there is a tendency to overrate its importance. A 
 decided impression has been produced, and in some respects 
 a good one. While it is to be regretted that very few of the 
 Chinese emigrants become Christians in this country, it is at 
 the same time true that few go back with the same supersti- 
 tious and idolatrous notions which they brought with them. 
 It is often remarked by ship-captains that they are constant- 
 ly engaged in idolatrous worship while going to California, 
 but are comparatively very careless about such matters on 
 their return. 
 
 Is it not strange that, with sixty thousand or more Chinese 
 idolaters living among us, and entirely accessible to our in- 
 fluence, so little has been attempted by American Christians 
 to enlighten and evangelize them ? It is true that there are 
 
436 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 some disadvantages in laboring for them here, as compared 
 with laboring for them in China, growing out of their wan- 
 dering and unsettled life, separation from home influences and 
 associations, their demoralized condition, and their absorbing 
 interest in making money, but this by no means excuses our 
 neglect. There are peculiar advantages also in having them 
 so near us, and so much under our influence. The Presbyte- 
 rian Board is, I believe, the only one which has established 
 a permanent mission among these emigrants, and the experi- 
 ence of its earnest and devoted missionaries who have been 
 laboring there for more than ten years is full of encourage- 
 ment. 
 
 The future influence of the Chinese upon our Western 
 coast is probably destined to be very great. Their quiet hab- 
 its and industry are gradually winning the esteem and confi- 
 dence of our people ; and it is to be hoped that they will re- 
 ceive such treatment from our government and citizens as to 
 attract to our shores a large number of persons from the 
 more intelligent and influential classes. The increasing de- 
 mand for labor in our country, the overburdened population 
 of China, and the present unsettled state of the empire, are 
 facts which conspire to stimulate and increase immigration to 
 our shores. Should the tendency become general, a tide of 
 population would pour over our Pacific States and down the 
 eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains unprecedented in tlie # 
 history of nations ; and the effect of such an immigration, or 
 we might almost say inundation, no human foresight can now 
 determine. 
 
 There are other causes tending to produce a change in the 
 views, relations, and policy of the Chinese of a still more 
 pressing and imperative character. Their liability to misun- 
 derstandings, and consequent collisions and wars with W est- 
 ern nations, resulting from their ignorance of our usages, and 
 the determination of European powers to apply the same laws 
 and regulations which prevail among other nations to China 
 only with more rigor, have produced a disposition on her part 
 
VARIOUS REVOLUTIONARY INFLUENCES. 
 
 437 
 
 to become acquainted with, and to adopt our conventional 
 rules*of international law. A work on this subject has been 
 translated by Dr. Martin, of Pekin, and printed at the expense 
 of the Chinese government, and has no doubt been perused 
 with much care and profit by persons high in position and in- 
 fluence in the empire. 
 
 A special clause of the last English treaty provided that its 
 authoritative form should be the English rather than the Chi- 
 nese text ; so it is thus made desirable and almost necessary 
 for at least some of the Chinese to become familiar with our 
 language. Consequently, classes were .formed in Pekin and 
 other parts of China soon after the ratification of the late 
 treaties, composed of intelligent and promising Chinese and 
 Tartar youths, with a good ground- work of their own literary 
 training, who have undertaken the study of the English lan- 
 guage and literature with a view to becoming government in- 
 terpreters. 
 
 The present exigencies of the empire have also directed the 
 attention of its rulers to the desirableness, if not the absolute 
 necessity, if they would not let the sceptre of government slip 
 from their grasp, of possessing themselves of a knowledge of 
 the military science of the West. They can not fail to see 
 that an aspirant for the throne who should take the initiative 
 in obtaining foreign gun-boats and acquiring the ability to 
 use them, and raising an army disciplined under foreign drill 
 and furnished with foreign weapons, would be irresistible on 
 sea or land. 
 
 The various reasons given above for adopting a more lib- 
 eral and enlightened policy would be sufficiently evident to 
 the Chinese, without any special explanation, information, or 
 advice from others. But they are made still more so by the 
 presence of the ministers of Western powers and intelli- 
 gent foreigners in the employ of the government who reside 
 in Pekin, and have constant and familiar intercourse with the 
 chief men of influence in the empire. Through this inter- 
 course, much reliable information is communicated respecting 
 
438 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 other countries, tending to produce enlightened views, a mu- 
 tual understanding, and a mutual confidence. The Chinese 
 are learning to understand their own position and relations to 
 other powers, and their own interests ; also to discriminate 
 between the characters, peculiarities, and policies of different 
 nations. 
 
 Under these circumstances the government has lately inau- 
 gurated two movements, as desirable as they were unexpect- 
 ed, which show how rapidly its policy is being changed, 
 and furnish ground for expecting still more rapid changes in 
 the future. 
 
 A few months since we were startled by the intelligence 
 that a university was about to be established at Pekin, having 
 for its avowed object the teaching of foreign sciences, under 
 the superintendence of professors from America and Europe. 
 As was to be expected, this new movement met with a deter- 
 mined opposition from the old conservative school of China. 
 It Avas urged by one of this class, who is a person of great 
 prominence and influence, that if it Avere necessary to have 
 such an institution, they could of course furnish better teach- 
 ers from their OAvn literati than could be obtained from 
 abroad. He was effectually ansAvered by being called upon 
 to supply the men, which, failing to do, the university was 
 founded without further opposition. 
 
 The fact of the establishment of such a school in Pekin 
 Avill in time have a great moral effect throughout the empire. 
 Scholars in the provinces will have their curiosity excited to 
 know Avhat this neAV learning from the West is, and a pow- 
 erful stimulus will be given to free thought and inquiry. The 
 young men who will here receive a thorough training Avill 
 be influential officers at home, and foreign embassadors to 
 other powers, and the authors of Chinese Avorks on the mod- 
 ern sciences. 
 
 The other significant fact just alluded to is the appoint- 
 ment by the Chinese government of the Embassy Avliich has 
 recently left our shores. This Embassy may justly be regard- 
 
THE EMBASSY TO WESTEKN POWEKS. 
 
 439 
 
 ed as introducing a new era in the history of China. Starting 
 out to visit the various “ Western Powers,” it takes its jour- 
 ney toward the East, and reaches first the United States, its 
 nearest neighbor. The extremes of the East and the West 
 have met. The oldest nation of the earth has come to make 
 overtures to the youngest. She came on an errand of amity 
 and good-will, to establish more intimate relations, to seek 
 mutual advantages. She came, laying aside her long-cherished 
 pride and assumption of superiority, with true humility (and 
 not without an acknowledged dignity and self-respect) as a 
 learner ; to find that she is living in a new world, and to in- 
 graft the ideas and the civilization of the nineteenth century 
 upon an old but still vigorous stock, which has witnessed the 
 vicissitudes and withstood the storms of more than twenty 
 centuries. 
 
 The origin of this Embassy is peculiar and full of interest. 
 Our minister, Hon. Anson Burlingame, during his residence 
 of about six years in Pekin as United States Minister, had ac- 
 quired to an unusual degree the confidence and esteem of the 
 present rulers of China. His just appreciation of the charac- 
 ter of their people and government ; his sympathy with them 
 in their trials ; and, above all, his evident desire to accord to 
 them fully their national rights, awakened in them a hearty 
 and affectionate response. When about to return home, they 
 expressed their deep regret and sense of loss at his leaving 
 them. They had already begun to feel the necessity of enter- 
 ing into closer relations with other powers, and the desirable- 
 ness of doing it speedily ; but from their long isolation, and 
 ignorance of Western languages and customs, foreign travel 
 and foreign courts, they could at present hardly find a suitable 
 person from among their OAvn people to take the lead in such 
 a movement. It occurred to their minds that Mr. Burlingame 
 might be induced to become their official representative, and 
 undertake this mission for them. When they were told that 
 there was nothing impracticable in such a plan, they made to 
 him, as soon as it could be done in a regular and formal man- 
 
440 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 ner, the proffer of this high position and trust, which proffer 
 was accepted. 
 
 Placing him at the head of the Embassy, they associated 
 with him two Chinese officials of high rank, Chi-kang and 
 Sun-Jcia-Jcu / the former a Tartar, and the latter a Chinese. 
 The Embassy has connected with it two foreign interpreters 
 or secretaries, one English and one French ; also six Chinese 
 student interpreters — young men between twenty and twenty- 
 five years of age, two of whom speak French, two English, 
 and two Russian. Besides, there are twenty others, who are 
 subordinate officers, Chinese secretaries, valets, physicians, 
 and servants. 
 
 The cordiality and enthusiasm with which these represent- 
 atives of China -were received were not more remarkable than 
 the happy impression which they have left behind them. It 
 was evident to all that they were men of a high degree of in- 
 telligence and culture. Whether in the public assembly, or 
 the fashionable soiree , or in the domestic circle, they weie 
 everywhere at ease. Their gracefulness of manner, their un- 
 pretending and cordial politeness, their careful and discrimi- 
 nating observations and inquiries, and their ready wit and 
 pleasantry were subjects of general remark. It was also ob- 
 served that the English of the student interpreters was re- 
 markably free from a foreign accent. 
 
 The treaty concluded in Washington between our govern- 
 ment and the Chinese is rather one-sided, nearly all its pro- 
 visions being in favor of the Chinese. For this reason, it is all 
 the more honorable to Mr. Burlingame and to our govern- 
 ment. Instead of being dictated by selfishness and secured 
 by intimidation, it presents the rare excellence and beauty of 
 a great and powerful nation giving to a weaker one her rights 
 from motives of impartial justice and generosity. The sub- 
 stantial evidence thus afforded of genuine friendship will be 
 of greater advantage to both parties than the provisions of 
 the treaty themselves. The Chinese seem to have left us more 
 than satisfied, and will go back to their homes to impart to 
 
OBJECTS AND RESULTS OF THE LATE EMBASSY. 441 
 
 their countrymen different views from those which have here- 
 tofore been entertained, and to give a broader meaning to the 
 familiar saying of their great teacher, “All within the four 
 seas are brethren.”* 
 
 The members of this Embassy represent the party of prog- 
 ress, which is now, and has been for years in the ascendant. 
 At its head is Prince Kung, who, during the minority of the 
 
 * Further information respecting the origin, objects, and results of this 
 Embassy may be obtained from a speech of Mr. Burlingame in New York, 
 and from the treaty agreed upon in Washington, both of which may be 
 found in the Appendix. 
 
 T 2 
 
442 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 Emperor Tung-che, now about thirteen years old, virtually 
 wields the power of Regent. This party fully appreciates the 
 true position and interests of China in the present crisis, and 
 is introducing foreign ideas and new measures as fast as the 
 state of public opinion and feeling among their countrymen 
 will allow. The changes which they are effecting may seem 
 slow to us, but they are rapid and radical beyond all former 
 precedent. Besides admitting the ministers of foreign powers 
 to their capital, establishing a foreign university of learning, 
 and sending forth to Western nations its first Embassy, it is 
 building gun-boats, introducing foreign drill and discipline 
 and warlike weapons into the army, and employing a large 
 number of foreigners to aid them in effecting the changes 
 which they desire. The Chinese members of the Embassy 
 were constantly making notes of their journey, winch will 
 probably be published on their return with the official sanc- 
 tion of the government, and will give a new impulse to the 
 cause of progress. We will no doubt hear of ministers and 
 consuls being sent from China to foreign nations, and of the 
 construction on her soil of telegraphs and railroads as soon as 
 the carrying out of these measures is practicable. 
 
 In the mean time enlarged advantages for prosecuting the 
 work of missions are being granted faster than we are appro- 
 priating them. Missionaries, in accordance with the treaties 
 of 1858, not only reside in the open ports, and travel and teach 
 wherever they please throughout the empire, but are allowed 
 to rent houses for permanent residence in places not named in 
 the treaty. Protestant missionaries are fast acquiring a char- 
 acter of their own, in distinction from the representatives of 
 the Church of Rome, and are constantly gaining to a greater 
 degree the confidence of the people and their rulers. 
 
 There are evidences of a change of feeling with regard to 
 the idolatrous rites practiced by the people. The following 
 information, derived from missionary sources, is being exten- 
 sively copied and circulated in our religious periodicals : “ The 
 Emperor of China has issued an edict forbidding the rebuild- 
 
CHINA COMMITTED TO PROGRESS. 443 
 
 ing of destroyed, and the repair of decayed temples, except the 
 temples of Confucius. The principal judge of Suchow has 
 prohibited the people of that large city from worshiping in 
 the temples, or burning incense, candles, or silver paper before 
 the idols.” We are hardly warranted in inferring from these 
 facts that there is a decided disposition among Chinese officers 
 to favor Christianity. They would probably explain the ori- 
 gin of these edicts by attributing them to a desire to husband 
 the resources of the empire, and to avoid all unnecessary waste 
 of funds during the exigencies of the present time. The fact 
 remains, however, that the building of temples and the wor- 
 ship of idols is regarded at least as a matter of secondary and 
 trivial importance, and that, for some cause or other, heathen 
 temples are likely to fall into decay. These indications of 
 change are certainly significant, and point unmistakably to the 
 period when “ idols shall be utterly abolished.” 
 
 Enough has been said to confirm and illustrate the general 
 statement that the present is for China a period of transition, 
 and marks a new and most important epoch in her history. 
 She has loosed from her ancient moorings, and, under influences 
 hitherto unfelt, is moving slowly but surely in a course in 
 which the star of science leads, and the pressure of necessity 
 urges her. What storms and trials she may meet none can 
 tell. In her new and untried career, shall we not give her our 
 cordial sympathy and co-operation, hoping that her future may 
 be full of blessings to her vast population and to the world ? 
 
444 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 CHAPTER XXYIII. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 The Presence and Agency of Christ among the Nations. — He rules the 
 World in the Interest of the Church. — Different Influences conspire to 
 prepare the Way for the Establishment of His spiritual Kingdom. — The 
 Responsibility of the Church in the present Juncture. — Evidences of low 
 and unscriptural Views with Regard to Missions. — The true Standard 
 of Christian Duty. 
 
 The present condition of China will be viewed in different 
 lights by different individuals. The merchant will see in it an 
 opportunity for supplying the new-felt wants of the people, 
 and introducing, as there is a demand for them, the manufac- 
 tures, machinery, and mechanical implements of the West. 
 Statesmen of different nations will be on the alert to secure 
 political and commercial advantages for their respective coun- 
 tries. Scholars will look for freer access to the public libra- 
 ries and general literature of China, and hope for additional 
 light upon history, chronology, ethnology, and other depart- 
 ments of science. These will generally be considered as the 
 principal and most important ends to be secured in our inter- 
 course with that great nation. Not a few who seem to 
 think that the great end for which Eastern nations exist is to 
 minister to and enfich the West, will regard it as but reason- 
 able and right that those countries which have labored, ex- 
 pended, and suffered most for the purpose of opening China, 
 should be compensated by commercial and political advan- 
 tages, the securing of these objects having been from the first 
 the principal and avowed motive which led to these expendi- 
 tures. 
 
 But the intelligent Christian who reads aright the book 
 
CHRIST RULES AMONG THE NATIONS. 
 
 445 
 
 of Revelation, of History, and of Providence, will take anoth- 
 er. and widely different view of this whole matter. Behind 
 these second causes he will recognize the mighty workings 
 of Him who has all power in heaven and in earth, and who 
 rules all nations in the interests of His Church. Those solemn 
 and sublime, though mysterious, words addressed by Jesus of 
 Nazareth to the Roman governor, “I am a king,” present a 
 practical reality which some Christians as well as others are 
 too apt to lose sight of. Yes, high above all earthly poten- 
 tates, Jesus sits the Universal King. As in former times He 
 used the sword of the Assyrian as the rod of his anger, and 
 for “ Jacob his servant’s sake ” called even Cyrus by His name, 
 and said of him “ He is my shepherd, and shall perform all 
 my pleasure,” so at present He makes use of England and 
 France, and other nations which He has raised up for Ilis own 
 purposes, as unconscious instruments to do His will. They 
 pursue their own ends, which are often unworthy and sinful, 
 but He overrules their acts, bringing good out of evil. His 
 purposes, at first concealed from mortal view, are gradually 
 unfolding ; and His comprehensive plan of providence and 
 grace will surely be accomplished when the petty schemes of 
 men and nations, through which they have been developed, 
 are forgotten. 
 
 Now among the clearest facts of God’s revelations of the 
 future are these : The kingdom of which Christ is the head 
 shall be universal ; it shall rise upon the ruins of idolatry and 
 superstition, and, in its final triumph, establish here in our 
 world a millennium of peace and glory. “ All kings shall fall 
 down before him, all nations shall serve him.” 
 
 “ It is not for us to know the times and the season which 
 the Father has put in His own power,” but who can fail to see 
 that the leading events of the present are pointing to the con- 
 summation of the divine purposes ? The tendency of our race 
 after the confusion of tongues and the dispersion was to the 
 constant multiplication and separation of numerous nations 
 speaking different languages. This tendency has been re- 
 
446 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 versed, and the opposite one is now most marked. Tribes and 
 races hitherto segregated and comparatively unknown are now 
 jo inin g the brotherhood of nations. India, China, and Japan, 
 with their teeming millions, are waking from the sleep of ages, 
 to respond to the impulse of new ideas* and to join in the 
 march of modern civilization. Men are running to and fro, 
 and knowledge is being increased. While the sons of Japheth 
 are dwelling in the tents of Shem, and disseminating W estern 
 ideas, Eastern nations are coming to us, not only by embassies 
 and immigrants, but through travellers whose express object 
 is to gain information. Young men of the ruling classes in 
 Japan, full of intelligence, zeal, and energy, are laying aside 
 official rank and dignity, and coming to our shores, entering 
 our primary schools and colleges, and are making remarkable 
 progress in knowledge ; burning with a desire to go back and 
 inform and elevate their countrymen. Some of them, under a 
 strong conviction of duty, and Avith the true spirit of martyrs, 
 are taking upon themselves the voavs of Christ, though they 
 knoAv that by the laws of their country such a course is 
 threatened Avith death. 
 
 It is also a most significant fact that the influence of Chris- 
 tian nations is everyAA r here predominant throughout the world. 
 The common language of the two great Protestant powers, 
 England and the United States, the language in which are 
 garnered the richest treasures of sanctified learning and 
 Christian thought, is taking the precedence of all others, and 
 is now spoken to a greater or less extent in almost every na- 
 tion under the whole heaven. Old systems of error and su- 
 perstition are crumbling and falling, and idolatry, whose reign 
 has been so protracted and so nearly universal, seems to be 
 passing from the earth. With the increased facilities for com- 
 municating ideas and for locomotion, nations are practically 
 brought nearer together. In a feAV years almost all of them 
 Avill, through the magnetic wire, be within speaking distance 
 of each other, and the traveller will be able to pass round the 
 Avorld in less than three months. 
 
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE CHURCH. 
 
 447 
 
 Christ is indeed doing a great work in the earth. In his 
 hands, all agencies, national and individual, commercial, dip- 
 lomatic, and scientific, tend to the same result. We should 
 not depreciate these powerful auxiliaries to the establishment 
 of His kingdom, much less regard them as antagonistic. They 
 are important in their several spheres, and to accomplish their 
 appropriate ends. They may do much in undermining old sys- 
 tems of idolatry, though they can not substitute any thing bet- 
 ter in their place ; and, without the Gospel, they may prove a 
 curse rather than a blessing. 
 
 Under these circumstances, how sublime the mission, and 
 how great the responsibility of the Church in the present age ! 
 Of this responsibility I desire, in conclusion, to speak plainly 
 and earnestly. I know that, while missionaries are generally 
 listened to with interest and attention as long as they can tell 
 an interesting story, or while they communicate important 
 information respecting the countries from which they come, 
 they are often complained of when they take the liberty of 
 “preaching on missions.” I acknowledge that this does not 
 seem the most appropriate work for them to do, but there 
 would be less necessity for it, and disposition to attempt it, 
 if it were generally attended to by pastors at home. 
 
 Most Christians agree that the work of missions is impor- 
 tant ; but this acknowledgment is with many rather the ex- 
 pression of an inoperative sentiment than a practical truth. 
 They admire the missionary zeal of the Apostle Paul, but would 
 perhaps regard a person manifesting the same zeal at the pres- 
 ent day, though with equal or greater reason, a visionary en- 
 thusiast. Their sympathies may perchance be excited when 
 an eloquent preacher pictures to their imagination the condition 
 of Athens eighteen hundred years ago as a city filled with idols ; 
 but the present spectacle of whole nations filled with idols, and 
 brought into the closest relations with us, affects them but 
 little. The same religious views, feelings, labors, and sacrifi- 
 ces which were very appropriate in apostolic times, seem to 
 them rather out of place in these modern days. 
 
448 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 IIow persons who believe the Bible can entertain such 
 views, is to me a mystery ! It may be said of them, with 
 reference to the New Testament, as it was of the Jews, with 
 reference to the Old ; even to this day, when the words of 
 Christ and His Apostles are read, “the veil is upon their 
 heart.” The duty of missions is the burden of the New Tes- 
 tament. From Matthew to Revelation, it is written on almost 
 every page ; and the glorious theme is frequently referred to 
 in some of the most glowing and sublime passages of ancient 
 prophecy. How strange that the ministers of the New Tes- 
 tament, who are appointed to speak as the oracles of God, 
 should, after preaching to a Christian congregation for years, 
 leave them in doubt as to the authoritative teachings of the 
 Bible on this fundamental and vital matter ! Surely there is 
 need of preaching on missions, not as a subject to be treated 
 of on special and extraordinary occasions, and distinct from 
 the usual ministrations of the sanctuary, but as a necessary 
 part of Gospel preaching; till every professed disciple feels 
 that this work is as much a part of Christian duty as any 
 other which is commanded in the Scriptures ; and that to be 
 out of sympathy with it is so far to be out of sympathy with 
 Christ, 
 
 It is a lamentable fact, that a large proportion of the theo- 
 logical students who are willing to engage in missionary 
 work meet with opposition from Christian parents or friends. 
 In certain cases, there are good and sufficient reasons which 
 evidently make it the duty of those who earnestly desire to 
 go abroad to remain at home. In other instances, the ob- 
 stacle is simply the unwillingness of parents to allow them to 
 go. A theological student said to me not long since, “ I am 
 very willing to be a missionary, but our family has never yet 
 been broken up ; our parents like to have their children about 
 them, and are averse to my leaving.” It is not a matter of 
 regret that such persons do not go, but rather that such a 
 low standard of duty and Christian consecration should pre- 
 vail in the Church of Christ, and especially in the minis- 
 
GIVING, A CHRISTIAN DUTY. 
 
 449 
 
 try. These are the same difficulties which are often pre- 
 sented to us by inquirers in heathen lands : “ I would like to 
 be a Christian, but my parents are opposed to it. The peace 
 and quiet of our family has never yet been disturbed, and I 
 do not like to go contrary to their wishes.” The only prop- 
 er answer to such objections and excuses, whether among the 
 heathen or in the Church, is the words of Christ, “ He that 
 lovetli father or mother more tfian me is not worthy of me.” 
 
 The contributions of Christians to the cause of missions 
 also show how inadequate their efforts are to meet the de- 
 mands of the case, and are the best outward index of the in- 
 terest which is really felt. The Protestant Church, with her 
 scriptural faith, her professions of love to Christ, and the nu- 
 merous claims of His cause upon her at home and abroad, gives 
 a much smaller proportion of her means to the cause of Christ 
 than Roman Catholics and pagans do for the support of their 
 forms of religion and idolatry. The average of the contribu- 
 tions of the members of the Presbyterian Church, including 
 those of the few who give largely and generously, is about 
 seventy cents each annually ; not more than one-twentieth 
 of the amount expended by many a poor laboring man 
 for the single and unnecessary item of tobacco ! The Church 
 needs another reformation to establish the doctrine of the 
 necessity of “ good works,” as the Reformation in the time 
 of Luther did that of justification by faith. Faith with- 
 out works is dead, and this dead faith and covetousness, 
 which is idolatry, threaten to destroy the life and energy 
 of the Church. On this important Christian duty, so prom- 
 inently presented, and so often urged upon Christians in 
 the Bible, there is also great need of plain and pungent ex- 
 pounding of the Scriptures in our churches. I find that some 
 pastors are afraid to preach on this subject, though they feel 
 that nothing is more urgently required. The fact is that their 
 people, for want of scriptural teachings on this point, have be- 
 come so confirmed in covetousness that they “ will not endure 
 sound doctrine.” It is encouraging to find some Christians, 
 
450 
 
 CHINA AND THE CHINESE. 
 
 and I rejoice to believe that their number is every year in- 
 creasing, who act and live on the principle that they are stew- 
 ards, and solemnly consecrate to God such a proportion of 
 their incomes as they are not ashamed to look at on their ac- 
 count-books. 
 
 But let us ever remember that while God makes use of 
 His Church and her offerings, still, with the fullest supply of 
 men and means, Ave would, Avithout the presence and aid of 
 His Spirit, be utterly powerless to do any good, or to convert 
 one soul. 
 
 Fellow-Christians, the Master, from Avhom you have re- 
 ceived so freely of spiritual and temporal blessings, calls upon 
 you for your best offerings for His cause : your sons, your 
 daughters, your gold and silver, your warmest sympathies, 
 and earnest prayers. Shall He call in vain ? 
 
 THE END. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 SPEECH OF THE HON. ANSON BURLINGAME, THE HEAD OF 
 THE CHINESE EMBASSY TO THE WESTERN POWERS, DELIV- 
 ERED IN NEW YORK JUNE 23, 1868. 
 
 Mr. President, and Citizens of New York, — Our first duty is to 
 thank you for this cordial greeting; to say to you that it is not only appre- 
 ciated by us, but that it will be appreciated by the distant people whom we 
 represent ; to thank you for this unanimous expression of good-will on the 
 part of the great city of New York; to thank you that, rising above all 
 local and party considerations, you have given a broad and generous wel- 
 come to a movement made in the interests of all mankind. We are but 
 the humble heralds of this movement. It originated beyond the bound- 
 aries of our own thoughts, and has taken dimensions beyond the reach of 
 our most ardent hopes. That East which men have sought since the days 
 of Alexander now itself seeks the West. China, emerging from the mists 
 of time, but yesterday suddenly entered your Western gates, and confronts 
 you, by its representatives, here to-night. What have you to say to her? 
 She comes with no menace on her lips. She comes with the great doctrine 
 of Confucius, uttered two thousand three hundred years ago, “ Do not unto 
 others what you would not have others do unto you.’’ Will you not re- 
 spond with the more positive doctrine of Christianity — “ We will do unto 
 others what we would have others do unto us ?” She comes with your in- 
 ternational law. She tells you that she is willing to come into relations 
 'according to it; that she is willing to abide by its provisions; that she is 
 willing to take its obligations for its privileges. She asks you to forget 
 your ancient prejudices, to abandon your assumptions of superiority, to sub- 
 mit your questions with her as she proposes to submit her questions with 
 you — to the arbitrament of reason. She wishes no war ; she asks of you 
 not to interfere in her internal affairs; she asks you not to send lecturers 
 who are incompetent men ; she asks that you will respect the neutrality 
 of her waters and the integrity of her territory ; she asks, in a word, to be 
 left perfectly free to unfold herself precisely in that form of civilization of 
 which she is the most capable to judge. She asks you to give to those 
 treaties which were made under the pressure of war a generous and Chris- 
 tian construction. Because you have done this, because the Western na- 
 tions have reversed their old doctrine of force, she responds ; and in propor- 
 tion as you have done that, in proportion as you have expressed your good- 
 
452 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 will, she has come forth to meet you. And I aver that there is no spot on 
 this earth where there has been greater progress made within the past few 
 years than in the empire of China. She has extended her business and 
 reformed her revenue system. She is changing her military and naval or- 
 ganizations, and is establishing a great school, where modern science and 
 the foreign languages are to be taught. She has done this under very 
 adverse circumstances. She has done this after a great war, lasting through 
 thirteen years — a war out of which she comes with no national debt. You 
 must remember how dense is her population, and how difficult it is to in- 
 troduce radical changes in such a country as that. The introduction of 
 your own steamers threw out of employment one hundred thousand junk- 
 men, and the introduction of several hundred foreigners into her civil serv- 
 ice embittered, of course, the ancient native employe's. The establishment 
 of a school was firmly resisted by a party led by one of the greatest men of 
 the empire. Yet, in spite of all this, the present government of China has 
 advanced steadily along the path of progress, sustained, it is true, by the 
 enlightened European and Western Powers now at Pekin, and guided 
 largely by a modest and able man — Mr. Hart, the Inspector-General of 
 Customs, at the head of the foreign employes of China. Yet, notwith- 
 standing this manifest progress, there are people who will tell you that China 
 has made no progress ; that her views are retrograde ; and they tell you that 
 it is the duty of the Western Treaty Powers to combine for the purpose of 
 coercing China into reforms which they may desire, and which she may not 
 desire, to undertake to say that these people have no rights which we are 
 bound to respect. In their coarse language they say, “Take her by the 
 throat,” using the tyrant’s plea. They say that they know better what 
 China wants than China herself does. Not only do they desire to intro- 
 duce new reforms born of their own interests and of their own caprice, but 
 they tell you that the present dynasty must fall, and that the whole struc- 
 ture of Chinese civilization must be overthrown. ’ I know that these views 
 are abhorred by the governments and the countries from which they come, 
 but they are far away from their countries. They are active, brave, and 
 unscrupulous, and, if they happen to be officials, it is in their power to com- 
 plicate affairs, and to involve ultimately their distant countries in war. 
 Now it is against the malign spirit of this tyrannical element that this 
 mission was sent forth to the Christian world. It was sent forth that 
 China might have her difficulties stated. That I happen to be at the 
 head of it is, perhaps, more an accident than any design. It is perhaps 
 because I had been longer there than my colleagues. It was because I 
 was about to leave it. It was because, also — and probably more than all — 
 because my humble name was associated with the establishment of the co- 
 operative policy which, co-operating with abler men than myself, was estab- 
 lished not many years ago. It is to sustain that policy — which has received 
 the warm approval of all the great Treat} - Powers, and which is cherished 
 by China — that we are sent forth; and It is in behalf of that generous 
 policy, founded upon principles of eternal justice, that I would rally the 
 strongest thing on this earth — the enlightened public opinion of the world. 
 Missions and men may pass away, but the principles of eternal justice will 
 stand. I desire that the autonomy of China may he preserved ; that her 
 independence may be maintained ; that she may have equality, and that 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 453 
 
 she may dispense equal privileges to all the nations. If the opposite 
 school is to prevail, if you are to use coercion against that great people, 
 then who is to exercise the coercion ? Whose forces are you to use ? 
 Whose views are you to establish? You see, the very attempt to carry out 
 any such tyrannical policy would involve not only China, but would involve 
 you in bloody wars with each other. There are men of that tyrannical 
 school who say that China is not fit to sit at the council-board of the na- 
 tions, who call them barbarians, who attack them on all occasions with a 
 bitter and unrelenting spirit. These things I utterly deny. I say, on the" - 
 contrary, that that is a great and noble people. It has all the elements of 
 a splendid nationality. It has the most numerous people on the face of 
 the globe ; it is the most homogeneous people in the world ; its language 
 is spoken by more human beings than any other in the world, and it is 
 written in the rock ; it is a country where there is a greater unification of 
 thought than any other country in the world ; it is a country where the 
 maxims of the great sages, coming down memorized, have permeated the 
 whole people until their knowledge is rather an instinct than an acquire- 
 ment. It is a people loyal while living, and whose last prayer when dying 
 is to sleep in the sacred soil of their fathers. It is a land of scholars and 
 of schools — a land of books, from the smallest pamphlet up to volumi- 
 nous encyclopedias. It is a land, sir, as you have said, where the privi- 
 leges are common ; it is a land without caste, for they destroyed their 
 feudal system two thousand one hundred years ago, and they built up 
 their great structure of civilization on the great idea that the people are 
 the source of power. That idea was uttered by Mencius more than 
 two thousand years ago, and it was old when he uttered it. The power 
 flows forth from that people into practical government through the co-oper- 
 ative system, and they make scholarship a test of merit. I say it is a 
 great, a polite, a patient, a sober, and an industrious people ; and it is such 
 a people as this that the bitter boor would exclude from the council-hall o 
 the nations. It is such a nation as this that the tyrannical element would 
 put under its ban. They say that all these people (a third of the human 
 race) must become the weak wards of the West ; wards of nations not so 
 populous as many of their provinces ; wards of people who are younger 
 than their newest village in Manchuria. I do not mean to say that the 
 Chinese are perfect ; far from it. They have their faults, their pride, and 
 their prejudices like other people. These are profound, and they must be 
 overcome. They have their conceits like other people, and they must be 
 done away ; but they are not to be removed by talking to them with can- 
 non, by telling them that they are feeble and weak, and that they are bar- 
 barians. No ; China has been cut off by her position from the rest of the 
 world. She has been separated from it by limitless deserts and broad oceans. 
 But now, when the views of men expand, we behold the very globe itself 
 diminishing in size ; now, when science has dissipated the desert, and when 
 it has narrowed the ocean, we find that China, seeing another civilization 
 on every side, has her eyes wide open to the situation. She sees Russia 
 on the north, Europe on the west, and America on the east ; she sees a 
 cloud of sail on her coast ; she sees mighty steamers coming from every 
 quarter ; she feels the spark from the electric telegraph falling hot upon 
 her, and she rouses herself, not in anger, but for argument. She finds 
 
454 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 that by not being in a position to compete with other nations for so long 
 a time that she lias lost ground ; she comprehends very well that she 
 must come into relations with those civilizations which are pressing all 
 around her ; and feeling that, she does not wait, but comes out to you, and 
 extends to you her hand. She tells you she is ready to take upon her an- 
 cient civilization the graft of your civilization ; that she is ready to take 
 back her own inventions, with all their developments ; that she is willing 
 to trade with you, to buy of you, to sell to you, to help you strike off the 
 shackles from trade. She invites your merchants, she invites your mission- 
 aries, and tells them to plant the shining cross on every hill and in every 
 valley, for she is hospitable to fair argument. She offers you almost free 
 trade to-day. Holding the great staples of the earth — tea and silk, she 
 charges you scarcely any tariff on the exports you send out to exchange for 
 them. She is willing to meet the interior questions which are arising now 
 as to transit dues ; and if you will only have patience with her and right 
 reason on your side, she will settle these to your satisfaction. The country 
 is open ; you may travel and trade where you like. What complaint have 
 you to make of her ? Show her, I say, fair play ; exhibit that to her, and 
 you will bless the toiling millions of the world. That trade, which has in 
 my own day in China risen from eighty-two millions to three hundred mil- 
 lions, is but a tithe of the enormous trade that may be carried on with China 
 in the future. Let her alone, give her her independence ; let her develop 
 herself in her own time and in her own way. She has no hostility to you. 
 Let her do this, and she will initiate a movement which will be felt in ev- 
 ery workshop in the civilized world. She says now, “ Send us your wheat, 
 lumber, gold, silver, goods from everywhere. We will take as many of 
 them as we can ; we will give you back our tea, silk, and free labor, which 
 we have sent so largely out into the world, which is overflowing upon Siam, 
 the British possessions, Singapore, Manilla, Peru, Cuba, Australia, and Cal- 
 ifornia. What she asks is, that you will be as kind to her people as she is 
 to yours. She wishes simply that you will do justice. She is willing not 
 only to exchange goods with you, but to exchange thoughts ; she is willing 
 to give you her intellectual civilization for your material civilization. Let 
 her alone, and the caravans toward the North and Russia will swarm larger 
 than they are now. Let her alone, and the great steamers of the “Penin- 
 sular and Oriental Co.” and the “ Messagerie Imperiale ” may multiply their 
 coming; let her alone, and that great line which is the pride of New York 
 — the Pacific Mail — may increase, or as many other lines as you choose to 
 form, may increase their tonnage tenfold, and they will still have to leave 
 their freight uncarried, as at present, on the wharf at Hong-kong and Yoko- 
 hama. The imagination kindles at the future which may be, and will be, 
 if you will be just and fair to China. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 455 
 
 THE LATE TREATY WITH CHINA, SUPPLEMENTARY TO THE 
 TREATY OF 1858. 
 
 Art. 1. His Majesty the Emperor of China, being of the opinion that 
 in making concessions to the citizens or subjects of foreign powers of the 
 privilege of residing on certain tracts of land, or resorting to certain waters 
 of that empire for the purposes of trade, he has by no means relinquished his 
 right of eminent domain or dominion over the said land and waters, hereby 
 agrees that no such concession or grant shall be construed to give to any 
 power or party which may be at war with or hostile to the United States 
 the right to attack the citizens of the United States or their property within 
 the said lands or waters ; and the United States, for themselves, hereby 
 agree to abstain from offensively attacking the citizens or subjects of any 
 power, or party, or their property, with which they may be at war, on any 
 such tract of land or waters of the said empire ; but nothing in this article 
 shall be construed to prevent the United States from resisting an attack 
 by any hostile power or party upon their citizens or their property. It is 
 further agreed, that if any right or interest in any tract of land in China 
 has been or shall hereafter be granted by the Government of China to the 
 United States or their citizens for purposes of trade or commerce, that grant 
 shall in no event be construed to divest the Chinese authorities of their right 
 of jurisdiction over persons and property within said tract of land, except so 
 far as that right may have been expressly relinquished by treaty. 
 
 Art. 2. The United States of America and His Majesty the Emperor of 
 China, believing that the safety and prosperity of commerce will thereby 
 best be promoted, agree, that any privilege or immunity in respect to trade 
 or navigation within the Chinese dominions which may not have been stip- 
 ulated for by treaty shall be subject to the discretion of the Chinese Gov- 
 ernment, and may be regulated by it accordingly, but not in a manner or 
 spirit incompatible with the treaty stipulations of the parties. 
 
 Art. 3. The Emperor of China shall have the right to appoint consuls at 
 ports of the United States, who shall enjoy the same privileges and immu- 
 nities as those which are enjoyed by public law and treaty in the United 
 States by the consuls of Great Britain and Russia, or either of them. 
 
 Art. 4. The twenty-ninth article of the treaty of the 18th of June, 1858, 
 having stipulated for the exemption of Christian citizens of the United 
 States and Chinese converts from persecution in China on account of their 
 faith, it is further agreed, that citizens of the United States in China of ev- 
 ery religious persuasion, and Chinese subjects in the United States, shall 
 enjoy entire liberty of conscience, and shall be exempt from all disability 
 or persecution on account of their religious faith or worship in either coun- 
 try. Cemeteries for sepulture of the dead of whatever nativity or nation- 
 ality shall be held in respect, and free from disturbance or profanation. 
 
 Art. 5. The United States of America and the Emperor of China cor- 
 dially recognize the inherent and inalienable right of man to change bis 
 home and his allegiance, and also the mutual advantages of the free migra- 
 tion and immigration of their citizens and subjects respectively from the one 
 country to the other for purposes of curiosity, trade, or as permanent resi- 
 
456 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 dents. The high contracting parties, therefore, join in reprobating any 
 other than an entirely voluntary immigration for these purposes. They 
 consequently agree to pass laws making it a penal offense for a citizen of the 
 United States or a Chinese subject to take Chinese subjects either to the 
 United States or to any foreign country, or for a Chinese subject or a citi- 
 zen of the United States to take citizens of the United States to China or to 
 any other foreign country without their free and voluntary consent respect- 
 ively. 
 
 Art. C. Citizens of the United States visiting or residing in China shall 
 enjoy the same privileges, immunities, or exemptions in respect to travel or 
 residence as may there be enjoyed by the citizens or subjects of the most 
 favored nation ; and, reciprocally, Chinese subjects visiting or residing in 
 the United States shall enjoy the same privileges, immunities, and exemp- 
 tions in respect to travel or residence as may be enjoyed by the citizens or 
 subjects of the most favored nation ; but nothing herein contained shall be 
 held to confer naturalization upon the citizens of the United States in Chi- 
 na, nor upon the subjects of China in the United States. 
 
 Art. 7. Citizens of the United States shall enjoy all the privileges of the 
 public educational institutions under the control of the Government of 
 China, and, reciprocally, Chinese subjects shall enjoy all the privileges of the 
 public educational institutions under the control of the Government of the 
 United States which are enjoyed in the respective countries by the citizens 
 or subjects of the most favored nations. The citizens of the United States 
 may freely establish and maintain schools within the empire of China at 
 those places where foreigners are by treaty permitted to reside, and, recip- 
 rocally, Chinese subjects may enjoy the same privileges and immunities in 
 the United States. 
 
 Art. 8. The United States, always disclaiming and discouraging all prac- 
 tices of unnecessary dictation and intervention by one nation in the affairs or 
 domestic administration of another, do hereby freely disclaim any intention 
 or right to intervene in the domestic administration of China in regard to the 
 construction of railroads, telegraphs, or other material internal improvements. 
 On the other hand, His Majesty the Emperor of China reserves to himself the 
 right to decide the time and manner and circumstances of introducing such 
 improvements within his dominions. With this mutual understanding, it is 
 agreed by the contracting parties, that if at any time hereafter His Imperial 
 Majesty shall determine to construct or cause to be constructed works of the 
 character mentioned within the empire, and shall make application to the 
 United States or any other Western power for facilities to carry out that 
 policy, the United States will, in that case, designate and authorize suitable 
 engineers to be employed by the Chinese Government, and will recommend 
 to other nations an equal compliance with such application, the Chinese 
 Government in that case protecting such engineers in their persons and 
 property, and paying them a reasonable compensation for their services. 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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